1. What have you learnt about technologies from the process
of constructing the product?
In my previous years doing GCSE’s, I had never used any sort of
software like photoshop or indesign. As I was starting the media
course in A-level with no past knowledge or experience of
doing any sort of work we were planning on doing over the 2
year period, I needed to get to grips with what was expected
from me and what I needed to learn.
At first, I thought it was a disadvantage that I hadn’t used the
two software’s before, as I thought that the rest of the class
would be working a lot quicker and would understand more
than I did. Although I initially thought this, I quickly realised that I
could have several ways to make myself more aware of what I
am actually looking to do.
I used tutorials to learn about both photoshop and indesign
were from fronter, a resource that is available for all A-level
students. I found these really helpful as the fact that it allowed
me to follow easy steps to ensure that I got a clear
understanding of what I need to know. Another way in which I
learnt how to use the software’s is I downloaded the free trials
of both, so that I could try different techniques out and see
what particular ways of using indesign and photoshop I found
easiest.

2. After looking at both sides of being new to the course as
being a disadvantage and an advantage. I soon realised
that it was also just as much of an advantage, than a
disadvantage. The other people in my class still had to learn
the same amount as me. Indesign is a new software that had
to be used for the making of our magazines, therefore the
rest of the class had to do the same as me, download the
software and learn it from scratch. I thought this would be
good for me because when I was making my magazine, I felt
like I had the same chances of getting an excellent outcome
as everybody else.
Learning as I go along is becoming a good way of working
for me because I feel like I can really expand my range of
skills which I can incorporate into my work. I believe that
starting off fresh into the course and learning all about what I
am going to do when using new software’s, has made me
aware that it is an easier way of working for me personally
because it means that I don’t have to adapt to previously
understood software.

3. I made lots of powerpoints and word documents, and I needed them to be put
onto my blog in a way that it is all together and not loose pages, this way, it
looked a lot more professional. To make sure I could do this, I either scribd.com
or slideshare.com. I avoided using prezi the whole way through the course,
purely because I had never learnt how to use it before, but from feedback that I
got, I needed to vary how I was uploading work to my blog. Due to this, I learnt
how to use prezi, and to my surprise, was no where near as hard as I thought it
would be! I used it several times when uploading work because it makes your
blog look more fun and interactive.

4. The most important piece of technology that I used was the
camera. To carry out the photoshoots for my magazine, I used a
Canon 550D DSLR, a digital camera I found this really helpful
because it allowed me to look back on the images after I had
taken them, and decide whether or not I liked them. It was made
really easy for me when I wanted to transfer my images from the
camera onto a computer, as I just have to get a cable and
connect my camera to a computer and upload them in a matter
of minutes and then I can have decide on which ones I want to
keep and delete.

5. I carried out two photo shoots with three different people to add a
variety of people within my magazine. One was in a studio and the
other one was outside. Having a range of locations made my photos
look a lot more effective as I changed the lenses when I went outside
on the camera. Changing the lenses made different areas look a lot
more focused, and it made the model stand out a lot from the
background image. When inside, I could cover the lightings to create
a mood to my images, the technology which I used to do this
enabled me to also make images black and white or as bright or as
dull as I wanted. Being outside gave me the opportunity to
experiment a bit more with what I was working with, as mentioned
previously, the focus on the images could be changed by adding a
new lens.

6. I carried out two photo shoots with three different people to add a
variety of people within my magazine. One was in a studio and the
other one was outside. Having a range of locations made my photos
look a lot more effective as I changed the lenses when I went outside
on the camera. Changing the lenses made different areas look a lot
more focused, and it made the model stand out a lot from the
background image. When inside, I could cover the lightings to create
a mood to my images, the technology which I used to do this
enabled me to also make images black and white or as bright or as
dull as I wanted. Being outside gave me the opportunity to
experiment a bit more with what I was working with, as mentioned
previously, the focus on the images could be changed by adding a
new lens.