Evaluation Task 6

What have I learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product?

Equipment: Apple Mac's

Throughout the course for both we have used Apple Mac computers to for both editing, research and up dating our blogs. These were a important piece of equipment as all of our work done on them.

The software on the macs enabled us to add special effects, music and titles to our thrillers. As they have in built microphones they were also great for recording podcasts.

However we did find difficulties with the software imovies, rather then being able to log onto any computer in the suite to go back and edit the film you had to be on the same monitor as well as the same file.

Camera: The sony cameras we used for the preliminary task worked by recording onto film and then hot wire to upload to the Macs. When filming the prelim we had difficulties with filming over scenes we previously recorded, as film is used in these cameras.

However when we filmed our opening we didn’t have any of these problems as we were using a digital camera. The quality of the film was also a lot better. It was also a lot easier uploading the footage onto the Macs with digital camera. However there was problems with this cameras auto focus, when focusing it created a lot of noise which interfered with the scene.

When working with the cameras I learnt how to achieve different camera shots and how to properly focus the camera.

Tripod:

The tripods were very efficient and practical, I learnt how they could enabled us to film while keeping the camera completely still, it allowed for successful panning, titling and zooming while stopping any shaking. It also helped us to achieve shots for different heights and angles.

Also when filming we used a dolly, this piece of equipment was new to us and I learnt how the use of it could enhance our thriller. As it enabled us to get more processional and less shaking travelling shots.

Lighting:

I’ve also learnt how to use different types of lighting and about the different moods they can create. During the process of filming our thriller we used the different coloured lighting for the cuts to Tom, creating a much more sinister mood. This technology really added to the sinister feel of our thriller. We used different colours to light up different parts of his face. However as we were a low budget film we had to do this manually and getting the lighting in time proved quite difficult. Although after some practice we did master this technique.

Software:

We used imovies to edit our footage for both our preliminary and final thriller opening. Through using the software I learned how to edit the clips together, use a range of different transitions and add credits. I also learnt how to slow down and speed up clips as this was needed to edit our thriller.

However using this software to upload to YouTube does take very long amount of time. To avoid this problem I had to save the final film onto a memory stick and upload using a different monitor e.g. A windows pc.

Blogger was another platform we used while constructing the product. Blogger provided a efficient way of uploading all of our content in the same place and on format others could view.

During this process I learnt how to create posts for the blog, embed YouTube videos like our outtakes and construction of titles . And also how to display other media formats such as prezzie presentations. However it was difficult to edit the size or format of photos once they were inserted into the blog post, to over come this problem I had to edit them on different format.

We used YouTube as the platform to display our films. Throughout the project I learnt to more efficiently use YouTube, I learnt to upload videos and import onto other platforms e.g. Blogs. Also through one of the previous evaluation questions I learnt how to add captions to the videos.