Evaluation 6

Question 6: what have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

From producing our opening sequence I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience in handling the technologies that were used to create our sequence. Many of the knowledge I have gained have helped me work at a more efficient rate which allowed me to get many of the jobs done quick and easily. The equipments used to shoot our production were:

-        Canon XHA1 HD Camcorder

-        Tripod Libec L8200

My skills at first were present in setting up the Camera and the tripod which I did prior to shooting. Firstly we set our tripod up by adjusting it’s height for the first shot (panning of the office) in doing this, we had to consider the position of the spirit ball that was displayed on the tripod, if this was not taken under consideration, the mes-en-scene would have been tilted and not straight therefore ruining the shot, if not intended. We then made sure all the hinges were tightly locked in place on the legs of the tripod. We released the legs of the tripod to its required length (low-mid angle shot) then we locked the hinges in place to prevent any unwanted sudden descending of the camera while shooting. We then proceeded to mount the camera on the tripod by in lining the shoe horn (located at the bottom of the camera) with the tripod and slid it in place and locked the camera’s position. We gave the camera a light shake to confirm its stability.

We then took out the battery and slotted it in. I then turn the camera on by sliding the dial to “A” which means auto-focus, the most suitable setting for us. After that I unclipped the widescreen LCD that is positioned on top of the XH A1’s body and can be rotated for users shooting comfort, this was very helpful for while deploying POV shots the screen could have been twisted and turned for comfortable use. Then, we uncovered the lens by taking the lens cover off and allowed the camera to observe the office. We later found that light was needed, despite the fact that we wanted our set to be as dark as possible, we set it up too dark for the camera to pick anything up, so one of our cast members went away to retrieve a studio light. After obtaining this we set it up, the light intensity was easily variable and we set it to its lowest ray of light as this mirrored our genre of a psychological thriller. We then took the tape and put it into the camera ready for recording.

While shooting…

We learnt many things while shooting for our opening sequence. One of the first is the significance of safety shots. While filming, we decided in numerous occasions that we wanted to add some more shots in that were not planned on our story board or shooting schedule, for example, the cut away shots were originally meant to be two shots, according to our story board, but we decided that a variety of shots and positions of the actor was needed. This was for experimental purposes and to not suffer a shortage of shots. So, in our final product, we used five shots to illustrate our cut away, this was to highlight a specific moment in the opening sequence that will be important to the progressive narrative.

While filming I learnt many techniques such as, how to vary the speed of zoom that the camera is able to execute. This was important because, if the sequence shows a zoom in or zoom out too quickly it could build the pace of the sequence which could be desired or could be an unwanted aspect. I also discovered the use of a POV (Point Of View) shot where the viewer observes the sequence through the eyes of the character. I felt that this is a very effective filming technique as it invites the observer to connect with the sequence. We used this shot when “Cornelius” was loosing focus and fainting. We showed Cornelius drawing from a POV angel where his vision is slightly blurred; we did this by changing the focus on the camera by sliding the iris rings on the body of the XH A1. We then had to justify this shot by showing Cornelius rubbing the bridge of his nose, using a medium over the shoulder angel. We then went back to the POV shot to illustrate Cornelius’s head falling forwards as he fainted. We felt that this shot would be effective in portraying Cornelius’s psych as it allowed the audience to be in Cornelius’s “shoes”. Whilst filming, I found that if an extreme close-up of something is implemented it could hint to its significance to the audience which is important in an opening sequence as you will be required to foreshadow much of the later narrative in that short introductory sequence. We applied this technique in our sequence just before Cornelius is about to draw on his notepad with a pencil. We showed a medium shot of Cornelius putting his pencil down on the paper to draw and then an extreme close up of the lead printing on the paper. This would illustrate to the audience the initiation of a dangerous conspiracy. Also, while filming, I learnt that if you are using an artificial light it is imperative not to change the positioning of the light between shots as this would hinder the illusion of realism that we attempt to achieve. I believe that my skills have grown vastly in operating a camera and using a verity of camera techniques.

As we did not use sound while shooting in the office, we did not have to set up the sound equipment at that time. Although we did have sound in our sequence, the use of voice-overs where we were required to set up the sound equipment.

Editing…

The software we used for editing was…

-        Adobe Premier

Out of everything in the process of production of our media product, I felt that I enjoyed editing the most. It felt good seeing all your pieces being put together and watching them flow, which makes the result of it very much rewarding.

Despite the fact that I have always been an enthusiast in editing, I came across many obstacles that begged me to question the quality of our shots, but I learnt that no problem while editing is a problem that cannot be isolated and aided. When we were putting our cut back shots together we found out, from feedback, that the leading up of the cut-back shot was too short. Therefore we had to add more shots prior to the final shot in the office before Cornelius faints for the cutbacks. We found two additional shots that could have made it longer, but it still was not long enough. Stuck and worried at this point we started reconsidering the material. Then we decided that the last shot before the cut back was a POV, so if this shot was slowed down it would add to the tension and the pace would be at the right level of speed. We did so and slowed the POV shot down by 45% which was enough for the shot to demonstrate its purpose.

From editing my opening sequence, I also learnt how to overlap two shots over each other showing both shots in the same instance. I did this by dragging the desired shot onto the shot already present in my sequence and decrease its opacity level; this made the shot almost see-through subsequently both shots were viewable. I used this technique when we initiate the cut-back where Cornelius is seen in a straitjacket; this injected an abstract element into our sequence and also followed the codes and conventions of a psychological thriller.

The use of credits had also worried us, as we wanted to create the fonts of the credits in accordance to our genres; we used collage to create our credits. We found that they did not fit in with the fast pace of the sequence, the way the credits would pop up slowly, deflated the pace. Therefore, sticking with the collage idea, we used Adobe Photoshop to construct our credits with a nicer finish.

Sound was very important in our sequence, though none was delivered by Cornelius, it was imperative to help the audience fully understand the intentions of the narrative. Therefore it was vital for us to make the music and the voiceovers flow with efficiency. I learnt that when applying the voice-overs into a sequence, it was important that the voices flowed, and we used 4 different accents in our voice-overs. Each was saying the same thing but with a different tone, pitch, volume and speed. I learnt how to make each of the voiceovers have the same volume and speed. We wanted the audience to distinguish the different voiceovers as the accents and tone assisted this illusion. Although, within our group we debated if the news reporters should be saying the same thing, though nothing was repeated, each voice was just carrying on from the last. There were some disagreements but we finally agreed that the flow of the voiceovers was important and it assisted the visual elements.

We used a number of effects and transitions in our opening sequences and I have always been familiar with the use of effects but it was while I was editing where I found that combining the right effects are far better. For example, I used the “Ghost” effect for the cut-back shots and I also made it black and white, this enhanced the illusion of the audience being in Cornelius’s mind. I then added another shot on top of this but lowered its opacity and used inverted colours to make it seem more abstract.