Notes:
Software AS
Adobe Photoshop CS5 (image manipulation)
Tools Used?
- Red eye corrector
- Burn tool to darken make-up and shadows
- Marquee (magic wand) to remove the artist from the background
- Selective colour tool to enhance the red and blue tones and create a uniform looking hue
- Healing brush tool on skin blemishes
- Brightness/Contrast and increased the saturation levels
- Paint brush tool to create an overlay on the lips
Tools Used Acted as Mode of Address?
- Imported fonts from the web to give an accurate look
- Used a font that was bricolage of Art Deco font used in the 1920s-1950s and appealed to the audience as they could make this connection and decode the meaning
- Used a sans serif font on the front cover the appear as if it had good context of the text/intellectual audience
- Suited the retro genre
- Used a smudge aesthetic 'X' to appear as if the artist has drawn across the page with her make-up etc.
- Italic font to give a romantic, desirable feel
How Did You Use Photoshop To Aid Your House Style?
- Colour followed a three-key colour scheme
- Creme/Off-white coloured background
- Reduplicated the logo at the top right of contents and Double Page Spread
- Art Deco Font for central heading but colours changed
- Inserted Gradient Map behind title 'Sophia Fox' on DPS of American Flag to match colour and American theme
- Used the line tool to insert lines next to each other on DPS which I duplicated on the layer and then changed the colours
- Used some light blue on F/C as the dividers on the contents page
- Used some italic font in black on DPS ('The new girl in town')
- Shadow edited on properties of all fonts (except plain title) to give texture and add three dimensional element
How Did You Manipulate Your Photographs?
- Increased brightness/decreased the contrast to give a defined line on the lighting and face
- Created an overlay with the paint brush tool to really refine the lip shape
- Burn tool to darken eyelashes and eyebrow
- Smudge tool to extend the eyebrow shape
- Blemish healer to remove impurities on the skin
- Darken tool to get accurate hairline on the cover
- Use the refine edge tool when I had selected the image (using the marquee tool) to give a clean and finished edge, especially to the hair cuticles
- Selective colour tool again so that it enhanced the natural tan of my artist and give the mise-en-scene a uniform look
- Levels tool to define the shadows and lighten the face
Explain How Using Layers Helped Organise Your Work and Construct Your Front Cover
- I was able to place image of the artist before the masthead so that it also adhered to conventions
- Able to situate all the cover lines layers of text together so that they were easily visible and could be edited if required
- I could easily reduplicate layers that would have been hard to construct again accurately, e.g. my masthead which I could then move the reduplicated layer into the file of the contents page and DPS
- I could merge down layers, e.g. such as the new layer I had created to create the lipstick/lipshape over my image onto the original image so it did not have to be redone or moved
- Placed bar code at the front of image so that it was the most predominant - needs all to be seen so that it can be scanned
- Applied cover line dividers second to front so that none were hidden behind the image of my artist
- For the contents I created lines using the shape tool to divide the page and which I constructed around it
Explain How You Created Your Double Page Spread?
- I used a grid within the 'View' tool so that my page could be easily divided
- I then used this to split the page into two separate A4 sides, so that text et.c did not fall over the middle and therefore would not be readable if published
- I positioned my article over the bottom half of the first page and then two third over the second so that it did not appear too obstrusive over one section of the DPS
- Separated the top third of both sides of my DPS using a line tool and creating three equal lines that separated that section of the page. I was then able to add several pictures on top of this line to add interest and variety, as well as make the page appear balanced and appealing to the eye
- I used separate text boxes for each column of my article so that I could then position and rearrange it on the page at my own free will
- I followed the same construction of pictures, using the marquee tool and the refine edge bar to remove the original background from my photographs and place my them onto my DPS
- I added a creme/off-white background only subtly so that the images and text would stand out from the page
- In terms of frames, again the triple line on to divide the top third of my page and so that the straight line cut at the bottom of the mid-shot was obscured in the several photos I inserted
- I did not add any other frames and used the columns as the divider for the largest mid-shot image of my artist to the right of the page
- I used crop capitals for 'The new girl in town' to represent a relaxed and introduction to my artist
- I adopted a pull quote in the centre of my columns to draw te audience's attention into the text as well as the image - this is a typical convention of DPS to give a summary of the most interesting pieces of information that may be valuable to the audience
- I mainly used all capital letters for the headings such as 'SOPHIA FOX' and the introduction paragraph - this was to grab attention of the audience and signify the importance in the article
- I anchored text over image in terms of the columns as I had to position them first and then place the image around it. This mainly applied to the central image on the right hand side of my DPS which I then scaled down in order to compliment the text. This gave a balanced look as half was colum text and the other half was image. I ensured enough negative space was used that that it did not appear clustered and obstrusive
- The heading which titled the artist's name was of the biggest font size and was almost as big as the images. This was an important convention to follow as it highlights to the audience the context of the text which may appeal to them
- This was mainly done through the use of colour palette. For the three symmetical lines that divided the top third of the page one line was coloured red whilst the other two were coloured dark blue. This was to match the American flag theme, especially which was prominent of the F/C. This American flag also appeared as a graident map underneath the heading of 'Sophia Fox'.
- I also ensured that the mise-en-scene matched the house style. For example, the plain black dress on the DPS complimented the basic black text of the article and grey text. The bright red lipstick and blusher matched the red hue that I following for my key colour within my chosen colour palette of red, white and blue.
- Within the pull quote I changed the colour of one word to red, whilst the rest of the quote was a dark blue. Again, this contrasted the plain black text of the article but also gave significance to the key word.
- In terms of layout I wanted to ensure there was enough negative space around my images so that it gave a clean and balanced look to the page. Therefore I ensured that no text was positioned around an invisible boxed area of my photo.
- I adotped the same Art Deco font for the central heading on my DPS and Contents that matched part of the typeface as my masthead.
- I used italics to represent a subheading on my DPS that matched the use of italics on my F/C coverline.
- I reduplicated the masthead which I converted to the logo for the magazine in the top left corner of my DPS and Contents so that it would be a reoccuring convention through all the pages of the magazine.
- For text used within the article and the text within my actual contents I used the font Georgia to give a professional and intellectual appeal to the text.
- For the website URL on my Contents Page I used the same font that was used in the first half of my masthead (The text which represented the word POP) to give a fun and exciting feel to the website.
- I used a lightblue for the Contents page dividers that matched the light blue on the coverlines as well as from my masthead.
- The same width of lines from my Contents page (as dividers) were the same width as the three symmetrical lines used on my DPS. This would give a consistent and equal aesthetic to the page.
- Regarding the cover lines on my F/C I used the same serif font but manipulated the width and kerning of the font each time to make it appear different. This way I could create a unique element to all my cover lines without the print conventions appearing drastically opposing.
- The only opposing fonts I used for the cover lines was an italic font to add connotations of feminity to the topic.
- I also added a smudge appeared 'X' as if it had been drawn on to cotnrast the opposing serif font. This would therefore address the sexuality and context of my text.
- This serif font was then only replicated in a small, readable version for the article on the DPS and list of Contents.
- As I had seen in other texts the position of the title within the Contents never appeared central so I positioned it to the far left of the page to comply to these print conventions
- Ensured that the columns between articles were spaced out with the same width as each other to give and equal appearance.
How Did Your Blog Help In Terms of Audience Feedback?
- For AS blogger was a really effective component in recieving audience feedback as my peers and teachers could analyse and look at my work as I posted it.
- It helped me improve my draft work for both AS and A2 since it allowed me to demonstrate my continual process so I could work on previous posts.
- When audience feedback was posted I could work from it immediately by altering the previous post an d improve it
- For AS I used Windows Movie Maker for my Evaluation Question. I recorded my voice using Audacity 2.0 program of my evaluation and then imported it into Windows Movie Maker.
- I had previously used Windows Movie Maker but it introduced me to the basic appearance of a timeline, additional features such as fade and image manipulation etc.
- This had developed further over my A2 as I used iMovie to create a quick cut and simply storyboard for my music video. This introduced me to the basic and importance of music-to-visual combinations.
- Animoto was used for AS and A2 which was a good software to present ideas quickly and efficiently using their templates. For AS I imported a music track and images to represent my pitch. For A2 I used it for the pitch as well as for the evaluation, presenting images of all the technology I had used.
- I used Adobe Premiere Elements 8.0 to edit my final music video which was more complex that other software I had previously used. This is when I used my previous knowledge and applied it to a more professional software. I used techniques such as fades, edited the brightness and contrast and overlayed a black and white effect. My audio was placed beneath the recorded HD images in the timeline which allowed me to edit to the song's beat etc.
What Camera Did You Use To Take Photographs For Your Preliminary College Magazine Mock-up Task?
- For my preliminary task at AS I used a basic digital camera
- I used a USB cable and cut and pasted the photographs into my document area.
Software and Hardware A2
As filmmaker and designer, Mark Towse (2002) details digital video (DV) to be on of the most important advancements in motion picture technology since television. Film and video production is now not only done rich film production companies, but can be done in home owing to cheap software and hardware.
Which Editing Software Did You Use To Edit Your Music Video?
- I used Adobe Premiere Elements 8.0 to edit my music video. This was more advanced than previous software I had used at AS such as Windows Movie Maker.
- This enhanced my knowledge of layering my video footage at I was able to cut and shorten longer clips to their specific shot requirement and insert it to the precise time.
- I layered the soundtrack over the video footage which enabled me to layer and cut to the beat of the music. It also allowed me to see the exact time the beat was present visually which made it easier to do.
- My audio remained unedited but by having it in the background I could replay as many times as requested to get the lip syncing of my video accurate to the articulation of the words.
- It also allowed me to layer specific scenes on different timelines which allowed me to be more organised and prevented the mistake of perhaps editing the wrong shot.
- I learnt the tools associated on the software, such as the clipping tool, transition techniques and fps to increase the quality of my edited footage.
- Cutaway: The most common cutaway I used was a close-up shot of the retro telephone being dialled by the video artist. The main subject was the artist but by using a cutaway to the telephone this added interest and information of what my artist was doing.
- Parallel Editing: I adopted this most commonly in the chorus. For every word change I would use a straight cut to another scene of the artist doing something different and then change back to the previous scene. This enabled my audience to view numerous locations and added variety and entertainment to my music video.
- Fade Out: I used a fade out at the end of my music video of my artist putting down the phone. By fading out this signified the end of the video as well as my artist's hyperreal adventure.
- Cross-cutting: I used this when my artist was outside in her black dress and then to inside with her red dress on, sitting down. This gave a dramatic contrast to the two.
- I ensured my work was precise by contiually restarting and looking at my most recent editing to check it was as precise as possible.
- I manually moved the timeline bar across the video footage against the soundtrack to ensure that the lip syncing was accurate to the articulation of words.
- I manually moved the timeline bar across the video footage against the soundtrack to ensure the lip syncing was accurate to the articulation of words.
- I locked the audio on the timeline so that it could not be moved or edited by mistake.
- I could see the visualisations and bar of the beat of the audio so this enabled me to see when the video should be changed to the beat. If they did not match this would signify that the audio didn't match the video footage and therefore could be changed.
- I used a black and white effect on some separate and different shots during the bridge of the song
- I increased the speed of a shot of dialing the telephone to make it appear quicker and more definied whilst still looking realistic
- I increased the brightness and decreased the contrast on all of the shots to give the artist a more enhanced and defined look
- I increased the saturation on the non-black and white shot types so that they would appear brighter and look more aesthetically pleasing
- I was able to upload video directly to my post, such as with my preliminary video and draft video. This ensured that the quality was not comprimised if I had used an external uploader.
- When uploading my final music video I used the HTML code to embed into blogger.
- I use the labelling system more to my advantage to organise my posts.
- I am much quicker at setting up posts
- I also saved draft posts and set a publishing time on research, planning and construction posts so that they were in chronological order
- I used Adobe Photoshop CS6 which was an updated version of the software I had used for CS5. This arguably gave me more opportunities to edit my ancillary tasks in new forms.
- I was able to scan in my illustrations directly into Photoshop which was a new style of producing creative work which I did not use in my AS. This gave me an opportunity to manipulate the illustrations, such as my inserting graphics like the polka dots and ensuring it was darkened and professional looking.
- Became more advanced with editing fonts, for example I learnt how to insert an inner gradient within and even edit the density and length of the shadowing on my text to suit the image.
- I could confidently use more layers. I locked layers to keep them in position whilst I edited others, this was a style of construction I had not used in AS and certainly quickened the pace of production.
