Final Skills Audit

AS Media Production: Final Skills Audit Print Production

Name: Megan Stephenson                            Tutor group: 1.03                  Date: 22/04/14

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		During my photo shoot for my final product I used manual focus when taking my photographs. In order to make sure they were the highest quality I did this manually to ensure that none of my images were out of focus. Doing this action myself meant I could change the focus quickly during the shoot as I had limited time.
Shutter Speed	X		I used the shutter speed tool when trying out new styles of images to create different effects. This effect could capture movement much more effectively to create a different style image.
Aperture control		X
ISO Control	X		I changed the light settings on my composition pictures and my shutter speed pictures in order to make sure that none of the pictures came back dark.
A tripod		X
External flash	X		I used the external flash effect during my photo shoot for the images on my product (the front cover and the double page spread).
Self timer facility	X
Light metre	X		I used the light metre in order to measure the brightness in the photography studio to make sure the images would be the highest quality possible.
Composition grids	X		I used this feature during my photo shoot and on my mobile phone. These help put the image in the frame correctly to take the best possible image.

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 changed the space between letters and lines on Photoshop for my front cover. This was to make sure they fit appropriately on the page.
Filters	X		When creating different effects within photos I change the filters to change the colour of the image. This makes it a different hue and could make it look different and professional.
Brushes	X		I downloaded lots of brushes for different projects. For example in the Christmas CD cover as well as in my final product. I used a brush to put behind my breakout box on my double page spread.
Layers	X		I needed to create many different layers when creating my front cover. This allowed me to edit everything individually in order to not mess all the other features when I wanted to change one.
Opacity control		X
Shape creation	X		I added a shape on my front cover that I placed text into. This made the sell-line stand out on the cover.
Brightness and contrast control	X		I wanted to the make the image stand out more so I made it brighter to make all the colours stand out more on the white background.
Gradients	X		I wanted to make the red in my images stand out more so I used the red gradient to bring that forth in my images.
Load selection features	X		I used this tool when practising my masthead for my magazine. This allowed me to create an effective and professional outline to my text that could then be filled with colour to add to the overall standard of my product.
Feathering	X		I used the magic wand tool to select my images so I could move them around on the page properly.
Colour curves adjustment	X		To further bring out different colours in my images I changed the curved settings to warp the colours in the images to create different effects.
Resolution setting control	X		To make sure my files in Photoshop will be the highest quality, I always made sure to change the resolution to make it to a high standard.
Magnetic lasso, polygon lasso tool	X		I used this tool to select only the image and cut it out of the background.
Cropping tool	X		I used this in several places for my images to keep the parts I wanted and get rid of the rest.
Clone tool	X		I duplicated several layers in different projects to have several copies or to change things slightly.
Retouch tool	X		I used this tool to get rid of any blemishes on the models skin in order to make the image a higher standard.
Other skills	X		Dodge and Burn tool: During the vampire project I used the burn tool to distort the image and give a burnt colour effect around the models eyes to create a Halloween look. I also used the dodge tool to make the skin look grey that would help bring forth the ‘vampire’ look. Warp tool: For the vampire project I warped the models teeth to look longer and more pointed to keep in with the theme of the image. Healing Brush Tool – Replace: I used this tool in my project to replace some of the missing image that I missed when deleting the background from the image. For example on part of the book my model is holding, the magic wand tool missed part of the pages; I replaced them with this tool.

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?	X
Margin and column guide creation	X		I used the measurements from my example magazine to create guidelines for the double page spread product.
Inserting an image ID	X		I manipulated images in Photoshop and then placed them where I wanted them in In Design.
Resiing images in ID	X		I changed the size of the images so they would fit where they are supposed to be on the page and the content would fill the frame appropriately.
Text manipulation – resizing, rotation	X		I changed the size of my text so it would fit on my page and not overflow and miss the end of the article on my double page spread.
Text manipulation – controlling kerning and leading	X		I changed the distance between the letters on my header as I liked the font but I needed to change the letter spacing. I did this so it would fit in the space provided on my double page spread.
Text flow creation	X		I made sure to link the text boxes together so the article for my double page spread would automatically flow through the page. This meant when I changed the fonts and sizes to fit all the text on the page appropriately, I only had to select one text box as all the writing was linked together.
Using transparent imagery in ID	X		I saved my double page spread image as a PNG24 file before placing it into my double page spread in In Design. I did this as I made it much easier for me to make sure my text would flow around the image.
Shape/line creation In design	X		I created boxes to go underneath my text to create a highlighted effect. I also inserted several lines to go around my double page spread with different designs; for example, dots and dashes of varying thickness.
Exporting to PDF from In-design	X		When completed I exported my product as a PDF file in order for me to upload my final piece for marking.
Text Wrap	X		I used the path tool to create a line around my images which I then made my text flow around. This meant that I could keep the components separate on my double page spread to make it look more professional.
Other Skills	X		Drop Cap: In my article I used a drop cap to start the piece in order to indicate where the beginning was. This also made the product seem more like a professional publication. Downloaded fonts: I downloaded several fonts to use on my double page spread. I added to font book in order to be able to use them in In Design for my product.

Number of new skills achieved: Around 37

Compared with my initial skills assessment of, I have greatly improved in these programmes. Before this point I had gained very little experience using a camera and these high quality programmes, now I have had chance to use them in several different projects. I have learnt and improved many different skills and how to use different tools.