Evaluation Question 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the main task?

Research and Planning

My skills have greatly improved from my prelim to my music magazines because first for the QE magazine there were only three stages in the production and making of my product which were analyzing briefly other magazines which did not look at the same genre, then doing a flat plan then going straight into the construction. However with the music magazine I went to various stages of analysis looking a specific features that make a professional looking magazine such as mast heads , layout, language etc. However I did still have to make flat plan were I redrafted. And the magazines I looked at were all within the same genre and targeted at the same audience which again helped me to make a successful and professional looking magazine.

Its clear that in my music magazine there has been a lot more detail and thought given such as the colour scheme and what they connote , also my QE magazine seems bare where as I found TNM seems fuller and more exciting.

Research and Planning

For my Music magazine I looked into what fonts for my mast head would connote the correct genre of the magazines to an audience then I had to research into colour by looking at competing magazines and how their color reflect on their genre.

I also had to plan costumes and make-up which would be representative of a certain stereotype and to do this I went through looking at icons then trying different clothes and make up on a model which was not done in my prelim.

I had to go through doing location reece /photo shoot planning / photo shoot test shots /model release forms/ hazard assessments / article research / article drafting then the construction of my product where as with my prelim I simply had to find suitable models to appear on the magazine , do a photo shoot then construct my product. It was a quicker process.

However the planning process of the Music magazine built up my skills to therefore produce a professional product which fit in with the rock/ indie genre.

Management

For my prelim we had the space of three weeks to finish the product however because this was the first time I have ever created a magazine containing a front cover and contents page, time keeping wasn’t my strongest point and having to work outside of class came as a surprise. A schedule going through what had to be done and when would of came in very handy.

However for my main product everything was more spaced out and everything was done in its own specific time and the time keeping skills learnt with my prelim helped during the music magazine even though sometime the heavy work load as there was much more detailed and analysis put into this product did set me behind a bit at some stages during the construction of the product as work on the apple mac could not be done at home.

Construction

I find that the photography difference between both products has improved significant as now I've became more familiar with the lighting settings and the focus of the camera to end up with a more clear image, also I've learnt how to edit my photos better to give a more professional, vivid outcome.

Also for my music magazine I paid more attention to the composition of the photography to suggest a certain meaning for example on the front cover the light low angle shows power and dominance and the direct address creates synthetic personalization with the reader.

Also for my prelim contents page where there is a group photo I did pay very much attention to were everyone was positioned to suggest a certain meaning where as now I paid more attention to details, for example ensue that all my models had corresponding outfits on to suit the genre and also fitted in with the color scheme and didn’t contrast too much.

Also in the contents page of the prelim there is a lot of dead space which should be filled with content however in the Music magazine I've ensured there are no dead spaces and all is filled with something that may interest a reader.

Construction

The layout out of the prelim isn’t very well organized as it all appears one sided and over laps the image to much that it takes away its impact. Also even thought the mast heads are suppose to be attention grabbing, the QE is too big for the page its self and again takes away the impact of the image where it really should be the main and exciting feature.

Also in my music magazine I've tried avoiding having magazine look to ‘boxy’ and structured like the QE magazine, so there for I've tried having the sell lines frame the image instead and not in a linier structure.

Also because the sky line text fills up the entire box and the sell lines with banners behind them as well it stops the magazine looking empty and reflects better on the genre as it comes across full and exciting.

For my full product I’ve used my Photoshop skills that I've gained and applied techniques such as layering better, downloaded fonts too for extra effect and also I've followed professional practice and used a wider range of fonts on the same page which I found appears as extra information therefore a reader will feel they are getting more for their money.