AS Coursework Reflection

Digital Technology

-          How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

One media technology that was used was YouTube. We used this to access video clips such as opening two minutes of a particular genre (horror). We used our multi-platform devices such as our smart – phones to take pictures of certain environments or mise-en-scene that would be included in our final film. This meant we were able to upload on going information to keep our blog updated.

 

-          What software did I use?

One type of software that I used was Adobe, this software allowed us to edit our final film. Meaning we were able to add any transitions, titles, crop certain clips to allow us to make sure it flowed correctly if we wanted to include shots such as match on action. Another software we used was IMovie, this was for a similar reason as to Adobe however we were able to make our Institution title on this and add our music. We used Photoshop to make certain pictures to upload onto our blog for our research and planning blogs.

 

-          What equipment was used?

Canon 9000 was used to film our project. This was a good choice we made because it meant we were able to have a lot of detail used and it captured the light we used well as we wanted to make sure we got the lighting right to express the right emotion, we were also able to get the right depth of field with this camera as we had it on manual focus meaning we can make sure we focused on the correct part of the image.. Another camera we used was Kodak playsport; this allowed us to film underwater which added an extra tension building emotion into the audience which allowed suspense and conform to the stereotype of what horror films are like.

 

-          What were the technical pros and cons of the software and hardware?

There are many pros about the technical software that we used. One of them being Adobe; it was very quick and easy to use. There were some complications with the software at the beginning but once we got the hang of it we were able to access all of it special techniques well. One pro of the hardware that we used- Kodak playsport camera was that it enables us to access underwater filming which meant there was added suspense and a special technique added to our film. Another type of hardware we used was our main camera, this was the cannon 9000, this included both pros and cons because it was a high quality camera which meant we were able to get detailed shots which made it reflect to a real opening two minutes. However there were also cons to using this particular camera as we didn’t use a tripod meaning as it was quite big and heavy it made it slightly harder to make sure we kept the camera steady when filming. It also limited our shot types and we wanted to include bird’s eye view however due to how the camera was made, it made it difficult for us to balance and hold the camera in the right angle whilst trying to get this shot.

 

In what ways was technology used to create the production?

Lots of technology was used to complete the film as we used two different types of cameras so that we could expand the range in shots that we included. For example we used a particular camera called Kodak playsport to create an underwater shot. This added a special effect to the film and could be something that our target audience would be interested in.