1. QUESTION 6:
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT
TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE
PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS
PRODUCT?
AS Main task
evaluation

2. CAMERAS
I used two main cameras in order to obtain my images. The reason
I used more than one camera is that several images were taken at
college, where my main camera was not available; these images
were taken on my iPhone. Outside of college I used my Panasonic
HC-V520 camera as it was more suited to the task. My iPhone has
an 8 mega pixel camera so the image were a very high quality,
however the HC-V520 has a 10 mega pixel camera so it is superior.
Another advantage of using the HC is that is compatible with
tripods, the iPhone is not therefore the images had to be taken
holding the phone, resulting in several blurred images. The iPhone
has a faster shutter speed than the HC which meant more images
could be taken in a shorter time period, eliminating long photo
shoots. During the process of gathering the images I have learned
more about the specific areas that each camera is suited for and
how to use them to achieve high quality images. I have also
learned about how different shot types can alter the impression an
image has and picking the right shot for the image.

3. CAMERA ACCESSORIES AND LIGHTING
As mentioned before I used a tripod in order to steady the HC.
This was useful as it was easily adjustable and eliminated
camera shake. A downside to using a tripod is that it took up a
fair amount of space when setting up and was not very easy to
transport. As well as the tripod I also used intense lamps to add
light to the sets or models. These were only used at photo
shoots done outside of college as they were not easy to
transport. When using my iPhone I did not use the flash feature
as it tended to concentrate the light on a certain area; making
the image look unprofessional, it also did not allow any time to
adjust the set if there is glare. I did use natural light for some
shots (e.g. the CVI on the front cover) as at times this was all
that was available. From this I have learned how the light level
can change the mood of the image.

4. PHOTO MANIPULATION SOFTWARE
To manipulate the images I used Photoshop. I had experience
with Photoshop before starting this project so I was familiar
with the basic tools and techniques, I did however learn a lot of
new features which I used to create the magazine. I chose to lay
the magazine out in Photoshop over publisher for several
reasons.
Firstly the layer feature made producing the
Magazine very easy as areas for be altered or
corrected with out having to change anything else.
On publisher if I had changed a feature it would be
inevitable that something else would be af fected.
In addition I used Photoshop to remove the background of the
images so it would be easier to lay the page out in Photoshop
as I would not have to transfer the images across to publisher.

5. PHOTO MANIPULATION SOFTWARE
(CONT)
Thirdly I am very familiar with Photoshop’s features and tools.
This helped as I did not have to use tutorials while creating the
magazine pages. I have also learned how to apply more features
to images and text to alter their appearance or put emphasis on
them, this has made the magazine look more professional as
the images fit in more with the page layout and seamlessly
blend.

6. OTHER
Prezi
I used Prezi to display my answer for question 3. The software
was completely new and I had to learn it from scratch. Due to
the fact it is an in browser program the stages and tools were
very easy to learn and get the hang of f; most of them were self
explanatory. Considering the fact it is a free program that
requires no downloads or specialist software the quality was
very impressive, it features many blank templates and the
ability to create your own which gave me even more options
when creating the layout. The program was very simple to use
and required next to no knowledge of it to use, because I had
never used it before this was a huge advantage. When the Prezi
is completed I had the option to download it as a PDF or copy
the link straight to my blog.

7. OTHER
Wordpress
I used Wordpress to create my blog. The program was
moderately easy to use but did require a bit of practise to
master. I had also had a few problems with certain features like
creating menus, the main problem being that if you alter or add
to an existing menu the change is not visible from the home
screen. The blog also does not have a very good spam blocker
as I was receiving many spam comments. Luckily comments
have to be approved by an admin (me) before they appear
publicly. Despite the problems I encountered with the program
it does its job and reliably shows the content I put on it. Page
creating is very simple on the blog and editing them is straight
forward. Uploading images to the pages is also simple and
quick as they take no time at all to load onto it. From creating
the blog I learned the basics of blog creation which will help me
during A2.