IMPROVEMENTS

PRELIMINARY TASK VS MAIN TASK

PROGRESSIONI feel as though I have really improved my Photoshop skills as I have moved through the AS course, and comparing my preliminary task with my music magazine will demonstrate this. I have also managed to develop my InDesign skills – a programme which I had never used before I began making my music magazine.

HOW DID I GET FROM THIS…

… TO THIS?

COVER

vs

On the previous slide I have included the cover I created for my preliminary task, and also the cover I created for my main task.One of the main things I learned from my preliminary task is that dark colours don’t work well on covers because they are not eye-catching enough and generally make it difficult to see the text. I also learnt that too many cover lines/too much text on the front cover and be overpowering for an audience and make the magazine less appealing as a consequence. So, on my final piece I used bright colours and far less text. In terms of Photoshop skills, my manipulation of text has become more professional, and I have used a bigger variety of tools on my music magazine than on my school-based magazine. On my preliminary cover, I have only managed to use the bevel and emboss effect and the drop shadow effect to create my masthead, whereas on my music magazine cover I have improved my use of these tools by using the more complex settings which allow you to manipulate factors such as the depth of the bevel, and used them on my heading, and also some of the other text on cover. I have also included the use of a stroke effect which I feel helps my typography to stand out. Additionally, on my preliminary cover, I simply used the magic wand tool to cut Lucy out from the blue background I took the photo in front of. I then went over the rough edges with the eraser tool on a low opacity to smooth them out. Whereas, when I created my music magazine cover I used the magic wand tool, the quick selection tool, the smudge tool and the eraser tool on a low opacity to cut Chelsey’s face out of the background properly, catching every bit of blue.

COVER

CONTENTS PAGE

CONTENTS PAGEThe previous slide shows both my preliminary contents page, and the contents page which I produced for my main task.One of the main things I learnt about contents pages from doing the preliminary task is that the dots in between the article names and the page numbers aren’t effective because they are so boring functional. So, when I created my music magazine, I decided to use a different structure which is similar to some of the ones I saw when I was researching and deconstructing magazines of a similar genre. I also used a brighter colour scheme on my music magazine, which like with my preliminary task, matched the colour scheme of my cover but made it more fun and eye-catching.In terms of Photoshop skills, I have used a bigger variety of tools on my contents page, too. For instance, through making the contents page on the right I have learned how to add effects, such as drop shadows, to shapes and images. This is what I did to my pinned editors note and Polaroid-style photographs to make them look more realistic.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

Although I didn’t create a double page spread for my preliminary task, the creation of this double page spread for my music magazine shows how my skills have developed. To create these pages I used InDesign because it is a software that is more suited to this purpose than Photoshop. However, I had never used it before and so I had to learn how to do it from scratch. I did this by watching tutorials and seeking advice from my teacher. Through doing this, I learned how to import and place images, create columns and manipulate text among a multitude of other things.I am proud of what I have achieved.

THE LEARNING PROCESSThe main way I learned how to use Photoshop was through trial and error. Before I started working on my music magazine, I did a mock-up of a music magazine cover using an image from the Internet so that I could become familiar with the different tools and the software itself, because it is very different to any other programme that I’ve ever used.

I did the same for InDesign, but as it was a completely new software, I also watched tutorials and sought some help from my teacher when I needed it, as I mentioned previously.