Evaluation Question 6:

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

During the process of making our opening sequence, we used various pieces of technology and programmes to help us create the finished product. 

Throughout the research period, we used various programmes to illustrate our findings and the development of our idea. 

Prezi was a very creative way to inform as it visually communicated what we wanted to say and in some way brought the information to life allowing us to show aspects of the opening sequence before we had even made it. We also used Keynote to show the thought process of our initial designs and moodboards.

We also used iMovie when editing our location video as we didn't have access to Final Cut Pro X at that point in time.

In the course of the production of our opening sequence, we used the following programmes and technologies:

When filming our opening sequence, we used a Panasonic HDC -SD90 video recording camera. This was a very good camera to use in our opinion as it was suitable for both filming the girls at the funfair and the garage scenes. This was because it was a handheld camera enabling us to utilise the shaky side effects that are commonly seen in home videos. We used a tripod for the garage scenes in order for them to be still and look professional. It was pretty easy to use, however we did have to keep re-filming both panning shots as the tripod kept getting stuck at a certain point of the rotation. Both of us had never used a recording camera for use outside of the occasional family home video, so we had to learn how to use the camera for technical purposes e.g.: Alter the focus. One thing that went wrong when using this equipment was that we kept leaving the camera on stand-by thinking that we tuned the camera off. This obviously drained the battery and made us rush the shots, but thankfully they were all decent and suitable for use so we didn't have to go back to the garage and re-film. 

The Apple Mac computer was our main tool throughout the whole process of constructing our opening sequence. 

Final Cut Pro X was our go to editing tool during the production of our opening sequence. This is where we uploaded all footage that was on the camera to then construct our opening sequence. We trimmed, split, merged and added effects to our footage to then end up with our finished product. We found it a bit tricky and a bit alien to start off with as we were used to editing on iMovie. However, it didn't take long to grasp the basics and learn the shortcuts. We actually found it to be the more precise and advanced editing software of the two and came to favour it over iMovie. There were many new effects, transitions and audio settings that enhanced our opening sequence. Whereas if we used iMovie, we wouldn't have had access to these things and our opening sequence may have been of a lower quality and standard. 

We used LiveType to create our titles as we wanted them to be a subtly animated because we didn't want to distract from the tone of our film. We found the programme easy to use, however we had some issues with the compatibility with Final Cut Pro X. Instead of exporting our opening sequence to then import it to live type in order to manipulate the timing of the titles, we had to export the titles as clips and then put them over our opening sequence. This was due to the fact that when we imported the opening sequence to LiveType, it slowed down our actual film and reduced the quality.