1. WHAT HAVE YOU
LEARNT ABOUT
TECHNOLOGIES FROM
THE PROCESS OF
CONSTRUCTING THIS
PRODUCT?
By Daniel Mallen

2. MAC
This hardware was critical to every process
of the production of my project. It was very
useful and also included exclusive features
inbuilt that would not normally feature on a
windows pc, for example it included the
program ‘PhotoBooth’ which allowed me to
film myself or other people talking about
specific things. For example, I used this
feature to record audience feedback on my
initial research. Another program it included
was ‘Garageband’ which allowed me to
create music of which could be used in my
final product. Prior to creating my product, I
had little experience using a MAC, as I was
more familiar with Windows PC’s, therefore
throughout the process of constructing my
product I was required to learn how to
operate the MAC’s to a similar
standard, that of I have when using
Windows PC’s.

3. To film my project, I used a canon 550D DSLR
camera with an 18-50mm EF lens . This piece of
hardware was vital to the production of my film
opening . When operating the camera, I learned
how to work with ISO; f-stops; exposure; shutter
speeds etc. so that the overall quality of the shot
would be maximised in relation to the lighting and
other elements within the aesthetics of the shot.
On the downside, the particular lens I used (which
is the preset lens for the camera) has a tendency
to struggle to produce a clean shot unless used in
good, bright lighting. Therefore, I had to manually
light some of my indoor shots to minimise the risk
of this happening, though on the outdoor ‘woods’
scene this was not an issue. The lens did have an
inbuilt stabiliser, which proved useful on the
scenes which required more camera
movement, this helped minimise extreme motion
blur on the shot.
CAMERA

4. CAMERA STABILISER
This accessory was extremely useful
regarding minimising camera shake
and generating clean tracking or flycam
shots. I learned how to operate this
object, most specifically in which how
to weight it correctly so that the camera
would be at the correct angle when I
held the handle of the device freehand.
This often took a lengthy amount of
time to perfect, though one done so it
significantly improved the quality of my
shots, most specifically the flycam shot
of which was influenced by the 1980’s
film ‘The Evil Dead’- this was noted in
my initial research.

5. TRIPOD
When filming, the use of a tripod is
key element in the production of a
film. It is used to hold a camera
steady or creating a variety of
different panning shots. During the
production process of my film
opening, firstly I learned how to
assemble the tripod and attach a
camera to it. I also learned how I
could manipulate my shot through
the various features on the
tripod, such as by making the shot
higher or lower whilst I was also
able to see if the shot was flat by
using the ‘level’ fitted to the tripod.

6. LIGHTING
The correct lighting of a film is extremely important, as it
can make or break a film. I learned how I can
manipulate my lighting so that it suited my shot and
genre. During the outdoor woods scene, I purposely
chose to make use of natural lighting, though my
opening was a horror film, therefore bright sunlight may
not help represent the genre in my shots. As a result of
this, I decided to shoot this scene on a cloudy day, with
a grey sky as this style of lighting was dark, dingy and
representative of the genre (note: The Evil Dead used
similar lighting). For the scene in the bedroom, I used a
small desk lamp to create the little lighting that was
required, as my opening was a horror and set in a dark
room, the only light I needed to create was one that
made it so the viewer could just see everything in shot-
similar to what it would be like going into a dark room in
real life. Though this scene was shot during the daytime
and colour graded to look make it appear that it was
nighttime. As my camera lens had a tendency to fail
unless in good very good light or a very high ISO (which
made the shot unbearably grainy), therefore I focused
the lighting from my desk lamp usually onto the face of
the character or any other important location.

7. During the post-production (editing) of my film opening I gained some new skills
when using the program ‘Adobe After Effects’- as I already had previous experience
with the program, I previously knew the basics. I gained new skills regarding the
‘touching-up’ of shots, to make them appear more professional, for example, I
learned how to use the ‘Camera Stabiliser’ option, which reduced the amount of
motion blur in a shot and was especially useful on the tracking shots by helping
establish a steady shot that appeared to be shot using a camera dolly (which it
wasn’t). I also learned some new skills of colour grading and how I could manipulate
my shot to look like that of one of my chosen professional products or an entirely
original horror look. I gained skills at shot manipulation, for example during the final
scene the antagonist lets out a horrific scream, to create this I followed a tutorial I
found on the internet in which took me through the process of which to do this effect.
I chose this effect because it was very similar to that of an effect I discovered during
a sequence in the film ‘Grave Encounters’.
Adobe After Effects

8. SCANNER
During the research and prelim process of my project, I
was required to use the scanner during multiple instances.
For example, I had to use these into my blog: storyboard;
print prelim; flat plans; research findings; model release
form; call sheet; shot list; recce; risk assessment and
audience feedback. During the process of producing my
product, I not only learned how to operate the scanner, but
I learned how I can use a scanner to add an entirely new
element to my research into my project.

9. INTERNET
The internet was easily one of the most important elements regarding
the research and production of my project. I used ‘blogger’ to compile
my whole project and the internet to carry out a large amount of my
research and gather information. I learned how to operate blogger (as
I hadn’t used it previous to starting my project) and also customise it to
make it appear more aesthetically pleasing. I used slideshare, which
allowed me to upload my powerpoint projects to and embed them into
my blog. I also used to website ‘prezi’ to create a series of interactive
presentations which could be embedded into my blog, this of which
also increase the diverse range of technologies I used.

10. YOUTUBE
I used Youtube to upload my project to, as
well as other video files that needed to be
embedded into my project. This website would
allow me (if I wanted to) to share my project
with the world. During my research I learnt
that if I wanted to have my film produced by a
large institution, then using Youtube could be
an effective form of advertisement for my
product.