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

Evaluation Question 6

Technologies • Below are technologies that I used throughout the making of

my magazine through research, planning and constructing my production.

• Mobile phone • Adobe Photoshop CS3

• Internet Explorer-Blogger, Google, YouTube, Slideshare• Microsoft Powerpoint

• UV lighting with studio lighting• Canon 600D and Nikon DS3

• Computer- Fujitsu and Apple Mac

ImagesDigital Canon 600D and Nikon D3• Both cameras were used in my production to take the main images, the

Nikon being a later more advanced model than the Canon was used for my double page spread and my front cover to produce a better image. They are both digital and allowed me to see the image straight after I took it which allowed me to change the position if needed or the key of lighting. To gain the full use out of the cameras I used various tutorials which are on my blog, it also helped me with coordinate the lighting with the setting on the camera. With the UV lighting you had to use a very specific shutter speed so I had to research to find out it was a slow shutter to produce the image, the instructions then followed that my model had to remain very still.

Internet

• When planning my production various things needed to be researched such as my supporting magazines which I gained the common codes and conventions from. To present all of my planning right through to my production I used blogger to log my activity, along with this YouTube and Slideshare to help complete the presentation of my blog, all 3 are reliant on Internet Explorer proving this technology to be crucial for my production. Therefore overall the internet was a huge asset for my media coursework.

Adobe Photoshop CS3

• Using the cameras to take my images I then needed to find a programme that allowed me to alter certain aspects of the photography. I then selected Adobe Photoshop CS3, especially with my images it allowed me to edit in specific ways, either heightening the contrast to make certain images pop, but to also pull together the whole production with added text and effects. With certain tasks that I wanted to complete such as making a copy of the image but using it as a shadow to give a movement to the image for my front cover I used a YouTube tutorial.

Mobile Phone• I used an iPhone 5 to take some of the images, more for practicality

for some of the areas an atmospheres I was in such as a festival where cameras are restricted. The camera on the mobile phone being 8 megapixel allowed me to take decent photos for what I was using them for on my contents page. I was able to take photos and then easily email them safely and efficiently to my laptop when I got home. Not only did I use my phone for photography purposes but I also used my phone to easily contact my focus group when I came up with new ideas on the go. Convergence of this technology meant I had the convenience of communicating and using the phone practically too. Overall making the run up to my final production a lot easier.

PowerPoint/Slideshare

• When evaluating my production I have used PowerPoint which clearly presented my information and allowed me to organise my response. This then allowed me to upload it to Slideshare share it and embed the link which I could then upload onto my blog. Slideshare also allowed me to refer to other people’s research and use them as a reference for some areas of my production. To make my presentation elaborate I could also add various transitions, colours and images.

Lighting• The lighting I used were within a studio environment,

they were easy to use and relatively simple to adjust for my photography. The challenging lighting was the UV light, getting the right position was hard as overcoming shadows that would develop in the dark environment needed, making facial features disappear, so I therefore had to combine a low studio light. The UV meant that I could gain a unique result and to stand out from other standard magazines in my genre.

Conclusion

• All the technologies that I have mentioned have helped me to reach my final production. Without them I would not have been able to achieve such a professional looking magazine and the outcome would not be appealing to my audience. It has made not only my production but also my blog more presentable and organised. Blogger and Photoshop were hard to use at the beginning as I didn’t have much knowledge on them but by using the internet it was a lot clearer to use.