AS Reflection - Digital Technology

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
In terms of preliminary research, YouTube was particularly helpful as it served to highlight movies of the action genre and emphasised specific patterns or traits which are normally shown in that genre. It showed us what sort of shots are typical in the genre and allowed us to develop the plot of our AS production to suit the expectations of an action movie. We also used YouTube to research relevant tutorials around the fight scene in particular as we wanted to ensure it looked as professional as possible and this made it seem more high budget to the audience.

What software was used?

Adobe Premier Elements 10 - When creating our film we used premier elements to edit and cut the opening scene to a great extent. The software made it easy to manipulate the shots in our opening scene as we could cut shots and merge them together to get a free flowing action sequence. We also used the software to incorporate music into the scene which we attempted to edit the shots in time with the music to allow for more effect in the scenes we were portraying. We used the transition tool extensively to allow the movie to be fluid and professional, we used it during the credits and logos to make the shots contrast better against eachother.

Adobe Photoshop – we used this to create the production credits and our distribution company logo; we wanted to incorporate animations to both of these. We placed text over the production company as we believed that simplicity would suit the genre nicely. Whilst we also wanted to try and make the credits dynamic so we created two different pictures and by using Photoshop we integrate a flash and colour to the distribution companies’ logo with the help of the magic wand tool. 

Adobe Flash – we used flash mainly in the creation of the production credits and distribution company logo. Both were made in a simplistic manner alongside the actors credits we made for the group. We ensured that we used specific fonts for the actor’s names as we wanted them to fit the action genre of our film. 

What equipment was used?

The equipment we used during the filming of our AS production mainly involved the use of our phones to film it although some shots were filmed with a camera. We attempted to set them up with relevance to the tripod to try and reduce shakiness, making the scene seem more professional and engage the audience with the plot to a greater extent. We also used relevant software to enhance the feel of the opening scene – including Flash, Photoshop and Premier Elements.

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

We experienced some pros to the software as it was relatively easy to edit and manipulate to the way we wanted them. The layout was easy to navigate so we were able to carefully place the various layers of sound and video. However, we also had some issues with the software as the shots were sometimes too short and so the scene wasn’t as fluid as we wanted. The audio was also a problem as it was particularly quiet in the beginning of the scene, making it so the plot is somewhat hard to understand. The audio was hard to edit at times as the music was present as well, it was difficult for us to ensure both were heard properly.

In what ways was technology used to create the production?

We used blogger to a great extent. It provided us the base with which we planned the production to a great extent. It had all the preliminary ideas and how we developed them to suit the opening scene. It contained all the individual ideas we had for the production as a group.

We used Premier Elements to edit our film as a whole, this included cutting scenes and editing them together to allow fluidity and enhancing some shots in terms of speed to make the scene more dynamic. Flash and Photoshop were also used for all the titles and credits we created which make the scene more immersive to the audience.

In what ways did the technology constrain or enable the production to be developed?

Technology enabled us to edit the film to a higher degree, as the shots were easily manipulated to suit the genre of our opening scene. Including an increase in pace or lighting. We also had to edit the music to suit the trailer properly. However, this proved difficult to do with the software we had and reflecting on it we can see that the music is disjointed at times and could have been improved.

How have you developed these skills at A2?

In terms of developing skills, we enabled much better cuts between shots in our A2 production compared to AS. The shots in AS were sometimes cut too short so the scene didn’t make sense entirely but with the trailer we edited the shots to be a lot shorter and gave the trailer a more professional look. The audio was also much improved as the dialogue and music didn’t interfere with one another as we used a different editing software (Cyberlink Power Director) which allowed us to place each individual audio or video section we wanted onto different layers. The sound could then be muted or the volume edited to make the music more or less prevalent in the trailer. The use of a voiceover also made sure that the audience understood the plot of the trailer compared to some confusion in our AS production due to the quiet audio at the beginning. In terms of camera quality as well, the shots were generally used via a camera in A2, savour a few. The shots looked more professional and this ensured the trailer was immersive to a greater extent. We had a lot more shots in our A2 production as we understood the need for more shots as the AS production was hindered somewhat as the shots were not long enough at times so the cuts were rough and made the opening scene seem disjointed.