1. What have you learnt about
technologies from the process of
constructing this project?

2. What does it do?
iMovie allows you to edit footage, add sound clips, transitions, change the
colour and exposure, and add effects such as “bad TV” and “Black and
white”.
How it was used:
This software was used when did our preliminary task as it was the easiest
software to use as we had only a short amount of time to film and edit the
footage.
Problems:
The group I was in had not used the Macs or iMovie before, so figuring out
where certain tools were was difficult to begin with. The software is not as
good or reliable as Final Cut Pro as there are not as good editing choices and
effects on iMovie.
Solutions:
To solve the problem of not being able to fully work with iMovie due to
there being less editing tools and effects on the software, my group decided
to use “Final Cut Pro”. By using this software, it allowed us to easily edit, cut
and add effects into our product.
Lessons Learnt:
After using both Final Cut Pro and iMovie, I have learnt that Final Cut Pro is
better to use for a professional finish to a product, whereas iMovie is more
useful for short low-skilled projects, like the preliminary task.

3. What does it do?
Final Cut Pro allows you to edit, cut, add effects and sounds easily
, to create a professional finish on the product.
How was it used?
It was used in our final production of making the opening
sequence to a thriller film. We used it too create scenes in black
and white, add Foley sounds, change the speed of certain scenes
and add credits to our production.
Problems:
Final Cut Pro was a new software to the group, so we had to
quickly learn how to navigate around the software to find the
tools needed for the editing process.
Occasionally when we added in a new sound, effect, transitions or
piece of footage, the software would retime the product so
certain things we’re out of sync, so we would have to spend time
going through the productions to correct this issue.
Solutions:
Everyone in the group learnt how to use the software
quickly, which helped because then everyone could edit at some
point without any major issues. We all learnt were the needed
tools were on the software, which made it easier and less stressful
to edit the product.
Lessons Learnt:
I have learnt what tools suit certain
editing needs best. For example, if
large amount of large need to be cut
off I would use the “Trim” tool as it is
easy to use. For small delicate amount
of footage to be cut, I would use the
blade tool as it allows you to zoom in
and cut exactly what you want.
Also I learnt that you can cut the actual
footage size if certain parts do not look
correct of screen.

4. What does it do?
A HD Digital Camera, allows footage to be filmed, in the
best quality possible, it also allows you to zoom in and
out of action if certain detail needs more attention
, such as a close-up of a character.
How was it used?
The digital camera was used to film our preliminary task
and opening sequence production in HD .
The camera had a built in flash which we used when
tracing footsteps so that they could be seen in the dark.
Also we used the flip screen on camera so that the
actors who were being filmed, could see how the
product looked and to make any necessary changes.
Problems:
Our group did not face many problems when using the
camera , but one problem we did come across was
ensuring that the battery life on the camera would last a
filming sessions as we found that the battery reduced
quite quickly and we feared would be half way through
a scene and the battery would run out. Another
problem was that the light on the camera, previously
mentioned, was not bright enough to see the
footsteps, so we had to use other lights as well as the
camera light to make the scene possible.
Solutions:
To solve the battery life issue that occurred throughout
the production, we kept it on charge as much as
possible, and in between scenes, costume changes we
put the camera on charge if possible to try and keep the
battery as high as possible.
Lessons Learnt:
I have learnt how to use the camera to get high quality
footage, I have also learnt to prepare extra lighting if I
film in the dark in the future, to make sure that the
footage can be clearly seen.

5. What does it do?
The Mac desktop computer, lets you upload, edit footage using
software such as; iMovie and Final Cut pro. The Macs also have
internet access allowing us to research sounds, films and scores
to use in our production.
How was it used?
We used the Macs for production purposes only, this means
that we only used to edit, and add sound effects to our
opening sequence using Final Cut Pro. We also used the Macs
to edit our preliminary task.
Problems?
Apart from the preliminary task, no-one in my group had used a
Mac before, or the software on it. So we had to learn how to
use the Mac, even for simple things like finding the software
you want by using “finder”. This was a problem, because at the
beginning of editing our opening sequence, it was a slow
process as we had to navigate round the Mac.
Solutions:
The only solution to learning how the Macs worked and
navigating around them, was to use them as often as possible
to get used to the product. After a few sessions on the Macs, we
had learnt our way around the Macs and it became easier to
edit our products.
Lessons Learnt:
I have learnt how to use a Mac computer
efficiently, how to find things e.g. using
Finder, and how to navigate around
them.
I have also learnt that in the future when
creating a film sequence, it is best to use
a Mac as the quality software allows it too
look professional and not amateur.

6. What does it do?
Prezi is an online website that allows you too
creatively make presentations more exciting and
different.
How was it used?
Prezi was used, personally, to create
presentations on Film Classifications in the
UK, and to display my Thriller codes and
conventions research. I then embedded the
Prezi’s into my blog so that they could be viewed
from the blog.
Problems:
I had never used Prezi before, so it was a
challenging software to use at the beginning
when doing my first Prezi as I didn’t no how to
create pathways between each picture or block
of information.
Solutions:
As I found Prezi hard to use to begin with I asked
my teachers and peers for tips and how to do
certain things, like putting in pathways to make it
flow better. After I asked for help from my
teachers and peers on my first Prezi, I found it
much easier to negotiate around for the my
second Prezi and create a better product.
Lessons Learnt:
I leant how to embed a Prezi into blogger,, and also
how to embed information into a Prezi
presentation.
Also, I learnt that Prezi is a very good way of
displaying information in a more interesting way
than a word document, and this will help me in the
future.

7. Free Sound Org.
What does it do?
This website allows you to downloads and
used, unlicensed music and sounds easily.
How was it used?
We used free sound org to download and
find sounds that can be used within our
opening sequence production. For
example; we used sound org, to find a gun
shot, so that we could have a loud gun shot
at the climax of our production.
Problems:
When using free sound org, we found it
difficult to find the exact sound we
wanted, so had to listen to many different
sound and just cut them to make it work for
us. Also we relied on the schools internet
but it is quite slow quite slow, so
downloading sounds could take a
while, which made downloading sound
sometimes an issue.
Solutions:
To solve these issues, we all looked on the website
at home and made notes of the sounds that we
found that could be used in production. This made it
easier in school because we knew what sound to
download and made the process quicker. Also we
split our group up so that 2 people could carry on
editing the production whilst the other 2 looked and
searched for appropriate sounds, this ensured that
editing time was not wasted b y waiting for sounds
to download.
Lessons Learnt:
I learnt that free sound org, is a very reliable
website, with an easy registration, and I will use it in
the future as it is unlicensed and easy to navigate.

8. What does it do?
Powtoon let’s you make
presentations, using
animations, music. It also
makes presentations more
watchable.
How was it used?
I used Powtoon when presenting information
about the history of film. It made this information
more exciting and easier to take in. I also used
Powtoon too embed my presentation into my
blog.
Problems:
Lessons learnt:
I have learnt how to use the
Powtoon software, which
help me in the future when
I want too make more
interesting presentations
and display information in a
interesting way.
I had never used Powtoon
before, and I found it
difficult to use as a
beginner as you had to
add effects and time the
whole thing. I found that
this was a major
problem, and almost led
me too not using the
software.
Solutions:
To solve this major problem, I asked my teacher for tips
on how to use it, I also read on the internet how people
over came this and I watched tutorials on YouTube to
educate myself on the software. This helped me, and I
then successful made a Powtoon presentation.

9. What does it do?
YouTube lets you watch, listen and upload
videos, music and projects for free.
How was it used?
YouTube was used to upload Team
meetings, Peer group feedback, opening
sequence drafts, and I also used it too upload
my Powtoon presentation so it could be
shown through my blog.
Problems:
When uploading videos to YouTube it took a
long time and sometimes didn’t allow for it
too be uploaded as the file was too large or
the incorrect file type.
Also YouTube is blocked at school, and if
wasn’t blocked the internet speed meant that
it would take too long to upload a file.
Solutions:
All members of the group had internet access
at home, so this meant that we took it in turns
too upload each project and spread it out fairly.
This was the only solution as we couldn’t
upload files at school, and if we took it home it
meant we had more time to change the file
type or cut the videos down to the maximum
file size.
Lessons Learnt:
I have learnt that YouTube is a good connection
platform as videos can be embedded onto
blogs through the HTML code which is easy to
access. I will use YouTube more often in the
future when doing projects similar to this.