The document describes the various technologies used during the planning, production, and evaluation stages of a student film project. Celtx software was used to write the script in a professional format. Storyboards were created to plan shots. Blogger was used to store research and organization. Final Cut Express was helpful for editing clips and adding music. A Sony HD 1000 camera provided high quality footage. Word, Prezi, and PowerPoint were used to evaluate different aspects of the filmmaking process.

1. By Chris Remington

2.  An important feature I used in the planning stage of our
film was the use of Celtx. This software allowed me to
write a professional looking script for our film which
included dialogue, actions and settings. This software sets
out the script in a basic way which means it is easy to tell
what each character says, and what action is performed.
Thus making it easier for the actors to know what they are
doing in each scene. This organised are group as it meant
that when it came to filming we did not have to wait around
thinking of how to lay out each shot.
Another aspect of our
planning stage was the
creation of storyboards. These
were made to plan out the
locations of each character
and the angle of the shots.

3. This is an example of how we used storyboards in the planning process. These storyboards made filming easier as we
already had an idea of how we would frame up each shot. This also gave us a visualisation of how each scene would
look before we shot each scene.

4.  Throughout the film making
process I have used Blogger
in order to store all of the
research I have done on the
genre of our film, the
costumes used and also the
similar film. This research
enabled our group to use the
stereotypical urban drama
film as a benchmark to work
from. Using Blogger, I also
kept note of the dates that
we were planning on filming
and noted any resources we
would use in each scene.
This helped keep our film
organised as could just
check up on which props we
would need. If we did not do
this then we may have forgot
a necessary prop and this
could have prevented us
from filming on that day.
This is the blog I completed on the
resources used. This relates to the
research stage in this process as I
looked up what sort of props are
used and used my knowledge of
Urban Drama’s so that I understood
which props relate to the
iconography seen in this genre.
These were props such as cocaine
(sugar in our case).

5. During the research phase of our course I looked at the
different aspects that make up a typical urban drama film.
Specifically, I looked at costumes, music and setting. I
used Google to look at photos of costumes and settings in
Urban Dramas such as Kidulthood. This being because
screenshots of the films are on Google so it was a quick
and easy way to gather information on established films
in the genre.
This is an example of the type of photo I looked at. This gives clues
as to the type of clothing the characters use in this genre of film.
After finding this, I integrated it into the costumes I wore in our
film.
I wore casual clothing to replicate
the attire seen in other Urban
Dramas such as Kidulthood.

6. Another media technology I used during the research
stage was the website ‘Short of the Week’. This website
has hundreds of short films with varying genres. I
specifically looked at drug films with a focus on the title
sequences and credits used in the films.
This is one particular set of credits I looked at which
was from a drug film. We used this style in our own
film as I believe the black and white colour scheme is
effective as it shows no specific emotion which is what
we were looking for.

7.  Final Cut Express- The use of Final Cut Express was particularly helpful with the construction
stage in our film. This software gave us the chance to edit our clips in order to make the film run
smoothly. Tools such as this allowed us to crop the shots so that our film made sense and had a
fluidity about it. Another use of Final Cut Express was that it allowed us to insert music into the
scenes where it helped express the overall mood better. For example when the character Greg is
stabbed, we played an emotional and slow song to compliment that it is a sad stage in the film.
Another feature of Final Cut Express which was
helpful was the option to edit the lighting in the
shots. This wheel of colour allowed us to tamper
with the saturation and lighting in shots which
we felt were too bright and didn’t fit with the
mood in the scenes.
This is an example of
how we used Final
Cut Express. It
enabled us to edit
clips together which
increased the fluidity
of our final film.

8.  I have used Adobe Photoshop Elements
in order to make a film poster post-
production. This software enabled me to
create a realistic film poster which is
similar to any professional poster. This
poster was created after I researched
other film posters as I wanted to look at
the different styles of existing posters to
see which would suit our film.

This is one poster in particular that
I liked, and I used this idea when
it came to making my film poster.
I felt that by using the characters
face as a vocal point which add to
the mystery as it does not give
away what the character is
addicted to, you also do not know
where he has got a black eye from.
This feature in particular however
does suggest that he gets into
trouble due to his addiction.

9.  Perhaps the biggest feature of technology we used in the construction
of our film was the use of the Sony HD 1000. We have never used such
a high quality or expensive camera and so this increase in quality of
film making enabled us to create good looking shots. This piece of
equipment was obviously crucial in the creation of our film as we
would have not been able to create a good short film otherwise. At
first, the use of this camera caused confusion due to the many factors
that can be changed (e.g. display) but eventually we learnt how to
successfully use the camera and it has been an improvement on the
camera used in our first year film due to it shooting in High Definition,
as well as it offering more options, for example it is better focused in
dark scenes due to the Night Vision Mode being a possibility. We
struggled to film in dark scenes last year due to not having such
options.
This is an example of the type of
shot we took with the use of Sony
HD 1000. We were able to use a
number of different shots such as:
close-ups, pan shots and many
others. This camera shot in HD and
so created good quality shots.

10. We used a Zoom Recorder for the construction of our
radio trailer. This was specifically used for the voiceover
of the psychiatrist and Greg. This apparatus was used in a
quiet room where we first scripted a sequence of speech,
whilst leaving space in the text for quotes from the film,
and then edited the sequence on Final Cut Express. This
trailer has helped with the construction of our film as the
advertising stages are important in the success of any film.

11.  Microsoft Word: In order to complete the
evaluation of our film I had to use 3 different
formats. One of these was Microsoft Word, which
I used to cover Question 1 as I wanted to lay out
the answer in a typical essay format. This
software helped accomplish this as it is set out
with a simple A4 sheet which I could add;
text, pictures and other things in order to
complete the question.
Prezi: This is another technology I have used in the
evaluation stages. I have used this website as another
format of answering the evaluation Question number
2. This is a more creative way of answering the
question as it allows you to customize the layout of
the website.
Microsoft PowerPoint: Finally, I used
PowerPoint to answer question number 4.
This helped with the evaluation as I could
categorise the;
Planning, research, construction and
evaluation of the film making process.