Throughout the production process we published all of our research, planning and evaluation on a blog which we created from http://www.blogger.com/. It was really simple and reliable to use and had many features such as being able to upload video, images, embedded documents and show links. As it was all saved over the internet I could work on and my blog at any computer at home or school and all my work would be saved which meant I could use my time productively and wasn’t limited to only do my blogging at school. Blogger also seemed to have an unlimited capacity. However, it did have some faults as if you uploaded a video clip you had to make sure it was working and sometimes the videos played but if I checked them again they wouldn’t play which became annoying as I never found a cause for this. To embed documents I signed up with http://www.scribd.com/which is a free website that enables you to upload document and post the link on your blog which meant it was embedded in that post so it is easy to access and analyse for the rest of the group or examiner. I scanned in the documents first and then used scribd to embed the documents onto my blog such as the storyboard, production schedule and screenplay. http://johnson-lucya2.blogspot.com/2010/02/revised-storyboard.html.
To research films I used websites such as http://www.uk.filmtrailer.com/ to view numerous trailers which helped me create my idea and follow the common codes and conventions of the horror genre. I regularly used http://www.imdb.com/ to research particular films as it gave detailed information on things like plot, trailer, budget and gross revenue and much more. The website was clearly layed out and easy to navigate. http://www.wikipedia.org/ also was useful in giving me definitions and basic understandings of topics and theories such as Maslows hierarchy of needs which I applied to my audience. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslows_hierarchy_of_needs
I feel I have improved my directing and editing skills although I could have improved them more by using final-cut as it is an updated version of the programme I used, imovie. We had initially decided to use final cut however, time was running out and we thought as we were unaware of the features of final cut it may take to much time and our product could suffer because of this. My practical skills improved as I know have a deeper understanding of different framings, angles and movements and the purpose they are used for such as a dutch angle is used to create the sense that something is wrong. I noticed that when I use the camera the shots are a lot less shaky than in last years coursework especially when tracking a character or zooming in which meant that filming was less time consuming as we didn’t have to re-film due to a gilt in the camera. Although, we used a jerky camera in one scene when it was a point of view shot from the killers view as she opens the door and attacks Sophie. We used this shot as it is mean to be the ’eyes’ of the killer and that it is what it would have looked like to them. Doing this adds to the scariness of the shot and builds tension. However, there is one shot in our trailer where the camera jerks when it isn’t meant to, when you see the wine bottle being smashed the camera jerks when the wine bottle hit’s the ledge. We did re-film this scene but again the angle we filmed it from wasn’t right so it is hard for the audience to tell that is a wine bottle smashing as the clips only lasts a matter of seconds.
We used a digital camera to take pictures of the cast and I also used a digital camera when producing my anamatic at the beginning on the coursework task. Using a digital camera meant I could upload the photos onto my blog a lot easier and quicker than if I scanned them into the computer then uploaded them with www.photobucket.com which I used last year. Also, as I regularly use digital cameras socially so I am well aware of how to use a digital camera so there was no time wasted coming to grips with the features and generally how to use it and upload the photos to a computer.
I have developed my skills of photoshop immensely since last year as last year when producing a poster it took a huge amount of time as I had never used photoshop so I was trying to come to terms with the features whilst creating a poster to a high standard. So this year when I was making the poster and magazine I was able to use my time more efficiently as I was aware of some of the buttons I could use although I still probably took more time creating my magazine cover and poster than others who used photoshop on a regular basis. I am glad I know have a basic/moderate understanding of photoshop as it is it a programme which is used in industry so hopefully the products I have created wouldn’t stand out too much if they were compared with products made professionally.
In this years coursework I had to produce two copies of the magazine cover so to ensure our revised magazine cover would be better than the first, i simply googled 'photoshop for beginners' which came up with a number of links that would help me learn how to use photoshop to a better level.
such as; http://www.pegaweb.com/
http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/photoshoptutorialsbasic/Photoshop_Basics_Tutorials_for_Photoshop_Beginners.htm
http://www.photoshopstar.com/effects/cool-effect-for-your-designs/
I found the second link especially useful as it was a video link so it was visual making it more easier to understand. I didn't use all of the information i learnt from my research as not all of it applied to a magazine cover, however if I needed to use photoshop for something else then I would be able to apply my knowledge then.
such as; http://www.pegaweb.com/
http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/photoshoptutorialsbasic/Photoshop_Basics_Tutorials_for_Photoshop_Beginners.htm
http://www.photoshopstar.com/effects/cool-effect-for-your-designs/
I found the second link especially useful as it was a video link so it was visual making it more easier to understand. I didn't use all of the information i learnt from my research as not all of it applied to a magazine cover, however if I needed to use photoshop for something else then I would be able to apply my knowledge then.
(Poster from the AS coursework)
(the A2 poster)
Throughout filming we kept the same digital video tape just in-case our footage was lost on the MAC computers so we had a backup file and wouldn’t have had to re-shoot if we lost the footage just re-edit it. We also kept the same tape as we new there was no problem with that tape as sometimes the tapes can malfunction which would make things very difficult if this happened during filming. We also made sure our battery on the camera was fully charged before each filming experience as if we were filming outside or somewhere where we couldn’t plug in our camera to charge this would have wasted time and annoyed our actors which we didn’t want to do. We tried to re-use the same camera each time as they varied slightly in terms of models and we didn’t want to upload our footage and notice the person before had altered the settings of the camera such as changing the standard 4:3 to widescreen 16:9 or putting the camera in night mode but not changing the settings back after use as this could have caused problems once we had filmed the footage as you would only notice the differences once you started editing and adding it to footage you had already filmed.
I only started to use MAC computers when I started the media course prior to that I had only used PC’s. Initially, I found the MAC computers confusing but looking back I think this was because I wasn’t used to the change as quickly became used to the MACs and found they had advantages with their use over a PC such as being able to open up more than one internet page and view them all at the same time. This was useful if I was quoting a source as I wasn’t having to flick back and forth. We did the editing of our film on the MACs at school but like I mentioned earlier, as you can access you blog on any computer I used the PC at home to write posts for my blog.
Over the past few years there has been a large development in the use of social networking sites such as http://www.facebook.com/ and http://www.twitter.com/. I uploaded my ancillary tasks and main product onto face book as it is a fast way to gain audience feedback. A few years ago I would only have been able to gain audience feedback by simply showing my products to my potential audience face to face and asking for their feedback that way. Gaining feedback over the internet means my audience can be more critical and honest and it stops there being a researcher bias where they say things they think I want them to say. I could have developed this more by uploading it onto http://www.youtube.com/ as it is a dominant provider of online video and holds a 43% market share.
I then decided I would upload my final cut to youtube which you can view in another post on my blog.
We used a portable digital audio recorder to record our pod casts which was showed how far we had got and things we were planning on next. We also used the recorder to record the voice over on our trailer which says “this Christmas”. We used this feature as it is a common code and convention to have a voice over.
Throughout my blog I have added videos, embedded documents and images to make it more visually appeasing for the audience. Overall, I feel I have developed my skills of new media immensely since AS and they carried on developing throughout the coursework task. Without new media the majority of the research I conducted and the production itself wouldn’t have been possible.
We used a portable digital audio recorder to record our pod casts which was showed how far we had got and things we were planning on next. We also used the recorder to record the voice over on our trailer which says “this Christmas”. We used this feature as it is a common code and convention to have a voice over.
Throughout my blog I have added videos, embedded documents and images to make it more visually appeasing for the audience. Overall, I feel I have developed my skills of new media immensely since AS and they carried on developing throughout the coursework task. Without new media the majority of the research I conducted and the production itself wouldn’t have been possible.
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