Technology used to create my product.
- 1. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT? Shannon Fowkes
- 2. Research: I used survey monkey to collect data from the public about the dystopian genre. For example, what they enjoy about dystopian films, what they expect and what their favourite dystopian film is. The site analysed the results for me, which saved me time. It enabled me to know the age range of my audience and what they were expecting to happen in my production. It also helped me figure out what needs to go in my production. Some answers also gave me ideas that helped develop my product. This was the first time I had ever used survey monkey, so I had to get used to it. Fortunately, it didn’t take me long to wrap my head around. I was able to create my survey and post it on social media and email it to some friends. I now know how to use survey monkey properly and would be more confident if I had to use it again. I used YouTube to watch the opening of The Hunger Games. However, I could not find the openings for my other comparable products on YouTube. This helped me easily analyse the opening and I could easily take screenshots as proof of my analysis. It was very easy to find this opening and YouTube is easy to use in general, which helped me progress with my research.
- 3. Prezi is a website that allows you to create a presentation that can be shared online. It can also be embedded onto my blog, which means that those who view my blog do not have to click a link and go to another page to view my presentation; they can see it straight from my blog. I used Prezi to create presentations on my comparable products analysis. The presentations look neater than a normal PowerPoint and is reasonably easy to use. I was able to create professional looking Prezis that had all the needed information. This allowed me to embed the information onto my blog to prove that I have researched into the dystopian genre.
- 4. Blogger is the blog website, which is run by Google that we had to use to post all of my research and planning that helped create my final product. It allowed me to keep all of my information in the correct order, which shows my progress. It was really hard to get used to at first and I found it really confusing. However, I got used to it and was able to easily post/edit/view my work I was able to keep all of my research in one place making it easier to work from it, which helped my product progress.
- 5. Planning: I used Blogger to keep a record of my planning to show my journey of creating my product. It also allowed me to keep all my planning in one place, which made it easy for me to revisit and edit. It allowed me to keep all of my information in the correct order, which shows my progress. I have learnt how to work a blog and how to keep it organised. I have also learnt how to edit posts, which includes adding photos and images.
- 6. I used SlideShare so I could upload my PowerPoints to the internet and later embed onto my blog. It allowed me to share my detailed PowerPoints, which meant that I could create my PowerPoint and edit it whenever I wanted without having to be connected to the internet. It also allowed me to embed the PowerPoint onto my blog via SlideShare. It kept my work neat and in one place, which made it easier for me to go back to my planning and research to edit or develop my ideas.
- 7. Production: I used a Nikon D3300 DSLR camera to take photos and film the scenes needed for my production. The digital camera made it easy to watch my footage and delete it if I didn’t like it. Watching it back also allowed me know what I didn’t like and how I can film it differently. Using a digital camera made me realise how difficult it is to film. It developed my filming techniques as my footage is no longer noticeably shaky. However, I still have a lot to learn. I also need to learn all the modes on the camera that alter the footage and change the exposure. I was able to get all of my footage for my production at a decent quality, which wouldn’t have been so easy if I wasn’t able to watch back my footage. Using the camera allowed my project to progress as I was able to collect all my footage before I started editing. I used Clip Converter to convert YouTube videos and sounds so that I could use them in my production. Firstly I converted an ongoing wind sound and a birds chirping track into an MP3 file, which could then be added to my product. I also converted the Lionsgate logo into a MP4 file, which meant I could add this to the beginning of m production to make it seem like an authentic film. The sound really helped develop the film as it added an isolated atmosphere.
- 8. BEFORE AFTER I used IMovie to edit my footage. For example, I altered the colour of each footage to create a dull atmosphere and to hint that the world was full of radiation. I did this by double clicking the footage I wanted to edit and then clicking on video. This then allowed me to alter the exposer, brightness, contrast and saturation of the footage. I dulled the image and then added a slight orange hue for the radiation effect. Using this allowed me to experiment with the different filters and different editing tools on IMovie until I was happy with the way my product looked. I was able to achieve a dull look, which contributed to the lifeless tone of the opening and helped the audience unpick the narrative. It also made me more comfortable with IMovie and more confident the more I used it.
- 9. BEFORE AFTER I used IMovie to crop certain clips to represent someone in a certain way or because I didn’t want certain things to be visible. In this example I wanted to focus on Aurora and show how she is not physically there and that her mind is somewhere else. It also highlights how isolated she is. I am now confident with IMovie and think I would easily be able to use it in the future. I was able to achieve an isolated atmosphere, which was one of our conventions. This also developed my idea as it made the narrative and characterisation of Aurora easier to decode.
- 10. BEFORE AFTER I used the text options provided by IMovie for the text used in my production. I chose where I wanted my text to be placed on the screen then dragged the text option to where I wanted it in my production. I then clicked on the fonts button and altered the text until I liked the way it looked. I chose to use a font that looked similar to the font used in The Hunger Games as it made it look like an authentic dystopian movie. I learnt that it is difficult to pick the right text for your production. It is easier to mess around with the text until it looks right and fits your genre.
- 11. I adjusted the speed on a few of my clips as I thought they were originally too quick. Before I was able to adjust the speed I had to convert the clip. When it was converted I decreased the speed by one mark, which made the clip flow better. This helped me as I realised I had slightly messed up wile filming, but making the clip slower and adding a transition hid my mistake, which helped my product flow and not look jumpy. Decreasing the speed also added to the slow pace of the opening, which helped create a dull, lifeless atmosphere. It allowed me to continue adding a slow pace to my opening, which helps the audience figure out the nature of my product.
- 12. I used YouTube to upload my final product, which then allowed me to embed it onto my blog. Uploading my opening to YouTube gave me easy access to my product when I need to watch it to get screenshots or to help me answer questions. It also made it easier for me to put it onto my blog as uploading a video straight to blogger takes a lot of time.