1. Question 6:
What have you learnt about
technologies from the process of
constructing this product?

2. What would films even be without technology? That’s a question I don’t even want to
begin to answer, but what I will do in this presentation is talk about how technology has
advanced and the affects this has had on films and also what I have learnt about the
specific technology my group used in the making of our 2 minute thriller opening.
But what do we mean by ‘new media technology’? This term simply refers to any
device that allows users to digitally transfer and edit information. So this could be
anything from CD-ROMS to a piece of computer editing software. However things that
are considered ‘old media’ such as televisions, films or paper-based products, are not
part of ‘new media technology’.
Introduction

3. Why is technology so important in filmmaking?
Technology is the key element to any film, even those from the days when films were
silent. Technology is the whole reason to why we are actually even able to have films.
Think about it like this, if video cameras had not been invented then no footage would
be able to be captured, ergo (I like that word), no film! So right from the very early days
of cinema to present day, technology has been the most important ingredient to film
making and it will be forever.
With the constant evolution of technology, filmmaking will keep on progressing as well,
whether this is a good or bad thing it is hard to tell…

4. How has technology advanced?
Technology is constantly developing, and is a major part of everyone's world. The technology that helps create films has
developed at a ridiculously fast rate. It was not so long ago when films were shot in black and white and were silent.
Now we have the capability of being able to film using cameras that capture an actors performance and then is able to
translate this onto a 3D computer generated character. This allows the actos performances and expressions to come
through on the computer generated version of themselves. This is seen as a major step forward in filming. In the picture
below Sigourney Weaver is being filmed using a special 3D camera on the set of Avatar.
However the basic principles of filming are still the there, the camera angles, camera movements and the editing, but
technology has evolved and let filmmakers do a lot of new things digitally and on computers, like making 3D Avatars of
the actors in their film.
Click this link to see an evolution of filmmaking technology at Lucasfilm:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQilS9ag-wM
Click this link to see how technology has evolved over the past few years:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8

5. How has technology changed the ways films are produced?
Technology has totally changed the way in which films are produced and Avatar is a good example. In the end
Avatar was 60% computer-generated elements and 40% live action - so my question is ‘was this a good thing
or is computer generated effects taking over the art of filming?’ This is actually a question that I have some very
strong views about.
Now Bilal, one of my group members is obsessed by using special effects in film making and can sit for hours
experimenting with effects on his favourite piece of software Adobe After Effects. If it was totally up to him then
I'm sure our whole opening would have been jam-packed with special effects. I myself like to create as much as
I can physically when filming and be creative with the camera – if a film is shot really well then it could look 20
times better than a film loaded with special effects. So what are special effects doing to films that is so negative?
Well it's letting filmmakers become lazy. Back when the film Jaws was being filmed Steven Spielberg re-
popularised the 'dolly zoom' effect within the film, this I have previously mentioned on my blog. This was a very
clever effect that was purely made just during the filming process, nothing more was added in post-
production, this meaning that the film crew had to experiment and be clever to try and capture the camera effect.
So nowadays filmmakers have become lazy because they have the option of just adding the effects in post-
production and when filming just film the bear minimum, without being creative or inventive. So in other words
without special effects filmmakers would have the encouragement to be more creative with the camera but due
to the ease of adding effects in post-production they have become lazy.
Click this link to see the ‘dolly zoom’ effect used in Jaws:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW23RsUTb2Y
Click this link to see a behind the scenes video about the making of Avatar using
‘performance capture’ technology: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2_vB7zx_SQ

6. How has technology changed the ways films are produced?
Technology has also allowed virtually anyone to actually make a film. Due to the fact
that there are really cheap ways to record digital film, this means more people can do
so. People can record videos on phones and other media products and then quickly
and easily edit them together on computer software. So in general making films can be
done by anyone. Cross media convergence is the technical term that describes how
single media platforms have been merged together to create media devices that are
capable of several outputs. Even though most of these home-made films may not be
up to scratch with a professionally made film, if amateur filmmakers use the technology
and editing software they have carefully then they can make a really high quality
piece.
This is exactly what my group did – make a low budget film using equipment and
software we utilised to make our final product look professional.

7. How has technology changed the ways films are distributed?
When it comes to distribution the developments in technology
have allowed films to be advertised at specific audiences and in
new ways that capture a massive audience. Distributors are
always concerned with the promotion and marketing of their
films. This is due to the fact that their are so many films being
bought out that new methods need to be devised so that films
reach and attract as bigger audience as possible. Due to
technology, adverts and other marketing tools can be watched
on media devices, allowing films to reach out to far more people
than the more traditional ways of advertising ever could.
However there is a down side to all this. It's fine for those
Hollywood blockbuster films that have loads of money to spend
on advertising their film and getting it out there, but independent
films which have a low budget find it hard to attract a large
audience and can't compete with the larger film advertising
campaigns. However Richard Ayoade's film Submarine, which
was released in 2010, used technology and social media
networking sites like Facebook to make their film known - this
happened by the quick spreading of the film around the social
website, almost like a 'trend'. This allowing them to get their film
out there on a very low budget. So the developments in
distribution caused by technology has it ups and downs, due to
the fact that it allows blockbuster films to reach a huge target
audience, but as a result leaves some films in the dark if they
have a smaller budget and have to be really creative to think of
new and unique ways to cheaply promote their film.

8. How has technology changed the ways films are exhibited?
Technology has also added whole new levels to the exhibition of films. Films have become much more
accessible to consumers. Consumers can now watch films on almost any media device. For example films can
be downloaded to phones, iPad's, tablets and also be streamed or downloaded via online websites like Netflix
and LoveFilm to a computer or television hard drive - this meaning that films are getting a larger audience and
also making more money due to online downloads. Cross media convergence is the technical term that
describes how multiple pieces of technology have come together to create single media platforms that have
multiple outputs, for example a smart phone. However there is a downside to all this. Can you guess what it is?
Well being able to simply download a film straight to your mobile phone totally takes away the fun of actually
going to the cinema and watching the film in the atmosphere and surroundings that is the cinema. Well that’s
my opinion anyway.
I could never just download a film and watch it on a computer or media device like a phone, it totally ruins it.
For films like James Bond there’s no option, that’s a film franchise made for the cinema. When people said to
me they watched Skyfall – the latest Bond film – online, I was like ‘what!!!’, that’s not the way to do it, you had
to go to the cinema and see it – it was not just any old film, but an event!

9. How have you used digital technology in your production?
In our final production my group used two major pieces of digital technology. One being a digital
video camera which we used to film the shots and then save them to a SD card, and then being
able to load them onto the iMac’s in school afterwards. This making the whole filming process
much more quicker and easier than the traditional ways of filming.
The other piece of technology we used was Final Cut Pro X. A piece of video editing software.
This piece of software helped us to first of all order our footage, then create our timeline of shots
and add effects to our product. Below are two very contrasting pictures. On the left a piece of film
negative is actually being cut with scissors, this being an old method to ‘crop’ and piece to
together a scene in a film. Whereas the screengrab on the right, taken from when my group was
editing together our film opening, clearly shows the bespoke piece of computer software that we
used. Allowing us to easily ‘crop’ down footage and add it to our ‘timeline’. Also Final Cut Pro X
allowed us to add special effects to our footage, something that would have proved a lot trickier
and time consuming using more traditional methods.

10. What new technology have you now become familiar with?
Well ever since I was really young I’ve always had an interest in
film making. However when I was younger I didn’t have any
thing as professional as the equipment and software I used
recently with my group to create our film opening. I used to have
a very bulky digital camera which I was able to film short
sequences on. The memory card was very small and the quality
of the shots were very poor. I used to record any pieces of music
I wanted to add in with an mp3 player and then add all the
elements together on Windows Movie Maker. Adding in the odd
transition or effect here and there.
As time went on I started to acquire slightly better equipment. I
had got a HD digital camera which I was able to film long
sequences on and the quality was excellent. So within the space
of a few years I had gone from bulky low pixel digital camera to
slim HD digital camera. Plus the added bonus that the
microphone on the new camera was high quality so it picked up
sound really well. During ICT lessons I had got used to learning
new film editing software, for example Adobe Fireworks. Outside
of school I was still using Windows Movie Maker and to this day I
still do, purely because it is really simple to use and gets the job
done – but the question is, how does all of that fare against the
new technology I used during the making of my group’s film
opening.

11. What new technology have you now become familiar with?
Well in some respects the new technology my group used to make our film
opening blew my equipment and software out of the water, but in some ways
it was just a bit of a posher version.
First I will talk about the equipment itself. To film my group’s opening we
used a HD video camera. Now I rarely in the past had used a video camera
like this before, purely because I was always happy with my digital camera. I
found that the video camera was quite touch sensitive, one wrong button
pressed and somehow something had been switched on or off. I don’t know
if it was just the design of the video camera itself or me not being used to it
but I felt as though I couldn’t really hold the camera in different ways
because something would happen, like it would stop recording or be turned
off. With my digital camera there are a minimum of about six buttons
altogether, all on one side of the camera or situated on the top and to
activate them you would need to press down with the force of actually
wanting to press it whereas with the HD video camera buttons, especially the
wheel shaped ones that you turn, one accidental nudge and the whole thing
gets messed up.
However the one major thing that was very positive about the HD video
camera was the digital LCD screen which could be twisted around. This
allowing the video camera to be placed on the floor to achieve a really low
angled shot and the cameraman being able to twist the screen and watch
the shot from a kneeling position. This was something which I actually did
while filming Iffat as the pizza delivery guy picking up the pizza order he had
just dropped. Whereas if I was trying to achieve this shot with my digital
camera then I would have to crouch down right to the floor to be able to look
at the display screen which is built into the back of the camera.

12. What new technology have you now become familiar with?
Now to edit our film opening we were required to use iMac’s which are computers that
I have seldom used. The only time really having used them is in school. However I do
ICT and I love computers so it was pretty easy to pickup all the keyboard shortcuts
and helpful tips of using an iMac more effectively and quicker. The thing that actually
stopped me the most from being able to use the iMac was the damn username that I
could never remember until much later on in the project, luckily Gina was always was
on hand to shed some light on the cryptic username.
Anyway, moving on. So the software. I had used Final Cut Pro before, a few years
previously, but now Adobe had re-released Final Cut Pro as Final Cut Pro X, which
was very different to its predecessor. As I had not used the software in quite a while
and the layout had changed I had to get used to it, this I did fairly quickly. In fact the
preliminary task really helped to solidify my familiarity with the software. As well as the
fact that in our Classical Civilisation lesson we were asked to reenact a scene from a
play and film and then edit it. In my group of five students I was the only one who knew
how to use Final Cut Pro X – this was again another good bit of practice I got before
actually editing together my groups final product.
So what was Final Cut Pro X like compared to Windows Movie Maker? Well in terms
of cropping and sticking the pieces of film on a timeline it was virtually the same as
Windows Move Maker, it just had the typical neat look of an Apple piece of software.
The element of Final Cut Pro X that was majorly better than Windows Movie Maker
was the effects, filters, sounds. There are very minimal transitions and effects on
Windows Movie Maker all of which look really cheesy when attempted to be put into a
real film, however the ones available on Final Cut Pro X are of a much higher quality
and users can alter them more, for example, choose specific things about lets say the
effect they are adding to a shot. For example when I added in an effect which made
some of the footage in my group’s title sequence jolty, I was able to pick out exactly
what angle and direction the jolt would come from and how long it would last,
something which on Windows Movie Maker would just look cheap, cheesy and tacky
because of the fact that it was already set and customised.

13. What have you learnt about new technologies?
I’ve learnt a lot about new technologies over the past few months of making my groups thriller film
opening. Although I have to admit I find it more appropriate to say that I became familiar with new
technologies that I had seldom used before, as I already knew about the new technologies in
general being used in films. So for me it was more about becoming familiar with these new things.
I already knew that technology was of vast importance to film making (well actually more than
vast – it is the key ingredient, as I’ve already mentioned).
Over the past few months I certainly feel as though I have become very familiar with these pieces
of technology I was introduced to. Looking back now I think that Final Cut Pro X is certainly a
really excellent piece of software to use in terms of editing shots and adding professional (but
simple effects to our footage). Bilal, one other student in my group, is fascinated by Adobe After
Effects, at times he seemed somewhat addicted to it and still does. During an interview we did as
a group where we talked about the processes we went through in post-production Bilal made my
head explode using After Effects – watch the video and you will see the exploding head scene –
but the point I’m trying to make is that Final Cut Pro X may not be good for specific special
effects, like those that are able to created on After Effects but is good for simple and quick editing
and out of all honesty most of the time when we wanted to do something like add in an specific
effect, we could utilise the ones that were already there, and for example change their shape or
direction. So yes over the past few months I have definitely learnt a lot about using more
professional software and how it can make editing so easy, seamless and to be honest (and
because I love ICT) fun!

14. Would you go on to use the skills you have learnt about in the future?
To be honest I’ve just added that question into this presentation for the pure entertainment and
fun of me answering it. Now that I’ve spent a whole school year studying media and making my
own film opening I feel that I know so much more about the behind-the-scenes-work that goes
into films, so I am thankful for that, because for me it’s all really interesting. As I’ve already
mentioned I have always had an interest in making films so now that I have a whole other level of
experience with more professional software of course I am going to use and put into practice what
I have learnt again. Ideas are already running through my mind of what I can do next. Maybe
another short film opening over the summer holidays, who knows? But yes, I am really keen to
make more films and become more advanced, professional and that famous word my art teachers
always use ‘refined’.
I think for the time being I would stick with using my digital camera but use a much more
advanced editing software than Windows Movie Maker and now that I have knowledge of all the
different camera angles, techniques and well lets be honest a hell of a lot of stuff about general
film making I can go on to make short films that are going to be something new and different.
(Well let’s hope that’s what happens anyway!)
So to roundup, absolutely I will be wanting to film something, sometime soon using the new skills I
have learnt and incorporating my new found knowledge in Final Cut Pro X and general film
making processes. However one big difference that any future project I do myself will have is that
there will be no limit on the time that the video is allowed to run for, if you remember correctly the
groups in my class were only allowed to have a 2 minute opening, I think next time I’ll aim for
something more longer and see if I can keep an audiences attention for more than five minutes, I
think I’ll go from there and see how I do…