Digital Technologies

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Essay Plan

Online:

• The internet plays a vital part throughout the film making process (especially during research & planning) as all research underwent during AS (title research, ident research and film opening research) and A2 (similar/existing films, genre research) was undergone via internet services and social media.
• Once research was done, this was used to plan parts of each process, such as using WriterDuet to create a script at AS and A2 (further research was undergone during A2 using IMSDB to research into real scripts).
• All of the whole production process was recorded via online techniques; on our WordPress blogs.
• Audio Network was an online service used to find pieces of music for both AS and A2 (and the LAFTAs).

Software:

• Final Cut Pro X is an editing suite and is the main piece of software used to create all three projects (as time went on, I received more and more experience with the software and became more confident, leading to more ambitious editing techniques being used at A2 in a effective way).
• Motion Pro X is a compositing software used to create titles/idents during A2, and especially AS (after using Motion Pro X when trying to create an ident during AS, I decided I preferred to use Final Cut Pro X, so all idents and titles were made in that, allowing further experience and time for my skills to develop).
• Pixelmator is an image editing software and was used mainly during A2 to create a movie poster and a review at A2 (despite not using for a very long period of time, my skills still developed and by the time I started my movie poster, the process became quicker than when I was creating a magazine review).
• All these pieces of software were used on Mac OS X, which is up to a professional standard.

Physical:

• To record every project, a DSLR camera was used; a Nikon D3100 that can record HD video with many different options.
• To record sound, a sound recorder connected to a microphone on a boom was used (the microphone allowed directional recording that is of a high quality).

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Exam Essay – First Attempt

‘Explain how your skills in the creative use of digital technology developed over time. Refer to a range of examples from your media production in your answer.’

At the beginning of any media production, research and planning has to take place. During both AS and A2, the way I chose to research was using online/internet services, due to the vast array of different mediums that are on offer. At AS, I made a two minute film opening of a feature film. Included in this were specifically made titles and idents. To find out the conventions of titles and idents, I used Google, YouTube and Vimeo to look at film openings in general, such as The Shining and Fast & Furious 6, to allow me to understand what I needed to include in the titles, as well as using YouTube to look at popular, well known idents from the big six media conglomerates (such as Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox). Without the internet, these research tasks would still have been doable, but would have been more challenging and time consuming. During A2, I continued using internet services to research into similar, existing films to my idea. A similar film to my short film idea was The Blair Witch Project, and because I had not seen it, I used Netflix, an internet service, to watch it so that I could use conventions from that film in my own short film and ways I could improve my idea/film using various recording and editing techniques. Further research I conducted at A2 (that was not conducted at AS) was using the Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDB) to research into existing scripts to improve my own script and make it more realistic, once the research was complete, I also used the internet to plan my script. Writerduet is a collaborative script writing software, that allowed me to create realistic scripts for both AS and A2. During the editing process, I wished to add music to both of my media productions, but, because we had to use royalty/copyright free music, I used Audio Network, another internet service, in order to find music, both suitable for my project, as well as being royalty free. Before adding music, I would export ‘drafts’ of my production and upload them to various social media sites, such as Facebook, in order to gain feedback on what I had done so far. I first did this in AS and decided that the feedback I received was so helpful, that I replicated this during A2. The whole process of the media productions were recorded via one internet service in particular; our WordPress blog – all research, planning, filming and editing details were recorded on both my AS and A2 blogs. The continuous use of all of these digital technologies, such as social medias and internet services, meant that my skills developed over time due to continued experience, making me more confident overall.

To edit both my AS and A2 pieces, I used a piece of software called Final Cut Pro X, which is an editing suite. As time went on, and I continued to use this programme, I began to become more experienced in various aspects of the programme, so much so that my confidence caused me to become very ambitious during A2, leading to a more polished final piece. During AS, when making titles and idents for our film openings, we were given the opportunity to use Motion Pro X, a piece of composting software. However, after attempting to create an ident in Motion, I decided that I much preferred to use Final Cut, so I made all titles and idents in the editing suite. This further experience could also have caused me to become more confident when it came to A2, hence why I became more ambitious and created a better piece of work. During A2, another piece of software was introduced to us to use; Pixelmator is a piece of image editing software. We were introduced to this in order to complete our ancillary tasks, by creating a magazine review and a film poster for our short film. Prior to A-Levels, I had used Pixelmator very briefly, so I was still able to develop my skills. Despite not using Pixelmator for an extended period of time, my skills did developed. Because I began on my magazine review, by the time it came to making my film poster, the process was much quicker because I had become a lot more confident with the programme than in comparison to when I started my magazine review. All these three pieces of software are made by Apple, and were used on Mac OS X. They are all professional pieces of software that people use in the film industry.

To record each media production, a DSLR camera was used, specifically a Nikon D3100. This model of camera was used because it can record HD video with many different options, such as manual or auto focus, with variable lenses. As I used the camera more and more, my skills with it grew and grew. So, by the time it came to A2, the creative way I used the camera had developed so much so that, similar to the editing, I became much more ambitious with the shots that I was using, and my general skill with the camera had improved to create a much more smooth production. Along with recording video, I recorded sound separately to increase the audio quality overall. To record sound, a sound recorder was plugged into a directional microphone connected to a boom. The boom allowed the microphone to be positioned accurately, to give the greatest audio recordings, while the directional microphone meant that audio such as dialogue could be more clear, and is not disrupted by any background sound. As time went on, my overall skills with the sound recording equipment developed, so that I was able to use better sounding audio when it came to editing my A2 production.

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Exam Essay – Second Attempt

‘Explain how your skills in the creative use of digital technology developed over time. Refer to a range of examples from your media production in your answer.’

At the beginning of any media production, research and planning has to take place. During both AS and A2, the way I chose to research was using online/internet services, due to the vast array of different mediums that are on offer. At AS, I made a two minute film opening of a feature film. Included in this were specifically made titles and idents. To find out the conventions of titles and idents, I used Google, YouTube and Vimeo to look at film openings in general, such as The Shining and Fast & Furious 6, to allow me to understand what I needed to include in the titles, as well as using YouTube to look at popular, well known idents from the big six media conglomerates (such as Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox). Without the internet, these research tasks would still have been doable, but would have been more challenging and time consuming. For example, I could have watched the opening to the films I own on DVD. But, it is easier and quicker to watch the film openings on the internet, as well as more films being available. During A2, I continued using internet services to research into similar, existing films to my idea. A similar film to my short film idea was The Blair Witch Project, and because I had not seen it, I used Netflix, an internet service, to watch it so that I could use conventions from that film in my own short film. I also found ways I could improve my film using various recording and editing techniques. Further research I conducted at A2 (that was not conducted at AS) was using the Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDB) to research into existing scripts to improve my own script and make it more realistic. Once the research was complete, I also used the internet to plan my script; Writerduet is a collaborative script writing software, that allowed me to create realistic scripts for both AS and A2.

During the editing process, I wanted to add music to both of my media productions, but, because we had to use royalty/copyright free music, I used Audio Network, another internet service, in order to find music, both suitable for my project, as well as being royalty free. Before adding music, I would export ‘drafts’ of my production and upload them to various social media sites, such as Facebook, in order to gain feedback on what I had done so far. I first did this in AS and decided that the feedback I received was so helpful, that I replicated this during A2. The whole process of the media productions were recorded via one internet service in particular; our WordPress blog – all research, planning, filming and editing details were recorded on both my AS and A2 blogs. The continuous use of all of these digital technologies, such as social media and internet services, meant that my skills developed over time due to continued experience, making me more confident overall.
To edit both my AS and A2 pieces, I used a piece of software called Final Cut Pro X, which is an editing suite. As time went on, and I continued to use this programme, I began to become more experienced in various aspects of the software, so much so that my confidence caused me to become very ambitious during A2, leading to a more polished final piece. During AS, when making titles and idents for our film openings, we were given the opportunity to use Motion Pro X, a piece of composting software. However, after attempting to create an ident in Motion, I decided that I much preferred to use Final Cut, so I made all titles and idents in the editing suite. This further experience could also have been a factor in my increased confidence when it came to A2, hence why I became more ambitious and created a better piece of work. During A2, another piece of software was introduced to us to use; Pixelmator is a piece of image editing software. We were introduced to this in order to complete our ancillary tasks, by creating a magazine review and a film poster for our short film. Prior to A-Levels, I had used Pixelmator very briefly, so I was still able to develop my skills. Despite not using Pixelmator for an extended period of time, my skills did develop. Because I began on my magazine review, by the time it came to making my film poster, the process was much quicker because I had become a lot more confident with the programme than in comparison to when I started my magazine review. All these three pieces of software are made by Apple, and were used on Mac OS X. They are all professional pieces of software that people use in the film industry.

To record each media production, a DSLR camera was used, specifically a Nikon D3100. This model of camera was used because it can record HD video with many different options, such as manual or auto focus, with variable lenses. As I used the camera more and more, my skills with it grew and grew. So, by the time it came to A2, the creative way I used the camera had developed so much so that, similar to the editing, I became much more ambitious with the shots that I was using, and my general skill with the camera had improved to create a much more smooth production. Along with recording video, I recorded sound separately to increase the audio quality overall. To record sound, a sound recorder was plugged into a directional microphone connected to a boom. The boom allowed the microphone to be positioned accurately, to give the greatest audio recordings, while the directional microphone meant that audio such as dialogue could be clearer, and is not disrupted by any background sound. As time went on, my overall skills with the sound recording equipment developed, so that I was able to use better sounding audio when it came to editing my A2 production.