Research/Planning
The use of Apple Macs allowed me to create verisimilitude between the real world and the diegtic world in my documentary. This is due to the advancement of technology that has created better equipments’ that are better in graphics and also provide more tools for video editing that was useful in my construction in comparison to PCs. Furthermore using Macs has shown to be faster than using PCs and from my experience the Mac also freezes and crashes less often than the PCs. Within the research stage I used YouTube which is an example of Web 2.0 technology as Dan Gillmor 2006 defined as "We media". The use of YouTube allowed me to research existing documentaries and also understand the tools that were needed for the construction of my documentary by watching tutorials that were uploaded by users of YouTube. Also in my research stage I used YouTube to research existing producers of documentaries such as Sorious Samura and Nick Broomfield. This therefore enabled me to analyse their works so I could create my own style that challenged the conventions of documentary modes whilst keeping within boundaries of the task. This allowed me to enhance my creating skills in the construction stage of my documentary. My research findings from the documentary on Google also seemed to be valid as there was a link between the research and my final product.
Through the use of YouTube I was able to make use of secondary research by looking at other student’s works and used this technology to my advantage by emailing those students so I could understand the advantages and disadvantages of using the particular tool. For instance I didn’t quite understand how to import sound from ITunes on Imovie, so as I am a user I emailed the user felicitymatunda93 who showed me how to use it. I also asked questions on the programme as she was using the final cut pro for her coursework. This allowed me to understand the differences between the two programmes. The research on YouTube was easy to access and was not time consuming so was easier for me to find the information I need quickly. In the research stage the use of questionnaires on the pages on Macs allowed for the audience feedback on the representation of teenagers in the media. I done this as it would be valuable information for the final product of my documentary. The questionnaire a use of primary research was put on Face book so I could also interact with the users and also find new audiences which were a positive way to get feedback for the final idea of my final documentary. In the research stage the audience feedback results provided a fair sample of overall opinions as I generalised the questionnaire to ages over 25 as well as teenagers to give a fair and unbiased opinion. This therefore suggests that my research findings are accurate. My research also seemed to be valid as I used the email in order to research the verve productions on the documentaries that they advertise and the initial ideas for the setting up of the company. The use of slide share was a useful way to display what I had researched on the existing documentaries and was also a better way to use technology in presenting my work in the planning and construction stage rather than using blogger all the time. I used blogger in order to organise planning materials although I had a look at word press before but preferred blogging. Blogging similar to YouTube is an example of Web 2.0 technology (O’Reilly 2004). Using blogger is interactive as it allows for followers to comment on your blog. This was evidently shown on my blog as I got comments from some of my class mates which also enabled me to take on board the comments and criticisms that would enhance my work. . For the text on my newspaper advert I used the text font that was provided on the website address- myfonts.com. I used this instead of the Photoshop text font as I didn’t find the font I was looking for that would reflect the social demographics of my intended audience. I also used Photoshop to connect my newspaper advert before manipulating the photos in Photoshop then exporting it as JPEG however was saved in PSD files. This file was used as you can edit the changes and they are smaller which is easier to use however had to be aware of size files in my user area and had to consider the size of my final production piece. The files compacted and condensed the file so it wouldn’t lead to problems such as taking too long to open a file or result in crashing windows.
Furthermore I also used Face book in the construction and planning stage as a way to communicate to my actors and actresses on the location and times for shooting the documentary. In addition I used my Iphone to research the camera angles that were commonly used and saved on my USB stick were the hand out sheets last year on camera angles and what they meant if I were to use them. For instance this was evidently shown in my documentary as I often used the close up shots and rarely used long shots. The use of close up shots was in order to give a personal look into the lives of teenagers that are not often depicted properly in the media.
In my planning stage I found adequate research through the use of Goggle, a prime example of digital technology that was useful as I was able to use the Macs, PCs or my Iphone as I have wireless internet which proved to be useful as I could do my work anywhere. When doing my drafts for my final piece I used the power point of slides to show my work. I decided to work on my own as I thought it would be easier. In my planning stage I didn’t post on my blogs regularly and this affected me meeting the deadlines as I was late in producing my work which was down to lack of organisation.
Construction Film or documentary production is not only done by monolithic film production companies but can also be done at home or school providing the right software and hardware is available. Imovie is used on most Macs and this enables me to edit footage on a timeline and also enhance my knowledge of layering video and audio by uploading and using audio and video filters. Imovie is non linear editing software which allowed me to edit the clips of my documentary and also have particular clips in certain parts of my documentary. The use of Imovie enabled me to make sure that the non diegetic sound matched the video footage when using the sequence timelines to match the soundtrack, which was uploaded to the computer through my USB cable.
When recording the video for my documentary the camera I used was light so it kept shaking when I zoomed in and out therefore when editing I used the stabilizer in order for a smooth transition throughout. In the beginning of my documentary I used a title sequence that resembled a picture of a recording tape as I wanted it to look realistic as I represented the teenagers. This showed a different interpretation of teenagers to be quite open to the audience and enabled for a personal look into their lives. On Imovie there is a range of effects that I could have used because it could have made the documentary look tacky. This could have also implied to the audience that I was looking at the representation of teenagers in a comical way which was not my idea. In the construction stage Imovie was useful in order to edit my documentary. The audio and video filters were useful so that I could record voiceover on my clip as I researched that this technique was commonly used in documentaries. I also wanted my final piece to be professional therefore I avoided the echo tools so it didn’t sound cheap. I used ITunes to import a song Drake- winner as that was the song I selected to introduce one of my male actors in my documentary. The camera I used was the SLR HD camera which was very good as it enabled me to get the detail that I needed for my final documentary piece.
The Iphone was used again however in the construction stage I used the Iphone 4 to also record voiceovers. The Iphone 4 was also useful in the research and planning stage as I took videos of the audiences’ response to the representation of teenagers in the media. I also recorded an interview between my friend and myself discussing the issues surrounding the representation of teenagers in the media. The Web 2.0 technology was used again in order to blog the work I had already completed and YouTube used to upload my final documentary piece. For my ancillary tasks Adobe Photoshop (image manipulation programme) was very useful as it allowed me to edit and cut out the unwanted parts on my newspaper magazine and double page spread of the magazine. The tools that I used the most were crop tools like Marquee (magic wand) and the colour converters such as the red eye corrector. I also managed to manipulate the picture through the brightness and contrast which helped to show the teenagers in a positive way
I tested out two cameras before constructing my final piece in order to see which camera was better. I used the school camera which is an example of digital video the camera had digital single lens reflex. I tested this camera out first by taking few pictures and recorded on it to see the sound quality and visual quality of the video. The use of digital video with the tapes in the camera is an old technology. When using the camera I experienced problems such as recording over parts I had previously recorded. I also had problems with the sound of the camera as it was quite low and the recording tape often scrunched up and I had to wind it back which was time consuming. As film maker Mark Towse (2002) noted the details of using digital video camera I used the hard drive memory disk instead which also had more memory space so I could record as much and not get worried of having to delete the items on the disk for more space.
Evaluation stage Within the evaluation stage I could have simply just written all my evaluation responses via blogger however I wanted to develop my creativity skills from my AS task. I was able to do this by also evaluating through audio files this was very easy and useful for me as I used my Iphone to to record myself speaking which was less time consuming. I also recorded a video of myself answering the questions by using my webcam on my laptop which helped me to use the webcam effeciently. Furthermore I made a slideshow for some of the questiond with notes written on a word document.
No comments:
Post a Comment