FOUNDATION PORTFOLIO IN MEDIA
CANDIDATE NAME: Charlotte Olrod
CANDIDATE NUMBER: 0228
WOKING COLLEGE 64986
The following Mind map shows my understanding of What makes a level 4 piece of coursework. I will be referring to this throughout the time that I will be producing my coursework to help me achieve a high level piece of work.
Weaknesses and SMART Targets
I think that my biggest weakness is my time management skills, currently I feel that I do not allow myself enough time to produce a high level piece or work and instead rush, however I really want to improve this as I am aiming for a high grade and hope to progress to a career in media.
My SMART Target in order to better my time management skills is:
Specific: I will complete ALL pieces of work in the set time frame (if not earlier) that is usually weekly. I feel if I do this I will have less stress and I'll know that I'm using my time efficiently and appropriately. I will have to work hard both inside college during my frees and at home in my spare time so that I don't fall behind and to perfect any work that needs it.
Measurable: By keeping up to date with my weekly set tasks, I will allow myself more time to improve any work that I am either unhappy with or that is not worth as high a mark as I'm aiming for.
Attainable: I feel I can be successful in achieving this target so long as I put the hard work in to make it happen.
Relevant: The target is very relevant, as I will need to be managing my time well in order to make sure each piece of work is to the best standard it can be. I feel this will also help me to prioritise pieces of work that need to be completed first and which need more time spent on them.
Time-bound: My preliminary task deadline is the 25th of January, this means I will be working on all tasks for this piece of work prior to my final piece. To meet this deadline I will be working on my preliminary task during my frees and lunch to make sure it's completed in time so that I'm not still working on it alongside my main task.
Time Management Issues - 18/01/2013
I am starting to fall slightly behind on work as I still need to upload my final genre mood board. I keep forgetting to upload it and MUST remember so that I don't loose out on vital marks towards my overall grade.
Problems with computer - 1/02/2013
I finished my Case Study Research Essay however because I forgot to save as I went along, I lost all my work when the computer crashed as I was about to do the final save and print. This has now made me fall behind and I will have to catch up as quickly as possible to ensure I still get next weeks tasks completed on time.
My Progress - 06/02/2013
I have managed to re complete my Case Study Research essay, without it having a huge effect on my other tasks I needed to complete. I have completed my hand drawn drafts and uploaded them to my blog alongside my article about magazine publishing institutions. I am in the process of planning my pitch, which I hope to of completed by the weekend.
Stress - 12/02/2013
As I have been struggling to keep up to date with work, due to other commitments I am becoming very stressed trying to meet the deadlines. I am working in more of my frees than before to make sure I catch up as quickly as possible to remove the stress as it's currently making me fall behind even more because I have a lower tolerance when stressed.
Overcoming my problems - 13/02/2012
Yesterday I went to the LRC in my free to complete some outstanding work, I managed to complete my 'Major Institutions Rule' article and further evaluate my preliminary task, I am still slightly behind and will be staying on late at college to finish the last of the work that I am currently behind on.
Maybe not - After coming home and reflecting, I'm really disappointed in the way I have managed my time over the previous fortnight, as this is the most important subject for me and I am aiming for a high grade. I still have some tasks to catch up with to hand in on Friday, although all of them are started just not yet finished. At the beginning of half term I will spend my time completing my newest weekly task sheet to enjoy the rest of my half term, also me and my mum agreed that after half term to help me overcome my time management, when I come home from college I must make sure I have no distractions (phone, TV or Internet - for social purposes) until I have completed work set, this will hopefully make me feel a lot better about myself as currently I am making things very hard.
Deadlines - 16/02/2013
I had a deadline yesterday for all my planning and research to be up on my blog, I spent my free from 10am-1.40pm, taking images to contribute to the construction of my magazine, and finalising everything I need to put on my blog such as my drafts, However I've left my Major Institutions Rule article on my college account and forgot to put it onto my USB, so I'm going to have to spend more time rewriting it before I lose marks for time management. I was babysitting yesterday so I only had little time between the time I got home from college and the time I had to go back out again therefore there were some things I was unable to upload, but I woke up early this morning to make sure every thing is on here so I don't miss out on marks.
Construction - 28/02/2013
I'm really pleased with my progression throughout this process. I feel that I've learnt a lot of skills on photoshop on indesign that is helping me produce a high quality piece of work. I've managed to finish my first computer draft of my article in just 3 lessons to a standard that I'm really pleased with and that I feel is a strong piece of work. I have used other online programmes such as pixlr to help me edit the images used.
Progression (Construction) - 07/03/2013
This week I started my first draft of my front cover, I'm not as happy with it as I am with my article and I will be staying in my frees and after college some days this week to redraft using a whole new image. Currently my magazine has not incorporated different shot types such as close up, mid shot and long shot therefore I think it's important to include them all and this has influenced me changing my mind on the main image I want to use for my front cover.
Setting new SMART targets
Since beginning my coursework, I feel my time management skills have improved greatly. I have been very organised and got things ready that I'll need way in advance. I've decided to set myself a new SMART target which is to aim for full marks in my coursework. I understand that to achieve this my overall product needs to be to a professional standard, I need to make sure my blog is tidy and up to date at all times, show enough evidence of progression and adjustments I've made.
Easter Holidays - 04/04/2013
It's the Easter holidays and I have just under 3 weeks until my deadline, I still have outstanding work that is my Front Cover finalisation, My Contents page finalisation and also the Evaluation. I have made sure that I've uploaded all pieces of work onto my blog in to the sections Preliminary Task, Planning and Research, so over the next 3 weeks I need to focus on the completion of all my coursework.
Evaluation - 13/04/2013
I have been working on my evaluation over the past couple of days. I've been trying hard to think of different ways to creatively display my feedback, I have come up with some ideas, which I will be working on over the next couple of days.
Deadline Approaching - 22/04/2013
With the deadline just two days away, I'm making sure that everything is finished, up on my blog and to a standard that I am pleased with. The last thing I need to upload is my final evaluation question and then I'm ready to submit my work. These past four months have been very challenging but I'm pleased with the overall outcome of my work.
Final Deadline - 24/04/2013
I am now sat just 2 hours away from my final deadline, double checking that everything is on my blog that needs to be. I'm also checking the the links work and all the links are available to view. It's surprised me how easy it is to miss attention to detail, therefore over the past couple of days I have been rectifying this. Overall I'm very pleased with the outcome of my work, through all the stress and worry.
Attainable: I feel I can be successful in achieving this target so long as I put the hard work in to make it happen.
Relevant: The target is very relevant, as I will need to be managing my time well in order to make sure each piece of work is to the best standard it can be. I feel this will also help me to prioritise pieces of work that need to be completed first and which need more time spent on them.
Time-bound: My preliminary task deadline is the 25th of January, this means I will be working on all tasks for this piece of work prior to my final piece. To meet this deadline I will be working on my preliminary task during my frees and lunch to make sure it's completed in time so that I'm not still working on it alongside my main task.
Time Management Issues - 18/01/2013
I am starting to fall slightly behind on work as I still need to upload my final genre mood board. I keep forgetting to upload it and MUST remember so that I don't loose out on vital marks towards my overall grade.
Problems with computer - 1/02/2013
I finished my Case Study Research Essay however because I forgot to save as I went along, I lost all my work when the computer crashed as I was about to do the final save and print. This has now made me fall behind and I will have to catch up as quickly as possible to ensure I still get next weeks tasks completed on time.
My Progress - 06/02/2013
I have managed to re complete my Case Study Research essay, without it having a huge effect on my other tasks I needed to complete. I have completed my hand drawn drafts and uploaded them to my blog alongside my article about magazine publishing institutions. I am in the process of planning my pitch, which I hope to of completed by the weekend.
Stress - 12/02/2013
As I have been struggling to keep up to date with work, due to other commitments I am becoming very stressed trying to meet the deadlines. I am working in more of my frees than before to make sure I catch up as quickly as possible to remove the stress as it's currently making me fall behind even more because I have a lower tolerance when stressed.
Overcoming my problems - 13/02/2012
Yesterday I went to the LRC in my free to complete some outstanding work, I managed to complete my 'Major Institutions Rule' article and further evaluate my preliminary task, I am still slightly behind and will be staying on late at college to finish the last of the work that I am currently behind on.
Maybe not - After coming home and reflecting, I'm really disappointed in the way I have managed my time over the previous fortnight, as this is the most important subject for me and I am aiming for a high grade. I still have some tasks to catch up with to hand in on Friday, although all of them are started just not yet finished. At the beginning of half term I will spend my time completing my newest weekly task sheet to enjoy the rest of my half term, also me and my mum agreed that after half term to help me overcome my time management, when I come home from college I must make sure I have no distractions (phone, TV or Internet - for social purposes) until I have completed work set, this will hopefully make me feel a lot better about myself as currently I am making things very hard.
Deadlines - 16/02/2013
I had a deadline yesterday for all my planning and research to be up on my blog, I spent my free from 10am-1.40pm, taking images to contribute to the construction of my magazine, and finalising everything I need to put on my blog such as my drafts, However I've left my Major Institutions Rule article on my college account and forgot to put it onto my USB, so I'm going to have to spend more time rewriting it before I lose marks for time management. I was babysitting yesterday so I only had little time between the time I got home from college and the time I had to go back out again therefore there were some things I was unable to upload, but I woke up early this morning to make sure every thing is on here so I don't miss out on marks.
Construction - 28/02/2013
I'm really pleased with my progression throughout this process. I feel that I've learnt a lot of skills on photoshop on indesign that is helping me produce a high quality piece of work. I've managed to finish my first computer draft of my article in just 3 lessons to a standard that I'm really pleased with and that I feel is a strong piece of work. I have used other online programmes such as pixlr to help me edit the images used.
Progression (Construction) - 07/03/2013
This week I started my first draft of my front cover, I'm not as happy with it as I am with my article and I will be staying in my frees and after college some days this week to redraft using a whole new image. Currently my magazine has not incorporated different shot types such as close up, mid shot and long shot therefore I think it's important to include them all and this has influenced me changing my mind on the main image I want to use for my front cover.
Setting new SMART targets
Since beginning my coursework, I feel my time management skills have improved greatly. I have been very organised and got things ready that I'll need way in advance. I've decided to set myself a new SMART target which is to aim for full marks in my coursework. I understand that to achieve this my overall product needs to be to a professional standard, I need to make sure my blog is tidy and up to date at all times, show enough evidence of progression and adjustments I've made.
Easter Holidays - 04/04/2013
It's the Easter holidays and I have just under 3 weeks until my deadline, I still have outstanding work that is my Front Cover finalisation, My Contents page finalisation and also the Evaluation. I have made sure that I've uploaded all pieces of work onto my blog in to the sections Preliminary Task, Planning and Research, so over the next 3 weeks I need to focus on the completion of all my coursework.
Evaluation - 13/04/2013
I have been working on my evaluation over the past couple of days. I've been trying hard to think of different ways to creatively display my feedback, I have come up with some ideas, which I will be working on over the next couple of days.
Deadline Approaching - 22/04/2013
With the deadline just two days away, I'm making sure that everything is finished, up on my blog and to a standard that I am pleased with. The last thing I need to upload is my final evaluation question and then I'm ready to submit my work. These past four months have been very challenging but I'm pleased with the overall outcome of my work.
Final Deadline - 24/04/2013
I am now sat just 2 hours away from my final deadline, double checking that everything is on my blog that needs to be. I'm also checking the the links work and all the links are available to view. It's surprised me how easy it is to miss attention to detail, therefore over the past couple of days I have been rectifying this. Overall I'm very pleased with the outcome of my work, through all the stress and worry.
