Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product?

Here are images of the technologies I used...

Camera and Tripod...

I used my Pentax K-r and a tripod to take my images. I was able to learn new features on the camera, like how to alter the shutter speed, aperture and flash. I learnt more about how to take a successful front cover photo and how important a front cover image is. I decided to use a tripod to ensure my images are exactly straight on, and to avoid it from being blurry. I used a dslr so my images are of good quality and aren’t

Apple Mac...

I carried out all my media coursework on the Apple Macs at school. I carried out my creation of pages, research and blogging all on the Macs. At first, I did find them quite difficult to use as I was only used to working on Microsoft computers. However, I learnt lots of new skills on it quickly and was successfully able to use all the features on the Macs that I required.

Photoshop...

I created all 3 of my pages on Photoshop. On Photoshop, there are loads of different tools and features available to use. Some of the tools I used include, an eraser tool, magic wand, quick selection, marquee tool, shapes and text. There is also different editing tools, like brightness/contrast, vibrancy, colour filter, hue and saturation and lots more. At the start of the year I had never used Photoshop ever before so everything was completely new to me, however after some time I managed to get the hang of it. I found the creation of my pages quite fun and I think Photoshop was a good programme to created it on. I had all the features/tools I required, and personally feel that I have created three successful pop magazine pages.

Blogger...

I used blogger to display all my media coursework. I uploaded all my research, development, and progress through my pages. I tried to posts new blog updates quite regularly so viewers can clearly see the step-by-step progression of my magazine pages. Blogger was also completely new to me, so I had to spend a bit of time learning how to use it. I was able to change the style, add a background, create polls, and ‘follow’ my peers blogs. I think that using blogger for our media coursework was quite good and overall I am quite pleased with my blog.

Google...

I used the search engine, Google throughout the creation of my magazine. On Google, I was able to look up existing pages and look at images of them, in order to initially carry out research on the forms and conventions of magazines. I also carried out general research on some information that I required, for example information about the ‘big four’ and information on magazine distributors. On Google, I also went on YouTube when looking at which pop artists I could include in my magazine.

Slideshare...

I used slideshare to present some PowerPoint's within my blog. I used slideshare in my magazine deconstructions and in some of my evaluation questions. I think slideshare is a good way to display information, it is interactive and really clear. It helps to make my blog more varied and doesn’t take up as much space as if I were to have it all written out in paragraphs.

Photobucket...

I used photobucket as a way of displaying my images. I showed all my images I took for my cover, contents and double page spread and also included all my images that I took at concerts I have been to. I think that photbucket was a good way to present my images, it takes up less room than having all the images displayed one by one underneath each other. Photobucket put the images together like a slideshow goes through all the images.

Prezi...

I used Prezi and bubbl to make mind maps. I think they look quite good and it makes my blog more interesting and varied. It helps my blog to appeal more to people who are looking at it and is more interactable for them. If my blog was just full with text, it would be rather boring and people wouldn’t really want to view it.

Word and Excel...

I used Word and Excel at some stages during carrying out my coursework. On Word, I made my questionnaire in which I was able to gain lots of market research from my target audience. I then used Excel to create pie charts to show the results that I had gathered. I think the pie charts made the results very clear and it is easy to analyse them and see which result was the most popular.

Memory Stick...

Throughout the course, I used my memory stick to store my work on to as a back-up and to transfer data from one place to another. I was able to put all my images from my computer onto my memory stick, so I could edit them on the Mac’s at school. Also, because I had all the my pages in Photoshop format stored on my memory stick, it allowed my to work at home to continue with my work too.