Digital Technology: What skills did we learn

Software in AS

• Adobe Photoshop (image manipulation)

What did the image manipulation program allow you to manipulate?


With the use of Photoshop I was able to include and create all the conventions applicable in a magazine in a professional manner. I could upload and edit images in which I then transferred to my magazine to further edit. I was able to reposition, change settings, edit and then re-edit, add fonts etc.


What crop tools did you use?

• Marquee
• Lassos
• Red Eye Corrector
• Colour variations
• Colour dropper
• Dodge
• Burn
• Brightness/darkness settings
• Contrast settings

Which tools did you use to match your fonts to act as part of the mode of address?


To get my font I looked at dafont.com which has a variety of fonts to choose from. I had to take into consideration the magazines I had looked at as part of inspiration in terms of my genre as the fonts used on them reflect the type of font I should use to create my own successful piece. With taking my inspiration into account I would be sure that I was reaching my target audience. With a variety of fonts in mind, I then narrowed them down by testing them on my magazine via Photoshop to see overall, what it looks like. When finding suitable fonts that complement each other on the front cover, contents and dps, I then coloured them using Photoshop based on the 3 colour palette I had already selected.


How did you use Photoshop to aid your house style?


The benefit of Photoshop is that you could try and test different layouts, structures and positioning of elements on my work and this was a vital part of the research and planning stage in AS. Photoshop allowed me to use any necessary lines or boxes through the shape tool. I was also able to select the colours on Photoshop and change them if necessary.


How did you manipulate photographs?

• Sharpening
• Blending
• Brightness/darkness
• Contrast
• Eraser tool
• Shadow effects

Explain how using layers helped organise your work and construct your front cover.


Using layers was difficult at first however it allowed me to manipulate and edit each part of my magazine effectively and easily. I could adjust every feature on my page without having to select all the elements and I could pick and choose and re-edit throughout the development process.

• Desk Top Publishing -DTP

Explain how you created your DPS. Did you add frames and backgrounds? How did you develop an understanding of the conventions of print layout?


-Took photos, edited them. -Created my article ready to be placed. -Created all the necessary fonts, boxes etc and then put the DPS together. 


As a first draft I created many different versions of my DPS so that I could gain feedback on which had the most effective layout and portrayed the right image/genre. I based my designs on real life products so that I could get a generalisation of what's professional and what suits my genre. With this I learnt the common conventions of print magazines such as the golden spiral (for photos), masthead, subheading, interviewer, magazine name, page name, page number, further magazine details, other relevant topics and article.


How did you ensure layouts (for house style) were the same? How did you engage with print conventions - not using more than two fonts. Did you look at contrasting fonts and juxtaposition of elements on a page?


To ensure the layouts were the same I made a template in which I could refer to. I took into account print conventions and applied them to my magazine E.g. not using more than two fonts and others referred to in previous question above. I looked mainly at fonts that complement each other, due to the fonts of my genre not being very stylistic it'd be too risky to use contrasting fonts and elements therefore I chose to keep mine professional.

• Weblogs 

Used http://www.blogger.com/ to organise planning materials. Blogger is an example of Web 2.0 technology (O'Reilly, 2004). This means that the technology is interactive - audiences can post and edit content on the blogs - it links to the idea of two-way communication, communication is no longer linear (one way). Web 2.0 software is collaborative.


How did you blog help in terms of audience feedback?


Blogger allowed individual comments to be posted on specific blog posts by those who follow you. This feedback was essential and greatly beneficial in terms of getting quick and direct feedback from your peers and the potential target audience. Throughout the research and planning process in A2 I had made various short clips as part of my market research for the audience and as well as this I brought in many technologies to present my work through. Such programs involved Windows Movie Maker in which I filmed and edited my clips for example interpreting transitions and writing into the clips. Additionally in some filming I layered audio on top of my clips.

• Hardware AS

The camera I used to take the photo's in AS was those provided by school and the photos taken were uploaded onto the computers through using a cable, ready to be edited. With having no knowledge of what photo's look good on a magazine cover and what doesn't, I merely followed the basic conventions of close up, medium shot and long shot. As for quality, mise en scene, eye contact and effects - I had no awareness at this stage of what I needed to do; therefore the development from the preliminary magazine to my final one is significantly obvious. As I went on through the course I became much more knowledgeable of framing, photos, effects created, how to edit photos and overall I was aware of what makes a successful cover photo. I feel I learnt to skilfully use Photoshop quite quickly, allowing me to to practice many edits as preparation to my final product.

• Hardware A2

As a filmmaker and designer Mark Towse (2002) details digital video (DV) to be one of the most important advancements in motion picture technology since television. Film and video production is now not only done rich film production companies, but can be done in the home owning to cheap software and hardware.


Which editing software did you use to edit your music video?


To begin with I had started using Premier Pro and After Effects to edit my video which I felt I adapted to quite quickly; however the process was long, especially in terms of 'rendering' the footage. As half way through the process I got a Mac, I felt it would be a lot more safer to use iMovie as the Premier Pro was only a 30 day trial; therefore I couldn't rely on it. Although this did come with the sacrifice of being unable to use After Effects.
I found iMovie more difficult to adapt too as I was so used to Premier Pro; therefore the process again took longer. Using timeline did make it easier as you could cut and edit; however I found the process of editing each individual clip was long and I did find it difficult. However I feel my skills did improve as I went along as I was able to create quick, jump cuts and further edits that went with the music. If I was able to make another music video I feel that my developed skills would be a lot more obvious. To make sure the audio matched my video footage, I had already labelled each shot drawn out with the seconds in the song to make it easier and quicker for me to match clips up.


Think about...
-the pros and cons of the software and hardware at AS in terms of skills development
-the pros and cons of the software and hardware at A2 in terms of skills development
-how did you use your AS digital technology skills to aid the construction of your ancillary task at A2
-the pros and cons of developing skills from AS print to A2 video production