6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

My practical knowledge of the technologies used in the creation of this coursework has improved great deal from how it stood at the beginning of the project.

Research

We utilised a range of technology when it came to the researching stage of our coursework. The main source of this was the internet, in the form of sites such as Google in order to try develop as good a background of the 80's as possible, in order to effectively represent this in our film.

Additionally, we used YouTube to research potential music tracks that we could integrate into our film in the form of non-diegetic music. This was a fairly successful medium to use, as it allowed us to refine our searches in order to find a song suitable for the period and the mood we wanted to convey. Additionally, we had intended to include clips of events from the 1980's, in a similar manner to 'This Is England' although unfortunately in the end we didn't have enough time. We also used YouTube to find suitable clips of this nature.

Obviously, we used Blogger to document and present the process of the the construction of our coursework. Having never used the website before, it gave me a chance to experiment with all different element of the site, including customising a layout and colour scheme, and uploading images and video clips. There were a few initial problems whilst I was still getting used to the site, but I quickly found my way around these.

I also utilised a scanner in the research process, in order to scan in images such as the storyboards and costumes to upload onto my blog as evidence. There was an initial blip in the fact that my own scanner at home hadn't been used in years and had seemed to stop working, but fortunately I was able to find an alternative, and eventually got the scans to put on my blog.

Filming

In the filming process, we used a Sony Handycam to record, which was a fairly straightforward piece of equipment. We quickly learned how to make use of the camera in order to achieve the particular effects we wanted in the film - for example, experimenting with the focus of the camera to create a gradual fade in at the beginning of the sequence.

Additionally, we made use of a tripod to hold shots steady and to minimise shaking and give an overall more professional appearance to the resulting shots. This also helped to promote the smooth feeling of realism that we were aiming for with our film, as it allowed the reader to concentrate more on the character without being distracted by a shaking shot, resulting in the shot being more visually pleasing. In the initial stages of filming, we tried experimenting with different ways to manipulate the tripod to achieve different effects. Although we didn't end up using any of the initial shots in our film, we experimented with using the lever on the tripod to pan the attached camera, both horizontally and vertically. We also experimented with angles, by adjusting the height of the legs on the tripod.

Whilst filming, we used a still camera to capture photographic evidence of the group whilst in the process of filming, as well as to scout for locations.This was necessary in order to give visual reference on our blogs, to clearly illustrate what we were writing about. The only problems encountered here were that sometimes the camera was forgotten and so we couldn't always provide efficient visual documentation for the 'behind the scenes' process of the filming.

Editing

Probably the most notable advance in my technological knowledge throughout this process has been throughout the editing stage of our coursework. Having very limited previous experience with Mac computer, this presented itself as a bit of a challenge, as everything was very different to what I had become accustomed to on a PC. However, we soon adjusted and began to use it to it's full potential.

One way in which this was achieved was through the use of the editing software iMovie. I had personally had no previous experience with programme before, and so my knowledge was very restricted. Fortunately though, one member of our group had prior knowledge of the programme and was therefore able to teach us how to use it effectively. We used this software to perform a whole range of functions whilst editing our film. Firstly, we uploaded the footage from the camera and then found how to cut it into the segments we required. We learnt how to add effects such as the Black and White effect and the Brightness and Contrast effect we added to our film in order to promote the period feel of our piece. We added a sound bridge when the character is using the toilet, as we felt that the action seemed to long on it's own. We cut it into 2 segments, and found out how to insert a still shot of previous footage we had recorded in order to make it more visually interesting. We then copied the sound from the first segment and adjusted the volume, so that it can be heard at a slightly quieter level in the next shot, promoting realism and continuity. Additionally, we learnt how to add titles overlapping our visuals, so that our names and the name of the film appeared towards the end.

We also used iTunes in order to get our chosen soundtrack onto our film. We first found and downloaded the song, imported it into iTunes and then applied this to the film using iMovie.