Post - Production Diary

28th February 2023

Today I started to edit the print advert as I felt this was the best way to learn how to use photoshop and be prepared for the magazine covers. Before I started, I uploaded all of the photos I had taken onto the computer and I went through all the photos and sorted them by the ones I wanted to use and those I didn't want to use. Once I had done that, I opened up photoshop and I had no idea where to start. This was my first time using photoshop and I had no idea what to do or what the tools were or what they did. Before I started, I asked people around me to show me everything and how it works. Once I started to understand everything, I decided to start editing my print advert. 

Before screen recording, I used the magnetic lasso tool to select the purple on the amethyst and I learned what I could do once I selected a section. From that, I decided to add more purple to the amethyst. At the start of this video, you can see that I am using the magnetic lasso to select the white section on the amethyst and I made the white come out more too. After enhancing the colours, I could see that it needed blending as you could tell where I have edited. However, I didn't know to blend so I looked at all of the tools I had to see what I could do but I couldn't think of what I could use. I asked people around me for advice and I was shown how to blend the colours. I selected the smudge tool and zoomed right into the area that needed blending and I smudged the colours together to make it look natural. With the amethyst being a raw crystal, not all areas needed blending because it looked like it was part of the crystal. To make sure how good the blending looked, I was constantly zooming in and out and fixing places that I thought didn't look right.

Next, I wanted to add the Canon logo to the print advert so I went onto Google and looked for a logo in a png format. I found an image and saved it to my computer, however, the background was still there on the image. As you can see in the video, I tried to use the eraser tool to remove the background but I thought that there had to be a better way to do this.

Before this next clip started, I went onto Google to find a Canon logo without the background but on a website and not Google images. I find one where I can just download the logo for free. I go back onto photoshop and I load the image. This time the background didn't show up and all I had was the logo. I change the size of the logo and moved it to the top left corner of the page. I then zoom into the print advert to position the logo so it looks professional. After that, I load an image of the Canon EOS 4000D camera because the print advert is there to promote products for business and from my research of Canon print adverts, they always have an image of the product they're trying to sell as well as a link and/or message under the product. Once the image had loaded in, I sized it down to how I wanted it and zoomed into the image, and tried to delete the white background. However, as I zoomed in, I noticed the image was very pixelated and I didn't know why. I clicked the move tool and the lines that were going diagonal were gone I realised that made it go pixelated so I continued trying to delete the background. 

I used the magnetic lasso tool to try and go around the white background and delete it that way but it didn't work. So I had to use the eraser tool and try to erase the background without affecting the camera. To do this, I zoomed in close to the background and changed the eraser size to help me get to where I needed without erasing parts of the camera. I did this for all of the white areas on the image. After I did that, I included text under the product which was the link to the Canon website giving more information about the camera. I then included more text in the centre of the page 'Start Your Magical Journey' as well as text under the Canon logo using their slogan 'Delighting You Always'. I did all the text in white Arial because it was simple and it made it easier for the audience to see the text. 

1st March 2023

Today, I had some difficulty trying to start the front cover due to technical difficulties and not having the tools I needed to complete the product. I first opened photoshop and started a new project and uploaded an image that I wanted to use. Before it uploaded, the whole software crashed and it wasn't allowing me to close the window. This is where I decide to use Canva for editing. I start adding the images I wanted to use but I didn't have the tools I needed to be able to go any further. So I decided to catch up on some written work and try again with photoshop after a little while. I try to close the software again but wouldn't budge so I just decided to continue with the written work and I decided to work on it another day.

3rd March 2023

Today, I decided to start editing my front cover. Before I started screen-recording the process of the front cover, I added an image as the background, I added a white banner across the top along with the Canon logo I used in the print advert.

In the video, you can see that I added text underneath the title, 'Dive Into The Magic', and I decided to colour the text red to match it with the logo. I then moved the text onto the white banner under the text. I also included the issue number and the date it was published. I then added a blue triangle to the top left corner with the word 'new' written in yellow. After looking at other Canon magazine covers, I noticed that the layout was very busy with a variety of images and text. The text was bold and had interesting colours so I wanted to stick with something like that. I then upload an image of a Canon camera however, I didn't like the background image so I try to create a collage for a background with all the photos I had. I try to include a variety of landscape and portrait images and I also tried to make them all different sizes to include more variety. However, I didn't like how it was going so I started with a blank canvas leaving the banner at the top. 

I uploaded a more scenic photo for the background and an image of the camera with the lens in focus and the camera blurred. I tried to cut out the white background of the image using the magnetic lasso and I went around the areas that I wanted to delete but it didn't work like I thought it would. I then tried to use the magnetic lasso tool to help section areas that I was going to use the eraser tool on but that also didn't work.

I then realised that I can use the magic wand tool to select sections of the image that I don't want to use. I want to try and just get the lens so I could add images inside of it to show the quality of the images from the camera. After erasing everything but the lens, I didn't like how it looked so I deleted the image and came up with a new idea. I decided to use the image of the camera I used in the print advert and I used the magic wand tool to delete the white background. After I did that, I placed the camera in the centre of the page because it will be the first thing the audience will see. I then added some boxes to create a border for the images that I am going to add to it. I placed it on an angle and I coloured it grey to keep with the neutral tones that were there. After that, I uploaded an image and I sized it down to fit the box. I also decided to experiment with the colours so I increase the vibrance and the saturation and I kept on moving it until I got something that I liked. I then decided to move the camera to the right side of the page and angle it slightly. I then start to add text in a yellow colour because on other magazine front covers, they use a lot of yellows, reds, or blues and I believe it is to catch the audience's eye. 

At this point, I didn't realise that it had stopped screen recording. I continued to add more text as well as repeating the method of adding an image and using the rectangle tool to create the border for the image. I also included a link to the Canon shop to try and have a wider audience and include the people who tend to prefer using social media or their phones. I also included a barcode with the prices above it in pounds and euros. I also changed the colours of the borders to red because I wanted them to stand out more to the audience