Q6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

During editing I learnt a lot about different hard ware and soft ware. The hardwares I used in the production of my opening sequence include: canon mini DV camera, tripod, whiteboards, main batteries, audio equipment (including time clip mics, headphones and board mics), lighting and clapper boards.

Using the headphones was the hardest to grasp onto as it was difficult to remember to listen through them at all times. Our camera was high definition, however we didn’t shoot on high definition tape as it is too expensive and in order for it to be produced in high definition we would need all the appropriate equipment. I would however, like to work with high definition equipment in my next project. Lighting wasn’t an issue for us as our opening sequence was shot mostly indoors. The lighting was bright and focused making the quality look professional.

During shooting I perfected my hand held shots; I figured in order to get the smoothest handheld shot you should hold the camera away from you and take small steps. I also learnt for a zoom out to be as smooth as possible you should hold the zoom out button on the same position throughout the shot. I learnt how to manually switch off the buzzing of the headphones through the camera. The camera was set on auto settings and so we didn’t get to experiment as much with the camera as we wanted to therefore next time I will use focus settings. Below is a list of the main equipment we used and the advantages and disadvantages of them.


The software we used includes the creative sweep package (CS3) which contained Adobe premiere pro, adobe Photoshop and Adobe after effects. I learnt how to use the Mac computer which contained Live Type (which we used for title effects). . In order to create title effects we chose the font ‘dispersion’ and ‘frigid’ to give our titles and eerie mysterious look. In the editing process I learnt many things on Adobe premiere pro.(I.e., capturing, rendering, rasoring, unlinking and linking a clip for the continuity, adding music (diegetic and non diegetic sounds) and how to add transitions onto the sequence.

During editing it’s best to try out each shot of your action with other shots and then choose which one looks best regarding continuity. The flexibility of the Non Linear editing allows us to experiment on separate time lines. I learnt how to adjust the sound on our video sequence by making it louder or softer in various places to smooth the continuity between two shots. I also learnt how to contrasting footage, making it look professional and high quality. Finally I learnt how to get rid of the treble which was the unwanted buzzing sound caused by the camera was very useful as it prevented the audience from being distracted.

Overall, I learnt a lot of new technical techniques. The schools' equipment was very useful and of very high quality making the shooting experience much more productive.