I have learned several things about using technology to create video projects: 1) Using a familiar tripod results in smoother camera movements compared to an unfamiliar school tripod. 2) Editing software like Adobe Premier allows adding titles, effects, and denoising audio to improve quality. 3) A high-quality HD camera that I'm familiar with makes it easier to capture professional-looking footage.

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

2. Due to me being a photography student, I feel
comfortable and knowledgeable around my
camera.
I used my Canon EOS 600D in widescreen film
mode on 1080p on auto-focus in the preliminary
task and I felt that the outcome was of high
quality and successful. This lead me to decide
that it would be of sufficient quality to be used
for my film opening. The camera’s quality
allowed me to capture subtle things that
improved the overall detail. The camera’s auto
focus setting allowed me to create shots with
shallow depth of field, such as the object of
significance being in focus on the pool table.
I felt no need to change to manual focus
because I didn’t want any pull focuses or any
specifically focussed shots that auto focus
couldn’t successfully manage.
Camera

3. During the preliminary task, we used a tripod
supplied by the school. This was unfamiliar to
me and took a while to adjust to use correctly.
The outcome was slightly jolty on tracking
shots- when George steps off the stairs and
onto the floor to cross the room- because of
my unfamiliarity with the kit.
Therefore, when filming my own opening, I
decided to use my own more familiar tripod
that I knew would give smoother footage.
I chose one with a smooth panning ability and
spirit level bubble in order to create
level, steady shots. The panning came in
handy to follow action, for example when
Isabel moves from the table over to the pool
table. This was much smoother than my clip of
George.
Tripod

4. Audio in the preliminary task was recorded
through the same camera that we were
recording from, without any external
microphone or audio recording device. The
outcome was slightly noisy and unclear.
To get clear audio after my initial footage’s
audio was noisy, I recorded sound
simultaneously as filming on my iPhone 5 after
discovering that sound quality was higher. I
then uploaded the audio clips to the computer
and overlaid with footage on Adobe Premier
Pro CS5.5 after unlinking the original audio
from the clip. I’ve never tried this before and
feel I am now more confident syncing audio in
future.
The outcome was clearer, less noisy and
louder, which was a successful improvement.
Audio

5. I feel I am a lot more confident using Adobe Premier CS5.5 post-
project than I was at the start. I began to experiment with more
advanced use of the programme such as overlaying footage with
blend modes in order to create interesting and professional effects.
Throughout editing, match-on-action shots
became easier to edit together as I
recognised fluency in my footage.
In order to manipulate colouring, I became
more confident in adding and changing
lighting and colouration effects to footage. I
added the same effect to every shot to get
uniform colouration within my footage.
I also used the DeNoiser effect successfully
for the first time during the editing of my
opening to optimise quality and clarity of my
audio.
Editing

6. Overall I learnt:
• A tripod that I am familiar with creates smoother movements and
steadier and more level shots.
• Editing software aids me in creating effective titles, effects and de-
noising audio.
• A high quality HD camera that I am familiar with will make it easier to
take footage that has a professional finish.
• An external recording device can be used to record higher quality
audio which can be linked to footage through editing software.
• Auto-focus creates consistently in-focus shots.