Opening Sequence Evaluation Q6

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

There was a lot of equipment we used when filming our opening sequence, this was:

- Canon XAHi (Camera)
- Libec LS200 (Tripod)
- Sennheiser Microphone & Headphones (Sound Equipment)
- Boom Pole & Windshield System
- Clapper Board & Chalk
- Battery Pack (Battery & Charger)

The camera was obviously our main piece of equipment as it recorded all of our shots. We were able to take each shot as many times as we needed to and retake any that we made mistakes with. Also, we took extra shots that we did not include in our storyboard. This meant that if there were any mistakes when we digitised our shots we had ‘back up’ shots that we could substitute instead. This proved a great help when we were editing our shots as we noticed that we had made quite a few mistakes. This was mainly due to our limited visibility as out lighting created a big problem for us as it made everything darker and meant that minor things where hard to see on the camera. For example, any faults in our background were hard to see through our camera and were only noticed when the shots were digitised. Although we created extra shots (back up shots) we were not able to substitute every shot as most of them were necessary and could not be changed as it would confuse the audience. If we were to re-shoot it would have taken too long and also would have broken continuity as the set and main character would not have looked the same. The camera was easy to use as it was lightweight, compact and portable. This meant when using it our filming was made easier as it wasn’t a burden to carry around a heavy camera, we had a lightweight portable one that was kept in a bag when it wasn’t being used.

The Libec tripod LS200 proved a great help when we were filming as it made sure our camera was kept still. We attempted to record some ‘back up’ shots by hand which meant that the camera operator needed to have a very steady hand. This didn’t work in favour for our group as unfortunately none of us had a steady hand and it broke the realism of the scenes and made the shots look amateur. When we were using the tripod we had to make sure all the legs where of the same length other wise the view would have been uneven and again the element of realism would have been broken. After all the legs were set up evenly we had to make sure the spirit level was correct. This was a small circle on the top of the tripod which needed to be changed every time the tripod was being used whist filming. It meant that the camera was evenly balanced on all sides of the tripod to ensure the angle would be straight. This kept the realism of our shots going.

We didn’t need to use the Sennheiser microphone and headphones very much as most of our sound was non diegetic. The only time we needed to use all the sound equipment was when we were recording the sound of one characters feet walking into the shot and some voice over’s. When we were recording the sound of the footsteps we used the microphone and headphones and boom pole. We did not need to use the windshield system as we were not in an area which is affected by the wind. When recording the sound we needed to make sure that the microphone was placed close enough to the feet so that we could pick up the sound loud enough but not too close that it came into the shot. We also used this equipment for recording the voice over’s. Again, we did not need to use the windshield system as we wee not in an area affected by wind.

We used the clapper board and chalk when we were recording each individual shot. On the clapper board we wrote which shot we were about to film and the take number. The clapper board was then held in front of the camera and the director read out the shot and take number. This helped us when we were digitising our shots as instead of playing each shot through we immediately knew which shot we were digitising which made the job quicker for us.

The battery was charged for a full 8 hours the day before filming so that it was ready and fully charged for us to use the next day. This saved us time on the day of filming as it meant that we did not need to wait around for our battery to be charged. It also meant that our battery wouldn’t die therefore saving us time throughout the day trying to find another one to use.

The software we used when editing our opening sequence was Adobe Premiere CS4. I found this software very good when editing our opening sequence. It had various things on there which allowed us to change the volume of sound, add effects onto the shots for example colour and brightness and allowed us to add transitions to our shots. The main transition we added was fades when switching from one shot to another. This made our sequence look smooth and it did not look jumpy when changing from shot to shot.

There were many filming techniques we learnt when filming. One particular technique we learnt when filming was tilts. This is when the camera is taken off the tripod and put at an angle which appears tinted on camera. However, due to the fact that the camera needed to be taken off the tripod we were unable to do this. This was because none of our crew members were able to hold the camera steady enough for the shot to continue realism. Therefore when trying to do this the shot appeared wobbly and was unsteady so we thought it would be best not to use this type of shot.

There were many editing techniques I learnt when editing our sequence. These were making sure the volume of sound was correct and at the same level throughout. We also had to make sure that our lighting looked the same throughout the sequence otherwise continuity would have been broken. This was extremely difficult as the lighting created a different shade on our location when you stood at different angles. Therefore some shots had to be brightened and in some the colour effects needed to be adjusted so they were the same. We also needed to include our own titles so we needed to play around with the software to find different ways to do this to make our film look interesting and creative.

The key lessons I learnt whilst using technology and equipment was to always take every shot more than twice just to be on the safe side. We found that we made quite a few mistakes when filming as the background wasn’t right or the camera was shaky. Although this may have been because it was the first time we were filming a big sequence I have definitely learnt to do this in future work.


Heena