1. Question 6 – What have you learnt
about technologies from the process
of constructing this product?
2. Preliminary task
When I constructed my preliminary magazine I used the software
Photoshop. Previous to this task I had used Photoshop before but not in
detail and there was still much of the program that I had never used or
understood. By using Photoshop for this product it allowed me to
progress with the tools and I learnt a lot more about it. I learnt where the
most important tools are that I would be needing to use many times such
as shape tools, text, and the crop tool. These helped to create my
preliminary magazine as I used shapes like circles, rectangles and squares
on my front cover and contents page, this was to make certain texts
stand out and ad more colour to the magazine, which would appeal more
to the audience of students. I also added writing by using the text tool to
make it clear what the magazine was about and what was included, this
also makes it look more like an actual magazine. I learnt how to edit
images through ‘image’ then ‘adjustments’ then I selected how I would
like to edit my images such as the ‘brightness/contrast’ which I used to
make my image stand out more. Learning all these techniques would
then allow me to construct my main magazine more professionally and in
more depth.
crop text
shapes
3. Research
For my research I used Google to find everything I needed
about magazines, genres, colour schemes, layouts,
audience ect. I found images of existing magazines and
destructed them as part of my research to get a better
understanding of the characteristics of successful
magazines. I also found images of what I would like my
magazine to contain and be styled around, in which I
created a mood board of my ideas on PowerPoint. The
PowerPoint I used is an up to date version on a Mac
computer, using PowerPoint helped me to present my
findings in an orderly controlled fashion. To make my work
creative and stand out I have tried to use the tools provide
by PowerPoint such as fonts, colours, pictures and shapes
to create more interesting research work.
4. Planning
When planning my magazine I used my phone and
Instagram for contacting my models and finding out my
primary and secondary audiences interests and exactly
what these specific people like and would expect to see in
this kind of media product. I used my phone to contact
models to discuss costume, make up, props, and hairstyles
so that there was a better understanding of the teak before
it was done. Before this I was already familiar with phones
and Instagram however I used them in a different way to
what I usually would, finding out new things about the.
5. Production
I used my smart phone to take the photo shoot as smart
phones should be fully capable for this type of work however if
I were to do it again I would use a Canon ES 1200D DSLR
camera for a more professional look. I places my model in front
of a light, blank wall in a brightly lit room to get the brightness
and contrast up. I had never taken a photo shoot before so I
did research in advance to how to operate in that experience. I
gained more skill by uploading these images taken onto the
Mac’s and edited them on Photoshop. The images from my
preliminary task task are very different even though I used my
phone for both the preliminary task was more spontaneous
rather than a planned photo shoot with props, makeup and
chosen clothes. Both the preliminary task and the main music
magazine task has helped me improve and gain knowledge of
taking, uploading and editing images on new technologies.
6. Post-production
By using Photoshop for my magazines I learned more and gained
confidence in this software. I also learnt about other tools on there that
would benefit my magazine greatly and make it look more professional.
Tools such as the ‘spot healing tool’ which allowed me to cover up any
unnecessary imperfections within the image. I used this on blemishes,
creases in the clothes and to smooth over rough spots. I also used the
‘erase tool’ to get rid of any unnecessary marks that stood out and made
my magazine look unprofessional to give it a more finished and clean look.
I used DaFont to add mote unique styles of writing to my magazine to fit
the genre and target audience. I had never used DaFont before and had
trouble downloading and uploading my chosen fonts to Photoshop,
however I quickly learnt my mistake and managed to successfully add the
fonts to Photoshop without anymore difficulty. These font styles help make
my magazine more professional and relates to me genre more and gives it
a more unique style.
Learning new skills through out my preliminary and main task has helped
me gain a better understanding of the technologies I have been using and
helped my magazine gain a better professional standard. All these skills
together allowed me to create and accomplish my aim for a music
magazine.
7. Evaluation
For my evaluation I used a range of programmes which helped to present my
information. I used Prezi, PowerPoint, Slide share and Bubbl. I learnt more about
PowerPoint and slide share during the production of my magazine and decided to
use them in my evaluation as my skill had progressed and I can use them well. I had
never used Prezi before creating my music magazine and I used it in my evaluation
as is it a completely new skill that I have used during the making of my magazines.
The first time I had used Bubbl was for my evaluation and I wanted to use another
software technology for the first time to show that I am able to quickly grasp new
websites through the skills I have learned through these tasks. I also used Google for
research and to search for images for the evaluation questions as well as other
programmes like Photoshop and word, in which I uploaded all of my information to
Blogger.
