.

1. What have you learnt about
technologies from the process of
constructing this product?

2. Pre-Production
During the pre-production phase of my film I didn’t use a lot of high skilled
technology.
I learnt a lot about how to plan my film in this process. Drawing out
story boards taught me a lot about my view of the film and discovering
what it was going to look like. This helped speed up the production
process because I knew each shot that I was going to shoot. I did the
storyboards with one of the simplest technologies out there: a pencil and
paper. I felt that this was adequate in getting down my ideas.
To write the script I used Microsoft word. I learn quite a bit about script
writing in this process. I read parts of scripts of previous films on the
internet to learn how to format them. This taught me how to easily show
who says what and all the other detail that were required. Once I had the
script written I shared it with my actors using Google docs. This allowed
them to see it and add comments on sections they thought could do with
changing. I thought that this was a really useful tool for communication
with each other on our ideas for the script.
When I was researching previous films and analysing them. I used DVDs
and screenshots to portray this and visually get my point across. I learnt
quite a bit about formatting them to look interesting as well as having all
the information. On my blog posts I used mostly Microsoft programs like
word and PowerPoint because I am very used to them so I can make a
document look interesting without too much difficulty. However, I did
explore with Prezi and Lino to create imaginative presentations. I think
that these are very creative ways of showing information and I like them
very much.

3. Production
I used a Canon 500d. I think that throughout this process I learnt
quite a bit about use of the camera. One of the first scenes that I shot
was the conversation. I decided to do this handheld so that you felt
more immersed in the conversation and so it didn’t feel as formal
because it is merely a conversation between friends. However, I think
that I should have leaned on something or used a steadicam because I
have learnt that the slightest jolt shows up quite a bit when you view it
on a big screen.
I learnt quite a bit about using equipment like a steadicam. I used
my friend’s steadicam. He showed me how to balance it with weights
and use it. I thought that this was a really good bit of kit for getting
tracking shots which were important for my final product. The use of a
tripod made the last scene in my production really quite nice. I could
place it wherever I wanted to get the shots I needed and it made that
scene have a lot more effect with the tripod.
I tried to use different angles and movements to convey different
things to the audience. I was very happy with the zoom I used at the
very end. I thought that this effectively created an emphasis to Tom’s
words and create a generally more unsettling environment. I also used
a lot of tight shots to create more of a sense of isolation. Throughout
this process I have learnt a lot about how different camera angles and
movements can have a big impact on the final feeling of the film.
Long Steadicam
shot through school

4. Post Production
I feel that I have learnt a lot about editing. One of the biggest changes that I achieved
throughout the journey of creating my product was the use of colour to create a different
atmosphere. My film started as being in colour, this was not effective in portraying the dark
and unsettled atmosphere that a film like this requires. I then decided that it needed to be in
black and white to progress to a more gritty looking film. I did this and it made a vast
improvement. This taught me how much difference is achieve through something that
seemed like only a small change and it showed my how much the colour can affect the mood
of a film. Although I did like the black and white there needed to be a small change to make it
even darker and remove it a little from the school setting. To do this I upped the contrast and
lowered the brightness. This gave it an even darker look. I then decided that colour footage
could be used in contrast to the black and white to make it more striking. I learnt that this
change makes the footage stand out very much which was necessary in portraying the
protagonist’s deep anger.
In this process I also learnt a lot about how the shot length can change the atmosphere of a
scene. I had a little struggle with the long steadicam shot. I did one cut where it was so long
that it was boring. I did another cut where it was so short that it didn’t generate any feelings. I
then decided to use parallel editing of things Tom has seen in the school. I think that this
increased the pace yet made you able to have a response for it. Within this steadicam shot, I
used very short, colour shots of Tom laughing. I thought that these very short shots made you
perhaps feel the way that Tom does with his visions.
Something that I need to get to grips with a little more is editing audio. I wasn’t very good at
melding the clips together so the audio matched. There was a hissing that was quite evident
so when I cut to a clip with silence it was obvious. I think that in the future I need to take a lot
more time and effort in getting clean audio so that I can edits it a lot nicer.