q6. what have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this project?
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Q.6What have you learnt about
technologies from the
process of constructing this
project?
Since the preliminary task, where I was introduced to Adobe
Premiere Pro CS5.5, I have discovered more program’s and have
developed an array of skills. I have had the opportunity to use
equipment like the green screen and Canon 550 camera’s. I have
learned how to use a lot of tools within certain software which
has enabled me to help create a sequence far better than the
preliminary one. I am about to discuss the different software,
hardware and online media which I have developed skills for in
order to complete our main task.
For the preliminary task, I only had the skills applicable to the
basic usage of Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5; an editing software.
Since then, I have discovered how to create a dynamic link using
Adobe After Effects CS5.5; an animation and effects software. I
have also started to use the effects, styles and transitions on
Adobe Premiere Pro, whereas I didn’t know about this before.
One of the skills I now have on Adobe After Effects is being able
to alter the sequences colour and background by animating,
stylizing, distorting and keying.
Software
Our film, Elijah, is a gothic-fantasy, therefore we needed a non-
realistic dream-like setting for the dream scene. This meant we
could use the green screen. We used the process of keying in
post-production to create the desired background. On Adobe
After Effects there is an add on called Keylight 1.2, which enabled
us to add the background to the footage. Keylight 1.2 not only let
me change the background, but allowed me to soften the edges of
the characters in the footage in order to keep continuity, as it
looks more realistic.
Software
I also used Adobe Photoshop CS5.5; an image
manipulation software. I used this to create the title
Elijah for the end of the sequence. I had never used
Photoshop before, but I taught myself the basics by
just using the program. I did it on Photoshop
because it saves as a high quality image and also, it
allows me to use fonts from online websites and
manipulate them to how I want it. However, in the
end, we decided not to use this image.
Software
I have also used the Celtx software which is a script writing
program. It allows me to create a script which is usable in the
film industry. It is important to have a legitimate type of script
as every little aspect is important. For example the font needs
to be Courier New instead of something like Comic Sans –
which would be frowned upon in Hollywood. Now I know how
to use this program, I can easily write up a script readable for
actors. These skills will come in handy when creating future
sequences.
Software
The main piece of hardware which we used was the Canon 550d. The
Canon 550d is a digital SLR camera which films up to 50fps at full HD (720p
or 1080p). For our film we used the 720p pixel aspect ratio because there
wasn’t enough room on the Network- FS6. Meaning used only 30fps as
there wasn’t enough memory space. I have learned the basics on the
camera like setting it up, getting the right angles, zooming, panning,
lighting and focusing. As I quickly developed these skills I applied them to
our production; therefore I was a great help to the group. I have learned
that the more frames per second means the higher the quality of the image
(higher pixel aspect ratio), I have also learned that it is vital to film more
than one of the same shot due to mistakes going un-noticed.
Hardware
We were one of the only groups to use the green screen and
lighting provided by the college. We controlled the brightness and
darkness of the scene using professional studio lights. The lights
had a swivel slightly translucent umbrella and a tripod stand which
could be altered to the desired height. By using this equipment, I’ve
learned that lighting is important because its so easy to create
unwanted shadows and unwanted bright patches. Also I’ve learned
that having creases or dark patches on the green screen ruins the
outcome of the Keying on Adobe After Effects CS5.5.
Hardware
Other hardware I used and developed skills for was a Dell PC with
Windows and a SONY Phillips MP3 recorder. I was able to develop
loads of different skills on the PC using software already mentioned. I
first used an MP3 recorder for the ambience track in the Preliminary
task, so I applied these skills for the main task and managed to get a
good ambience for the silent parts of the sequence. Throughout this
experience, I’ve learned that PC’s can be very temperamental when
using lots of software at once and rendering entire sequences. Next
time round I’ll probably be more patient with it.
Hardware