1. What have you learnt about
technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
By Aimee , Jodie and Martina
2. Overview and problem one
Throughout filming we encountered various issues with technology and have benefited from
technology at the same time. All in all it has been hard to overcome some of the issues yet others
have been easier to solve.
One of the main issues that we faced was that our production was filmed using a DSLR camera
and the footage from the camera was stored onto an SD card. Our editing was done onto a
MacBook with no card reader slot. Due to another group breaking a card reader that was available
to us we were not allowed to borrow a card reader.This put us behind in regard to time because
we spent a lot of time looking for one when we could have been editing or evaluating. When we
managed to borrow a card reader there was an issue with our footage (stating missing
camera/film) that meant that we had to re-start our nearly complete editing which again put us
behind. If we were to film again we would benefit from using another form of storage to make it
easier for us or perhaps even buy our own card reader to we could have had access whenever
needed.
3. Editing/camera
We chose to use imovie to edit our production, as we felt more comfortable using this
software(as opposed to final cut) because a member of our group was relatively
familiar with it from GCSE media. However because it was slightly different to what
we remembered we faced a few issues with how all the features work.This was
overcome quickly by playing around with the different tools etc. on individual clips
and soon enough we got the basics understood.
Another issue that we faced was that the camera battery life didn’t last as long as
we expected it too and during filming the battery alert was flashing and this
meant that we couldn’t film as much as we wanted to in one particular filming
session.This meant we had to re-arrange to film at another given point in time.
4. Other problems faced
Whilst we were filming there was also a lot of ambient background noises of people in
Jodie’s’ house talking, walking around etc.These sounds didn’t fit in with our
production so when we started to edit we put most of our clips onto silent or if we
needed the clip to have some sound we turned down the volume so that the noises
were less obvious.
Finally, when filming at a couple of occasional points the camera was taking photos
during (unsure as to why) and this meant in the clip the audience would be able to
hear the shutter noise.Although it wasn’t intentional looking back at the footage it
actually did fit in with the mood we wanted and also added an element of
intrigue. So we kept it in and used it to our advantage. We made our opening scene
seem as if somebody is watching(police/surveillance)
5. Was the equipment used appropriate?
The camera quality was relatively good and did capture everything in
clear/detailed focusThe use of a DSLR meant we had control over
exposure, ISO, aperture and white balance. However having said this
the sound quality was not as good as perhaps it could have been if we
used a different camera more suited for filming and not still images. A
further advantage of the camera we used was that two out of the
three of us were already familiar with all functions and how to use it
best.
6. Part two
Word documents, Internet research, and PowerPoint
presentation software was also used during the research
of the project which had given us background
information prior to filming which also enabled us to gain
a better understanding of the genre.We used Microsoft
word and Google docs for our general planning and ideas
for locations to shoot and what equipment we needed
and also script writing.
7. PartThree
During filming we used the tripod for walking scenes and this was very helpful because it reduced camera shake and
stabilized our video making it more focussed and professional.The only negative to using the tripod was that it didn’t
give us much freedom to move around.
We didn’t use any more equipment to film our production, as it wasn’t really necessary in what we were trying to
achieve. We could have used the tripod more because there was some camera shake but It wasn’t a major issues for us
because it helped to create an unnerving/unsettling mood which is a typical convention of the thriller genre.
During editing we used various tools from the adjustments features on imovie including:(only a few listed)
Brightness and contrast , Grey toning , Sound effect library , Stabilize shaky video feature , Crop to fill ,Transition both
obvious/ for continuity , Changing volume of clips , Muting clips , Increasing speed of clip, Slow motion , Split clip , Cut ,
Delete ,Add freeze frame , Importing.
These tools were all very beneficial and enhanced our production hugely.The brightness and contrast/grey toning
were particularly helpful in making our production have an more eerie feel to it. Because we filmed most of it early
evening it was quite bright and didn’t clearly show connotations with the thriller genre, but as mentioned doing the
above helped to make our production darker/fit more conventionally.
