What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I knew nothing about any of the technologies or programmes before I began my preliminary task. Therefore everything here is what I have learnt and discovered along the way of creating both the preliminary and the main product.

SLR CamerasI have learnt a lot about how to professionally use an SLR camera and how to get the best possible image by using the camera to its full extent.I learnt to adjust the lighting of the mise en scene so that the quality of image was the best that it could be. I learnt which camera angles and zooms were best for a particular image and which setting the camera needed to be on to get the most out of the images I was taking.

PreziI had never used Prezi previously, therefore I learnt everything I now know about it throughout this process.I learnt how to add images and slides and how to adjust the sizing of different elements to get my presentation to fit.I also learnt how to edit the paths, so that my work was presented in the order and manner that I wished it to be shown in.

I didn’t use Prezi throughout my preliminary task, it was introduced for my blog work in my main task, to show a varied range of technologies used to present and document my production stages.

Adobe PhotoshopI used Adobe Photoshop for the construction of my cover page. Throughout I have learnt a lot about the different tools and options available to edit sections of my work.

I have learnt how to download additional brush tools onto Photoshop and then add them into my production, I also learnt how to add extra effects onto my work using the gradient tool.These effects massively added to the look of my cover and double page spread as it helped them look more professional and complete.I learnt about the eye drop tool, which is a feature that when selected, you can click on an existing item on your production and it shall collect the exact colour of that item. I found this extremely useful and important whilst creating my cover as there was several sections of my page that I had planned as red. Therefore I needed each item to be the exact same shade of red so that my production looked professional.

More on Adobe PhotoshopI learnt how to adjust the opacity of a layer whilst creating my cover. I used this feature to make my main cover line more effective by drawing the attention to it. I did this through creating a red banner on a new layer underneath the text box layer, so that it was behind the text, then altering the opacity so that the text was visible.

I then learnt how to use the blending options effectively. With this information I was able to create shadows around my masthead and add strokes as a border to my additional images. These effects made the features ‘pop’ and look more professional.

QuarkWhilst using Quark for the production of both my contents page and double page spread, I learnt how to create the document of two pages aligned with each other to create the DPS. I did this by inserting a new page, then editing the arrangement of the two pages to create the double page.

I used the tools such as text, image and rectangular boxes, to create all of the different elements on my two productions.

Throughout this process I learnt the importance of the grids provided on a Quark document. I also realised how much they improved the final look of a production if they are stuck to. I also learnt how to set up my document in as many columns as I needed for each page. Therefore for my DPS I set it up with 3 so that I could create the text columns in a professional manner.