7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Front Cover

Preliminary Task:

I created the front cover for my school magazine on Publisher. Immediately, I have realised that there are several developments in my work, an obvious example is the main mast head and the date. The magazine looks unprofessional, with an irregular colour scheme, poor quality photos, and poor layout, lacking in the main conventions of a successful magazine. I have also learnt key selling and industry techniques that make a magazine sell to a particular demographic. For instance in the school magazine, I can now clearly see I did not consider the demographic, young people/students. One key example is the price. After studying the Social Grade, I realised that I should have targeted the magazine at a much lower price.

Furthermore, the masthead, doesn’t appear cohesive with the photo and the rest of the content, thus making it appear isolated. The logo of the school has not been edited and again appears isolated and unprofessional. The use of too many fonts make the magazine’s style appear irregular and unprofessional.

Contents Page

Preliminary Task:

I realised that there are several issues with my original contents page. The photo holds a strong message, yet the poor quality looses its selling point. The editorial pillars and cover lines are difficult to read due to the inappropriate font, it s delicate thin text makes it stylistically strong but impractical. This demonstrates I did not research the qualities of a successful magazine and its suitability. The colour scheme is also irregular and doesn’t flow through well with the front cover. I also didn’t think about a variety of audience, as I used the same model for both the front cover image and contents. I have learnt that it is more visually appealing on the eye when multiple models are used, this also allows the magazine to be open to a variety of genders.

Conventions

The most successful convention I discovered was Photoshop. Comparing my preliminary tasks and final product further proves the success of using Photoshop, creating a more professional and stylized product. I also found that my photographs looked more professional after using this programme, as I was able to edit various features such as the highlights and tones. Moreover, this software allowed me to align text professionally and the use of layers allowed me to see the process developments clearly.

Taking Photographs I have learnt the importance of good quality photographs, combining the camera ability and the editing process. I took my preliminary task photograph on an IPhone 6 and my finished product on a professional Canon Camera. The difference was exceptional, I have learnt the importance of photography, learning key features such as shutter speed and aperture and the effect on the outcome. My final product was more appealing due to the bright colours throughout the editing process which I learnt to achieve on Photoshop. I also thought about the photo’s, planning the intricate details such as the models costume, makeup and background. In the original photos I did not consider such qualities and I believe this is made clear in the outcome, for example, the front cover picture has several cars in the background, which I believe distract the reader and doesn’t allow space for cover lines to be readable. learnt the importance of making my magazine gender appealing was crucial. I ensured I had a male model and a female model, I then decided I would present a variety of shots and costumes, portraying different genres. All combined helped me present a professional magazine that showed a range of skills and appealed to a larger demographic.

In the process I discovered the importance of coding the magazine, particularly with the colour scheme. This creates a strong sense of attraction with the reader. I have learnt how to use many conventions and this is shown in the progression of my tasks. My final product has a fluidity within the magazine, not only with the colour scheme, but with the style and genre. This varies from the layout to the theme of the photographs. Overall, I feel like my work has developed rapidly and shown a strong sense of growth regarding the quality.