The student created a music magazine called "Amplify" using Adobe Photoshop CS4. Editing images and putting together the magazine layout went well. Some challenges included opening documents across Mac and Windows operating systems and learning new Photoshop tools. The main software used was Photoshop for image editing. Hardware included an iMac computer and camera. If doing the project again, the student would improve time management, take better photos, and do more research.

1. Evaluation of my media product Ben Gifford

2. What went well? Throughout the task there were certain objectives that went well and other that did not. I believe that editing was a strong point throughout my coursework I believe this is reflected in my finished product. Using the program Adobe Photoshop CS4 was challenging but in my opinion I worked well and used the software well and completed my task. I found that using hardware such as the still image camera and different computer fairly easy as I study ICT and I am quite good with computer. This played to my advantage as I knew what to do when it came to using hardware. Piecing the magazine together also went well through the task. I found uploading images from a camera, editing them and placing them onto a magazine rather straight forward. I then had to construct my magazine around image. I believe this was not too complex and I conducted this element of the task well. Finally I believe making the final product look authentic and standardized went extremely well. I added such layers as a barcode for my front cover and number in centered at the bottom of the page which were the finishing touches to my magazine and gave me my finished product.

3. Problems experienced There were minimal problems involved when creating my music magazine because I tried to learn from my mistakes in the preliminary task. By doing this I had more working time and less time solving problems. One major problem that I encountered was opening documents on two different operating systems. Throughout the task I worked on both Windows and Mac OS operating systems which are both different. Some documents would not open on the windows operating system after having been used on the Mac OS. This meant I had to continue working on Mac only as this would solve the problem. I chose to continue working on Mac because it played to my advantages as I have an iMac my self. A minor problem was using some features in the software Adobe Photoshop CS4, I was unfamiliar with parts of the software which slowed the construction process down. After learning how to use the software using tutorials it proved much easier to create my product.

4. Software The main software package used throughout the whole task was Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended version. This is a piece of software used for manipulation images. There were lots of functions and tools that I was familiar with but some that I wasn’t. I used the healing brush tool frequently through out the task to help me make my images look more professional. The healing brush is a tool that helps remove unwanted objects in graphic. This meant I could remove wires and even the whole background for my front cover image. Using the software wasn’t a problem within the task, and I believe this led me to create a professional magazine to go on sale within the music industry. I found using the Mac OS operating system straight forward as I operate on Mac at home and have used them to work on in the media suit during school hours.

5. Hardware There were 2 main pieces of hardware used when creating my Drum ad Bass magazine Amplify. A computer, using an iMac at home and in the media suit enabled me to work with no problems as I knew how they worked. This played to my advantage and allowed me to crack down and work. However working at home and at school meant I has to have a portable copy of my media product which meant saving the data externally as well as internally. This was vital so I did not lose any , and so I could work at home as well as school. I used a 4GB USB (universal serial bus) A camera, using a camera once again I dint not find hard. I have used cameras before I found operating one rather simple. Although the images I captured were not the best, I had no problem operating the hardware in order to take them.

6. What could you improve if you did it again? If I was given a task like this again there are many aspects that I could improve. One main aspect I would hope to improve is my timing through out the task. When performing this task I was rushed towards the end and did not set myself enough time to complete the task as whole comfortably. If I was to perform a task like this again I would delegate time more efficiently so I had time for improvements at the end. Another thing I would hope to improve would be my actual images. The images I took were rather rushed and in some the right clothing was not being worn. If I had another shot at this I would take more time in organizing my photo shoot more efficiently so I ended up with more professional and overall better pictures. Finally I would conduct more research before started to create my magazine. This would allow me to get an image of a more professional and authentic magazine that I want to create. By analysing more products on the market, it would enable me to create a better finished product.