In order to create our media product, it was compulsory for us to learn how to use editing software as well as special effects software.
Although I had a little bit of experience in how to use Premiere Pro, after having used it for the preliminary task and in last year in the production of a children TV show advert. I knew the basics, such as how to order and sequence clips, as well as how to adjust sound levels. However, as we were creating a more professional product this time, we had to change more attributes than simply sound, and so after playing around with the software a bit on test edits, I learnt how to change contrast and brightness as well as how to colour correct clips. I also learnt how to fade sound in and out, as well as learning how to use key frames to change the value of a certain attribute at a time point. This allowed us to set the time when certain effects were displayed, such as the color correct tints, as not all shots were equal and need different amounts of corrections.
After effects was a totally new experience for me, I had never used it before and I had to get accustomed to it very quickly. As After effects is made by Adobe, the user interface was very familiar and similar to Photoshop as well as Premiere Pro. However, the work space was quite different to what I had experienced before. In order to be able to create muzzle flashes, I worked following the advice from a tutorial on YouTube made by special effects You tuber Freddie Wong. I also learnt that there was a pack available with pre-modeled muzzle flashes videos that aided the production of the muzzle flashes.
