Evaluation 6:What have you learnt about technologies from

the process of constructing this product?

Blogger

I have used Blogger to document and record the whole process of making my product. I had never used this beforehand, but I found it easy to use. I like how customizable it is and the organised layout, making it easy to find blog posts. I have also learnt how to add images, slideshares, prezis and videos to make my blog more interesting and visually pleasing.

CamerasIn my photo shoot for my cover photo, I used a Nikon DSLR camera. I haven’t used one before so it was new and different. I learnt how to zoom, focus and use the flash. I liked using this camera as it created high quality images as well as capturing the dramatic lighting.

For my other images I mostly used my HTC One Mini, as it was easier and more convenient for the context (festival and gigs). This meant the images were slightly worse in quality, but I don’t think it is recognisably visible.

PicMonkey

The main way I edited my images was through a website called PicMonkey. I had used this previously and found it was easy to use and that I liked the editing options it supplied. I learnt how to edit the exposure levels, add effects, use the clone tool to get rid of unwanted background images, as well as using air brush and the blemish corrector tool to give my model a smoother more perfect appearance.

Examples of Images Edited using PicMonkey

Before: After:

Examples of Images Edited using PicMonkey

Before: After:

Examples of Images Edited using PicMonkey

Before: After:

PhotoshopI used Photoshop to create my front cover and my contents page. I had used Photoshop previously when doing GCSE Media Studies, but I think my knowledge vastly broadened by creating this product. I found it simple to use and effective at creating the images I wanted, making them look professional. I also used Photoshop to edit a couple of my images, so I learnt how to edit the exposure levels and add effects.

Examples of Images Edited using Photoshop

Before: After:

Examples of Images Edited using Photoshop

Before: After:

Microsoft Publisher

I used Microsoft Publisher to create my double page spread. I had used this previously and found it easy to use. It was useful when creating the layout of my spread, especially when adding columns for the text, and I learnt how to spread the text evenly over the textboxes in the columns. Therefore my knowledge of publisher has definitely improved when creating my product.

Dafont

Another website I used when creating my product was Dafont.com. This website holds many different fonts available to download. This opened up my choice of more exciting fonts, rather than the usual Microsoft ones. I had never heard of this website before, so making my product has improved my awareness of extra things you can add to liven up your piece.

Google

I of course used the internet and google when creating my product. It was useful for my research into existing magazines, as it provided images as well as information such as audience statistics. Google proved to be very helpful in my research and planning.

SlideshareAnother website I have made use of is slideshare, which allows you to share PowerPoint presentations and upload them to your blog. I had never used this before, but found it was very useful and easy to use. It allowed me to incorporate slideshows into my blog, making my blog more visually interesting.

Prezi

Another website I have used is called Prezi. This allows you to create mind maps and is an interesting presentation tool. I used this quite a few times to create mind maps, showing my ideas in a visual way, I then uploaded it onto my blog. I had never heard of this website previously, but it proved to be very useful.

PowtoonI also used a website called PowToon, which is another presentation tool which uses animation. I had never used it before, but I learnt how to create the animations. I the learnt how to export them and upload them to my blog. I liked this because it was different and made the information look professional and more exciting than just being a big clump of text.

YouTubeI have used YouTube to upload videos to my blog. I used it to upload my PowToon animation. I had never uploaded a video to YouTube before, but I found it to be easy. I then learnt how to embed the video into a blog post. I liked having a video on my blog as it makes it more interesting and presents the information in a more visually pleasing way.