Final Skills Audit

AS Media Production: Final Skills Audit Print Production

Name: Charlotte Copeland             Tutor group: 1.32           Date: 27/4/14

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 learned all of this when doing any photography, especially right at the start when we learned about the T stance and how to use the rings on the camera lens to focus in on a subject.
Shutter Speed	X		We used shutter speed on blog entries 20th and 20nd of October 2013 by experimenting with shutter speed and lighting, and shutter speed I general.
Aperture control	X		We learned about aperture control and experimented with different settings and took different photos to show the difference. This can be seen on blog entry 8th of February 2014.
ISO Control	X		We learned about ISO control and experimented with different levels of ISO, by taking different photos to show the difference. This can be seen on blog entry 8th of February 2014.
A tripod		X
External flash	X		I used external flash in my photoshoot which was then used for my magazine final production piece. You can see this on my photo portfolio – blog entry 18th of March 2014.
Self timer facility	X		I had my basic knowledge; however it has been expanded and developed further since.
Light meter		X
Composition grids	X		Using the different grid rules which can align the subject of the photo in the right position. (Composition techniques, blog entry 6th of October 2013).

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
Filters	X		I had my own basic knowledge, as well as the new knowledge I learned via photoshop tutorials.
Brushes	X		When creating my Christmas card I used festive brushes which I had to download (blog entry 20th of December 2013). And I learned how to use the heal brush tool (19th of December 2013).
Layers	X		I used the effect of layers in my final piece, when I put together my entire magazine front cover. (Blog entry 6th of April 2014).
Opacity control	X
Shape creation	X		I created different shapes for my front cover, it can be seen on my blog entry 6th of April 2014, where my final front cover is, or even the process pieces which were posted on March 18th 2014.
Brightness and contrast control	X		I had my own basic knowledge, however it has since been expanded through the use of editing photoshop images for my magazine production piece. (Blog entry 6th of April 2014).
Gradients		X
Load selection features	X		I have used this in all of my photoshop work.
Feathering	X		I learned this skill when doing the vignette effect, it can be found on blog entry 2nd of January.
Colour curves adjustment	X		I learned about this when doing cross processing (blog entry 22nd of October 2013).
Resolution setting control	X		I learned about this when doing cross processing (blog entry 22nd of October 2013).
Magnetic lasso, polygon lasso tool	X		I used these tools when creating my different front covers for my magazine, as I experimented with putting my models head in front of the masthead, via cutting her out and copying it as another layer and bringing the layer in front of the text layer. (Blog entry 18th of March 2014).
Cropping tool	X		I already had this skill.
Clone tool	X		I learned how to use the clone tool stamp when I needed to stretch out my background for my DPS, but needing the same background, so I cloned it (can be seen in final product – blog entry 6th of April 2014).
Retouch tool		X
Other skills

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
Have you ever used In design ever before?
Margin and column guide creation	X		I learned how to do this when I first set up an In Design page (blog entry 12th of November 2013) and developed it when creating my final piece (blog entry 6th of April 2014).
Inserting an image ID	X		I learned how to do this when I first set up an In Design page (blog entry 12th of November 2013).
Resizing images in ID	X		I learned how to do this when I first set up an In Design page (blog entry 12th of November 2013).
Text manipulation – resizing, rotation	X		I developed this skill when creating my final piece (blog entry 6th of April 2014).
Text manipulation – controlling kerning and leading	X		I learned how to do this when I first set up an In Design page (blog entry 12th of November 2013).
Text flow creation	X		I developed this skill when creating my final piece (blog entry 6th of April 2014).
Using transparent imagery in ID	X		I used this in my final piece, as I made my photo strip a transparent backgrounded image which I exported as a …?… file and placed in In Design.
Shape/line creation In design	X		I developed this skill when creating my final piece (blog entry 6th of April 2014).
Exporting to PDF from In-design	X		I developed this skill when creating my final piece (blog entry 6th of April 2014).
Text Wrap	X		I developed this skill when creating my final piece (blog entry 6th of April 2014).
Other Skills

Number of new skills achieved: 27

(compare with your initial skills assessment)

Final Piece

Over the past week I have developed even more skills and learned of more production techniques. The above pictures are the final versions of my product, both the front cover and DPS page. In order to create these I learned about how to make things transparent in Photoshop, and then how to export it across so it can be used and viewed as a transparent image in InDesign. I did this with my photobooth strip which is down the left side of my product's DPS page, making the film strip a transparent image so I could put the white background behind it so it can be seen through the gaps. I also learned how to place the photos in each of the boxes within the film strip in order to make it look like a photobooth strip. I have also learned how to create lines on InDesign, and how to change the patterns which is used on them. I did this in order to break up my collumns, so it is easily identifiable where to read and also to make it look de-cluttered. I have also learned how to use dropshadow effectivley, and how to use the clone stamp tool in order to make the background the exact same colour all the way across the page, otherwise I would have had to stretch my image too far, and my model would have been cut out of frame. On InDesign I have also learned how to use text wrap. I did this by selecting the pen tool and then drawing the shape I want it to go around (my model) and then applied it, so the text moved around the side of my image in the exact way I wanted it to. On InDesign I also learned about how to layer things (my title) in and how to send things either infront or behind, dependent upon where I wanted it to be. I have also learned about how to add stroke onto text, and how to change the weight of it in order to make my text look bolder and stand out more on the page.

DPS Progress Two

I have now started to piece together the basis of my DPS page, and have started to make small alterations and adding in photos. I have also started to sort out my breakout box down in the corner underneath my text, and have started to add in shapes and text which I have to include in my breakout box.

With InDesign, I have learned to use shapes and how to edit the stroke, colour and transparency of the shape. I also learned how to place photos in my shape and how to alter the size without it blurring the image and also how to change the quality of the photo to one which is of a high quality level.

I am still yet to add a background texture, in order to give something more to the blank canvas which it currently is, and I have to change the photostrip down the side into something more realistic. I believe I also need to upscale the size of my main image, and position her in a way which takes up more of the blank space. I also have to finish off my breakout box and make it look appealing and bold in order to capture the audience's attention, as it should do.

18th March 2014

Over the past week, I have gained skills which will enable me in creating my magazine to the highest of standards. I have learned how to take photos in focus, with the right lighting effects, and then editing effects which can be used in Photoshop. For my photoshoot I used a Cannon 400D which had a wireless sync to the flash. I leanred about how the flash works and goes off when you take a photo, and also how to set up lighting and soft boxes.

In Photoshop I have developed my skills when it comes text control, brushes, layeers, opacity control, dodge and burn, and the polygon lasso tool. I have used these when editing my  photos and when piecing together my magazine cover. I have also learned how to insert shapes and manipulate them in size to make sure that they are perfect for my cover. I have also learned how to change the colour of images (such as the logos of All Time Low and Asking Alexandria on my cover headline banner), and have learned how to align things with the use of margins Photoshop have.

I segmented my cover up into 4 columns with small spaces at the side and on the top as the margin gaps to make sure nothing is too cluttered or close to the edge. I have sectioned the page into the different columns in order to align boxes and sections of my cover to make sure nothing is too cluttered.

I have also developed my photos, and have ended up experimenting with 3 different shots, the first one which I planned to use, but then changing it to the one I wanted to use on my DPS, and then one of the ones I wanted to use on my DPS down the side in a photobooth strip. I edited the photos with auto colour, auto tone, auto contrast and also the dodge tool in order to make things lighter (such as her hair) to make it stand out and not look as washed out.

For the cover I also experimented with the different sized photos by enlarging the photo and moving it around to see whether or not it looks better on the cover. I have also moved around some of my text to make sure it is centralised in the shapes and then also moved my sell line around to make it fill the majority of the page, so it is obvious that it is my main sell line.

For the cover, I have also learned about layering and have manipulated the layers some of my photos are in, shapes are in and text is in, in order to overlap things and to send things backwards or forwards. I have done this mainly when it comes to the text overlapping and the text being brought in front of the shapes that they are on.