Evaluation - Question 6

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

When I began the construction of my music magazine I had limited knowledge of Photoshop, evident from my preliminary school magazine task. I then began to watch tutorials and create the basis of which I was going to work with for my front cover. This at the time I believed was extremely close to what I envisioned my final media product to look like. I then began to investigate deeper into what the typical conventions are of a music magazine, allowing me to realise various flaws with the design I currently had such as the excessive amount of colours I had used and the masthead being smaller than that of a conventional music magazine such as VIBE. At the time, being able to shoot a professional looking image and edit the background etc. was huge for me however I have thoroughly developed my skills through practices within photoshop alongside wider reading. By the time it came to shooting for my contents page, my photography skills had also developed, allowing me to adjust the lighting (evident from my contact sheet) and position my model accurately in order for me to take a professional image.

 

The spot healing brush tool, magnetic lasso tool and the dodge and burn tools were all vital in the process of constructing my magazine. Below is IMG_1976 that I used on my front cover before and after I edited it.

The image is significantly lighter and sharper after editing. The exact same process was used when constructing my double page spread as the images came from the same photo shoot. This is one example of the successful use of technology throughout the creation of my media product. The stages of how I came to achieve my final image are below:

 

 

I also used the dodge and burn tools to correct the lighting in the image of my contents page:

Besides digitally editing, I have also used various media platforms when presenting my work. I used desktop publisher to lay out the interview on my double-page spread. This enabled me to make use of various features such as a drop capital. I also used a Prezi to demonstrate my inspirations for my magazine, which enables me to make use of the technology accessible to me in order to present my work in the clearest and most concise way possible. The use of blogger to present my work allowed me to present my work in an orderly, chronological way, ensuring that I have included all elements of my planning and construction processes. This extra use of technologies throughout the creation of my media product has enabled my work to reach a professional standard.