6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this project?

With the exceptions of when members of the group were acting, we made sure to equally split the amount of time spent using/learning about both the hardware and software during the project. Personally, I particularly learnt about the different camera movements and techniques and options avaliable on the editing software.

Hardware used in our coursework project:

• Canon HV30 camcorder (to film, frame and create focus)

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  Canon DM50 shot-gun microphone (to get crisp sound recording, for example picking up and putting down the mug)

• Jessops 327 tripod (to get steady shots. Personally used it for the handheld sequences to gain 3-points of support to maximise stability and the panning shots to create a smooth effect)

•  Sennheiser HD201 headphones (so the sound technician could check for unwanted feedback/noise etc.)

•  Sony Mini-DV tapes (to record our footage)
• C6 Pag lights (to enhance the light and create interesting shadows in the basement)

•  Slik 6050 dolly (to create a smooth track, for example when following victim in basement)

• Canon BP 2-L24H and 2L13 batteries
• CanoScan 8800F Scanner (to scan paperwork)

Software used in our coursework project:

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  Adobe Flash (the fallen tree animation)
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  Photoshop (test out the titles font
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  After Effects (to animate the titles)
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  Adobe Premiere CS3 (to edit our film)

Me and Jacob at the editing suite, working on the 'through the floor' shot

Me and Jacob preparing for the corridor shots. I am the camera technician, and am checking the framing with the director of the shot, Jacob.

To edit our film, we all used Adobe Premiere Pro. Below shows our work in action and the various parts of the programme we found particularly useful to create our film.

(click to enlarge)

1. 
   
   We used the clapper board in order to easily identify the shot and take to insert efficiently into our sequence
2. 
   
   We used bins and labels in order to organise all the files used in our project (titles, sound fx and music, film clips etc.)
3. 
   
   We used the 'constant power' tool between two shots next to one another that were intended to show a smooth cut. The sound enhancement made the sound smooth between the shots, improving the continuity editing technique we used
4. 
   
   When editing the sequence individually, we used a seperate timeline in order to show the rest of the group the changes to approve before changing them in the acutal opening sequence. This allowed for maximum time efficiency and time alone for each person to experiment with the editing suite
5. 
   
   We used buttons on each individual clip in order to raise/lower the sound level or opacity in order to gain the right visual and audio balance between each track
6. 
   
   We used a the editing technique of 'zig-zag' editing so you can clearly identify when one shot becomes another, making it easier to edit
7. 
   
   We overlapped two music tracks to increase the richness and therefore the tension in the soundtrack to build the sequences tension and drama
8. 
   
   The sound level was important to keep an eye on to ensure it stayed in the green area as if it went red the sound feedback was too loud, and if it was yellow it wsa inaudible
9. 
   
   The seperate screen was used to preview the final sequence in order to see what the chnages made would look like when finished

Using our camera, we experimented with the manual focus to see what effect it created. In this shot, we liked the effect as the move into focus connotes the characters realisation and also gives the sequence a cinematic look to it.

We shot each shot from a variety of different angles and with the basement shots experiemented with different placements of the pag lights. Here is an example:

Above, we lit  the shot from behind. We thought the halo effect looked good to enhance the connotations of the victim, but at this crucial point we decided that her facial expressions really needed to be emphasised, so we chose the shot lit from in front (see below)