Question 6

2. APPLE MAC COMPUTERS
Before beginning this course I had no experience using a Mac computer. At first using this
computer I found it difficult to use as it is a high tech computer filled with many advanced
computer programmes. I had difficulties from using these computer programmes to saving
my work onto these computers. Gradually I got used feeling comfortable using these
computers. I had to get used to using these computers as this was where I would be doing
all of my main work such as doing my music magazine and creating my preliminary task.
Overall I find that these computers are very useful as it has many programmes I used such
as Photoshop and I am now used doing my work on these computers and enjoy doing it as
they are fast computers. The Apple Mac computers are perfect for creating and desining
magazine products compared to a normal windows PC.

3. CAMERAS
Before beginning the course I have never used a professional camera to take
photographs or videos. When I had used the Canon cameras at the beginning of the
year I had a great difficulty using them as I had no idea how to even to take a picture.
As you can see in my preliminary task the pictures I used were blurry which shows
the lack of experience I had using these cameras. However, whilst at the music
magazine photoshoot I was taught by a technician how to use the camera properly
which really helped me get nice and clear images for my music magazine an I didn’t
need to edit my pictures that much. Overall these cameras are very useful as they
have good quality whilst taking professional images once you know how to use them.

4. BLOGGER
I had never made a blog before starting this course. I used blogger to post all of my
research, planning, time management and my improvements on my music magazine.
I immediately got used to this website and found it easy putting images and screen
shots on to my blogs. I liked making a blog because it showed all of the work I have
produced on my blog and it shows all of the stages of making my music magazine. I
also like how you can edit and change your blog posts to improve them and make them
better. Blogger is a really good website to organise your work into separate sections
which makes it beneficial for the reader if they want to read a specific category. I did
this by labelling my posts into separate sections.

5. PADLET
Before this course I have never used Padlet or heard of it. I used this website during
my research stages to make collages of all research. For example I created a Padlet
based on my inspirations for my music magazine. I immediately got used to using this
website as it was very easy to include pictures. What I like about this website is that
you can use as much space as you want to create your collage and it is very good way
of putting all of your ideas across. I would like to use this for future projects as it is an
easy website.

6. PREMIER PRO
I used this programme to edit my interview video I made for my music magazine.
Before the course I never had the opportunity of using this programme. Whilst using
this programme I struggled using as it was very complex to use whilst editing my
video, lucky for me my video didn’t need that much editing. I learnt some of the basics
whilst editing this video but I still found it very difficult to use. This programme is
good for people who know how to use it and edit videos to cut out all of the mistakes or
long pauses in the video.

7. PHOTOSHOP
Before the course I briefly used Photoshop, but I was still uncomfortable using this
programme because I found it very difficult to use as I couldn’t remember the tools.
However the preliminary task helped me learn the basics of Photoshop. As I was
creating my music magazine I begin to get comfortable as it got easier to use
Photoshop and many of the tools. I learnt how to use the spot healer brush, how to
drag and edit the pictures, taking of the backgrounds of the pictures and many more. I
like using this programme because although it takes a while to do your work, it is
worth it in the end as it helps make your work look more professional.

8. 1001 FONTS
For creating my magazine I wanted to get my genre of rock across strongly to my target
audience. I chose to do this by using fonts that can represent the rock genre. Although
there was always the option to use the fonts on Photoshop I was against this idea. This is
because I felt like most of the fonts on there were very plain and I felt like this wouldn’t
have attracted my target audience into reading the magazine if I used the typical Arial
font. I had never used this website previously but it was suggested by a lecturer and once
I had a look on the website I was very impressed. What I like about this website is that it
can provide many categories for the type of font you are looking for or you could just type
key words into the search box. When searching for fonts there was a lot of variety and you
could see potential words in different sizes and colours to give you a better chance of
evaluating it. I would say this website is perfect for people who have just started the
process of the magazine and it is very easy to use.

9. DA FONT
I wanted to look at other websites than 1001 Fonts to get more variety for my fonts.
Yet again I had never heard of this website before or used it, but it was recommended
by my peers and lecturer. At first when using this website I had some difficulty trying
to find the fonts that fit into my genre. I used to think there wasn’t much content of
fonts displayed when I tried to searching, however over time I started to get used to
the website and was proved wrong. Da Font is another website just like 1001 Fonts
that provide many different fonts and it is easy to search for them all you need to do is
look up a word or phrase in the search box and many suggestions come up. I would
advise people to give this website a chance as the fonts look very professional which is
what helps to make your product look good.