Evaluation pt. 1 - How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluate stages?

Throughout the production a wide variety of media technologies has been put to use not just during the filming itself but also in the researching, post-production and sound recording. The use of both HD and regular recording camera allowed for the creation of different atmosphere, HD made it so the scene appeared clear and detailed with almost no distortion to the image with the focussing really bringing out almost every detail in a scene i.e. the use of lighting effects in the office scene where Bens face is half covered in shadow to imply an alternate personality. Furthermore the use of a standard camera allowed for the creation of a more gritty and “poor quality” image to be made i.e. the actually snuff film the main character watch was done completely in this format and made it easier to edit effects in because of its less detailed quality.


















Performance wise the equipment did well to the task despite the 1st office scene being lost due to poor auto focussing and the onboard mic cutting out for unknown reasons during the car park scene, but both these were easily remedied by re-shooting the office scene and editing in sound that was recorded on a different mic from the car park scene later that day. Digital video, photography cameras and sound recorders are useful for their compact size for easy transport and the title written on the button made them easy to use with any instruction manual.


















Not only did technology play a vital part in the production of the film during the research and development there were a number of different technologies brought into play, the internet, youtube, facebook and imdb both allowed for the group th research the psychological genre and perform research that was not only taken from films of a similar nature but also to research mental illness and suicide as a whole to better understand character mentalities for the actors and understand why people come to rely on the media which can sometimes lead them to take their own life.













Photography also played an important role used mainly to photograph location ideas and the chosen locations but also to create a storyboard where the actors, out of character, make the movements and positions used in each scene so that when it came to film it could be done quickly and efficiently, this was in turn edited into a slide show using Final Cut Studio for both this and the film general editing.














Photoshop and garage band were also essential software’s for these helped develop both the poster designs and radio trailers, while these were new software’s a tutorial was available to assist those not used to using them and as a result there very no problems with using these, however it did mean that they may not have been accomplished to a great degree due to the unfamiliarity with the hardware but none the less were completed to a high standard bring out both the films message and promoting it as a piece of media artwork to the audience.














We had to ask our tutor for advice on how to set it up some of the equipment initially due to the group’s inexperience in using new gear however after some scenarios were run through the group felt confident enough to go out and work individually to capture film to be edited later. Problems faced were small regarding equipment, the cameras both video and photograph work well, despite the 1st scene. The HD camera’s intimidating size proved to hide a wondrous machine that is easy to use and proved to enhance to film in both quality and sound. Its size didn’t make any difference since the scene took place in wide open areas both indoors and outdoors.





The final cut pro software proved very challenging to operate but with the tutors help we could create what we thought a difficult effect, such as the title sequence where after a brief tutorial through the different effects at hand in the software the title sequence, while still challenging, proved a lot more simple to create and allowed for experimentation in their use. The effects available proved diverse but easy to implement and even the actual snuff movie, only 30 seconds long, proved time consuming to design but none the less came out pristine and allowed the group to display how much they have progressed in terms of using the equipment at hand.



In conclusion the equipment used was both challenging and stimulating to use, not only did it allow us to step out of our comfort zone and experiment with new technologies and techniques but it also helped research and shoot a film that is both longer and possessed greater depth than the AS years production.