1. 1. Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt from the progression of it to the full product?
2. 2. Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt from the progression of it to the full product? When completing the preliminary task I did not carry out any research or investigation into the music magazines or the conventions they follow. I completed it through my basic knowledge of what a magazine looks like and the basic conventions. The stages when completing this task were simply the development stage which consisted of image & text manipulation, the layout and photography used. .
3. 3. Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt from the progression of it to the full product? When I completed my final music magazine project I carried out a lot of research including market, audience and publishing company research, this helped me to develop a far more accurate representation of the codes and conventions found within the modern music magazine. I first carried out my market research by creating surveys using tools that were available for example Survey Monkey, this research gave me the basis on what audience and market I should aim my music magazine at, I concluded that the rock music genre was most appropriate given the research. I then went onto research other existing music magazines and the publishing companies they belong to. I did this by looking at the comparative music magazines reader profiles and evidence that suggested why specific factors of the magazine were what they were, for example my research concluded that the price of a music magazine was varied and correlated according to the publishers, audience, style, target market and how often a new issue is published. I then did this for other factors such as how often my music magazine would be published etc.
4. 4. Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt from the progression of it to the full product? The research then led me to the planning stage. I completed my planning by looking at all my concluded research i.e. The price and how that effected the my target market. This was decided by taking into account the necessary factors such as the price of other, similar music magazines and how the target markets income would be reflected through the price of the magazine. This research then helped me create an ideal reader profile where I went onto decide an appropriate name and layout for my music magazine. It also gave me a basis on what is expected from other music magazines and how my music magazine would attract the audience I wanted. This stage decided every aspect of my music magazine and the technical specification my music magazine would have to abide by.
5. 5. Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt from the progression of it to the full product? Using my planning I finally produced my music magazine. On the left is my preliminary task and on the right is my completed project.
6. 6. Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt from the progression of it to the full product? I have learnt that research is a key to the creation of a successful final product, this is because it provides the basis on what the product has to be and how it should cater for the needs of the audience. Without research there would be nothing to make a plan from and no basic direction to where my music magazine should aim towards. When I completed my preliminary task I had prior knowledge from my brief that the what I was producing was a college magazine and therefore the audience would be the students, however I had no knowledge of what competitor magazines had to offer or what the audience wanted from the magazine. As you can see from the transition of my preliminary task to the final product I have progressed massively, when I completed the preliminary task I had no direction to take the product just what could be learnt from the original specification.
7. 7. Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt from the progression of it to the full product? I have learnt that planning is an essential part of the creation of a successful product. This can been seen throughout the progression of my preliminary task to the final product through the use of time management and the structure of the music magazine. When creating the final product many different skills were necessary that were not present in the creation of my preliminary task, I have learnt to plan every stage of the creation of a music magazine including audience and magazine layout and how these are affect the final product. Planning this music magazine has taught me important project management skills, when completing the preliminary task planning was not carried out and led me to producing a college magazine while I did not know what to include or the conventions of other magazines. The use of planning gave me a key insight into exactly what my music magazine was going to be and how it was going to look. Useful and time effective stages of planning include the use of a pitch which allowed me to think thoroughly about the target audience and style of magazine I was going to create. Photo plans were also very time effective because they allowed me to quickly and effectively get the photographs I needed without being indecisive or put on the spot when it came to taking the photographs.