DSLR Training
Because these new cameras are completely different to what we used the past year, we had to get to grips and learn how to set them up to get a much more cinematic look than our films last year. One video that really helped us with understanding the way the new cameras work (even if the screen is in another language)
And also this handy diagram to help get the perfect picture with the main three aspects of getting the right image: Apature (Depth of Field), Shutter Speed and ISO (The sensitivity to light)
Sometimes even if you feel that everything is correct and no adjusting is needed, you sometimes have to have different lenses that effect the colouring of the picture with the amount of light that its let into the lens.
The Documentary
We began looking towards something for inspiration and at first we thought about a mockumentry style film based off the YouTube video 'A Majestic Plastic Bag' where we would follow a similar idea and film style. Check that out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLgh9h2ePYw
But that idea got shot out of the sky, by being told that we had to do something serious when we were given some criteria to follow and then go out and film our version of what we wanted in a group. Here was the criteria:
As a group, Tom, Charlotte, Jack and I went out to Chasewater and filmed our documentary. Here have a look:
At first the new editing software looked a little daunting, last year we used Final Cut Express, which has now been upgraded to Final Cut Pro X that comes with a completely new interface.
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| Final Cut's new look |
As a class we first went through all the new features of Final Cut and what it can do differently from the previous version that we used. One thing that I found especially different (however, very useful) was the timeline with connected clips and the ability to expand the clips and use the roll and trim tools a lot more efficiently.
After editing we then exhibited it to our classmates and teacher and received feedback about the content of the documentary and the quality. This was recorded as the feedback was given, to help us improve on our camera work and editing skills with all the new hardware and software. Here was the feed back that we received:
Overall I think we we're pretty proud of our project and we just need to improve on a few things, hopefully the final product should go well. We just need to work on the focusing of the camera more, maybe using an external monitor might help with the fine tuning of the footage and with the editing everything comes with practice so hopefully all should go swimmingly for our final product!
