Evaluation Q6

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

I have used a lot of technologies to be able to create this media product. Some of these technologies I was already familiar with such as Google and word programmes however, there were some technologies I was not familiar with such as photo editing software and handling cameras.
I needed Google for the creation of my magazine mainly for research. By searching for magazines I was able to look at styles of lots of different magazines without actually having to buy anything.

I also needed the internet to be able to use Blogger. Blogger enabled me to be able to document any thought process I had regarding my magazine. I also documented all of my planning into blogger so I could easily find it. By putting it on Blogger it enables others to view it, which is useful because those who see it can give me feedback.

There were unfamiliar technologies I had to learn about though in order for me to create my music magazine. One of these was using a camera. I am greatly inexperienced with camera work and photography. This became a problem because I had to quickly learn how to frame shots. Over time eventually I got better whilst also learning how to correctly light a photo-shoot effectively.

The biggest technology I had to learn about was using photo editing/manipulation programmes such as Photoshop. When first learning about Photoshop, the preliminary task really helped me to get a grasp of it. I frequently practised using Photoshop on both computers and macs in college and on my own laptop at home.
From using Photoshop I have learnt of how to correctly cut parts off photos so I can have the part of the image I need and nothing else.
For example, my front cover with the original main image:

You can see that I have cut out the white background so that the Union flag is visible. I did this by using the "Polygonal tool" and the "Quick selection tool" on Photoshop.

One further thing  had to learn about was the use of different fonts. I needed technology such as a computer and the internet to find and download suitable fonts. One problem I had with this however was that some computers in college didn't allow me to download fonts that weren't already on the system. Photoshop enabled me to not only use downloaded fonts but also allowed me to edit them at will. I needed an eroded look for some of my fonts and for my main font I needed it to be two tone and clear too so I

had edited many fonts on Photoshop so that I could get the exact look I was going for.
Edited font (top) compared to original font (bottom)