Question 4 - David
- 1. How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages? Group 1: David Shaaya (4397)
- 2. Documenting Tools used: Editing: – YouTube – Blogger – Prezi – Survey Monkey – Storyboard That Pre-Production/Research
- 3. In order to document our journey, we used Blogger which allowed us to collate all our research and post it under a heading- our post being able to include images and text, which therefore made it easy to refer back to and allowed our group to keep up with our progress. Furthermore, we were also able to host images on it for audience feedback and this is where most of our surveys came from. Moreover, the use of the surveynuts and surveymonkey allowed us to collate audience feedback for things like our storyboard and our animatic which were made using Storyboard That. This application was very fitting as it allowed us to create a still-image view of what we wanted to produce and then through Final Cut Pro we were able to merge the images with the music to create a brilliant animatic. How did we use them in Pre- Production and Post-Production?
- 4. YouTube, Blogger and Prezi How did I use this Through the use of YouTube I was able to host my content, for example uploading the music video as well as the animatic and other videos we as a group produced. This not only allowed us to use this as a documenting tool, but also a marketing tool as it allowed us to present our concept and our videos to a wider global market. Similarly, Blogger was used to host text documents, surveys, embed videos and so forth to further document our work and reach a wider audience. Prezi was simply used in order to create interactive and engaging presentations.
- 5. YouTube – Strength – Allows you to share any content you have created. – It is free. – Useful for receiving feedback and keeping a track on what the audience like. – You can contact other users easily, for example if you are requesting use of any found images or media files such as audio effects or soundtracks – Allows embedding tools – Weakness – There are limits for new accounts, for example the limit of length and quality for new accounts. – YouTube servers may crash which means videos become unaccessible
- 6. Blogger – Strength – Users are able to change the style and format of their information – Great for documenting progress throughout the production of a media text and allows collaboration with other people – Easy to embed videos, powerpoints, photos and gifs which made the presentation of information more accessible – Weakness – The blogs may crash often, causing scares and perhaps the loss of data as experienced by us twice.
- 7. Prezi – Strength – Not only is it free but it is a unique way to present information – Simple to use and movement becomes a part of technology – It saves backups online and can be embedded anywhere – Allows you to zoom in and out of information and so makes the format more accessible – Offers a more engaging audience experience – Weakness – Trying to access it with bad internet is an issue, it does not load properly – Some data can be lost if it crashes before having been saved – Audio can not be added easily to a Prezi – Can cause dizziness if not created carefully, motion sickness has been reported
- 8. What we learnt about documenting technologies As a group, we were able to detail and document all of our pre- production and research in several different formats. We also discovered how to use labels and tag our posts, allowing us to make it more efficient when looking through our posts and seeing who needed to do what as well as any progress made. We learned how to use several different documentation tools such as Powtoons, Slideshare, Prezi, YouTube and many others. This meant that our work could be both informative and interesting without the two being mutually exclusive.
- 9. Equipment and technologies used: Filming – Canon DSLR 650D EOS – Camera lens – Lighting (key, fill and back) – Microphone Production
- 10. In order to create a linear and well- constructed music video, we had to utilise a mixture of different components. The first being the DLSR cameras which we used for filming in addition to the lighting and the microphones in order to achieve the best sound and visual quality which is reflected in our music video. How did we use them in Production?
- 11. Canon DSLR 65OD EOS What did we use it for? In total, we used three of these cameras to film our piece. We were able to use their functions to produce professional looking raw footage which we were then able to edit and utilise in the construction of our music video. We ultimately used three to capture different angles for the same scene, reducing filming time significantly but also making sure everything was consecutive and chronologically worked.
- 12. Canon DSLR 65OD EOS – Strength – On the camera, the ability to set the focus manually we were able to get a much clearer shot and adjust the white balance, exposure etc to suit our opening – The Canon DSLR had easily accessible settings and menus which were easy to work, therefore it allowed a better quality of image with very little work. – The camera is relatively small therefore it was convenient to carry around as we moved locations – Weakness – The battery life only last around 2-3 hours which put us under time pressure
- 13. Camera lens – Strength – The camera lens allowed us to create shots with great detail due to the zoom and focus option, for example the wounds on the flashback. – Weakness – Despite our efforts to focus the lens as much as possible, some of the shots were still slightly blurry as the lens wasn’t able to focus any more
- 14. Lighting (key, fill and back) – Strength – The lighting worked very well as it brought out the subjects, our actors, and created a very dim but sharp atmosphere – The lighting also allowed us to make the antagonist appear more mysterious and creepy – The small lights were useful as they weren’t too bright yet provided the right amount of lighting – Weakness – Due to the lighting bringing out the sharpness, it also brought out shadows which made it difficult in continuity editing and sometimes the shadows would alter their position.
- 15. Microphone What did we use it for? We used the microphone to ensure we had perfect sound quality of our clips. While we didn’t need it for most of the video, it was integral for the beginning of our music video as it was a cut-scene before the music started; giving context to the audience.
- 16. Microphone – Strength – The microphone enabled us to record sound of a better quality and get rid of most background noise – Using the microphone has generally improved our audio for example the sound of water running from the tap was very clear and therefore we didn’t need to enhance it – Weakness – The microphone did not completely get rid of prevalent background noises, and this led to us having to edit it out
- 17. How we overcame filming problems: – One of the problems we experience was during filming an extreme close up of the eye. When we place the camera on the tripod the camera wouldn’t zoom in as much as we wanted to therefore we had to use a hand held camera and keep steady in order to minimise shaking – In certain scenes the key lighting was too bright therefore we had to put a filter over it to make it dimmer. We also made sure that the lighting in each shot was matching the lighting in the rest of the shots from that scene
- 18. What we learnt about filming technologies From the use of these technologies, we were able to decipher how to utilise certain configurations and settings on the cameras to achieve what we wanted. For example, in order to enhance the natural colours of our scene we manually set the White Balance through the manual settings. We also learned how camera lenses could zoom in, and then focus which allowed us to take more detailed close-up shots and extreme close-ups without losing the verisimilitude and quality of the footage. In addition to this, we learned how a microphone can make all the difference to the sound quality as it allowed us to remove background noise while filming.
- 19. Equipment and technologies used: Editing: – iMac – Final Cut Pro – Firework – Dream Maker Post-Production
- 20. Most of these tools came handy in post- production when we were editing and constructing the final media texts such as the website and the synergistic link. The iMacs were used to run the applications such as Final Cut Pro and Fireworks/Photoshop. Final Cut Pro allowed us to edit and construct a linear narrative whereas Fireworks and Photoshop allowed us to produce the psychedelic tongue which was used to create synergy between our products. How did we use them in Production?
- 21. How did we use Photoshop to create the link? Step 1 First we had to sketch the outline, we all judged whether or not our previous attempts were worthwhile and ultimately decided to proceed with this outline. (It was so frustrating, we got mad enough times to have ripped our work in half) Step 2 Now that the outline had been created we tried to replicate the tongue as best we could- adding swirls where we saw appropriate in regards to our original image. It wasn't entirely accurate but it was to the best of our abilities.
- 22. How did we use Photoshop to create the link? Step 3 Having completed what we wanted the image to look like, we had to go over the pencil in a darker substance such as marker in order to make the scanning process easier Step 4 We then scanned the image using a scanner
- 23. How did we use Photoshop to create the link? Step 5 When scanned we moved the image to Photoshop where we altered the brightness and the contrast as well as other elements to make the drawn image look digitally rendered Step 6 From this digitally rendered image, we began to add colour according to the original image.
- 24. How did we use Photoshop to create the link? Step 7 We then had to export our final image and that was the process. It was a very long, vigarous and frustrating one but it was completely worth it to achieve our final goal.
- 25. iMac – Strength – The iMac has autosave which means that all of our work wasn’t lost when the computer crashed – All of us have found the software easy to use and therefore it allowed us to produce work more successfully – The iMac has provided us with various programmes and softwares enabling us not only to edit our opening but also access your blogs, the Internet and Youtube in HD – Weakness – The iMacs would sometimes crash therefore there was a risk of losing all our work
- 26. Final Cut Pro How did we use this? Using Final Cut Pro, we used editing to remove sound from original footage and overlay it with the separate soundtrack to create a music video-esque feel. Having done this, we were able to trim and move the raw footage in a bid to synchronise the moving images with the music, however, this was not done to the best of our abilities due to time constraints but it was done to a good enough quality for it to be believable. We also used the editing process to once construct a linear narrative in relation to the soundtrack. In light of this, in our ‘Music Video’ we once again employed continuity editing, except now with added overlay effects. For example, we added a rain effect through post-production for our running sequence to adhere to pop conventions of bad weather signalling distress and confusion. In order to attain this, I used my previously attained skill of adjusting the composure and brightness as well as adding different colouring layers. Further transferring skills from my preliminary, I also cut, trimmed and moved clips to finely line up the soundtrack with the moving footage in order to create verisimilitude and adhere to the conventions of a music video. We also wrestled with the idea of implementing green screen chroma-keying but ultimately decided against it to keep with the rawness and domesticated feel of our piece. Our piece was carefully edited to convey the narrative of a toxic relationship in the form of a pop music video while representing an interracial couple and we wanted to do this without any unnatural elements- I wanted to keep it real.
- 27. Final Cut Pro – Strength – Final Cut Pro allowed us to edit our opening in a professional way which meant we could reduce and enhance any sound we had filmed, add credits and add any extra effects – Every shot could be precisely edited – Despite some of us not having much experience with the software, we were still able to quickly learn the necessary skills to edit our opening – Weakness – Within Final Cut Pro, we found out it was difficult to edit or fade our current soundtrack- meaning we were not able alter the music to fit in with certain scenes at ease. This led to us splicing the soundtrack.
- 28. Firework and PhotoShop What did we use this for? We were able to design our own logos and titles through the use of Photoshop and Fireworks, all of which we later imported and edited into our final piece through the use of Final Cut Pro.
- 29. Firework and PhotoShop – Strengths – The software allowed us to construct our own image for the Logo – The software was relatively easy to use yet produces professional work – Images could be resized without creating a loss of quality, therefore allowing us to both design a small logo for our music video and then resize it for our website and our magazine advert.
- 30. How we overcame editing problems: – Edited out any background noise through the editing software – We were able to adjust the light sources to prevent shadows from taking over the scene, any shadows still present were then edited to fit the current scene – When our iMac deleted some of our raw footage, we used our backup files and this allowed us to regain the work we had done – We had originally created a title using a found image, but after being told this wasn’t allowed we were able to construct a new image via the use of Fireworks and Dreamweaver – One of the shots we used in our opening was very unsteady which meant that we had to stabilise the shot on the Final Cut Pro software
- 31. What we learnt about editing technologies During the editing process, one of the key things our group has noticed and learnt is the effect that post production has on a text. Editing i.e. post production is essentially where the product in shaped. Our raw footage was quite different from what the final shots are like. This is because during editing we were able to change things like saturation and add filters to shot in order to change the mise-en-scene making the opening appear more dull and mysterious than it originally was. Furthermore this process has taught us how to add in the audio line effectively because we realised that if you just add a soundtrack the rhythm may not necessarily match the shots. It is important to wait until the tension builds up before the sound dramatically drops as this will appeal more to the audience and create the tension expected from a thriller. We learned that Final Cut Pro is a professional and sophisticated way to piece together raw footage in order to create a final product.