Skills Development (5/11/10)

Practical - Shutter Speeds
 
In this practical I learnt about shutter speeds on a camera and how to use them effectively for certain shots and effects. A fast shot is to capture a freezeframe of movement, and a slow speed is to capture movement.

A Fast Shutter Speed Shot:

To capture this I first tried a speed of 1/500, which wasn't fast enough. I then tried 1/1000 and still not a good shot. Then when I got to the speed 1/6000 the image came out like this.

I think the freezeframe came out well because the leaves are crisp and clear, not blurry.
This would be useful to capture the images of a moving car or train in the next unit.



A Slow Shutter Speed Shot:

At first I started with a speed of 1/30, which didn't capture the light good. I went to 1/15, which again didn't capture much movement. This image was eventually taken at a speed of 3.

I think this is good as the light trails are clearly defined. I can't think of someething to do this for in unit 3 yet.



The next skill I need to develop is camera focus, or lighting, so the pictures aren't too blurry or dark.

Photoshop Tutorial
  
Tutorial - Fire Text Effect

I followed a tutorial to create a text effect of fire. I learned about using the Liquify tool to create the flames effect, and also how different opacity and blending combinations can be used.

Initial Skills Audit

Introduction Project

Photographic Story Board

Flat Plan & Rational

Final Print Product

Evaluation

In this project I used a range of skills to produce a final print product. These skills involved planning a storyboard, designing a flat plan, photography and Photoshop work.  I feel that I have developed all of these skills throughout this project, and in the next project I think I will be more experienced in all of these areas.

The skill I think I have developed the least is working on Photoshop. This is because I had previous experience with the program, so could work with it quite easily. For example, I already knew how to use the selection tools to select certain parts of the image, and I also knew how to create text and apply effects to the,.However, I have improved some of my skill with the program, as I learnt extra techniques to use with the program, for example how to cut an image more definably using the magnetic lasso tool.

The skill I had the most development on was the photography, as I had never used the type of camera I used in this project before, so I had to learn how to use this camera properly. I also learnt about different types of shots, like long-shots, and medium shots. During the project I learned how to position the camera in certain ways to get the best shot, but photography was still the weakest area for me, as it is what I had the least experience with.

I feel that I developed on planning projects as well. I had never created a Flat plan to create a print poster before, so this was something new I learned, and it helped me think and plan out what I was going to do during the project. I think that I could have improved my flat plan more by writing more about the rational. I wasn't sure about what to write for the rational as I had never done one before, so if I could do this project again I would create a more detailed rational.

I had a few problems during this project. The main problem was my photography. As I had little experience with photography, some pictures came out incredibly blurred or out of focus.  I think that if I did this project again later in the course, I would have improved my photography skills, so the pictures would be of even better quality.

Another problem I had was trying to find a location to take the pictures. My group spent almost an hour looking for an empty classroom to shoot in. I think if we could do this project again, we should plan ahead and find out when a classroom is empty and take pictures then.

The target audience for the advertisement was male students, aged between 16-18, from social class ABC1. I think that the final print poster engages the audience’s attention because we used models that fall into this age group.  This is effective as the target audience would relate to these models because they are the same age. It also relates to the audience, as the poster is set in a classroom, which students could relate to.

In conclusion, I think the main thing I would improve if I did this project again would be the photos, as they were the weakest part of the project. I also think that the group should have improved organisation, to be able to get a larger variety of photos.  I think that the final print product works though, as it seems like it would attract the target audience.