Q4. HOW DID YOU USE MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES?
Introduction
Media technologies played a huge part in the initial creative process of 'The doppelganger'. There was a brief learning process before learning how to use many media technologies such as final cut pro, Weebly, YouTube and others. We learned through the use of YouTube tutorials, watching how other short films used different techniques and through trial & error.
Planning & Research
The research and planning of this production process was done in order to help develop a blueprint or layout for what the film would evidently turn into. It also involves the websites, convention, story lines, posters, magazines and trailers.
The first website that presented a challenge for me was weebly.com. It also served as a means of presentation for my individual coursework, therefore it was vital to learn the key aspects, that would help me present my blog in a professional manner.
Before the decision to begin logging information on a blogging platform, we had choice between weebly and blogger (a seperate blogging site which is code heavy). Having never created an official blog before the the foundation year of media, i decided to choose weebly because it provided a more simple/straightforward setup and was easier to work with. Other blogging sites required too much coding which can be incredibly challenging for an amatuer blogger such as myself.
Learning How to use weebly
The theme was the first initial obstacle when learning how to use the website. Some themes have different purposes such as work-related, student-related, professional, sports, journal, gossip and more. Therefore, it was key that i found a theme that was appropriate for my media project and that would also be easy to understand for anyone who is observing it.
Navigating through weebly and learning how to build a theme, set up pages and alter the layout was also a vital learning aspect.
PowToon is a company which sells cloud-based software for creating animated presentations and animated explainer videos.
PowToon was used a lot in the research and planning stage of our film process, as it provided a platform for us to gather audience research for our short film.
For example:
For example:
It also was used for the presentation of the analysis of our questionnaires.
Like PowToon, Prezi is also a cloud-based presentation software based on a software as a service model. Prezi worked hand-in-hand with powtoon as the primary presentation websites for our media work during the research and planning stage, as well as the production stage.
IMDBThe Internet Movie Database
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IMDb was used as a database for finding films that not only represented the genre of social realism, but we also found films that featured mental illness, domestic abuse and drug/alcohol addiction. In addition to these themes we wanted to make the search a little bit more difficult by also observing films which fit the enigma code or had a twist ending.
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Construction
Adobe Photoshop CS6 was instrumental in the Construction stage of our film in designing the film poster and layout of our film review.
Photoshop was used to create a digital flat-plan for our film and was also used for the creation of the teasers, review and final poster
Photoshop was used to create a digital flat-plan for our film and was also used for the creation of the teasers, review and final poster
Click on the pictures above for a direct link back to the Poster, Research & Final page
Group film accountYouTube is a great platform for presentation because it allows the viewer to watch videos in an accessible way but also allows the film team to read comments, respond to viewers messages and examine how popular the film is becoming.
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YoutubeYouTube is a video-sharing website. We used this website as a means of distribution for not only our film content, but also for audience research, storyboard animations', location recces and film bloopers.
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Social Media & Mobile phones
Social media can be used as a great source for audience feedback. It was important to know what our audience felt about the implementation of ideas in our film such as the plot & theme, the review, the poster, the trailer and the final film. To gather this information, we used a range of social media outlets such as whatsapp, snapchat, twitter and instagram.
Production
The production of the film involves filming the product and editing it through a editing software. In the case of 'The Doppelganger' we used final cut pro as our primary editing software and garage band for our sound/audio.
Cameras & film Equipment
Nikon DsLR D3200
Nikon D3200 specification highlights
- 24MP CMOS sensor
- ISO 100-6400 (plus ISO 12,800-equivalent Hi1 setting)
- Expeed 3 processing
- 3.0", 920k dot screen
- Full HD 1080p30 video (with 25p and 24p options)
- Microphone socket
- Twin IR remote receivers
- 4 frame-per-second continuous shooting
- Guide mode
The Nikon DsLR D3200 is my personal camera and was used throughout the film for shots that required a lot of distance and those that specifically needed to have greater quality due to circumstances such as light, darkness and exposure at a certain setting. The DslR is not a handheld camera therefor its purpose was for still shots and was placed on a tripod for the majority of the film. Having known how to use this camera very effectively in my personal life, i gave my team members advice on how to use the camera and maximize its potential.
PHOTO SHOOT
The DsLR D3200 was used for the photo-shoot of our film;particularly for the film poster and film teasers. From the photo-shoot, came the pictures below:
Canon Legria HF R606
The CANON LEGRIA HF R606 was used as the primary camera for the film. It was given to us for the project from our college, therefore it was the most accessible. Since this camera was hand-held, it allowed us to capture moving shots such as an over the shoulder or a moving point-of-view. With the help of a steady hand, we were able to film the shots with expertise and translate the shots into a professional production.
Tripod
A tripod is a portable three-legged frame, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. A tripod provides stability against downward forces and horizontal forces and movements about horizontal axes. The positioning of the three legs away from the vertical centre allows the tripod better leverage for resisting lateral forces.
A tripod was used for multiple scenes throughout our film such as the drug & sex scene. |
Editing
Final Cut Pro:
Final Cut Pro is the name given to a series of non-linear video editing software programs. The software allows users to log and transfer video onto a hard drive (internal or external), where it can be edited, processed, and output to a wide variety of formats.
Final Cut Pro was used to create our storyboard animation video, our film trailer and our official short film. Final Cut Pro proved to be very challenging at first, however through the use of YouTube tutorials and a total team effort, we were able to overcome the obstacle. The addition of fades, dissolves, scenes in reverse, 'black screen', credits, special effects, filters, transitions and textual editing all were important elements that allowed us to finalize the film 'The Doppelganger'.
Final Cut Pro was used to create our storyboard animation video, our film trailer and our official short film. Final Cut Pro proved to be very challenging at first, however through the use of YouTube tutorials and a total team effort, we were able to overcome the obstacle. The addition of fades, dissolves, scenes in reverse, 'black screen', credits, special effects, filters, transitions and textual editing all were important elements that allowed us to finalize the film 'The Doppelganger'.
Final Cut Pro Editing Process
The editing of our film was incredibly time-consuming and was probably the most difficult aspect of our production because it required a lot of knowledge on how to implement fades, dissolves, cuts and more.
Sound
GarageBand is a software application for OS X and iOS that allows users to create music. Garage band was also a key feature in our film because it allowed us to record our voice over and experiment with the soundtrack. The voice over was used throughout the film in the voice of the narrator with the purpose of informing the audience about the hardships of the protagonist. Alongside the voice over, we recorded dialogue for two conversations for the film because we did not have a microphone while filming therefore it was very important that we record the actors in our film clearly so that the audience was able to follow the story.
Recording the vocals for our voice over was done with a narrators effect and was done in segments, then placed individually where they belonged in the film. In addition to the voice over and dialogue, there was a neeed for artificial environment sound throughout the film. Therefore, we added sounds such as a 'heartbeat' during moments of suspense, 'traffic sounds' when the characters were in public places such as a sidewalk and 'park noise' when the characters were seen in the park.
Conclusion
In conclusion, learning technological devices, software and programs was very important in our film because it evidently allowed us to create our film to the best of our ability.