The document discusses various tools and software the author used to complete their product and research work. This includes using a Nikon camera to take high quality photos, Survey Monkey to distribute questionnaires, Prezi and Slideshare for presentations, Photoshop and Publisher for image editing and layout, YouTube for research, and Blogger to host all the work online in one place. Photoshop was the main program used for image editing and alterations to create dramatic visual effects for the product.

1. I used a Nikon Coolpix L820 camera to take
all the photographs for my product. By using
a high quality digital camera, I produced high
quality images of a professional standard for
my product.
To conduct surveys for my work, I used
the website Survey Monkey. Using this
website allowed me to distribute
questionnaires quickly and effectively.
Plus, results were counted instantly and
even placed into graphs to analyse the
results. The only real restriction was
that by only using the free version, I
was limited to a small amount of
questions per survey.

2. I used Prezi to present some of my work.
It’s an interesting format that allows for
more flexibility in viewing presentations
vs. Powerpoint.
In the Audience Research Data Prezi for
example, I can freely zoom out and view
the relevant chart I need quickly.
All my work is present in Blogger.
Placing it on here combines all my
work into one website rather than
many separate documents.
It also makes it easier to show
other people my work, as I only
need to give them the web
address and they can access it
when they please.

3. I used Slideshare to present some of work.
It’s a fairly simple program that allows
PowerPoints to be combined into a
presentation to be embedded into a
website. It made my blog look more
organised than many images simply
uploaded.
Youtube was a great tool for
researching Photoshop techniques. I
embedded videos into my blog to
show my influences.

4. The main program I used for my
products construction was Photoshop.
It allows for extreme alterations to
images to be made, which in a music
magazine, is definitely essential.
It’s complicated to use at first, but over
time I grew more accustomed to how it
works.
When creating the double page
spread, I moved my file from
Photoshop to publisher. This was as
Photoshop is at its core, an image
manipulation program, it’s not
designed for text.
By writing my article in Publisher, it
was easier to organise my text and
resolve any spelling errors.

5. I made some dramatic alterations to my artist
in Photoshop.
Original (above)
Edited (above)
Colour was removed to create a darker, black and white look. Contrast
and brightness were adjusted accordingly to create a sharper, brighter
image.
I used the lasoo tool to
select the eyes and darken
them completely by fully
reducing the brightness.

6. Originally, the background
looked blank and empty.
By adding a dust and scratches effect,
the background now looks worn and
damaged by the loud music
associated with Metal.

7. The background was added
separately to the original image.
Although, unedited, there is a risk
that the fact it’s a separate location
is a little too obvious.
I copied the image several
times and over laid the copes
on top of the original
background in different
places. Adding “Gaussian
Blur” to each image, to
different extents as they got
closer, meant that the image
looked more realistic and not
simply edited.

8. The difference between the draft of
my front cover and the final front
cover highlights the progress I made
over the course of the planning.
I learnt how to add paint
splats through the paint tool.
In the first draft, text
is fairly unchanged.
The second draft has
a spray paint effect,
as well as the fish
bowl effect to give
the text some
shape.
I used the font
skills I learnt
from editing the
mast head to
change all the
font to appear
more striking.