What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this project?

Evaluation Task 6

“Final Cut Pro” – The Video Editing Software

Final cut pro is a piece of software we are used to. We used it at GCSE, and to familiarize ourselves further, we used it again this year, for our preliminary tasks. Final cut pro is an easy to use piece of video ending software, which is packed with some advantageous and amazingly advanced features. We only scratched the surface of what final cut pro can do for our film, and we felt that in some cases, that was just enough. The main features we used within the software were the blade tool, the trimming tool, the easy to use fades, the speed adjustment and the easy to use and adjust timeline. We found that when we recorded our song, it was out of sync with the video (even though it was recorded in time with it). This was due to the different rates that were being used (project rate and the actual record rate). We had to manually speed and slow segments of our audio up and down to achieve a synced video – this did have some noticeable disadvantages.

“Motion” – Animation Software

To create our idents, we used the Motion software. Motion is a complex animation software which allows for animations to be easily designed and created. Although it takes a little time to learn how to use the software, once familiarized, it is very easy to use. I created the simple “Dizzy Sloth” ident in motion, by simply creating the twisting motion of the graphic, and telling the software to stop twisting at a certain point in time on the timeline. I also used the software to make the text appear at a certain time, and in a certain way, by using a virtual dolly to move the “camera” (viewer) backwards from the entities within the animation.

Camera – Nikon D3100

The camera we used was rather advanced, especially for what we wanted to do. It gave loads of potential for configuration, and we found this a little hard to work with at first. During our first shoot, we utilized the camera’s basic features – auto focus and the record feature. That was easy enough for us to utilize. When it came to our second shoot, we filmed in different places with different light conditions. Moving from one room to an outdoor location provided difficulties as we had a major contrast from light to darkness. We also found that the lighting within the room we filmed was rather dark, and gave a grainy effect when filming. Katie managed to setup the camera to work better in these conditions, but it took her a little trial-and-error to perfect, as neither of us knew how to operate the camera, and how the different settings affected the shot.

Tripod

When we originally started filming, on the first day, we were provided with a regular tripod which we found very easy to use. Tension was provided using simple knobs which would provide the tension on the main shaft of the tripod. However, when we went to film on the second day, we were given a larger, bulkier tripod which we’d never used before. This tripod felt more sturdy and more professional, in comparison to the prior one. This tripod’s tension was not controlled by the knobs on it (they controlled all but the lateral movement), but by twisting the main shaft in a clockwise or anti-clockwise motion. This feature was on the tripod, to adjust for different camera weights, and we found this feature a lot nicer to use than the previous methods of turning the knobs.

Steadicam

The Steadicam is a piece of equipment which uses the balance of the camera, and some weights, to keep the camera’s shot steady whilst the operator moves about. We found that the Steadicam was very difficult to setup and perfect, and took a large amount of time to do. The Steadicam when we used it, proved easy to operate, but difficult to get the perfect footage. We could never get perfectly smooth footage, and had to re-take the same shot multiple times to try cut out any shaking. In the end, shaking at the end of the shot, where the bottom of the Steadicam caught on an item, caused us to have to scrap that idea and go for another instead.

DJI Osmo

For the other idea, we still needed the use of a steady, moving shot. Since we’d already proven that the manual Steadicam was not a good option, when we had so little experience with it, Mr Grant offered to lend us his DJI Osmo. The DJI Osmo is an automatic, electrical Steadicam which has it’s own 4K camera built in and pairs with your smartphone to act as a display. The Osmo was amazingly simple to setup, and we found it the same to use. Although there were still some restrictions on movement, to get the perfect shot, it was a lot easier than the previous Steadicam we used. The camera in the Osmo was great quality, and stayed smooth throughout our shots.