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

Some technologies used in this project were familiar, as I had used them previously in video projects, whilst other technologies were new, or more advanced. This meant I gained new skills in these areas where I had not previously worked.

OUR ANIMATIC

After creating our storyboard and shot list, we then created an animatic sequence, using photos of our proposed shots. This not only allowed us to see how our film would flow, but also enabled us to practice and visualise our proposed shots on location. Our proposed actress for the role of Lauren had to drop out prior to our first shoot, however she was present for the animatic sequence, and she can be seen here playing Lauren. We used the same software in creating our animatic (Adobe Premiere Pro), which enabled us to also practice for our uses of the split screen technique.

FILMING

EQUIPMENT
We used a Canon Legria HV30.
 I had previously used this camera in the GCSE film project, and so was familiar with this piece of technology.
We also used a tripod, microphone and clapper board when filming. I found all of this equipment pretty easy to use, as most of it was fairly self explanatory.

TECHNIQUES
In our sequence we needed to use a pan to establish the setting, whilst this was easy in Lauren's room, for Scarlett's room we needed to use a skateboard, as the tripod did not enable us to get low enough to create our smooth floor level pan. With these skills there was a lot of trial and error, and logic involved in thinking through the problems we encountered, and solving problems using items we had readily available to us.


LIGHTING
Due to a need for bright, well lit shots, we needed to learn to use a lighting kit, and while the lights were very large and heavy, and heated up very quickly, they were relatively simple to master. In order to create a warm glow we directed the lights towards the ceiling or a wall, so that the light would bounce off all around the room. In addition to this, we used a large reflective disk, to further aid the bouncing of light. Downsides of these lights were the enormous weight and size of the bag containing the three lights, which was a struggle especially when we were forced to take public transport. In addition to this, the lights got very hot, very quickly, meaning we had to be careful not to touch the metal of the light, and also meant they would heat up a room after being left on for a short period of time. Because of this, we had to ensure lights were switched off between shots, and use gloves if handling them.

EDITING
To edit, we used Adobe Premiere Pro, which I had previous experience working with from previous projects, and hence found this relatively easy to use, with the addition of a few new techniques which were learnt in relevance to our film opening.

We cut our shots together, and then used Procamp to edit brightness and contrast. Our shots all needed to look the same, and we wanted a very bright and colourful atmosphere throughout all of our shots.

TITLES
We used Livetype to create our titles, and here we decided on colour, style, font and effects.
Our titles were all bright pink, in a bold capital lettered font, which stood out against any background, and this was also the same font as our final title, thus keeping in synergy.

Within Livetype, we could apply motion and effects to our titles, and so we had some titles appearing and disappearing in sync with the action taking place. Examples of this include the title which spirals down the sink as the tap is turned on, and the title which is blown away as the hairdryer is turned on. Availability of these effects really added to our sequence, as the movements interacting with the action was very 'chick-flick-esque', and was a tecnhique we had previously seen in the opening of 'Lizzie McGuire'.

Our final title used the same font and colour as all of our previous titles for the word 'Popular', and a lighter pink, and a more curly, handwritten font for the word 'Pretty'. 'Pretty' slides smoothly into shot, while 'Popular' is stamped rapidly in red, and these different title styles are representative of the narrative and characters.

SPLIT SCREENS
We used split screens to contrast the personalities of the two characters, and despite the fact that I had not created a split screen before, I found this to be a very simple technique, and mastered it very quickly. In order to create a split screen, we simply cropped each clip by 50% on opposite sides, then used the positioning tools on Premier Pro to line up the action to create a match. Some shots were relatively easy to match, while others needed to be intricately timed in order to achieve a perfect match in the action between shots, the lips are an example of this. Our use of split screens made our sequence far more interesting and carried our narrative more effectively. The two characters can be contrasted side by side, and this aided our introduction into the two different girls and their personalities, hinting at the roles they will later play and hence intriguing our audience.

MUSIC
The soundtrack used for our opening was downloaded from freeplaymusic.com, where we search for upbeat, lively, pop-style tracks, eventually deciding on a sound clip called 'Full of Mesh'. We had to edit this clip in order to make it fit with the action taking place, and we did this by repeating certain sections, and slowing transitions between different parts of the soundtrack. As we had to use un-copyrighted music, we were not able to use a pop song, and most chick flicks open with a well known, popular song, hence we felt this was a downside to our music choices and availability.