6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Kaden's Nikon D3200

We have learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this media product: 

Sam and Kaden's digital single-lens reflex cameras (DSLRs) were used to film the opening sequence to our media product. Kaden's DLSR was a Nikon D3200; Sam's was a Fujifilm FinePix S2980. The cameras were extremely useful because they enabled us to produce a HD quality video. Ultimately, improved the appearance of our film opening. A limitation of the hardware observed during the editing process is that Kaden's DSLR offered a 1080p HD resolution, whereas Sam's camera offered a 720p HD resolution. This is a limitation because it meant that there was a lack of consistency in the quality between shots. However, this limitation was overcome by Kaden, our editor, who downgraded the quality of the footage filmed on his DSLR to 720p.

Tripod

This is a tripod (left). We intended to use a tripod to stabilise our footage because: the purpose of the hardware is to prevent the camera from wobbling. We used a tripod in our media product to obtain a steady panning shot of Ty and Kaden walking towards the car. However, the camera operator was too choppy with the camera panning technique. This caused the motion of the scene moving across the screen to appear jagged and jumpy looking, as opposed to smooth. To overcome this, we prevailed by again using the tripod for when Kaden and Ty's characters were opening the car doors. Its use for this particular scene was effective because the camera did not require movement (panning) once balanced on the tripod head.

Scanner

A scanner was used so that files and folders could be uploaded and shared to Google Drive. A scanner was an effective piece of hardware because it enabled all members of the group to access relevant materials (e.g., location shoots). Also, the accessibility of the drive enabled the group to readily contribute to resources (e.g. storyboards.) Ultimately, the scanner improved group communication; it allowed for materials to be circulated and discussed digitally. 

iMacs, and PCs running Windows 7, were used to update our blogs using Blogger, a blog-publishing service. A limitation of using computers is that they are in high-demand by students, so their availability is sparse. Therefore, I occasionally updated my blog from home using my Dell Inspiron Mini 10 Netbook. I used Google Chrome as a search engine to research information because I found that it was a more user-friendly web browser in comparison to Safari; it is faster, simpler and securer.

When editing our film opening, we originally used iMovie. iMovie was useful in the respect that it was readily accessible on the iMacs in the sixth-form centre. However, our editor found that iMovie's editing options were limited, specifically the split-screen effect.  Therefore, the editor began using Premiere Pro CC, a pre-installed editing software on their personal MacBook Pro. The editor was experienced with the software, therefore they were able to greater control the split-screen element of our media product.

The media product was edited using Premiere Pro CC

The non-diegetic soundtrack to our opening sequence was composed using Logic Pro. Read more about that here. 

Our titles and the film logo for Killjoy were produced using a third-party website, http://www.dafont.com/. DaFont was effective because it had a variety of interesting fonts which could be downloaded and used within our media product. Ultimately, we decided to use the "3rd Man" font made by Bumbayo Font Fabrik because it represented the gritty atmosphere of our film opening. 

"Killjoy" title

Our fictional production and distribution companies were created using a online logo designer and Adobe Photoshop.

SD cards were used to store footage. They were also used by the editor to transfer data between the iMacs in the sixth-form centre and his personal MacBook Pro. A limitation of the SD cards is that they held relatively small amounts of information. Therefore, USB memory sticks were used to store and transfer larger files.



Finally, our finished media product was uploaded to YouTube, a video-sharing website. YouTube is useful because it is an easily accessible platform.