Skills Profile
Through this skills profile I am highlighting the Skills, Knowledge and Experience I have in the areas of Production work and also as working as a member of a team.
Time Management
Existing Knowledge, Skills and Experience:
With time management I have had experience in the past as from previous projects which I had to do at GCSE within media were to tight deadlines and therefore I had to plan out which tasks I would undertake and give myself a limited time for each one. As we were not given deadlines for each piece of work we were given one final deadline for the whole project, so I did set myself deadlines for each piece of work and I did hand my project in on the deadline. Also, through completing the last project at college I have learnt a good and effective way of keeping to deadlines, as we were given a production schedule which stated each piece of work and what should be completed by a certain deadline, by having a production schedule it does help keep yourself on track and it helps you make sure you have completed everything within that week to be kept on schedule to complete the whole project.
Target: To make sure as a team that we are all completing the tasks which we have been given we should talk about the tasks people have completed and talk about this within one of our team meetings to make sure the production work is being completed, and also to make sure we are meeting the deadlines.
Group Work
Existing Knowledge, Skills and Experience:
In past projects I have worked within a group several times in classes such as Drama and Media Studies, I believe I work well as a team member and within all the teams I have worked in we all worked well as a team as we listened to each other and communicated well together as a team. Although, within working as a team in media for one or two of the projects a problem which did occur was that we didn’t assign people within the groups tasks which they would carry out there, I did end up completing the script and storyboard for the pre-production stage of creating a 5 minute television programme.
Target: Therefore through the current project of creating a 30 second television advert I believe that the by having team meetings the tasks within the production schedule will be assigned evenly and everyone will complete their own work for the team.
Production of Documentation Work
Existing Knowledge, Skills and Experience:
In the previous project of the DVD Menu I was asked to produce documentation work for the project and this was done to deadlines which were seen on the production schedule, by having these deadlines for the documents for the project this has helped as I can complete each document for the project in order. By doing this each stage of the project can be continued as within the project you may need to complete one step first in order to complete the next document on the production schedule, some of the documents within the first project are similar to those in the second project of the television advert, such as the proposal and research into final product. By having some of the same documents in the second project from the first project helps as I now know how to complete these documents. At the end of the project all of my production documents are placed in order into a folder and clearly titled.
Target: To improve my knowledge on the production of documents for each project would be that I should use all of the documents which are on Chichester Online to help me with each document, as there is usually worksheets on Chichester Online to help with the different documents, therefore this will help if I am unsure if what to do within some of the documents on the production schedule.
Research Methods
Existing Knowledge, Skills and Experience:
Through researching into many different projects in the past, including the last project of the DVD Menu and the current project of the TV Advert I believe that the way in which I research into different aspects within the project is effective and I have been taught how to research properly and correctly. This includes being shown how to create a bibliography which includes resources such as websites and books which I have used for a certain part of research. I have also been shown how to annotate and keep record of the website pages which I have used with the information which I have included within my own work, by being shown these steps within researching this has helped me a lot as when it does come to the researching stage of a project I know straight away how to research into the certain topic. For example I would research into the points which I have been asked to research into, keep a record of the websites used (this shows secondary research), print out the information from the websites, write my own report on the research and then annotate the research which I have included within the report. I have also carried out different types of research methods; this includes Quantitative a Qualitative Research in the forms of Questionnaires and Interviews, as for one research project I had to carry out for research into UK Television Soaps and this helped me in understanding the other types of research and this also shows Primary Research as I carried out the questionnaires and interview myself.
Target: For a target into researching methods I would like to use other resources other than the internet to find research into a certain product, as at the moment I am using one resource of the internet, therefore I would like to expand my knowledge in using other forms of research resources such as Books and Television Programmes.
Generic Conventions-style and technique
Existing Knowledge, Skills and Experience:
Within every product which is created there have individual generic conventions to it, for example from my previous project of creating a DVD Menu for the genre of Drama I had to consider and research into features which are related with Drama as a genre. This included the images, font, logos and music as all of these different features within a DVD Menu are important and need to suggest and relate to the genre and theme through the DVD Menu. Therefore by having the chance to create a DVD Menu which reflects the genre strongly I now have a good and clear idea of how the genre and theme can be clearly shown as I believe that my own DVD Menu did reflect the genre of Drama clearly.
Graphic/ Animation Production:
Existing Knowledge, Skills and Experience:
From the last project of the DVD Menu I have created an animation within Photoshop and therefore I do have knowledge within creating an animation, although if I got the chance I would like to expand my skills within creating a more advanced animation. Referring to the graphics side of the production, I have created the DVD Menu Pages within Photoshop as well and I believe I used a simple but effective layout for each of the pages and this was the layout of other DVD Menus as well. This also included the images which I used within my DVD Menu Pages as the whole DVD Menu Page reflects the genre and this shows the graphic side to creating a product and I believe my DVD Menu included good and clear graphics which reflected the genre.
Target: I would like to improve my skills in creating animation within programmes such as Photoshop, as I know how to create a basic animation I would like to develop my skills in animation to create an advanced animation.
Designing and Planning
Existing Knowledge, Skills and Experience:
I have had experience in the past in designing and planning a product such as a Television Advert, a DVD Menu, a 5 minute Children’s Television Advert, a Magazine Front Cover and a CD Front Cover and Booklet. Within these products which I have created in the past 3 years I have expanded my own knowledge into these different products and the process which you go through to create these products. For example when I was in the process of creating the CD Front Cover and Booklet for a new Pop Star I firstly researched into other CD Front Covers and Booklets and I deconstructed these to show the meaning behind the whole front cover to see what message the different CD Covers were showing. This was important as this was one factor which I needed to consider for my own CD Cover as I wanted my own CD Cover to show a clear message related to the image on the cover and the name of the CD Cover. I could then start to plan my own CD Cover and I planned out the image which I wanted on the cover, the title of the cover and the font which would be used, as all of these features add to the build up of the cover and show the message which brings the whole cover together.
Target: For this stage within a project I would want to create more sketches and drawings for the product so I would be able to have more choices in which I could choose from, as with sketches you can visually see the product.
Camera and Tripod
Existing Knowledge, Skills and Experience:
I have used a camera in previous products such as Television Advert for a Perfume and short Children’s Television Advert, although for these projects I did not use a tripod. For the television advert we did use a camera, we were ready to film the advert but the camera was not working correctly therefore we had to have a backup plan for the creation of the advert and this was that we would take still images of the advert and then present them as a big storyboard, this also shows how you may have to consider if the camera does not work or if you yourself, are unable to work the camera as you have not been shown correctly how to use it. The second time in which I used a camera was to film a 5 minute children’s television programme and as a group we successfully used the camera and filmed the footage, therefore I have used a camera to film footage and also used different camera angles and camera shots for this programme.
Target: I would like to be shown properly and correctly how to use a professional camera to record a piece of footage such as a television advert and I would also like to be shown how to use a tripod correctly as in the past we were not given the chance to operate the tripod ourselves and we were just shown within 10 minutes the basics of the how to use the tripod.
Health and Safety Issues
Existing Knowledge, Skills and Experience:
In the past I have not had a talk on health and safety issues surrounding a project such as a Television Advert, I have never been asked to think about the health and safety issues surrounding a recording of a television advert or the recording of any type of video recording. I have never been shown examples of any paperwork surrounding the health and safety aspect, which is quite important as this covers many aspects, including the crew and the cast who are involved in the recording of the footage.
Target: Within the current project of a TV Advert I would like to be introduced to the paperwork which would be included within a professional television advert, so I can therefore understand what procedures have to be carried out surrounding the health and safety aspects of the shooting of a Television Advert.
Legal and Ethical Considerations
Existing Knowledge, Skills and Experience:
Within all products which are released research into the Legal and Ethical Considerations is important because if you do not consider all of the aspects included within the legal and ethical considerations your production could be put in jeopardy as you have not gone with the rules surrounding the legal and ethical considerations for the product itself. The legal considerations include use of existing materials, Copyright-Invasion of Privacy, Original Music Use and Location. For example, to use existing materials such as music, you need to get permission from the copyright holder of that piece of music, if you do not get permission to use the music you will have to pay a fine of thousands because you have used it without permission. Therefore if you do not research or know about these aspects such as using copyright material you will be fined and could jeopardise the whole production as the budget could be practically the whole amount of the fine. When considering Ethical Issues when creating a piece of video such as a TV Advert you need to make sure that images and footage within the advert is not offensive to anyone as if the footage is offensive and does meet the standards of the Ethical Issue Rules the advert may not be shown on television.
Target: I would like to expand my knowledge within this area of pre-production and this could be by researching into the aspects by using different resources such as books, so I might be able to see some examples of the legal and ethical considerations in action.
Sound-recording and editing
Existing Knowledge, Skills and Experience:
In the past I have edited a piece of video and this was the 3-5 minute Children’s television programme, the programme which I used to edit this piece of video was Windows Movie Maker, this programme edited the video well and as a group we were able to bring the whole short television programme together with a soundtrack, title and credits at the end of the programme. Although, the effects which can be created within this editing programme are not as advanced as programmes such as Premiere Pro CS3, therefore I believe that with more effects a programme or a TV Advert can look more professional and creative. I have never used a sound recording booth in the past as I have never used features such as voice over’s, therefore I would like to be able to use a sound booth to see and learn how all the features work.
Target: I would like to develop my skills within editing a piece of video and use advanced techniques for editing the piece of video. Also, as I have not use Premiere Pro CS3 in the past to edit video I would like to learn how to use this programme correctly and effectively to create the TV Advert, this will then expand my knowledge in editing videos and I will learn new skills for editing video.
Editing-capturing, logging and using the timeline
Existing Knowledge, Skills and Experience:
In the past I have only used a timeline within Windows Movie Maker to create a piece of video, although as I have never used programmes such as Premier Pro CS3 which use a ‘professional’ timeline, as within Windows Movie Maker I have never been shown and taught properly how to use the programme, therefore as a group when we edited a piece of video we did not use the features within the timeline which we could have to help us create the piece of video.
Target: I have never heard of the term logging in terms of media, therefore I would like to be shown and taught what this term means and how it is used in the media and how it will be used within this current project of the TV Advert. I also intend to use the timeline within Premiere Pro CS3 and the features within it which can help me within creating my own final advert with the footage which we film as a group
Responding to Feedback and Reviewing Work
Existing Knowledge, Skills and Experience:
From the DVD Menu project I was given feedback before the project deadline about how I could improve my final DVD Menu and how I could improve the documents which I have completed for the DVD Menu. I believe I responded to feedback well for this project and I did complete the feedback to the best of my ability and hopefully this did reflect within my final submission, I recorded my responding to feedback on my blog and showed how I improved my work, this helped me review my work and see the improvements which can be made to my work.
Target: I would like to be able to review my own work and see the improvements which I believe I can make from my peers and therefore I will get feedback from the target audience and people my own age, this would include me carrying out my own primary research such as questionnaires. Therefore I would be able to have my teachers opinions and feedback about how I can improve my work and also my peers opinions on how they think I can improve my work.
Within this workshop we were introduced to the basics of Premiere Pro and we were shown how to set up a new project within Premiere Pro and the ways in which you do this is by selecting new project on the opening screen in Premiere and then select the setting of Wide screen DV- PAL 48 Hz. You then select the Place in which you want the project to be saved to, therefore I was shown how to browse to find my hard drive and find the Advert Project and select the folder for the Premiere Project, therefore the Premiere project will save to the hard drive in the organised files.
W e were then shown how to import the files such as the Audio, Images and Rushes, you select File-Import-Audio, Rushes and Images import the whole folder into Premiere Pro, these will then appear on the left hand side of the computer screen, these are then there for you to take files easily from the folders into the timeline. To insert the files such as the Audio into the timeline you simply drag the audio from the folder in Premiere to the Audio 1 in the timeline, this will then play the song, to create a key frame to fade the music in and out. To do this within the timeline there is a key frame button which is used to add a dot onto the timeline and then drag the yellow line on the Audio timeline down to fade out and up to fade in, by learning this skill it has really helped me in understanding the way in which music can be edited within Premiere and how I can use it to edit the TV Advert.
To add Rushes into Premiere Pro you double click on the video and it will appear on the left hand side of the screen, you are then able to select the piece of video within the video which you want to use, to do this you play the video at the start of the part you want to use , press i, pause the video when it has finished at the point which you want and then press o. This will then highlight this part on the video timeline on the preview of the video, you then drag the video into Video 1 on the timeline and you can then link the audio and video together by highlighting the two files on the timeline and select Project in the toolbar and select link, these two files will then play at the same time. I also learnt how to add another part of the video to the first part, you repeat the way in which you cut the first video and drag the video into the same timeline, into video 1.
Effects: Video Transitions: The next step was to create a transition, there are many different transitions and effects within Premiere Pro, I used the simple effect of a Dissolve, which simply connects both of the different videos in the timeline, this was effective and connected the two different video clips well, this effect was added to both of the video clips in the timeline.
Split Screen: To create a split screen effect you carry out the process of selecting the video clip and adding it to the video 1 in the timeline and then copy this video clip into video 2 on the timeline. You then select Motion on the effects above the video on the preview screen and to save an image of the video, you export the frame and save in the images folder, you can then edit the colour balance in the effects and this can change the colour of the images and I created a pop art effect with an image.
Images: I created a mock Pack Shot for the Kit Kat advert within Photoshop, for this file to work in Premiere Pro CS3 we needed to save the PSD as a PNG in the images folder and then import this into Premiere Pro and import this into the timeline in video 2, this will then appear over the video which is being played on the timeline.
Through this workshop I have learnt many new skills and I now feel more confident in using Premiere Pro and I feel I now know the basics to edit a video effectively and I believe I will be able to edit my advert with the skills I have learnt in Premiere Pro.
Overall, through explaining my knowledge in the production areas of a project I have shown what I already know and the skills I have and the targets which I want to gain throughout this project and other projects.
Knowledge Gained Through Premiere Pro Workshop
I have participated in a Premiere Pro CS3 Workshop on Wednesday 26th January and I learnt many new skills, I had not used Premiere Pro in the past and therefore I was pleased I was able to learn many new skills within this programme. We were first asked to create a new folder in our hard drives for this Television Project and then create four folders within the main folder, these include, Audio, Images, Rushes (video) and The Premiere Project. These folders will be used when I come to editing the TV Advert in Premiere, by having the different folders my work and files can be easily organised and therefore when I come to using an Audio for example I can easily locate the file and import into Premiere Pro. Within this workshop we were introduced to the basics of Premiere Pro and we were shown how to set up a new project within Premiere Pro and the ways in which you do this is by selecting new project on the opening screen in Premiere and then select the setting of Wide screen DV- PAL 48 Hz. You then select the Place in which you want the project to be saved to, therefore I was shown how to browse to find my hard drive and find the Advert Project and select the folder for the Premiere Project, therefore the Premiere project will save to the hard drive in the organised files.
W e were then shown how to import the files such as the Audio, Images and Rushes, you select File-Import-Audio, Rushes and Images import the whole folder into Premiere Pro, these will then appear on the left hand side of the computer screen, these are then there for you to take files easily from the folders into the timeline. To insert the files such as the Audio into the timeline you simply drag the audio from the folder in Premiere to the Audio 1 in the timeline, this will then play the song, to create a key frame to fade the music in and out. To do this within the timeline there is a key frame button which is used to add a dot onto the timeline and then drag the yellow line on the Audio timeline down to fade out and up to fade in, by learning this skill it has really helped me in understanding the way in which music can be edited within Premiere and how I can use it to edit the TV Advert.
To add Rushes into Premiere Pro you double click on the video and it will appear on the left hand side of the screen, you are then able to select the piece of video within the video which you want to use, to do this you play the video at the start of the part you want to use , press i, pause the video when it has finished at the point which you want and then press o. This will then highlight this part on the video timeline on the preview of the video, you then drag the video into Video 1 on the timeline and you can then link the audio and video together by highlighting the two files on the timeline and select Project in the toolbar and select link, these two files will then play at the same time. I also learnt how to add another part of the video to the first part, you repeat the way in which you cut the first video and drag the video into the same timeline, into video 1.
Effects: Video Transitions: The next step was to create a transition, there are many different transitions and effects within Premiere Pro, I used the simple effect of a Dissolve, which simply connects both of the different videos in the timeline, this was effective and connected the two different video clips well, this effect was added to both of the video clips in the timeline.
Split Screen: To create a split screen effect you carry out the process of selecting the video clip and adding it to the video 1 in the timeline and then copy this video clip into video 2 on the timeline. You then select Motion on the effects above the video on the preview screen and to save an image of the video, you export the frame and save in the images folder, you can then edit the colour balance in the effects and this can change the colour of the images and I created a pop art effect with an image.
Images: I created a mock Pack Shot for the Kit Kat advert within Photoshop, for this file to work in Premiere Pro CS3 we needed to save the PSD as a PNG in the images folder and then import this into Premiere Pro and import this into the timeline in video 2, this will then appear over the video which is being played on the timeline.
Through this workshop I have learnt many new skills and I now feel more confident in using Premiere Pro and I feel I now know the basics to edit a video effectively and I believe I will be able to edit my advert with the skills I have learnt in Premiere Pro.
Overall, through explaining my knowledge in the production areas of a project I have shown what I already know and the skills I have and the targets which I want to gain throughout this project and other projects.
Skills Profile Review
Throughout this project I have learnt many new skills, and relating back to my Skills Profile which I wrote at the beginning of the project, including skills I already have in certain areas, and skills I would want to gain from this project by setting targets for myself. In this document I will be explaining the targets which I have achieved and the skills which I have gained from this project.
Within my Skills Profile my first target which I aimed to achieve was related to Time Management, I believed that within a group we would be able to meet the deadlines for the different documents which need to be completed as a group. As when working as part of a group you need to communicate well to be able to complete the group work, therefore my target was that as a group we would have meetings regularly to discuss the work which is being completed by each person to make sure we are meeting the deadlines. I believe I have achieved this target and that we have had regular meetings to discuss group work and we have therefore completed the documents within the time frames given.
The next target which I set was working within a Group and carrying out even amounts of the tasks within the group, as within previous projects which I completed at GCSE, the tasks were not assigned evenly. Therefore my target was that as a group we could evenly share the tasks between us and by completing the tasks in order of the production schedule we would complete these tasks. I believe I have worked well within a group and we have evenly contributed to the group work for this assignment and within our first minutes meeting we did assign the tasks between us and noted these on our Group Production Schedule, so therefore everyone can refer to this to know what tasks they are completing.
Another skill which I have gained through this project is the use of different research methods, as my target was to use different research methods rather than using one method of the internet. I believe I have gained a new skill within using different research methods, as through the research which I have carried out within this project I have used other research methods such as Media Books, I have learnt new skills in using different resources such as books, to gain information about different topics related this project.
In relation to Designing and Planning of the television advert my target was to plan the idea in detail, and I believe I have done this as through all of the pre-production stage within creating the television advert I planned my advert by researching into similar products, researching into the brand and company of the product and creating documents such as the Treatment which explains the story of the advert which is what happens within the advert.
I have also learnt new skills in using the Camera and Tripod through this project, as I have been properly introduced how to use the camera and tripod in a camera workshop, as in the past I did not know how to use the camera and tripod correctly. Therefore I now have knowledge related to using the camera and tripod correctly, as I have been clearly shown and I was also given a document which showed how the camera works, so if I was unsure I would be able to refer to this. I now know how to set the camera and tripod up and as in the past I have not been shown how to use the camera and tripod correctly even though I had created a video production in the past.
Another area which I mentioned within my Skills Profile is the Health and Safety Issues related to creating a television advert, my target was that I wanted to understand the documents which are related to filming and creating a TV Advert. Within this project I have been introduced to these documents and these health and safety documents are the Call Sheet and Risk Assessment, I understand what these documents are for and especially the risk assessment, as this document shows the hazards on the set of recording the TV Advert.
Another skill which I have gained and developed is my knowledge within the Legal and Ethical Considerations related to a TV Advert, as for the Proposal I researched into the legal and ethical considerations, and I did have existing knowledge from my DVD Menu Project on this subject. I have expanded my knowledge as I have researched into the features surrounding Television Adverts, which includes legal and ethical considerations such as Location Permission, Permission to Use Music and Using other, existing materials. Therefore I have gained new knowledge in researching the legal and ethical considerations for television adverts and this is shown within our group proposal.
In relation to the editing within the project I have learnt many new skills, as I had not used Premiere Pro CS3 in the past and I believe I have been able to create a 30 Second Television Advert to a good editing quality, through this project I had a editing workshop where I was shown how to use Premiere Pro CS3. I learnt many new skills, how to create a new project, how to import files and how to use different effects such as transitions and changing the speed of the footage, also I have learnt about the timeline and how to import different files types such as audios and videos. Therefore I believe I have achieved my target of creating television advert using my new skills within Premiere Pro and this shows through my final product of the advert.
In terms of responding to feedback and reviewing my work I believe I have achieved my target of asking people who are the target audience age their opinions on the advert and through carrying out my Sample Viewing I have gained feedback from the target audience and I have been able to state within my Evaluation these factors which people said I could improve on and I have recognised these are features which I would change if I were to repeat this project again. In terms of responding to this feedback I believe I have responded to the feedback from the target audience within the sample viewing by explaining this within my evaluation.
