1. Evaluation Question 6
What have you learnt about
technologies from the process of
constructing this product?

2. Websites
Firstly I have learnt a lot about using my blog. At first I was unsure
about the idea of recording my work on a blog as it is not
something I am familiar with, but I soon got used to it. As I tend to
sometimes lack organization skills it has allowed me to keep all of
my work together under organised labels so that it can be easily
accessed. This has been a lot easier than keeping my work in folders
on separate pieces of paper which could be lost, damaged or placed
in the wrong order. I have found it has been very useful to record
my research, planning and also audience feedback. Also, my blog
allows me to easily upload photos and screenshots, which is quicker
and more efficient than printing as it does not use up ink or paper. I
am happy that I was introduced to this concept as it has made
recording and sharing my progress a lot easier.

3. Another area of technology I feel I have become more skilled are various websites, for
example YouTube. Before starting this course I had ever uploaded a video onto YouTube
before. I found it very useful as I was able to keep all of the videos I had made, which
included my preliminary task, planning for my film opening, and my finished media product,
all in the same area so that they were easily accessible. Uploading these onto YouTube also
meant that I was able to embed the videos and post them onto my blog for audience
feedback, which really helped me develop and improve. Another website that has helped me
a lot during this project is surveymonkey. I have been able to make good quality surveys
online and have posted the links onto my blog. Making the survey was very easy and
efficient, as it doesn't require any printing and therefore doesn't use up paper or ink. The site
accurately analyses the results for me which saves me a lot of time as I do not have to make
calculations myself. One final site which has helped me particularity with my presentation is
prezi. Before starting this course I had never heard f this site. At first I found it very difficult
to get used to and did not enjoy using it, but after I had familiarized myself with it I realized
how useful it was too me. It meant I did not have to hand write my mind maps which means I
did not need to use and paper or ink. I was able to post my prezi's on my blog so that people
could have a look at them and give audience feedback. I have feel that I have become a lot
more skilled with useful websites like these, which will help me organise my work effectively
in the future.

4. Photoshop
On the other hand, I have learnt a lot about different technology which I had physically used to
construct my media product. Firstly I learnt a lot about Premier Pro. This is something I had barely
any experience in before stating this project. One thing I had learnt to do on Premier Pro was
making practice titles, and this was something I hadn't done before. At first I found it quite difficult
and needed a lot of help. I struggled with maintaining the exact same position for each title, and
also keeping the same amount of time between each one. When it came to making my real titles, I
had made a a lot of improvement. The titles appeared in the exact same spot with the
same amount of time between them, but also i had made them slowly fade in and
out which matched the slow pace of the beginning of the opening. I am happy with the outcome of
these titles and think they work well with the content of my media product. Something else I had
learnt to do on Premier Pro was to freeze the film footage on a certain frame. This confused me at
first as it required using the cut tool which I had no experience with, however I got the hang of it in
the end. This technique worked really effectively on my shot types video, and although I did not
use it in my film opening, I quite like the outcome and may use this in future work. When it came
to the final touches of my film opening, I wanted to add a more eerie feel to the footage,
and realized I could do this through colour. I learnt how to make an adjustment layer on individual
clips, but also the whole video, and I explored with different effects. After adjusting a
few individual clips, I edited the colour of the overall video and added some cool blue tones to
make the footage look more dark and sinister. This significantly benefited the result of my media
product and this technique will definitely be useful in future work. I also learnt how to add music
and sound effects which really benefitted the end result. Learning to use Premier Pro really helped
me make my footage the best it could be. Without programmes like this the overall look of my
finished media product would have been very poor and amateur. In my opinion the editing is very
important to establish the genre as things can be altered in order to set a create a certain mood
such as lighting, colour, and pace.

5. Video Camera
I had also learnt new techniques using the camera. I learnt how to change the
exposure in order to improve the quality of the footage, which improved the
overall outcome of the film. Because I wanted to make my film look dull to create
a negative atmosphere, changing the exposure allowed me to do this easily which
meant when it came to editing I didn't have to change a lot. Also I learnt about
different techniques to use while filming, for example using an elastic band to
make the camera pan and tilt smoothly, and using a dolly for smooth movement.
However, whilst using the dolly I realised that it would not work for my opening.
As some of it was filmed on grass, the dolly would be very bumpy so I found it
would be more efficient to use hand held. When it came to filming the parts on
concrete, I had planned to use the surrounding noises from the actual camera in
my opening, but the dolly made a very loud sound which I would not be able to
block out. Also, after watching the footage back did notice that the camera had
moved around a lot due to the rough texture. Because of this I resorted to filming
most of my opening by hand, but I quite like the fact it creates and the way it
emphasises the action. From this I became more familiar with various equipment
and learnt more about when and where would be a good time to use them. I also
learnt that hand held camera can be quite effective when used in the right place.

6. Sound
When I had started making my film I had intended to use dialogue, so I had to use a
recording device that I was not familiar with. I practised using it before filming the real film
opening but when listening to it back I realised that the sound quality was not as good as the
sound on the camera, so I had decided not to use it. Another type of new recording device I
had decided to use was a boom mic, to record the sound of footsteps to put over the top of
my video. I found that this sound quality was a lot better. From this I had learnt that to get
better sound results it is a good idea to record certain sounds separately rather than relying
on camera sound. I also learnt how to cut and edit sound so that it fit well with the clip. One
example of this is when I changed the speed of the victims breathing after she had chased by
the killer, so that It sounded like she had become out of breath. I found this really helped to
set the mood that I had in mind and help to create a false sense of security before the jump
scare.

7. Technology in production
Not only have I learnt about using different technologies during this project, but I have learnt
a lot about how they affect institutions and audiences. New technologies have made it easier
for people to make films so that the entry barrier is lower and more films are made. This is
good for audiences as they have more to watch but it means institutions have more to
compete with. Because of the huge variety of available technologies, prices are reduced so
therefore equipment is more affordable. Before digital cameras, people had to pay about
£40 per minute of film, and as they could not watch it straight back they had to keep
everything they had filmed. Because digital cameras allow us to film for free, and we are able
to watch back our footage straight away and delete anything we don't want, it is a lot easier
for low budget film companies or even individuals to make films. New technologies also
allow film footage to be of higher quality, and features such as CGI which gives filmmakers
greater control and can make things which are not real look very realistic. A film with good
quality CGI might make more profit.