Wednesday, 6 May 2015

Blog 25 evaluation

When I first started this project I didn't know how it was going to plan out and was quite nervous, about doing something I had never done before. I knew it was going to end badly for me or very good.  I kept my mind open and thought about new ideas as I was doing this project, which helped me a lot to create my logo and video as I never disregarded  anyone's opinions or thoughts on how to improve my work.

Once I found and settled on the topic I wanted to do I knew from then on that it would take a lot of hard work to pull it off. It was quite an emotional topic I chose for me personally. I know I said from the beginning in my brain storm that I wouldn't make it personal or emotionally and I did but I'm very happy with my end result.

I think I did the correct time limit for everything and am glad it all got finished within the time schedule to hand it all in. I think I could have spend more time on my video and effects and made it stronger by adding more stuff to it but am happy with the overall result.

When I started this topic and project I was quite nervous as I did not have any idea for what to do at all, and when I did pick my topic I didn't actually think I would be allowed to do it, but was glad nobody told me I couldn't. When I told my teacher my topic I knew he was quite surpirsed at it and helped me improve it in ways that I didn't think of, such as leave a gap in between clips to leave suspense which actually worked with my video. The overall experience of creating it turned out better than I thought. My teacher was supportive with my choice even after knowing I was in foster care which I thought I would get judged on and never did.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this project and the learning of using new tools and software that I have never used before, but I now know how to use them and will keep using them whenever I can. After all the problems I have had such as not having a topic to use for three weeks and thinking I was behind when everyone was so ahead with this project when in fact I worked at my own paste and still got the job done just as well as they did too I believe that I have managed to create a piece of work that is up to a high standard, and that I can be proud of.

I have enjoyed this module and have to say it has been the best and most fun module I have done so far. Even though there have been times when it got tough for me and I have wanted to stop my project, or I didn't think it was skilled enough, I'm really glad that I stuck with it and saw the project through to completion.







Blog 24 Green screening

Most movies. news reporters and any even some adverts use green screens to enable them to use a large amount of effects for the users to see. An example is that an actor could be appearing to be falling off a tall building, generated by the green screen, when in reality they are actually on the ground acting as if they were falling. This will save the company a lot of money. They can also edit the characters to look smaller, bigger, better looking, uglier etc.

Another example of people using green screens is during the weather section of the news where the weatherman uses a green screen to display the map of the country with the changing weather effects. The weather reporter cannot see the green screen or the map but can still tell the weather to the viewers. This is the main reason why the new reporter will never wear green clothes as they will blend in with the green screen.

A lot of movies try to save money by using green screens which to create their special effects.A great number of movies are using them nowadays but the viewers don't realise it.

By using a green screen it can help to make a scene look and better for example if filming an outside shot and the weather is dark and cloudy, a green screen could be used instead to if the director wanted a bright sunny shot.

Blog 23 more file saving explained

I knew when I was given my assignment that my DVD case, logo and video that they all had to be saved in a specific format which I was happy to do as long as there were no problems. I also knew that if I didn't save them in these formats, they wouldn't be able to be opened in any other software so I wouldn't be able to make any changes to them whenever I wanted to.

When I was saving my files I kept in mind that I needed to be able to view my images and to be able to open them up.  I did change my file type to export it to web as, I thought that if the user didn't have the software then they couldn't view my images but, if they have internet access then they would be able to over the web.

In regards to marking, I thought that if I kept all my formatting the same then it would greatly benefit the marker because they would be able to see all my work. if certain files or images were saved in a different format, the marker may not have the software to open them.

Blog 22 File types for premiere pro

When I started my trailer I knew that I had to save it in the correct format so I could open it again and make changes whenever I wanted to. I stayed with this format all the way through my work and it turned out great with no problems for me.

I'm glad I got the correct format for my video and that no problems occurred for me when I was playing it back or when I made changes to it which I'm happy about.

Blog 21 File formats for photoshop and illustrator

When creating my images some of my files were created and saved in Photoshop format. This was quite hard for me to open up outside of University as I didn't have the software on my laptop. If I wanted to make some changes on my work I couldn't unless I was in the Tuesday or Thursday lessons.

When saving this file I did have the option to save the file for web use and format which is good idea I think because it will enable you to open the file somewhere else with internet access. This is also a good idea to use as it will let you make changes to your work and print it off as well.

Blog 20 Effects used on my video

When creating my video I experimented with a lot of the effects to see which ones would best be suited for my video. Some of the effects I used on my video were:
  • Brightness and contrast 
  • Dip in black 
  • Fade out and zoom
  • Razor tool
  • Audio- I used loud bass
  • Slow bur
  • Dip in white contrast 
  • Cross over 
  • Audio- I used balance
  • Sharpened focus
  • Credit titles 
  • Blank spaces
  • Loud bass for audio effect 
All these effects took me a long time to get the hang of them and to know what they all do properly. I was experimental and tried all the effects and picked out the best ones that I thought suited my video quite well. With all the effects I took my time with them and it took me a while to place them in the correct order as I wasn't sure if they suited my video, but I think they do.

Blog 19 Saving files for DVD case and DVD logo

We were all given the correct dimensions for our DVD case and logo and had to save them in the correct file formats e.g JPEG or GIF as they wouldn't be able to open in the software otherwise

When I was creating my logo and DVD case I kept in mind that I had to save them in the specific file format, and that they needed to be able to open and to be viewed by other people which hopefully they will as I'm sure I saved them all in the correctly.  Also I'm pretty sure that all my images can be opened and viewed as well. I also saved my files in Web format just in case somebody didn't have the software to view my work, they can still be able to view it on-line which is very helpful I think.

Blog 18 Feedback on my video

After I had created my DVD case, logo and video I was quite nervous to see my friends reaction to it.  I wanted their opinion on it so I could improve it more better. At first I was curious as to how they would react watching it but was pleased to see that they liked it. I looked at their videos too and in the back of my mind making small improvements on my video and was sort of comparing their video to mine. I was glad they helped me to improve my video as well as I did with theirs. The only feedback I received was to slow down my images as they were going to fast.

After explaining that I did that as affect they were then happy with the result of my effect but it did make me wonder if everyone else wouldn't like it. I thought about changing the speed of my images but went against the idea as I had put a lot of effort into making it the way it was and was happy people were noticing the effect. 

I was also pleased that they liked my music and audio effect of the voice talking as I didn't think  they would and I was considering taking it out, but got told not too which made me even happier about my video.  I also added in an extra clip at the end as I had a seven second gap to fill so, I thought some credits would look good which I completely made up, and was happy that they went with the other clips I used and suited my video altogether. 

Blog 17 Printing issues

After I had created my DVD case and DVD Logo, I decided I wanted to print them off as I was happy with the results of what I had created, however I did have problems doing this.

I had re-created the DVD case three times before I had it perfect and had only printed it off once but I had to re print it again as I had updated my last DVD case.  Also my other problem was that it was too big to fit in to my DVD case on the first attempt which wasn't good so for my second I re-jiggled about my logo and made it smaller which helped. I then printed it off again the second time to find it was still to big. Due to my annoyance I asked my teacher if it mattered whether the DVD was actually on the DVD case and he told me no it can be submitted in paper form. This is now how I have left it and will hand it in in a folder that is presentable which I think is a better idea than in a DVD case now.

I had no problems with the dimensions for my DVD logo which I am very proud of.


Blog 16 Overcoming problems with my trailer video

There were quite a lot of issues when creating my video and I found these quite challenging to over come such as:

One minute limit time on the video
  • Mark in and out at the correct times (was hard to get accurate correct sometimes)
  • Removing audio at the length I wanted
  • Adding in suitable effects to match each clip
  • Choosing the right age rating for my video
I think the most challenging problem I overcame was the one minute time limit. This is because it was so short. I had to fit all my clips into that little time frame which was quite hard for me to do. I also found it hard as I wanted to use more clips in my video but had to chose between a few of them and which I though was a better fit for my video.

When I chose the sections of which clips I wanted to use from the videos, I found it quite hard to get the hang of using mark in and mark out but, soon learnt that if you hit the mark in button too late my clip wouldn't be what I intended it to be. This would lead me to have to re do it again a few times to get it right. If I didn't get the right timing on the clips I would have to go back and redo it in order to reach the one minute time limit. When I got all my clips to where I wanted them to be and got their marks in and marks out correct and inserted it into my video, I felt really proud of myself knowing that I picked the best clips and that I thought that I had made something that was very good.

As my topic was quite sensitive I didn't know or have any idea of where or what age rating I should use or think about using for my video. I did some research into what would be the appropriate audience age.

Blog 15 Updates on my progress so far!

It took me a while to decide what videos to use because, I had to do research into suitable videos that had to be good enough for me to understand the videos and know that I could use their clips and use them in my video knowing they fitted well to my topic.

I did a lot of background research into foster care as I have a personal connection to this topic due to me being in foster care myself. I wanted to know more history about it such as what was fostering like in the olden days and how much has it changed now a days. In some of my video clips its shows some foster children being treated in the foster care system twenty - thirty years ago and how they are being treated now.

To choose the right videos clips I made sure I picked out stuff that stood out to me and affected my emotions in a good way which I knew everyone else who saw it would be affected like me when I watched it.  I knew in my mind that it was trailer and not a movie and because I only had a certain time limit on my video, I think I started off quite weak but then my video got stronger and I hope that it ended on a good note. I never knew what to start off with as I wanted to make a good impression with my video but finally chose my clips and am proud of it. I'm also proud of my ending too as I finally learnt how to make my titles for my video name.

At first I Googled foster care videos and found a lot of documentaries that were very helpful to me and gave me a lot of historical information. I found this one American foster care documentary that just fascinated me enough to use some of their clips and amazed me on how much information and the pictures she used. I also found a trailer for a foster care movie that was out last year which affected me also as it was about a little girl who got taken away from her family and it showed the good and bad side of her life which I decided also to use in my video. The second reason I decided to use this video was because of the words she was saying which was what affected me the most. I thought this would be a good idea to use in my video as I thought it would be unique as no one else would have audio in their video.

Once I had chosen both the videos and clips that I wanted to use in my video, I had to take some time to decide how I would fit them together as one was a documentary and another was a movie trailer. It was challenging to put my clips together and to learn to take the voice audio out of the documentary clip which I had to Google how to do.

I decided to keep the same music for the foster care movie trailer as I thought this fitted well with my clips. It was hard to fit two clips together side by side both from different things and showing different stories but hopefully I think I pulled it off.

After 4 weeks of non stop sorting of my time limit and audio sounds I finally had my video and clips together which made me very happy and proud.

Blog 14 Choosing the right videos

It took me a while to decide what videos to use because, I had to do research into suitable videos that had to be good enough for me to understand the videos and know that I could use their clips and use them in my video knowing they fitted well to my topic.

I did a lot of background research into foster care as I have a personal connection to this topic due to me being in foster care myself. I wanted to know more history about it such as what was fostering like in the olden days and how much has it changed now a days. In some of my video clips its shows some foster children being treated in the foster care system twenty - thirty years ago and how they are being treated now.

To choose the right videos clips I made sure I picked out stuff that stood out to me and affected my emotions in a good way which I knew everyone else who saw it would be affected like me when I watched it.  I knew in my mind that it was trailer and not a movie and because I only had a certain time limit on my video, I think I started off quite weak but then my video got stronger and I hope that it ended on a good note. I never knew what to start off with as I wanted to make a good impression with my video but finally chose my clips and am proud of it. I'm also proud of my ending too as I finally learnt how to make my titles for my video name.

At first I Googled foster care videos and found a lot of documentaries that were very helpful to me and gave me a lot of historical information. I found this one American foster care documentary that just fascinated me enough to use some of their clips and amazed me on how much information and the pictures she used. I also found a trailer for a foster care movie that was out last year which affected me also as it was about a little girl who got taken away from her family and it showed the good and bad side of her life which I decided also to use in my video. The second reason I decided to use this video was because of the words she was saying which was what affected me the most. I thought this would be a good idea to use in my video as I thought it would be unique as no one else would have audio in their video.

Once I had chosen both the videos and clips that I wanted to use in my video, I had to take some time to decide how I would fit them together as one was a documentary and another was a movie trailer. It was challenging to put my clips together and to learn to take the voice audio out of the documentary clip which I had to Google how to do.

I decided to keep the same music for the foster care movie trailer as I thought this fitted well with my clips. It was hard to fit two clips together side by side both from different things and showing different stories but hopefully I think I pulled it off.

After 4 weeks of non stop sorting of my time limit and audio sounds I finally had my video and clips together which made me very happy and proud.