The document discusses technologies learned during the process of creating a film. For pre-production, the author storyboarded with pencil and paper, wrote the script in Microsoft Word, and shared it with actors using Google Docs. During production, the author used a Canon camera and learned skills like handheld shots, balancing a steadicam, and using tripods and different angles/movements. In post-production, the author edited color, brightness, and shot length to convey mood, and learned about parallel editing and audio mixing, which need more practice.

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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.
Long Steadicam shot through school

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.