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Evaluation

Question 4

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

How did digital technology enable you to develop creatively and are there examples of the technology obstructing or preventing your creativity?

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Filming Equipment

• Sony HDV Camera• Digital Video

Camera• Digital Camera• Zoom Recorder

Sony HDV Camera – I love using this camera, it has a good depth of field and been able to switch function of certain parts enables you

to do many more things. Manual focus is also very useful for dim lit scenes and close shots where characters are moving in and out of the frame quickly. One downside I found though was it took a long time to import footage because it had to be done real time. I think

this slowed down the process, but the quality of the footage is mostly high and we didn’t waste time while waiting.

Zoom Recorder – Even though the zoom recorder was the best thing to use when we recorded the voiceover in the film and the

radio trailer voice, I wasn’t overly happy with it. I found it too sensitive, picking up every breath, movement and slight bump. I

would have much rather done it in a recording studio so the acoustics were dry and we would have been able to manipulate it

more and make it sound a more professional.

Digital Video Camera – I used a small digital camera to film my video diaries because it didn’t

require a lot of setting up or space. Because the footage was already

data, it was a lot quicker to import the footage so I could edit it sooner.

Digital Camera – The digital camera was very useful because it provided

us with good quality location photos and we also used it for the majority of the photo storyboard.

We also used one for the photo shoot we did for our film poster. We

needed to use a high spec camera otherwise when the photos were

blown up to huge sizes they would be blurry and they wouldn’t look

very good.

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+Sony HDV Camera

This camera allowed us to create a high quality film because it produces a good quality of film. The camera has a good depth of field and the manual focus allowed us to film shots where the focus stayed on things in the back of the shot, not the things nearest to the camera.

We were also able to do a pull focus, which worked really well because it was a reflective shot and that helped the audience reflect back on what had happened as well.

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Research

• Internet• Google Docs• Google Images

• Facebook• IMDB• BBFC

Internet – Without the internet, we would have had next to no research because our resources would have been so limited. We would not have been

able to create a high quality and accurate product if we weren’t able to “surf” the internet for the information we needed. It also helped us find

details for locations such as Premier Inn and The Miller’s Inn. This service also helped me research a possible distributor for our film.

IMDB – The Internet Movie Database helped me with my genre research and helped me find films that were similar to ‘Letter For Tom’. Finding films that we could relate to was essential because without them we would have

struggled to create a product that conveyed messages in the way we wanted them to.

BBFC – This website really helped me with my research into certification guidelines. This is an official website so I could trust the information and it

is also used in the professional industry so we made sure that our film conformed to industry standards.

Google Docs – This strand of Google’s extensive web allowed us to reach our audience and asked

them questions about our product as it developed so we could correct any mistakes before it was too late.

Google Images – This provided me with a good range of film posters that I could use as inspiration for the one for our film. It also helped my research production company

logos.

Facebook – Social Networking sites are very good at connecting people

and making them reachable. Facebook also helped us reach our audience and made it so we could distribute our questionnaires to a

wide range of people.

+Facebook, Google Docs, BBFC, IMDB

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Digital Software

• Final Cut Express• GarageBand• Photoshop

• Cubase• iMovie• Windows Moviemaker

Final Cut Express – This editing software package has been priceless throughout. Without it we would not have a film, never mind one we’re

proud of. This software is still rarely used in industry, but it is a contender because it allows you to layer footage, edit visual and audio events, as well as add titles, music and effects to your film. I find this software straight forward

and easy to use, everything is where you would expect it to be.

Cubase – I used the sequencing software to create the piece of music called ‘The Letter’ which features in the last part of our film. I have previous

experience with Cubase so I knew my way round. and recording with MIDI is less complex than audio because it is easier to manipulate. For example, I

used a keyboard to input all the notes, then if timing was out I could correct it using quantize or if I wanted a different instrument on a particular track I

could just highlight the track and change the instrument on it.

iMovie – I used this software to create a the music tests and the photo storyboard. It is simple and straight-forward, but it wouldn’t not have been suitable to create our film on because you are fairly limited in what you can

do.

Windows Moviemaker – I used this software to edit my video diaries because all I needed to do were jump cuts, however if I had needed to do

anything more technical and advanced this software would have been inadequate.

Photoshop – We used this product for creating our film poster because

it is very good at creating professional looking images

However, without training or a detailed manual, I would be very confused, lost and wouldn’t know

where to begin because it is so complicated and there are just

button and bars everywhere with fancy names.

GarageBand – I used this software to create some of the music that

showcases in our finished film. The program comes with samples so I found it easy to create a good but

simple yet effective tune in a short space of time. It is a good substitute for living recordings when you are

limited for time and need something doing quickly.

+Final Cut ExpressFinal Cut Express is a really easy program to use, yet you get all that you need to create an industry standard product. We were able to do many different things:Reverberation: This audio filter allowed us to add depth to Alice’s voiceover. I also made it feel a little more spiritual and dream-like. Using a completely dry track made the voiceover sound flat and it didn’t have the magic we wanted until we applied to reverb.Earthquake: We used this effect on the production logo at the beginning of the film. It made the logo move because when it was static it looked unimpressive and average. Layering images: We layered images over each other in the last scene so the audience could what was going on inside Tom’s head and we could recall his memories as well.Fades: These softened the transitions between shots in Act 3 Scene 2 because cuts were too harsh for the music and the overall mood of the film at that point. Text: We added titles and credits to our film and it pulled everything together. We also added added fades the titles so they were softer.Gain control: This is on every single audio track and it allowed us to turn any audio up or down. This was the most useful in the Miller’s Inn scene because Libby’s voice was quiet.Colour Corrector: We used colour corrector on the Video questionnaire because everything was really green and looked unnatural.

+Cubase & Garageband

Cubase is a very useful sequencing program for creating MIDI tracks. I used it to create ‘The Letter’ and I am very happy with the results. I was able to automate the volume so different elements of the pieces stood out at different points. MIDI is useful because I was able to play the strings tracks on the keyboard and then change the output sound. I bounced the piece once it was finished into an mp3 format because it is a small file with good quality, as well as being compatible with Final Cut.

Garageband is a simpler program and I feel a bit more restricted as I’m not as experienced on it. However, it is good for creating tracks using samples and recording a quick voiceover for various posts I have done on the blog.

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PhotoshopThis software really helped us to make a professional looking film poster. It allowed us to add filters to images so we could change how they felt. We added warming filters because we wanted to make our poster feel warm and happy. We also had access to ‘Steel Tongs’, which a font very similar to the one that is used on nearly every film poster for the additional credits. I found this software the easiest way to create a high quality poster because can layer images, and cut round people so you can place them on a different background. There are so many different things you can do, the possibilities are endless.

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Extras

• YouTube• Blogger• Prezi

• Slideshare• Celtx

Prezi – This site provided me with a different and interesting way to present my work. I think it makes a presentation fun and

brings a bit more energy to it because of the movement. It also allows you to embed videos, images and music, which has been

very useful in making my research entertaining and less monotonous.

Slideshare - Slideshare was useful because it allowed my to put my Powerpoint Presentations online. This presented another way

I could show my work on blogger.

Celtx – We used this website to create the script so it was clear and understandable. One thing I like about Celtx is how it looks professional and it is easy to tell the difference between things

like dialogue and actions.

Blogger – This website allowed us to present what we have done and how we did it. It helped us show

how our idea developed and grew into a finished product. It helped

me keep track of what was going on at different points in the project as

well as making sure all our resources were accessible where ever we were because they were

online.

Youtube – I used this website to upload tester videos, updates on

shooting and the final film. It reaches a wide audience so we could received feedback from a

wide range of people. It also allowed us embed our videos in questionnaires we did as well as our our blog. We could also find

useful clips from films and tutorials on filming and editing techniques.

+YouTube, Blogger, Slideshare, Prezi

+ Celtx

This website allowed us to create a professional looking script. My favourite about this website is that, because it is set up especially for script writing, it has presets for the format. It saves a lot of time because it sorts out the presentation automatically, so its easy read and has a good structure. The panel on the left side is useful because it makes it easy to navigate through your script.

+ConclusionThe use of new technologies has been vital in every stage of our project. Without the internet and various websites, our research would have been a lot harder to do, less detailed and we would have been less informed on how to create a film that fit or challenged genre conventions, correctly appealed to our target audience, and how to use the equipment and software we had access to. Been able to access professional equipment and software has made it possible to create, excluding a few novice errors, an industry standard product.We are very proud of our final product, considering how we had a rocky start and didn’t have high hopes of success.