Final Skills Audit

AS Media Production: Final Skills Audit Print Production

Name: Belinda Smith                      Tutor group:1.06              Date:28/4/2014

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	Y		All the images used on my blog, such as in the ‘Raw Photos’ post, and in my Unit 3 project, were all manually focused. Most of them were successful and are in focus.
Shutter Speed	Y		The images in the ‘Shutter speeds’ post on my blog demonstrate that I can change the shutter speed on a camera to create images with different effects, such as motion blur when using a fast shutter speed.
Aperture control	Y		In the blog post ‘Aperture and ISO’, there are images that demonstrate my understanding of aperture settings. These three images of the same subject were all taken at different aperture settings to successfully alter the depth of field.
ISO Control	Y		The blog post “Aperture and ISO” shows images taken at different ISO settings. However, they are not as successful as my other images and it is difficult to see the effects the different settings have.
A tripod		N
External flash	Y		While creating my Unit 3 project, the images I used were taken in a studio using an external flash.
Self timer facility		N
Light meter		N
Composition grids		N

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	Y		The “Magazine cover’ post on my blog shows some evidence of text control in Photoshop. I have added text, changed the colour, font and size, and rotated it.
Filters	Y		The images used on my front cover and DPs were given an unsharp mask filter, though I haven’t experimented much with other filters available.
Brushes	Y		While creating the Christmas CD cover I downloaded brushes for use in this project, which can be seen on my blog.
Layers	Y		When creating my first magazine cover and my Unit 3 project I used different layers for different elements of my project, which made it easier to manage.
Opacity control	Y		The front cover of my Unit 3 project has shapes with different opacity levels.
Shape creation	Y		When creating my first magazine cover I created shapes to use as backgrounds for sell lines, and did the same again for my Unit 3 project.
Brightness and contrast control	Y		The blog post ‘Photoshop 1’ features evidence of when I have adjusted the brightness and contrast to enhance an image.
Gradients		N
Load selection features		N
Feathering		N
Colour curves adjustment	Y		I experimented with cross processing by adjusting the colour curves, the results of which can be seen on my blog, under the Photoshop 1 post.
Resolution setting control	Y		I changed the resolution settings of my front cover to 300 pixels per inch to ensure it was the highest quality possible.
Magnetic lasso, polygon lasso tool	Y		The blog post ‘Photoshop 2’ features evidence of when I have used the magnetic lasso tool while changing someone’s eye colour. My front cover features evidence of the polygon lasso tool.
Cropping tool	Y		I cropped the main image used for my front cover so it would fit on the page and so there was a minimal amount of blank space around the model.
Clone tool	Y		I used the clone tool in the blog post ‘Photoshop 2’ to cover up spots and blemishes.
Retouch tool		N
Other skills: Duplicate layers Dodge and burn Effects (stroke, drop shadow etc.)	Y		Before using the clone tool I duplicated layers in case I made a mistake, evidence of this can be seen in the blog post ‘Photoshop 2’ I used the dodge and burn tools on my Unit 3 project and in the blog post ‘Photoshop 1’ to fix areas that were overexposed or underexposed. I used the fx tool when creating my front cover to add effects such as a stroke and drop shadow.

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?		N
Margin and column guide creation	Y		My blog post “Indesign” features my first attempt at creating an InDesign page and uses margin and column guides, as does my final Unit 3 project.
Inserting an image ID	Y		The DPS for my Unit 3 project features an image that was inserted from an external source.
Resizing images in ID	Y		The original image was too large to be seen properly on my DPS so had to be resized. The final outcome can be seen on the blog post ‘Final InDesign Project’
Text manipulation – resizing, rotation	Y		Some of the text on my DPS was created using the text tools available, for example, the header and kicker. The header was rotated slightly.
Text manipulation – controlling kerning and leading	Y		I altered the kerning and leading in the article on my DPS to make sure it was legible and all fit on the page.
Text flow creation	Y		The article was added into InDesign and placed into each separate column using the text flow tool.
Using transparent imagery in ID		N
Shape/line creation In design	Y		My DPS features shapes created for the breakout boxes, as well as lines created to add detail to my product and make it look more professional.
Exporting to PDF from In-design	Y		My final product was created in InDesign and exported to a PDF so I could upload it to the internet in order to be marked.
Text Wrap	Y		On my DPS. The article was wrapped around the quote insert using the text wrap function.
Other Skills: Corner Options	Y		I learned how to change the corner options of shapes and images, for example, by giving them round corners, which I have used on my final Unit 3 product.

Number of new skills achieved: 30

(compare with your initial skills assessment)