1. 6. What have you learnt about
technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
Lee Turner

2. Blogger
• Blogger is a online blog which allowed me to document my
research, production and my evaluation in chronological
order. It also allowed me to add videos, images, text,
slideshows and many more. This gave me the ability to
outline a detailed and productive process. However there
were some potential problems such as, I didn't’t make my
blog private so it accounted around 1600 views so most of
my work was accessible to anyone. Another useful feature
about uploading your work onto a blog is that you can
easily edit it at anytime whether you want to improve it or
correct an error you can do so just with a touch of a button
which meant I did not have to worry about losing my work
or making a mistake. It was also very easy to publish posts
which did not take up any time.

3. PhotoShop
I wasn’t familiar with Adobe Photoshop before I began to create my magazine. I had to use this
programme in order to create my magazines front cover as it is a superior editing software; I used
it to edit and adapt any images that I used in my magazine; this programme allowed me to: change
the brightness and contrasting of the images, crop them and also make them smaller or larger
without any pixilation, it also allowed me to edit and delete any unnecessary things that were in
the background of the image. Considering I chose to create my contents page and double page
spread on another software, I did find the image and text manipulation a lot easier and more
efficient on Adobe Photoshop than it was on InDesign; I found that there were more tools in order
to do so which InDesign lacked, but I felt that InDesign was more relevant and gave my magazine a
professional publishing style to it. I found that this programme was easy to use and extremely
adaptable as to what you specifically wanted to do to the images on there. Tools used include the
Lasso Tool; This tool was to crop out a rough outline of the picture that can be edited properly
after. It cropped out neatly with the use of the magic wand used. Magic Wand; This tool allowed
me to select elements which were not needed in the image. I could change the tolerance of this
tool which was very useful in cutting out little and big parts of the image. Brush; The brush allowed
me to smoothen the edges of the picture. I could change the size of the brush and make the
hardness between 0-100. I also became familiar with the Dodge tool which I used to make her
eyes seem lighter than they originally are, First I selected the Dodge tool and selected the right size
for the eye and clocked on the eye until it became as light as I wanted it to be. The spot heeling
tool was another tool I did not know about before, this tool is used to remove any spots from skin
with a simple click where the spot is. I used this tool in order to make my artists skin look clear.

4. InDesign
• This software is used widely in the media industry and it was a new experience
to use this software, especially as its used by professionals. I found the software
difficult to use during my preliminary, however through consistency, it was
easier to create my final magazine. InDesign was the core piece of software
when it came to making my magazine. InDesign is an amazing piece of software
with so many useful tools which made the production of my magazine easier. An
example of a useful tool is the ability to create layers on your magazine. It allows
you to put every item on your magazine on a different layout, making it a lot
easier to manage the layout and editing of the magazine. You can hide layers as
well as padlock them so you don’t accidently move or edit something when
you’re trying to work on something else. My knowledge of InDesign has
increased dramatically over the constant use of it and just having a play around
with some of the functions. Other exclusive functions include:
• Able to produce professional print work
• Use fonts that are not part of the Adobe package
• Use layers and add images etc.
• Use creative tools and control the typography

5. Internet
• Throughout this task I have used the internet in order to
either gain feedback or carry out research on different
topics which include; other R&B magazines, magazine
conventions or target audiences and stereotypes; I felt that
the internet allowed me to access all of the information
that I needed in order to create my magazine; I think that
without this, it wouldn’t have as much detail and as it
would lack some of the information and images that I found
online. This was also a crucial part of my work as it allowed
me to connect to the internet to access and upload my
work onto blogger and to do the following; Look at tutorials
for airbrushing images on Photoshop. Being able to
download fonts to use for my magazine. Search for other
magazines as part of my research and planning.

6. Prezi
• I used this website to display my work in a
unique way during the planning, research and
also the evaluation stage. It made my work
more appealing as it displayed it in a way that
is different from PowerPoint. It also offered
features such as arrows to emphasis
importance on certain areas of my work. It
was easy to sign up to and was simple to
embed into my blog which was important.

7. SlideShare
• This site was useful to transform a PowerPoint
into a presentation, I needed to do this to be
able to upload the presentation onto my blog.
This website helped me to do so easily by
simply embedding the link and made my work
look professional. The only draw backs are
that slide transitions or effects are not
reflected in the software and the slideshow is
open to the public for everyone to access.

8. Apple iMac
• The software I used was on an Apple iMac desktop
computer where I created my magazine. The computer was
fast and made it quicker and easier for me to create
magazine. It was difficult to get used to the software at
first, as I was used to a Windows software system. Apple
iMac was the main technology I used for my work. It had all
the necessary programs/technologies that I needed to do
the best work possible such as PhotoShop, InDesign and
Grab which without I could not have done any of this
magazine. Apple iMac’s are the main technology used by
the music magazine industry as they have all the required
programmes, technologies and ability to create, develop
and publish music magazines.

9. Digital SLR
• I used a digital SLR professional camera to take
pictures of my models for my magazine. This
camera allowed me to take high quality pictures
that looked professional and realistic, I learnt
many little things from using this camera as I have
never used a professional camera before apart
from my mobile phone camera. I learnt how to
zoom in and out and how to change the
concentration of an image as well as how to
change the lighting settings and many other
features that correspondingly make an image
look professional and of high standard.

10. Lighting
• I used special lighting equipment in the studio to
help enhance the quality of my images, this
helped me create professional photographs
which would be seen in many other superior
music magazines. This technology was new to me
however I had a expert to help me adjust the
lighting so that it was accurate when taking my
images. However I did experience some problems
which ate into some crucial time which could be
used elsewhere. It helped me add shadow and
depth to my images as well as making the models
standout significantly from the background.

11. • Overall technology has helped me with my
task of creating a front cover, contents page
and double-page spread in numerous ways
and without it; the end product I created
would be considerably less professional and of
a lesser quality. It would have also resulted in
me being less organised and showing less
cohesive and clear research, planning, skills
and evidencing.