Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt

in the progression from it to the full product?

Preliminary Task Final ProductSixth form Magazine – Emerald City

Music magazine –Tuner

Preliminary Task

Technical Abilities.During the preliminary task I struggled at first with my lack of technical abilities, as I had little experience in using software that was crucial to the task – e.g. Photoshop CS3. I was able to use basic skills on iPhoto after some practice, but other than that I was unable to edit my photos effectively, especially as I found the number of editing options confusing and daunting on Photoshop, but in hindsight I understand my photos could have appeared much more professional if I had at least experimented with this editing software. When using Photoshop to produce and apply the desired composition, I was again only able to use basic tools and skills on the software but during the limited time available to do this small task, these basic skills were enough to make a decent magazine front cover and contents page.

Research.

With the time available to complete the preliminary task, we had little time to fully prepare or do much (if any) research into the forms and conventions of other sixth form magazines. If I had done this research I may have been able to produce a more professional looking magazine.

Photos.For this task I only had one photo-shoot, which was within the school. Although this setting was perfect for the purpose of a sixth form magazine, the photo’s available were fairly limited because of various restrictions. Also, when creating my magazine I the photo’s are all similar because of the one setting and one photo-shoot, I knew then that I had to do more separate photo-shoots in my main task. I also lacked confidence with my photography abilities, as I again wasn’t sure on the kind of photos I wanted to take, this was also because I didn’t give my photo-shoot much thought before hand. This also left my models confused as they weren’t sure what was required of them.

Main Task

Technical Abilities.During the main task, not only was I able to learn from previous mistakes that I’d made during the preliminary task, but I also had more time to experiment with the endless tools available in both iPhoto and Photoshop. This allowed me to create a more professional looking magazine as the final editing I chose and the final composition of the magazine had been carefully thought about and compared with other options available – to help me make these final decisions, I created various surveys and questionnaires for my target audience. So, therefore, I am now confident that this magazine is a significant improvement to the preliminary task, as I feel it would be reflected by my improved technical abilities.

Research.As I was given a much bigger time span to complete my main task, I was able to use the time given effectively to complete a considerable amount of research into other music magazines. This allowed me to consider the forms and conventions of music magazines – and which of these I would later conform to or challenge, the prices of other magazines, the genres available – and which genre I would later choose for my own magazine, and how I could make my magazine appealing to my target audience. I feel this research has helped me significantly in the production process, as by then I had a very clear vision of how I wanted my magazine to be, and because of this supporting research I was fairly confident that this vision was appropriate and would be successful.

Photos.After learning from my mistakes in the preliminary task, for my main task I did 3 photo-shoots of my cover star, 1 for my competition to New York, 1 of a guitar on its own, and I also took photos from music festivals that I have attended. This allowed me to used pretty much all of my own images throughout my magazine, taking only a few from internet sources. I am extremely happy with the collection and variation of photos that were available to use for my magazine, as it gave me more freedom in the production process. I also planned each of my photo shoots so my models were clearer, and this is conveyed in my photos.