Skills Profile
Through Skills Profile I will be stating my existing skills and knowledge in related areas to this project and how I will be applying my gained skills to this new assignment, then setting myself targets which I hope to achieve, then reviewing my targets when completing this assignment and identifying the skills achieved based on my targets.
Production of documentation work
Existing Knowledge and Skills:
The existing knowledge and skills I have gained is the use of documentations in the development of an assignment which I have worked with for the past two assignments within college which help in the development of the final product from pre-production and post-production. Documentations within production are completed by deadline by referring to the production schedule which is also a documentation piece used within the journey of production, this is how I have completed the past two assignments by working aside the production schedule. Using related documents throughout the production can enhance with development of the assignment, designing and planning are important within the progress of work. Documentation of an industry standard I am familiar with such as; a Treatment document which sets a visual image for the client, Script which highlights the action between characters, Shooting script whereby shots in a scene our drawn out in diagrams. Other documents I am familiar with include; Proposal, Research Dossier, Creating a questionnaire and a written Evaluation to evaluate strengths and weaknesses. Within the last two projects, they both had demanding documentation work to be complete to help with the final production which was completed by the production schedule. I hold skills within time management which relates to the production schedule, this documentation I follow carefully to complete specific work by there deadline.
Target:
To complete all documentation work in full detail to produce furthermore in depth work.
Responding to a brief
Existing Knowledge and Skills:
In the GCSE Media Studies, I was introduced to a brief to promote a new upcoming artist, whereby I creating a CD Cover and booklet of the new artist’s music. The brief was negotiable as we had a choice of choosing the genre of the new upcoming artist, therefore it was flexible however there were other aspects which were strictly meant to be in a certain way to respond to the brief correctly such as; Producing a CD Cover and Booklet for an upcoming artist which we created ourselves, it couldn’t be an existing artist, therefore all imagery of the artist had to be our own photography, also the name of him/her. We also had to promote this new upcoming artist by producing extended products of our choice including; Cups and T-shirts advertising the new product, advertisements in newspapers etc. Another GCSE brief I have responded to was the creation of a Magazine Front Cover, Double Page Spreadsheet and Contents Page which had to a follow on from an existing music magazine such as; I chose NME. This brief was negotiable also as I had the option to choose any images, artists, text etc, however the brief stated I had to create a Magazine front cover, double page spreadsheet and a contents page, which I created successfully. Another brief which I was given in sixth form AS levels, was to create a front cover of a magazine for the sixth form to show the start of a new term which I completed and responded to the brief correctly. Therefore, I have many experiences and skills in creating a magazine before therefore I can apply my existing skills and knowledge to this brief to create a magazine for a college/university.
Target:
To complete this assignment by responding to the brief correctly by thoroughly reading what is wanted by the client.
Research Methods
Existing Knowledge and Skills:
I have existing knowledge and skills within research methods from past media productions within GCSE; Media Studies, Sixth Form; Media Studies, Psychology and Sociology and now at Chichester College. I have a good and clear understanding of Research methods and how to carry them out in the best manner. Through Media, Psychology and Sociology, I learnt the different types of research methods of quantitative and qualitative. I learnt quantitative research gathers numerical data which is useful as a small number of people can represent the view/opinion of a bigger population and can provide data for statistics and charts, therefore it is visually clear, where as qualitative research gains in depth, rich description. In applying the skill of knowing this to this assignment, I am going to carry out a questionnaire to the target audience of 16-21 with quantitative and qualitative questions to gain quantitative and qualitative answers to gain ideas, gain information on what works/ doesn’t work and what the target audience want to see as this magazine is targeted for them. Another research method is research collection, which is how to collect research, which is split into two categories of Primary and Secondary, where by this also gathers research and information. Primary research is research which is carried out by an individual, whereby they retrieve the research information themselves by; interviews, questionnaires, surveys, focus groups etc, however this can invade privacy e.g. other the phone and is time consuming and can be costly. Where as Secondary research is gathering the research information from somewhere else such as; books, magazines, newspapers etc. Secondary research can set the stage for primary research and is often used prior to primary research to help verify what is to be learned.
Throughout the past two assignments of the DVD Menu and 30 Second Television Advert, I had to gather research from secondary research from the internet, books etc, into existing/similar products to see what the codes and conventions are used, techniques etc which helped in the development of ideas. Then after the production I carried out primary research by creating a questionnaire to the target audience by a sample viewing to gather feedback and criticisms to show how I could have improved and what I have learnt for future reference. When studying Sociology and Psychology, research methods were crucial as they can gain information on peoples behaviours/ thoughts etc, I carried out a lot of research methods such as secondary research of researching into case studies and primary research by creating questionnaires to investigate into a specific subject. Within GCSE and Sixth From AS Media, I carried out a number of questionnaires to gain information to the target audience of what they’d like to see when developing in creating a music magazine. Through the heavy experience into research methods, I am very confident and clear in how to carry them out, which I can apply within the new assignment of creating a Magazine front cover, double page spread sheet and contents page.
Targets:
To research into many similar/existing products in detail and to create a suitable questionnaire to gather correct information from the target audience, therefore I know what to use and what not to use.
Generic Conventions
Existing Knowledge and Skills:
I have gained knowledge and skills within creating a product in a certain style and using certain techniques as through GCSE and Sixth Form Media Studies when promoting a new artist and creating magazines, I researched into existing products to see the codes and conventions used such as; masthead, logo, barcode etc. Also within the assignment creating a DVD Menu, through researching into existing DVD Menu’s, I found the generic conventions used were the titles of; play, scene selection, extras and audio set up etc, also the use of sound of the soundtrack throughout the DVD Menu etc. From the last assignment to create a Television Advert, from research into existing/similar television adverts I learnt the codes and conventions of a Television advert which includes; slogan, pack shot etc. I am aware of the generic conventions used within different media aspects which I know that when creating it in my own way that the generic conventions should still be followed to show what media production it is.
Targets:
Through researching into existing magazines, I would like to fully understand all codes and conventions used to show it is a magazine and apply onto my own idea of a Magazine front cover, spreadsheet and contents page, therefore it is clear it is a magazine.
Designing and planning
Existing Knowledge and Skills:
I have knowledge and skills within planning and designing Media products such as; creating a DVD Menu Design, Television Advert and Magazines. Through planning the stages within the production, I can use certain documents to help proceed to the next stage such as; within creating a Television Advert, I drew a storyboard showing the shots therefore I could use these to work with when producing the footage of the shots when filming using a camera. Through planning I can develop ideas such as within the stage of researching into existing products I can find something which is appealing to work with which then I can further on to designing ideas. All media productions need designing and planning as through my existing experience from the two assignments within college of DVD Menu and Television Advert it can help with the development of ideas. Within the development of creating a DVD Menu of a chosen genre, I designed and planned through sketches to see my idea clear and visually, then I can develop on from them. Also through GCSE and Sixth Form Media when designing and planning Magazines and Short Film Pieces, I can develop from and further the quality of my work. From my existing knowledge and skills within designing and planning I can apply this to this assignment to develop ideas and create an appealing product for the target audience.
Targets:
My targets within designing and planning is that within the development of creating a Magazine front cover, double page spreadsheet and contents page is to create sketches with annotations therefore I can visually see my ideas with different styles of fonts to work with.
Graphic Productions
Existing Knowledge and Skills:
Existing knowledge and Skills I have acquired within Graphic Productions is the use of the software programme Adobe Photoshop whereby I can edit intensively images and create animations in which I did for the DVD Menu. I also used this programme within images for a magazine front cover, CD cover and images to promote the music artist. I also have learnt skills within graphic productions from working at Venture Photography whereby I have edited customers photographs by manipulation, changing the hue and saturation etc. I also gained knowledge and skills into Photoshop of editing images through studying GCSE and Sixth Form AS Photography whereby I learnt many editing tools, layers, channels etc. Other graphic production programmes such as; Encore and Premiere Pro whereby within Encore I linked all my DVD Menu Pages and added effects onto images and/texts. Also within Premiere Pro I cut footage together and added filter/effects onto shots to make it more appealing and attractive. Within Encore I also created an animation which I had never done before, therefore I learnt this skill and know how to create and work an animation. As I have the passion for photography I also have gained knowledge and skills within Adobe Photoshop by studying YouTube tutorials and having the programme at home, I edit images I have took in my own time.
Targets:
I would like to learnt all tools and more about channels within Photoshop therefore I may be able to produce images of a professional standard, by looking at more YouTube videos and studying graphic production books.
Health and Safety
Existing Knowledge and Skills:
With any aspect of Production, Health and Safety is important as the handling of equipment, electrical wires etc. From our last project to create a 30 second Television Advert, we were introduced to aspects and concerns surrounding Health and Safety, in which we were introduced to documents which highlights and states the Health and Safety Risks which included; Risk Assessment & a Call Sheet. Through the previous assignment Television Advert, I’m aware of the importance of the health and safety of myself and surrounding bodies. Through experience and gaining knowledge/skills into health and safety through previous media productions and common sense which I’ve gained through the years, I am aware of the possible risks, therefore I know to highlight them before hand to prevent risks and enhanced health and safety. Health and safety risks should be highlighted in all areas of productions such as; handling equipment, being aware of electric, wires, the health of someone for example, taking breaks when at a computer to prevent headaches, eye strain etc.
Targets:
Targets involve assessing all possible health and safety issues within the stages of production of this assignment of print, to prevent any danger on any level to myself or surrounding bodies.
Legal and Ethical Considerations
Existing Knowledge and Skills:
Through studying Media at college I have gained knowledge and skills within legal and ethical considerations, and have been aware the importance of these. Legal issues such as copyright, is heavily important within any media productions such as; imagery, music etc. Copyright is such a crucial subject, if not considering copyright it is against the law and can result in fines and possibly prosecutions. I have learnt the importance of copyright through production of DVD Menu and Television Advert, whereby if using someone else’s materials you must apply by Material Release and even then credit will not be fair on the person who made it in the first place. Another legal considerations which I learnt within the assignment of creating a Television Advert is if you are using an artist’s music or sound, it is vital to gain permission from Mechanical Copyright Protection Society Performing Society Alliance, to prevent stealing someone else’s work. Another legal considerations is the choice of location in which from filming our Television Advert we had to gain permission from locations such as; shops, beaches etc, as these too also belong to someone, therefore relates to copyright. Through the DVD Menu and Television Advert and also Sociology and Psychology, I learnt Ethical Issues such as; stereotyping, racism, sexism, discrimination and prejudice , which are so crucial to abide by to prevent any offence towards members of the public.
Targets:
To abide by the legal and ethical issues throughout the production of my magazine.
Responding to feedback and reviewing work
Existing Knowledge and Skills:
From the previous assignment of creating a DVD Menu, I was given feedback to work from with constructive criticism and positives. From understanding the feedback and ways to improve I responded to the feedback which improved my DVD Menu. Feedback given was the colours of the images, as my DVD Menu was Horror the images were seemingly conveying drama with brighter colours, therefore I approached from this feedback by darkening the images and adding a filter effect on top to make it seemingly old, which the outcome was of a more of a professional standard and perceived the genre Horror greater which I was happier with. The other previous assignment Television Advert I received the feedback that the pack shot quality wasn’t up to a good professional standard, therefore I responded to this by keeping the png image size the same and only slighting altering the size, therefore the altering of size wasn’t obvious and kept the quality of the image in tact. When reviewing work with both previous assignments, I developed from already completed work, making slight changes and alterations to improve the quality of my work.
Targets:
Within this assignment I will continually review work regularly to notice areas in which I could improve, therefore I can achieve outstanding work.
