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

Throughout the whole of my planning, filming and editing process the internet and other technologies were very beneficial to me and helped me along the way. In my research and development stage, I used the internet to research the codes and conventions of thrillers in order to fully understand the concept and find the right course to take. When finding out the typical conventions of thriller for example type of thrillers, editing techniques, iconography etc. I used a range of internet websites to find suitable information and reliable answers, e.g. Wikipedia, slide share, Imdb. Therefore by using technology I was able to construct my media film depending on the answers that I received back, for example knowing that an action thriller was more suited to me, I then research and discovered that to make it an effective film I had to use city centres to amplify the sense of danger. However I learnt the limitations of using the internet as my only source, due to the fact that the internet is so vast, sometimes information that was displayed was sometimes inaccurate, and was hard to pull out the information that was relevant to me. On the other hand there was some sources that were more accurate, for example when finding “the top 10 thrillers” was not that hard to find and was very useful as I was able to get inspiration from, which I could adapt and put in my own thriller. Also when deciding the film certificate for my own thriller, I used BBFC which had all the information, about what can and cannot be in each certification, so that I could decide which was most appropriate for this project

Furthermore in my planning stage once I had deciding possible ideas for my thriller, using Microsoft word to do a mind map, in order to put my ideas together methodically. After that I wanted to see what my audience thought of these ideas, therefore I conducted two questionnaires in which I did on survey monkey. This was a useful way of finding exactly what my audience want as it gave precise percentages and the number of people who answered, which therefore helped me construct my overall product, as I shaped my film to my audience needs. However there were some disadvantages targeting my audience through social media is that there is a risk that people may lie as it is easier to. Also the audience that I receive may not be the correct audience for my film, meaning that it is more likely that younger people use social media rather than older people. Therefore my film may be targeted at people aged 30+ however the results I am getting back are people aged below the age of 20. Subsequently I have learnt that when conducting a questionnaire I need to make sure that I distribute it in the write place, for example not just to use through the internet but discover what films are doing well and learn what people like. My art of the title sequence I use “theartofthetitle” to see how different films presented their titles, and which font and colour they used to make it fit with their genre and film. However I could not find Casino Royal opening on the internet e.g. YouTube, therefore I instead used DVD’s as they were accessible and original copies.

In the filming process I used an HD camera, which could reassure that my film was in good quality and each shot was not to pixilated. Therefore by having a good quality camera I am able to satisfy my audience by making it clear for them to see. However when filming with this HD camera I learnt how it works but also its limitations. For example some shots I had certain objects or subtle hints I wanted the camera to pick up e.g. on one of my shots I have a path with two brick walls, one of the walls had barbed wire on top, which I wanted to show that they feel trapped and guarded. However due to the camera it did not show the barbed wire clearly. Furthermore the last section of my opening, I was going to film in the dark, to reaffirms people’s fears of the dark and make the boss seem more threating, however again the camera did not pick up people’s faces clearly, and as I didn’t have the correct lighting kit, I was unable to proceed. Moreover I learnt that the camera was very sensitive to wind noise and sudden moments, due to the fact that on most of my filming days, it was very windy. Therefore it meant I had to find ways of getting round that by putting a coat next to the camera to stop the wind noises.

Unable to see the barbed wire which was something that I wanted to show in order to create an effect

By using digital technology, it meant that I was able to upload it onto my Mac and edit my footage from there. The process from uploading my footage to editing it, was quite a quick process, this made it easier for me when I added in close ups to my film I was able to continue with editing, whilst the uploading was taking place. In my editing stage I used Final Cut Pro, this helped my actually shape my film in order for it to be judged by my audience, and therefore adaptable. Final Cut Pro, enabled me to add in transitions such as dissolves and fades, also make my shots shorter and my cuts quicker, to build to pace. For example at the end when Scarlette opens the briefcase with the bomb the transition is a flash, which was to show a poignant moment but also representing her perspective of shock, as it is an abrupt transition. When starting to use this technology it started off quite hard as I had never done it before, however once I used it continuously, it became easier. My first task was putting the shots in the right order, as after that I was able to fiddle with the length of the shots, and the type of transition. Also by the end I my few final edits, I decided to change the order of my shots, to cross cut them instead, which is something that one of my audience stated on the blog. This shows that I was able to put numerous amount of edits onto the blog, in which my audience were able to comment and feedback, so that I could then easily adapt it to fit my audience needs, to make to make it a good thriller film. Using technology it helped me changes the order of the film also the process between the filming on the camera and then editing I realized that a shot that looks good on the camera, may be bad framing when editing. Therefore these were some limitations as sometimes it was not clear is the framing was bad or not. Furthermore as I had the control over the entire editing, it was easy to change the size, colour and shape of the shot. For example as I changed the order of my film (cross cutted), I decided to use black and white to show a flash back, which was shown to be very effective, as it was something that I got inspiration from, in Casino Royal. The programme allowed me to insert sound, as the majority of my music was composed by a friend (Patrick Powell), therefore the use of technology allowed me to compose my own music and download it onto my programme, in which I could adjust the sound. This show how easy and accessible it is, which made it a lot more efficient for me, as I was able to dictate the type and the rhyme of the music, due to technology.

Finally another type of technology I was able to use was the Burford School Media blog, this is where I put all of my research and planning, editing, and basically my work. By using the Burford School Media blog, all my audience could respond to each one of my edits, which meant that then I could interpret what they said and change my film. Therefore this meant that the blog was a place that I could distribute my film, however also I used YouTube to also distribute my film. The blog was a safe place that I could put all my work, but also if I needed to change anything, there were editing tools in which I could do so, making it easier for me to correct my work. Also I learnt that it was easier to organise my work when using blog as firstly it was easier to access it, but also it is more secure as once it is on the blog it did not get lost. However there were limitations as the blog tended to be temperamental and froze, therefore it was important to save work on word or email it, to ensure it was not deleted.