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

My Preliminary Task

My Music Magazine

Preliminary TaskFor my preliminary task, I had to create a front cover and contents page for a college/school magazine which was different to my foundation portfolio task of creating a music magazine. Looking back at my preliminary task has proven that I’ve gained and improved the skills I have learnt as well as using my research on existing music magazine to help me create my final products. Now when I look at my college magazine I think that it doesn’t look realistic or professional enough to be an actual magazine for multiple reasons.

The first problem I notice on the front is the image I took is not of a high quality because it doesn’t look completely in focus which means my image doesn’t stand out enough, whereas now when I look at my music magazine cover, the image is one of the first things I notice because it stands out well due to it being in focus but also due to the manipulating I did. The image is also quite plain to look at because it is on a white background and in school magazine the main image s usually interesting to look at, also because I never changed the levels of this image or manipulated it much, it is less noticeable. Also, the colours for my preliminary task fit well with my chosen image however I feel that it doesn’t fit well with the type of magazine as this sort of colour scheme is usually seen in music magazines and film magazines, which is why I’ve got a similar colour scheme to this in my music magazine. Even though the colour scheme is consistent, some of the writing blends in to the image so it isn’t readable, it also means that the content doesn’t stand out as much as you’d want it to as well as making it look unprofessional. I also notice that the reds I chose to use aren’t exactly the same as each other and the red of the book which again makes it less professional because the colour isn’t consistent.

The images I used on my contents page are of a much better quality than the main image on my front, they also have different mise-en-scene, some of the images are taken in the common room where people in college hang about or do work which is good to include because it is directly relative to a college magazine. I’ve also included a few different shot types which also makes my images look more varied and interesting. My images also relate to my chosen colour scheme as the seats in the common room are red as well as one of the model’s shirts which helps the product have more links within it. I could have used a wider variety of images though because my images are all in the studio with a white background or in the common room so I could have used different scenery or props such as going outside or in a classroom of some sort.

A convention of any sort of magazine is to have a large masthead so the name of the magazine is easily recognisable. I have done this for my preliminary task however I think it is a little too big, especially on my contents page where it should be smaller so more content can be included. The name I chose for my college magazine is good because it is relative to college and school where to ‘proceed’ and continue on to the next steps of education or life. I think for both my preliminary task and foundation portfolio task, my magazine names are good and relative to the style of magazine and the content that would be in each of them.

When comparing them, I have noticed that the graphics and text stand out a lot more on my music magazine than my college magazine. On my college magazine, I didn’t use many of the tools, such as ‘Bevel and Emboss’ or ‘Drop Shadows’ which makes the content I included stand out a lot less compared to my music magazine which I included many of the tools for every single piece of text or graphic visible meaning that it is more attractive and enticing to my target audience. The style of graphics I used on my college magazine were quite plain and uninteresting to look at and this meant that with my music magazine I wanted the chosen graphics to stand out and be attractive while all linking to each other as they’re the same style. Also the graphics on my music magazine front cover follow through on to the contents page which helps the pages link together more. However the graphics on the contents page of my preliminary task aren’t included on my front cover which means it doesn’t link as well as it could, therefore making it unprofessional. I don’t think I used a good range of text on my college magazine as they’re all very similar to look at which makes the features stand out less, I learnt from this and in my music magazine I used a range of text that is consistently used throughout the magazine. It is also noticeable that my college magazine isn’t spaced out properly because I didn’t use any grid lines to help me and you can tell that I didn’t do this with my music magazine as there are equal spaces between things and everything lines up properly.

Comparisons & Progression

Comparisons & ProgressionThe process of creating my college magazine wasn’t planned as well as my music magazine because I researched thoroughly the conventions of an Alternative Rock magazine so my overall product would be as realistic and relative to the genre as possible. However with my college magazine, I briefly analysed and researched conventions of this magazine style to help me but my research wasn’t deep enough so I would know how to create my magazine properly. This is evident in my magazines as my music magazine looks a lot more professional and relative to it’s genre than the college magazine therefore showing that the research I conducted for ‘Hybrid’ helped when creating my final product a lot.

Creating the preliminary task has helped my final music magazine product be to the standard it’s at because I was already able to use Photoshop and other technology so I never had to teach myself or learn straight from the beginning. With my front cover, the most obvious progression I have made is with the image, my camera skills have improved since the preliminary task as I now know how use different angles, backgrounds and lighting to capture the ideal image that I would want. This allowed all the images used throughout my magazine to be different and more intriguing to look at compared to the images used for my college magazine. Also, my preliminary task hasn’t followed many conventions that well because it looks very amateur, I think a big reason for this is that I haven’t included much content and everything is plain, especially my contents page because there is a lot of empty space, this is partially because the layout I chose wasn’t sufficient enough and doesn’t look like a professional design. However my music magazine followed conventions a lot more and a lot better making it look more realistic and professional, with this magazine I made sure I included a lot of content to make the pages look busier and more attractive. Also the layout I chose, especially for my contents, is more professional looking that my preliminary task which makes the page more attractive and enticing.

ConclusionIn conclusion, looking back at my preliminary task of creating a college magazine and comparing it to my foundation portfolio music magazine, I can see the vast improvement in my skills and ability to design and create using Photoshop from my first task to creating my final products.

I have made a big improvement from the start of the year to now and it is quite evident when comparing the two different magazine products. I now have a better understanding of the process of creating a magazine as well as the importance of using different convention within the product, such as graphics, text, colour scheme and the masthead.

Throughout creating my music magazine ‘Hybrid’, I have gained skill and knowledge. I have become more able to use technology and equipment such as Photoshop, Camera, professional lighting and sound as well as now being more able to use web 2.0 to a strong advantage which has helped my skills improve a lot. I have also become familiar with and gained confidence in using sites such as blogger, YouTube, Prezi and SlideShare which have helped me in the process of creating my foundation portfolio product. Overall, my skills have bettered throughout the process of my preliminary task to foundation portfolio as well as gaining further understanding and more knowledge.