Friday, 25 April 2014
Evaluation: Question 7
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?
At the start of the project we were set a task in a group to film a short scene around the school using different establishing shots and learning how media equipment works. The location was based at the school, following a basic narrative and including all the basic establishing shots which are used in almost every film in the media industry.
Planning-
Our Preliminary didn't consisted of much planning due to the fact it was a quick and easy storyline which consists and shows the audience the establishing shots. We didn't actually come up with a storyboard for our preliminary task which affected the production process as we weren't clear on the narrative but just wanted to include as many of the main establishing shots as possible in our film, however we followed a direct list of what shots to include which helped us move forward. In our opening film we learnt to make a storyboard to plan exactly what we will include and make the narrative match the conventions of a supernatural horror and connect with the audience. As our location was in different places we didn't want to wast time thinking about what we wanted to shoot so we got started straight away, knowing exactly what perspective and mise en scene that was key for each certain shot to allow more time on editing and improving shots later if needed. To fit our genre we had to research first this helped us alot with the overall planning process of our opening film as we discovered what is needed for a successful film by researching films with the same genre and conventions as ours follows this helped us to compare ideas and planning with big and successful films in the media industry.
I believe I've learnt a lot about planning my opening before starting the production process to make it a high quality product. It is important to research into the spective genre we were going to base our opening on and the certain techniques or conventions that will match our genre of Supernatural Horror. We looked at a range of different types of openings that matched our audience and conventions to give us ideas, from there we created a realistic and effective opening ensuring we listened to all feedback and advise as possible to make improvements along the way.
Research-
We didn't collect much research for our Preliminary task to help us with ideas on mise en scene, genre and audience so we struggled when production came to connect with a specific audience and genre. This mean't the audience doesn't really understand and connect with the narrative, making it a hard and confusing theme and message to establish. We wanted to ensure we did plenty of research before even planning our opening film to get a clear understanding on what conventions to match and what audience it will appeal too. We learn't that because our Preliminary task didn't have a clear genre or audience we knew it would be an importance key element do before starting, as we wanted to compare different opening films and techniques such as; the atmosphere they represented showing through the different use of dark filters etc and to see what type of openings are in the media industry currently.
We started off by researching into an open genre, meaning exploring a range of different film openings which have different genres as each other to compare the techniques and the type of audience that maybe attracted to that film. I felt we could of analysed different genres of films before starting our preliminary task as I feel we rush the research stage to move straight on to production, when this is an important process for even real high end film companies to ensure the opening matches certain conventions. Once choosing the genre of Supernatural Horror we began analyzing varies different openings that matched the conventions of the genre to get inspired and to help Jade and I come up with a narrative where the audience can follow. From our preliminary I felt we could of research further into how the audience will connect with the movie and the genre to make it more easier to follow and establish when watching. Researching helped us get a better perspective on techniques, shots, effects etc that matched the conventions in order to make it a successful opening, the preliminary task made us realise that this is an important stage and first progress.
180 Degree Rule-
Preliminary
The production process for my Preliminary task at a much lower standard than our final opening film due to the fact I was less experienced and it was my first time filming.I felt we all had affected team work so we were able to help each other to work the equipment. This helped when creating our opening film as we were able to expand our ideas further, making more improvements. The shots we used in the preliminary wasn't a range of different establishing shots to try and connect the audience more and follow the narrative.
One shot we did in the preliminary was the 180 degree rule shown on the right as a screenshot. I felt we picked up this technique quickly and learn't about the rule straight away. I felt learning this rule this early on in the process we were able to develop our shot further when making our opening.I felt our preliminary 180 degree technique was a little unstable and was basic as it didn't show any other shots within it to make it flow more and interesting to watch.
After using the 180 degree rule in our preliminary I researched further to see the types of techniques to remember when using this rule. I feel we rushed the shot thats why it is basic because we didn't research and look into the techniques that make this rule look affective. One video we used to help us explore our ideas and to gain a stronger understanding on the rule in order to apply with our opening is this one:
This really taught us how to improve the quality and the technique of the rule to use in our opening. Once we discovered how to make the rule look effective I feel it helped us to produce clear and stable shots for our opening final, giving us a clear understanding on the rule and not a vavg idea of the shot like when we were doing our preliminary.
Production-
I felt the preliminary task was a bit rushed and we didn't spend enough time on the production side of the film due to the fact the shots are unfocused and unstable. This was mainly because we were less experienced with filming. I realised we needed to make more time for the filming to make it at a higher standard. I think the reason why we spent more time on the editing and little on the production because we were only based at one location therefore we were more careless with the standard because we assumed that we could redo it as the location was based at the school it would be easy to do again. In the final opening film we learnt that Jade and I needed to ensure we spent 3 days filming the shots needed, not only because it was a longer movie but to ensure we but in quality not quantity in our work, producing focused and clear shots. The location was also hard to get to and wasn't as accessible as being right at the school so we needed to ensure the shots were good to save going back and forwards to the location for more high quality shots.
Creating a storyboard was a wise action to make for our opening film as we didn't plan our preliminary task by creating a storyboard so it confused the audience and didn't really connect with a certain genre, also when it came to production we struggled to know what we were doing and following. When creating our storyboard for our opening film we learnt to create a clear and simple narrative where the audience could connect to the genre. We changed a few shots due to the narrative not matching the conventions so the storyboard was fixed and changed around but we learnt that all we needed was a basic narrative on a story board to make it clear of what we were going to shoot and where and manage to add our expanding ideas the further the production went on, improving shots more and highing the quality.
Equipment and Camera movement -
I felt in the preliminary task the shots were a little unstable and shaky due to the fact we were limited to a Flip Camera to shot the movie on so it was much lighter than normal DSLR cameras, causing the the tripod to become unstable at times. The picture quality on the flipcam was very low, creating this bright and flicking almost picture. Making the movie look unrealistic to the audience. For our final opening film we used a 5D EOS DSLR camera as we learnt the better the camera the higher the quality of picture making it more realistic for the audience. The camera was also heavily so it was stable on the tripod, creating smoother shots.
Due to the fact we only could use school equipment for the preliminary task we were limited to a basic tripod restricting us from capturing interesting and conventional shots so it made our movie look basic due to the shots not having movement. I felt the panning shots taken and the tracking shots were very unstable and didn't look realistic and smooth because we were using the basic tripod to move the camera without special equipment. From our opening film we ensured that we were lucky enough to used a steadicam to capture realistic, smooth and stable, tracking and panning shots to match conventions and to draw the audience in more as we learnt the shot would only be achievable with the right equipment to ensure the stability of the camera in every shot.
The DSLR camera was very high tech and we were lucky to use it to gain some good shots. On the perminlany task I felt the focus was basic we the zoom in/out and vary unstable due to the disadvantage of the camera we used. We learn't from this mistake to create a shot using an interesting focus to connect the audience more with the location instead of using basic methods of focusing. We used the focus pull technique on the camera to draw the audience in as I felt the preliminary task didn't drew them in and create depth to the location. Here is one focus pull shot we used in our opening film:
Mise en scene-
We didn't really think about the mise en scene in the preliminary task as we were focusing more on the quality of the shots and actual production of the film than the extras, however we learnt its a key element when create a film, as the characters need to represent a genre and match the conventions of the film for the audience to relate and connect to when watching. Therefore, due to the fact we didn't spend time and effect on the mise en scene is made it more unrealistic to follow. Before filming our opening we learn't for the preliminary task to spend time planning out the mise en scene of the characters. We began researching genre's mise en scene that we could become inspired by. We started following the idea of having a protagonist as a sweet and incsence teenage with the stereotypical traits of a hoodie and earphones to connect with the audience so they could relate. The antagonist we wanted to give her a raggy look, following the stereotypical trait of a male and linking to the MAMA (2013) antagonist. I believe the mise en scene creates impact with the audience the preliminary task showed little impact for the mise en scene as they didn't express and the character and make an instant impression on the audience therefore we wanted to ensure mise en scene was thought about carefully to ensure it matched the conventions and helped the audience to connect.
Characters creating an instant impression on the audience with Mise en scene:
Protagonist
Antagonist
Editing-
In the preliminary task we found ourselves spending a lot longer on the editing than the production process due to the fact the picture quality and sound was poor on the production side so we wanted to recover this by editing. For the sound we muted the dialogue and just put an soundtrack running over the top, chosen from a copyright free site online. We decided to use this technique of not including any dialogue in our opening film and just gather soundtracks from copyright free sites, as we learnt it creates more impact on the audience instead of dialogue, instantly creating an atmosphere of horror.
In our primarily the picture quality was really bright and unrealistic and we didn't put a filter on it. From this I learnt for our opening film it is important to put a filter on the shots as it makes the opening more realistic and creates a horror atmosphere with the dark colours. We felt it was a key feature to ensure the audience feel the mood of fear and that it connects to the conventions as the bright ordinarily format would be to happy and safe when we wanted to create a dangerous and fearful mood for the audience. Here is an example of one tester shot for our opening film, using a dark filter to create an atmosphere:
Final Opening Film ('Inner Demon')-
Planning-
Our Preliminary didn't consisted of much planning due to the fact it was a quick and easy storyline which consists and shows the audience the establishing shots. We didn't actually come up with a storyboard for our preliminary task which affected the production process as we weren't clear on the narrative but just wanted to include as many of the main establishing shots as possible in our film, however we followed a direct list of what shots to include which helped us move forward. In our opening film we learnt to make a storyboard to plan exactly what we will include and make the narrative match the conventions of a supernatural horror and connect with the audience. As our location was in different places we didn't want to wast time thinking about what we wanted to shoot so we got started straight away, knowing exactly what perspective and mise en scene that was key for each certain shot to allow more time on editing and improving shots later if needed. To fit our genre we had to research first this helped us alot with the overall planning process of our opening film as we discovered what is needed for a successful film by researching films with the same genre and conventions as ours follows this helped us to compare ideas and planning with big and successful films in the media industry.
I believe I've learnt a lot about planning my opening before starting the production process to make it a high quality product. It is important to research into the spective genre we were going to base our opening on and the certain techniques or conventions that will match our genre of Supernatural Horror. We looked at a range of different types of openings that matched our audience and conventions to give us ideas, from there we created a realistic and effective opening ensuring we listened to all feedback and advise as possible to make improvements along the way.
Research-
We didn't collect much research for our Preliminary task to help us with ideas on mise en scene, genre and audience so we struggled when production came to connect with a specific audience and genre. This mean't the audience doesn't really understand and connect with the narrative, making it a hard and confusing theme and message to establish. We wanted to ensure we did plenty of research before even planning our opening film to get a clear understanding on what conventions to match and what audience it will appeal too. We learn't that because our Preliminary task didn't have a clear genre or audience we knew it would be an importance key element do before starting, as we wanted to compare different opening films and techniques such as; the atmosphere they represented showing through the different use of dark filters etc and to see what type of openings are in the media industry currently.
We started off by researching into an open genre, meaning exploring a range of different film openings which have different genres as each other to compare the techniques and the type of audience that maybe attracted to that film. I felt we could of analysed different genres of films before starting our preliminary task as I feel we rush the research stage to move straight on to production, when this is an important process for even real high end film companies to ensure the opening matches certain conventions. Once choosing the genre of Supernatural Horror we began analyzing varies different openings that matched the conventions of the genre to get inspired and to help Jade and I come up with a narrative where the audience can follow. From our preliminary I felt we could of research further into how the audience will connect with the movie and the genre to make it more easier to follow and establish when watching. Researching helped us get a better perspective on techniques, shots, effects etc that matched the conventions in order to make it a successful opening, the preliminary task made us realise that this is an important stage and first progress.
180 Degree Rule-
Preliminary
Opening Film-
The production process for my Preliminary task at a much lower standard than our final opening film due to the fact I was less experienced and it was my first time filming.I felt we all had affected team work so we were able to help each other to work the equipment. This helped when creating our opening film as we were able to expand our ideas further, making more improvements. The shots we used in the preliminary wasn't a range of different establishing shots to try and connect the audience more and follow the narrative.
One shot we did in the preliminary was the 180 degree rule shown on the right as a screenshot. I felt we picked up this technique quickly and learn't about the rule straight away. I felt learning this rule this early on in the process we were able to develop our shot further when making our opening.I felt our preliminary 180 degree technique was a little unstable and was basic as it didn't show any other shots within it to make it flow more and interesting to watch.
After using the 180 degree rule in our preliminary I researched further to see the types of techniques to remember when using this rule. I feel we rushed the shot thats why it is basic because we didn't research and look into the techniques that make this rule look affective. One video we used to help us explore our ideas and to gain a stronger understanding on the rule in order to apply with our opening is this one:
This really taught us how to improve the quality and the technique of the rule to use in our opening. Once we discovered how to make the rule look effective I feel it helped us to produce clear and stable shots for our opening final, giving us a clear understanding on the rule and not a vavg idea of the shot like when we were doing our preliminary.
Production-
I felt the preliminary task was a bit rushed and we didn't spend enough time on the production side of the film due to the fact the shots are unfocused and unstable. This was mainly because we were less experienced with filming. I realised we needed to make more time for the filming to make it at a higher standard. I think the reason why we spent more time on the editing and little on the production because we were only based at one location therefore we were more careless with the standard because we assumed that we could redo it as the location was based at the school it would be easy to do again. In the final opening film we learnt that Jade and I needed to ensure we spent 3 days filming the shots needed, not only because it was a longer movie but to ensure we but in quality not quantity in our work, producing focused and clear shots. The location was also hard to get to and wasn't as accessible as being right at the school so we needed to ensure the shots were good to save going back and forwards to the location for more high quality shots.
Creating a storyboard was a wise action to make for our opening film as we didn't plan our preliminary task by creating a storyboard so it confused the audience and didn't really connect with a certain genre, also when it came to production we struggled to know what we were doing and following. When creating our storyboard for our opening film we learnt to create a clear and simple narrative where the audience could connect to the genre. We changed a few shots due to the narrative not matching the conventions so the storyboard was fixed and changed around but we learnt that all we needed was a basic narrative on a story board to make it clear of what we were going to shoot and where and manage to add our expanding ideas the further the production went on, improving shots more and highing the quality.
Equipment and Camera movement -
I felt in the preliminary task the shots were a little unstable and shaky due to the fact we were limited to a Flip Camera to shot the movie on so it was much lighter than normal DSLR cameras, causing the the tripod to become unstable at times. The picture quality on the flipcam was very low, creating this bright and flicking almost picture. Making the movie look unrealistic to the audience. For our final opening film we used a 5D EOS DSLR camera as we learnt the better the camera the higher the quality of picture making it more realistic for the audience. The camera was also heavily so it was stable on the tripod, creating smoother shots.
 |
| Screen shot of tracking shot using a Steadicam-Final Opening Film. |
The DSLR camera was very high tech and we were lucky to use it to gain some good shots. On the perminlany task I felt the focus was basic we the zoom in/out and vary unstable due to the disadvantage of the camera we used. We learn't from this mistake to create a shot using an interesting focus to connect the audience more with the location instead of using basic methods of focusing. We used the focus pull technique on the camera to draw the audience in as I felt the preliminary task didn't drew them in and create depth to the location. Here is one focus pull shot we used in our opening film:
Mise en scene-
We didn't really think about the mise en scene in the preliminary task as we were focusing more on the quality of the shots and actual production of the film than the extras, however we learnt its a key element when create a film, as the characters need to represent a genre and match the conventions of the film for the audience to relate and connect to when watching. Therefore, due to the fact we didn't spend time and effect on the mise en scene is made it more unrealistic to follow. Before filming our opening we learn't for the preliminary task to spend time planning out the mise en scene of the characters. We began researching genre's mise en scene that we could become inspired by. We started following the idea of having a protagonist as a sweet and incsence teenage with the stereotypical traits of a hoodie and earphones to connect with the audience so they could relate. The antagonist we wanted to give her a raggy look, following the stereotypical trait of a male and linking to the MAMA (2013) antagonist. I believe the mise en scene creates impact with the audience the preliminary task showed little impact for the mise en scene as they didn't express and the character and make an instant impression on the audience therefore we wanted to ensure mise en scene was thought about carefully to ensure it matched the conventions and helped the audience to connect.
Characters creating an instant impression on the audience with Mise en scene:
Protagonist
Antagonist
Sound Quality-
In our preliminary task the sound quality was bad due to the fact our equipment was limited to a flipcam mic the sound was very crackly and quiet. In our opening film we learnt from this and decided we didn't want dialogue in our opening as we didn't want to make it unrealistic and not clear to matching the right conventions of a Supernatural horror. Although the opening scene could of had a speech we thought we would tell the story through the use of different shots to connect with the audience and to show the narrative, as we felt that the shots had enough impact and atmosphere to create this story.Editing-
In the preliminary task we found ourselves spending a lot longer on the editing than the production process due to the fact the picture quality and sound was poor on the production side so we wanted to recover this by editing. For the sound we muted the dialogue and just put an soundtrack running over the top, chosen from a copyright free site online. We decided to use this technique of not including any dialogue in our opening film and just gather soundtracks from copyright free sites, as we learnt it creates more impact on the audience instead of dialogue, instantly creating an atmosphere of horror.
In our primarily the picture quality was really bright and unrealistic and we didn't put a filter on it. From this I learnt for our opening film it is important to put a filter on the shots as it makes the opening more realistic and creates a horror atmosphere with the dark colours. We felt it was a key feature to ensure the audience feel the mood of fear and that it connects to the conventions as the bright ordinarily format would be to happy and safe when we wanted to create a dangerous and fearful mood for the audience. Here is an example of one tester shot for our opening film, using a dark filter to create an atmosphere:
I have no transitions or effects in the preliminary task so I feel that I have improved a lot. I've learnt that transitions are needed to make a film flow more to shot to shot and allows the audience to understand the narrative more. In my opening film we put in fade in and out effects but also cross dissolve effects to make the shots flow more easily and to create that atmosphere and slow eerie scent, linking to the conventions of a horror.
Continuity Editing-
From my preliminary task I learnt how to do continuity editing, as I found it easy to edit. I learnt it creates an impact on the audience and allows them to connect and understand the narrative. I feel this technique of editing creates tension for the audience and shows that the editing is important as it highlights a key event that will occur in the narrative very soon, making the audience on edge. Although we didn't include it in our opening film I feel it has made me more confident with using the editing programmes and more confident filming as its an interesting and new technique to experiment with.
Tiles-
When editing the preliminary task I got the experience to edit titles where I worked on LiveType and produced a basic title which was clear and didn't confuse the audience. I wanted to use the same idea for my final opening film of a black back drop and white titles to make it clear and have a nice contrast with the black, We learn't from editing the titles for the preliminary task not to add unrealistic transitions as it loses interest for the audience and creates an unrealistic representation not linking to the possible conventions.For our opening film we decided to go with the dark background but instead of completely black we wanted to create interest and a mood so we put an establishing shot behind the titles. To have a nice colour contrast like the black and white title in the preliminary task and stick with the colour white, with old font style to link to conventions and represent a ghost connection with the audience. The fade in/out effect is used to show a ghost feel and link to the connections of the narrative suggesting the titles is important and has a ghost representation within it.
Conclusion-
Overall I feel I have learnt lots of skills and techniques since my Preliminary task and manage to produce a high quality opening scene to match a specific genre and audience. The processes will even help me with life skills such as planning and researching. I feel I have improved a lot from the preliminary task to the final opening film in every element because I have learnt from mistakes, moved on in a positive way and learnt how to make it better and go the extra mile to ensure not only am I challenging myself on new skills but ensuring the end result is worth while and a product I'm confident consumers will enjoy. I believe I've reached myself to push on and improve me work, I feel I have picked up lots more knowledge on different areas such as editing and techniques to ensure a film is at successful level, from the 180 degree rule to changing filters to create a different atmosphere all are new gained skills which I have developed and learnt through this journey of film making.
Preliminary Task-
Final Opening Film ('Inner Demon')-
Wednesday, 23 April 2014
Evaluation: Question 6
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing your product?
Throughout the process of making our opening sequence we used different types of technology to make it at a high standard, where I have learnt lots of techniques and lessons to take on board for the future to do with the technology we have used to make our opening sequence possible.
Apple Mac's/Mac Book-
Final Cut Pro-
Throughout the process of making our opening sequence we used different types of technology to make it at a high standard, where I have learnt lots of techniques and lessons to take on board for the future to do with the technology we have used to make our opening sequence possible.
Apple Mac's/Mac Book-
We used theses Macs to make our opening on. This is because the high quality and speed of this model which was important when using certain programmes and software to make the process quicker. This model of computer helped with the speed of rendering files and importing/exporting to blog, allowing us to save time focus on the elements of our opening rather than the problems with the device its on. I have learn't about the machine itself but also gaining knowledge in a range of new programmes to improve the quality of my opening. I have also discovered the battery charge for the Mac books it short therefore I had to ensure I had a charger at hand when needed to save the hassle of losing work and wasting time. From the Macs I have also learnt to remember to have a card reader (USB format) to plug in as the Macs don't have a SD Card slot available. This manage to delay us a couple of time due to the fact our footage was save on the SD Card we had to work on other elements instead of editing our opening a couple of sessions. One other element I've learnt is to ensure I saved my footage on the Desktop before opening it up on an editing software such as Final Cut Pro as it doesn't locate the files if the footage is straight off the memory card. Overall I feel this model has helped with making our opening professional and at a high standard.
Programmes/Software-
Final Cut Pro-
This was one of the main editing programmes we used to edit our opening on. I felt it was a quick and easy programme to work and had an easy layout to follow. I feel I'm more confident with the process of cutting shots and deleting footage we didn't need, making our opening flow more to shot to shot. The rendering process took a long time as we had a lot of files and footage to change. I've learnt next time to ensure to convert it into Apple Intermediate Codec format so it doesn't need rendering. This will save time where I can spend it on more editing to improve my work further.
LiveType-
We used this programme to titles for our opening film. I felt it was an effective and easy way to produce good quality titles. I learn't that once the title was made the title will automatically connect to the final cut pro programme, making it quick to edit in and less time to look for the file, import and rendering. This programme allowed us to edit titles with realistic font and sizing to match the conventions of our opening film. I manage to learn how to add special effects on the titles to match the conventions and makes our opening look more realistic. We used a fade in/out effect which showed a ghost present to the audience. Learning this technique of added effects will help me in the future when making a movie as it flows more easily with effects.
Extra Software-
Copyright Free Music Site
When finding the right score for our opening film we used a copyright free music site called Incompetech. I found this site quick and easy as the genres of music were shown on the side which made it easy when it came to choosing the music that best fitted our opening genre. It was quick and fast to download, however I found some of the music tracks were unrealistic and didn't really match the genres described under, therefore it took a while to find the right one for our opening.
YouTube-
When it came to up downloading videos onto youtube it took longer than expected due to our internet connection. I learnt new skills by creating annotations for one of my evaluation questions. I but these over the top of my final film and showed how our opening film attracts to the audience. Learning this new skill has helped me become more confident with using youtube and will help speed up the process for next time I want to use this technique.
Blogger-
This was our main site to record the process and journey of making our opening film from start to finish. I felt I have learnt a lot about this site considering it was a completely new site for me before I started this project so I was unaware how it worked at first. Getting support from teachers and friends I began more confident and worked on it independently in order to show my journey. One element which was frustrating show moving pictures around on the editing blog page as they often stayed in the same place. This is until I realised I had to double click on the picture and drag to the edge of the page to allow me to move it. I have also learnt that in order to upload a video file I had to upload it on YouTube and then embed the file into Blogger which was a completely new experience and made me more confident with transporting files to one place to another.
DSLR Cameras-
EOS 5D Canon-
This camera was used to film the opening film due to the fact it add special effect filters, focus pull and showed a high quality shot at all times. As I'm a photography student already I was aware of how to use the camera so I was familiar with the basic settings. The focus pull effects were more of an advanced setting which I took a while to get use to but soon picked it up. I found the camera was heavy at times which made it hard to keep the camera stable and to gain clear shots, however when I got the hang of things I managed to pick up some clear shots to use in our opening.
Canon D500-
This camera was a basic DSLR to capture backstage and on set footage, pictures and updating videos. I was familiar with the basic zoom, changing lenses and recording processes so I felt this was a strong area for me which I was confident in.
Tripods-
Basic standing tripod-
I was aware of how to use this equipment from taking photography so I took very little time connecting the camera and ensuring it was stable which allowed us to spend more time on the production and ensuring the camera was safely on the tripod to risk breakages. I feel I was very confident at knowing what to do in this area.
SteadiCam-
Due to my brother being in the media industry we had the advantage to use his equipment and became more confident with new tripods. This tripod allowed us to do tracking and point of view shots which made the audience more involved with our opening and created impact. I was familiar with connecting the camera to the tripod, however I learnt how to hold the Steadicam so its stable and easier, on my shoulder. This gives more support and allowed us to gain steady shots.
Creating our score-
We edited all our soundtrack together on a programme called Soundtrack Pro. This was a very easy and quick programme to use which followed the same layout as Final Cut Pro so we were familiar with how to use it. I struggled to find how to fade in/out the score so had to ask Jade for help and manage to successful produce to the score to match the conventions.
SD Card and Card Reader-
I realised that I needed to be more organised with bringing in the memory sticks due to the fact our footage was saved on the Cards so it delayed our progress for editing when we didn't have them for a certain lesson. We had a problem with one of our hard drives, unfortunately the device broke where we saved our footage. Eventually we managed to backup the files and get the footage back we needed however we were lucky. We have definitely learnt a lesson to backup our files onto other devices to ensure we have saved copies incase we lost work. This saves time doing the work again and having to refilm. We found the rendering process took a long time due to the amount of footage we had on our opening, also putting the Card in to the Macs and opening our film on Final Cut Pro was a challenge at times due to the reconnecting process. We have learn't for the future to save the footage on the desktop in the Mac so the programme can locate and connect the footage when the Card is removed.
Conclusion
Overall, I felt I have learnt a lot from the different technology that helped make our Opening film possible. I feel I will learn from my mistakes for the future to save more time on other key elements but I know I have also created a successful final film as I used all the above technology to improve our opening further. I have picked up some key and useful skills to help me in life such as: Card readers, new programmes I've discovered and working on new unfamiliar computers. Comparing digital, modern technology to Analog puts the element in a whole new perspective, as digital technology is a lot more advantaged and gives the ability for producers to create for possibilities in film making. From using the above technology to help produce an opening film I can now see why film companies rely on digital technology to keep them in the media industry and on top. From the production to the final editing of a film, technology takes a huge role in making the processes possible to come out with a final product worth distributing for audiences to consume.
LiveType-
We used this programme to titles for our opening film. I felt it was an effective and easy way to produce good quality titles. I learn't that once the title was made the title will automatically connect to the final cut pro programme, making it quick to edit in and less time to look for the file, import and rendering. This programme allowed us to edit titles with realistic font and sizing to match the conventions of our opening film. I manage to learn how to add special effects on the titles to match the conventions and makes our opening look more realistic. We used a fade in/out effect which showed a ghost present to the audience. Learning this technique of added effects will help me in the future when making a movie as it flows more easily with effects.Extra Software-
Copyright Free Music Site
When finding the right score for our opening film we used a copyright free music site called Incompetech. I found this site quick and easy as the genres of music were shown on the side which made it easy when it came to choosing the music that best fitted our opening genre. It was quick and fast to download, however I found some of the music tracks were unrealistic and didn't really match the genres described under, therefore it took a while to find the right one for our opening. YouTube-
When it came to up downloading videos onto youtube it took longer than expected due to our internet connection. I learnt new skills by creating annotations for one of my evaluation questions. I but these over the top of my final film and showed how our opening film attracts to the audience. Learning this new skill has helped me become more confident with using youtube and will help speed up the process for next time I want to use this technique.
Blogger-
This was our main site to record the process and journey of making our opening film from start to finish. I felt I have learnt a lot about this site considering it was a completely new site for me before I started this project so I was unaware how it worked at first. Getting support from teachers and friends I began more confident and worked on it independently in order to show my journey. One element which was frustrating show moving pictures around on the editing blog page as they often stayed in the same place. This is until I realised I had to double click on the picture and drag to the edge of the page to allow me to move it. I have also learnt that in order to upload a video file I had to upload it on YouTube and then embed the file into Blogger which was a completely new experience and made me more confident with transporting files to one place to another.
DSLR Cameras-
EOS 5D Canon-
This camera was used to film the opening film due to the fact it add special effect filters, focus pull and showed a high quality shot at all times. As I'm a photography student already I was aware of how to use the camera so I was familiar with the basic settings. The focus pull effects were more of an advanced setting which I took a while to get use to but soon picked it up. I found the camera was heavy at times which made it hard to keep the camera stable and to gain clear shots, however when I got the hang of things I managed to pick up some clear shots to use in our opening.Canon D500-
This camera was a basic DSLR to capture backstage and on set footage, pictures and updating videos. I was familiar with the basic zoom, changing lenses and recording processes so I felt this was a strong area for me which I was confident in.Tripods-
Basic standing tripod-
I was aware of how to use this equipment from taking photography so I took very little time connecting the camera and ensuring it was stable which allowed us to spend more time on the production and ensuring the camera was safely on the tripod to risk breakages. I feel I was very confident at knowing what to do in this area.
SteadiCam-
Due to my brother being in the media industry we had the advantage to use his equipment and became more confident with new tripods. This tripod allowed us to do tracking and point of view shots which made the audience more involved with our opening and created impact. I was familiar with connecting the camera to the tripod, however I learnt how to hold the Steadicam so its stable and easier, on my shoulder. This gives more support and allowed us to gain steady shots.
We edited all our soundtrack together on a programme called Soundtrack Pro. This was a very easy and quick programme to use which followed the same layout as Final Cut Pro so we were familiar with how to use it. I struggled to find how to fade in/out the score so had to ask Jade for help and manage to successful produce to the score to match the conventions.
SD Card and Card Reader-
I realised that I needed to be more organised with bringing in the memory sticks due to the fact our footage was saved on the Cards so it delayed our progress for editing when we didn't have them for a certain lesson. We had a problem with one of our hard drives, unfortunately the device broke where we saved our footage. Eventually we managed to backup the files and get the footage back we needed however we were lucky. We have definitely learnt a lesson to backup our files onto other devices to ensure we have saved copies incase we lost work. This saves time doing the work again and having to refilm. We found the rendering process took a long time due to the amount of footage we had on our opening, also putting the Card in to the Macs and opening our film on Final Cut Pro was a challenge at times due to the reconnecting process. We have learn't for the future to save the footage on the desktop in the Mac so the programme can locate and connect the footage when the Card is removed. Conclusion
Overall, I felt I have learnt a lot from the different technology that helped make our Opening film possible. I feel I will learn from my mistakes for the future to save more time on other key elements but I know I have also created a successful final film as I used all the above technology to improve our opening further. I have picked up some key and useful skills to help me in life such as: Card readers, new programmes I've discovered and working on new unfamiliar computers. Comparing digital, modern technology to Analog puts the element in a whole new perspective, as digital technology is a lot more advantaged and gives the ability for producers to create for possibilities in film making. From using the above technology to help produce an opening film I can now see why film companies rely on digital technology to keep them in the media industry and on top. From the production to the final editing of a film, technology takes a huge role in making the processes possible to come out with a final product worth distributing for audiences to consume.
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