Evaluation Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I think that prior to making this film opening scene I already had some good knowledge about media technologies from my work for the preliminary task. I used Final Cut Pro X to edit the footage so I already knew the basics of how to change and manipulate media texts, however, there was still a lot that I didn't know.

When filming I used a tripod to keep the camera in a fixed position and reduce the shaking to make the shot look better. Furthermore, the tripod also made moving the camera a lot easier and smoother because when I attempted to film with my hands, the shot was unclear because my hands were shaking and the movement was not consistent and straight. For the camera itself I used an iPad air camera which I found to be very good as none of the shots were pixilated and blurred. The sound quality was also substantial, however was quiet at times, especially in the interrogation room which was detrimental to the film. Overall, the iPad was decent for this media product however I think in the future I would try and use a digital camera to get better definition, but for this project the iPad was the best I could get my hands on.

When it came to editing the footage I used Final Cut Pro X which I was very use to by this point. After testing some of the effects at the start of the course and later using the apple programme again for the preliminary task I gained some basic knowledge of how to work it. As I worked through the editing stage of making the film I picked up some skills that I could use in the future. For example I used the Ken Burns effect to zoom in on the money in the bank robbery scene which I didn't know how to do prior this project. To access the Ken Burns effect, one must click the transform box, then select 'Ken Burns' from the pop up and crop the picture down to the size you wish to zoom in to. Another thing I learnt to do on Final Cut Pro X was to change the lighting of the shot and make it darker. This was very important as I wanted to include low-key lighting which wasn't possible when filming because of the natural light.