Conventions of My AS Music Magazine

The convention I used on the Cover of my magazine include;

• The Masthead = Was positioned at the top of the page, however did not fill the top but was to the left hand side such as NME or Q. I downloaded a unique and signature font to create the magazine brand. The mast head was coloured a bold purple. Often red is used so I slightly deviated from common conventions.
• The Cover Image = Took up nearly the entire cover and was a mid-shot, common of most magazines. The model was the central focus of the cover and represented the magazine brand and genre.
• Issue Headline = I positioned this central to the page and used a complementary but different font to that of my mast head. Below the main headline was also a quote from the feature band of the issue which is commonly seen.
• Contents Details = Bold, down right side of page, containing main categories of magazine contents.

The conventions I used in the Contents and Double page spread include;

• Maintaining my colour scheme off purple across all elements.
• Using the same three fonts across both.
• Using my 'RAW' title as a logo in the corner across both elements.
• Having category headings in my contents and a subscribe advertisement.
• Having an image of my feature band in the contents.
• Having the image cover around half my DPS.
• Having highlighted quotes throughout my DPS article and using dropped letters at the beginning of each new paragraph.

How I've developed my skills in the use of digital technology

Describe how you developed your skills in the use of digital technology for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to your creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time.

Digital technologies have a had a massive influence on media production over the last few years, and since I started in Year 12, I have learned a massive amount about how to use them and what the benefits of using them are. They in turn have had a massive impact on the quality of my finished products.

The technologies I have used during my journey from AS to A2 are theings such as; Blogger, Photoshop, YouTube, Tubechop, Prezi, Scribd, Slideshare, Cameras/Camcorders, Movie maker and Final Cut pro. The benefit of having access to these technologies is that it allowed me to present my work in mediums that were easily accessible and interesting, such as with posting Blogs on Blogger. It also allowed me to compare other products for research and planning, such as viewing current music videos on Youtube, and establish conventions. And technologies equipped me with tools, such as Photoshop, that allowed me to manipulate and develop my work in a detailed and professional manner. 

One of the key areas I developed my skills in was Photoshop. As at the beginning of AS I had never used it before and so found it very challenging when it came to creating my pre-liminary school magazine. Looking back this magazine appears very amateurish, however this was due to my inability to apply the software to create my vision. However now my abilities in Photoshop are far more advanced and the creation of my A2 ancilliary products appear drastically more more professional. This is due to my improved skills at using the software and being aware of the software's capabilities. For example; in AS all I was really  able to do was move images around and roughly cut out pictures and text. However by A2, I was aware of the various filters and effects I could add to my product, adjusting lighting and exposure of all my elements to change my Digipak and poster in multiple ways. I was able to cut and manipulate images to a standard that didn't ruin their quality and was unnoticeable. Overall the products appeared far more professional.

A further technological challenge that arose in A2 was my attempts at using Final cut pro. Seeing as myself and my partner had never used the software before, everything we did was learning from new and I required great help to grasp simple elements such as zooming. However with practice multiple re-drafts we eventually established ability in the programme and could effectively trim shots, remove audio, change speed, add effects and transitions and add zoom and movement to shots. From developing these skills and knowledge of the product we are now far more competent and knowledgeable about the possibilities of editing we could achieve. 

These examples of developed skills in technologies, can be related to Tim O'reily's DIKY triangle. As I began with the making of all my products relying on the internet and the expertise of others to extract information to form ideas and knowledge of what to do. Through practice with these programmes and trial and error I eventually gained wisdom in the workings of such mediums and now consider myself capable to pursue future tasks. 

These acquired skills in digital technology have greatly contributed to my creative decisions, as initially with my limited knowledge I was ignorant to the possibilities my work could achieve. However with the exploration of software and current examples of products presented through the media, I gain inspiration and established what I could and wanted to achieve in my own work. For example when in AS I may have accepted that my images had turned out a little poor and maybe not what I'd hoped, but been ignorant as to how I could have corrected or adapted my idea. By A2 I had increased skills in photography and framing a shot meaning I could afford to be more adventurous and attempt things out of the ordinary. Such as with the use of extreme close-ups on my album cover, in black and white, and changing the angles in my music video. 

With increased skills comes increased confidence, and less fear of getting things wrong. This is why the biggest benefit to creativity I have achieved from building on my abilities in digital technologies, is the increased freedom I feel in the formulation of new ideas, and a belief I can make something work and always make it better. In AS where I may have settled for the first draft of my pre-limiminary magazine, simply because I didn't know how to create my vision, by A2 I was not satisfied until I knew my work was at the standard I wanted and I had fully exhausted my creativity. My first drafts were also more varied and original by A2, as I could think ahead at the filters and effects I could add to my products such as on Photoshop,  so I could broaden my ideas and remove the limitations I originally had within my abilities.

There were however still restraints in the possibilities of my creations. Restraints within the brief I had to adhere to e.g. making only a music video and the restraints in the available materials I had. Although the technologies I did have access to allowed me to increase the complexity and professional finish of my products. The absence of certain materials, such as that of a green screen and unlimited locations or actors, meant I had to refine the magnitude of my creations to make them plausible to make.

In conclusion, technological skills contribute greatly to the extent and variation in creative ideas, as they broaden your mind to the possibilities. However skills themselves do not instantly make you a creative person, but can be applied to allow creative vision. The gathering of knowledge, such as within the research and planning, analysis other products, equip you with a base of conventions that channel creative thoughts. And the presence of a creative mind encourages exploration and gained ability in the complex elements of digital technology.

“Digital Technology turns media consumers into media producers”. In your own experience, how has your creativity developed using developed using digital technology to complete your coursework productions?

'I think it's fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we've ever created. They're tools of communication, they're tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user.' Bill Gates.

I agree that “Digital Technology turns media consumers into media producers” as I believe technology provides people with access to creative ventures that are far beyond their natural ability without it. Technology provides tools and added levels of manipulation that encourages ideas and allows people to make and produce their own products of a professional standard. In the past when computers were only available to the minority of the population and were just being developed, the prospect of average people using them for their own products would have seemed absurd. However my journey from AS to A2 has proved that now anyone can gain access to software such as Photoshop and form their own ideas into professional pieces.

The consumption of media is also vital in a person's production of media. As with all my products such as my AS music magazine, I was required and benefited from the analysis and viewing of current products that allowed me to broaden my knowledge and awareness of current conventions, and direct my creative path. As with the process of Tim O'Reilly's DIKY triangle, I used technologies such as Google and YouTube to gain data, extracted information that was relevant to my task, gained the knowledge such as common features of current magazines, and used my wisdom to understand it apply within my work to create a realistic looking music magazine. As well as aiding my direction, research and planning helped me consider the possibilities of media products and not be scared to make things my own, and create limits to my creativity  Such as on my magazine cover I added paint brush strokes for the background of my subtitles, to mimic the bold layouts of current magazines and interpret the bold aspects in my own way.When making our music video my creativity definitely developed in the formation of our animatic. To make our animatic we used our scanned shot pictures and movie maker to form a basic version of our vision. The benefits of using this technology to layout our ideas was that it allowed us to visualise if they would work and see areas of improvement in our work, where shots should be added or removed. We could reassess our work from another perspective and so fuelled our ideas and creativity of what we'd do next. Without this technology we may not have re-developed our initial video idea in the same way and not form the same creative ideas that resulted in our final product. 

With our music video we also used the editing software, Final cut pro, to bring all our shots together. This technology provided us with extensive possibilities for the development of our work. It especially helped us become more creative, as when exploring the tools available we discovered different effects we could apply to shots we didn't even know were available. Therefore the technology itself provided some of our ideas and made our video more complex and creative then we even imagined. Effects and tools we were able to apply to our work were things such as filters to change the appearance of shots, change the timing of our shots to make them slow motion and add zoom to maintain interest. This software meant that even if the initial shots hadn't quite captured what we hoped or lived up to our expectations we could tweak and change them to transform them to something that worked. This development process is a perfect example of how media consumers can be producers. As even with our amateurish knowledge of filming and no experience, we could mask some of our mistakes and allow the software to do some of the work.


With my A2 ancillary products I used Photoshop to bring the elements of my Digipak and poster together in a fast and simple manner. When forming initial drafts of my work I was very unsure how my products should look, and used the technology to play around with ideas, sometimes even making mistakes that fuelled inspiration. This is why I believe in Scott Adams' quote 'Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.' As with no clear plan the technology still allowed me to be creative and produce a professional product through trial and error. This is how my first draft and final products looked so different as the possibilities of Photoshop meant I could change every aspect I wanted to, such as changing colours and exposure of images, turning and warping my photos to be at different angles and levels and adjusting my fonts till they were exactly how I wanted.

To conclude I believe that access to digital technology during all aspects of my media production has always made me more creative, it has allowed to from research and gain ideas and explore these ideas in a manner that has always made them quick to change. One brilliant aspect of digital technology is that nothing is permanent and can always be adjusted if you change your mind, like me my ever changing Digipak. This means that even though professionals may get things right faster. Amateur media consumers such as myself can reach the same goals through a slower exploratory process and still be creative.

Introduction to Postmodernism

From our initial lessons on Postmodernism I have learned that it is the creation of products that are formed from and contain multiple references to current/old products. Postmodernism provides the possibilities of creating something incredibly deep with multiple references and at the same time, depth less with all meaning removed. In the eyes of Postmodernism everything is a copy of something else and something truly original can never be created as all concepts stem from something already created.

Creativity Essay

Creativity is ‘A process needed forproblem solving…not a special

gift enjoyed by a few but acommon ability possessed by

most people’

Jones 1993

I believe that creativity is enjoyed by many and everyone has the calpability to be creative. However there are levels of ability within the range of creativity, some are especially talented, and some people struggle to be creative at all. This is reflected within the work you can view of different people, within my class alone we didn't all recieve the same grade for our projects regardless of the effort we each put in. But some of use were more able and skilled to use the software provided and had natural ability to produce higher quality work. However our grades were not a true reflection of how creative we had been. As some who chose to break from the conventions we were attempting to follow, such as placing their magazine title in the centre of the page, would in some repsects the most creative as they could see past the boundaries. But they  may have been challenged, and the course of their creativity questioned for being right.

I believe there is no right or wrong way to be creative, you can use creativity to solve a problem but you can also be creative with no true aim. For my media projects I always had a brief to follow within fairly stricked guidelines, such as my magazine had to be a music genre and my A2 video had to be a music video. This was an aspect that did restrict my creativity as I wasn't free to make whatever I wanted. However the brief acted as almost a problem or a challenge, and allowed my creativity to be channeled, whilst also highlighting my abilities to still be creative when restricted. Diverging from the brief would have been regarded as 'wrong,' however this wasn't the creativity itself that would have been wrong but the product of the creativity.

The idea that creativity is 'needed for problem solving,' I find questionable. As problems can also be solved with logic, and contemplation. This was illustrated within my media work, as whilst being creative with the aid of programmes such as photoshop or final cut pro, I faced personal problems of using the software to achieve my vision. Creativity wasn't required to discover how to change the exposure of my picture, for example, but I had to use logic and process of elimination to actually allow form my creative vision. There is however a quote by Albert Einstein that said 'Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.' I believe this to be true, as without viewing things in a different way you will contiued to reach the same conclusion. Therefore creativity can aid problem solving as it encourages us to attempt something completely different and think outside the box to achieve something new. With the work of our video we had many filming sessions, in which watching the footage back we had the harsh realisation our initial idea just didnt present the desired effect. We therefore had to use our creative abilities and share ideas between myself and my partner to correct our mistake and solve the problem of our poor shots.

Creativity is definately something that can be regarded as a process. It is a step by step journey of attempts and failed attempts to reach a final goal. This was demonstrated within all my projects. My music video, for example, we began with research and planning, analysing currents products and establishing our initial idea. From here we had to attempt to put our ideas into a visual format with moodboards and our animatic to summarise our plans. Even after the production of our draft video we had to edit and tweak footage and film some all over again. It was long process that enabled us to reach our final goal, however our final product wasn't the single creation, but every step of the process was a reflection and progression our our creative ability.

Even though some people may have a natural talent of being creative and artistic, my journey through media has proved that creativity can also be developed, encouraged and taught. As with my very first preliminary product to make a school magazine I lacked vision in the possibilities of my project. When attempting to take my photos for the cover and arrange them on photoshop I had no real concept of what was good and my abilities, especially on photoshop were so poor, I could barely make it look like a magazine. But with guidance on the software, feedback from teachers and peers and simply dedication and practice, gradually my ability improved. Proof of this is with my final magazine achieving me a grade far higher then expected.  

Fake CD

10 Quotes

Don't think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It's self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can't try to do things. You simply must do things.
Ray Bradbury


Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things.
Steve Jobs


The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.
Albert Einstein

An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail.
Edwin Land

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.
Scott Adams 

I think it's fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we've ever created. They're tools of communication, they're tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user. 

Bill Gates 

The chief enemy of creativity is "good" sense.
Pablo Picasso 

For me, insanity is super sanity. The normal is psychotic. Normal means lack of imagination, lack of creativity.
Jean Dubuffet 

Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.
Erich Fromm

And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.
Sylvia Plath

Creativity

What do you understand by ‘creativity’ and to what extent have you been creative? I understand that creativity is a means of expression and allows an individual to be original, make something new and have an emotional release. I understand creativity is an attempt to ignore restrictions and think outside normal boundaries. I believe I have been creative as all my products are unique to anything else. However all my products are in other respects the same as any other, as they are following conventions an copying current trends. Therefore they are not truly original and so contain creative elements.

- How have you tried to facilitate and encourage your own creativity? I tried to encourage my own creativity by analysing current products for ideas and with the formation of my mood boards and animotos I established key themes and gained inspiration. I tried to always alter initial ideas and test several options before deciding on my final work. For example with my A2 ancillary products I created several very different draft Digipak covers to test what looked best and experiment with a variety of designs.

- Did you experience limits/blocks on your own creativity? With my magazine the key limitation I faced was with the brief outlining that the magazine had to be of a music genre, which dismissed possible options of making, for example, a fashion or film magazine. Then when deciding on the model to be on the cover of my magazine I was limited by the friends or people I knew who would be suitable, and when they were available. Finally the Photoshop software I used to create my magazine allowed me to be creative, but still did not offer all the editing options of a more advanced piece of software.There were many limits to how creative we could be with our music video. This was due to restrictions we faced with the locations available to use, actors we could use, costumes we owned or could buy, equipment and software available for filming and editing, the time restraints and the conventions we were trying to follow of current music videos.

- How easy/difficult was it to be creative while still working to the brief? The brief gave me a sense of focus and channelled my creativity. If no brief had been given it would have taken longer to decide upon the elements of my products and they would not have been comparable to others. However the brief also restricted the broadness of my ideas and capped the diversity of creativity within our class.
 Talking to others did aid the formation of ideas as everyone interpreted the briefs differently and had varying approaches. For elements such as the name of magazine I would ask others for their opinions and change my creative path accordingly. When making our music video myself and partner Shannon really benefited from the support of each others as we could build from and improve each others suggestions to form an overall creative piece that was more appealing and professional. Sometimes I preferred not to look at others work or discuss ideas with other people as I wanted my work to have a feel that was unique to me and formed from my own mind. With too much influence everyones work ends up the same and I wanted mine to have a unique edge. Such as with our A2 ancillary products. Mine and Shannon's were made separately but using the same pictures and for our shared artist. However they were both different as we embarked on them alone.

How much of your creativity was about trying to picture things in your mind’s eye? Most of my creativity was spurred from current inspirational pieces. Although this may be considered attempting to copy others I did not take exact ideas from current products, but used them to broaden my sense of what is possible or acceptable. The presents of our brief made me feel restricted and narrowed in the availability of what I could do, so looking at other videos and magazines etc. proved this wasn't true. After the viewing of current pieces I was able to adapt them and change them in my mind to think up new versions and combine multiple elements from various sources.

- How much of your creativity was about trial and error? A lot of my creative journey was the attempting of new ideas and then adjusting what didn't work, and sometimes scrapping things all together. Sometimes ideas that seemed good in my head just didn't work in real life and so it was important I could be honest with myself and not pursue an idea that wasn't working. Also the opinions of others highlighted issues and unappealing elements to my work. Such as with our video that received lots of feedback and constructive criticism. We had to make mistakes, such as zooming to fast and having poor lighting, to understand what we could do differently and get it right.

- To what extent was a lack of confidence an issue in terms of your creativity? When working with others confidence was an issue for creativity as to achieved to intended outcome, such as the pose or shot we wanted, we had to direct and express concepts to other people. However with the majority of my products I wasnt scared to attempt different things and did not feel confidence restricted my work.
- To what extent was a lack of technical competence/confidence an obstacle to your creativity? For AS my technical ability was very restricting. My abilities on photoshop were very poor and so the formation of my magazine was a real challenge to achieve what I wanted. Sometimes the ideas I had in my head or had drawn out, I then did not know how to create using the software and so formed more simplistic versions to my target. However by A2 I felt far more able with photoshop and so for my ancillary products I could quickly achieve what I wanted with minimal help. Although the editing of our video raised new issues with new software. As neither myself or Shannon had prior experience of final cut pro and so were unable to achieve all the things we wanted to such as effects and stylising our work.