Evaluation - Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
- 1. Question 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
- 2. Blogger The preliminary task in which was set, was to create a school magazine in which targeted an audience of our choice. Throughout this process, I set up a Blogger account. In doing so, this allowed me to keep track of a journey. A journey in which displayed my progress in using various software to produce an end product which was up to my satisfaction. As I had never used Blogger before, I was a bit wary about how to use this program however after many times getting to know the formatting of the website itself, I finally become compatible on how to use it. I feel that is was important on keeping a journey of my progress as it would enable me to look back over how far I had come and how I became familiar with the different software in which I would be using throughout the year. Not only did I use blogger for the preliminary task of creating my school magazine, but it became useful when creating my music magazine also. As I had blogged my journey from the beginning of media studies to the end after producing all of my course work, it has automatically given me the opportunity to look back and see how far I have come and how I benefited from blogging a journey. For example, when I started to create my school magazine I didn’t have any previous experience in using blogger, it was completely new to me. So as a result, the idea of using blogger to post various posts in which would enable me to understand certain aspects further ensured me that my journey would progress when creating both magazines.
- 3. Google & YouTube Despite using software applications such as Photoshop and InDesign, I also had to use my independent study time to research other applications, which would benefit me in the making of my music magazine. I used YouTube, Google and bought other magazines to help contribute to the ideas of how I was going to produce my magazine. Of course, I bought the magazines whilst I was deciding on what genre to choose, and how I was going to apply my knowledge to create the perfect mise en scene as a whole for the target audience I wanted to apply to. Youtube became handy when I was creating my magazine as I could look and analyse how people personally created features of their magazine. For example, when I had chosen the main image I was going to use for my front cover, I wanted to cut around the model however I didn’t how to do this because I wanted a slick result. After watching a couple of videos from YouTube, I realised that using the magic wand and the Polygonal Lasso tool. This tool was really useful as it helped create a more consistent professional look on my magazine throughout.
- 4. Equipment and Photo bucket To ensure that the photos taken for my music magazine were at such a high quality, I needed the correct equipment. In preparation to my photo shoot, I ensured that I had all the correct pieces of equipment, which ranged from a professional photography camera and studio lights. By using the studio lights, it means that when the photos are taken, there will be a contrast created with the light against the model. This is how I got the shadow of the model from the original image that I decided to pick for the main image of my front cover. I feel that if I didn’t use studio lighting for the images I took for my music magazine, the over all result of the photo shoot would have been less positive as I would have had to use natural lighting. If I used natural lighting the images that I took wouldn’t of looked as professional as it would have been dimmer and less bright. I decided that I wanted to think of a way to display all of the images taken on the photo shoot as it would allow the examiner to see that a lot of effort went in to the photo shoot in many ways. For example, the make up applied on the model, the outfits, the positioning of the model, the facial expressions and overall the mise en scene. Everything that contributed to the photo shoot took time and effort to organise, as I wanted my photos to look effective in comparison to a professional magazine. I decided to use photo bucket to display all of my images. Photo bucket is a type of media that allows people to host their images free of charge, however it also allows users to search up people to look at their images too. I decided to upload my images to this website as it’s a simple easy way to show a range of various images to many users interested.
- 5. PhotoShop In the process of creating my music magazine, I had to have the ability to use and understand various pieces of software that in a way would help produce an excellent finished product. First of all, I had to think of how I was going to apply my knowledge of using Photoshop to help create my masthead of my magazine. As Photoshop is the worlds best digital imaging software, this specific program is what helped me on a whole when creating certain features of my music magazine. For example, I found using various blending options a benefit when producing the mast head of my magazine. Altering the opacity levels and using different tools to create the slanted effect of the background glow of the letters ‘TTM’ had an excellent effect on the mise en scene of the magazine front cover. I had briefly had the opportunity to use this piece of software when creating my school magazine. As I wasn’t too familiar on what the program was capable of so early on in the production of my school magazine, I wanted to succeed in developing my skills in all aspects for my music magazine. I had done this by independently researching all areas of what Photoshop provided its users in the most creative ways. For example, I watched various YouTube videos on how to be creative and use Photoshop to the best of its ability. This has resulted positively on the out come of my music magazine as I feel that I used Photoshop to its full potential. In relation to this, I feel that during the process of creating my music magazine, Photoshop was in ways 'my best friend'. It helped me to strengthen my skills and to develop other skills which would be useful during the making of my magazine. I feel that if I didn’t use Photoshop for my music magazine, the end result would not be a successful product which targets the specific audience that I wish to aim for. On a whole, Photoshop has had a thorough input during the process of creating my music magazine. I learnt how to use different tools and developed a broad understanding of how this magnificent piece of software accompanies a creator in more than just one way. It helps to provide a professional look on any master piece which is created within its large canvus and helped portray a wide range of tools to help along the way.
- 6. InDesign Another program in which helped me produce my music magazine was InDesign. InDesign is a publishing software which enables users to create leaflets, posters, and many more. I had a brief understanding of how to use InDesign before creating my music magazine as it helped me to format text in which was included within my school magazine. However, I knew I was more familiar with Photoshop because I had the opportunity to strengthen my skills when creating the school magazine for my preliminary task. I decided to use InDesign to alter my text on my contents page and also the text on my double page spread. It was most important to use InDesign to organise my text within my double page spread as I could format the margins and columns. This meant that the text that was going to feature on my double page spread would be set out professionally in relation to what professional double page spread looks like. I took an instant liking to InDesign as it’s a software which is easy to use however it took some time to get used to the software in comparison to Photoshop which I automatically was able to use to get my head around. During the process of making my music magazine, it has helped me to learn how magazine creators use a wide range of software to help create a product that suits their needs. InDesign helps to do this as its publishing software which concentrates on how the text and images are positioned rather than editing images and colouring backgrounds etc. It also gives the user the advantage of being able to professionally create a leaflet, poster and position the text in a professional way. In doing this task of creating a music magazine, it has made me aware of the compatibility of using software which has different capabilities, for example how InDesign concentrates on publishing and the positioning of text and images, where are Photoshop concentrates on digitally creating and editing images and also colouring and altering images.
- 7. Evaluation Creating my music magazine has made me realise that it is important to do a lot of research at a minimal level, as it allows people to see how much effort and dedication has gone into your final piece. I feel that it is important to use a wide range of media technologies to show your progress within a certain task as you can see individually how far you have grown and developed. I feel that by using all of the software, equipment and websites that I have used, it has allowed me to develop my skills in all aspects. I know this as I have had the opportunity to look over my progress across a boarder that covers my preliminary task and my final task of creating a music magazine. When I compared both of my products, I can see that I have individually evaluated my progress as the software skills have developed. During the making of my music magazine, it has taught me that it takes a lot of hard work dedication and effort to come out with a successful final result. I believe that my skills have defiantly developed and I know how to successfully use a wide range of media platforms and software to build and produce a successful music magazine.