Computer/laptop:
I used the computers provided by the school to work on my practical work, as they had the softwear I needed to be able to construct my magazine, ie. Adobe Photoshop. These computers were available during lesson time, break time, lunch time and even after school. I used my laptop at home when completing most of the research and planning work, as all I needed to do this was the Internet and Blogger, which are of course, free. I had to carry out the research and planning work before I was able to create my final magazine, otherwise I wouldn't have known how to make a good piece.
Adobe Photoshop:
I used this program to construct my magazine, as it offered the most professional and efficient way of doing so. As it is easy to use, I was soon able to place images, edit text and add a number of effects to my work. Although Photoshop was used more predominantly after the research and planning was carried out, we used the program at the start of the year and continuously throughout the course, so as to get used to how it worked and to improve our skills before it came to create our final piece.
Camera:
To take photographs of my models for my feature artist, I used my own camera and also the school's. I took photos in my own time and outside of school to begin with, and so used my own camera. However, I didn't think that these photos were to the best of my ability, and so I decided to use the school's camera and AV studio instead, as this provided me with a higher quality camera, a stand which I could place it on, a white screen which I could use as a plain backdrop, shelter from the weather conditions outside, and also access to the school's lighting, all of which I could tailor to my specific use. I organised photoshoots with my models in my own time once again, but was granted permission to do this in the school's studio.
Lighting/equipment:
The lighting provided by the school was easy to work with and had a massive effect on the quality of my images. Two separate standing lights were provided, which could be altered in height, angle and position, therefore casting the best possible lighting against the plain backdrop.
Scribd:
I used this publishing website in order to embed documents which were of great length onto my blog. For example, my article, which was close to 1,000 words, took up less space on my blog having uploaded it to Scribd and then embedding the document separately.
Flickr:
I used Flickr to upload the photos I had taken of my models, in order to organise them and to share them on my blog using the 'slideshow' option. This meant that all 200 or so photographs I had taken could be viewed in one post, rather than taking up a tremendous amount of room.
Animoto:
I used Animoto when creating and delivering my pitch to the class. This was an effective way of presenting my ideas as it provided good visual elements and even allowed me to add a piece of backing music to fully explain the style of magazine I wanted to create.
Facebook/Twitter:
I used both of these social networking sites to make people aware of my draft magazine so as to receive some feedback in order to improve my exisiting work. I posed photographs from the photoshoots I had organised so as to create a hype surrounding my magazine work and make people interested in giving feedback at a later date, as well as posting links to my blog posts and writing statuses and tweets promoting my work to my followers.
Internet:
The Internet was as vital as Photoshop whilst doing this product, as it provided me with access to exisitng products and enabled me to research into the style of magazine I wanted to achieve. I found examples of magazine covers, contents pages and double page spreads, of which I analysed and developed ideas from, as well as researching into artists and publishers.
Microsoft Word:
I used this program when writing my article, as it provided me with a word count, enabling me to track my progress. I also used this program to minimise errors, look up synonyms and to check my spelling, so as to make my article seem more literate and professional.
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