6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?By Maisie Legg

Front Covers

MastheadMy masthead for my sixth form magazine did not really stand out, it’s impact wasn’t as great as the music magazine, I learnt that the first thing that usually catches the eye of a potential reader is the main image, however the masthead is the second. So for my music magazine I used a different font that was more interesting and aesthetically pleasing. I also

used a bevel and emboss to make it really stand out on the page. I also used a drop shadow for the same reason, which I didn’t use for the sixth form magazine. I got the idea after doing further research into music magazines, e.g. Q, Mojo and the NME.

Bottom StripA bottom strip is a code and convention of any magazine so I added one in both of my magazines, however I believe that the one from my music magazine looks more professional. This is because I noticed on professional magazines, the bottom strip is usually fully covered. Therefore, when it came to doing my bottom strip the second time I added a puff and then a social media link to create synergy. I also kept the colour scheme basic so it fits in with the codes and conventions of a music magazine.

Main ImageAlthough I edited my image for music magazine on iPhoto, I still believe second main image is better. I believe that this is due to it being a stronger composition, I also believe that the black and white colour scheme helps it stand out. For my first magazine I also found it difficult to use the camera as I’d never used that type before, however by the time I’d started on my music magazine I’d had a lot more practise.

iPhoto

• I am quite familiar with Photoshop, I mainly used it for the effects on the text ,which I found very useful, as my main image had an extremely strong composition. I would say that this was the most useful tool I used. It allowed me to put together my magazine piece by piece and make changes when necessary. I found the most useful tool on Photoshop was the clone stamp tool. This allowed me to get rid of a shadow on the wall that looked really out of place.

Photoshop

• I was also very familiar with iPhoto, I used it to edit the contrast as well as make the photo black and white for emphasis. It’s a very good tool to use to find the best possible quality photos you have. I have used iPhoto in past and will continue to do so in the future.

Blogger• I had never encountered Blogger before but I found it

extremely useful in several ways. Firstly I found it very easy to post in, it also allowed me to save posts without publishing them. This was useful if I was half way through writing up a post and run out of time. It allowed me to finish it at home. On the Blogger homepage it allows you to see all your older posts, which is very useful if you need to find something very quickly. This feature also made it easier for viewers too. I also learnt how to add new pages to my blog which allowed me to navigate to useful pages easier.

Slideshare• I had never used slideshare before, however I found it a useful tool

in presenting my work. It makes it extremely easy to quickly upload something It’s very easy to acsess and is very user friendly.

Vimeo& iMovie• I wasn’t a big fan of Vimeo, I found it a bit temperamental and difficult to

navigate. iMovie itself I actually found very useful, I edited my video very quickly and efficiently. It made it very easy to highlight key terms on top of what I was saying to emphasise my point. I did find it a bit tricky cutting the clips at the right time to get the least background noise as possible but once I started getting the hang of it, it became much easier.

Prezi• At first I found Prezi a bit tricky to use, however the longer I used it for

the easier it became. It made my presentations look very professional and made them more interesting. It also makes the presentations more interactive, therefore makes it look more interesting. It gives you numerous templates which allows you to have a certain degree of uniqueness without slaving over a presentation for hours.

WordleI used Wordle for my lexis of words. It laid it out in a very professional and aesthetically pleasing way. It was a very simple website to use and I would recommend it to anyone.

InDesign

I had ever use InDesign before, so I was very pleasantly surprised to find it very user friendly. I learnt how to make even columns for the writing. I also discovered how to add pictures in and change their shape without distorting the image. I found this very helpful as it helped my double page spread to look more authentic.