Technologies used

Technologies
UsedJames Hopkins

Photoshop
I had previously used Photoshop, however, as I found
out my skills were not all that good. Therefore to be
honest, I was learning from scratch. This program was
one of the most important programs that I have used.
Mainly I have found the program is most useful when it
comes to editing of photographs that I had taken.
Therefore, a large amount of time was spent learning
how to use the program, meaning that I am now at a
much more intermediate level with a much better
understanding than when I started. To create a
successful magazine, Photoshop is almost a
fundamental aspect to have, even for professionals. Not
only can the whole magazine be made on there, but the
features that the program contains means that items
can be edited and made to look professional.

Fireworks
This was a program that I have had quite a bit
of experience with and would say I started on a fairly
good understanding. The only change was that my
past experience was based on CS4 and therefore CS5
was slightly different. Usually this meant that certain
buttons were not in the same place, or tools had
changed slightly. However I picked up on this fast. I
used Fireworks to create the magazine and bring all of
the materials together. I find that the way that Fireworks
deals with multiple layers is much easier than in
Photoshop. In creating a magazine, this is obviously an
important factor in positioning materials correctly on the
page so that it attracts readers to the magazine. I would
say that my abilities to use Fireworks
have slightly improved, mostly by using new tools that I
had no previous knowledge of.

Indesign
I had no previous usage of InDesgin, in fact I hadn't even
heard of it. Therefore, rather like with Photoshop, I had to
learn how to use the application. Features such as drop caps
and text wraps were all features that I learnt how to use
through the use of tutorials and in class demonstrations. I now
understand the purpose of InDesign and I find that it is very
easy in handling layers. The reason that I used Fireworks for
my front cover and contents was because I felt Photoshop
didn't do it efficiently, however I now realise that InDesign is
probably the better option. I used the program to complete my
Double Page Spread specifically which would have been a
nightmare on Photoshop (mainly due to the amount of text.)
Wrapping text and drop caps were made simple through the
program, meaning time was significantly saved. My knowledge
of InDesign and how to use the program have significantly
improved and I can see myself using the program in the future.

Blogger
This application has allowed me to display all of
my work in a timeline of progress all in one
place. It is a very useful program as it does most
of the work for you (creating the
website, wrapping the text, placing images.)
This has meant that it has allowed me to be
much more efficient in storing all of
my information online rather than on paper or
other methods. Blogger also allows me to
navigate easily through my work, through the
use of labels which highlights the key stages of
the project. Really, the application has allowed
me to a produce a higher standard of work than
if I hadn't been able to use it.

Apple Macs
Unusually, but certainly a use of technology, was
the use of Apple MacBooks that the school
provides. This device is not something that I
have previously used or had optionally used. I
prefer Windows computers which personally I
find a much more sensible choice than Macs.
However, I have learnt a lot with using
Macs, with how they operate. Honestly, I had
little idea on how to use a MacBook and never
had any intentions of using one. However, this
has given me an insight into this area of
computing.

Nikon D5100
My original photographs from the first
photoshoot were taken on my Pentax A30 digital
camera. I thought that the camera would be
good enough as it has a 10 megapixel camera.
However, as I found out through the use of
feedback provided - my shots were not as clear
as they should be. (at a professional level.)
Therefore, this meant that I would have to
retake certain photographs - on a better camera.
This time, I wanted to use a better camera so
that the same problem would not occur. I
managed to borrow a Nikon D5100, which in my
eyes is a more professional level camera. The
funny thing is that I had to learn how to use this
camera before I could take a good shot. The
complexity of the camera amazed me. The
camera had a large lens meaning that it worked
well in low lighting and ensured that my
photographs were at a high quality.

SlideShare
Upload and use powerpoints through
Blogger. Actually what I am using to present
this on my Blog right now. It is something
that I am unfamiliar with although it is a very
good website that I am sure will be useful in
the future.

Camtasia Studio 8
To create my video clips, I used Camtasia
Studio 8. This program is very useful in creating
professional looking edited videos. I have
previously used the program however I have
used features that I have not previously used
before in the making of some of the videos. For
example in the DPS video, I had never made
that introduction template before. I also had to
learn how to speed up a recording. Additionally, I
also learnt the ‘start’ and ‘end’ point to videos
that I had to change on one of the Evaluation
questions. This is one of the best programs that
I have ever used.

Microsoft Word
My DPS drafts were created in Microsoft
Word. This was obviously a program that I
was familiar with – features such as spell
check were very handy in getting the
punctuation and identifying any mistakes in
the DPS article.

YouTube
I have never actually uploaded a video to
YouTube so it was an interesting experience
learning how to go about this. I could login
to YouTube using my Gmail account and
then upload directly. Once videos were
uploaded and processed, I then copied the
embed link for which I put into the Blogger
code. This then linked the two together.

Bubbl.us
I used this website originally in order to
create a mind map.

Glogster
I used Glogster in order to present my first
photoshoot photographs. I think this was an
effective and visually satisfying method of
displaying my photographs. It allowed me to
compare my photographs with one another
and select individual photos to focus on. It is
not a website that I was familiar with, but I
think I will definitely use again.

Dafont.com
During the creation of the magazine front
cover, contents and DPS, I used a variety of
fonts that are not ‘standard fonts’ that come
preloaded in either Mac’s or Windows
computers. Therefore I sued dafont.com to
find extraordinary fonts that I could use for
my magazine. Majority of the fonts that I had
used are not actually system fonts as they
are far too standard for a professional
magazine.

Animoto
This website allowed me to create a short
video animation of a character. I designed
my own Indie character and programmed it
to speak out whatever I told it to. It is a very
fun and interactive way of displaying
information and it was very fun to create.

Prezi
Prezi is another presentation tool that I have
used. I had previously heard of
Prezi, however I was sceptical with using it
as I have heard it has many issues with
using. It wasn’t as bad as I thought, yes
there are a few issues that you have to work
around, BUT, it does make visually stunning
presentations that work very well.

Padlet.com
Padlet is the application that I have used in
conjunction with this slideshare. This
visually stunning application allows you to
sort of mind map ideas and key points that
you have found. I found it practically useful
for this question as most of the applications
that I have used all have their own icon that
represents themselves.

Technologies used

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