Digital Media Technology

Digital media technology allows us further our ideas, and put it into a physical form, whilst allowing us to reach a wider audience, and access other people’s work,to take inspiration from it, and develop it. Digital technology means things such as software applications, such as Photoshop, Indesign, Final Cut, Youtube, Weebly, etc. which allow us to view media, whilst working on our own projects, which gives us more space for creativity. Digital media technology and creativity are linked, because from these digital sites such as Youtube, Instagram, Google, we can take inspiration from already existing versions of the type of media that links to our specific genre, and build on it, to make it our own original version of media. My production work has developed over these past 2 years, with the use of social networking sites, experimentation, and the creation of media.

In terms of my AS preliminary task, the only I had done little to no research, so my use of digital media technology was very limited, therefore I did not know of the conventions I needed to apply to my magazine, so it would have been very confusing to an audience exactly what the genre of my magazine is, and who is the target audience. In terms of production, I had some idea of how to take a photograph, because prior to this task, I have used social media sites such as Instagram, a website for photos, so I knew things such as the ‘best angles’ and correct lighting. In terms of post-production, I used Photoshop and Indesign to create my magazine, but my knowledge of how to use these applications was very limited, therefore what I could make was limited. On Photoshop, I had learned how to change things such as the contrast, saturation, exposure, but I did not know how to do the advanced things yet, such as textures,and getting rid of certain parts of the image. In Indesign, I put my magazine together, but I did not understand things such as where the masthead, pull quote, barcode should go, therefore my magazine did not look very professionally made, even though I was using professional software. The lack of knowledge on this preliminary task limited my creative success, as in order for a piece of work to be successful, it must be able to be identified in a specific genre, and the lack of conventions used in my magazine meant that my magazine did not follow basic rules of a college magazine, therefore it could not be successful, as there was not anybody who could identify what my magazine was trying to convey. I had experimented quite a bit, as I did not know where things were meant to go, so I was trying many different layouts and styles for my magazine, trying to see what looked best. Access to social networking sites had helped me in this task, as I already had knowledge of how to take photos, and to make them look appealing to the audience. I knew how to change things such as the filters, I knew which angles were best, and what lighting was best, which somewhat helps with my creative success, as I have some knowledge of what appeals to the audience, even though it was very little.

For my AS music magazine, my skills had developed from my preliminary task, as I had done quite a bit of research, using digital media technology such as Google, to look at already existing magazines for my genre, which was hip-hop. I had found magazines such as XXL, The Source, Billboard, Vibe, and upon searching for pre-existing magazines, I saw what conventions were common throughout all hip-hop magazines, and I incorporated them into my magazine, to make it recognisable as a hip-hop magazine to the desired audience. I had looked very closely at these magazines, and essentially took the layout, and changed certain things to make my magazine look original. In terms of production, I had a lot more knowledge on the mise-en-scene used in my genre, as I had taken inspiration from already existing hip-hop artists, such as Tupac, Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar etc. I saw that there must be some sort of expensive jewellery, or clothing to connote their wealth, so I made sure that my artist also wore jewellery. I also noticed that the dominant image was either a close up, or a medium close up, so i made sure that I shot the artist using one of these shots.When it came to post-production, I had advanced tremendously from the AS preliminary task, as my editing skills on Photoshop and Indesign improved a lot. On Photoshop, I had learned how to do things such as changing the colour balance, in order to properly filter the image, and give it a more 'hip hop' type of feel. I learnt how to cleanly remove the subject from the background, how to add different textures to make the front cover look more intricate, and how to add makeup, and extra details to the artist to make them stand out more. In Indesign, I had learned how to use the different features, such as using the editing tools on the software application. I had learnt how to use the ellipse tool to create the sticker on the top of my magazine, the scale tool to properly adjust the magazines position, in order for everything to look correct and professional, like a real magazine would.

For my A2 horror trailer, I had fully taken advantage of digital media technology, as coming into the creation of this trailer, I had used websites such as Youtube to find pre-existing trailers, from which I took inspiration from, which helped me with the making of my trailer. In terms of post-production, I had used software applications such as Final Cut Pro, and I had used basic tools such as the blade tool, the fast/slow tool, and incorporating sound into my work. But I had also learned how to use more advanced tools on Final Cut Pro, such as transitions, to move from one scene to another smoothly. Transitions such as cuts/fades to black are used to build up the suspense, as suspense is a key feature of horror films. I had also learned how to colour grade, and this is one of the most essential parts of post-production, as colour grading helps set the overall mood of the trailer, as horror movies are supposed to have low-key lighting, and are just supposed to be dark overall, as it connotes the feeling of fearing the unknown, as you cannot see what is in the dark. Using all of these features helps the audience to make my trailer recognisable as a horror trailer, as digital media technology has allowed me to advance my skills and creativity, and it has also allowed me to share my work to the masses, from which I can get feedback, and develop my work.