My improved Q6 As Media evaluation question

1. Q6: What have you learnt about technologiesfromthe process ofconstructing this product?
Our thrillerusedarange of newtechnologiestoenhance the technical aspectsof ouropening
sequence of ourthriller.These technologieswereusedbothduringproductionand post-production.
ResearchandPlanning
Our researchandplanningworkwascontrastedand postedusingbloggingsiteBlogger.Thisisthe
easiestwaytodisplayourworkwithoutdoingitbyhand. It alsoallowsusto addadditional
resourcessuchas internetandtextbasedsourcestostrengthenourworkfurther.Italsoallowsusto
presentourworkin a varietyof ways,whetherthatbe throughthe use of MicrosoftWord, Microsoft
PowerPointorPrezi.Thisnotonlygivesaesthetictowork,but showsa range of skillsinhow Icould
presentmyworkboth aestheticallyandwithinformationthatwill helpmyworkthrive. Bloggeralso
allowsfeedbacktobe constantlyavailablefromteachersthroughout
the course of the year.This permitsanongoingdiscussionthroughout
the year of what to improve andwhathas gone well,whichisextremely
importantfordevelopmentof workthroughoutthe academicyear. In
termsof research,the internetwasextremelyuseful inprovidingme
withadditional informationthroughwebsiteslikeIMDBand Rotten
Tomatoes.These websitesallowed me toresearchconventionsandstylesof certainfilms.Theywere
useful whenconsideringintertextual references,asIMDBallowed
for researchintosuccessful psychological thrillersfromwhichwe
couldformulate anintertextual reference.WithoutIMDB,we
wouldn’thave beenable toresearchsuccessful psychological
thrillers.Inthe end,we chose Inception,whichwe chose toreplicate
a shot inthe film;we researchedthisthroughanothersource of
internettechnology,YouTube.YouTube allowed ustoresearchshort
clipsof films,givingustipsandhintsonnew,alternative waystoportrayingsomethingthrough
technical aspectssuchas, editing,camerawork,soundorlighting.Itwasextremelyuseful asit
provideduswith knowledge aroundagenre toconformto the conventionsof thatgenre.
Furthermore,we were able tograbscreenshotstostrengthenourworkasit allowsusto endorse
our workwithsegmentsthathelpthe analysisof it.The internetwasalsousefulforprovidingour
soundscape asit helpeduslookforroyaltyfree musictouse to helpincrease the tension.Websites
like YouTube andBensound.commade iteasiertosearchfor music,as opposingtocreatingourown.
Anotherwebsiteusedinthe researchwasdafont.com, whichhelpeduschoose anappropriate font
to supportthe theme of our film.
Production
In production,we optedtouse a DSLR. We decidedtouse thisbecause of the qualityof aestheticit
provideduswith,whichgave ourfilmaprofessional feeltoitwhilstmaintainingall the narrative
techniquespreviouslydiscussed. The DSLRpromisesgreatquality,and
can manufacture lightinginordertocapture the verybestshots.Thiswas
Our
Intertextual
reference

2. importantwhenwe consideredhowwe wantedourfinal producttolook.One feature of the DSLR is
it allowsinstantplaybackof the material youjustcaptured.Thisisextremelyuseful foraproduction
companysuch as ourselves,aswe couldanalyse the material we justcapturedanddeclare whether
or not itis the bestit can be in termsof camerawork,soundandlighting. Tocapture sound,we used
a Rode microphone inorderto capture the bestsoundpossible,butalsotominimisethe background
noise.Usinga Rode microphone meantall oursoundwaspurposeful and planned,whereasusing
the microphone off of the camerawouldhave ledtopoor soundqualityandunplannedsoundwhich
couldhave ruinedthe shooting.The advantage of usingamicrophone of a goodqualityallowsusto
manipulate the soundinaway that benefitsus.Forexample,inthe film, TomRushstandsonand
breaksa stick(Asseeninthe screenshotof the filmseentothe right)
whichisemphasisedandenhancedbythe qualityof the microphone
and postproductiontechnology. Due toour filmingoutdoors,we
encounteredafewproblemsduringproduction.One of these
problemswasthe factthat we had to filmonseparate days.The
problemthatwascreatedby thiswas the weather.Onone day,the
weatherwasgreyand cloudy,onthe other,it wassunnyand bright.
Meaningthere wasa clear distinctionbetweenourshootingwhichneedsolvinginthe post-
productionprocessof our film.The DSLRbalanceslightbrilliantly,althoughthe qualityof the camera
made the shadowingmore noticeable.
Post-Production
In termsof post-production,we use PremierProforediting.Thisprogramme allowedustouse
differenteditingtechniques suchasa flashtransition(seenatthe beginningof the sequence) toa
simple cut.Afterfilmingall the neededshots,we thenmoved toplace the clipsinorderbefore
refiningthemtogive the filmfinesseandcontinuity.iMovie alsoallowedusto
edittechnical aspectswhichwouldgivethe filmemotionandcharacter.For
example,byinputtingsoundintoiMovie,we couldeditthe pitch,volume ortone
at whichit wasin orderto draw emotionthroughthe use of sound.Soundis
arguablythe most importantaspectof film, asthe filmwouldbe plainand
emotionless.We canalsouse colourblendingwhichwouldtransformour filmfor
somethingthatlookedlikeitwasfilmedonacamcorder,to a professional feel.In
iMovie,we were alsoable toaddtextto our camerawork,meaningcreditscouldbe addedto
enhance the realismfurther.The use of typeface couldbe alteredsoitmatchedthe theme of our
thrillerandcompliedwiththe conventionsinawaywhichpositivelyimpactedourfilm. Aspreviously
mentioned,filmingontwodifferentdayscreatedproblemsforourshotsasthe weatherwasvisible
and thisneededfixinginediting.Thisconsidered,we spentalotof time colourgrading.Colour
gradingiswhenyouaim to balance the colourto make the filmmore aesthetically pleasing,orinour
case,lookto rectifyweatherdifferencesthathappened
infilming.We contemplatedusingone of iMoviespre set
filtersinordertocover the difference betweensunlight
and the cloudydaywe filmedin,however,after much
consideration,we decidedalternativelytouse colour
grading.The reasonwe didn’toptfor pre-setfiltersis
theygave our filma more ‘home video’stylefinishwhich
didn’tlookprofessional or aesthetically pleasing.

3. Colour grading
Firstand foremost,tocolourgrade,we had to clickon the bar seenonthe top of iMovie.
You have to clickon the ‘colourcorrection’tab,on click,youare metwitha toolbarwhichhelpsyou
experimentwithdifferentsortsof colouringtogetthe bestfitthroughoutyourthriller.Thissaid,we
neededtobe consistentwiththe grading,soitcouldn’tvaryas thiswouldbe noticeabletoour
audience.Instead,we neededasubtle andconsistentstyle of colourgrading.
Thiswand tool automaticallyrefinesthe colouringof yourimage.However,aftercareful
considerationfollowingexperiment,we decideditdidn’tlookasprofessional andthe differencein
shootingdayswasnoticeable.Sowe optedformanual colourgrading.Thatsaid,one thingthe wand
tool didexcellentlywasfindingthe shadowsandmakingthe coloursstandout.Had our thrillerof
beena filmnoirandwe neededaredto be vibrant and clear,thistool wouldhave beenexcellent.
Thisis a screenshotof the toolbarwe usedforcolourgradingour film.The bar on the far leftisthe
highlights.Thisdifferentiatesbetweenthe lightnessanddarknessinthe shot,makingfora more
balancedshotintermsof lighting.Thiswasatool we maximisedasitmade our shotslooksimilarin
termsof the day theywere shoton. It alsoallowedustoemphasisshadowsandbrightness,sofora
momentof tension,we coulddecrease the brightnessandemphasisthe shadowstomaximiseeffect
on the audience.
The middle baradjustedthe saturationinthe film.Saturationissimilartocontrast.However,instead
of the increase inseparationof shadows,itincreasesthe separationof colour,leavinganincrease in
otherfactors,such as brightness,contrastandsharpnessall presentinthe image.Inourthriller,we
usedthisat timeswhere acombinationof greyandgreenwasusedto touch andemphasisthe
greenness of the leaves,toclose the differencebetweenshots.Itaidedconsistencyaspreviously
mentioned.Thistool alsopresentedanopportunitytodesaturate the image andmakingitblackand
white,however,thatdidn’tconformtoourgenre that the filmwasbasedaround.
The final bar adjuststhe temperature of the image whichmeansitcanbe made brighterordarker.
Thisis linkedwithweather,asitcan make the image lookcolder,presentingthe ideaitissetina
coldperiod.Onthe contrast, youcan make the image warmer,withpopsthe coloursandgivesthe
image a more summerfeel.We optedfora slightlycolderimage asitgave our imagesslightlymore
of a psychological andeeriefeel thangoingfora warmimage.That said,a balance wasneeded,if
yougo to cold,it looksunnatural,sowe wentforthe middle intermsof temperature of the image.
To conclude,colourgradingwasimportantdue to the differentdaysof filming.Hadwe of stuck to

4. one day,thiswouldn’thave beenascrucial inthe post productionprocess,however,itwould‘make
or break’our filmdependingonhowitwasachieved.Inmyopinion,thiswasaparticularhighlightof
our thriller.