Final Evaluation Question 6

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

Editing Technology/Software + Research Platform:

In terms of computer software, the main platform I used to construct my product was Adobe Photoshop CS5. Techniques I used that was implemented in my work was the use of new tools such as the magic wand tool to select the background instead of selecting the main image using the polygon tool as this allowed a more accurate finish when refining the edges. I learnt this from Youtube tutorials which demonstrated step by step guides. By applying a selective colour it allowed my magazine to look more professional by having the same colour tone across all three pages. It allowed me to construct and appeal to the genre of my own magazine by importing images that I had taken as well as the process of cutting them to give a professional look.

I also used Microsoft Word 2007 to construct the text to my article and contents before inserting it into my PSD. This helped me as it meant I had a secure version of the article and I could edit the layout straight away using the grid on Photoshop to achieve an equal distribution of text. I learnt that by forming my article first it was then easily transferred onto Photoshop and I knew which column proportion and amount of text would be needed in each space on the grid. It also helped me in the development of my research process by forming ideas in text boxes and embedding pictures to reinforce my ideas. 

I used the internet platform Google Chrome predominantly for carrying out research as I found it was more efficient to use than Internet Explorer 7. By using the search engine Google I found information on different research, such as magazine distributors and magazine history. Therefore this helped me then to expand onto my own genre of magazine and focus on what my target audience would prefer, which led me ultimately to my end product.

Practical Technology:

In terms of practical I used a reflective umbrella (like the photo above on left) with stand in order to reflect light directly onto the person I was photographing and gave a clearer image. I also used a soft box lighting (like the photo above on right) with automated to flash at ¼ speed which allowed the persons to have a softer outline and shadowing on the facial elements. I also had a 250W isolated lighting to fill light around and on my persons. These all had an automated shutter that reacted to my digital camera. These helped improve my photographs from the draft process as I did not depend on natural lighting. I learnt that it also aided in the quality of my photographs as facial features were more precise and easily visible to the reader.

I used a 14MP digital camera (like the one above) with flash that allowed an automated reaction from the lighting equipment to then light my image. To help my in the editing stages, I also added a white sheet on a background pole so that the image could be easily isolated. The higher quality of mega pixel allowed my photo to be of the best quality and give concise colour. I also learnt that by using a tripod (like the one on the right) all my images would be on the exact position so would make it easier when it came to the editing stages as well as avoiding blurry images. This improved the quality of my photos drastically from hand held shots during my draft as I was able to have positioning at a straight angle to the wall.

Presenting Platforms to display research:

Scribd: Scribd is an online publishing platform that allowed me to upload my word documents such as my evaluation and embed it onto my blog. It also helped me in uploading my Teacher Feedback which I recieved and could easily view it to conclude with what I could improve on.

Slideshare: Slideshare is an online publishing platform which specificies in the publishing of power point presentations as well as word documents. I used this to display my double page spread article as I found it was quick and easy to distribute and I could download it and access it from school and home or vice versa.

Prezi: Prezi is a software service that allows the imput of ideas on a cloud-based presentation that has features such as zoom and animation to move from one idea to another. This was an enjoyable platform to use as I could present my ideas that was more visually engaging and helped make my ideas fluent and could be emphasised easily with the use of pictures and diagrams.

Glogster: Glogster is platform that enabled me to create an interactive poster online which I could then share my embedding it into my blog. I used this in my evaluation question 5 and could display my ideas into separate text boxes and add pictures to reinforce similarities and differences.

Animoto: Animoto is a platform that helped me create a video for my pitch that allowed me to add music, photographs and words altogether to emphasise my magazine idea. This was embedded into my blog and also played infront on an audience and helped represent my magazine genre more effectively.