Evaluation question six

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

The whole process of creating and marketing Fidelity has been a huge learning curve for me. Understanding and really getting to grips with how to make a more cinematic and story telling video piece has truly been a challenge despite my previous experience as a video creator.

Production was the area in which I had learnt the most. Being that most of my existing videos have been to music sound design and quality has never been a main focus of mine. Researching how to optimise the sound quality through the equipment I had available was a key aspect to making the sound of Fidelity as good as possible. Unfortunately running into some major issues with sound due to the location having a fast flowing river close by meant that we sacrificed some sound clarity due to the river masking some of the dialogue. I used a shotgun mic and dead cat to try eliminate any possible unwanted sound ambience however it soon became apparent on set there was little chance of us avoiding the river ambience through recording dialogue.  Thankfully I had decided to borrow a boom pole from school as I thought the best way to eliminate the river ambience was to enhance the main dialogue which meant getting the mic as close to the talent as possible so I instructed one of my good friends on how I wanted him to use the boom in order to optimise the sound quality. I was surprised at the clarity of the audio after using the boom pole and found it made a huge impact compared to the level of sound created by the river so this was a positive aspect of the film and utilising technology. Unfortunately we were not able to eliminate fully the sound of the river and I felt dubbing over the sound would not create a real enough feel to the sequence almost feeling like it had been recorded over which would give a weaker connection with the audience.

I feel the use of modern technology has really benefitted indie film makers as we have such a greater access to a wide range of technology which would have only been available to high budget film makers in the past. It allows more creative diversity which leads to more unique styles of video production being developed which furthers the industry in the limitations of what can be done. I feel technology did not limit Fidelity as I was still able to produce something in which I was proud of and that was also able to impact others as intended. Audience feedback when I presented the film to a Facebook page called "Frugal Filmmakers" generally consisted of positivity the only criticising comment I got was about sound which I also identified as a weakness to the film which definitely could be and area to improve for future short films which I have been inspired to create.