WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?

Technology has greatly aided our filming efforts: before this course, a proportion of our group had never even held a camcorder, let alone make use of editing software and/or uploading/downloading software and content.

How did the use of editing technology influence the use of camera/shots?

I have learned a range of editing techniques in regards to camera shots (for example, close-up shots to exploit fear), over-shoulder shots (traditionally used to show conversation; however, we used this technique to exploit the ‘fragility’ of the actor Bruce in placing the ‘entity’ behind him – over shoulder)). In addition to this, I have learned how to manipulate high/low angle shots in order to portray power and social status within filming. This is in reference to where Bruce is in the cupboard, and the camera is higher than Bruce is: this demonstrates the lack of power that Bruce has over the current situation.

Did a lack of technology affect your filming capacity?

The use of a digital handheld camera means that we were able to film practically anywhere. In comparison to traditional filming using heavy cameras and expensive equipment, the digital handheld technology available greatly aided the filming process. Additionally, the digital camera could be used with other cheap equipment such as tripod attachments, and because the camera used was light, the tripod is also light – thus versatile.

How did the use of editing software affect your progress?

In terms of software, a large proportion of our group made use of Adobe Premiere Elements. However, our group used Final Cut Pro X for APPLE. This massively enhanced the possibilities and speed of which we could edit our film. With this software, we were able to use a wider range of editing technique (such as “The Ken Burns” effect which allowed us to zoom on an explicit object or focal point in order to generate the sense of disturbance within the audience).

How did technology aid you in audience research?

In regards to research, we made great use of online sites such as surveymonkey, which enabled us to receive feedback regarding our questionnaires quickly, and effectively. Instead of hand-writing our questionnaires and handing them out (which is not as efficient), we could collate our results using one site. In addition to the efficiency aspect, we used Microsoft Excel in order to analyse our questionnaires accurately. We also used IMDB, which enabled us to find out extremely reliable audience reviews and other facts regarding the film, thus accurately base our film on any existing movie we liked, and could refer to the aspects/ratings of those movies.

How did technology allow you to portray your findings/research?

For display purposes, and for easy reviewing, we used a site called ‘blogger’. This website enables members of the site to collaborate a range of their work and place it on the internet for audiences to view and comment. We made use of Blogger to demonstrate our work and to broadcast the progress being made with it: this website makes collaborating easier in comparison to manually storing work in a folder/area with which work can go missing, and reduces the need for paper and other stationary.