WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THE PRODUCT? BY JOEL PICKARD

INTRODUCTION

The technologies that I have used during the production of my project have been essential in the success of the end product.

We used a number of different technologies in all stages of the production process to make sure that the production ran as smooth as possible in order to gain the best possible results.

I used a Canon 600D DSLR to film the entire opening sequence, although I had used the camera already it was the first time that I utilised it’s features for film instead of photos. This allowed me to do many things that I may have not been able to do on a more basic camera. For example our sequence included a variety of focus pulls which I was able to perform manually in able to get the most accurate depth of field for the shot. The camera also had a grid feature which was extremely helpful when taking to account the rule of thirds in my shots, this allowed me to frame my shots more consistently. I was also able to spend a lot longer on each shot than if I had a camera with tape for example, as I could easily delete the shot if any mistakes were made and retry.

CAMERA

SERIF MOVIE PLUS X6Editing is essential to the production process as it allows you to compile all of your work together and set and overall tone, pace etc. I used the editing software Serif MoviePlus X6 to edit our sequence. This technology was incredibly helpful as I was able to trim shots that I thought were too long enabling me to get the most flowing and clean result possible from our shots.

I could also watch the clips before placing them in the track instead of placing them all on the track, this saved rendering time. I was also able to manage the sound volume in every single frame of the sequence.

Overall I found this software very effective in post production, It also had a very good range of titles, transitions and effects that we implemented into our project. Through this software, I learnt that editing takes time and you can’t rush it, as if you do, mistakes are more likely to occur.

BLOGGERBlogger is a form of technology that has been present throughout the entire production of my opening sequence. It allowed me to document my interpretations of existing movies which got me thinking about film language and genre conventions of the films I viewed. This helped me to identify what made a good opening sequence and what made a bad one.

The Blogger iPhone app allowed me to access Blogger much more easily and gave me a chance to make posts if I was away from my computer. Blogger was also useful to document the progress of my project. It allowed me to look back at how I have improved and I was then able to use that knowledge for future filming.

I also utilised Blogger for planning purposes, I often uploaded my final project diary which kept track of what I had done each lesson and what I was going to do in the recent future. This was effective in keeping focused on the end goal through steps and deadlines.

OTHER WEBSITES

There were a variety of websites that I used throughout the production of my opening sequence.

I used YouTube to give me a sense of what other students like my self had created in the past, this gave me confidence in myself as I realised that we didn’t have to have a full scale production, rather a showcase of what we had learnt over the process of the production. It also provided tutorials for me to learn simple ways of creating different types of shots, especially with the features in my camera.

I used the website ‘Art of the Title’ to grasp an understanding of what professional full scale feature films have as their opening sequence and how it can link to the rest of the film.

SOUND - AUDACITY

Although I had very little sound effects in our opening sequence, I used the program Audacity to match up the narration of the protagonist to the shots on screen.

I chose this program as it enabled me to balance the soundtrack of the sequence with the narration so both are clearly audible and still prominent.

We learnt that in order to have any sound effects within the sequence that they had to be matched up perfectly with the Mise en scene, otherwise the sequence would look unrealistic.