6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Photoshop- I used this program to design and create my Magazine Publication. Each of my pages was created on Photoshop as you are able to layer all the individual elements of the pages over each other, to create your own desired effect.. I used it to edit all my photos (using the lasso tool to crop images and to adjust brightness/exposure of my images), create a layout for my magazine, create shapes (such as picture frames) and select/use fonts to enhance my magazines authenticity. The most useful tool I used was the colour picker, which allowed me to take the colour from my cover stars nail varnish and allowed me to use this on my text headings in order to create accurate continuity in my magazine. Before this work I hadn't used Photoshop before so to start with I was very slow in producing work on the program, whilst I was also very limited in my ability to use the different tools and techniques available on the software. Although I now feel far more competent in using the software and feel I used it to the best of my ability for my magazine.

I also downloaded the free 30 day Photoshop Trial to my home laptop, which enabled me to use the same software at home.

Cameras- The cameras that I used were both extremely helpful in enabling me to take high quality photos for my magazine, using different shot types, even though I had little photography experience. The CAMERA with more megapixels was used on my Front Cover and Double Page Spread, meanwhile the CAMERA with fewer megapixels was used on my Contents Page. Although I feel the change in equipment had no detrimental effect to the resolution of my photos, or the magazines finish. Firstly the cameras were not difficult to use, but took a short amount of time discovering their features and how to use them, such as the flash and the zoom, however once these were established the use of the cameras was easy.

Computers/ Laptop- I used both the school and my own personal laptop to produce my coursework. My personal laptop is a DELL Inspiron These were used  for researching my target audience, music genre, and to gain inspiration for my own magazine. Essentially I learnt nothing new from using this technology, however I did learn a great deal about the programmes I utilised on them.

Blogger- This is the second time I had used Blogger, therefore my knowledge on how to use it was already developed. However during this process I feel my ability to use it successfully has increased. Such as using Labels to group my posts making locating them easier and by setting up my blog in a user friendly way to aid my success. I posted each and every stage of my Coursework on to my blog, from my preliminary task to the evaluation now.

Scribd- I used Scribd for the purpose of uploading any long documents to my blog that had been done on Microsoft Word, as I could manipulate text and images more easily this way. Such as my magazine analysis, of existing publications. I had used it before, but can now use it more efficiently.

Animoto- I used Animoto to create mood boards  in a modern way, as opposed to cutting and sticking. I thought it worked really well and gave what could essentially look boring a item on my blog a current and up to date feel. This is a website I hadn’t previously used, but found it really easy to pick up and use, whilst still creating a piece of work that looked professional.

Microsoft Word 2007- I used this software in order to write up my Double Page Spread article. I chose to do this as I thought it would work best on a word document as it would encourage me to focus solely on my articles quality, as opposed to getting disttacted on Photoshop, by just making it look good.   I was also able to use the spell check and thesaurus facilties on the program to improve my texts article and I was able to keep a word count of how much I had done. I had used this softaware before so didn’t learn anything new, although my typing speed has increased.

Memory Stick- As well as this being a back up device to save documnents/files which were also on both my laptop and the school computers, it also enabled me to transport files easily and quickly without having to use Outlook for example. This allowed me as much time as possible to complete my work successfully. I had used this device before to improve efficiency.

Twitter- I posted some jpeg’s of saved Photoshop files of the 3 components of my magazine on to twitter too see what my friends and other follwoers thought and which features they liked and those which they didn’t.  All of my friends and most of my followers of they are my target audience, i felt there opinion would be most valid. I had used Twitter before this process, therefore I used my existing twitter account for this.

Internet (Google Chrome/internet explorer, Google.com)- I used all of these services as an essential part of my research and planning. The search engine Google was superb in helping me fine magazine examples, information on institution and appropriate images for my blog. Whilst the two Web Providers were brilliant in providing these favilities. I had used these all before so was able to use them efficiently and competently.

 

Lighting equipment- I used lighting when taking images for my magazine in order to make the images look far more professional and authentic. Meanwhile it made the images of higher quality, due to the fact that the lighting enhaced my images, giving my artists the look of someone that was natural infront of the camera, all helping to enhance my works authenticity. I had not used lighting before but it was really easy to set up and had a positive effect on my images.

Scanner- I used the scanner once when uploading a copy of my Brainstorm for magazines, this showed they were all my own ideas and my creativity. Whilst it also produced a better quality image for my blog, as opposed to one taken on a camera. I hadn't used the Scanner before this, but after being shown once how it worked I found it very easy and efficient to use, enhancing my Blog.

Ipad 3- I used this when taking the photos for my Prelimary Magazine, as the camera was of a reasonable standard for the prelim. It also meant I was able to do this work from home, making this part of the process more efficient. I had used the camera on the iPad before, so this was easy to use and I was able to simply crop the images how I wanted, making the use of this technology quick and simple.