Skills

Digital Technology

What can you do with a digital video camera?
Skills I have adapted whilst doing the A level Media Studies course using the a digital video camera include setting up the camera for use, understanding the use of all of its buttons (record, playback, fast forward etc). I have developed an in depth understanding of the process of recording off the video camera and picked up a lot of skills throughout the course that have enabled me to create high quality media productions.


What sound recording techniques do you have?
When it came to sound recording, I have learnt the most effective use of sound recording is that off the actual camera itself. The handheld cameras had a built in microphone which proved effective when recording simple productions such as preliminary tasks, interviewing candidates as part of our audience research and shooting our thriller opening sequence the previous year. The main production this year of the music video Kenny and I were able to use the big Sony HDV 1000E camera. This had its own detachable microphone which was of a higher quality enabling us to record sound clips needed in places of the music video such as the start.

What skills did you develop using Final Cut?
Final Cut and Final Cut Pro allowed me to pick up a lot of useful editing techniques. Having only previously used Imovie on apple macs, I was new to Final Cut but after last year when we received a lecture from a professional who came into my college to give us tutorials, I quickly developed a basic understanding of the program. Using the program more and more often when doing smaller tasks as well as main projects throughout the course has enable me to improve quickly and start doing more complicated editing techniques such as sectioning in which we used in parts of our music video.

Did you use a digital camera (photographic)?
I used a digital camera when taking pictures for locations in part of the pre production stage of both the music video and the thriller opening sequence. I took a variety of different shots during both visits, developing an understanding of interesting shots and also experimenting and understanding the cameras uses and tool buttons.

What skills do you have?
The main skills I have developed throughout the 2 year course that I feel have proved most useful is the ability to picture in my mind a particular camera shot and create ideas that would make interesting shots. I have picked up skills when it came to location scouting and found that having a basic knowledge of the local area proved very useful. My communication skills and contacting skills have also improved throughout the two years, but particularly in this year. My communication skills were put into practice when contacting several people in the industry about locations, advice on the music video production and when sorting out our chosen artist and communicating with him through social networks and email about arrangements.


What were the good and bad things about the software and hardware at AS? In the AS yea the main software we used were Imovie for preliminary tasks and Final Cut Express for the main thriller opening sequence production. The good aspects of Imovie is that it is very convenient for quick capturing of footage and for simple, yet effective editing. This proved useful when doing the preliminary task. One negative aspect about Imovie is that its editing options are quite limited and basics, particularly when it comes to transitions and titles. Final Cut Express had some really good uses and gave a professional feel to our finished product. The program is very good for doing complicated and professional looking editing techniques. However one bad thing about Final Cut Express is the fact that when you first use it it is quite hard to navigate around and get to grips to the uses of each tools etc. However after a few sessions you can confidently use it.





Creativity
How creative were you at AS? When we shot our Thriller Opening Sequence we tried to be as creative as possible to make our product interesting and effective. We used interesting camera shots such as the reflection of a car mirror and putting the camera in under the bonnet of the car and opening the bonnet. We also used a handheld camera when portraying the view of the "killer" in the sequence to create a shaky and frantic scene. When it came to location choice we considered several ideas but we choose to go to the most isolated location of an abandoned railway as this would be a typical spooky setting as such found in a thriller opening sequence.


Research and Planning
What techniques did you use? Using primary research such as watching films I was able to annotate and observe recurring themes and connotations that featured in thriller opening sequence. Obtaining these generic conventions I was able to think about what conventions I could incorparate into my thriller opening sequence and which aspects were most interesting. For audience research we primarely used microsoft word to compose a questionnaire to hand out people. We also used the internet for several uses such as institutional research and research into real and similar media products.

What would you improve? We had an issue where in one particular shot during the car scene you could see me filming the clip in the reflection of the car window which creates a senses of unprofessionalism. I think I would have also tried to incorporate more thriller conventions the opening sequence.

How did you use Internet? We used the internet when it came to uploading new posts of pre and post production work onto our blog. We also used websites such as youtube to upload rough edits of our music video and preliminary tasks to receive feedback from the youtube community about our videos. We used social network sites and emails to contact certain people in the music industry which proved a useful skill to have

Post-Production
How did you organize your editing?
What techniques did you use? Be specific about precise SFX, transitions, sound bridges, graphics....
What about post-production for your evaluation? What might you improve?Using conventions from real media texts
It is impossible to create an entirely original media text.
What conventions did you follow? Did you subvert any conventions?
How did you create meaning for the audience? Through film language and editing?