The student learned several new technologies through creating their magazine coursework project. They used a Nikon D2300 camera and tripod to take professional photos in the studio with soft box lighting. Adobe Photoshop CS6 was used to edit images, create layers, and assemble the magazine layout. An Apple iMac helped the student become familiar with the Mac OS and installing fonts. Blogger was used to host content online and Google was used for research and audience surveys. Microsoft Office formatted work and Slideshare/Scribd hosted presentations. Overall the student felt they gained valuable experience with various software and technologies.

1. 6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
I used a variety of resources to complete my coursework with, both software and hardware which enabled me to complete the final
media product. Camera and Lighting: The camera I used for all the images on my magazine was the Nikon D2300, I reason behind this is
that I think Nikon is a reliable camera for what I needed it for. It can take professional images which would suite my target audience and
look well on my magazine. To add a steady feel to the pictures I also used a standard tripod which is could balance the camera on to get a
central frame when taking the images. This camera was useful as it was located at the college site meaning I could go back and take more
pictures in the studio if needed without having to set a specific date for when I could use my own. This allowed me to no waste time
while in the design process of my magazine. I did use a smartphone camera for the draft images however I didn’t think that they would
work in comparison with a traditional camera as the quality did differ in one way or another. I used the camera in a well-lit area which
was the studio alongside high quality, artificial soft boxes. These lights meant that no shadows were showing on my photos allowing
them to look even more professional. I moved the lights around to achieve a different point of focus throughput the images so I could
then pick the appropriate one to fit with all the other elements on my magazine. As I was following conventions most Hip-Hop artists
where photographed in a studio with where it was well lit and I though it would take inspiration and do the same to comply with these
conventions in relation to my own magazine. Overall I feel like I learnt a lot during the using this camera which allowed me to enhance
my photography skills and work with the lightning around me to achieve a well-lit sophisticated image.

2. 6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
Adobe Photoshop CS6: This is the image editing software which I used to create my preliminary magazine, draft and final cover, contents
and double page spread. Although I had to learn some new Photoshop/editing skills during this coursework I had independently used
this programme before as well as using it throughout GCSE Media Studies. In this piece of coursework, I had to be more careful and go
more in-depth of the use of layers and positioning of everything as I had so many liking with each other than moving around. The also
become more advanced with the cropping tool as it I had to crop around my model and make sure it fits with the magazine conventions
which I was following. Some elements which were new to me was the use of marks and changing colour accuracy alongside contrast and
brightness editing of images to make sure they look professionally made. I also had to edit background images so the colour behind the
images look like it flows across each magazine and cropping each image test how it would look was challenging however I managed to
achieve it and select a few images for my final magazine. I also learnt how advanced the software can be with the amount the of layers
that were involved in the creation and how the title may well be more than one layer to align everything correctly for on the font used. I
think that Photoshop was one of the most curtail technologies involved in the creation of my magazine because it’s what allowed me to
bring everything together into 3 different images. Apple iMac: This was the school’s computer which allowed to create my final magazine
and being able to install custom fonts easily made it easier to try out different designs and combinations. This was a learning curve for
me as I was used to Photoshop on windows computers but using OSX on an iMac enhanced and expanded my skills into using technology
I hadn’t used before. After time, I got used to Photoshop and the way everything was setup which then allowed me to become more
consistent using it to create my final magazine. I feel now that I am even more experienced having created everything on that machine
provide by the school.

3. 6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
Blogger: This was the blogging service provided by Google which I used to post all my coursework on. This allowed for everything to be
in one place and the ability of everything to be easily located using a search bar. For my magazine, I saved slides as JPEGS then uploaded
to my blog as an image this saved time as everything was already setup and I had to do was drag the image to my blog for future
reference.
Google: I used Google mainly for my research and planning by looking at existing magazines and how I could take inspiration from them
to design my own version. I also used Google to complete more target audience research about my research and Google Forms to carry
out my questionnaire for people relevant to my magazine. This allowed me to make charts and analyse what pricing my magazine should
be, name and design including colours scheme. I also used Google to I stall potential fonts for my magazine and analyse how they would
fit the gene didn’t learn much from this however it did enhance my research skills overall.
Microsoft Office 2016: This piece of software was used to format all my work in the first place which then allowed me to upload them on
sites such as side hare and scrbd for me to embed them onto my blog. Most time I spent using word for srcbd then PowerPoint to export
as JPEG or if it was more than one slide upload to Slideshare for example this would have been for my audience research.
Slideshare, Scribd and other presentation platforms: These sites/platforms helped me lay out my research and planning as well as my
evaluation. These different types of formats show a variety of different skills which I leant to use throughout my media coursework. It
also makes my blog a little more interesting o look at rather than just looking at the same type of format for each post.
Overall I think that I have learnt a to more about technologies than I expected this could be during my use of photoshop or in terms of
initial research for my magazine for me to construct the final product.