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

Throughout the pre-production, production and post production stages of constructing my media product I had familiarise myself with various equipment and software’s which helped me create an effective opening sequence. It was important to get an idea of using many of the technologies before the actual film shooting and editing process, although the knowledge I did gain from the preliminary task had dramatically developed. A range of equipment was used to film the opening sequence footage. This consisted of a digital handheld camera that actually recorded the information, 3 batteries; which I had to change every time the battery was close to dying, a tri-pod, a boom pole attached to a microphone and the use of a dolly.

Initially, the preliminary task helped me associate myself with the basic functions of the digital handheld camera, being able to produce simple footage. Using the ‘zoom in’ and ‘zoom out’ functions I was able to shoot specific shots such as the panning out movement from a close-up shot to a wide shot that showed a book in the centre of a field. This shot also required

me to increase the leg length of the tri-pod and to make it stand taller allowing the camera to increase the visual information of the surroundings. After doing so, I also attached the tripod to a dolly which made the tracking in movement I

also included in my opening sequence more smooth and remain at the level of continuity I wanted. Connecting the boom pole with the microphone as well as a windshield proved very helpful when listening back to the footage as the location throughout my media product opening two minutes were all exterior. This allowed me to pick up on the ambient sounds of the area whilst also amplifying the voices of my characters as the boom pole was placed directly above there heads.

Focusing now on the post production phase, it took me a considerable amount of time to become more associated with the use of the software and learning the skills required to edit the footage

previously shot with the tangible technologies. Primarily, I imported all the footage into iMovie as I was aware of how to go through the scenes and delete all the irrelevant and unwanted footage that occurred in the filming process. Though this was a time consuming stage, it was beneficial in the long run as it saved me having to cut the sequence into each individual shot. Following this, I exported the

remaining footage on to Final Cut Pro. At this point, I cut all the footage into shots that meant I could rearrange them and reposition them to make sense in a continuous format. Specifically, in a scene where Jade and Clarissa are discussing their camping trip, the scene jump cuts to Jade and then back to Clarissa. This technique required me to move precise shots and move them to make the conversation look natural. This worked out very well as the conversation looks fluent even though it is between numerous takes. Final Cut Pro also allowed me to fade in the logo I had produced for the production company. This made the sequence look more professional as throughout my research the classic fade from the logo to the actual film titles was very apparent.

Using Adobe Photoshop, I created a logo that presented the production company name. This stage was relatively straightforward as it required me to choose a specific font, font size as well as colour and image that would best reflect the name I had chosen that fits into the Horror Genre. The next software that enabled

me to create the opening titles of my media product was Motion. This software assisted me with producing titles in a similar way I did for the logo. However, in this instance, I also had to consider the way it would appear on screen and chose to have it fade in similar to the logo; this meant I could proceed with the theme of continuity. This helped me come to my end decision of having a red, large and centred typography of the title of my film ‘Unchained’.

Lastly, I employed the use of Garage Band to help me create my opening soundtrack. The use of a soundtrack proved extremely important in my research and therefore it was something I wanted to perfect. Garage Band gave me access to many different themes of music which I was able to choose from and even create my own melody. I also transitioned some of the ambient sounds I had recorded in the filming process

so make the opening soundtrack more natural. This includes the rustling of the wind in my opening sequence as well as the whispering sounds in the score. Finishing the soundtrack meant I had to export it and import it to final cut to reposition it to make sense with the opening titles and scenes that included dialogue.

Learning about these forms of technologies helped me develop my skills and knowledge of the filming and editing stages. However some of these techniques definitely contributed more to making my opening sequence more affective. The editing process was more of a struggle for as I had to consider every single second at each frame was important in telling the story. This meant I had to take more into consideration. As a result, adapting my skills on Final Cut made me prioritise certain shots as I had to pick and choose which was more important for opening sequence to fit the two minute mark.