1. Question 6
What have I learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the
product?
Though I was not here for the filming (due to extenuating
circumstances), I have gained more knowledge of using a
camera in the appropriate ways, from other class tasks. I
have learnt from previous experiences that it can be
difficult to produce a smooth shot when carrying the
camera handheld, however when creating a smooth
track, you must use a dolly to stop the camera from
shaking. I have also learnt that zooming in and out should
be done slowly, or else it can create an amateur look to
the shot.
A disadvantage of the handheld camera on a tripod is that you cannot control movement very
precisely, especially with shots with movement such as a tracking shot or pan.
When editing, a software call ‘Final cut
express’ was used. I really enjoyed
working on it, and discovering new ways
to edit. I learnt several different things
from the process, including how to
colour correct shots and apply them to
other shots, to fade the sequence in and
out smoothly and to add several
different transitions. I also learnt the
appropriate way of layering the shots to stop the scenes from overlapping.
A drawback of final cut express is that It can be extremely time consuming as the features are quite
fiddly, which means you end up pressing different buttons all the time. You also have to press other
buttons to apply a certain feature to
the shot. For example, when fading in
and out, furthermore, rendering every
time a shot was changed or adjusted
was also very time consuming as we
had to check if the shot was correct.

2. To create our soundtrack we used
software called ‘garage band’. We kept
the track simple and non-diagetic sound
to a minimum so that the viewers
concentration would be fully on the
opening and not become distracted by
other noises. I gained experience in
sound from using garage band as I
learnt how to edit each track to get the
specific part required for a certain shot- like the sound of the camera shutter closing. I also learnt
how to edit pieces to make them faster or slower and how to change the pitch of the music. A
downside to garage band is that is does not have a wide range of music. Most tracks included on the
software are pop based and upbeat, this would obviously not follow the conventions of a thriller
movie opening.
Selima Rahman