Production monitoring blog 29/03/2011

Production monitoring blog 29/03/2011

Progress…

Last week I continued with my magazine front cover. The first day of last week I managed to create boxes, some headings and a mast head. However, the background was cropped out of my main image therefore my current background was bright white. Not liking this, the next day I opened a new photo shop page and imported my main image, but kept the background as it was for the more realistic effect. The final day I imported everything I created on the old photo shop page, but deleted the boxes and put an image in a photo frame style creation with a blue banner going through the front cover.

Not everything ran smoothly. I had to make many changes because I wasn’t happy with what the product was beginning to look like. I have changed the fonts for the mast head many times and I’m still not sure if I have found the one I have been looking for. I spent much time creating boxes and changing the layout, size and colour of them and ultimately I found myself deleting them because they seemed to look silly. After this, I found the progress I made was promising and the current status of the front cover is looking good in my opinion. I was, however, hoping to have completed my front cover and have at least made a start with double page spread, but with the redoing of the front cover, I am now behind. Below is my current ststus of my magazine front cover.

Targets…

This week is the final week for my project as my deadline is the 1^st April. The first day of this week I am hoping to get my magazine front cover finished, as I have created the rest of my headlines and downloaded fonts at home in my own time, to save time during lessons. The second day of this week I hope to have began my double page spread, with the background and images in tact. The final day of the week I will add my headlines, titles, quotes and main article as all of these will have been created at home also, to save lesson time to just add everything in. I will be using all the photo shop and Indesign skills learnt previously.

Contingencies…

I mite encounter more computer problems such as the machines malfunctioning or the photo shop and Indesign software not working correctly. To overcome this, I will have to find another computer that isn’t having these problems.

Production monitoring blog 22/03/2011

Production monitoring blog 22/03/2011

Progress…

Last week I followed my targets very well. The first day of last week, I spent organising and setting up my props ready for the photo shoot the day after. The day after the photo shoot, I reviewed my images and the final day of last week I made a start on my front cover.

I found that everything last week went efficiently. Organising my props was simple, fun and creative. I had them all organised in time for my photo shoot the following day. My models were on time and organised for the photo shoot, and the props were all used and various photographs were taken with time to spare. Reviewing the photos I took didn’t take very long as I had some superb images and some not so good images which made it easier for me to choose which ones I was going to use. Below are two images; one of good quality and one with mistakes.

I realised that I didn’t want to follow my schedule completely. I originally organised myself to do my front cover on the last week before the product deadline, however, I have realised that this was a mistake and began it the last day of the week. Below is a screen grab of the progress I have made so far with my magazine front cover.

I developed my camera skills further as I took many and different photos for my project. I also used my computer skills do go through the images and delete the ones I will not be using.

Targets…

This week, I am going to continue with my magazine front cover and hopefully try to get finished by the end of the week. If this goes to plan, I may also be able to make a start on my double page spread. If I don’t have the time to start this, I will at least have my main article wrote up in my own time, so next week I can give my self a head start.

To achieve a completed front cover by the end of this week, I am going to have to prepare myself for working very hard without any distractions, but not rush my final project and put a lot of effort into it. I am going to have a lot creating, importing and organising to do to get the front cover I am hoping for.

The Photoshop and Indesign skills I have previously learned are going to be used for my final products. I am going to be using the computer non-stop for the next couple of weeks which means all my I.T skills are going to be intact.   

Contingencies…

Using Photoshop for the next week could run very smoothly. However, anything could go wrong such as the machine I am working on freezing meaning I could lose work. Photoshop itself may not work properly which also cause problems. However, I can overcome these problems by simply finding other machines that have this software on and then I can continue with my work.

Production monitoring blog 15/03/2011

Production monitoring blog 15/03/2011

Progress…

Last week I created my photo shoot plans, have meetings with my models and book the studio and the equipment I needed. The first day of last week I booked the studio and equipment that I needed. The two days to follow, I created my photo shoot plans and arranged who was going to be my models (I had previous conversations with people so I knew who could have potentially been my models). The final day of last week, knowing that my photo shoot was drawing close, I held an informal meeting between me and my personnel and discussed who was holding what props, doing what poses and what clothing they will be wearing as well as how they will have their hair styles.

I attempted to book the studio twice before finally finding the technician who deals with the bookings. I thought that going early in the morning would be a good idea, but turned out he wasn’t there at the time I wanted to book out. This was perhaps the only thing last week that didn’t run smoothly. Doing the photo shoot plan went very smoothly as I had all my ideas in tact and had no computer problems and the meeting being held had all my models present.

As suggested above, the only technical skills I used were I.T skills for creating my photo shoot plans in a Microsoft Word document.

Targets…

This week, I am scheduled to make my props, execute my photo shoot and review the photos I take. I plan to get the materials and props prepared and make the ones I need on the first of this week. The second day I plan to execute my photo shoot and on the third day I am going to review the images, keep the ones I want/need and erase the ones that have no purpose. I am keeping the fourth day available for any problems that I may face such as having to reschedule my photo shoot if it doesn’t go to plan.

To achieve doing this and meeting my planned deadlines, I will have to be prepared to spend a considerate amount of the day organising and setting up my props. I will have to make sure everyone is on time and all set for the photo shoot and will have to organise time to look through the photos I have taken.

I will be developing my camera skills further as this week I will be taking photos for my project. This will involve me using the shutter speed and use side or front lighting etc. I will also be using my computer skills do go through the images and delete the ones I will not be using.

Contingencies…

This week is arguably the biggest and most stressful as I have my photo shoot. This is going to be stressful as I could face many potential problems such as my models not turning up on the day of the shoot. I could still encounter computer problems when uploading or browsing through the photos I have taken. However, I can overcome this by informing my models in advance when the photo shoot is going to be, and also by having the models being media class mates give me more time with them to emphasise the importance of them turning up. To images I take could become lost, so after uploading them onto the computer, I can back them up in various files and on a memory stick.

Production monitoring blog 08/03/2011

Production monitoring blog 08/03/2011

Progress…

Last week I successfully created two magazine front cover mock ups. The first day I began with jotting ideas down (such as who is going to be my model, sex of the model, what props will I use? Etc) and also decided upon a potential name for my magazine. The second day I drew my first mock up which consisted of me being creative and accurate to what I had in mind. The third day I managed to come up with an interesting idea for my article as well as completing a detailed mock up idea on paper. On the fourth day I found myself completing the contingency plans.

I found that everything ran smoothly when creating my mock up ideas. I managed to have all ideas processed and drawn on paper getting me prepared for my final flat plan and then my actual project. However, this said, I found problems when creating my contingency plans. As I decided to do these plans via the computer, I encountered malfunctioning problems as my computer froze on occasion which finally lead me to having to find another computer to finish my planning. In addition, as soon as I found another computer, the planning went smoothly and finished within that day. Although I am now up to date, I scheduled myself to have my front cover mocks ups created the week before. 

Using the computer and the software on it to create my contingency plans, I developed my I.T skills further. I also developed my drawing skills further when creating my mocks ups via pencil and paper.

Targets…

This week, I am scheduled to create photo shoot plans. After creating the plans, I have to book the studio and the equipment needed. This also means that this week, I need to have model and personnel meetings. The first of this week, I have to create my photo shoot plans. The second day this week I am expecting to have this completed and be ready to organise when I want my photo shoot, and go and book it.

For me to achieve all of this, I have to prepare myself with plenty of time so all my plans can be met with the schedule. I will need to be focused and determined to meet this deadline also.

Creating my photo shoot plan will acquire me to use a computer and also use Microsoft word. I will need to use no other technical skills for my planned work this week.

Contingencies…

Having personnel meetings requires my models and everyone else involved to be present when the meetings are being held. If people don’t show up, we cannot discuss details that are important for the photo shoot. However, I can overcome this by making sure I have my models’ numbers, as well as warning them in advance of when the meeting is going to be. Creating my photo shoot plan can also have difficulties as the person I have to arrange the times with may not be in or at his usual workspace. However, I can avoid this by finding out when he takes breaks etc and then I’ll know when he’ll be available; I could also find him during the early or late stages of the day, avoiding the manic dinner rush that could prevent me from getting my booking because he could be handling too many people. Creating my photo shoot plan can also be problem as I could encounter malfunctioning problems as I did previously working with the computer. Though, I could easily avoid this by making sure I save on a regular basis so work won’t be lost and if my computer crashed altogether, I could quickly find a spare computer and use that.