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

2. The Apple Mac
• The Apple Mac is a piece of equipment that I had never
previously used, before the start of the course. I found
them, at first confusing and quite complicated to use
but as I got used to them I found them quite good and I
liked that it has a wide variety of software's on there
compared to the standard Windows PC. However I feel
that certain aspects of the Mac are still quite
complicated and I'm still not overly keen on them, as I
find the Mac keyboards and short keys confusing as
they are different to that of a standard computer. I also
feel that it can be quite tricky to find certain items on
the Mac.

3. The Camera
I found the camera that we used very simple and very easy to use.
Before filming I had previous experience with cameras and with a similar
camera to the one we used. I think this helped me a little bit but it
wasn’t hard to use . An advantage of this camera was that it was very
simple to use and that once we had finished filming/taking pictures, it
was then very simple to upload the images/video onto the computer.
When we filmed we used the tripod and this allowed us to get the best
quality video possible with out it shaking. The problems that I had with
this camera was that due to large amount of students that were using
the cameras, it often meant that there wasn’t enough room on them so
we had to do it in parts and then upload what we had done, but that is
more of flaw of the other students not deleting their stuff once it had
been uploaded, than a flaw of the camera.

4. The Voice Recorder
Another piece of technology that we used was the voice recorder. Me and Seb used
this for the voice over that was saying the Journal entry. We decided to use the
recorder because we thought it would be better than having a written journal entry
come up during the film. This device was a quick and fairly simple to use and it
produce a good quality voice recording that I think helped give a good effect to the
film. The problem I had with this device was that the controls seemed simple but if
you wanted to find something previously recorded then it could take quite a while.
Also the play back feature on the recorder wasn’t that laud so you had to hold it up
to your ear to be able to hear it properly.

5. Wix.com
• Wix.com was the website that we used to show case our film and to
show our research. I found Wix frustrating as when it came to
uploading things it had to be under a certain size and this created
some difficulties. Another problem I found with Wix was that it
takes along time to organise things and I feel that the way they laid
out the help for creation was not in the best place as it was often
cut out if you had anything there. I also think that it was quite
complicated to use and I think that they could have made it simpler
to use, like Dreamweaver. Wix, in some ways is good, one way in
which it is good is that it is free, unlike a lot of website designers.
This is a big positive as it offers a lot of variety and a huge amount
of choice for something that is free. The website also allows you to
upload a large amount of different things, from videos to
images, although this created another problem as images took
quite a while to upload.

6. Final Cut express
• We used Final Cut Express to put together and edit our
film. I found this software very simple to upload the
scenes and then to put them onto the timeline was
also very simple. Once it got down to the editing, that
was also simple and they made it as easy as possible. A
good thing about Final Cut Express was that it allowed
you to add various things like music and special effects
to the film, they even have a large amount of special
effects that you can chose from. The problem with this
software was that once it was completed you have to
render it to veiw it, this was a very long process as the
longer the video the longer it took to render.

7. Timeglider
• I used Timeglider to create a timeline showing
the history of the thriller genre. I found it
simple to use and to create the time line but
then I had problems trying to publish it as it
didn’t seem to work but when I did get it to
work, I then could get it onto the website as it
kept saying there was problem.

8. Bubbl.us
• I used this programme to create a mind map
that showed the conventions of the thriller
genre. This programme was simple to use and
helped create a clear and simple to
understand mind map. When it came to
saving and importing it to the website, it was
quick and didn’t create any hassles. A positive
about this website is that it is free.

9. Prezi
• I used Prezi to show the iconic sounds of the
genre and for the evaluation for the
preliminary task. Prezi gives you a lot of
different ways to structure the presentation
and it allows you to add a variety of other
items, such as YouTube clips and images. it can
be complicated at first but once you have a
play around with it, it is then quite simple.

10. YouTube
• We used YouTube to show our rough version
and our final version of the film. We also used
it so upload some presentations which were
used as part of our research. Me and Seb also
used it to show are interview with a member
of the target audience. YouTube offers a huge
amount of videos and allows anyone to
upload a video, although it is monitored.