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

1. Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product? By Brianna Lewis

2. Equipment Tripod Setting up the tripod didn’t take up much of our time which was definitely helpful as we needed all the time we could possibly get to shoot all of our footage. It was beneficial for us that the tripod legs could be adjusted so we could have it at the height that we wanted it to be. This meant not only could we shoot from heights between just off the ground and 130cm but we could also film our footage without having to worry that the camcorder would shake and the footage would be blurry, the negatives of using handheld. It was also very helpful that there was handle that would allow us to pan around the room we were in. The only drawback of using this tripod is that it didn’t have wheels. I think when panning the photos on the wall if we could have adjusted it to that height and we had wheels on our tripod, we could have filmed the footage like that and it would have been more successful.

3. Using the camcorder Equipment LCD monitor We knew how to use the camcorder after going through the basics of how to work it in class. Using the camcorder alone meant we can control the camera how we like and film our footage handheld. By using handheld this meant we could hold it in whatever position such as, in front of the face. We used this technique to film all of our footage for our flashbacks as it made a really good POV shot (Point of view.) By doing this, it helped to give the audience a feel that they are the main character. Not actual camera we used It helped that we could just flip the LCD monitor shut when we weren’t filming which would put the camera on standby but not turn it off. This helped to save battery and didn’t waste time as we didn’t have to turn it back on again. I found there was possibly one drawback by using handheld cam is if the person filming is too shaky, resulting in the footage not being as successful as we liked.

4. Using the torch and bounce board Equipment We planned out or filming schedule and found that the torch and bounce board would be a very important piece of equipment used in our footage. This was because we needed to film the footage of the main character so that we were unable to see his face and identify who he is. We were going to do this by creating shadows on his face by using the black cover on the bounce board. Unfortunately, the torch we were given to use over the weekend was very weak and close to running out of battery. As a result of this, it made no difference the lighting and shadows on the characters face. Fortunately, we were trying this when the blinds were still open and when we shut them to see what the shot would look like, we agreed it made a huge difference to when they were open. His face was a lot darker and, as we planned, the audience would be unable to identify him.

5. Final Cut Software When editing our software on Final Cut, I found it a lot less difficult to use after editing our Induction piece and Prelim Task on it previously. From this, I’ve learnt lots of things and it has helped me to remember what to do if I wanted to adjust the brightness and contrast of a clip, how to overlap clips, how to choose relevant transitions, etc. I have learnt there are some easier ways to do things such as to adjust the speed of a clip you just have to click on the clip you wish to edit, do Command + J (on a MacBook) and type in the speed you wish to use. The only drawback I’d say there is, is that it’s time consuming but obviously you would expect that. The longer you spend editing your footage and perfecting it, the more successful it will be. This is why we planned to film all our footage earlier on so that we can get straight onto putting it in order on Final Cut and giving us as much time as we need to edit and perfect it.

6. GarageBand Software We haven’t used GarageBand that much in our last tasks, for example in the Induction Task we had the sound of a heartbeat increasing it’s pace so obviously using this software wasn’t our strong aspect but we have experimented around with different sounds, sound tracks, etc. We were looking to find some that we could put together to create an eerie soundtrack to make the audience tense. This soundtrack would be placed in during when the credits enter and we plan to create Foley Sounds for the shots of the page being torn out of the yearbook, etc. A negative of using garage band is again, it is quite time consuming. We had to search through all of the given categories full of short sounds to find the ones suitable to our opening. We also had to get the timing perfect so that it fits with our footage, for example, we plan to add a screeching sound in at the time the credits fly in which would again put the audience on edge.

7. Photoshop Software We used Photoshop to create our ident. In our previous Induction Task, our ident was ‘Mooncheese productions’ but we felt this wasn’t really relevant to a thriller so we thought about doing something to do with the Thriller Conventions. We came up with the idea ‘Scissorhand productions’ because one of the Thriller conventions is ‘The narrative centres around a crime e.g theft of murder’ Scissors are sharp objects so it interlinks with this convention. Through experimenting on Photoshop we learnt a lot about layers, and how to change the background because we had to make it transparent for our animation to work. We planned to have ‘Scissorhand productions’ written in between the two blades and then for the scissors to cut. None of us in our group are exactly experts at using Photoshop so it took quite a lot of working together, experimenting and patience to figure out how we could do this. In the end we chose to put the two halves of the scissors on separate layers and then we would do the cutting animation on Final Cut.