Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this project

Our Kit:
I was very happy with the kit we used. It was provided by the school and each group got the same kit, but could ask for additional items if needed. To demonstrate the Kit we used in our project and their pros and cons I created this table:

The Kit we used and the Pros and Cons of it

What I have learnt Throughout this project:
Whilst constructing this project I have learnt and honed lots of new skills, and improved upon skills I already had from the Prelim and GCSE media studies.

Pre-Production:

• Blogger:
• Blogger was a completely new tool for me when we started planning this project. It was a useful tool when setting out my planning and research and allowed me to easily present my ideas, whilst still being able to go back and look at my previous posts for inspiration and information I may have forgotten.

My Blog

Production:

• Framing:
• Framing is somewhere I have really improved throughout this project.
• At the beginning of this project I could frame a camera, however I would leave way too much empty space around the character than there needed to be. For instance in the shot below.

My Framing at the time of the Test Shoot.

My Framing by the end of the Project

• By the end of this project I have greatly improved in my framing skills as can be seen in this shot. The camera is much more level, Joyce is right in the middle of the frame, and the surrounding area is minimal for thetype of shot we wanted.

• Lighting:
• At the beginning of this project I had never really thought about the lighting of the shots, as we didn't use the lighting rigs in the Prelim or before that.
• For the test shoot we used the lighting rigs, but only as props in the background. However whilst editing we could see the problems that not lighting the shots caused, for instance characters' faces being in too much shadow to make out their expressions.

My Lighting at the time if the Test Shoot.

My Lighting at the end of the Project            

• As you can see in the main shoot Joyce's face is still in some shadow, but you can much better make out her smile, whereas in the test shoot you couldn't make out any facial expressions at all.

Post-Production:

• Grading:
• At the beginning of this project I had never graded before, and doing it for our sequence was a real learning curve for me.

Grading one of our shots on Adobe Premier Pro

• I found it very enjoyable to grade, however it is not one of my strong points, so Noa graded quite a lot of our sequence with my input as she worked.

• Sound Mixing:
• Something I found myself excelling at in post-production was sound mixing. I found this part of the editing process really enjoyable, and am very happy with the way the song fitted together in our final sequence.

Me Sound Editing

• One part of our opening I was particularly proud of is the end sequence, and how all the cuts in the video match with the chords of the music.

Improvements I would make:

Overall I am very happy with the way our sequence turned out, but if I could do it again there are a few changes I would make:

• Try and fix the sound issue in Toby's interview. This was something I really struggled with when sound editing. Because of the way our sequence fitted together there is a slight jump in the music. It is almost inaudible, and only noticeable if you really listen out for it. However if doing this project again I would try and fix it, if not just for my peace of mind
• Toby's skin. In the interview shots you can see some of Ray's chest. It blends in quite well with the bandages, however he is meant to be invisible and, even though small, it makes it harder for the audiences to suspend their disbelief.

Ray's visible skin

• Toby's Dialogue. I was very happy with the dialogue overall, however during our feedback we were criticised for the line "I'm excited but nervous, still excited, but still nervous." We did consider changing this line during Production, however we couldn't think of a better line for this scene.
• Kenny's Grading was another thing I would definitely spend more time on if we could repeat the project as it just doesn't work with the rest of the sequence as it is too blue and unsaturated, and feels quite jarring when watching the opening.

Kenny's Grading Issue