Technologies I used to create the film (as featured in the video above):
Apple iMac 21.5 inch -
This is the primary technology i used. This assisted me through the whole project, from planning to uploading the final project. I worked on OS X Yosemite, the systems operating system. With lightening fast processors and stunning graphics, this was the perfect platform to create our movie on. The only downside of the Mac's where their speeds when transferring video footage.
Windows Computer (Dell) -
Although most of the project based on the Mac's, i often used a computer for other tasks such as transferring footage from the camera to a memory disk. This was because the cameras which we used where designed to cater for a Windows based system meaning transfers where a significant amount faster. I chose not to use this platform to create our film on due do their less sensitive mouses which made fine editing harder than on the Mac's
Sony 8.9 Megapixel HD Handycam -
This is the camera which we used to film the vast majority of footage needed for our opening. It proved extremely good at shots from afar, recording everything in detail. It was average for closer shots, struggling with some lighting. The feature to easily watch back footage directly on the camera was extremely useful as we could see it before the transfer, preventing any scene re-films. Its upload speeds were painfully slow on our primary PC,the Mac, although proved better on a Windows PC. We were pleased with how easy it was to attach to a tripod, making still shots easy for us to conduct.
From the start we wanted to record an original piece of music for the opening. We completed this using a microphone to capture a good sound quality. Although a difficult task to set up in the recording studio, we eventually managed it, recording the vocals for our soundtrack. Once placed on the computer (audacity) it provided us with a clean sound with minimal sound interference.
Headphones -
I used headphones in many different situations. They proved to be very helpful in the recording studio as it enabled us to listen to the soundtrack which we created (The Traamps - Rubberband mixed with The Game's - Hate It or Love It) whilst singing over it. This would mean the soundtrack wouldn't have to be played outlaid, reducing the quality. I also used them throughout the editing process in order to hear imperfections in the audio which i may not have heard if it were to be played out loud.
Tripod -
We used these to gain access to steady shots by attaching the camera to it. They seemed easy enough tho operate. The only criticism i would have is that they are fairly hard to manipulate in order to change angles of the shots, taking up a lot of time. They also were very stiff meaning it was difficult to move the camera during shots.
Lighting -
When using the green screen, we decided to add lighting in order to create authentic looking footage. Although they were heavy, large and often in the way. We managed to work out the situation, placing it out of shot meaning the green screen would not be interfered with. They added a natural glow to our characters, also meaning the green screen footage was easy to UltraKey.
iPhone (various models) -
These were our go to gadgets, whether it be researching on the go, recording voiceovers or emailing images. They were influential throughout the whole process making little tasks which may have been insignificant back then extremely easy. These little tasks built up to make the whole project, meaning this gadget was one of our biggest assets. The whole of the original soundtrack was entered around these phones. The lyrics had been written on it. The lyrics had been performed using it. The soundtrack had been played through it. It was an all-round winner. I have no criticisms for this piece of technology.
Audacity -
I used this program to edit the majority of our sound. It provided a simple, yet effective platform which could provide easy sound editing for us. Despite this, the program was often glitchy and wound me up due to some outdated programming. The criticism is valid but it could be argued its designed for Windows 2000, a fifteen year old operating system.
Youtube -
I used youtube multiple times. A primary example was for one of the visual effects in which the films characters' music video can be seen. It also aided me through the planning process as aided us in our film research. I would criticise that it often provided slow service and upload times but that was to be expected.
Safari -
This was our research browser. It was another technology that was used throughout the project. Although often criticised as a slower, less supported browser, it seemed to fair well with everything we used it for. It was an obvious choice for our browser as it is native to the iMacs, meaning it was going to be speedy. This also was the home to many other of our technologies such as youtube, blogger and gmail.
Blogger -
We used blogger to document our work from the beginning to the finish. This included our film pitches, the planning leading to production and our final publishing. I would have to complain though, it lacked in user friendliness and was very unreliable. It was hard to navigate but all in all it done the job.
iMessage/WhatsApp -
These are 2 messaging services me and my peers used to communicate both in and out of school. It allowed us to brainstorm and communicate when we were not with each other meaning we could cut out communication sessions in time where we could be doing other tasks.
Microsoft PowerPoint -
This was a great piece of software due to its wide variety of functions and user friendly image editing. Although it may not even be considered in the image editing world with titans such as Photoshop dwarfing it, this program saved me many hours. It cut down the time when creating graphics such as our flagship title scene. I would criticise that it was not as fast on the Mac's as on the Windows computers. This would be due to the fact it was created by Windows' makers.
Microsoft Word -
A program which we used to document a lot of the planning and evaluation. It enabled fast and effective word processing. The file sizes were small and easily transferable and media could be added if necessary.
Gmail -
Used infrequently but enough to be considered as one of our technologies. We often used it to mail larger files to each other but this wasn't often due to our different specialised fields. Mel completing the majority of the documents, Nathan filming and starring in the film and Connor editing kept us fairly separate with sharing documents and media.
Adobe Photoshop CS6 -
I used this briefly to create our film poster. Although a lot of the media was manipulated on PowerPoint. This added some effects that cannot be accessed on PowerPoint like layering. I didn't use this program alot due to its large variety of unnecessary functions that i would not need.
Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 -
My best friend and my worst enemy. The single most important piece of technology in the process. I probably have got into the days where i have sat infant of a computer, tweaking an effect or changing a sound on this program. Before i started this course, i had no experience with this program but its safe to say i quickly learnt. With a huge variety of effects and features, this program is an editors dream. I started with the basics, importing all of our footage and setting it up. Organising took a lengthy amount of time but we managed it. Once this had been complete, i started playing with effects in order to learn what the program was capable of. Key moments of our film were made possible by this program, for example the image based titles. It allowed me to green screen, with great success. It allowed me to fade, distort and change both image and sound with great success. And finally it allowed me to create my film with great success. The program performed in most fields but burdened me with rendering, and unless i frequently rendered, i couldn't watch the previews. Within the entirety of the project, 1/3 of it was rendering. Other small problems were the length of time needed to change colours using the 3-way colour wheel, not providing me with a preview once i had, and minor UltraKey problems in which the background would show over the upper layer, although this was easily fixable. All in all it served me very well despite its time consuming.
