CCR TASK 4 - How did you integrate technologies (hardware, software and online) into this project

 

Technology was a crucial part of our final product, we used different hardware, software and online websites, through pre production, production and post production to create and improve our final opening sequence.

Hardware - what you can physically touch, a MacBook, camera, microphones ect. we used many different hardware devices in all three aspects of production, and it was vital to our final product

Software - the applications running on your hardware device, in our post production we used Adobe Premier to edit the final product. 

Online technologies - websites, such as google and youtube, these were used through our researching and planning as well as communicating with the group.

Pre Production - 

The majority of pre production was done online, through communicating with group members, researching and planning - however we did use certain hardware and software. Hardware was used in pre production assisting the websites we were using to research, and we used iPhones to record the test shoot. We used software such as iMovie to edit the test shoot we did in preparation for the final shoot, as well as using Adobe Premier to complete editing practise and workshops. 

Online technologies were the most significant part of pre production, we used google (& google docs), YouTube, iMessage, Snapchat to research and plan as well as communicating with other group members, purchase props, look at different locations and make blog posts – all making the final product more achievable and producing the best project that we could. 

Communications were important, we created group chats within our group to sort out who was responsible for each part of the project, to sort out the costs when buying props, sharing ideas and organising the shoot day. We sent websites and links to each other that may improve our product and this helped us work more effectively as a group. We used Google Docs to make shared documents with each other, such as the step by step outline of the
sequence, the shoot day schedule and other various ideas and improvements towards our sequence. 

 

We used YouTube to watch videos, mainly on how to make a horror film but also to compare other horror film opening sequences to see patterns and stereotypes (costume, lighting ect) within the genre, this was helpful to us as we could then look at other products and see what we were doing right and also see what we could improve on. Again using YouTube for research purposes, we looked at a case study of a satanic cult in the woods, this allowed us to gain a more realistic and accurate picture of how the set would look. We also used YouTube to watch videos on how to make props we were planning to use, such as fake blood, fake guts and the best way to create the symbols we used – this was all very useful to us coming up to the shoot day as we had a better understanding of what we were creating. 

Blogger was a space for us to write down our ideas and organise what we were planning, we wrote blog posts from the very beginning of pre production all the way to the end of editing and this was extremely helpful as we could easily develop our ideas. 

 

Production -

During production, we only used hardware as there was no need for other areas of technology. 

While shooting our final sequence, we used Black Magic 4k Mini URSA cameras, we learnt how to use these through a number of camera workshops as well as test shoots and practise – during the shoot we had an assigned camera operator that did most of the camera work but as it was raining during our shoot day we all helped protecting the camera and also all contributed to the filming. The entirety of the sequence was filmed on the same camera so learning how to use it properly was essential.

 

 Along with the camera we used a Lexar Pro memory card – this all of the clips from the footage of the day and made it so we were able to bring the clips back and edit them into a sequence. We had used this same memory card before when doing our practise shoots so we were able to work with this and were confident when transferring the footage onto a MacBook to edit

 

We used the Vinten tripod to hold the camera, this was essential for keeping the shots straight as well as pan and tilt shots. We learnt the right way to slide the camera onto the tripod and operate it in the correct way to produce the appropriate shot. We didn’t have any handheld or tracking shots in our sequence so we used the tripod in every shot

The microphone we used was the Sennheiser Shotgun mic, while this helped with certain sound and the limited dialogue we had – on our shoot day it was windy so it was helpful that we could plug and unplug the microphone when needed. With us on our shoot day, we took a portable reflected portable light so as to get the best lighting we could while on location

 

We took our iPhones onto our location so we could take pictures and eventually record and edit a behind the scenes video, this was also useful when reflecting on our final project. 

Post Production -

During our post production, the main focus was Adobe Premier Pro - an editing software used on Mac Books. Although we also used certain hardware and online sites – hardware was used when transferring the footage from the memory card onto the computer and we used online websites to find soundtracks to add to our sequence.

 

Our whole editing process was done on Adobe Premier Pro, we made most changes to our original idea during the production of the sequence so our editing job was easier and more efficient. When we first watched over our footage we deleted clips we didn’t like, then organised the ones we were going to keep and named them so they would be easier to put into the correct order, we then started putting the clips together, cutting at the appropriate moments and editing the audio to keep synchrony between the audio and the visuals. At the very end of the sequence we made a choice to cut after an over the shoulder shot and quickly cut to a black screen, the editing in this helped us to end on a cliff hanger and this adhered to out genre better.

We used Adobe Premier to add titles, and we picked black with a gothic font, to go along with the horror conventions – we added all the necessary titles and placed them in the right order within the sequence and then decided on a title and studio name – both going along with the horror element of our sequence. The software we used allowed us to add even more to our final product by adding in more horror conventions, therefore making the overall sequence closer to what we wanted it to be.

 

Adobe Premier also allowed us to put in a soundtrack, and while we found this online it meant we could also edit this audio along with the dialogue in our sequence – combined with the titles this meant we could achieve a sequence closer to the horror conventions.