Final skills audit

AS Media Production: Final Skills Audit Print Production

Name: Rebecca Lamb        Tutor group: 1.27                Date: 23/04/2014

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		All of the images that I took throughout my experience of media including photography, I used manual focus mode.
Shutter Speed	X		I completed the shutter speed task again, in the park. This time, I got some of my friends to throw leaves up in the air so I would catch the movement of them going up into the air with the shutter speed on the camera.  I also took an image of a friend running to capture the motion blur as her legs moved. I also took an image of two of my friends jumping off high stairs to capture the motion blur of their legs and arms. I used 1/60th of a second and 1/100th of a second to complete my shutter speed photos.
Aperture control	X		I used aperture control when I took some images in the park using Faye and a clock. I experimented with the aperture setting at F4, F11 and F22 so that each of my images had a different depth of field to then post on my blog.
ISO Control	X		I also used ISO control while doing aperture control, in the park. I mainly used ISO setting 100 as on the day of my images, the park was very light.
A tripod		X
External flash	X		I used an external flash when taking images for my magazine.
Self timer facility	X		I used the self timer facility when I was taking my light photos to make sure that I caught the action while something was moving so therefore I needed a delayed camera speed so that the camera caught the image, in this case while the bright coloured skipping rope was moving.
Light meter		X

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 used text control for the majority of my work throughout AS Media on Photoshop as most of the work I created on Photoshop had quite a lot of text. For example, my magazine front cover.
Filters	X		On my magazine front cover I used filters such as drop shadow on my title and button to create a 3D effect.
Brushes	X		I used brushes to create my CD cover to create different patterns.
Layers	X		In Photoshop when designing my magazine front cover,  I had to make sure all of my texts and buttons etc were on a different layer otherwise they would move together if I wanted to move only one of the layers.
Opacity control	X		I used opacity control on my magazine front cover. I did this when creating my button sell as it makes the button less see through.
Shape creation	X		I used shape creation to create rectangular shapes and a button on my front cover of my magazine so that it created a more professional view.
Brightness and contrast control	X		I have completed on my front cover as I made my image that I used as my background brighter as it was slightly too dark. I also used the contrast to make my image have more of a vivid colour.
Gradients	X		I didn't use Gradients on my front cover or on my DPS as there wasn't any need to change the colour of the background or the colour of the image.
Load selection features		X
Feathering	X		Feathering was when I cropped a piece of shape out of a person’s head and put text where the piece has been taken from and then putting the shape of the head that been cut out back in its place so it looks like the text is going behind the persons head.
Colour curves adjustment	X		I used colour curves adjustment to make my images have a cross processing effect when I took my Photographic post production work to create a more deep vivid colour.
Resolution setting control	X		I used resolution setting control when I measured the sides of a magazine and then copied it to my own so that my magazine design would have a professional look.
Magnetic lasso, polygon lasso tool	X		I used the magnetic lasso tool if I needed to select a section of my text such as on my magazine front cover, if I wanted to select a certain letter out of the text.
Cropping tool	X		I used the cropping tool to create my image on my front cover.  As the image I wanted to use of my model for the front cover was slightly too big.
Clone tool	X		I used the clone tool when wanting to create the same colour somewhere else on the page. I simply clicked where the colour was that I wanted and clicked someone else and it appeared the same colour.
Retouch tool	X		I used the retouch tool when covering up spots on a person’s face.
Other skills Elliptical Marquee Tool History	X X X		I developed this skill when drawing my buttons in Photoshop for my magazine front cover. I used this in Photoshop when i had made a mistake. This allowed me to go back on my mistake and restart what i had set out to do.

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 margin and column guide creation to make sure I had the right sized DPS as I was comparing the size of my DPS to a Glamour magazine to hopefully produce the outcome of the same sized magazine.
Inserting an image ID	X		I inserted images in InDesign when making my DPS and my first InDesign page. I did this by __________
Resizing images in ID	X		I resized images in InDesign when making my DPS and my first Indesign page. I did this by holding shift down to keep the quality of the image and then using the outside lines of the image to make them smaller.
Text manipulation – resizing, rotation	X		I completed text manipulation on my DPS and on my first InDesign page by making some of my text slightly bigger than others to make the more important aspects of information stand out.
Text manipulation – controlling kerning and leading	X		I used text manipulation on my magazine front cover and on my DPS to shorten the space between my writing to give it more of a professional look and a more tidier look as my text all flowed together.
Text flow creation	X		I completed text flow creation on my DPS. I inserted a rectangle using the rectangular frame tool to the file, place,  my text into the rectangular boxes. As my article was long, i had to then draw another rectangular box to then carry on my article further. I did this by clicking the red little box at the corner of the rectangular box that tells me my article is too long for just one box so therefore after i clicked on the red box, i then clicked again in the 2nd rectangular box to create text flow.
Using transparent imagery in ID		X
Shape/line creation In design	X		I didn't use the shape creation in InDesign for my DPS but i did use the line creation to separate my paragraphs.
Exporting to PDF from In-design	X		I completed this when i finished my DPS and i needed to export it to a PDF.
Text Wrap	X		I completed text wrap also on my DPS to help me move my text in an easier way so that it fit around my other text around it.
Other Skills		X

Vignette

The image on the left is my original image. I then selected the Elliptical Marquee Tool so it created an oval shape in the middle of the image and then i right clicked and chose 'select inverse'. I then clicked on the paint bucket and chose black and then clicked on outside the oval and then clicked 'command' and 'd. I then selected filters, blur and gaussian blur and changed the radius to 20.4 pixels which softened the black line of the oval.

CD Cover

This is my christmas card before i edited it.

This is my christmas card after I downloaded brushes off www.brusheezy.com and then downloaded them into Photoshop which were snowflakes.

Third Progress Review

 Firstly I added more sell lines as I thought my front cover was lacking more interesting sell lines. I firstly added 'Exclusive... Sunglasses... The shade and shape of summer'. To do this I added a rectangular shape with the rectangular tool on Photoshop and then inserted my text to fit inside the rectangle. I then added the Sunglasses... The shade and shape of summer' All of this was in the same font, Arial. I then added another sell line '25 Things You do that guys secretly love' which again, is aimed at teenage girls with crush's who are desperate to find out what they need to do to impress the boy that they like. I made the '25' a different font to the 'Things you do that guys secretly love'. 

On my DPS, I finally added my image. I did this by taking 1 of my images, i then cut and stretched the background upward so it fitted an A4 sheet. I then used the smudge tool to get rid of the joins of the image. I then auto-coloured and auto toned the image and merged the layers together. For the remaining 3 images, i repeated the auto-colouring and auto toning and then used the dodge tool and highlight to whiten the background. I then selected the 'darken' option on the layers. I then selected CTRL T to get the images the right size.

Second Progress Review

After i adjusted the brightness and contrast of my image on Photoshop, I added my image of my model onto my front cover. 

I then changed my header 'FUSION' to be smaller so it didn't take up as much room on my front cover, I then moved it further down so it slightly covered my models head. I then added the effect 'Drop Shadow' to my header to create a 3D effect. I then inserted a rectangle and filled it white, i placed it underneath my header and made sure that my header was slightly over the white box so that it looked like it flowed and so it looked professional. I then inserted the text 'Its your life. Its your time' and made the 'your' italic, this had the effect of the reader feeling like the magazine is talking to them as they're saying its theres.

I removed some of my text as my front cover was getting too cluttered and looked disorganised. I also added the 'Plus 559 Style hits' I made each of the words different fonts as this was following the ideas of Glamour. Plus is 'Lucida Handwriting', 559 is 'Kannada' and Style hits 'Impact'. I added this as my magazine was aimed at teenage girls and teenage girls are more likely to want to read about styling hits. I also added 'Hands up who wants pretty clothes?' underneath, the rhetorical question makes teenage girls especially think that they will gain pretty clothes if they read this magazine which is more likely to draw them into buying my magazine.
I also added the reward sell line 'Win! FREE Topshop Voucher'. As Topshop is a popular teenage girl retail shop, I thought this would grab their attention and encourage them to buy my magazine if there was a chance that they would win this voucher. Lastly, I went on to add my bar-code which i downloaded from the internet - this was to ensure that my front cover looked as professional as Glamour.

I then added a quotation to break up my text in the middle of my article. This was also taken from the Glamour magazine that I liked the look of. I went on to then adding the caption underneath where my image would be at the bottom of the first page to give the reader the indication of what the image was linked to and give more information to what the article there about to read is about. I then added the page number at the bottom right hand corner and the name of my magazine and month - this adds effect as it creates more of a professional look as most magazines have page numbers.

Final Unit 3 Project

Firstly I inserted the top banner onto my magazine again that i deleted before as it looked as if it was cluttering the page up. However this time I made the text smaller that i had inserted onto the white rectangle and changed the colour of the 'Britain's' 'No1' and 'Women's Magazine' to make it stand out from the white background.

I then added another sell line to cover the empty space below the mask 'Alcoholic, drug addict, bulimic. AND pregnant.'  Which are all teenage girl related issues that girls may go through while being a teenager and teenage girls are more likely to feel like they might be able to gain some advice from my magazine.

I then added a button again, that reads 'Only £2' as most magazines have this and it gives off a professional look to readers. I made a drop shadow behind my button to make the price stand out and I also made it light orange/yellow to make it stand out from the colour scheme.

I finally added my sub header underneath my header on my DPS to give the readers an overview of what my article was about and to give them an idea of the statistics and results that I had found from my questionnaire.

Your Life Your Time Skills Development 2014

Below are the skills that i have learnt on this course. I have used different techniques in Indesign, Photoshop, Language and Journalism and Photography.

For example, the skills that i have learnt in Indesign are how to put margins onto my design to guide where my text should go and to help me make sure that my text is in line at the top, bottom and sides. I did this so it would create a more professional layout. I also learnt how to place a image into my work by drawing a rectangular shape with the cross through the middle and clicking 'file' and 'place' and then finding my image or text so it is placed in the rectangular boxes that I have drawn. If I had inserted text, I learnt that if the text was too big to fit in one of the rectangular boxes which was shown by the little red box at the bottom right hand corner, I had to drawn another one so that the text would flow into another box but only if I clicked on the red little box first and then clicked into the new rectangular box.

In Photoshop I firstly learnt how to insert an image - I went to File, then Place and found the image that i wanted to use and then that inserted the image into my black document into Photoshop. I learnt how to use filters such as Drop Shadow to give a sell line on my magazine a 3D effect. I also learnt how to organise my layers as each time i created a sell line or button i had to make sure that they were on different layers as if they were on the same layer, they would not move separately if i needed them too. I also learnt how to control the opacity of the buttons i inserted onto my front cover of my magazine, the opacity control lets you control the transparency. Finally I also learnt how to use the cropping tool to create my image on my magazine front cover as the image I wanted to use of my model for the front cover was slightly too big.

In terms of Photography I firstly learnt how to use manual focus features as that was the setting the camera had to be in instead of auto focus. I also learnt how to use external flash when taking my magazine images to give me a brighter shot. I mainly learnt that the images that i had to take for my magazine front cover and DPS had to be in focus and not under or over exposed - i made sure this didn't happen by constantly checking and adjusting the lenses to make sure that my images were perfect.

In terms of Language and Journalism I learnt about 1st person, 2nd person and 3rd person. 1st person singular being 'I' which is mostly used in magazines but rarely in newspapers. 1st person plural being 'we' which makes the reader feel included. 2nd person being 'you' which is quite often used at the start of the article to engage the audience. 3rd person being the exact opposite of 1^st person narration, it describes an event from an objective point of view. I also learnt about colloquialism (slang) and taboo language and that it is sometimes used in magazines for a humorous effect. I also learnt the difference between a short paragraph length and a large one - short paragraphs keep the reader interested as it doesn't look like a lot to read in one go whereas large paragraphs are more likely to make the reader bored and go on to the next page without even trying to read it. I also learnt that in magazines writers use hyperbole a lot to exaggerate their point so that the readers really think about what's being portrayed.

Narrative Voice in Magazine Articles

	Manner of Address	Effect on reader	Example
1st person singular	I – used in magazines but rarely in newspapers. Will not see 1st person narrative in magazines aimed at men, as it is more emotion.	To make the story/article relatable as it is more likely to be a personal experience. Informal and subjective. It allows you to climb inside somebody’s thoughts.	I have started to realize how stereotypically media affects teenage girls nowadays. I am also affected by this myself as I worry about what my body is like and how I can change it to become like the models on the front of magazines.
1st person plural	We – inclusive narrative voice which makes the reader feel like they are part of the community. Quite often used at the start of the article to engage the audience.	Makes them think that they are included in something and it also allows you to suggest that you have shared experiences.	We as a society stereotype girls into categories of their weight and shape. As a community we need to stop this from happening as it can have big affects on how girls are.
2nd person narrative voice	You – very rarely used.  Quite often used at the start of the article to engage the audience.	Reaches out directly to the reader. Used to engage the reader quite quickly. Generates a sharp tone.	You as part of the society need to realize how media is affecting girls as it pressures girls into being ‘perfect’. Are you pressured? Would you say your body needs changing or is your body perfect?
3rd person narration	Exact opposite of 1st person narration. Describes an event from an objective point of view. Newspapers are more likely to use 3rd person narration as it is detached and the readers have an overview of the story.	Formal and objective. Gives an overview of the situation. Not very emotional, can be quite dry.	69% of women are sensitive about their weight, this means that any media attention on how a woman ‘should’ be and how much they should weigh affects these women quite a lot.