Throughout the entire production there was necessary equipment which we as a group used to ourdvantage. Previously i took part in a BTEC course in which i gained a variety of skills which in themselves proved useful in this A2 course. Although familiar with most technologies which we would use in the course, naturally i learnt new additional skills and advancements on my skills already attained previously. Sony PD150 Camera-
This piece of equipment allowed us to record footage in better quality as opposed to the Sony Handycam which we used in AS. Although unfamiliar with the technology, learning to use this piece of equipment could be considered somewhat essential to give our production a more professional look, in which i personally took part in undergoing the learning curve. Being the cameraman this perhaps was my primary means of equipment in undergoing my asserted job role. Although somewhat common sense, there was a few difficulties in using the camera at first in exploring its complexities, things such as white balance and focus can be acustomed greatly compared to the Sony Handycam. However after a few shots it fairly simple to operate. If this camera was not available to us during the course of the production we would have to compensate by most likely using the Sony Handycam which would have resulted in lower quality.
Sony Handycam -
Although primarily used to record visual footage, i used this piece of equipment to record specific audio for our production. E.g the mobile phone vibrating, the boyfriends voice over, a door slam. This usage was efficient and simple, manually converting the audio into a sound clip to use was straight forward. Without this technology we would probably had to make use of the same microphones that we would use with the PD150, or some sort of recording device.
Flip mino video camera -
A small device, this was used to record footage of our audience giving us feedback after viewing a rough cut of our production. The device has a useful quantities including a USB inside of it, making the process of uploading and editing the audience feedback simple. Using other equipment to log our feedback would have probably taken longer, such as actually writing down the feedback in note form.
Sony Steadyshot DSC-W310 -
I used this camera in capturing an image for the postcard. This 12 mega pixel camera made the process of sizing my postcard alot easier. I also found the quality very beneficial. Without this camera i would most probably have to go to the efforts of borrowing someone else's camera, or even purchasing a new one.
Windshield microphone -
This piece of equipment was used throughout the course of the production to record audio. This would be used in cooperation with the PD150 where it would be plugged into an input, and the sound levels would be monitored from the camera itself to get the desired amount of sound. The PD150 itself has no internal microphone, so without it we would have to use a different camera, or further compensate and use a different microphone.
Sennheiser headphones -
These headphones were used for the majority of the production process, as well as post-production. These would be used when recording sound through the microphone, to get a more reliable source of what the audio would actually sound like. This would further involve testing if the microphone was working efficiently. Concerning post-production the headphones would be used within editing to get clear audio and give us a clearer picture of what we needed to change within sound. These headphone were of high quality, without them we would probably have to use other headphone which probably would of given us the same quality, or manage without which probably would have effected our production greatly.
Mic Boom -
The boom is an extension pole used to let us put the microphone is places where we wouldn't be able to simply stand closer to the product of sound for we would be in the shot. This is most useful for capturing dialogue. Additionally we used a wind muff for external shots, protecting the microphone from unwanted audio in that being the wind. Without the boom our sound would simply be of lower quality, or we would have to risk breaking continuity by trying to get closer to the subject of audio ourselves. The quality of the sound in external shots would have been greatly effected if we didn't have a wind muff.
Pro light -
We used the pro light in every bedroom scene. The pro light is equipped with barn doors to help us produce the desired amount of light. This further allowed us emphasize on themes through lighting effects, we used a variety of gels with the pro light to create the mood and connote different aspects. Without these lights we would have to used natural lighting which may not have determined the right effect for the scene at hand or made use of a different model of light, such as a toaster light or red head.
Computer edit suite -
The computer edit suite was essential, without it we obviously would not be able to carry out post-production. The suit consisted of two monitors, a computer tower, a mouse , keyboard and speakers.
Adobe premiere pro -
This was the program we used in post-production to edit our footage and create our film. This software allowed us to edit our film in a variety of ways, including audio contents. Without this program our film would have gone unedited, lacking essential factors which a production needs, including transitions and audio leveling.
Blogger -
Blogger is a website which has allowed to upload our work in the form of blogs. This has given us the opportunity to edit and update pieces of text if something was to occur concerning specifc documents, rather than redoing them all together as opposed to written work.
Scanner -
The scanner was most useful considering our pre-production documents needs to be displayed on Blogger. Without the use of a scanner, putting work online would be most difficult. We would have to take pictures of the texts and upload them onto here, which would most probably appear unclear and wouldn't exactly be practical to review.
These were are main pieces of equipment which i thought were worth mentioning, for without them we would have difficulty in compensating as explained above. Additionally we used other technologies such as Internet Explorer and Microsoft Word to carry out several tasks.
