What have you learnt about technologies from the process on constructing this product, and why ?

In the creation of the opening sequence product we have learnt a wide range of technological skills. In which we have practiced and developed during the making of this media project. We used experience from the preliminary project and developed our understanding of how different camera shots, and edits helped to create the feel of a mysterious horror.
For example:

Shots
We really got a handle and understanding of what shots worked well in certain places of production. A slow reverse zoom from an extreme close up of a hair brush gave suspense and a mysterious effect. A circular pan of the character sitting down works as an establishing shot of the short scene. In story boarding/filming we made sure we focused on the object shots as this would help represent the process of a female daily routine.

Lighting
With our film we wanted to accomplish an effective horror. So during filming we tried to use less light. However, when we uploaded the video's on to the Macs, we realised that the lighting was too dark and quite grainy. In the end we decided to re-record with the main lights of the room on a higher setting. This managed to work out well. As the room still looked quite dim, the effect we were going for.

Editing

When editing the opening sequence we used the apple macs to upload the recordings we had taken. On these there are different software's that were very helpful in production. Such as imovie and garage band. These were very successful in helping us to produce our short films.

Sound
As we were not permitted to use copyright protected music, our group decided to search myspace for a soundtrack that would fit well with our theme. It needed to have beats but at the same time have a slow and muffled sound. we managed to fulfill this by using garage band (a software on Macs). We added affects until we were happy.

Equipment and technologies used in production:

• Video camera - We used the video camera to capture all of our shots for the opening sequence.
• Tripod - The tripod was used when when filming a steady shot, Like an extreme close-up.
• Apple Mac - These were used the whole way through the production process.
• Camera - A camera was used to keep track of all the work we were doing production.
• i-movie - Used to edit the opening sequence, by putting in different cuts, fades and graphics.
• My Space - This was used to find a sound track which is not protected by copyright.
• Garage Band - This software was used to edit the soundtrack found to make it more original to fit the genre of film.
• YouTube - Our group used YouTube to watch examples of similar opening sequences. To get an idea of what worked well without using too many cliches.
• Google - This search engine was used to look for examples of company logos.
• Candles - These were used as an eerie looking light source. Whilst sampling, we found that the candles really worked in collaboration with the video camera and gave off a significantly effective light.
• Facebook - We used facebook to keep in contact with each other, sending links and photos to one another. We also printed some pictures of typical looking social groups to stick up on the wall in order to be filmed as we had designed.