1/12/10 - Reflection

Today, we found out we had left a few sounds out which we had to rerecord. We filmed the dialogue in a music room where there was little background noise. We further enhanced the quality of the sound effect by using a boom microphone. We also had two cameras, one for recording the sound and one for documenting. We had to go through a few takes to get the perfect shot but we eventually got it.

When we imported the footage onto the computer, we were very satisfied with the results. I was a communicator today as our group worked a lot and very well together. We cooperated and finally completed the task of capturing footage for our sound project.

18/11/10 - Reflection

In today's film class, we had finished collecting the last of our footage of sound from various everyday items and prepared to upload it onto Final Cut Pro for editing. Some problems that we had to take into account were how we were going to layer the film to create the maximum sound effect and also how background noise was going to ruin our sound effect. As we began to import, we picked out the best takes, which were the ones with the least background noise and the best quality of the effect we wanted to have. For example, the sound of water dripping had to be constant and the time between the drops of water also had to be right for the atmosphere of silence. After taking all these problems into account, layering the sounds was quite easy as all i had to do were to trim the clips to the part where when the sound starts and ends and put them together.

We were satisfied with the finished product as we thought it represented the situations we chose quite well. We had also gathered quite good footage of the sounds and that made it easier for us to edit on the computer. I was knowledgable today as i had learnt quite a lot about sound in the previous class and applied my knowledge of sound to create a few sound effects. Everything went smoothly today and we didn't encounter any major problems. I think we managed our time really well as we had completed our project before class ended and had time to look over it and make some final changes.

15/11/10 - Reflection

Today, we were introduced to our new unit, sound. We were first introduced to a powerpoint presentation presented my Ms Wong about sound. We learnt quite a few keywords, like diegetic and non-diegetic sound. I thought that this was interesting as it had made me realize how much sound in a film contributed to the overall quality of the film. For example, we were shown the differenced of footage with sound effect and without, and we could clearly see the tension and suspense created with the sound effects, like creaking doors, accented footsteps, heavy breathing etc. Many of the sound effect in a film can be created with ordinary everyday items. We were then set a task to create sound effects of three different situations with a partner. My partner was Wyatt and we chose Silence, Destruction, and Emergency. We had to go out with a microphone and record different sounds that represent those situations, and in the next class, edit the audio in Final Cut Pro to make the final product of the sound.

We were quite creative when we were gathering sound footage, for example, for destruction, we had sounds of banging of tables, doors, lockers, the sounds of bandsaws etc. We were really opened up to a whole new aspect of film today and i had learnt a lot about how sound can affect a film.

I was an inquirer today as i was curious about how different sounds can be made into a great piece of audio for the film when layered and added together. I am looking forward to this unit as i am interested in learning more about sound in a film and being creative to replicate certain sound effects in a film.

6/11/10 - Reflection

We got today's film class to finalize and add the finishing touches to our film and burn it to a dvd. As we had completed most of our film already, there were little changes we could make as there wasn't enough time for any major changes and little time to do anything else. Therefore, we decided to watch our film from the start and try to see if we can spot any rough cuts or glitches in our film. As we did, we noticed a few detailed that needed correction that we overlooked while we were editing. Some of the transitions weren't as smooth as i thought they would be and needed to be fixed. From this, I've learnt that when editing a film, you should always replay the footage you have edited to see the overall product and not just a small portion. This would avoid overlooking minor faults in our film like we did. 

I was quite happy with the final outcome as the soundtrack fitted nicely with the video and the transitions were smooth and the color correction made paid off. We then decided this was going to be our final project and followed the necessary instructions to burn the video to the dvd. 

Some problems we encountered today were finding mistakes in our film that we could improve on. I thought I was open minded as i was open to suggestions from my peers and their opinion on how our film could be improved. Our group also worked well in taking in the advice and suggesting on what ways our film could be improved.

I have enjoyed this project and had fun creating this film with my group. We worked well together and had fun during the process. The time we spent on editing also paid off as we had a decent film by the end and we were quite satisfied with our final product. When we finally came to watch it, we decided that it turned out pretty good, even though there are a few places where we could improve on, like doing more editing with the sound. 

26/10/10 - Reflection

In today's film class, our group decided to film another scene of our film which was set in the library. Some of the things we had to keep in mind were that we had to be aware of the sound we were making as the library is a place where we had to keep quite in order not to disturb other people. We progressed smoothly and went through all of our shots without any trouble. One of the more interesting shots we did was an overhead shot of the whole scene. The camera did not go high enough to cover the whole set in the frame, so we solved this problem by propping the tripod up on a table, and aiming the camera down on our set. I was a thinker today as I had overcome quite a few obstacles by thinking of alternatives or ways to solve the problem. However, we probably could have spent our time a bit better as we could have used the 30 minutes we had left to import some of our footage into the computer for editing, Something to keep in mind for the next film class.

6/10/10

(absent)

4/10/10 - Reflection

In today's film class we watched the films that we produced about health and social awareness. I found it very interesting how different groups had different ideas and very different styles of filming. In Susan, Ethelia, William and Chris's film, I noticed a lot of background noise as their film progressed and it was quite confusing to keep up with what was going on. However, I thought their cuts were flowing and had no awkward pauses. Also, they did a good job with the camera work, as they included everything that was needed into the frame, and at one point, I also found it interesting how they included a subliminal message, a poster about personal hygiene in one of their shots. In Pia, Halishia, Claudia and Alisha's film, I found they had a wide range of camera angles and I found that quite interesting. I could also follow their storyline well and knew what they were trying to express through their film. As for our own film, I was actually quite pleased with the way our film turned out. The film was well put together and the transitions and effects were quite well done. However, we could have tweaked our film and made it better if we had some extra time.

I thought I was an inquisitive IB student today as I had learnt a few filming skills from watching the films of other groups. Skills such as the 180 rule and continuity.