6) What Have You Learnt About Technologies From The Process Of Constructing This Product?

We learnt about and used a variety of different technologies to create our final product, including:

HARDWARE
CANON HV30
This camera enabled us to get multiple shots that would have been more difficult with a larger camera, as this camera is both lightweight and not bulky. For example, it would have been difficult for us to get this shot with a larger, bulkier camera, as we needed to run around trees.

Whilst I personally didn't film due to acting in every scene, I did learn how to make it easier for those using the camera, such as staying in the same position when the shot has been framed.

TRIPOD
We had to use the tripod in a number of ways in order to get the shots that we wanted. I learnt that using the tripod as a counter balance for running shots would reduce the shakiness of shots.


We also used it to keep the camera stable when shooting a high angle over-the-shoulder shot, which needed to be high in order to get the correct framing.








SOFTWARE
PREMIERE PRO CS5
We used Premiere Pro to edit our footage, learning how to use the various tools available to us, for editing and grading.

We learnt how to use Proc Amp and Three-Way Colour Corrector, which we used to grade our opening. I found this knowledge particularly useful as it meant we were able to achieve the look that we wanted for our film. I spent a good amount of time perfecting the grading to a standard we all wanted, which I enjoyed as it meant I got to experiment with the colouring and contrast of our shots. 

ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS CS5
We used After Effects to achieve the look we wanted for our titles, as well as some special effects needed in some shots. This was particularly interesting for me to learn about, as I personally enjoy editing.

We learnt how to use the pen tool, and the masks created:

This method allowed us to create this shot:

By learning this technique, it meant we were able to achieve more interesting and exciting things in our opening, which only required a little hard work!

We also used After Effects to put a futuristic skyline in the background, by pasting pictures on top of the current skyline, adjusting the size, then lowering opacity, to get the final look, as well as adding in space ships that move across the sky. I transferred my skills from Photoshop to achieve this look, which was interesting for me to see if I was able to use these skills in a different programme.

After Effects was also useful for imposing an image onto the device, to make it more believable.

We created the image in Adobe Photoshop as a gif so it moved on the screen.







WEB 2.0
FACEBOOK

We used Facebook to organise and communicate as a group, posting work needed to be done on a group page.

















I found Facebook to be useful for sharing work and images with other members of my group, but we found the app Whatsapp to be more useful for communication, as it is an instant messaging app, so we could quickly and easily contact one another.


YOUTUBE
We used YouTube to research clips from films, which helped us in our decision making. We also used YouTube to share our final piece. Whilst this was useful for our research, we did find that sometimes it was difficult to find specific scenes from films that we wanted to show as an example.

For example, we researched forest chase scenes, such as the one in Harry Potter

FREESCOREMUSIC.COM
We used this site to find royalty free music for our soundtrack, which ensured that we didn't breach any copyright laws. I found this site useful, but time consuming to use, as the searches weren't that specific, so we spent a great deal of time having to listen to each piece of music separately until we found the track that we all liked - Darkness Falls