G325 Q1A

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

Software – Photoshop, InDesign, Blogger, Scribd, Prezi, SurveyMonkey, issuu

Advantages:

The advantage of using the same software in AS for A2 is that we have had some practise in using it and have become more familiar with it. This would hugely impact the result of our work at A2 as we would be more experienced with using it and so we can use it comfortably and efficiently. For example Blogger is something we had to use for both As and A2,. Therefore at A2 we are able to know how to setup our blogs, change the layout and post etc. Again this would increase the flow of producing the product.

Using Photoshop allowed me to be creative with editing my photos as I could change the colour, brightness and contrast of the image for example. For my double page spread I edited the image so that it was black and white and changed the brightness and contrast so that the photo was sharper and clearer. Furthermore I could edit the background.

InDesign was a great software to use to create my magazine. It allowed me to move things around easily, wrap the text around the image as well as keep a consistent theme with the ‘A master’.

Hardware – Canon D550

Advantages:

The advantage of using these is that they produce high quality images which look professional and suitable for my product.

By using this equipment at AS it has prepared me to use similar equipment at A2 which would increase the flow of the production of my product.

Furthermore, having become more familiar with the equipment it means that I can experiment with it and try to create a higher quality product.

This can be defined as the tools and equipment used to create the product.

Under digital technology it can be divided up into two sections: hardware and software.

CREATIVITY

For much of my AS coursework I had been inspired by existing magazines which led to the creation of my magazine. The main thing I got idea for was the sell lines. I imitated the design from existing magazines and altered so that it fitted in with my magazine. An example of where I was perhaps creative was adding the star next to the name ‘Ava’.

There were many tasks that were set for us to be completed for the piece of coursework. The advantage of having this was we had a guideline to work with so that we could plan out our time and complete it within the time we had.

If we didn’t have set tasks to do, it would have been quite difficult and we may not have completed it by the time we should have handed it in.

In addition in the beginning we had completed certain tasks in a certain order which also was beneficial as if we hadn't planned what we were doing and jumped ahead it would have been very difficult. For example, we had completed image ideas in advance so that when we did the photoshoot we knew what we had to do and had some ideas in our heads.

This refers to the use of imagination or original ideas to create something.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING

There were several parts of the research and planning that we had to complete. This included the proposal, audience research, magazine conventions, photoshoot ideas, article and contents text etc.

Some decisions which I made based on the guidelines given by the exam board included the genre of the music magazine.

There were many other decisions I had to make in order to create a good final product. For example, during the photoshoot I had to decide what kind of hair, clothes, make-up I wanted the model to have as well as any props that I thought would be necessary.

In preparation for making the magazine we had to research a lot on existing magazines which we could imitate and adapt from. This is so that we could get ideas and make our magazine look professional. Although the research and planning took a lot of time to do but in this process, it had helped us to build up on making the magazine and making it look realistic and comparable to existing magazines.

Research and planning is where we completed tasks in preparation of making the magazine. These included researching existing magazines and finding the conventions, a proposal, moodboard, photoshoot ideas etc.

POST PRODUCTION

Semiotics – this is the study of signs and symbols.We had to consider this whilst making our magazine, in order to make it appropriate for the target audience.

For example:

The colours we used had to be considered carefully so that the connotations match with the style of the magazine.

Images – the poses of the model were thought-out before the photoshoot as different types of image display a different message e.g. smiling and positive body gesture suggests the pop music genre whereas less eye contact and more serious expressions is associated with the rock genre.

When we were editing our photos we had to think about how to alter in a way that would be suitable for our magazine. For example, if the magazine was based on rock music the images may be changed so that it is in black and white as it would look more serious which suits the genre of the magazine.

When deciding on the layout of each page we looked at existing examples to see how they usually set that page out. We then picked out some of the features that we liked and used them in our magazine. For example I liked the idea of having the artist's name in a big font and different font from the rest of the sell line son the front cover.

This is the term for the stages after shooting/recording which includes video editing and special effects for example.

USING CONVENTIONS FROM REAL WORLD TEXTS

Since we were making a magazine and magazines have certain features which we should be included, it was essential to try and include them. Therefore, it was important that we researched the conventions of a magazine as we had to make sure to included the most basic conventions at least, in order for it to look professional and believable.

Some conventions included:

Front cover – sell lines, barcode, plug, masthead, date etc.

Contents page – subheadings dividing the different sections (e.g. on the cover, features and regulars), website, page number etc.

Double page spread – informational article, by line, columns, text wrapping around the image etc.

A difficult part of researching conventions of a magazine is that there were many variations and not many fixed features. Also there were different features for different genres of magazines. However an advantage of this is that by researching different genres outside of the genre we were doing, allowed us to use those features and combine it in our magazine.

For example, I had used a circle shape for the plug which is perhaps more likely to be seen for pop magazines but since my magazine was pop rock I decided to use it to balance out the pop and rock side of the magazine.

Conventions – the widely recognised way of doing something.