CCR task 4
How did you integrate technologies in this project?
what is it?
Hardware
Hardware in media considers the digital media that is used in the production side. For instance, handheld camera's, tripods and microphones are all considered Hardware.
Software
What is this?
In media, software is a huge part of the editing stage such as creating and editing the music and editing the shots together. It is primarily the programs that are used in the post-production side of the creation.
Online
What is it?
The online part of the process considers all of the apps and technology that we used throughout. This includes planning, marketing and the overall process of our opening sequence.
Pre- production
Online:
- YouTube: I used YouTube lots to research many things throughout the pre-production stage. At first I used it to research genres of films and sequence which were under the categories of thriller, action, romance and comedy. I focused lots on the opening title sequences of action and thriller films like Baby Driver and Split which were completely different concepts but still obiding by the same rules of a title sequence. I then used YouTube to look at fonts that other films have used for their titles. I looked lots at the work of Elaine and Saul Bass who were graphic designers and created many of the most famous titles for films. Using YouTube meant that I could broaden my knowledge on famous opening title sequences.
- Instagram: My group benefited from YouTube as it was our main source of communicating. It meant that we could all upload photos, videos and links to help eachother through out the process. I think that I used instagram mainly to update my group on the cast and locations as I was the person who was communicating with people to make sure they were available on the day. Instagram definitely made it easier to update the rest of the group what happened if somebody was absent.
- Blogger: I used Blogger throughout my whole journey to document all of the research, planning and final products that took place. Blogger really coincided with other online aspects such as YouTube and google as it meant that I could brainstorm all my ideas in one place. Blogger also means that we can look back at our whole journey of creating our sequence due to the fact that I documented each meeting that my group had.
- Email: I used email lots in the planning process so that I could communicate with potential cast members and possible locations. It took a lot of time to find people that were free on our shoot day who would be free to play our characters. Email made sure that I could get in touch with many people to ask them if they are free or willing to be in it. I also put screenshots of my email on blogger so that I could make sure I contacted the right people.
Software:
- Premiere Pro: We used Premiere pro to edit all of the footage that we took in the workshops. We kept the footage on a Lexar Pro memory card and then downloaded it onto a computer and onto Premiere Pro. Once on Premiere Pro i put all of the shots into a folder called the rushes and then into another one called the log bin. Both of these help organise all of our footage and made it easier when assembling them onto the timeline. When on the timeline the cut arrow meant that I could cut the footage to the correct time and the normal arrow allowed me to move the edited shots into the right order. Once finished, Premiere Pro allowed my group to watch ours back to check we had edited correctly and no sound was overlapping.
- Click on the link below to find out how Premiere Pro helped us in the workshops!
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Hardware:
- Workshops: Throughout the whole of the production stage we did three different workshops. The first one taught us how to set up the camera onto the Vinten Tripod and how to use the Lexar Pro memory card. The second one taught us how to film with the camera using the Dozofilm 20-50 lens and the third one allowed us to practice filming with sound. Each one of the workshops taught us valuable lessons for our actually shoot day.
- Click on the links down below to find out more about our workshops!
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Production
Hardware:
The main examples of hardware that we used thoughout the whole of the production stage was the equipment we used to film. This includes the camera, mic, lens, ect. We had previously learnt how to use this equipment in the workshops that took place in pre-production. I thought that the workshops meant that I had a very good understanding on how to work the equipment on the shoot day. Luckily, Tom; who is a camera operator, was their on set with us, to help us if we forgot how something worked.
What hardware did we use?
Lexar Pro Memory card: this was used to store the footage of all of the shots that we took on the shoot day and meant that we could transfer it onto the computers back at school. The size of this memory card had to be so large due to the around of film we were storing on it.
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Sennheiser shotgun mic: This mic was perfect for our sequence as we had to capture lots of outside noises such as, cars, rain and people screaming. On the end of the boom pole was the mic where we attached the cover on top of is. we did this strictly because as we were filming outside, we didn't want the weather to effect the quality of the sound that we filmed. This mic was also very assessable as it was moveable which meant that one of us could hold the boom close to the action.
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Vinten Tripod: was very assessable and easy to use throughout our shoot. As we constantly had to change locations around Shere, it was nessasary that the tripod we would be using was easy to lift and move. This tripod had two adjustable sizes which was very useful for different parts of the shoot. For the parts outside,we levelled the tripod to be at the height of Nikki's eyeliner as she was the protagonist and the centre of attention. For the studio shoot, we changed the height to show heiracy io the scene. To show that the wife had power, we lowered the tripod and angled the camera to look up at her. To make the audience sympathise with the lover, we kept the camera at her level when filming her. We also used the Tripod to perform a POV shot from the lovers perspective. We wanted it to look as if the lover was looking up at the wife about to be killed.
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LED light: for the studio shoot we lit up the room with a red LED light to communicate to the audience that something sinister was about to occur. The LED lights also meant that we could use shadows to portray the wife as a bad character. At the start of this scene we used the LED light to shine on the lover so that the audience could see her beaten up on the floor. To contrast from the bright LEDs on the lover, we placed the light behind the wife to make her look like a sihiloute; almost ghost like. I also thought that the red lights would create tension when the audience sees the wife in the shadows holding a bat. We matched the red LEDs colour to our whole colour scheme for our sequence. Our 'My Love' title was matched in the same red to show unison.
In this video I am holding the Sennheiser shotgun mic for one of the shots in the pub scene. At this point we are using the protective cover as it was raining pretty hard. (I am also telling some of the cast membors where the next location is!)
Software:
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- Camera: The main use of software that we used thought the production stage was the camera app. We used this to document key moments of our shoot day. For instance, we tried to take photos of each of us using the hardware equipment so that we could put them on our blogs. I made sure to take extra photos and videos so that I could have good blog pictures and also have the memories of the shoot day.
Online:
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- Instagram: was used throughout out pre-production stage to communicate with my group. We discussed most things; that wasn't talked about in the lesson, on instagram. I used instagram on the shoot day to look back at all of the messages that I had sent about props, timings and the order that we wanted to film the shots in. This was useful as all of us could refer back to the messages.
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- Youtube: I used YouTube on the shoot day to look up shots in films and tv programs in our genre that would make our overall piece look amazing. I found shots such as the one we used when the wife swung her bat onto the camera and the type of shots that they used in a program called Heartbeat. I also used YouTube to look up our song so that we could get a feel for what the finished outcome will look like.
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- Email: was like instagram which I used to refer back to old messages. I used email to find the message from the William Brae pub which said that we could film there for a few hours. This was helpful as when we arrived to the pub, the manager who I had spoken to wasn't there, so I had proof that I had spoken to her.
Photos about our production stage
- hover over the photos for more info!
Post production
Software:
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- Premiere Pro: Most of our post production was done on Premiere Pro to edit our final sequence. We began by putting all of the shots that we had filmed in the rushes. Once we had looked though them to check that we had the ones we needed, we put the shots into the log bin. From there we each took turns to cut down the shots and place them on the timeline. Premiere Pro is very useful for cutting the shots as there are two different mini screens. One you can watch the shot you are editing and the other one allows you to watch the whole thing. We had bit of difficulty at the beginning of the editing process as the sequence would only be accepted if you had it at 2 minutes. At the start, when we had lined it up all of our shots on the timeline, we were at 3 minutes. Luckily Premiere Pro stills you the exact time of the sequence and allows you to go into each shot to exit the unnecessary parts. Once we had all of the shots onto the timeline and at 2 minutes we added the non-diegetic soundtrack Babushka by Kate Bush. Once the music was in time with the sequence, we watched; on the big screen, our whole sequence. After we new that our shots and soundtrack was good we could add in the titles. I thought that this process was much easier to do on Premiere Pro as you could choose your own font and move the titles to be in the correct place. The titles took us one lesson to do on Premiere Pro which meant that we could finish our sequence quicker.
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- Logic Pro X: We used, especially Doug, Logic Pro X to edit our soundtrack. We really liked the song Babushka by Kate Bush but we had to edit the song so that the second verse goes before the first chorus. This was because we had to increase the time before the chorus so that the overall song was 2 minutes. This was a hard job for Doug as it was pretty difficult to make the transition from the first verse to the second verse soon. Luckily Logic Pro had an effect to smooth our the transition making it sound normal.
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- Youtube: We used YouTube in the pre-production stage to stream our opening title sequence. On the 31st of March 2022 it was uploaded onto the Hurtwood House Media account where it got 298 views. Youtube meant that we could stream our sequence for free which is also good marketing. I have had lots of people come to me saying how much they like the sequence after watching it on YouTube and that they wish it was a real film! Lots of people have also commented that the song was a good choice as its very catchy.
Online:
- Canva: I used canva to create the film cover for 'My Love'. I found the background photo from the film Gone Girl featuring Rossamund Pike. I wanted to use this photo as the lady in the bath looks like the lady that played the wife in our sequence. I wanted to use a photo which looked like the wife was in deep thought about something and almost have a sinister look. I put the title 'My Love' in the same red font that I have used through out the whole journey of the sequence. I wanted the title to stand out and be eye-catching for the audience. Underneath the title I wrote the name of the production company, when it is being released and a quote from the film in white font. I did this because I didn't want everything to be in red. I made up that particular quote from the 'film' as I wanted it to immediately grab the audience and have it foreshadow what happens in the film. In red writing at the bottom, I put "coming soon" as I also wanted this to be eye-catching for the audience. We rated this film a 15 due to the themes of murder, death and the language in the film. On the top half I put the names of the two actors that play the protagonists in the film. This is what lots of big films do as they want their audience to see a 'famous' actor and want to watch the film. Underneath, i put some news critics of the film as this also is a common form of publicity.
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- Blogger: I used blogger in the post production stage to document all of my Creative Critical Reflection tasks. I enjoyed using blogger as I could clearly see the name of the blogs, how many I had done and when I have published them. For my CCR task 2 I was looking at 'How my product engaged with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?' The use of blogger meant that I could structure all of my writing also also refer back to previous blog posts. For each of the other CCR tasks, I gave links to the other websites that I used on Blogger as it would be easier to refer back to them.
- Prezi: I used prezi in my CCR 3 task to show how my production skills developed throughout my project. Prezi allowed me to go further into my research and learn how I have improved through this journey. I looked at both what I new before this experience and what I had learnt or found challenging. In prezi I made a section the workshops, shoot day, editing the final sequence and the final sequence, so that it could be clear and structured for the readers. I really wanted to look back at my whole journey and see how I have improved.
