Evaluation Question Four - How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

For years technology has been a massive part of not only media production but society as a whole. The subtle transition from the analogue age to the digital age has established a means for the audience to become the producer and the director as well. With the lack of distinction between the producers and the audience we arrive at a time where the technology to make even a home video into a high quality production.

                The internet has brought with it masses upon masses of relevant information at the fingertips of its users. Websites such as Wikipedia have made it possible for internet users to get endless amounts of information that relate to their topic. I used Wikipedia to look into different genres and see which one suited the idea that I wanted, the best. Wikipedia also let me know what being a director and a producer entails and how I should go about creating a short film. Search engines such as Google meant that I had the power to look at other pieces of work similar to the piece I was creating and this gave me an idea as to how I should direct my work. Blogger is a website that meant I could store all of my research and planning work easily, it also has a feature called 'Labels' that means a user can assign posts different key words that he or she can later use to filter quickly through their posts. This is a very handy tool to have because it means I can quickly flick back through notes without having to scroll past the information I do not currently need. File sharing websites are another aspect of the internet that proved to be a useful as it meant that I could find similar essays or presentations to mine and then compare them together. This then lead to the re-writing of several essays as more information had become apparent to me. File sharing also meant I could upload my own files and have others use them or give me feedback on them. Video sharing websites such as YouTube and Vimeo made it so that when I was struggling for an idea I could look at existing ideas and then reflect upon them. Having thousands of short films at your disposal greatly increases your chances for success when making your own film. I used YouTube mainly as it is a site I have been using ever since I first had access to the internet. YouTube has a large selection of amateur short films ranging from big budget amateur films that include special effects and top notch actors, to student short films that were made on the cheap and feature very little in the ways of acting talent. All of these videos helped me decide what I was going for when making this short film. Another benefit of having YouTube whilst making this short film is that the videos are up 24/7 for me to pause, rewind, download and take with me, this is groundbreaking as before directors would have had to put in a VHS tape to record the screen whilst MTV played the music video that they wanted to emulate. Also, short films rarely receive any recognition on television as they are normally too short to fit the 30 minute window that most television shows have, but with the invention of YouTube we can view millions of short films any time we want. When editing, the internet became very helpful as there were quite a few times when I was stuck using software I was not familiar with. The internet gave me the chance to search for videos or pages that gave me a tutorial on how to overcome the obstacles I was faced with. Technology like Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint meant that my work would be presented nice and neatly. Not only that but my work would be easy for anyone to read and understand.

                During the actual filming and production of my short film and my other products I used a plethora of different technologies ranging from hardware to software. The combination of the Hardware and the Software that I used is what gave me a finished product that I feel happy with and proud of. Firstly, to shoot the short film I used the Canon 550D DSLR camera that features instant playback and the ability to use manual settings. These two major features impacted my film in a big way as they meant I could reshoot certain shots instantly and still have enough time to film everything else. The manual settings meant that I could adapt and change the way that the scene looked without having to involve lighting. The manual settings meant that I could change around the ISO, the shutter speed, the aperture and the FPS which all help to make the video the best it can possibly be. I changed the settings around in order to create the perfect atmosphere of my film whilst simultaneously making as little grain as possible. I remember specifically changing the ISO down to very low when I shot an indoors scene as I wanted it to seem gloomy, this meant dropping the ISO to a lower number in order to get a darker feel to the scene. The more traditional way that is still used in feature films today is to shoot on film but that involves waiting a day for the replays to be collected and it could result in thousands of pounds worth of film reels. The SD card storage features of the 550D meant that I was able to film as many clips as I desired and it gave me the chance to shoot things over and over until I got it correct. I used the SD card storage to easily transfer my data from the camera over to the computer so I could begin editing straight away. The full HD recording potential that comes with the 550D is amazing as it means that my videos are as high quality as some of the more budget heavy films. It also means that my short film looks much more crisp and therefore is more pleasant to watch. The 50mm 1.8 Prime lens meant that my shots had a far more dramatic depth of field. I also played around with the depth of field controls manually throughout the shooting of the short film in order to add a personal flare to the film.

                In postproduction I used a non-linear editing software to create my short film. The advantages of a non-linear software mean that I can move the clips around freely and test different orders so that I can get the film exactly how I want it. I used the non-linear program Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 as it is a top of the range non-linear editing program that is used in industry. Premiere has features such as single frame advancing and speed adjustment. These two features in particular meant that I was able to perfectly edit my clips down to size. The single frame advancement helps in other aspects such as lip syncing for music videos. In my particular video the single frame advancement meant that I could sync up my music with the clips so they felt more integrated. Premiere helped my work flow easier as it meant that I could put all of the clips onto the timeline and then I could move them around to see what went best where.

                In conclusion, the technologies that I have used throughout have greatly helped me complete this project. Similarly, as a comparison, I fell that with the recent technological advancements my video has benefitted greatly. If I were to have made this video 10-20 years ago then it would have cost me a whole lot more than it did and no one would have seen it.