Digital Technology and Creativity

Question 1a – Reflecting upon A1 and A2 projects with reference to:

Digital technology and creativity

Your answer should be driven by SKILLS. You must write about A1 and A2. You must repeatedly use the terms “digital technology” and “creativity”.

SKILL 1: BLOGGING
A1 – introduction to blogging through Blogspot. Must mention pro-sumerism - (the notion that everyone is creating their own media) - and global potential of Internet.

Research and planning emerged as a media product in itself.

Could reflect that A1 blog was not as creative – although point out what you did achieve creatively. Arguably in A1 you did not fully realise multi media aspects.

In contrast describe and evaluate how creative in comparison you were with your A2 blog. Detail multi media aspects of your work and how this allowed you to creatively display your progress. Make sure you point out that A2 blogs detailed both PROGRESS and PROCESS. It emerged as a LEARNING TOOL and allowed you to share your experiences on a GLOBAL PLATFORM.

Did you receive INTERNATIONAL FEEDBACK?

Some members of our group had their work placed on a different site(s). This brings up interesting points about ownership and control. In theory a consumer can take ownership of your product and recreate it with their own creative input. This gives massive creative potential but is also arguably dangerous as increasingly how do we authenticate media products?

Make sure you very specifically outline all the creative choices you made in creating you’re A2 blog. REMINDER: The term PROSUMERSIM is key.


Skill 2: Photography

Make reference to the creative skills you’ve learned in using a digital camera – ( WHICH MODEL OF CAMERA DID YOU USE?????) - effectively to achieve a highly professional end product. Point out that the technology allows a potentially great result although ultimately it is the photographer who captures the image. Control of lighting and framing are MAN-MADE therefore to assume that the camera does all the work is an oversimplification of the creative process.



Discuss with specific reference to the most creative photographs and outline how learning progressed from A1 to A2. You can use semiological terms (denotation and connotation) to discuss meaning. Try to include the idea that good photography can make or break a project. A badly taken photograph cannot be completely rescued by Photoshop. Do you have evidence of any creativity in using Photoshop OR when shooting your film?


Skill 3: Photoshop
An integral part of of A1 and A2 are the ancillary tasks. Photoshop is an industry standard piece of software and requires considerable skill. You are all very skilful in using Photoshop but your answer would benefit from a detailed discussion of some of the more complex processes you engaged in to achieve an authentic end product. Look at the example below:

Photoshopping has emerged in the media industry as a synonym for airbrushing. In our image-obsessed world this software is ubiquitous in engineering culturally specific images of perfection. With reference to my own work, and particularly the front cover of my music magazine, I noticed from my original image that my model’s face reflected a very uneven skin tone. In using the clone stamp tool I was able to copy the pixels from another part of the face and through a rigorous approach create a much more even colour balance. Finally my application of a filter to soften the pixels allowed further blending…………


Skill 4: Shooting film
You need to make specific reference to the technical skills you learned when shooting film. You should comment on framing, positioning, the technical preparation of specific shoots using digital equipment. E.g. steadycam, tripod ……

You can discuss the creative choices you made whilst filming and possibly compare a good take with a bad one. Remember to use the term CREATIVITY and build in references to decision making.




Skill 5: Editing
Post production is an essential component of the production process and you will have made many creative choices in order to construct a meaningful narrative – (remember “narrative” is different to the term “story” dealing much more specifically with the structuring and sequencing of the story). Again try to approach this wearing your “problem –solving hat”. Can you outline the value of different versions of digital editing e.g. IMovie as opposed to Final Cut Pro? What value does Final Cut add?

Again I would make the point that professional editing software cannot correct badly shot film in the same way that a poor photograph cannot be magically transformed using Photoshop. Are there any specific edits that were more creative than others? Can you give a sense of your journey in terms of learning and progress in technical skill?


Conclusion: Important – don’t neglect this. Think of the graph!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Overall what does digital technology allow in terms of creativity?!?????? Digital technology cannot substitute raw skill and creative talent but it can facilitate. How have YOU as an individual demonstrated your creativity across A1 and A2 (show a sense of progression). How has digital technology helped you on this journey? Finally, are there any disadvantages to using digital software?