Evaluation Question 4

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

Development for AS to A2:

My use of media technologies has greatly developed and improved since AS, allowing me to produce a wider variety of products at a much greater rate. At the beginning of the course in AS, my abilities with Final Cut Pro were minimal, and I used it primarily in the construction stages. It was new software to me; however after completing our preliminary task I was able to successfully edit captured footage through the use of split-edits between shots; trimming of shots and the use of the blade. I was also able to use features such as cross-dissolve and fade in/out; this enabled me to create a more professional looking piece.  In comparison now with A2, I have used Final Cut Pro in my construction; research and planning; and evaluation stages. Thus I have found that my skills using final cut pro have greatly improved. I am aware of the importance of transitions to create a flow between shots enhancing a continuous storyline. Furthermore I am aware of the range of video filters such as desaturation, polarisation and even colour matching, which we used to enhance the connectivity of shots in the same sequence. A further change from last year is the increasing amount I now edit in the time line rather than the viewer. This has allowed me to work much more quickly as I am no longer waiting so long for the buffering of the footage.

The internet was an important technology platform for my work in AS and A2. Over both years I used Blogger as my main collection of work. However I have found this year that I understand the format of Blogger, allowing me to edit the HTML code effectively to create customisations on posts. My use of the internet progressed onto a greater variety of platforms this year. An example of this is the convergence of different technologies and platforms I used to present my work, such as answering evaluation question one in which I used sites such as bubbl.us and YouTube.  I found the use of sites such as fotor.com good for creating image collages to present my visual reference points. During my research and planning stages this year, I used slide share multiple times due to its simplistic way of uploading powerpoint documents onto a platform that could then be embedded into Blogger. Furthermore, as a team, we found Prezi a very effective media technology as we were able to create a group login allowing us all to access and edit the same work. This proved very useful for group evaluations on certain tasks it could be presented as a whole rather than three segments.

I first utilised camera angles and movement during the preliminary task in AS. At this stage my ability with the panasonic camera was minimal and I found that the shots I had taken during filming were not effective after uploading them and viewing them on a larger monitor. The issues were primarily due to lack of light and the footage being shaky. Discovering this at an early stage allowed me to learn from my mistakes for our final opening sequence and has helped me to re-use the hardware during A2. My use of hardware has greatly developed into A2 as I found that as a group we were more efficient in our filming. Furthermore the creation of a storyboard greatly helped us to visualise our ideas prior to the day of shooting, allowing us to collaboratively decide the most effective shots.  For our A2 production we had to take a larger quantity of shots in order to match the volume required for a trailer. Having a larger quantity also meant we had to ensure that we featured a more diverse portfolio of angles and movements. Some of our most effective shots were close ups and low angle shots as they built suspense and conveyed the hierarchy of the characters.  Due to our improvement with Final Cut Pro, we were also able to effectively layer recorded sound from our Tascam recorder and sync it with our footage.

My knowledge of software programmes such as Photoshop was minimal in year 12, whilst in year 13 I used this software a great deal more for the production of my film poster and magazine. Prior to their production, I found that I had the ideas on what I wanted to make, but lacked the ability to produce the effects on Photoshop. The use of YouTube helped me master the tools available on Photoshop; in particular I found the edit of a clipping mask very useful. The clipping mask allowed me to create a brand for our title, placing an image of red swirling ink within the text of ‘Capture’. I created my film magazine after the poster, at which point I realised how far my skills had developed, as I was able to produce my first mock up within a day compared with a week for my poster.

As a group, we created a presentation to discuss our developments with media technologies this year and how they have helped us to produce our final portfolios of work.

 

EJ