Skills Development 5th November 2010

Shutter Speed

Today I have learnt how to use slow shutter speed and fast shutter speed settings on the cameras. Shutter speed controls the length of time that light can pass through the lens aperture. Slow shutter speeds are very good to use in low light as the shutter is open for longer and can capture more light. Furthermore slow shutter speeds are very good for capturing movement. Fast shutter speed captures a second of movement and creates a freeze frame photograph.

       I really enjoyed using slow shutter speed, as the photo’s look brilliant, however it took me a while to set my camera up and get it at the right shutter speed as the photos were not really capturing the movement of the light at first; but I eventually set my camera at 1/0.3 to get my final image. The fast shutter speed was harder to use as it captures a freeze frame, so the model had to be in the right position and the photo had to be took at the exact moment of their movement I wanted to capture. I set my camera to 1/460 to create a freeze frame of my model’s throwing leaves in the air.

       I will benefit from these skills when I get to Unit 3 because I can use slow and fast shutter speeds to capture my images for the topic global warming. Slow shutter speed skills will be useful for photographing in low light environments and will be good for photographing moving trains and cars which are contributors of global warming. Additionally fast shutter speeds will be good for capturing freeze frames, photos showing the effects of global warming and how we affect our planet.

        Skills I need to develop are the use of lighting, my fast shutter speed photos were good but using the setting doesn’t let much light in and my images turned out quite dark. I need to progress my skills on lighting effects to be able to produce professional photos. Furthermore I need to plan my photographs more because when I went to take my fast shutter speed photos, I hadn’t thought through the freeze frame I wanted. The leaves idea was chosen on the spot and although the photos look effective I wish I’d thought through my freeze frame more.

Independent Learning
Photoshop Tutorial-  http://photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/photo-manipulation/how-to-create-a-flaming-manipulation-in-photoshop/all-pages.html 

The tutorial was about manipulation and applying cinematic lighting effects. I have learnt how to manipulate photos, layer images together to make the final image look realistic. I have learnt how to use the dodge tool to accentuate highlights on images, I have learnt a new way of cutting out part of an image and moving it to a separate image using the pen tool, paths. Furthermore an effective technique which I think will be useful during unit 3 is warping images. In unit 3 I need to use creative idea’s to make a good magazine and the new technique’s I have learnt like paths and warping will help do this, for example I may create an image of the world on fire to show the effects of global warming and warping would help do this.
      Additionally adding a background glow to an image finishes off the final product and makes the layers of image blend as one; I think this will help me in my unit 3 as all my finished products have to look professional.

Initial Skills Audit

Introduction Project

Media Production Evaluation.

In the work I have produced in the planning of a moving image advert and the making of a print advert, I have used skills on the camera like the manual focus and shutter speed; the shutter speed feature was really helpful with taking photos for my storyboard in trying to capture a situation. Furthermore I used skills like text control, layers and the magnetic lasso while editing my print advert using photoshop, along with the skills I have learnt to use like the cropping tool, retouch tool and new techniques on editing font. The skills I used during the production of my storyboard and advert have made my finished products more effective by adding a more professional look to them.

        I think the work that I have blogged so far shows which skills I have at the moment, I have learnt a few new skills but in total my work shows what i can do so far; I know my skills will progress as I learn more on my course.  However there are weaknesses in my work that I would like to fix or re-do if I were to do the project again.  First is that the twelve shots in my storyboard should have been thought out more and each shot should have been planned by what type of shot, what angle and what was happening in the photo. The second is that for my advert I wanted the two boy models to have bacon sandwiches instead of chips but because i hadn’t planned this and took my photos after lunch the cafe had stopped selling breakfast food. The third problem which i would have liked to change on my work was taking the storyboard photos on a different day to my advert photos so because of this i had to use different models and the models from the first shoot were wearing different clothing. The fourth weakness of my work was not using the location I wanted to, I wanted to shoot my photos in the college cafe but was full and there were no tables left so I resorted to the cafe along the road.  If i had the opportunity to re-do my work these are the factors which I would change.  

       To work towards the standard achieved in professional working practice, I would have to build up my skills with using a camera and learn to take photos with a more professional look, I would also have to build up my skills on photoshop and use the techniques that professionals use to make it a higher standard. Additionally i would have to plan my storyboard photos and print image in a more detailed standard.

My product that I was re-branding was Daddies sauce which was originally targeted the audience of mainstreamers who are males between the ages of 28-45 who are fathers from full nest II with the socioeconomic grade between C1 and D.  However the target audience who I have re-branded the product towards are aspirers who are heterosexual males between the ages of 16-19 who are bachelors with the socioeconomic grades between B and C1, the product has also been re-branded towards young males who are in further education.

       The location of my photographs from my finished products is in a cafe in a ‘college like’ environment which attracts my target audience of 16-19 year olds, my products also use models of the same age. The font on my advert is big and bouncy, and the colours are red and yellow which are bright and vibrant and full of life used to target my audience of young people. The fact the models are laughing and having a good time in the advert attracts the target audience to the product as it is what young people like to do.

     The elements of my project that do not work as well, were trying to get the point of the advert across to the audience. It was hard to show that boy two who didn’t get the girls was miserable and jealous of boy one who did get the girls because he used Daddies sauce. It was difficult to get boy two to pull the right facial expression to get this message across to the reader. Likewise it was hard to show the girls going for boy one who used the Daddies sauce in my storyboard photos as it was not an actual moving image advert.

      I think my advert is well suited towards my target audience but could be improved; the location should have been in the college cafe with posters on the wall to show it was aimed at males in further education than just a normal cafe.  I think this would have aimed the product more directly to their age group rather than just ‘young’ people. If I could improve my project I may have thought of a more exciting original storyline for the storyboard and print to make it unusual and more interesting.

       I think my work demonstrates my understanding of audience segmentation systems, as i have used the different segmentation techniques to target my products to my audience.  I have considered the demographics and suited my models and fonts to the age and sex of my target audience. I have considered the socioeconomic systems by aiming my product at grade’s B and C1 which would be young people living with their parents, and also the life cycle stage my audience would be in. The models are young and represent the audience I’m targeting and the fonts used in my print are reflective of the teenage life.