Creativity: Digital technology

Digital technology is any devise or software that helps us create something for example using a iMac and final cut. Digital technology helps us be more creative we can become a producer and legitimises are creative voice. I can  edit a video, add sound effects and manipulate the colour off it and include transitions, however ten years ago there wouldn't have been the developed equipment to do this.

My AS preliminary task was to create a college magazine, within the first lessons on doing the course, my experience of digital technology was what I had already used in previous years. For example using my iPhone and camera to take pictures. Therefore when doing the preliminary task I already had experience. When doing research for my preliminary I used the internet and google to see how to layout the magazine but that was it. In production I used a cannon camera and in post production I used the editing software adobe indesign to piece the magazine together. I used minimal skill to create the magazine, as all I did to change the image I had taken was on photoshop where I cut out the background. From general life knowledge I already knew what a typical magazine layout was therefore all I did was copy other layout. Using digital technology however helped me use my now image that I took. This therefore makes it successful as it was recognisable as a magazine and had some originality with the use of my image.

My skills developed from my AS preliminary to my AS music magazine I know this because of my use of more digital technology specifically in post-production. I again used photoshop and indesign, but when editing my image in photoshop I made changes to the colour balance of the image. As well as this I added layers to the image and used techniques like blur and spot tool to give my image a professional look. This development gave me a chance to experiment with the different editing styles I could use that would suit my genre of magazine. I was able to make my image have more low key lighting and adjusted the tone to be more red. This helped the cover be successful as my genre was rock and typically rock magazines have a red, white and black scheme to them and with my photoshop skills I was able to recreate them.

In A2 I was able to move on from editing images to editing videos taken for my horror trailer. From the shots we took using a cannon camera I imported them into Final Cut and was then able to edit them to fit the structure of a trailer that we researched using youtube. For Final Cut I used the blade tool, fades to black as well as adding text for the titles. As a result of more research and planning with the use of youtube for make up tutorials, social media like snap chat to ask people about the trailer, I have a better understanding of what should be seen in a horror trailer, a downside to this is that my trailer despite having a new storyline follows other trailers and lacks creativity and experimentation. However my trailer is still successful as if I were to have done the trailer editing in AS my lack of skill would have meant the end result wouldn't look good and wouldn't be recognisable as a trailer.

Before starting the course I was able to experiment with the digital technology I already had like my phone and laptop, I was able to take pictures and find what lighting looks good. However as I have developed over the course I am able to have a greater understanding of what is needed in order to achieve a good piece of work, like the use of good photoshop skills.