Question 7:Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have

learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Task: Music MagazineMy task for the main music magazine was to produce a Front Cover, Contents Page and Double page spread. The pictures had to be original taken in a professional studio or on location. The software’s I used were the same as the preliminary task; InDesign and Photoshop- I chose this software’s again as I believed the preliminary task turned out to be successful and since I found them quite easy it to use. The front cover was done on Photoshop; I decided to do this as my front cover contained one main image and Photoshop will allow me to edit the image in terms of brightness and contrast also, since there were several layers; it was the easiest and less confusing method. The contents page and double page spread was done on InDesign; this was because this software featured several tools that were used to gain a more professional structure that added to the presentation highly; additionally since I had 5 images as well as text it was easier to place them. InDesign allowed the Double page spread to be on an A3 sized/double page so this was perfect the DPS.

Task: Student Magazine

My task for the preliminary task was to produce a Front Cover and Contents Page of a Student Magazine. The software’s I used were Photoshop and InDesign. The front cover was done on Photoshop. The contents page was done on InDesign. The audience for this Student Magazine are students aged 16-18.

Mastheads:

These are the masthead of my student and music magazine. As you can see, there has been a huge improvement. The first image which is the masthead of the preliminary task isn’t very readable and doesn’t stand out against the background of the magazine. Also, the texts are balanced beneath each other. This give it an unprofessional look as it makes it very crowded. The layout of the masthead is the corner of the magazine and doesn’t stand out. The colours are bright however due to the reason that the background is also bright, it almost makes it camouflage into the background thus enabling it not stand out. However comparing it the second image, the masthead of my music magazine stands out immensely. This is done in the layout of the masthead as it is positioned at the centre and top of the page. The masthead directs the attention of the readers due to the positioning; this creates a balanced sense of the page in which the focus is not only one-sided but central. The fonts are also very different. The font of the student magazine is not bold in comparison to the music magazine as the font used is big, bold capital letters and the letters are all one size unlike the student magazines. In addition, I have included a boxed background with the colour of the house style to further the attraction of the music magazines masthead. Also the purpose and aim of the music magazine is clearly shown in the masthead as I have included an acoustic bass guitar.

The image used in the preliminary task is of two models studying looking down at books; this received criticism as the models are not looking directly into the camera; thus not making eye contact with the audience; however I definitely improved this in my music magazine as the model/artist is looking directly into the camera ensuring to make eye contact with the audience. The audience is immediately attracted to the attention of the model as she is placed at the centre of the magazine unlike the preliminary task, also the quality of camera is visible as the I used a SLR camera for the music magazine but a normal ordinary phone camera for the preliminary task. Additionally, the background of the preliminary task is very bright and is of books stacked in the library, although this reflects the theme of the magazine; however it makes the cover lines and texts very hard to read, this is in contrast to my music magazine as the background is not shown- this is one of the advantages of doing this in a professional studio.

Images:

Layouts of Contents Page:

The above images are of my contents pages of my music and student magazine. Firstly, the layouts are quite similar as this gives it an organized look in that the texts and images are on one side. However there are a few differences as the music magazine has a central image of the artist/model however, in the student magazine none of the images stand out. Additionally, there is a huge improvement in the written content. The music is much more detailed and in-depth then that of the student magazines contents page as the writing very limited.

Skills learnt:

I have learnt several effects in that my skills on Photoshop and InDesign have improved highly; this is shown in the work I produced for my music magazine. The difficulties I was faced with in the preliminary task are non-existent; since I did the correct research on how to use both Photoshop and InDesign so this helped me to use these software’s without difficulty. One of the difficulties was the layering on Photoshop as it became confusing as there were too many; however I learnt to rename them. Other difficulties include, getting the correct and same colour, to enlarge the image without blurring the image, to place the model in front of the masthead however I feel I learnt how to do these during the process of creating the magazine.

Improvements:The feedback I received from the comparison of the two magazines was mainly that the music magazine had a more professional look and the images that were used were professional. I took into consideration the feedback I received from the preliminary task which was “the models of the front cover looking at the camera showing direct eye contact with the audience instead of having them looking down”- this was acted upon for my music magazine as I had the model looking directly at the camera.

The preliminary task assisted me extremely in creating a success for my music magazine as the feedback helped me to improve upon them. The task also allowed me to understand and use the software’s I used as I had an idea of how to use them during my progression of my music magazine.