CONSTRUCTION

To edit our trailer, we used Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 software, to use the clips from our filming day to create the trailer. I found it an effective tool, since it enabled the user to easily import select and then place clips. The in and out buttons ( “I” and “O” ) made selecting the clips from our recordings that we wanted a very quick process whilst it still left the original footage whole so we could change the parts we wanted if we decided too. The main camera we used was the Nikon D3100 this was useful particularly for our multiple long shots but also for our unique “selfie shot” as it allowed us to zoom whilst recording. The tripod was useful as for many of our shots the camera needed to be steady particularly for the entrance shots to the pub. Thanks to our use of high standard equipment from the cameras and editing software our production was very high quality and matched the standards used in day-to-day soap opera trailers

Once we had started editing the clips so that if fitted within our time span which was a maximum of one min 30 seconds. We imported the non-diegetic sound (Music/Soundtrack) and the diegetic sound (Gunshot) to sync with the clips on-screen. Adobe with its multiple “tracks” allowed us to make our music parallel to the action it needed to sync with and also allowed us to have two different audio files playing at once ( the music and gunshot). Premiere also had the ability to use key frames so we could alter the volume, pitch and tempo of the sounds we were playing, we were pleased with the results as it gave us the ability to fade out the music near the end. This allowed for our voice over to be played without the background music which was important to get our point of call across. Using YouTube we learned how to add a unique CCTV effect over the clip of Liam running taken from above this seemed impossible but after watching multiple tutorials which all showed different ways of achieving the same effect, we used the skills we had learnt and the tools in Premiere to make the desired effect. The multiple transitional effects that Premiere offer gave our trailer a professional feel, it also had a fade at the end to symbolise the climax which is a typical convention of soap opera trailers . We also used jump cuts to show the different journeys the two main characters were going on to reach the pub, it helped portray the differences between the two characters and it also helped portray the reversal in gender roles which was key for us to make our trailer a success. We also used a “flash” and lens flare effect to mimic a gun flash, this worked well as from the flash we used a fade to black transition into the point of call to signify the trailer had ended. Originally we planned our opening shot to be the female character climbing out of a pond however this was unrealistic with the filming time we had so we had her leave a graveyard.

CONSTRUCTION (ANCILLARY PRODUCTS)

To create my ancillary products ( Magazine Front Cover & Promotional Poster), I used Adobe Photoshop CS4, to edit and manipulate the photos I took. For my poster I used the spot healing tool to remove some imperfections from the characters face to make it look more perfect and suit the theme of the “Female Gaze”. I also used the Blur, Sharpen, Smudge, Burn and Sponge tools for the cut and bleeding lip effects on the female characters face. After first watching a few tutorials on YouTube and reading a few text tutorials on Photoshop effects forums I tried to make my own. After many attempts I finally perfected my bleeding lip and used a droplet of water and the colour replacement tool to make a red blood-drip of the characters lip. This was all very difficult and therefore timing consuming but I am glad as it taught me very valuable Photoshop skills for the future.

On the other hand the magazine production was much easier to accomplish, seeing as we had to create one for our AS coursework last year so I re-used many of the skills I learnt then. After looking at my AS work and remembering some of the more valuable tools to use I edited the background out of most pictures to give the pictures more focus by using the quick selection tool, I then rasterized the layer which allowed me to manipulate it. I also used the shape tool to create an outline for each of the individual stories to make it clear they were from separate stories in different soap operas. I also used the stroke effect on the picture from our trailer to highlight the gun which worked well with its caption “ They thought she was dead… they were wrong!”

RESEARCH AND PLANNING

Throughout my pre-production tasks for my coursework I had to use lots of Microsoft software including: Word, PowerPoint & Excel.I used Word to present certain pieces of work differently, for example when producing a letter to the record label I used Word as it would not be suitable to use PowerPoint as it doesn't fit the purpose and would look unprofessional, which is likely to lead me into getting little or no response from the occupant. The format of Word makes it look a lot more formal, which will engage the reader in to taking the letter more seriously, which overall is what you want in a response. As for the locations document it was a lot neater to present them in Word as it created a clean overall layout, however if I could go back and change the format for the locations I would use PowerPoint to present it as I believe it would look a lot better, having the pictures contrast against the words on separate slides to give me a better understanding of how I can use the location in my trailer and allow it to have, an altogether better look. PowerPoint was used to present my Textual analysis and storyboard – as it was a tidy and presentable format, the images allowed me to work from visual aids and gave me something to work from when producing the production work as I had something to refer too. Having these two pieces of work on PowerPoint allowed me to place a large amount of information in a small space, to avoid it becoming tedious for the reader; not only did I use the storyboard on the day of filming to help know which scene came next and which camera shot/angle we were using but it also helped me post filming for the production to get a general understanding of how the trailer would look when we began editing.

EVALUATION

Once I had completed all my products, I placed “.Jpeg” files of the Ancillary products and embedded the trailer after uploading it to YouTube on my individual Wordpress Blog page. This Blog page allowed me to enabled me to collate all my work in one place. I added my coursework Using “slideshare” to embed .Pdf and PowerPoint documents so that my work was easy to view, because of this my work was easily placed on the blog making it visible to those who wished to view it. I also used Prezi ( an interactive PowerPoint tool) which embedded one of my evaluation question answers and I also used Sony Vegas Pro 13 and Audacity for my Evaluation Question one answer by recording my voice on a “Blue Snowball” Microphone into Audacity and then exporting the file into Sony Vegas which is a popular editing software to then sync my voice with images of work as I spoke about it.

During Pre-production, we each completed research into existing products. I choose Hollyoaks and Eastenders since they were the ones I was most familiar with. I watched the trailers on YouTube and deconstructed them for their Mise en Scene, editing techniques, use of lighting, sound and camera work. This research enabled me to focus on the features I would like to “repeat” in accordance with Steve Neale’s theory of repetition and difference.