Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

 We used a lot of different technology throughout the process of constructing this coursework product:

- During the pre-production stage we used normal pc software for using the internet to research, plan and blog our product.

- During the production stage we used all the shooting equipment and technology needed for filming.

- During the post-production stage we used all the software technology on our specific edit suites to edit our final product.

The camera we used to shoot our sequence was a Sony Mini DV camera. It was easy to use as I have used one similar to it in previous projects but also has a simple set up which means basically anyone could work it out. With the camera came a shotgun mic which slotted onto the top, this was ideal for us as any dialogue we had was close up to our actors so a boom mic was not necessary.

To steady the camera when shooting most shots, we used a tripod. It was very useful as it allowed us to shoot from different heights while still having a steady shot and also allowed a steady, smooth pan – which would have been hard to achieve with a handheld shot.

Our group brought a paglight to each of our shoots as a precaution because we were shooting in the dark. Luckily, our lighting was good enough in all the night time shots so that we didn’t have to use this extra piece of equipment, but it was good to have it just in case.

The software we used to edit our sequence was ‘Adobe Premiere Pro’. As I had used this programme in past projects, I was already very familiar with how to use it – which was very useful because we could just get straight on with editing and learning additional techniques rather than learning from scratch. We took it in turns to edit our sequence although some group members did more as they were more confident and adept at editing. Throughout the project, I learnt how to use some transition effects which were useful when cutting from shot to shot in the sequence. I learned how to use a cross-dissolve and how to slow down the video without slowing down the sound which was important in the sequence.

- We also used an Apple Mac for certain aspects of the project such as making the titles for our sequence. The programme we used was called ‘Art Effects’ and it was a new programme to me so I had to be given a tutorial. Once I knew the basics, I found it was very easy to use and it wasn’t long before I could make titles all on my own which was good for efficiency.