1. Throughout the process of producing my music magazine I’ve
used many new pieces of technology and computer software
that I was previously unfamiliar with…

2. The Blog
As part of the coursework requirements we needed to set up a blog on
which we would regularly post updates about the magazine project and
document its production including research and planning. I had never set
up or managed my own blog before and so this was something I have
learned through the process.
I set up an account with blogger.com and titled my blog ‘Neil’s Media
Coursework Blog’:
http://neilscourseworkblog.blogspot.com/
The blog then led me on to learn how to
use many other multi-media products
such as Slideshare, Glogster, and Prezi. I
also learned through managing the blog
how to embed items into my posts such
as videos, slideshows and the glogs I
created on glogster.
I found managing the blog relatively
simple and I really enjoyed the
experience. My media blog has inspired
me to create blogs for my other subjects
in order to keep my work in order and to
make revisiting old work easier.

3. Photography
I already had a fair amount of experience with using digital cameras through previous
tasks in lessons and so this came as a natural process however using the blue screen and
the professional lighting was something new to me.
Through taking part in the photo shoot I learned how important the impact of lighting is
on the end photograph and if the subject isn’t correctly or appropriately lit for the desired
effect then it can totally alter the ambience of the image.
For example, because my music magazine focusses on a genre of pop music, I wanted my
model to carry the connotations of being positive and innocent and therefore I needed to
ensure the subject was bathed entirely in high key lighting in order to remove any
shadowing and suggestions there was something to hide.
This is also significant in context with the relating article as it is intended to be an
‘exclusive’ and I wanted to portray my artist as being open and honest and therefore
having her fully lit conveys the messages of being pure.
I also learned about using the blue screen throughout the photo shoot and how doing so
can then enable you to remove and insert your own background of desire at a later stage
using photoshop.

4. Photoshop
The layout for the pages of my music magazine was produced using Photoshop – a computer programme which I had
never used before and so this was a challenge, learning how to use the appropriate tools in order to create the effect
that I desired. For example I needed to remove the subject in my photos from the background in order to place them
in front of a new background. This was when I learned how to use the ‘magic eraser’ tool in photoshop.
I also learned through using photoshop how to alter the brightness/contrast, vibrance and hue/saturation in order to
polish up photography and give the images an overall, more professional appearance as shown in the example below.
Another vital tool on photoshop is the ‘red eye removal’ tool because often when taking images with a camera the
flash can be too close to the axis of the lens resulting in the pupils of the model appearing red in the printed photo.
Leaving the model with red eyes would look very unprofessional and so I needed to use the removal tool. The tool
targets the pupil and reduces the saturation to restore the eye back to its natural appearance.
The original photograph After using the magic eraser to remover With altered brightness/contrast, vibrance
the background and the red eye removal and exposure.
tool.