Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of contructing the product?

Given that we thought so carefully about the concept and representation of our opening sequence, we wanted to be able to demonstrate these perfectly with good quality sound and picture for maximum enjoyment. Achieving this came with deciding on the right hardware to shoot our footage on and the right software to edit our footage on. Although without our research our concept would've suffered, this element of the process is arguably the most important as it allowed us to create the finished product.

Hardware


Initially, we were going to use a mixture of two cameras for our opening sequence: a Canon 550D and a Canon Legria HV-30. This is what we tested in our first test shoot, using the Canon 550D for the long party shot and the Canon Legria HV-30 for the overdose scene and beyond. Hpwever, due to differences in the cameras, on Adobe Premiere Pro the shots from the cameras were different sizes. We then decided to make a decision about which one to use. The following table explains the advantages and disadvantages of each:

However, on experimenting with both we decided that the Canon 550D was a better option to go with. It allowed us to not only shoot in HD but also in 50fps (as apposed to the standard 25fps) which meant that the quality would not suffer as a compromise to slowing the footage down. Usually, auto-focus would've been an easier option but we wanted the manual focus to allow us to create our shots exactly how we wanted them - in contrast the Canon Legria HV-30 did not have this feature. This links to the visual style we were trying to achieve.

On our first shoot disaster struck when we forgot to charge up one of the spare batteries. If we were doing this again, we would advise to ensure that all batteries, including spares, are charged up. Luckily we had got most of the footage that we needed, but had we not, many of our actors may not have been able to return for a second shoot.

A safety precaution that had to be taken when using the camera was that we didn't under any circumstances hand them to members of our cast, or leave them on the floor without being in their cases. We also had to take care not to drop them. With the Canon Legria HV-30 it was also essential that we did not try and push the tape out when it would come out automatically.

Although our party shot is done hand-held, for the overdose and ending we used a tripod to ensure steadiness. With hindsight, we would've also used a tripod for the shots that involved switching on the lights, although this isn't immediately obvious from our opening.

For each shoot, we kit ourselves out with three Arri Redhead lights: two 650W and one 750W. As you can see, they lit out set to a brilliant degree that provided definite contrast between our party scene and our overdose scene. For this reason, they highlighted the change in mood. We did come across some issues however, the main one finding strange shadows in our shots. It often proved a challenge to keep the light looking natural.  

With their power, they could also get boiling very quickly. In fact they even burnt holes through some of our filters. If we ever did this again, we would not spend so much time planning which filters to use, as everything we needed to set the mood was accounted for via grading. One of the imperative safety precautions was to only let our group touch them, and even then only with the specialized gloves on. Another disadvantage of them was that they were very difficult to carry around, with it taking at least two of us to transport them anywhere. Thankfully, most of the time we managed to secure a lift.

Software

We edited our sequence of Adobe Premiere Pro, which we found very effective indeed. We made use of its grading and echo facilities that helped match our sequence to it's genre, and introduce the key themes of the film. We also used this to create the animatic, which helped us in the planning process to predict how long our shots would last and whether they would would in relation to each other.

What we didn't realize when filming our party shot was that they were very grainy due to the lack of light. It was such a problem, that we planned another reshoot of the entire thing, but with the lights on. As some of our best actors couldn't make it, we were brainstorming other people to ask to ensure continuity. However at the last minute we discovered that Adobe After Effects had the potential to remove grain. Although this was a lengthy process, it saved us having to organise a reshoot which I now with hindsight believe was vital to our success. One of the key things we wanted to convey in our opening was spontaneity - something that would've been lacking had the lights been on. We would've had to compromise mise en scene for quality. However, thanks to after effects, we achieved both to our best standard. Below is a video of how grainy our shot was before after effects. You can see it properly if you watch it in full screen:

We also used new media technology to stay in touch, particularly with the use of facebook and in some cases twitter.

The below video sums up all the hardware and software we used in an annotated version of the opening:

This proved to be an entire new experience for our group - and as for me, I had never used technology to this extent before. It was rewarding to see our film opening that we had planned for so long to finally be brought to life.