Billy Ingram

What have you learnt about technologies from

the process of constructing this product?

Question 6.

During the production of my music magazine I used a lot of new technology that I hadn’t before but some that I had. There was a fair bit of technology that I used to reach my final product.

To get to my final production I used the following list of technology;

• Canon 550d camera• Mobile phone• Computer• Adobe photoshop cs3• Internet explorer (blogger, youtube, google etc.)• Lighting• Microsoft powerpoint

Canon 550d Camera

I used this type of camera to take the images for my production, which was very helpful for the outcome. Because it is a digital camera it meant that I was able to see the pictures I took instantly and decided there and then if I could/would want use them. It also meant that I could see if I needed to adjust the angle I took the photo, the lighting and/or the positioning of the model within the picture. I learnt a lot using this camera, for example how to change the brightness or how to zoom in, but if I didn’t know how to do something or needed help enhancing my photography I would look up tutorials online.

Mobile Phone

I used my Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini to take communicate with my focus group. I would use social media like, Facebook, Twitter, etc., to send them messages to ask how they feel about various parts of my magazines. I would send the images from the computer where I produced them to my phone so I was able to show the focus group and be able to obtain their feedback. I also used my phone to text others and arrange a time and a place to take the photos for my production. The use of convergence in this piece of technology meant that I was easily able to transfer photos and arrange when I was able to get the production finished.

Adobe Photoshop CS3

Before I started this production I hadn’t used photoshop before, but I quickly became aware of how to use it by watching tutorials on YouTube, like how to edit a picture, how to change the brightness/contrast, how to remove parts of a picture, etc. I was also able to add text and other images on top of the originals. Below are some examples of how I enhanced one of my images by using this software; the first being the original photo.

Internet Explorer

I used internet explorer to do all of my research. Everything I researched into target audience, codes and conventions, other magazines and pictures etc. were all done on internet explorer. I also used this to go onto YouTube to watch tutorials on how to do things on software that I didn’t know how to do beforehand. The internet was used so that I can compare to other real magazines and also to use blogger, I learnt very easily how to use blogger and how to navigate around the site. Using the internet also meant that I was able to refer to back to other magazines quickly and easily during construction because I can save and bookmark particular webpages.

Microsoft PowerPoint

I used this during my research when I looked into codes and conventions of a hip-hop magazine, I put it all into a PowerPoint so it was clear and concise and well presented so it was easy to refer back to at a later date.

Lighting

The lighting was a fairly simple process but it did need a lot of persistence to get the lights into the right positions in order to light the model properly and cast shadows the I would like them to. The use of lighting meant that I could make my photos looks as professional as I possibly could because of how I used them; I looks up tutorials of how to properly back light the model which made the process a whole lot easier.

Conclusion

To conclude, I was weary of how to use a lot of this technology because I had not used much of it before. The technology I used the most was probably the internet because the amount of tutorials I had to watch in order to use all of the new technology. All of the technology helped me considerably because without all of this my final production would look no where near as professional as it does. Without all of these my understanding wouldn’t be as evident and I wouldn’t be able to present my work as I did. The technologies not only made the production presentable but made it significantly more organised with clear research and planning.