TechnologiesUsed

James Hopkins

Photoshop

I had previously used Photoshop, however, as I found out my skills were not all that good. Therefore to be honest, I was learning from scratch. This program was one of the most important programs that I have used. Mainly I have found the program is most useful when it comes to editing of photographs that I had taken. Therefore, a large amount of time was spent learning how to use the program, meaning that I am now at a much more intermediate level with a much better understanding than when I started. To create a successful magazine, Photoshop is almost a fundamental aspect to have, even for professionals. Not only can the whole magazine be made on there, but the features that the program contains means that items can be edited and made to look professional.

Fireworks

This was a program that I have had quite a bit of experience with and would say I started on a fairly good understanding. The only change was that my past experience was based on CS4 and therefore CS5 was slightly different. Usually this meant that certain buttons were not in the same place, or tools had changed slightly. However I picked up on this fast. I used Fireworks to create the magazine and bring all of the materials together. I find that the way that Fireworks deals with multiple layers is much easier than in Photoshop. In creating a magazine, this is obviously an important factor in positioning materials correctly on the page so that it attracts readers to the magazine. I would say that my abilities to use Fireworks have slightly improved, mostly by using new tools that I had no previous knowledge of.

Indesign

I had no previous usage of InDesgin, in fact I hadn't even heard of it. Therefore, rather like with Photoshop, I had to learn how to use the application. Features such as drop caps and text wraps were all features that I learnt how to use through the use of tutorials and in class demonstrations. I now understand the purpose of InDesign and I find that it is very easy in handling layers. The reason that I used Fireworks for my front cover and contents was because I felt Photoshop didn't do it efficiently, however I now realise that InDesign is probably the better option. I used the program to complete my Double Page Spread specifically which would have been a nightmare on Photoshop (mainly due to the amount of text.) Wrapping text and drop caps were made simple through the program, meaning time was significantly saved. My knowledge of InDesign and how to use the program have significantly improved and I can see myself using the program in the future.

Blogger

This application has allowed me to display all of my work in a timeline of progress all in one place. It is a very useful program as it does most of the work for you (creating the website, wrapping the text, placing images.) This has meant that it has allowed me to be much more efficient in storing all of my information online rather than on paper or other methods. Blogger also allows me to navigate easily through my work, through the use of labels which highlights the key stages of the project. Really, the application has allowed me to a produce a higher standard of work than if I hadn't been able to use it.

Apple Macs

Unusually, but certainly a use of technology, was the use of Apple MacBooks that the school provides. This device is not something that I have previously used or had optionally used. I prefer Windows computers which personally I find a much more sensible choice than Macs. However, I have learnt a lot with using Macs, with how they operate. Honestly, I had little idea on how to use a MacBook and never had any intentions of using one. However, this has given me an insight into this area of computing.

Nikon D5100My original photographs from the first photoshoot were taken on my Pentax A30 digital camera. I thought that the camera would be good enough as it has a 10 megapixel camera. However, as I found out through the use of feedback provided - my shots were not as clear as they should be. (at a professional level.)

Therefore, this meant that I would have to retake certain photographs - on a better camera.

This time, I wanted to use a better camera so that the same problem would not occur. I managed to borrow a Nikon D5100, which in my eyes is a more professional level camera. The funny thing is that I had to learn how to use this camera before I could take a good shot. The complexity of the camera amazed me. The camera had a large lens meaning that it worked well in low lighting and ensured that my photographs were at a high quality.

SlideShare

Upload and use powerpoints through

Blogger. Actually what I am using to present

this on my Blog right now. It is something

that I am unfamiliar with although it is a very

good website that I am sure will be useful in

the future.

Camtasia Studio 8

To create my video clips, I used CamtasiaStudio 8. This program is very useful in creating professional looking edited videos. I have previously used the program however I have used features that I have not previously used before in the making of some of the videos. For example in the DPS video, I had never made that introduction template before. I also had to learn how to speed up a recording. Additionally, I also learnt the ‘start’ and ‘end’ point to videos that I had to change on one of the Evaluation questions. This is one of the best programs that I have ever used.

Microsoft Word

My DPS drafts were created in Microsoft

Word. This was obviously a program that I

was familiar with – features such as spell

check were very handy in getting the

punctuation and identifying any mistakes in

the DPS article.

YouTube

I have never actually uploaded a video to

YouTube so it was an interesting experience

learning how to go about this. I could login

to YouTube using my Gmail account and

then upload directly. Once videos were

uploaded and processed, I then copied the

embed link for which I put into the Blogger

code. This then linked the two together.

Bubbl.us

I used this website originally in order to

create a mind map.

Glogster

I used Glogster in order to present my first

photoshoot photographs. I think this was an

effective and visually satisfying method of

displaying my photographs. It allowed me to

compare my photographs with one another

and select individual photos to focus on. It is

not a website that I was familiar with, but I

think I will definitely use again.

Dafont.com

During the creation of the magazine front

cover, contents and DPS, I used a variety of

fonts that are not ‘standard fonts’ that come

preloaded in either Mac’s or Windows

computers. Therefore I sued dafont.com to

find extraordinary fonts that I could use for

my magazine. Majority of the fonts that I had

used are not actually system fonts as they

are far too standard for a professional

magazine.

Animoto

This website allowed me to create a short

video animation of a character. I designed

my own Indie character and programmed it

to speak out whatever I told it to. It is a very

fun and interactive way of displaying

information and it was very fun to create.

Prezi

Prezi is another presentation tool that I have

used. I had previously heard of

Prezi, however I was sceptical with using it

as I have heard it has many issues with

using. It wasn’t as bad as I thought, yes

there are a few issues that you have to work

around, BUT, it does make visually stunning

presentations that work very well.

Padlet.com

Padlet is the application that I have used in

conjunction with this slideshare. This

visually stunning application allows you to

sort of mind map ideas and key points that

you have found. I found it practically useful

for this question as most of the applications

that I have used all have their own icon that

represents themselves.