Digital technology (Hammond)

Software AS

The image manipulation program allowed me to manipulate and change my magazine to the way that it needed to look. It did this as it gave me graphics they were necessary for the magazine. I also used a number of crop tools for this. An example of a crop tool would be red eye, this was good for my magazine as it meant that i could make my photos look professional and make sure that the people in the pictures look good. Another example would be colour variations. This tool allowed me to change the colour of my images so that they best fit into the colour scheme of my magazine.

The tools that i used to match my fonts were websites on Google, for example 1001fonts was the one i mainly used. This was because every time i went on it, it made sure that it saved the last font that i had used so i didn't have to waste time looking for a font or picking the wrong one.

I used photo shop to house the style of my magazine by using a range of tools that were on it to help. Examples of this would be picture boxes to help outline my images when they are surrounded by text.

I used manipulation tools for my images too, this is because it helped to make them look better and also look more professional. An example of a tool that i used would be the use of brightness to make my images stand out more and make them have more light as some of them were quite dull. I also used the contrast tool to make sure different colours stood out and also to make the image clearer.

By using layers in my work it helped me to sort out the way of my magazine so that i knew the order of things and it also meant nothing messed with each other. Using layers also split my magazine into different sections so that i knew which bits did and didn't need working on and i could lock the layers that had been done.

Desk top publishing - DTP

I created my DTP by getting a range of texts and pictures to put on it so i could get a taster of what it would look like. I added frames and backgrounds to make it look more professional and stand out more. By doing all of this it helped me to understand the conventions of print layout. This meaning that i was more used to seeing how things work for example have text anchored over and image, I help me to view the type of layouts that look good with the use of columns too. I ensured that the layouts of the house style of my magazine were the same by working on each of them a bit at the time. I did this as it meant i could remember the colours i was using and also do the same layouts for each of them so that they all stayed connected. I engaged with print conventions by not using more than one font as i had picked my two fonts first so that i knew which ones i was going to use and then didn't look at the fonts again so that i stuck with those two fonts.

Weblogs

My blog helped with audience feedback as people were able to access it with ease and also it was easy to use. I also made sure i asked people to look and to use my blog was the best way to do it as i could access it from anywhere. I used movie maker to upload short videos onto my blog as it was the easiest thing for me to use. This is because my laptop already had the program installed and i had used it before and so doing it was no problem. The use of this technology introduced me to the use of effects for example fading in and out of shots which in the end we use on our real media video. Also the layering of audio and this was useful as it meant that when i came to my real music video i didn't need to worry about these little things as i knew the sort of thing to look for so that it was sorted.

Hardware AS

The camera that i used to take the images for my preliminary magazine of the school magazine was the school camera. To upload the images i used a school memory stick so that it would work quickly with the computers.

Software and Hardware A2

The editing software that i used to edit my music video was Final Cut Pro and this program was very quick and easy to use and i got on with it well. By editing my footage on a time line it helped me to layer my videos with the footage of the video and the audio. Also by doing this it made me move a couple of videos around so that it would fit the audio more. Also by having a time line it made the use of timings of the video footage much easier.

A few edits that i used in my music video were parallel editing and i also use a fade out to give an effect that the video was ending. I made sure that my work was precise by checking all the last bits i had done when i logged back on and also listening to it over and over again to make sure everything was in time. I ensured that the audio fitted the video footage by watching it over and over again and i didn’t stop editing it until it was perfectly timed. I used many special effects for my music video and these were by using a cool metal black and white colour for the flash backs to outline to the audience that they were flashbacks. I also use a slow motion effect for when Laure was spinning and also when she was confessing her sine in the flash back as i thought it added a good dramatic effect.

A2 Blogs

My skills using the blogger have improved as i have gotten more used to going on it frequently and so by being on it more i learn more things about it. When i first went on it just posting a blog seemed confusing but now i am able to change the dates and make sure it can look neat. The main things that i learnt about using the blog was uploading different programs onto it for example, uploading YouTube clips or my work from scribd and slide share. Before i would not know how to use this but by the end of A2 i was uploading things onto it quickly without a problem.

Technology

The technology that i used in A2 was better than AS because i knew more what i wanted out of it so i used my own camera and also i was better at using the different technology. Although i did not changed much of the technology i used from AS to A2 i was much better at using it be the end of A2 and i also changed things so i could use it to the best of its ability. For example with the camera on some shots we used lighting so that it showed up a better picture on the camera. I have gotten better at using the technology as i have had to use it all the time and so now i am much quick with it than i was in AS. A great example would be the use of Photoshop. This is because in AS i really struggled with Photoshop, i had never used it before and i just couldn’t get the hang of it. But then at A2 it clicked and i was able to get on with my task much quicker and i was able to sort any problem that i ad quickly.