The student learned about various technologies through creating a music magazine. They used a Canon 600D digital camera to take photographs, which allowed for instant viewing and large storage capacity. Photoshop was used to manipulate images and add text. They used their mobile phone to conveniently take photos and communicate with others. PowerPoint and SlideShare helped create and share an online evaluation presentation. A projector was used to project an image onto the student's body for the cover. Through tutorials and practice, the student improved their skills with these technologies, creating a higher quality final product than would have been possible otherwise.

1. Question 6
What have you learnt about technologies from
the process of constructing this product?

2. During my production of my music magazine, the technologies I
used varied to help reach my final product. These technologies
have helped to improve my final production. Throughout the
production I referred to my blog and made posts including the
use of technologies.

3. Here are a list of technologies I used:
Mobile phone
Adobe Photoshop cs3
Internet explorer
(blogger/google/YouTube/ slide share
Microsoft PowerPoint)
projector
canon 600d

4. Digital Canon 600D
This camera was the one I used to take my photographs for my production. The
camera being digital has its major perks, such as how I can instantly see the shot
after taking it, meaning my ability to change and adapt was much quicker and
efficient e.g. the lighting and angles. Also the camera’s large memory card meant I
was able to store great amounts of photos at once, which once again made my
production more efficient. I used multiple online tutorials for help with the
camera, for example I looked into how to play around with the i.s.o in order to
have the best quality photos possible. This merging of technologies enhanced the
outcome and my knowledge of the device. For example my initial shots were of a
good aesthetic scene’s, however the exposure on every image was too high, thus
making the image’s void. By using the online tutorials I was able to fiddle with the
shutter speed, and therefor have better/higher quality image’s.

5. Internet explorer.
I used internet explorer for help with my research, to learn about command process
of magazine codes and learn conventions and it aided to help me with the
production of my final product. Blogger, YouTube, slide share and google are all
dependant on internet explorer, so clearly it proves to be very useful. Blogger was
incredibly useful as it allowed me to precisely lay out my production from start to
finish, as well as allowing me to look at other blogs for help and inspiration. Without
internet explorer my media coursework would have bene very difficult to complete.

6. Adobe Photoshop cs3
Adobe Photoshop cs3 allowed me to manipulate my image’s, add text and
create my whole production. I used multiple YouTube tutorials to help me make
my production to the highest quality possible. These tutorials were step by step
which meant they were very useful and easy to remember for future use. For
example initially I struggled with layering my production correctly, but with the
help of excellent teaching and learning from online tutorials I was able to
overcome these issues. Photoshop allowed me to add the ‘solar flare’ to my
DPS, which finishes it off nicely and makes it look very proffesional.

7. Mobile phone
My HTC one M8 mobile phone was another piece of technology that was
extremely useful for taking photos of things where the camera becomes too
much to carry around and becomes impractical. The lightweight 18 megapixel
camera was very useful for taking photos at gigs. The high quality camera meant
I could produce professional looking photos without having to pay a premium
price for a camera. My phone was also useful as I was able to send photos via
email on the go as well as constantly update my focus group without the need
to be sitting at a computer. The accessibility of the phone meant I was able to
organise and plan the set up of my photo’s with my colleagues. Convergence
with this technology meant I could merge the convenience of emailing,
photograph taking plus communicating with others all into one, making the
production process much easier. I initially tried to do go about my production
without the help from anyone, however I soon learnt that this was nearly
impossible, the help from my phone meant I was able to get the job done much
easier.

8. PowerPoint/slide share
I used PowerPoint to produce my evaluation,
from PowerPoint I was able to transfer it to
slide share, which makes it neater and easier to
interpret. Slide share is the online website
where you are able to share presentations
online, this means I can show other people my
work as well as look at other peoples work for
reference. The exciting use of slides, colours
and transitions means others will be engaged.

9. Lighting and projector.
The lighting and projector were relatively simple to use, however the
positioning of the projector took quite a while to get right. The use of these for
my production meant I could produce a professional looking final product
which had an authentic look that could be in a professional magazine, and the
unique idea of image projection allowed me to provide an individual result. As
you can see on my DPS, I positioned myself in front of the high quality
projector and allowed the image to shine onto my body, thus giving it the
effect that I am part of the galaxy image.

10. To conclude…
The technologies I have mentioned have all considerably helped me to produce my front cover,
double page spread and contents page. Without them the production would not have had such
a professional outcome. The technologies helped to make the product more presentable,
organised and cohesive, and without this my production would be no way near as presentable,
and therefor worth less marks. The technologies were nearly all alien to me, and with the help
of the internet I was able to improve my skills on all of them. And now for the future I will be
able to use all of these technologies with ease to help with future projects.