How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Throughout my project I have used different media technologies this has helped to construct my project. It is important to use different software and hardware to progress and develop skills throughout my project. This is essential for today world with having an understanding in media technologies to be successful within the media industry.
The internet was a large part of my research process accessing different sites to gather information. The internet is beneficial for research but unless you have accessed a official site otherwise you cannot be sure the information you are reading is legitimate. For information about Paolo Nutini, .e.g. his genre, style, record label etc I used his official fan website site which had all the given information about him, as this was an official site the information would be accurate. This was accessed through www.google.com; this also linked me with other websites such as Wikipedia which was useful for when assembly information about the genre characteristics. When analysing Paolo Nutinis music videos I used YouTube which gave me his official videos, this was also useful when it came to looking at other artists of the same genre. Downloading the Paolo Nutini track I used ITunes a safe/legal and official site, I knew downloading it from ITunes would give me great quality and would also be accompanied by art work so when it came to creating my front cover I could look through his older album covers. I feel my skills of the internet have not developed as I was already well equipped of how the internet is run, but my researching skills have progressed and find it easy to gather information and know the correct places to look.
When coming to the planning section I found this rolled into the construction of the video camera and Pinnacle software. I understood how to use a video camera because I have had experience in this before, but the problems which occurred was the camera battery life, which was a lot shorter than expected, this was overcome by the use of our story board knowing what needed to be filmed. Pinnacle was a new software to me and I have no understanding of how to work it, after a few tutorials from my teachers and playing around with the software myself it became apparent to me how it works. The problems I came across using Pinnacle were editing and piecing the videos together, I found deleting a section of video which had already been placed down moved the whole story line, outing everything out of sync, the way a came around this was to use to storylines and lock each track after an edit. Another finding which disturbed my editing process was when we would re-open the program the screen would be black and the software to play the videos would not be loaded, this was time consuming reloading the video every time we used a new station. Editing and creating cuts was simple once you had gathered the understanding of the software, I feel I have gained a much greater knowledge of this program and would feel confident using it in the future.
For constructing my CD cover I used Photoshop software I felt highly confident in, and I knew this would work to my advantage knowing my software and what effects I could use to create a professional looking cover. I have been using Photoshop for several years this is due to my photography, this also fell to my advantage when photographing for the cover, using a studio and my Nikon D60 10.5 mega pixel camera. Creating my magazine advert I used the same program. I used the same techniques from last year in my AS work on how to lay out a magazine advert.
Creating a blog was a first, and did not find it difficult. Planning my blog was a difficult process if by mistake I missed out a section it was not possible to go back and re add a section in. Creating a plan of what I should enter into my blog and when was useful, I feel my blogging skills have enhanced and would be confident setting up a blog at anytime.
Through all the media technologies I have used through my project I have progressed and gained greater knowledge of how to work the software, although some programs have limitations I find this frustrating yet interesting because it gives you a new way of thinking and opens your mind to become more creative.