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| Mac Book |
During the construction of my product we used a Mac Book which was used for editing our film using Final Cut Pro. I learnt certain editing techniques such as transitions (i.e. the wipe transition) that I hadn't learned how to use before as Final Cut Pro was a programme I had not used before. I used these transitions on the titles to make them appear on the screen in a more appealing way rather than just having them appear on the screen automatically. This made the film a lot more appealing for the audience. I also used the Mac Book to transfer images from the internet onto Final Cut Pro through the use of Photoshop. Images such as the arrow that I use in the opening scene in the school setting. This was something I hadn't done before and it benefited the end product as it assists the audience's knowledge of who is speaking in the voiceover. I also used the Mac Book to store back ups of my product. This was very important as if any of our work had been deleted and we were unable to get it back we would have to start again.
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| Panasonic HD Camera |
I used a Panasonic HD camera to film our product and before the filming of our product I learnt about how the use of different shots can be used to help create a representation of our characters. For example the use of a pan shot or a mid shot are commonly found in teen angst films I learnt to use both of these shots effectively for different purposes. The pan shot for example was used to show the audience the setting / surroundings the characters find themselves in and this helps them understand the genre of the film (i.e. in the school setting / location). The mid shot for example allows us to create a representation of the character and allows the audience to assume what sort of personalities are present with each character by focusing on their costumes and facial expressions - which allows them to assume stereotypes.
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| Tripod |
The use of a tripod was very effective in the making of our product, especially when using a pan shot as it helped keep the camera still as opposed to if we tried to do it with a handheld shot. The tripod wasn't something I'd used before and it was helpful in creating the perfect shot as I could adjust the legs on the tripod to the perfect height and this helped me exclude any unwanted background. As mentioned it was also helpful when using a pan shot as the camera stayed still, and this helped us avoid creating the effect of 'mayhem', as if the camera was wobbly then it would create this effect for the audience and it would take the audience's attention away from what is happening in the shot.
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| Voice recorder |
Like the tripod, this voice recorder was one that I hadn't used before so I learned first of all how to use it by recording the voiceover of our film and then transferring it onto a Mac Book. I learned how to transfer it on to the Mac Book and save it in a file that was easy to find so I could use it in our product. The use of a voice recorder was very beneficial to our product as it enabled us to include a voiceoever. This is important as voiceovers are a convention of the teen angst genre and without a voiceover the title sequence and opening scene wouldn't really make sense. It is also important that we used voice recorder to include a voiceover as it makes the opening scene more interesting and sets up the story for the rest of the film - and it also allows the audience to create an opinion on Grace.
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| YouTube logo |
YouTube is another example of how I used technology to benefit my product. I had never uploaded anything onto YouTube before and this is something that i learnt after creating the first draft of our product. Learning how to upload our first draft onto the internet was very useful as it allowed me to show our product to a global audience, which means a lot more people are going to recognise it and give us feedback. Uploading the first draft onto YouTube meant we were able to make changes to our product based on the feedback and comments given to us by audiences. As YouTube is a website used by a lot of our target audience (13-18 year old girls) it allowed us to present our product to the type of audience that we want to attract.
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| Phone |
I learned how to use a wide range of properties on my phone which was very beneficial to the product, and this is called technological convergence. I used my phone first of all on the internet by sharing the first and final draft of our product on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. This allowed me to share the product with people who fit the target audience of 13-18 year old girls as they are the main age range that use these social networking sites, this again meant we could receive feedback from the age range that fitted our target audience, meaning we could change our product to make it more appealing for the target audience. I also used text messages on my phone in order to assist teamwork as I discussed with other members of the group what the next step was in terms of improving our product, and this was very beneficial.
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| Blogger logo |
Over the course of this school year I have learned how to share posts on Blogger, and this has been very beneficial for my product. I have used Blogger to share with everyone the work I have completed towards our end product and this has helped me recognise my own progress as well as realising where I need to improve. The first draft of my product was posted on Blogger and I received feedback from my classmates and this was very beneficial to our product as we were able to make the changes pointed out to us and improve the overall film. This was particularly effective as my classmates fit in the target audience and so we were able to receive feedback from them and make it more enjoyable for people inside the target audience for our film.
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| PowerPoint logo |
I used PowerPoint to create the 9 shots post for my blog, This was very helpful and it was something I hadn't done before. I had to import 9 shots from my product and put them all into PowerPoint, making a collage of them by 'grouping' the images, before then saving them as one large image and saving it into the computer. I did all this before uploading the image onto my blogger for usage. This was something I learnt as I hadn't done it before, and this was very beneficial to my own learning and understanding of my product. It helped me review the shots I had used in my product, making it easier for me to see if I had used a wide range of shots or not.
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| Memory Stick |
A memory stick was another example of technology that I used to assist the production of our film. First of all, I had to choose a song from freeplaymusic.com called 'Step To The Grind' and this is the one we wanted to use throughout the title sequence / opening scene. This song had to be transferred onto the Mac through the use of a memory stick. I also ad to use the memory stick to include other sounds in the film such as the alarm clock sound in the title sequence of the film. Lastly, I used a memory stick in order to transfer a pink arrow image from a different computer onto the Mac after cropping it in Photoshop. The use of a memory stick was very beneficial in the making of our film and without it we would've struggled as it was made much easier with a memory stick.
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| Gmail logo |
Gmail was very helpful during the whole process of my film and I used it on my phone as well as the computers at school and at home. I created a Gmail account at the beginning of the school year and in doing that I was automatically given a created YouTube and Blogger account, and these two sites were very helpful in the making on my film for the reasons given above. Gmail was also useful for teamwork purposes as I could discuss problems faced or areas for improvement with my group members on Gmail. I could also use Gmail to share the first and final draft of our film with the rest of the media students in our class and this helped with feedback as a lot of them watched it and told us how we could improve.
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