When filming our trailer, the only technology we used was a tape, cameras and lighting. As we had all experienced using cameras and tape last year, we had no difficulty refreshing our memories when it came to beginning our filming. The tape was simple to use because it kept all of our footage in one place and it was simple to transport and to insert into our camera. We used two different cameras; a handycam and an XL2. We filmed a lot of our shots using the XL2 but it was sometimes difficult to use especially for people such as myself who were less experienced than others at using cameras. The handycam was much simpler to use although the quality of the video was less high quality. If we were given the opportunity to recreate our trailer then our group could all focus on learning how to use more professional cameras such as the XL2 so that we could create more high quality shots with less difficulty.
Taken from my previous blog: filming evaluation:
"On our first filming day, our camera ran out of battery so we couldn't do many shots. As our equipment was borrowed from our college, only they could charge it so we had to return it. On future filming days we always made sure we had a fully-charged camera. On some filming days, we'd take shots then watch them over and realise that we needed improvement on factors such as lighting, sound and camera focus. For example, in some of our shots the lighting was too dull and in others it was too bright and there were clear shadows behind the characters. Many of our shots had terrible sound but we can re-record it at college using microphones. As one time we were given a scratched camera, many of our shots came out blurry and therefore we had to re-film."
None of my filming group had ever used lighting before so using lighting was a new experience for us. We found it quite simple to use when we were setting it up and it was useful when we were in rooms with less efficient lighting or when the weather made our indoor lighting look dull. However, we did also face problems with our lighting. Sometimes it would be too bright and it would create shadows. For example, a shadow can be seen in these two scenes due to the lighting being too overpowering in the shot:
These mistakes are not necessarily damaging to our trailer though. The shadows in the first shot above could give an intimate atmosphere, like this moment is taking place in the evening. In the second shot, the shadows are not particularly noticeable due to the camera being more distant from the characters than the shot above it.
Editing our trailer
The technology we used for our editing was a microphone and Apple MAC computers with programmes on it such as Motion and Final Cut Pro. As I used MACs last year for my media, I was already familiar with them this year and had no difficulty using them. They were also easily accessible at my college.
Taken from my previous blog: editing
"We edited our trailer using Final Cut Pro because this is what the college was able to provide us with and we were all familiar with it due to our AS work last year. It is also a useful program because it allowed us to use all the functions needed to create the trailer we wanted such as creating a split screen frame.
Firstly, we transferred all of our camera footage from our tape to the Apple Mac computers at college then imported this camera footage into Final Cut Pro. We then used the easy set up and use either the DV-NTSC Anamorphic format or the HDV-1080I50 format. We then set up a new sequence and saved our project ready for our editing.
In the editing process we all had a individual roles in the group to capitalise on the opportunities we were given with this project. Wesley would construct the brief frame of the trailer according to mine, Joseph's, Mollie's and Jordan's creative ideas and visions. Jordan and Joe would then go onto editing it further in terms of transitions and more precise shot orders and structures. The work would then be fed back to Mollie and I to further adjust until to our preference. This process was repeated until finally getting a product that we were all satisfied with. An issue occured right at the end of the process where the groups majority verdict decided to cut a few scenes from the end of the trailer, correspondent to our audience feedback whereas Wesley reintroduced the scenes at the last minute and consolidated the files without our consent, which in fairness was part of the original plan to include these shots."
Due to my previous experience in using Final Cut Pro and Motion, I had no difficulty when it came to refreshing my skills. Our group learned new skills such as how to create voiceovers using microphones. The microphones we used were not very high quality so if we were to recreate our trailer it would be convenient to use more professional microphones to create better results. Other new skills we learned included how to create a split-screen shot and how to use transitions because I had used neither of these techniques before. Due to our previous knowledge, online research and our teachers' assitance our editing process went reasonably well. Due to the short period of time we had and due to having a large group, our final trailer was not as good as we had hoped. The short period of time made it difficult to access the most professional microphone for our voiceover because we would not have the time to learn how to use it. We also did not have the time to fix some mistakes (for example, the sound quality and the flow of our transitions from frame to frame) and perfect our trailer. I found Motion simple to use as I only used it to create text which is something I had experienced doing before. I would of liked to have more of an input when it came to editing our trailer on Final Cut Pro but due to having a large group this was sometimes difficult. However, my opinion was always heard and I did get to use my skills in Motion and Final Cut Pro on a few occasions.
Creating my film poster and magazine cover
For my magazine cover and my film poster, the only technologies I used were a Canon EOS 450D and Photoshop CS5. Most of us, including me, had previous experience in using DSLR cameras so using this one was quite easy for us. We used or college's professional photography studio so we had all the resources we needed to take high quality photos. The only problems we had when using the photography studio was that our lighting gave some of our photos a golden tinge. However, this was something we could easily edit out using Photoshop.
I have also had years of experience in using Photoshop. However, I learned new skills this year such as how to use the clone stamp tool, how to create transparent gradients, how to refine the edges using the selection tools, how to add shadow and glow effects to text and how to use adjustment layers. All these skills were useful in creating my magazine cover and my film poster because I was able to make a more professional-looking product than I could previously. Photoshop was easily accessible because I had it at home as well as being able to use it at college so when I wasn't at college I could practise at home if I needed to.
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