The Hardware

•We used a camcorder to record the video footage which is called a 'Cannon Wide screen MV 920'.



Using the camera isn't hard at all, but you do need a mini DV tape so you can record your footage. It is fairly simple to use such as how to zoom in and out and to look back at your footage by just pressing the play button. However there are other features which are quite hard to understand and use such as the white balance, this is where you need to check if the lighting matches to a piece of white paper (so it contrasts). You adjust this by using presets (daylight, tungsten, auto) or use the custom mode, overall this makes each clip look like they have the exact and correct lighting. If the white balance is not working for you or you just cant set it correctly you could use your own lighting equipment such as a torch or lamp.
Transferring the video footage onto imovie (MAC) is really simple as the camcorder comes with a lead which is connected into the camera and also connected into the computer using a USB drive. Then all you do is play all your clips through once again and you click on import and each clip should start to be available on the monitor and free to look at.

Features-
standard RCA cable
AV cable
LCD display - TFT active matrix - 2.7" - colour
1 x Li-ion rechargeable battery
Optical zoom 25x.
Digital zoom 800x.
Lens focal length 2.6 to 65 mm.
Filter diameter 35 mm.
12/16 Bit PCM Digital Stereo Audio.

•We also used a tripod, called a "TD-1932 Photo & Video Tripod" this was useful because it was helpful when were filming a character when moving as i could just rotate (pan) the camera without it been shaky.



•We also used a still camera called 'Fuji film Finepix A900'.

We used this for taking photos of each location and each character. Transferring the photos onto any programme (e.g. Word) is really simple as the camera comes with a lead which is connected into the camera and also connected into the computer using a USB drive. Then all you do is open up the file with the photos and drag and drop them to any document or to save it as a photo and insert it onto my blog.



Features-
9.0 megapixels
Real Photo Technology (RPT)
Intelligent Flash
IrSimple™
Large 2.5" LCD screen
Sensitivity up to ISO 800
10Mb internal memory
Selectable scene positions
USB cable

•We were offered to use a boom mike however we chose not to use it as it was not needed however if we were going to film more of our footage which contained diologue outside it would be a good idea to use as we would be able to hear the characters speaking clearly in any types of conditions. Also it was very easy to use as you just plugged it into the cam corder and recoreded away.