Section A Technology Skills

I have become more skilled in the use of technology during the production of both my foundation and advanced portfolios through the use of various technologies. For example in my AS year for the pre-production of my coursework I used various hardware such as scanners and photocopiers. For research we looked at different types of magazines, both student and music magazines. To start with I scanned pages of the different magazines into the computer and then saved it onto my memory stick, by doing this I was then able to look at the picture at any time and use it to upload onto my blog as well as looking at for information about magazines. In my A2 year I have used pictures taken from a Blackberry Curve for our location shots while researching our location to film. Then we took the pictures, uploaded them onto the iMacs we were using for our coursework, then saving them in the correct format of a jpeg for later use in our coursework. This shows a progression in my use of technology as I have developed from using photos taken by other artists for my research to going out and collecting my own, and then developing again on this knowledge to use them in software such as Photoshop and Paint. NET to edit them for use in my digipack and music album advert. 

In my AS year during the production of my products I used the editing software, Gimp to edit the photos I had taken on a college camera. Through using Gimp I was able to edit and resize the photos I had taken effectively. Then I was able to save them in the correct format (jpeg) and upload them onto my blog. In my A2 year I used the Internet software called Prezi to create an audience profile of my target audience. This was my first time using this software but I became quickly confident with it, as I was soon able to upload my own photos, both the ones I edited on Photoshop and those edited on Pant.NET onto the Prezi, creating a vibrant and appealing presentation. This was an advance in my knowledge of software technology, I became more skilled as I was not only able to edit photos effectively but also use them in various different ways, such as the Prezi. Others were incorporating them into a PowerPoint, which I uploaded onto my blog via Internet software called SlideShare or just posting them straight onto my blog. Using Gimp in my AS year I found it to produce images that were of a lesser quality than that of the photos I was able to produce in Photoshop. So I feel that my skills in using technology have progressed effectively so that my products have increased in quality.
 

During my AS year in the postproduction of my products I used Blogger more extensively. Before this I had not used, or even came across Blogger before so using the site was new to me. During the production stage I uploaded photos (as mentioned previously) as well as giving screen shots and even uploading videos from YouTube as a source for my research or influences that I came across while still creating the music magazine. In comparison in my A2 year I was able to upload pictures of a more dramatic and effective nature as I was using software such a Photoshop and Paint.NET. I was able to use tools such as eraser, blur, contrast, black and white, feather and colour saturation. As I was using effects such as this I was able to upload photos and completely change and alter them for my digipack and album advert. This shows a progression of my skills as before in AS I was only able to use Gimp and even this was not to a level of skill I found rewarding.