Question 6

What have you learnt about

technologies from the process of
constructing the project?
 Camera
When creating our film, we used a high
quality consumer camera that filmed
in 1080p full HD. However, filming in
HD makes editing and compositing
much harder. The visual effects in the
opening scene had to be created at a
higher quality to normal, for example,
the scene showing the body hanging in
the tree and the day to night
conversion. The camera was small in
size, making transportation to the
location easy. All the filming
equipment was contained safely inside
a flight case to protect the camera and
the audio equipment.
Audio equipment
The audio equipment we used was
beneficial to us because there was a
busy road next to our location and it
removed the background noise of the
cars whilst filming. We achieved this by
using a shotgun microphone to get
directional audio. The boom pole was
helpful to gather closer dialog.
However, when filming we kept getting
the boom pole in the frame. This was
hard to control. The tripod we used
was strong and could be easily moved
around the location. We had no
problems with using it and actually
found it useful in creating a steady
shot.
 Location

Although being situated next to a busy

road, the field our film was shot in had
high bushes running around the
perimeter of the location, therefore
screening the view of vehicles.
Consequently, we were filming in late
winter so the main road could be seen
very clearly. We overcame this by
pointing the camera away from the
road and making sure the road was not
in the shot.
 Editing and Visual effects software

The editing software we used to edit was Adobe Premiere Pro. This software is very
powerful and can edit HD video. We used the software on a powerful computer,
which made the software have no lag and therefore making editing fast. The
software is powerful and this meant we experienced difficulties exporting the video
as HD because this was a timely process.

For the effects elements we used another powerful Adobe product called Adobe
After Effects CS4. Using this software, we created the day to night conversion and
illusion of the body hanging in the tree. This software allowed us to create advanced
colour correction that could not of been achieved in Premiere Pro. We experienced
one problem when using the software.
 Editing and Visual effects software

Adobe have a plug-in called “Dynamic Link” which allows the editor to edit video in
Premiere Pro and then to export it into After Effects without exporting the video and
thus cutting waiting time. However, the video we were editing was in HD, which
meant it took a long time to transfer to After Effects and then back to Premiere Pro.
To over come this problem we exported the final video from Premiere Pro CS4 as
an .mp4 to After Effects.

Then in After Effects we applied our visual effects, for example, the day to night
conversion and the illusion of the body hanging in the tree. We then exported the
video from After Effects as an .mp4 back into Premiere Pro to add audio and other
last touches, for example, the titles. We felt the day to night effect proved to be very
realistic, adding to the mise-en-scene.
Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 in action
Example of Adobe After Effects CS4
For the effects elements we used another powerful Adobe product called Adobe
After Effects CS4. Using this software, we created the day to night conversion and
illusion of the body hanging in the tree. This software allowed us to create advanced
colour correction that could not of been achieved in Premiere Pro. We experienced
one problem when using the software. Adobe have a plug-in called “Dynamic Link”
which allows the editor to edit video in Premiere Pro and then to export it into After
Effects without exporting the video and thus cutting waiting time. However, the
video we were editing was in HD, which meant it took a long time to transfer to After
Effects and then back to Premiere Pro. To over come this problem we exported the
final video from Premiere Pro CS4 as an .mp4 to After Effects. Then in After Effects
we applied our visual effects, for example, the day to night conversion and the
illusion of the body hanging in the tree. We then exported the video from After
Effects as an .mp4 back into Premiere Pro to add audio and other last touches, for
example, the titles. We felt the day to night effect proved to be very realistic, adding
to the mise-en-scene.
 Conclusion
Overall I feel that I have learnt a lot about new technologies that can help the
process of filmmaking. Learning how to operate the camera and the software has
been the biggest influence on myself. Now I have learnt 3what can be achieved by
both I can see done and cant be done. If I were to do this again I will avoid possibly
using Adobe After Effects CS4. This software can create high quality effects however
can be slow to use and also takes a long time to export video from After Effects.