Silverstone digital tech eval

EVALUATION OF OUR USE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

USE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IN…

RESEARCH

Search EnginesWhat is a Search Engine?

-A Search Engine is a program that searches for and identifies items in a database that correspond to keywords or characters specified by the user, used especially for finding particular sites on the Internet.

Access to Information

YouTube

We used YouTube to research different idents in our favorite films. We also used this to help us with what sort of music would go underneath the ident. We concluded that it is usually has a fanfare type feel. Of course, it also helped us watch a lot of opening sequences.


Wikipedia

We used Wikipedia to find facts and statistics about which genre films tend to do well in the UK/abroad. We also used it to research the names of distribution/production companies. It’s very quick to find out the odd fact, however the information is not very concise and the information can be altered by anyone so to ensure our information was accurate we always had to cross-reference facts with more reliable sites.

IMDbOne of those sites was IMDb, which has a wealth of statistics and facts and is also a reputable film site.


BFI Statistical Yearbook

This was another excellent site for gaining exact facts and figures and checking that our instincts were right about the audiences for our genre film.


Google

We used Google for nearly everything that we wanted to find out some information as we had an collection of results that would correspond to key words. We used Google the most out of all the search engines because we found the results tended to be more relevant to what we wanted to know.

Google gave us a wide range of results and we narrowed it down to exactly what we wanted.


Related Searches and Tagging

When you search an ambiguous keyword like ‘psychological thrillers’ it gives you a page of the most searched/popular psychological thrillers.

Research Summary• Advantages

A lot of information can be collected from one place

All information is free

Filters are used to make sure that search results are relevant to what you need.

At the bottom of the page there’s similar searches- help you find the exact page that you’re looking for.

Tags- type in a key word and receive all related articles/webpages/pictures etc.

• Disadvantages

Not regulated – cannot always be sure information is accurate

So much information that it can be time consuming finding what you want

Easy to become sidetacked and forget what you were originally searching for

Use of search engines prioritises some sites over others and so harder to be original


PLANNING

BloggerBlogger is the free digital blog publishing tool which allowed us to create and store all of our planning for the blog. This included text, photos, videos which we could share to construct the planning stage. Blogger is also accessible anywhere which meant we could work on it at home or in school, enabling us to do extra work when needed. We could store our work chronologically, look back on it and access the work of others very easily. We could also comment on work.

Blogger – Images and VideoWe used a wide range of images throughout the planning stage in order to reference screenshots from other film openings, locations, credit layouts etc. We also took a lot of our own photos which we could upload.

We could always refer back to our planning images as they would stay located on blogger.

Blogger-Sharing

With Blogger, we are able to view other groups work as well as people within our groups, which allows us to get a greater understanding if needed, and to build upon ideas, thinking further.We also received comments throughout each individual blog post suggesting improvements and corrections and it was very easy to get comments on our work.Another school was even able to comment on our work.

Use Of Cameras

The use and getting familiar with the camera was a vital part of the planning process, as we did encounter some problems regarding focus.If we had not planned sufficiently, this problem could have been part of the final task which is something we didn’t want.

We had to take various stills images before we created the final task, which would be part of the mise-en-scene in Elliot’s scene.

We also practised filming our sequence and logged this in the blog.

Final Cut Express

• We had to plan how we could edit the final piece, as well as put together the storyboard presentation, which was all done via FCE.

• At first, we had problems in terms of continuity and how to get the perfect timing, however with using FCE as we went along, we gained sufficient knowledge on how to edit properly with many transitions and special effects used where necessary. This is why the prelim task was vital in establishing our key skills in Final Cut Express.

Ident-Cinema 4D

Planning took place in regards to the ident being created, as we had to have a greater understanding of a complex programme in order for it to be successful. Hours of work were completed looking at tutorials and figuring out the basis of the programme, which paid off in terms of the final task.

Planning Summary• Advantages

A wide range of digitl technology was available to us to help us with our planning

Using it made our preparations more organised and was a lot quicker than using old technology.

Our planning is permanent – we can always go back and look at it to help with the next stage and even with coursework next year.

• Disadvantages

Has taken a lot of time e.g. taking photos of storyboard to make animatic.

Sometimes we have replicated each other’s work without realising.


CONSTRUCTION

Video Camera

• Before filming it was important for us to familiarize ourselves with the camera so we could film to a high standard.

• For example before our final filming day, we made sure we practiced filming in the elevator as it was a tight space to film in and we needed to consider what exact angles that we would use.

• Through this experience we learnt that the camera films a wider screen than what is actually seen on the screen, and were able take this into account in our final filming.

Final Cut Express

• One of the main disadvantages of software like Final Cut Express, is that there is a huge learning curve which requires a lot of time and experimentation to overcome. Although there is this disadvantage, the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

• On the bright side Final Cut Express is quite well equipped and makes it easy to organize your footage. Its features are more advanced than a lot of other software, making our filming seem more professional.

Using Final Cut

Final Cut works in layers; sound and video are added in layers and then effects and transitions can be added until the desired look is achieved.

Advantages of Final Cut

• Final Cut Express has:

• A clear layout

• Complete freedom to alter almost everything.

• the ability to mix audio and visual tracks together.

Disadvantages of Final Cut

• The problems we faced from using Final Cut Express were:

• 1: We could only use it on the Macs in school therefore we could not do any of the work at home.

• 2: Also we could not all edit at the same time so it caused some problems.

• The software we used was hugely costly, but vital to the completion of our piece.

Live Type• LiveType is another piece of software we used for our opening

sequence to create titles and credits and put them into our film through Final Cut Express. It gave us quality looking text and some unique effects in animation.

• However, like Final cut Express, it is hard to get used to and takes experience.

Use of LiveTypeLive Type was a useful piece of digital technology because it gave us a lot of editing options for our titles and credits to get the exact effects we wanted, as shown on the right hand side. We had the freedom to choose colour, font, etc.

This made it easier for us to create a opening sequence to a high standard.

Construction Summary

• Advantages

The equipment and packages we used helped us to achieve a high quality of results

Once we were familiar with them we could use these packages quite effectively.

• Disadvantages

Learning the packages was difficult at times and could slow us down as we were novices.

There are a lot of e.g. effects and transitions which you can use but not always exactly what you would like.


EVALUATION

Blogger

• We used Blogger to post all of our coursework on. This is a brilliant website as it is so accessible. It comes with an app that enabled us to complete our work wherever we were on ipads and our phones. We could also evaluate constantly throughout every stage because we were constantly looking back.

Comments and Feedback

We were able to use the blog to get feedback from another school who did not know us and we found their impartial advice useful. This is a good example of the sharing capacity of the blog and of digital technology.

Filmed Presentations

• We edited our filmed presentations using Final Cut Express. This gave the best of both worlds – the sense of personal engagement of our debate and some visuals and headlines to add structure and support for the audience.

Images and Text

• Thanks to the variety of software and websites such as power point and blogger we were able to present our work in formats where pictures were accompanied by text.

• This added to the variety of our work using a multi-media format and makes the blog more engaging for an outside reader.

PowerPoint

The use of slideshare technology has helped this evaluation because we are all able to contribute individually but create a single themed piece of work as a group. It also makes you make short, simple points and illustrate with visuals.

Evaluation Summary• Advantages

All our evaluations are stored together on the blog with a copy of the final work and all the associated research and planning.

We have been able to use a variety of presentational formats appropriate to the task.

We have therefore been able to work as a group on these evaluations but at the same time make our individual contributions.

• Disadvantages

Has been time-consuming getting all the information and visuals together. Digital technology cannot do this work for you.

A lot of our evaluation has been done informally and in conversation and this cannot be logged or tracked through technology.

Documents

Silverstone digital tech eval