Review of Skills

For my A2 Media project there will be several skills I will need to develop while there are several skills I believe I have already worked on and developed.

Skills I have developed

These are several skills I believe I have already developed and worked on:

• Identifying uses of technology


• Use of editing software


• Use of camera and handling

Since working on my last media product I have learnt how to identify the use of Digital technolgy used withing the media, such as the use of Digital Cameras which create a good quality image on a reasonable budget, for instance, how many films are shot digitally over film reel.

Also the use of application software such as editing programs like iMovie 09 on a Mac computer, which allows the public to use simple editing software that previously wasn't available. By identifying these I can now tell how this technology will benefit me and how I can use them properly in my project. This particular skill is one I made sure I was comfortable with as I felt it was quite important in the production process we undertook while producing our film opening in the AS course.

Being able to use a camera was a big part of the project last year so I made sure that I knew the device we would be using, the Canon MD205. Also I learnt the names and definitions of the different camera shots and angles so I could construct a sequence that felt fluent without breaking certain rules of cinematography, such as the 180 degree rule. Also lighting played a big part as the location we chose was very dark, so by setting up the correct lighting we could improve the quality of the shot. So by thinking of all these factors I believe I have shown that I am capable of using these skills to my advantage.

Skills I need to develop

These are the skills I believe I need to work on:

• Research and planning

• Time management

After working on my preliminary and main task last year in the AS course, I believe I didn't do enough research into the genres our group was looking at, which resulted in making a lot of last minute decisions which could have been avoided. Also by not researching into the character development early enough, it resulted in having wrong costumes and certain props looked out of place. So by improving my research for the A2 course, I believe mistakes such as that won't happen again.

Also, I believe I overlooked the planning stage of the production which resulted in last minute filming which in places put us in a rough position. By doing last minute filming, this also set us back on time when we needed to edit the current footage, setting us back entirely. So by improving the planning, we will have more room in case something doesn't completely go to plan.

Time management also ties in with the lack of planning, which both resulted in last minute decisions and wasted a lot of time when we could have been working on improving the final product instead of having to do last minute filming. So by improving all of these skills, I believe my next production will turn much better and the pre and post production won't be as difficult as before.