The group learned several skills related to using technology during their project: 1) They gained experience using cameras and learned techniques like different shot types but found the camera slow at times. Looking up tutorials online helped solve issues. 2) Apple Macs and software like Final Cut Pro were used for research, planning, and editing, allowing a consistent workflow. 3) While the tripod helped film steadily, it did not reach the desired height for some shots, requiring alternative angles. 4) Communication apps like WhatsApp and email via Gmail helped the group stay updated and share files outside of school.

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

2. Camera
The camera / video camera was a key technological device that we needed due to the
preliminary task we had time to learn how to use the camera, each member of the group had
equal chances of using the camera, the preliminary task allowed us to experiment with different
shot types however we weren’t very experienced with cameras, we found ourselves in many
situations where in which we couldn’t use the camera the way we wanted to, when this
happened we simply googled the issue which directly took us to youtube tutorials on how to
solve the issue therefore it wasn't’t very difficult.
We spent approximately 4 minutes trying to solve the
issues.
Therefore it wasn’t very time consuming.
The camera was HD and clear we were easily able
to view the shots we had taken therefore we could
identify any mistakes and improve them. However at
times the camera was very slow, the buttons wouldn’t
work properly therefore this caused frustration in our group and we did spend a few minutes
before filming specific shots trying to get the camera to work properly again.
However there were many features of the camera that we were able to utilize easily such as the
turning off and on button, how to watch what we had previously recorded and how to film a
close up, long shot, low angle shot, panning shot, establishing shot and an over the shoulder
shot

3. It is evident that on our preliminary task we weren’t very experienced on how to focus on
specific areas or how to keep the camera steady when filming freehand , the improvement in
filming techniques is evident when comparing the preliminary task and the final media
product.
However we used the tri pod for this, if we had the chance to do a similar task again we
would hire a better camera, that’s easy to work with.
As our media product is a thriller, we wanted many extreme close ups that reveals the facial
expressions of the character we felt that this camera really helped with that element as we
were easily able to zoom in and out really easily, another element that we liked specifically
about this camera is that its small, our design production meant that we had to film in the
bathroom, in the bath. Therefore we had to be very careful whilst filming this meant that we
had to take extra caution and make sure that the camera doesn't’t get wet, we hired the
camera and SD card from the school and carried it to the location.
The very first shot in the opening sequence was very difficult to film, we established through
our research that in many thriller films high angle / birds eye view shots are used in order to
make the figure being looked down on seem completely powerless and vulnerable, therefore
we filmed the shot where in which Ammaraah’s in a bath tub from a high angle, this was
difficult as It meant that the person filming had to be in water too, we managed to film this
successfully the way we wanted to without damaging the camera. We also filmed using hand
held shots as it adds a sense of reality. It makes the audience feel involved and adds to the
thriller scene as if you’re there

4. Tri - Pod
The tri- pod was a device that we used in nearly every shot, it allowed
us to film steadily and at the angles we preferred to film at. We had
some issues with the tripod as we wanted and planned for some of our
scenes to be filmed at a high angle shot / birds eyes view however this
was difficult as the tri pod didn’t reach the height we wanted it to
reach, we attempted to lift the tripod higher and film for a longer
amount of time however the end result didn’t look professional or
accurate, it didn’t have everything we wanted in the scenes we had to
attempt many times, watch what we had recorded and try again, we
eventually gave up and filmed from a different angle which was
somewhat beneficial for some scenes. Therefore if we had the chance
to film again we would've used a tri pod which allowed us to film from
a higher angle

5. Apple macs
Throughout our research, planning and editing process we used the macs provided at school
At home I used my MacBook air, this meant that we used similar software's throughout the
project This was easy as If we used windows the software's would’ve changed the formats.
The apple products were very fast and easy to use throughout the process I’ve learnt a lot
about final cut pro, how to edit, embed links, copy and paste, edit images etc. I am now more
confident when using macs

6. Blogger
At the very start of the year blogspot was something that I
wasn't’t
very confident about, I’m not very good at showing my ideas
through writing and find it somewhat difficult to make sense of
all my ideas in a textual form however blogger has allowed me to
improve this, I am now more confident and able to use blogspot
without hesitation.
I posted everything that we had completed in class and managed
to present most of my ideas through visual techniques such as
prezi’s, mood boards and PowerPoint's instead of simply typing
up my ideas into paragraphs as I wanted my blog to have a variety
of ways of representing this therefore it’s more interactive.
Throughout this process I learnt how to use
soundcloud how to record and embed voice notes onto my blog,
rawshots, how to create an animated clip with information,
Youtube, how to upload and edit clips onto youtube,
Prezi, how to effectively use prezi in creative ways.

7. Other elements of technology used
Whatsapp - In order for our group to be updated out of school hours we created a whatsapp
Group chat, this allowed all of us to express any new ideas that we had therefore we
wouldn’t forget
Gmail – In order to email specific links and information from one group member to another
we used gmail, this allowed us to send links and files of large capacities.
USB – I used a USB to easily carry my work from my laptop and
School macs this saved me time.