2. How did you use media technologies
in the construction and research,
planning and evaluation stages?
3. Introduction
Throughout the coursework for my A2
project, I have used a variety of different
technologies to help me in this process. From
AS, I had already used some of these
technologies, however there were some that
I hadn’t before so had to develop my
understanding with these for my project.
Some of the main technologies that I used
throughout the research, planning and
evaluation stages of my project were: the
Internet, Tumblr, Photoshop, InDesign,
YouTube and my Camera.
4. Use of the Internet
The majority of my research came from using the internet. Using the internet allowed me to find similar
products to mine, both professional magazines, and magazine’s made by other A2 students, so that I
could get a good idea of how I should make my project. When using the internet for research, I would find
online magazine’s from professional products such as Forever Sport and Four Four Two, as they have a
lot of good magazine’s on there, which I consequently analysed. I found this particularly helpful because I
had the chance to analyse the conventions of magazine covers from looking at professional products, it
meant that when it came to constructing my magazine, I wanted to be at a similar standard as the
professional ones. I did the same when it came to researching for my ancillary tasks, billboard and radio
advertisement. For my radio advertisement research, I searched on Youtube for examples of real
products so that I could gather a better understanding of what you would typically hear, including
elements such as jingles. Similarly, when it came to researching for my billboard advertisement, I found a
selection of images, taken from real life billboards promoting a variety of things such as McDonald’s to
magazine’s, giving me a better understanding of how I should construct the task from looking at these
professional products.
5. Use of the Internet
Furthermore, I used the internet in my research for a few other things. Due to how I was unfamiliar with
programmes such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign, before constructing my actual project I
researched tutorials for these two programmes so that I could gain a better understanding, which I
believe has helped me create a better project. Ultimately, the internet has helped me through every
aspect of research for my project, from ancillary tasks to tutorials.
6. Tumblr
Another media technology that I used throughout the stages of creating my project was Tumblr. Due to
already using Tumblr at AS to present my work, I decided I would continue to use it for presenting my
coursework. There are several reasons as to why I decided to continue to use Tumblr, the main one being
its ease of use. No matter what device I was on, there is a compatible app to use Tumblr on, from iPhone
to laptop, effectively allowing me to update my progression whenever I needed to. One clear advantage
this year was that I had already been using this device for a year, whereas other blogging sites such as
Blogger, I have never used. Tumblr has many advantages that have helped me throughout the stages, in
particular how I began producing a trailer before my magazine, to which Tumblr has allowed me to make
the change of project evident without confusion. To conclude, Tumblr has been a crucial technology for
me to use in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages, with all my work being
uploaded and updated as I went along so that I would not miss anything of value.
7. Programmes
As well as using other programmes and technologies such as Photoshop and InDesign, I also used a few
other technologies throughout my process such as Microsoft Excel and Gmail. Both of these programmes
helped my in my process, I predominantly used Microsoft Excel for analysing my audience feedback so
that I could clearly see the results before creating my project. This was important to do because without
this I could have been confused by the amount of results I collected and created a project that my
audience would not want to see. Furthermore, I used other Microsoft related programmes such as
Microsoft Word to create these audience feedback surveys before printing them off. Lastly, I used my
Gmail account to link my work between home and in school so that I could continue my progress on my
tasks. Although this may seem a small technology, it was extremely useful in making sure that I didn’t fall
behind on work, which is crucial.
8. Photoshop and InDesign
When creating my project, I used both photoshop and indesign, photoshop for my billboard
advertisement, and InDesign to create my magazine cover and the inside pages, The reasoning for me
choosing to use two different technologies is because after watching several tutorials on InDesign, I felt
that it would be a better software to create a magazine on, therefore used it. Similarly, I felt that
photoshop would be better suited for the construction of my billboard advertisement. Although I hadn’t
used a lot of photoshop I knew the basic’s from prior experience, which ultimately came to use with my
ancillary task. On my billboard, I wanted to make it look as professional as possible and my research had
shown elements such as links to social media’s as an effective way of making them look as real as
possible. With this in mind I found some ‘.png’ images of the handles of ‘Facebook’ and ‘Twitter’, and
inserted them into the bottom corners. Another effect that came into good use on photoshop was that I
knew how to reduce the colour gradients in the image I had used, making the text stand out more, which
was the main goal so that people aren’t too distracted by the background image.
9. Photoshop and InDesign
For my main project, magazine cover and inside pages, I decided on using Adobe InDesign, a software
that I discovered when trying to improve my skills on photoshop. InDesign specialise in creating
magazines and brochures so when it came to creating my project I was able to find templates on the
internet, which would suit the layout I wanted. This was particularly helpful in the the process as it meant
that my magazine had a professional layout, making it look like a real media text. As well as this, InDesign
allowed me to do a variety of effects to my project including editing the images I had taken to fit perfectly
into the space I had left for them so that there were no overlays. Overall, InDesign was an effective
technology that I used in my process that made the creation of my project better overall.
10. Canon and iPhone
For my main project and ancillary tasks, I used both my iPhone and my Canon EOS 1300D in order to
create my project. To begin with, I used my camera to take the picture on the front cover of my magazine,
as well as the pictures seen on the inside pages. I found taking the pictures relatively easy to come by
with photography already a hobby of mine. In addition to this, my brother works for Charlton Athletic FC,
therefore allowed me to get pitchside access to their games so that I was close enough to the action to
take the pictures that I have used.
The other technology that I have used was my iPhone. I used my iPhone when recording the audio for my
radio advertisement because it has a relatively good microphone built into it and that I don’t have access
to a proper recording studio so opted to use my iPhone instead. This was no issue to me as it meant that I
always had access to a technology for whenever I decided to record the audio as it took several attempts
due to elements such as background noise and me simply not thinking it was up to standard.
