what did i learn about each piece of
TRANSCRIPT
What did I learn about each piece of new media?
What did I learn from using each piece of new media in relation to
my production work?
Abbie Murray
Websites and Programmes
Weebly
• I used the website “Weebly” for two reasons – to upload the content that I felt developed my research and planning, construction and evaluation stages as a blog; and as a basis in creation of my website.
• From this piece of new media, I learnt about the basic conventions of blogging and how to write and construct posts when blogging. I also learnt how to create a simple website homepage.
• “Weebly” helped my production work as the creation of a website homepage was much more simple, with links to interactive conventions such as slideshows and HTML coding. “Weebly” also meant that I was able to put all of my work together into a blog that I could log onto and edit whenever I needed to.
• I think that I used it successfully as my blogs were always up to date and full of detail and I now personally enjoy online blogging. I also think that I used “Weebly” successfully in the creation of my website by taking advantage of all the tools that were provided to me.
YouTube
• I used the website “YouTube” to gather content from my own work and other trailers in order to compare them in the evaluation stage of my production. I also used it to gather statistics to do with my audience and who had watched the trailer.
• Concerning the research and planning stages of my production I used YouTube to watch and analysing trailers as influence and would create personal VLOG’s where I discussed what I had learnt.
• From this piece of new media, I learnt that the internet is a good way to look for footage that could help influence a media product. With YouTube, I explored other pieces of media which then helped me in to make my own look conventional and professional. YouTube also helped me to be more creative when updating blog posts.
• YouTube helped my production work as it allowed me to plan my animatic around specific shots. The use of a scroller and the pause button meant that I could time shots and calculate average shot lengths which meant that our editing seemed professional.
• I think that I used YouTube successfully as our final product reflects professional attributes of influential media that we watched whilst using it. I also think that my VLOG posts were well addressed, clear and creative.
BBFC Website
• The BBFC website was used in order to research into certifications, horror conventions and horror audiences. I also used it to take podcasts which backed up my evaluative work to do with audience feedback.
• BBFC taught me that it is important for guidelines and rules to be set in place for the film industry in order for a company to promote to the correct audience.
• Using the BBFC website helped my production work as it helped us categorise our film as a “15”. This meant that when undertaking audience research, we didn’t ask anyone below this age, as we knew that they wouldn’t be aloud to watch it.
• I feel that this website was successfully used by me as I have learnt that in the film industry, there must be a lot of preparation done before the distribution process in order for an audience to be successfully target. I feel that our positive audience feedback suggests our good research skills into this.
Slideshare and Scribd
• Scribd and Slideshare were both used in the same way by me. I used these programmes to upload content from Microsoft documents such as Word or PowerPoint. I feel that for me, Slideshare was more successful as it worked faster and always appeared when embedded onto the blog.
• This programme has taught me that there are more creative ways to write a blog rather than using the text post. I have learnt that embedding documents onto blogs is most of the time more successful than trying to upload the document itself.
• This programme helped in the production of my work as it helped me share my research onto my blog in order to commit my ideas and efforts.
• I feel that I personally used both Slideshare and Scribd successfully in making my blog posts look both creative and professional.
Microsoft – Word and PowerPoint
• I used Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint to type up my ideas into a well lay out document and to create a project that explores what I had learnt from a particular form of research, , ready to embed into the blog.
• I have learnt that it is important to both gather and evaluate ideas when committing work into a blog in order for them to make sense.
• I feel that these Microsoft programmes helped me do this as they were easy to save and go back to when editing. They also helped me grammatically correct my work.
• I feel that I used these programmes successfully to gather my ideas professionally. The work that I create from these programmes is legible and creative and portrays the message that I am trying to give.
Adobe – Photoshop and Premiere
• I used the Adobe programmes to edit the material that I gathered in constructing my work. I used Adobe Photoshop to edit images that I took for both my website homepage and my poster. Adobe Premiere was used to gather the footage taken for our teaser trailer. We used it to put all of the footage together and edit it to music.
• I have learnt that these programmes can be difficult to use and it is practice that ensures correct use of them. However, I have also learnt that when used properly, they can make a media product look very professional.
• Adobe Photoshop helped me to portray typical horror conventions when using the “blood” brush tool. Adobe Premiere allowed to edit music and footage to a pace in order to build tension.
• I feel that I personally used these programmes successfully considering that I didn’t know how to use them at first. I took time to practice with them and I think that this can be proven when looking at my work.
• Facebook was used during audience feedback as it meant that I could get feedback from a number of people. This feedback came from people that were from my intended audience as some were that I knew and so at a similar age to me.
• Facebook has taught me that social media is a useful and significant tool for promotion as it helps create the “word of mouth” promotional technique through links such as “share”, “like” and “comment”. It also means that companies can get feedback on media without forcing people to consume it.
• I feel that I used Facebook successfully as I linked my trailer from YouTube to my homepage meaning that it was easy to view and visible to all of my friends list. This gave me a diverse range of feedback to work with.
Technological Equipment
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GHC2 DSLR
• This camera was used by me and my group to take footage ready to edit into our teaser trailer.
• It took me a while to learn how to successfully use this piece of equipment but I feel that with help from other members of my group, who had used this camera before, I developed skills with the camera. My practice lead to me experimenting with different shot types that I feel helped the film look both creative and conventional.
• Without this piece of technology, I think that our footage could have look unprofessional – it was easy to focus on still shots and the thirds grid made framing much easier.
• My individual success with this camera has developed as at first I feel that I didn’t give it a good try and would do other jobs such as preparing the set and props and looking after the continuity editing. However, now I feel very confident in using this piece of equipment and so feel that I have developed a good set of skills.
LUMIX Panasonic H- VS014140 Lens
• The lens that we used for all shots with our camera was the H- VS014140 lens. This lens allowed us to zoom precisely and accurately without the movement looking jerky and unprofessional. It also meant that we could get a variety of close ups and long distance shots.
• I have learnt how to focus on shots in making them look professional. I have also learnt that lens’ can make the difference in variety of shot types and distances and so are an important piece of equipment.
• This piece of equipment helped my work particularly as we experimented with shot distances and found that this way our teaser trailer didn’t become boring.
• I feel that as a group we successfully used this piece of equipment as we were not afraid to experiment with it whilst filming. Our trailer now has a variety of shots.
Rode Microphone
• We used the rode microphone to pick up diegetic sound that was inaudible from the camera.
• Using this piece of equipment has taught me that it is easier to pick up diegetic sound whilst on set rather than recording it later as the continuity of the footage then stays at a similar pace.
• Using this microphone helped in scenes such as the beginning car crash sequence as here there is a lot of dialogue. This long period of dialogue in this scene has a good continuity and helps set the narrative for the rest of the trailer.
• I think that I personally used this piece of equipment well as I picked up diegetic sound at a sufficient volume.
Pag C6 Lighting Kit
• The pag lighting kit was used in the production of our work when working outdoors at night time.
• We used the pag lights to light up the car so that it was visible on camera, whilst still portraying the darkness as a typical horror convention. Using this type of lighting taught me that it is easier to get the lighting right before editing in order for the footage to look believable.
• This piece of equipment helped our work look professional as the car was identifiable and similar to the influential scene that we looked at from the trailer of Silent Hill (2006).
• I myself feel that pag lights are important when working in darkness. I now know that if was to do a project like this again then I would consider this piece of equipment whilst planning the production and filming process.
Libec Tripod
• We used the tripod when creating shots that we felt should be still.
• It was important for shots such as the church to be still as these contained movement – panning and zooming. The steady camera meant that these movements looked professional and purposeful.
• I have learnt that tripods are important in the use of filming even when you want to create the look of a hand-held shot. Although we wanted to create the “hand-held” look in order to portray horror conventions, using the tripod at times shown that we were doing these hand-held shots purposefully and not just by mistake.
Slik Dolly
• The dolly was used in conjunction with the tripod when we wanted to pan areas of our setting for movement.
• I feel that using this piece of equipment gave our trailer a range of shots which made it look professional and creative.
• I have learnt that using a dolly can be quite dangerous and so the space should be clear when doing so. If I could use this again then I would make sure that I set up my locations around this equipment in order to be planned ahead.
• I feel that I personally have learnt some new techniques of film making by using this dolly. I now know how to create professional and sophisticated moving shots.
Fujifilm Finepix digital camera
• I myself used this digital camera when taking pictures for both my poster and website homepage. I felt that using this camera would create a sophisticated image that I could easily edit.
• I have learnt that professional cameras can be easier to use than other digital cameras as they are already fitted with dimensions and framing grids. This made it easy for me to take a professional image and transport it to a computer ready to edit.
• I feel that without using this piece of equipment, my poster could have looked distorted and out of focus. This is because the image that I took acts as the main background of my poster.
Mino HD Flip Video
• The Flip camera was used to record ideas that we had come up with as a group considering the planning of our teaser trailer; and to gather feedback from our intended audience.
• This piece of equipment has taught me that it is sometimes easier to use a small device to record VLOG style videos rather than to set up a professional camera.
• The Flip camera helped us gather our ideas once we had thought of them and once uploaded to YouTube, made it easy for us to refer back to.
• I myself would use this piece of equipment again if blogging as I feel that it is convenient, easy to use and fast to upload. It also captures professional looking footage.