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

I have learnt a lot about the technologies used to produce film sequences during this project:

RESEARCH

Web 2.0 was a major source of information which I used for the majority of my research. For my initial research on film openings, I used YouTube to find videos. I learnt to embed a video into a blog post, where I collated and presented what I found. Previously I had not had much experience of blogging, but now after using Blogger for a few months I have learnt how to convey information through short diary-like posts.

When using the internet, I learnt that much of the information that you can find contradicts what other web pages say, for example when looking for statistics. As it is a platform which is largely unregulated, it is important to judge carefully before using something as it may not be reliable.

FILMING

To film our footage, we used a camcorder, with both auto and manual settings. When preparing for our first shoot (in the forest, for our old idea) I learnt how to use the manual focus, to create focus pulls. Also, while experimenting with different filming techniques, I practised contra zooms. Learning to use the manual settings was interesting and useful, and gave us much more freedom in creating interesting shots that engaged the viewer.

After our first shoot in the forest, we looked over our footage at the edit suite. We realised that on many shots, the focus was off as we had not changed the settings. I have realised through this that although equipment might seem to be automatic and easy to use, there are many things that must be checked, such as focus settings, which could result in you having to reshoot everything.

While filming we used a tripod, which enabled us to get steady shots. I had never needed to use a tripod before, as with taking photography shots a tripod is not always necessary as you move the camera often. However, I realised that a tripod is very useful when you need the camera to be still or pan smoothly.

Here is an example of our filming practise, experimenting with interesting techniques and gettign to know the camera we were using:

EDITING

To edit the sequence, we used Adobe Premier Pro – an easy to use, straightforward program (installed on a Windows computer). Although I had used it before on our preliminary project, within the few weeks of editing, I learnt a lot more about how to use it. I captured the footage from our first shoot on my own, and by the end I was sure about how to do it. I also edited parts of the sequence which also allowed me to get to know the program better. After a while, I felt that I could edit much faster.

CREATING TITLES

To create customized titles we used a specialist program on the Mac called LiveType. This was also easy to learn to use. By using different technologies and computer programs, I found that it was very useful to have modern, fast technologies that were user-friendly and reliable. The programs that I used in post-production were installed on powerful computers, which meant that the editing process went smoothly and without major problems. As we could edit faster, we had more time and opportunities to try out different edits and effects.