Final skills audit

AS Media Production: Final Skills Audit Print Production

Name: Megan Howard                         Tutor group: 1.03               Date: 22^nd April

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		I have completed this skill when I took my composition photos. (see composition skills development on blog)
Shutter Speed	Y		I learned about shutter speed when I took photos of people running, walking and jumping and I had to adjust the shutter speed to ensure the image didn’t go blurry.
Aperture control	Y		I learned this alongside learning about shutter speed.
ISO Control		N
A tripod		N
External flash	Y		I learned how to use this in my photoshoot for my project.
Self timer facility		N	This was a skill I had previously learned before the course, and I didn’t use it at any point through the course
Light meter		N
Composition grids	Y		I used this in the composition skills development (see blog)

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		I thought I already had some knowledge on text control but I have learned how to change the leading and kerning of text. On my induction magazine project it is clear that I haven’t changed the leading and kerning but in my final product I have shown these skills.
Filters	Y		I have used these in my cross processing. (see blog)
Brushes	Y		I have learned how to download fonts from sites such as brusheezy.com and load them into photoshop. (see Christmas card/CD on blog and final DPS).
Layers		N
Opacity control		N
Shape creation	Y		Although I knew how to make shapes already, I learned how to use them within magazines for example for button sells in my final product.
Brightness and contrast control	Y		I have learned new skills here for example when a photos brightness and contrast needs to be changed, I had to do this with my photo shoot photos.
Gradients		N
Load selection features		N
Feathering	Y		I have used this when I made vignette pictures (see blog)
Colour curves adjustment	Y		I used this in my cross processing photo.
Resolution setting control	Y		I changed the resolution on a few of my photos throughout the course.
Magnetic lasso, polygon lasso tool		N
Cropping tool		N
Clone tool	Y		This tool was used alongside the heal brush tool when I was making clear skin. (see heal brush tool)
Retouch tool		N
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	Y		I learned how to do this when setting up a page in InDesign. I used three columns in everything I did.
Inserting an image ID	Y		I completed this skill in my first InDesign page and in my final product.
Resizing images in ID	Y		I completed this skill in my first InDesign page and in my final product.
Text manipulation – resizing, rotation	Y		I completed this skill in my first InDesign page and in my final product.
Text manipulation – controlling kerning and leading	Y		I completed this skill in my first InDesign page and in my final product.
Text flow creation	Y		I completed this skill in my first InDesign page and in my final product.
Using transparent imagery in ID		N
Shape/line creation In design	Y		I completed this skill in my final product.
Exporting to PDF from In-design	Y		I did this at the end of the project
Text Wrap	Y		I used this skill in my final product
Other Skills	Y		I learned how to add effects to shapes and text eg. Stroke and drop shadow.

Number of new skills achieved: 24

(compare with your initial skills assessment)

Final Unit 3 product

The only thing I have changed on my front cover is the size of the sell lines so that they are all the same size. It wasn't very noticeable on the previous draft but I changed the size anyway.

On my DPS, I have removed the header away from the black box, added a large stroke and gave it a drop shadow. I have put the same effects on the kicker and have put the kicker at an angle so that it matches the header. I did the same with part of the opening paragraph which is now below the header, the colour of the text and the stroke is swapped around.
I made the drop cap a lot larger and I changed the colour of it as well as the font so that it is clear where to start reading.
Using the line tool, I created two lines that separate the article columns. These are in pink which matches with the colour scheme. I realised how random the previous colour selection for the quote inserts were, so I changed them from green to pink. Like the header, these are pink with a white stroke and a drop shadow.
In photoshop, I used the brush tool to make the heart shapes in the background. I downloaded the fonts from brusheezy.com and loaded them into photoshop. I reduced the opacity and saved them and when i went into InDesign I placed them into my project and made the hearts go to the back of all of the layers.
Also using photoshop, I improved the pictures that are in the breakout box. I used the shape tool to create the squares behind the icons and I added texture to them so they didn't look as flat.

25th March 2014

I have changed the fonts of my front cover. I think that this font, Bebas, has a lot more impact than the old font. I have also added in more sell lines with additional information underneath, which are in a different font. I have made a colour scheme for these sell lines and have blocked out some of the letters with the shape tool. I had to change the leading and kerning of the words so that they weren't too spread apart, I also had to change the font sizes. To do all of this I adjusted the settings on the character and paragraph panels box.
I have created a skyline and baseline using the shape tool. On the baseline, to break up the names, I have used the ellipse tool to make pink circles. These match the button sell and stay with the colour scheme.
I have also added a date and price to the barcode of the magazine, I did this by adding to the white shape around the barcode and using the text tool.

On my DPS, I have made my current quote insert larger and have included a second quote insert in the blank space. I have changed the colour and font of the quote inserts so that they don't blend in as much as before. I have made the box smaller and using the text tool I added in some headings and the main text. I blocked out the three headings using the shape tool.
In photoshop I made outlines of pictures in the pink colour that is in my project. I then placed them into InDesign and put a text wrap around them so that they were integrated into the text.

18th March 2014 - DPS

Before placing my photos into my DPS, I edited them all in photoshop by adjusting the colour, tone and contrast as well as sharpening them using the unsharp mask tool. I have put them as polaroid pictures and to bring them to life, I made part of the picture pop out of the frames. To do this, I cut around the part of the image I wanted to be outside the frame using the lasso tool.
On the image below the word 'AND' in the masthead, the models hand is both over the frame and over the image in front. To do this I had to cut the hand out and save it, then placed it where it needed to go in InDesign. I also added drop shadows to the images.

Because of the black that the model is wearing, I think that this looked like the most dominant colour so my header looked lost in the page, therefore I changed the colour of the box behind my header to black as well as my breakout box.