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Pre production- research and planning
Due to an increase in digital technology, I had access to new software such as Slideshare and Blogger which I learnt to use to present my information. I was also able to search for information such as genre history, conventions and other useful elements easily as I had access to different media platforms such as from my laptop, mobile phone, school Apple Macs and my tablet which meant I could access / find information anywhere and at anytime. -
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What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
During the process of creating my media product, I learnt how to use a range of technologies. Software- Final Cut Pro. Harware- a digital camera and a tripod. Websites- Slideshare, YouTube, Vimeo, DaFont and Blogger which have all improved the quality my media product. -
Pre-production- research and planning
I learnt how to upload and use YouTube effectivly and it helped me with font ideas, sound and music research as I could watch clips and listen to sounds from spy-thriller films. It also helped me with our film constuction as I was able to develop ideas for mise en scene and shot conventions from the opening scene of Skyfall. I took the opening scene of Skyfall from YouTube as it was easy to access and I was also able to take screen grabs from it so I could analyse the shots in depth. -
Pre Production- research and planning
I learnt how to use a digital camera and tripod accuratly when filming my preliminary task and also when I was collecting primary research from the focus group we held for audience feedback of our film idea. We filmed the focus group with a camera and tripod rather than a phone or camcorder etc because I learnt they can be kept in a stable position and can be set to start with a timer so the focus group could be organised. -
Pre Production- research and planning
I found a website called Freeplay music which I learnt how to use to search for potential soundtracks for our opening scene. It was effective as it offered a wide range of soundtracks in all different genres and the website allowed me to search the spy/thriller genre and go through and listen to each soundtrack. After choosing the soundtrack Maneater, IFreeplay music enabled me to download it and transfer it into Final Cut Pro to edit the tempo and volume during post production. -
Pre-production- research and planning
As well as YouTube, Da font gave me inspiration for font ideas. I could search different genres of font such as codes, techno etc. but unfortunately, after choosing the coded font we liked to create a semantic field of codes and mystery, we weren’t able to transfer/download it to put onto our opening scene. We were then restricted to only beable to use the fonts on the Final Cut Pro software which didnt have the font we origionally wanted meaning we were limited to creativity. -
Pre production- practice editing techniques
The digital camera and tripod enabled me to film our raw footage for practicing jump cuts. A new edting software called Final Cut Pro taught me how to create jump cuts with the cutting features it included. We uploaded the practice jump cuts to Vimeo to put on our blogs. We used Vimeo as it had a quicker downloading process than YouTube so was much more conveinient for us. -
Production-filming
We learnt that the Nikon camera we used in the filming of final product was effective as it was simple and we were able to take professional shots as it enabled us to zoom in different shots and produce clear/ HD shots. As our shots required the camera to be stable and create pan shots, we used a tripod to hold the camera steady to produce shots which looked sleek and professional. The hand stick on the tripod also enabled me to move the camera smoothly when filming a pan shot. -
Production- filming
During production, it was important I knew how to use a digital camera as this is what we used to film the opening scene to ensure the different shots we filmed were effective. I learnt how to use digital camera confidently during the preliminary task, and whilst doing the preliminary task I learnt how to film techniques such as the 180 degree rule during a conversation, shot reverse shot and match on action shots which are vital in creating a good film. -
Production-filming
During filming, i learnt that the camera didn’t always need to be on a tripod to film as it was hand held digital camera. We used the camera to shoot point of view shots and I was pleased with the outcome of the point of view shot on the stairs taken by Agent Boyer looking down at Agent Boyer. This is because it was a HD, disorientated and fast paced shot which followed the spy-thriller conventions of making the audience feel tense and it also portrays action in the film. -
Production-filming
The shot I filmed of Agent Boyer walking out the door was a pan shot. I was particularly proud of this shot as the tripod kept the camera static and at the correct height. Also, the tripod enabled me to use the hand stick to smoothly glide the camera to the right creating a professional looking shot. I gained the skill of filming accurate and smooth pan shots as I filmed a few during the filming process. -
Post Production- editing
Thoughtout the process of constructing the product, I learnt that for our film to be successful, and look like a professional film, editing was extremely important as it ensured our opening scene made sense and was exciting. In this stage I was able to produce a product conforming to the conventions of the spy thriller genre. -
Post Production-editing
During post production, I learnt to use Apple Macs to edit the raw footage we filmed during production as they contained an editing software called Final Cut Pro which we used to put the whole sequence together. This software taught me to cut/crop and edit the shots, create match on action shots and jump cuts to make the sequence continuous and flow. It was difficult to get used to at first as I had never used it, but it enabled us to do alot of things we wanted to create a successful product. -
Post Production- editing
Before beginning the construction process of the product, I had never used an Apple Mac or Final Cut Pro before expect for in the preliminary task which didn’t require complex editing like the final product therefore I found it difficult to get used to. However, I learnt to use the wide variety of effects, techniques, transitions (fade to black, dissolve, cut and wipe) and filters on which significantly improved my product by learning from other members of my group and watching YouTube tutorials -
Post Production-editing
I learnt to use YouTube so I could upload raw and edited footage onto my blog. -
Post Production-editing
A good feature of the Final Cut Pro software was that it enabled us to edit the soundtrack we got from Freeplay music to go with sequence. I learnt that we could cut, layer the sound and increase the tempo and volume on the softtware to match it with the action in the scene and create the ideal soundtrack creating a more professional sequence. -
Post Production-editing
I was particularly proud of the jump cuts we produced of Agent Logan walking at the beginning and also running to hide at the end. I think the reason they are effective in the opening scene is because we practiced jump cuts during research and planning as we had seen examples in other students work. Therefore, we used a tripod and digital camera to film and then the Final Cut pro software to edit and see what they look like before deciding to use them in our storyboard ideas/ opening sequence. -
Post Production-editing
I was also pleased with the match on action shots we produced, specifically the match on action shot of Agent Logan walking through the gate. I am pleased with this edit as it has been cut accurately and clean and also, the colour of the shot portrays his masculinity. As we also liked the colour of this shot, we used a colour match feature to edit the next shot the same colour so they flowed into each other and didn’t look
like a different time period. -
Audience Feeback
I learnt to use social media effectivly for audience feedback about the finished product as it was an effective way to reach a wide audience.