Conner Abbey completed a personal skills audit to assess the skills developed and used during the creation of a digital media production. The skills audit identified skills in digital technology like using Adobe Photoshop and video equipment. Post-production skills with Final Cut Pro software were also developed for editing video and audio. Research and planning tasks like researching the noir genre and creating storyboards helped the smooth progression of the film. Conventions from analyzed media texts provided inspiration. Creativity was exercised in steering ideas away from conventions to make the portfolio and storyboard more original. Conner hopes to further develop these skills during the next project.

1. Personal Skills Audit Name: Conner Abbey
Skills acquired How did these skills
contribute to the creation of
your product?
How will you develop these
skills during the A2 project?
Digital technology
- What
equipment/software
packages did you use to
produce your
production?
During the time used to
produce my production I
learned how the basics of using
Adobe Photoshop, a program I
had previously never used
before. I also became
acquainted with how to
effectively use a video camera
and related equipment such as
a tripod.
There skills were effective while
creating my production. The
camera skills gained were
crucial to producing my final
product, and skills learned on
the program ‘Final Cut’ helped
me edit my production together.
In A2 I hope to develop my
skills in recording, testing out
different effects and styles of
recording footage, such as slow
motion. I also hope to develop
my skills using websites such
as Blogger and Prezi.
Post production
- What software did you
use to create your
production?
- Discuss specific features
of the software.
The program that was mostly
used during my postproduction
was Final Cut, a video-editing
program that was a massive
factor of editing and cutting
together my final production.
Features of the software that
was most helpful to me was
being able to cut a section out
of one video file and add it into
another.
These skills allowed me to edit
the video and audio from my
recordings together and create
my overall final cut. Final Cut
also allowed us to add visual
effects to our production such
as the opening credit sequence
and scene transition effects.
I hope to develop my editing
skills when using Final Cut,
particularly in editing scenes
together and applying
transitions between them. I also
hope to add audio cues and
thought beats into my final
production which will test my
skills.

2. Research and Planning
- What tasks did you
complete when
preparing to film your
sequence?
- How did your planning
help the smooth
progression of your film?
Tasks that I had to complete in
pre-production included
research into the noir genre and
tropes that came with it, as well
as taking recce shots and
drawing storyboards for my
production.
These skills contributed to my
research and planning by
allowing me to gain helpful
knowledge on the genre of my
film (noir). Our storyboard
allowed us to plan out how the
sequence should play out as
well as informing us on which
scenes to film and when.
In A2 I hope to improve my
research skills into different
genres as well as researching
different styles of recording and
experimenting with different
camera shots.
Using conventions of real
media texts
- Which texts did you
analyse?
- Did you take any
inspiration from the
conventions found from
your research?
Whilst doing this I learned how
to pick out useful pieces of text
whilst skimming to reduce time
needed, meaning I could fine
more information and quicker. I
also learned how to write
appropriately myself, emulating
the style of the text.
These skills contributed to the
creation of my production by
allowing me to write what was
needed in the style that was
appropriate for that piece of
text.
In A2 I hope to further increase
my writing skills so that I can
write professional looking
descriptions and other texts.
Creativity
- Were our ideas for your
portfolio imaginative and unique
or did you adhere to
conventions?
When making my portfolio I
learned how to steer away from
typical conventions and make it
look more creative and original.
These skills contributed not
only when creating my portfolio
but also when creating ideas for
our storyboard, as they allowed
us to keep clear of typical
conventions of the noir genre.
In A2 I hope to further my
creative skills with both my
portfolio and production,
making it seem more original
and to stay away from usual
conventions.