6: What I have learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product:

Photoshop: I have used Photoshop effectively to produce an aesthetically appealing front cover. Getting used to Photoshop was quite challenging at first because I would make errors constantly. One error in particular was when I was cutting an image out and I would delete the bit that I wanted instead of the bit that I didn’t. Once I figured out how to use the cut tool properly, I found that everything else was fine. I was able to use the drop shadow tool effectively. This allowed for my text to stand out and be clearly legible as the font that I used was not clearly legible when it didn’t have an effect. I also used an shadow effect around the Masthead. I used the colour orange around the Masthead as it fits in with the Mise-En-Scene on the rest of the front cover. I stuck with three fonts on front cover because I didn’t want to go over the top and use a range of fonts. I wanted it to look sensible (to a certain degree) and professional. I put the masthead over the main picture because it only covered the hair of the model, so it wasn’t a big deal because it didn’t distract the masthead from the picture. It also makes the Masthead more legible and clear. I also turned the brightness down to make it a bit more dull, and then I turned up the contrast to balance the levels out. The picture that I took also fits in with the Mise-En-Scene

Shadow effect around Masthead

Bold text with drop shadow

Picture fits with Mise-En-Scene

Quark:• I have used Quark to produce my contents page and my double page spread.

Again, at the start of the year, I wasn’t comfortable with using Quark, but now I feel more comfortable with Quark. One tool that I only just discovered recently is the linked text tool. This allows for text to flow onto the next page evenly, without having to draw text boxes again and again. I used this on my double page spread so that the text didn’t overlap near the seam of the page, so that it looks professional and easily legible. I also stuck with the Mise-En-Scene of the front cover by making the text orange. I have an orange and black theme going on within my magazine, and this is also expressed in my contents page. On my contents page, I have included a gradient of black to grey as the background, but on my double page spread, the background is pure black on the first page. The next page is filled with the picture. I changed my fonts on my contents page so that it looks more Metal/Rock. I originally used Arial because I was going for a simple minimalistic look, but instead, I used a rather thin font, that had a worn effect.

Mise-En-Scene: Black, Orange and White. Fits with the front cover and the DPS

Worn font effect for the contents section

Pictures edited down to exaggerate the main story and the sub-main stories

Mise-En-Scene displayed on the DPSA combination of Arial and Veteran Typewriter. Veteran Typewriter was used to exaggerate the questions