Q7

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


Preliminary Task:


Music Magazine (Final):

My preliminary task was to create a magazine front cover for a college, this was essentially so i could prepare and learn the conventions of magazines. This was a great start for me so that i could develop my skills. Doing this task was a great start so that i could learn the terminology and conventions. Like mastheads, skylines, plugs, base lines, features, tag lines and cover lines were now familiar terms. Since i previously did photography in high school i already had a fair understanding of the various shot types and how the technical terms work like depth of field and composition. I did learn from this however how important the Mise en scene is as it adds verisimilitude. Like I said previously i already had a good understanding of Photoshop, but creating the cover did however give me a better understanding of scale and composition. I also learnt faster ways to perform specific tasks by pressing Ctrl and another key it generally performs a short cut. Plus i can now confidently research products to a significantly better level. I have a better use of mood boards and how beneficial they can be, as well as LIIAR analysis's (Language, Institution, Ideology, Audience and Representation).

Comparing My magazine Covers:

College Magazine:

For my preliminary task I created my own college magazine using my own images. I followed the basic conventions of magazines. I wanted to create a cool and professional design, a lot of my headlines were based from current situations in the college.

 For my masthead I used the iconic Wyke logo that I got from the internet. This was a big influence to my colour scheme as these are the colours related to Wyke College. I slightly angled the logo to suggest a modern and cool design.

Instead of using the common left third rule I decided to include images on the right hand side instead as it was uncommon and has a nice effect. I tried to think of cover lines that would be relevant to college students as that is my target audience. The catchy phrases help attract the reader as it seems less formal and more relaxed. I also included a short sell line college culture although I think the positioning could be improved but I didn't want to flood the top of the cover with text.

Instead of a clear dateline I thought that it would be easier to include an issue number in the skyline and how often the magazine is released instead. I included a flash that was relevant to the upcoming event. The colour scheme of the Alton towers looked slightly out of place so I had to add text with similar colours to help blend the image. Although my magazine aesthetically looks nice it lacks anchorage as I struggled to take images that I could create a story about.

I feel as though my product fits most all college related social groups as it is informal, relaxed but relevant and is aimed at students in general not just maths students for example. I addressed my audience by including topics that aren't topic related but college in general related.

In comparison to my perfume magazine cover I think that my ideas and knowledge has improved greatly as I know am aware of a lot more key terms and conventions. Next time I would like to create a more eye catching main image as the current one is plain as the background could be more eye catching.

In terms of language the way my product is portrayed is a very enthusiastic and learning oriented. The ideology has made my cover look a lot more relaxed due to the clothing of the models as it isn't too formal.

Music Magazine:

I think that in comparison to my College magazine there is a large and clear sign of progress. Not only due to the significant increase in conventions, but as well as the clear skills to create and successfully edit the images because in the college magazine you can see how I basically cut around the model. Also the typeface and composition is also a lot better.

College Magazine Contents Page:


Music Magazine contents page:

As you can see the contents page for my college magazine is very poor. Not only is the print behind it impractical as it makes the font difficult to read but it doesn't look appealing at all.

Music Magazine Contents page:

Straight away this looks far more appealing, it also not only has all of the conventions of the contents page but it maintains the theme created on the front cover as all of the colours are still relevant.

Music Magazine Double Page Spread:

Finally, here is my double page spread. I am really happy with the final product of my magazine especially the contents page and double page spread as I feel they are very aesthetically pleasing and contain a large proportion of conventions.




Peer Feedback:
Numerous peers are going to give me feedback on both magazines in the comments section of this post.