Evaluation question 6

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

I certainly learnt a lot about the technologies we were using whilst making this opening. I'll admit I've never done much more video editing in the past than using Windows Movie Maker (fun fact: that hasn't been updated since 2012 and you can't actually download it anymore!) and this project took me from never touching proper editing software to feeling very confident with using it. We used iMovie, which whilst certainly not as advanced as other software such as FinalCut, it was enough to do what we wanted. Being the main editor (with help from Courtney) I feel that I really learnt a lot from the software and found that by the end of post-production I was comfortable enough with it that I had started to colour grade shots, equalise audio, and other little things which help to refine the look and feel of our opening.

When we were filming I did not operate the camera much as I was directing, however I do not feel that this negatively impacted my experience overall as I'm an avid photographer (currently doing a GCSE in it alongside my A-levels), and in fact the camera we were using (Nikon D4s), is essentially the bigger, better, and much more expensive version of my current camera (Nikon D3300); and so the use of the two is identical.

I certainly learnt a lot about directing, however, as this is the first time in which I have directed a project. The main thing I took from it was that even if you're not confident yourself, you need to act as if you are and the whole thing goes by much smoother. I also learnt that some of the best ideas come up during filming, and that it's important to get those few extra shots as it could make or break the final product. For tips and advice on directing I turned back to a YouTube channel which I used to watch a lot, DSLRguide, and hearing everything from someone who's doing what I was about to do felt very reassuring.