The document discusses technologies used to create a magazine product, including PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Photoshop, InDesign, and mp3 audio files. The author learned skills like using Excel to create tables, Photoshop tools like quick selection and layers, and InDesign features like text wrap and columns. Overall, the author found that different technologies can work together, like using cameras, computers, editing software, and the internet to produce the final magazine pages.

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

2. During the market research, planning, production and evaluation of my
product, I used a variety of different technologies. These include:
PowerPoint, word, excel, Photoshop, InDesign, WordPress and mp3
audio files.
When planning my magazine, I used Word, PowerPoint and Excel. Before
starting this project I had already used these before and so I knew
everything about them and how to use them for presentation and
planning. Excel was the only one that I had only used briefly so I was
unsure on a few things. For my flat plan I used Excel. I was unsure as to
how to set out a flat plan and make it look like a professional flat plan.
Therefore, my media tutor produced an example one for us to model
ours on. I saved a copy of this example and then changed what I need to,
to suit my product. I did not know that you could create tables like this
before starting this product so this is what I have learnt about excel.
When conducting my research, I did some interviews with some of my
target audience. I did this using SLR cameras and then after I transferred
these interviews onto a computer and then saved them as mp3 files.
After this I tried to place these files onto my blog but found that I was
unable to do so. Therefore, I placed these files onto YouTube and then
attached the interviews as links onto my blog.

3. When actually constructing my magazine, I created my cover page and
contents page in Photoshop. I had not used Photoshop before and so didn’t
really know how to use it. By creating this product I have learnt a lot about
Photoshop. Firstly, I learnt that you can use a tool called quick selection tool
which allowed to select part of the page to edit which having to search
through all of the different layers. I also used the shape to quite a lot to add in
puff to my front cover and the square outline backgrounds to both of my
photographs on the contents page. This tool was very useful as it allowed me
to add parts and remove them again easily.
Another thing that I learnt about Photoshop was that I can use layers when
creating my pages. Even though I was creating my page on a 2 Dimensional
screen, using layers allowed me to almost imagine it as a 3D image. By adding
layers, it allowed me to build up my page slowly and easily adjust parts that I
didn’t like. Layers also allowed to add text on top of images and make the page
look busier and messier. Another thing I learnt about Photoshop was how to
edit images. After importing an image, I could go to adjustments and change
the brightness, contrast or levels of the image. This allowed me to make my
images look more professional, add colours that were not originally in the
image and remove any imperfections on the image.
Furthermore, one problem I faced when using Photoshop was that the fonts
that Photoshop had were not suited to the genre of my magazine very well.
However, the college’s security protocol doesn’t allow us to download fonts.
Therefore, to solve this issue, we ran a command in order to run the fonts so
that they were onto the computer. Then I could use these new more suited
grungy fonts for my magazine.

4. Another technology that I used to create my product was InDesign. Just
like Photoshop, I had not used InDesign before. So all of the features
were new to me. I created my contents page and double page spread on
here. One thing that I learnt when using InDesign was how to text wrap.
Text wrap allowed me shape text on the page around the model in the
main background image of my contents page. This was a very useful tool
because it allowed me to move text around so that it was easier to read
for the audience.
Another thing I learnt using InDesign was how to create columns on my
double page spread. Instead of marking them all out separately, when
setting up my page I was able to adjust the page to an A3 page instead
of an A4 page and add 6 columns onto the page so that I had 3 on each
page and could still fully see both pages at the same time.
Furthermore, I also learnt how to import other photographs on top of
the background image. To do this, I used a tool to draw out the box
where I wanted the image to go and then place the image into the box
that I had draw. This was a very useful tool because it allowed me to
easily add images on top of current/already placed images.

5. During this process, one thing that I have learnt about
technologies is that they all link together. 15 years ago, you would
of struggled to make the product that I have today because of the
technologies. Back then, it would of taken a significant amount of
time to edit videos/pictures and the actual magazine pages would
have been of poor quality and make.
However, now that the technologies have advanced, it has made
it much easier to create the magazine pages. For example, for my
double page spread main image, I firstly took the image on an SLR
camera, uploaded it on a computer, imported it into Photoshop to
edit the image, exported the image as a JPEG and then finally
imported it onto InDesign. After that, I then uploaded the final
page to slide share on the internet and then embedded the
PowerPoint to my blog.
This shows that all of the different technologies can work together
to help create this product.