The document discusses the use of various media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages of a project. Photoshop was used to alter images and blend styles. InDesign helped create pages for a magazine despite difficulties with image quality. A Canon camera was used to take photos for the magazine, though focus issues arose. Adobe Premier and an Edirol recorder allowed editing of an audio advert. Microsoft Word and PowerPoint aided planning despite software crashes. Blogger helped upload work but was initially confusing.

1. EVALUATION
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research,
planning and evaluation stages?

2. PHOTOSHOP
• Using Photoshop I found it was easier for me to blend images together, put
in different filters and warp the images at my will. This is because I am
familiar with the programme and was able to create different styles and
techniques in accordance to what I knew. I was also able to learn new
things about the software using YouTube, such as rasterizing which allows
me to take an image and change it into pixels and dots, and saving images
as a PNG file that allows me to place it in other documents without
pixilation. The pixilation was a major issue for me as I wasn’t able to bring
my images into InDesign with good quality, this was frustrating but when I
asked for advice I found a better way of inputting my images. I used this in
the construction stage of my work to help me to alter the images I needed
to complete my product.

3. INDESIGN
• Using InDesign was a more complicated experience for me as I had
never used the software before, however after learning how to use it
and exploring the software a bit more, I was able to create my
magazine with almost complete ease. The only problem I had was
pixilation of pictures and resizing them so that they fit my page. This
however, I learnt to rectify and was able to then create a range of
pages for my magazine. I learnt how to warm my text, and images so
that they had more effect on the page, I also learnt that you can
create a template for your page using lines and squares to separate
where you want each item to go and place them within these
limitations. I used this in the construction stage of my work in order
to create the body of my magazine.

4. CANON CAMERA
• Using the Canon Camera was a simple task for me. As a previous
photography student I found using the camera an easy task. I was able to
navigate the different systems in the camera. This allowed me to take
pictures using different lighting and shutter techniques so that I could get
the best angles and shadows for my models. I also learnt how to create
effects with the natural light so that my models came out in a certain way
on camera but were still recognisable. All of this allowed me to take
suitable images for my magazine. The only issue I had with the camera was
the focus. This was because every time the camera moved the focus had to
be reset and as it was a handheld shoot, it took up more time when taking
photos. I used this in the construction and research part of my product in
order to take images that would help me in my work.

5. EDIROL AND ADOBE PREMIER
• Using the Edirol Recorder and Adobe Premier Elements, I was able to
create my ancillary task, which was a radio advert for my magazine. This
meant that I could have a high quality recording and edit it in any way I
wanted. Being familiar with Adobe Premier Elements meant that it was
easier for me to use but I still had issues with using the software because I
haven’t used it in a while, I however got over these issues and was able to
create my task involving music in the background to appeal to my target
audience. The Edirol was a new device for me, but seeing it being used
before I was able to navigate it with ease. I did have problems uploading
my files but I overcame them after asking for help and was able to upload
them much faster afterwards. Using this in the creation of my task was
helpful for editing purposes. I also used this in the evaluation of my
product so that I could record my findings.

6. MICROSOFT WORD AND POWERPOINT
• Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint are software I am majorly
familiar with. This helped me to plan and design both my coursework
and my ancillary task, but it also helped me with the research in
terms of my coursework. I had a few problems with my work because
the software kept crashing which meant I had to keep rewriting my
coursework, so I instead learnt how to create an automatic save
within the documents so that I could keep my coursework even if it
failed. I was able to add hyperlinks and pictures so that my
presentation was interesting and needed, and use word to enlarge my
text and change my font so that I could understand the different
conventions of typography in my research

7. Slide share
• Slideshare was something I found easy to use, but I changed my mind
after because of some issues. Slideshare helped me to easily upload
powerpoint or pdf documents and embed them within my blogging
website. However any internal hyperlinks I added were not working,
and when I tried to correct this I could not edit my work. I then
decided to find an alternate way of uploading presentation
documents.

8. Prezi
• This particular software was easier to use because I was familiar with
it. However the problem with using prezi is that the documents you
upload, however you’ve written them or placed images does not
come out particularly how you want it too, so you have to spend time
editing and re editing these images and texts to fit the document.

9. Google docs
• When adding a presentation to my evaluation, I found this particular
wesbsite easy to use. Being linked to google mail means that the
website already has a similarity to blogger that helped me to
understand it better and I did not have to login or sign up to anything,
always a bonus. When I came across the same problem I had with the
slideshare documents I found a quick way of fixing it, this was
because I was able to edit my document within the file.

10. blogger
• I used this particular website to upload all of my work. Being quite
handy I was able to access particular pieces of work through other
websites and softwares. However I do not like this website as I found
it at first confusing and hard to use, I was easily frustrated and it
resulted in me not uploading any work until I had finished it all and
had worked out how to use blogger itself.

11. scribd
• This website helped me to upload documents safely onto my blogger
and access them quickly after if wanted to change or alter them. It
was rather easy to use and if I wanted to get rid of it all I had to do
was press the delete button

12. edexcel
• I used this document to upload the information from my initial
research and summarise the data so that I could assess what my
audience wanted. Being familiar with this already I found it easy to
use, I decided a basic style would work better for me so that I did not
confuse my findings.

13. Microsoft outlook and onedrive
• This helped me to save and download work so that I could access it in
any place. This was easy to use because it is an every day type of file
that I am used to using.