What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
1. Canon fs200 - We used this camera for some of our filming because we found that it was easier to use then the Sony HD A1, and that it was easier for us to carry around as the tripod that it uses is a lot smaller then the tripod for the Sony HD A1.
Pros - Lightweight, Easy to carry around, easy to use.
Cons - Cannot record in HD, cannot get high angle views due to small tripod, quality is not great, would rather use Sony HD A1.
2. Adobe After Effects - Our group used After effects to create our thriller titles. At first we found this program quite hard to use at first, but after a 60 minute lesson it became a lot easier to use, and it has a wide variety of items to make numerous titles.
Pros - Can create very good titles, Large variety of effects and fonts.
Cons - Very hard to get used to without a training session.
3. Final Cut Express - We used this to create our thriller opening. This program is highly effective at creating films, because it can cut down to every frame, and allows for very accurate cuts into the video. It also has many useful effects that we used in our thriller opening, such as viewfinder and text, which we used to help create our CCTV camera effect.
Pros - Cut to frames, many effects, easy to get used to.
Cons - Hard to use at first, may get confused with the number of effects.
4. Sony HD A1 - We used this camera for the majority of our filming as it allowed us to film in very high quality, it recorded the film in HD, and the tripod that comes with it allowed use to record some high angle views. Initially we decided to film using only the Sony HD A1, as it recorded footage in HD and would provide us with the best quality end product. However, we soon learned that it was quite hard to work with, not to mention the weight, and the effort it take to carry it around with the tripod. It did have its strengths though, such as the high tripod allowing us to record higher angles.
Pros - Tall tripod, Records high quality, Records in HD
Cons - Has many settings, hard to get used to.
5. Adobe Media Encoder - We used the media encoder so that we could transfer our video into a smaller mp4. file size so that it became a lot easier to upload onto youtube, in which people could watch it and give us feedback.
Pros - Can greatly decrease file size
Cons - Video quality decreased, need to know what you are going to transfer video to.
6. Adobe Photoshop -Photoshop was used to edit newspaper titles and add pictures to it so that it is our own. Photoshop also converted the PSD file into JPEG so that it was compatible with Final Cut Express. Other equipment used was a Desk Lamp for indoor lighting, and we used Garage Band to create our music. Garage Band was a very useful tool, and was very easy for me to get into and learn. It provided many sounds and it has a very user friendly, allowing me to create what I wanted to. There were multiple layers I could put each sound on, and many things could be altered and played around with. These include tempo, volume of each layer, and whether each layer play in the left speaker or right speaker.
Pros - Useful for editing, large number of options to edit, professional quality products
Cons - Very hard to use if you are not used to photoshop.
At the same time as learning and using these camera shots we also included other camera shots that we felt would help us for instance close ups and panning. I think this positive approach that we all had helped us a lot and it also boosted our relationship as a group. I also believe that because we did the preliminary task in the same group, it built a level of stability and we all became familiar with each other’s strengths. We also became a lot more comfortable with each others presence and I think that all of us were able to add more input rather than anyone being shy or embarrassed to add input. This helped our communication a lot. 
We also learnt about sound and lighting. For instance not filming opposite the sun and having the microphone as near as possible. I think these vital factors helped us a lot in our thriller opening
We wanted to fulfil the needs of our target audience, in order to this we looked at many methods such as Maslow’s Hierarchy. Our target wanted to see fear and suffering but at the same time they wanted it to be realistic and something which could happen to anyone. This refers to the Maslow’s Hierarchy Psychological needs.
In my opinion the film would be similar to the film S3ven (Seven). I say this because of the type of things we include into the film. For example our main idea for the film would be a detective looking for a murderer, the murderer being seen in the opening above. This idea is similar to the film Seven in which the detective is looking for someone who has murdered people based on the seven deadly sins, but our film uses the basic idea of murder, in which there may not be a reason, (this reason being religious in Seven).
Since its a big budget film, we will need a big cinema chain to distribute it, such as ODEON or Vue. Therefore our film will more likely to reach a larger audience, and we will be able to make back some profit. We realise that releasing our film in big cinemas will be very risky, as the film may fail due to being brand new, and not in a well known franchise or something. However, it is a risk we are going to take, as we believe that our storyline is very gripping, and special effects attractive.
