Final Skills Audit

AS Media Production: Final Skills Audit Print Production

Name: Owen Dixon                     Tutor group:              Date:

Photographic Skills

Which of the following photographic features/equipment have you used on a camera before:

Feature	Yes	No	Comments if yes – where have you completed this skills and to what level
Manual Focus features	X		I used this early in the year but not to a high level, I only really experimented with it as I mainly used auto focus.
Shutter Speed	X		I used this again, early in the year but I used it when I was experimenting with light painting. Again I only used it briefly and not to a very high level.
Aperture control		X
ISO Control		X
A tripod	X		I used a tripod during my photoshoot as it meant I could get a photo closer to what I wanted because it meant I could get the same angle for more than one photo.
External flash	X		I used this during the photoshoot for my front cover and DPS. I didn’t really control it because Phil had a much better understanding. I did however have a say in how bright it could be which would make my image either brighter or darker.
Self timer facility	X		I used the self timer very briefly at the start of the year when I was
Light meter		X
Composition grids	X		I used composition grids when taking my photos as I knew that a photo would be more effective if things like there eye lines fell on the third line.

Photoshop Skills

Which of the following features of Photoshop have you used before:

Feature	Yes	No	Comments if yes – where have you completed this skills and to what level
Text control	X		I had previous experience with this from my media GCSE but I developed my skills during the creation of my magazine.
Filters	X		I used filters previously in my GCSE course but I didn’t really use them this year. It was because I learnt how to edit photos better by using different tools and not just by placing filters on.
Brushes	X		I only used brushes briefly this year. It was when I was making my Christmas card, this meant that my skills using brushes is not very good.
Layers	X		I used layers to get my desired final image. This is shown for my DPS photo when I wanted to place a mod target behind the model.
Opacity control	X		I used opacity control briefly during the unit but I mainly used it for the sell lines on my front cover because I used the stroke effect but I didn’t want the stroke to be a thick black colour so I changed it to make it look more shadowy.
Shape creation	X		I used shape creation to make things like button sells and I also used it to create the mod target behind my model for my DPS.
Brightness and contrast control	X		I used brightness and contrast control for my main image on the front cover, this was because I felt that after I had taken it, the photo wasn’t exactly what I wanted (brightness).
Gradients	X		I used gradients a lot this year, especially when I was making things like sell buttons
Load selection features	X		I didn’t use this a great deal this year and I didn’t use it on my final piece but I learnt how, by using this, I could change things like the gradients of the text by individual letters.
Feathering	X		Again I didn’t use this a lot during the year and didn’t use it on my final piece so my skills for it aren’t at a very good standard but I learnt that it was to do with being able to make the colour in not suddenly stop but to fade into the background.
Colour curves adjustment		X
Resolution setting control	X		I did this a lot during this year when setting up documents and also saving documents as JPEGs because I had to select the resolution of the image.
Magnetic lasso, polygon lasso tool	X		I used this tool a lot so I think that my skills are up to a good standard, I used it for my DPS photo because I wanted to have an image behind my model.
Cropping tool	X		I have used this often this year but not a great deal for my magazine project, I felt that I didn’t need to use it but I feel like I would have been able to use it confidently if I did.
Clone tool		X
Retouch tool		X
Other skills		X

In Design Skills

Which of the following features of In Design have you used before:

Feature	Yes	No	Comments if yes – where have you completed this skills and to what level
Margin and column guide creation	X		We did this when setting up our pages so we could have clear guidelines for things like text and pictures. I don’t think I could confidently do it by myself though.
Inserting an image ID	X		Using the rectangle tool, you draw out where you want to place your image and then file and place your image. I do feel quite confident doing this.
Resizing images in ID	X		I’ve confident at resizing images as I’ve had to do it a lot this year. I know that when resizing an image, you have to hold the shift key to make sure the photo doesn’t stretch.
Text manipulation – resizing, rotation	X		I used this a lot this year for both introductionary work and my final work. I had to rotate and resize text quite often to get what I wanted.
Text manipulation – controlling kerning and leading	X		I used kerning and leading mainly on my DPS to make my product look more professional and also to make my article fit onto the page.
Text flow creation		X
Using transparent imagery in ID		X
Shape/line creation In design		X
Exporting to PDF from In-design	X		We did this at the very end of our project when we had finished everything because we had to export our DPS’s. I did find it a bit confusing but I do think that I would be able to do it again.
Text Wrap	X		I used text wrap for my quote insert but I found it difficult to do. I would have to watch a tutorial if I wanted to reproduce it.
Other Skills

Number of new skills achieved: 20

(compare with your initial skills assessment)

Final Product

Blog write up - 4

Last week I feel that i had finally got the hang of InDesign and Photoshop. I was trying new things like cutting out a section of the background and then using that small section for the full background by stretching it out. Then when I uploaded that photo too my DPS, I took the colour from my photos background and used it for the full background of the DPS. This meant that the image would just blend into the background. Also to get the photo I wanted for the DPS I had to redo my photo shoot because all of my other photos weren't exactly what I wanted because they were always shots of the waist up and they were all landscape photos. During my photo shoot I was noticing that his jacket was darker than the rest of his body meaning that I had to experiment using different intensities of butterfly lighting.

Product Write Up - 3

Last Week, I got really close to finishing my front cover for my final product. With some constructive criticism from Mark i was able to change my sell lines and also some of the text to make the front cover seem not as full up with information. I still do have to change them around slightly so that they don't look out of place and that they have been dotted around the page at random. I can do this by using the guide lines to place each sell line so that they have an equal space between them. These took longer than expected to sort out because I had created them and positioned them but I was told about different techniques about how to make some sell lines look more effective if they are changed slightly as It means the reader won't get bored of the repetitive fonts and colours. In InDesign, I learned about the different tools like the frame tool. This would be helpful when I come to put my photo into InDesign but I have to redo my photo shoot because The photos were taken landscape and all the photos are from the waist upwards.

When I read back my article I thought that it flowed well and was easy to read. I did however think that my countdown article on the far right was too long and had too much information in it so I had to read over it again and take out sections of some to make sure I had more space for a photo. I also added a quote insert into my article but I think that there is too much white space around it. This can be fixed by using the text wrap tool and manually choosing where the text wrap will go. I am however happy with the header of my DPS because it is a play on words.

Blog Write Up 2

Since I have started using Photoshop a lot more with my project, I have learned a lot more new skills. I have learned how to use the Dodge and Burn tool a lot more effectively and also I have learned some new skills when taking Photos. I learned about the different things that I have to think about when taking a photo, like the position of the lighting and also things like eye line. I also have learned some new skills in InDesign. Some of these skills include some basic things like inserting text and photos. All of the skills I have used in InDesign are new to me as the software in new to me.

This is my front cover so far. I have used some of the new skills that I have learned in making it. One of the big skills which helped was that when resizing my image, to hold down the shift key as it doesn't stretch the image and resizes it whilst keeping everything the same. Another skill that I had learned to use more was drop shadow. I used to use it on everything and a lot, but now I have learned that sometimes only a small amount can be effective. I also learned to use less drop shadow on the sub headers for more effect.

These are the contact sheets from my photo shoot. This is a new skill as well because I've never actually needed to make one before. These were a good way to see all of my photo's at once which made it easier to chose my final photo. It was easy to judge the difference in exposure when I was looking  through my contact sheets because each one was next to the photo that I wanted to compare it to, this made my final decision easier.