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

By Abbie Loosemore – R1-28

On the day of filming we referred to the shot list made during planning. This was very important to how successful the filming went as we could work quickly and efficiently in the time we had.

We managed to set up the desk well with the props we wanted and we had no problems with the costumes. By organising who had to bring certain items, we didn’t forget anything on the day.

All of our equipment worked fine and we were able to use the camera and lighting effectively after our preliminary task work and lighting tests.

On the day of the shoot

We used a Panasonic HD video camera to shoot our opening sequence. I am pleased with this camera as the footage is sharp and looks professional and when filming we experienced no problems with the camera. The tripod was vital in the quality of our footage as we used two panning shots and by using a tripod we eliminated the risks of having a ‘handheld’ effect.

We wanted to use an overhead pan shot, and on the day of shooting, this proved difficult as manoeuvring the camera from that height, at that angle, without it being poor quality, was difficult without the proper equipment. We stood above the desk and carefully passed the tripod over the desk. This footage stands out as it is not as smooth as our other shots, but it still works well and we managed to achieve the effect we wanted.

Cinematography

We used a single hot light to replicate film noir style lighting. We also used a torch and a desk lamp to add light in other areas. We blacked out the room so we could create the exact effect we wanted. The hot light could have been used on a stand, but we couldn’t angle it in the way that we wanted so Calum held the light in the position we wanted it to cast the right shadows needed for effect. The only risk in holding the light was that it got very hot, very quickly, so we had to be careful in-between takes not to leave it on, and only to turn it on and touch it when necessary.

With only one person able to do the lighting, we were limited to the amount of shadows we could create. We were still able to create the film noir style lighting with one light, but to improve, we would need more lights coming from different directions etc.

Lighting

The props were very authentic of the era and we were lucky in having access to the typewriter and phone though college. We used black sheets to paper to cover up some modern artwork on the wall behind in case it ruined the continuity by being in the frame. When watching it back, the only errors we made were the fact you can see plug sockets in the wall behind him and the typewriter doesn’t move when he is typing. These are only minor errors and if we were to do this again, we would make the adjustments needed to make sure continuity errors like this wouldn't happen.

Mise-en-scene

As you can see we used black paper to cover up the artwork on the back wall.

We used Final Cut to edit our footage. This advanced software enabled us to achieve the professional film noir look we wanted as we were able to use filters to change our footage to black and white. We were also able to alter the contrast, and the levels of black and white. This allowed us to have more control over lighting and shadows as we made the silhouettes stronger and we could highlight specific areas within the frame.

We also used final cut to make our credits. We decided not to use after effects as it would affect the quality of our footage so we used fades within final cut to make our credits appear on the screen. This was a long process, but we were happy with the end result.

Editing

We used the same camera to record the narration as the quality proved to be better than a microphone. We then used final cut to edit it together, taking out certain parts to create the final product.

We used sound effects found on the www.freesound.org such as the traffic at the start of the film and the gun shot. These enhance the ambiance of the film and therefore the realism. We also wanted a gun shot that sounded realistic, as if it came from a colt 45, and this sound effect works well.

We used music imported from a film noir soundtrack CD made by Hollywood Music. The tracks used we felt fitted best with the action on screen and create the right atmosphere, mysterious and seductive.

We had to make adjustments to sound levels as at times the narration was overpowering and you couldn’t hear the music. By altering this on final cut we were able to make our opening sequence sound more professional.

Sound