Task 4: New media technologies: A director’s commentary on how I used new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation

'Dital Technology rules the world and then some', says Nicholas Negroponte, a proffesor at MIT in the USA. New media technology is digital technology and it enabled us to work quicker, faster, better and to be far more creative from start to finish of our production.

I will analyse how new media helped in all five stages of the production. But I noticed especially how useful it was at the shooting stage in terms of ratio. This is the relationship between the number of shots taken in the rushes (363) compared to the number of shots actually used in the final cut (41), which gives you a ratio of 9:1. By having this many shots we could be more creative in the editing. we had this many shots because the digital camera is so small, easy to move and is very easy to light for. Digital technology our production indeed.

New media technologies are recently discovered electronics which are more efficient and better quality. Digital technologies use binary code which transfers information via a code combined of ones and zeros.

This is a big step from analogue technology which was slow, low quality and expensive. New media technology enables film crews to shoot more material, with better quality, less lighting time and to edit it more easily. Our group used new media technologies at all stages of production. The internet was used as a research base for looking up are group’s genre of music. When construction our shoot we used high definition digital camera’s for a clear and pristine picture. For editing we use final cut pro and color.

Maltby’s 5 stages of production are: research and development, planning, construction, post production and distributions. New media technologies are used in all of these stages of planning and were a vital part of the overall construction of our music video. New media technology was important at every stage and made the process quicker, easier and more effective.

For our research we used the internet to look up the competition and what was in the bands previous video. We also looked up the genre of music that our band played. We found that their style was a kind of south American bluegrass. So we needed to create this feel in our video. We were able to contact the band via email as well to send them our ideas. This then allowed us to create a video that we thought the band would like as well. They also sent us some suggestions over which we took into consideration and developed ideas on top of those or incorporated them with some ideas we already had. New media technologies such as email and the internet made are life a lot easier as research was easily accessible and fast contact was also possible and this led to more prepared planning.

For our original location myself and anther group member went to take pictures to plan out which rooms we were going to use on the day of the shoot. The digital camera we used is based on new media technologies. Unfortunately we were not able to film there due to complaints about the noise vibrations. However we did take advantage of digital cameras so that we could have a plan and if we had the location it would of helped us massively. We would of also constructed a storyboard using our digital pictures if we were allowed to shoot on that particular location.

On the actual shoot day we used a digital camera, the Sony Z1 and DSR 570, which are very mobile and this allowed us to shoot more shots and therefore have a bigger variety to choose from when it came to editing. Overall our group finished with 147 shots and we were able to view these shots easily and quickly using Final Cut Pro. Since we had a ratio of 4:1 we could be very creative. The high ratio means we could choose from 4 shots to every one the 35 that we eventually put in out film. So due to new media technologies there are lot more possibilities of what we can do and these are much faster and better quality than older technologies. We also had are camera linked to a flat screen T.V behind the set so people could see what the footage looked like on a big screen in the rough. Since our camera’s were so small and compact and easy to move, we could try various tracking and crane shots without worrying about involved lighting setup’s. This meant that when we had done a 2 shot from the front of the two girl singers we could then do a side shot of each and a high shot and a tracking shot because it did not take that much time.

Due to new media technologies editing was made a lot easier as we were able to view the footage very easily and then cut it quickly so that it was ready for constructing the music video. Are footage was uploaded to final cut pro and this program allowed us to use effects such as edge wipe and change the colour gradient. This would have been very hard to do when cutting the actual 35mm film and would of taken much longer. Therefore new media technologies are more efficient, faster and better quality as digital triples the quality analogue.

Distribution can be used through new media technologies such as the internet and email. Websites such as ‘YouTube’ can be used for viewing and distributing a video online with very easy access.

Due to the internet videos can be easily watched and therefore it will help spread the hype about a band. New media technologies also help with advertising and marketing a product. We used YouTube to upload are video so that a worldwide audience could view it and also a comment box is accessible so that comments and feedback may be left. Overall New Media technologies have made a lot more things possible due to their increasing efficiency and compatible size which makes film making easier. Thanks to camera’s becoming smaller and more mobile more footage is able to be shot and therefore more material to choose from when editing. Software such as final cut pro has made editing easier and more ideal and the internet has allowed us to have viral distribution and marketing which is simple but effective. In all stages of planning I have used new media technologies as they are quick and efficient.