1. What have you learned about
technologies from the process of
constructing this product?

2. Technologies I have learned to use
• Photoshop
• Quark
• Blogger
• Slideshare
• Prezi

3. In the making of this music magazine I have learned how to efficiently use Quark and Photoshop and
also about the conventions of a music magazine and how to create these using programmes. I used
Quark to create my double page spread and contents while using Photoshop to create my cover
page. To start with I had very little knowledge on these technologies but I learnt how to create
everything I needed through practise on my first attempt of a music magazine until I had excelled
enough to create this final piece.

5. Impact of Knowledge on Media
Product
Gaining a good understanding of Photoshop and Quark has had a very positive impact on the
process of making and producing my own music magazine. I already had the knowledge of the
necessary codes and conventions that I would need to create a good magazine but had very little
knowledge of the technologies I could use to create these.
I noticed that within music magazines there was a lot of cutting around the main image on the cover
page mainly but also right throughout the magazines and so learning how to do this on Photoshop
using the pen tool, the quick selection tool and the magic wand tool all combined with the blur tool
was an extremely significant skill to have when I was making and completing my media product.
Learning about drop shadows and layers was also very helpful when it came to touching up my
magazine as effects like the drop shadow do really contribute to the standard of this kind of work; it
is something that makes the final piece seem far more professional.
When using Quark, I found it extremely beneficial having the ability to create my own layout using
text boxes and image boxes as this is another factor towards making my magazine seem more
professional as otherwise without this ability to create a layout my magazine would look messy and
very unprofessional. Having this skill also meant that I could manipulate my contents and double
page spread quickly and easily around my changing ideas. However I stand by the fact that the main
benefit of this skill is the professional look it gives.

6. Blogger
Before I started this media product I had absolutely no
knowledge of Blogger or its uses but now that I have the ability
to create my own blog and update it I have found that it was one
of the most useful programmes I have been using. Without it I
would not be able to display any of my finished work or add any
extra details.
I have learnt how to set up my own Blog using blogger and also
how to create new blog entries and to add text, images and
titles. I have also learnt how to publish each blog entry onto my
own blog which has being extremely useful in presenting my
work.

7. Cameras
For my photo shoots I used a high quality Nikon Bridge Camera which I already had knowledge of and
used this knowledge to my advantage to capture clear and high quality images. I did not have very
good lighting for my shoot so I had to use the camera’s settings such as exposures and brightness
including flash and indoor mode. Having a knowledge of all these adjustments I could make and how
to make them really helped me as it gave me the ability to take pictures at the same standard as what
is necessary for a music magazine.
However something that I did learn was how to take
pictures well the first time around. I did not want to waste
any time and so I had to gain the ability to produce a clear
set of images at the right quality first time around. This
meant having a rather clear idea in my head of the images
that I needed and then using every function on my camera
such as zooming, camera modes, shutter speeds, shot
lengths and exposures so that I could achieve the image
that I had in my mind.
I then learnt how to connect my camera to the computers
and select the images I wanted to import so that I could
make use of them.

8. Prezi
Prezi was also something that until the start of this media course I had never seen or heard of. I
enjoyed using it as you can select a layout for your Prezi and then also customise it meaning that each
Prezi you created was unique and in my opinion an excellent way of displaying your ideas. I learned
how to create my own Prezi and add text to create something almost like a PowerPoint slide.
This screen shot shows how the software
allows you to insert text into a series of
boxes and then takes you from one box to
another allowing you to provide a lot of
detail in an interesting way.

9. Slideshare
Slideshare is another programme that was new to me and at first I struggled using it because I couldn't
seem the get the embedding codes to work but now I have gained experience in using it I can see how
useful it is and I am able to embed my work into my blog using it. In the end I found it was easy to use
and did the job exactly how I wanted.
On the other hand I found that it was very slow at uploading my work which was a slight issue especially
as it came to the end of lessons and I wanted to keep up. I also thought that it could be more useful if it
gave you more editing opportunities such as transition speed, sounds, borders etc.