What have you learnt about

technologies from the process of

constructing this product?

After my foundation portfolio I can confidently say that I

have learnt a lot about technologies and different editing

techniques that will make my next projects even better.

From the preliminary task, where I learnt how camera

shots and editing techniques are so closely linked, to the

opening sequence I have produced I have had a better

grasp over editing and camera angles and shots over the

time.

Preliminary Task Nowhere to be found

To film each of these I used the Sony Handycam (Sony hrd x550). This camera was user-friendly which proved to be very helpful for beginners like myself. This camera enabled me to shoot HD quality videos which was another great advantage that added merit to my product. With the use of Sony Handycam I was able to learn about correct framing of shots and the importance of it. The zoom button also proved very useful as I could get two different shot and attach them later while editing the video as one continuous scene. This saved time and made me handle everything at the shoot efficiently. The videos shot can also viewed instantly, I viewed a few shots on spot while shooting to know whether I am on the right track and can point out my mistakes if any.

I also made use of a tripod in order to give my film opening a

mature look and make it seem more professional. Since there

was a need to have a steady camera during the interviews of

the suspects the use of the tripod became a must in order to

avoid shaky and wobbly camera. However I believe that it

would have been better if I also arranged for a dolly. The shots

where the detective make his entry and the camera is moving

along with the movement of the detective, the camera seems

a bit shaky in those scenes and a dolly would have avoided that

shakiness. The lighting was fine at all the places I shot

therefore I did not feel the urge to use extra lighting.

For the Preliminary Task I used Adobe Premier to edit the

footage, however I had recently tried Windows Movie Maker

and found it much more user-friendly. Therefore I decided

that I will use Movie Maker to edit the opening sequence I

had shot. I learnt about various techniques and effects to

form continuity such as fading in, altering the

lighting, overlapping sequences, avoiding jumps and blurring

the motion. I along with some of these also used the black

and white effect to reflect the past and added text in my

video to make my opening look like one. Over the time my

editing skills have bettered and I now have a better grasp

over editing, about which I was hesitant in the very

beginning.

Along with editing softwares and cameras the internet and

websites such as youtube and IMBD have been very helpful. I

did all my research through the internet of course, regarding

genres and different types of movies and their convention and

stereotypes. Without the internet producing a quality product

would have been impossible. My laptop has all the storyborads

and scripts saved which saved my time and made my work more

secure. I used royalty free websites to download suitable music

for my film. With the help of Movie Maker I was able to match

the music with the different situations of the film.

However I still believe that the editing softwares are limited to

quantity of effects. There is no freedom to create your own

effects and experiment in Movie Maker but nonetheless this

simple software catered well to my needs and wants as an

editor of a film.