CAMERA
The camera we used is a Panasonic AG-HMC41 which can record in full HD. However, because of limited computer performance, we filmed in 720p, which is still good quality and allows the computer to run it without glitching. This great quality adds to our product in a way that wouldnt have been available a few years ago. The camera records stright onto SD cards, this allows quick transfer between camera and computer, saving time when compared to tape which has to be played into the computer in real time. Also, the camera uses an AVC format of storing data. This is a new system and allows files to be small in size, but have great quality picture. This means we could film more footage before changing SD cards or having to store and delte all the data on the same card.
AUDIO EQUIPMENT
The voice over was recorded using a Rode NT1. This mic is great for recording vocals as its a condenser mic, giving the diagphram improved sensitivity and sound capture. Without this mic, the voice over may have sounded tinny and less professional. We used a pop shield to avoid syllabic plosives. We compressed the vocals in audacity to give it an intimate sound and added reverb to create the typical psychological thriller voice over.
USING AUDACITY
Adobe Premiere
To edit our video project we used Adobe Premiere. Using this program allowed for a multitude of functions that allowed us to complete the project easily and to a professional standard. Premiere and similar editing suites have eradicated the need for old time consuming methods of editing such as crash editing in which tape was cut together. Instead footage is simply dropped into the timeline bar and arranged (linear editing). This program also allowed us to add all sorts of video effects (eg. blur) that would not have been possible in years gone by. Below is an example of adding effects and the simplicity of it, along with a screenshot of all the effects displayed on one single piece of footage.
ALL EFFECTS ON ONE SHOT DISPLAYED ON PREMIERE
ADDING AN EFFECT ON PREMIERE
Premiere also allowed for high quality audio editing and offered effects for this process to. This is another great example of new technology as in the past instead of an audio track simply being in sync automatically with your video, records or tapes of the audio had to be played separately making it much more open to human error in which audio and video may go out of sync. Below is a shot of me controlling the audio mixing function in Premiere.
CREATING A TITLE ON PREMIERE
Premiere also allowed for a large range of colour grading options that drastically allow you to enhance the feel of your piece. To bring out the colours you want in the footage you simply control curves on a graph with you mouse to add or remove certain colours. Before the development of this technology film makers often used filters on the lenses of their cameras but this is limited as it does not allow a full scope of colours and careful manipulation. It also diminishes creativity at the editing stage and doesnt allow quick transition between colour gradients without stopping filming and changing the lense. Below is an example of colour grading.
COLOUR GRADING ON PREMIERE
The transition selection on Premiere is large and was incredibly useful in creating an ident for our film companies logo. This function allowed us to quickly manipulate the image and give it motion in any way we felt necessary. If this function hadn't been available we would have had to download the actual ident of the company or in the past we would have had to receive the companies ident on a tape and stuck it to the beginning of our project physically. Costing both time and money.
CREATING AN IDENT ON PREMIERE
Adobe Photoshop
To edit our photos and to design the poster and magazine cover we used Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop gives the user things that would have been impossible or very complicated to do years ago and is an extremely useful program with many many tools that allow for any sort of manipulation, effect, text to be added to images on a range of formats. The user simply chooses what tool they would like to use (eg. add text) and uses the mouse on the computer to position where they would like to use this tool on the image. These virtual tools are very precise and can detect things that humans cannot, compared to when people had to physically draw or stencil things onto pictures and then cut and stick pictures together, it is so ergonomic, time friendly and powerful and is an unbelievable development of new technology.
To take one picture and to put it over another all that you need to do is select what section of it you want to move and then do a simple drag and drop. See examples below.
DRAGGING PICTURE ON TO PROJECT ON PHOTOSHOP
ADDING PICTURE TO PROJECT ON PHOTOSHOP
From here a multitude of techniques can be used to enhance the quality of the piece. Photoshop offers a huge amount of effects from making your picture look like a cartoon to more simple subtle effects such as making your picture slightly more grainy. On every effect you are able to modify the parameters to exactly your preference to make your project exactly how you want it to appear. Many of the allow would have simply effects that Photoshop not been possible in times gone by. Here is an example of me adding an effect.
ADDING AN EFFECT ON PHOTOSHOP
Once a picture had been took and the pictures developed there was not much that could be done with look of that picture in the past. Now however we are given colour grading options that allow us to bring out lightness and darkness or certain colours that we want. This is very useful in defining your genre (eg. horror films would highlight darkness in the promotional images) and making our images look more professional and artistic. If we wanted to colour grade in the past, it would have envolved very intricate methods in a dark room, having to vary the amount and type of acid used to develop the photograph. Below is an example of colour grading in our project.
ADJUSTING COLOUR CURVES ON PHOTOSHOP
Another notable function of Photoshop is the 'blending options' menu. Within this there is a range of ways of making certain parts of your project highlighted in many ways, this was particularly useful on the magazine cover. Simple things such as gradient overlays on text or glow around a picture really adds to the overall image. All that is required of the user is to choose which option we want and how much of it and it automatically does it. If we wanted a glow around an image in the past an artist would have to carefully go round the image and it would not have looked as professional. Here is a demonstration of the 'blending options' function, before and after.
USING BLENDING OPTIONS ON PHOTOSHOP 'OUTER GLOW'
Another very important piece of new technology in the development of our project was the website 'Youtube'. Youtube allowed us to search footage from near enough any film we wanted to research or hear near enough any track we wanted for our project. It also allows us as independent film makers to distribute our work to an incredibly large audience as our trailer is uploaded to the site and therefore incredibly easily accessed by the millions and millions of people with the internet. Youtube also allows comments to be made by other members of the site thus giving feedback instantly. This is very useful as identifying parts that people do or dont like in the video lets us know what we are doing right or wrong and is very constructive. This new technology has also allowed artists to show the world their material without a penny being spent on advertisers, promoters or distributers. We may take Youtube for granted as I have never had to pay to display my work but there is no question on how much this new technology has revolutionised independent film making.
If audiences would prefer, they could also watch our video of the website 'Vimeo' this is another website like Youtube that allows anyone to upload their material to the world but in higher quality! Websites like this are so easy to access, easy to use and the quality of footage is probably better than that of the cinema in the past!
The website I am typing on now is another great example of the use of new technology. Blogger allows us to create an online diary of whatever we want that anyone can view. We used Blogger to demonstrate research in the completion of our project and to allow access to anyone that wants to view the progress and development of the project.
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