Question 6- What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

What have you learnt about technologies from the

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Question 7- Looking back at your preliminary task (the school magazine task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

After looking back at my preliminary task I can see that my skills and knowledge of using Photoshop have increased considerably. On my first attempt at using Photoshop my skills were limited and I didn’t really know how to use it, I also had no previous experience of using Photoshop, which made it even harder as I didn’t know what most of the tools were used for.  After playing around with it and experimenting I started learning what you could use all of the tools for etc. for example I found out that to remove any background from around an object or image I could just select the magic wand and pull out the bits of the image that I didn’t want, I found this very helpful as I used this tool quite a lot when creating my magazine. I have also learned how to use layers more effectively which overall has improved the layout and whole appearance of my magazine. Also from doing lots of research and planning I learnt all about the conventions of a magazine and what features make a magazine effective to the audience.

I feel that throughout the research and planning stage of my coursework i have learnt a lot that has helped me develop my skills and creativity when it comes to making my magazine. In the research and planning stage i looked at lots and lots of different genres of magazine and picked out parts of each magazine that i liked and thought about taking through to my magazine. I also learnt a lot about the coventions of magazines, what is conventional of a normal magazine and what isnt so conventional. One of the biggest aspects I learnt about through my research and planning is the layout of a magazine. I would say this was the thing that I found the hardest when making my magazine, I wanted to make sure that my magazine looked like a 'real' magazine and was effective to the audience. After getting feedback from my drafts it was clear this is what i still had to work on, so i went back to the research and planning stage of my coursework and looked at all of the layout of these magazines that i liked, i found this helped me a lot when making my final magazine. after looking back on my research and planning stage i have learnt that if i hadnt done as much research that i did i wouldnt know half of what i know creatively about magazines and i also wouldnt have had any ideas about how to create an effective magazine.

I believe there is a great improvement from my preliminary task to my final magazine, and I feel that I have done well considering that before doing this coursework I had never used Photoshop before and know I have used all the skills I have learnt to produce a cover, contents page and double page spread that looks professional.  

The Changes i made to my magazine

I have made a lot of changes to my draft magazine to develop it into my final cover, contents and double page spread;

The first thing i did was change the colour scheme of my magazine from navy, grey, white and black to red,white and black. i did this because after the feedback from my drafts i realised that the previous colour scheme looked very plain and lacked impact at first glance of the magazine. Whereas with the red,white and black i find particularly that the bright red stands out more and would have a bigger impact on the audience. Using red white and black for my colour scheme goes against the conventions of a typical mainstream/chart magazine, as you would be more likely to see these colours in a rock magazine, however i still think this will work effectively as my magazine is supposed to have a bit of an indie twist to it, and with it looking slightly different to the usual chart magazine it will intrigue the audience and make them want to read it.

I also changed the font of the masthead and the cover lines on my front cover. I did this because the font used on my drafts was very boring and didn't work effectively, i also used a more bold and simple masthead, i chose to use a simple font after looking at many magazines and realising that nearly all of the mastheads used were very simple and bold.

I changed the image on my cover, i chose an image of my model looking straight at the camera, she is standing with her hands in her pockets, i like this photo as i think the way she is standing and her expression adds some attitude into the image. this time i chose to keep the image in colour , i did this because her outfit matches the colour scheme of my magazine perfectly and also because the black and white image on my draft lacked impact to the audience.

My Contents page was changed dramatically, in my final contents i have decided on a conventional layout, i got inspiration of how to lay out the page from lots of different magazines, but finally ended up taking most of my inspiration for it from 'Q' magazine.

on my DPS i also chose to change the layout. instead of having the interview going across the bottom 3rd of the page, i have chosen to have it placed all on one page with a big image on the other.After looking in lots of magazines i saw that this is the most common layout for an interview, i also found that i could fit the interview on the DPS when it is all on one page.

Market research.

1) Is the colour scheme kept consistent throughout?
2) Do you like the style masthead i have used for my draft?
3) Does the magazine flow together?
4) Is my article enjoyable to read?
5) Name one thing that you would improve based on the way that my article is written
6) Does the magazine lack impact to the reader?
7) If so what changes would you suggest i make to give my magazine a bigger impact?
8) overall name 3 things that could be improved with my first draft

Self Assesment of First Drafts.

I have looked at my draft front cover against the mark scheme and have decided on what i need to improve on.

At the moment i would say that my front cover is basic and needs lots of improvements to be made to it.

Firstly i need to change the picture on my cover, i used this picture from the first set of test shots that i had took, from looking at my cover now i have realised that this photo doesn't work effectively. I find that the image being in black and white makes the whole cover seem boring as the rest of my colour scheme doesn't include very bright colours so i have decided i need the image in colour to make my cover stand out more. I can also see that the image wasn't cut out particularly well by me and that i need to improve my Photoshop skills. I also need to change the layout of my magazine and choose a font that stands out more.After looking at my colour scheme i find that the colours used are all dull and for this reason may not make my cover have a good enough impact so I'm going to re-evaluate the colour scheme and may change it to make my cover have more of and impact on the reader.

Overall i think my cover needs a lot of work , and i feel it looks rushed and very basic, i will improve this when i do my final cover.

After looking at my draft contents page i can see that the layout on the page doesnt work and needs to be changed. I am going to look at more contents pages and take some inspiration for a more effective layout. i also need to choose another font for all of the text on the page because on my draft the font doesnt really fit in with the theme of my magazine and it looks quite random. i also need to add more text to my contents page and change the no.'s so that they go up to a higher number rather than 25.

Some of the things that i think work quite well on my contents page are the 2 banners that run across the top and bottom of the page as i think this looks effective. I also like the headings as they match the masthead on my front cover , i also like them because they look like they have been drawn and i said in an earlier post that i would like to use a handwritten style font.

Out of all the pages this was my favourite. I am planning to improve it by changing my columns so that they are more aligned and look more professional. i may also need to change the layout slightly because of the page fold and where it goes through the page, on my draft it goes straight through a photo and my middle column of my article so this will need changing.

Although i like the banners on the top and bottom of the pages i need to change the page no.'s as they look blurry and messy.

I like the text used for 'Hope Tyler' as i think it contrasts well with the headings i have used on other pages.

Overall i think i have a lot of changes that need to be made on my drafts especially with the layout of each page as this seems to be a recurring issue with each page. To get inspiration for a better layout i am going to look at other magazines that are out on the market and look for layouts that i like that i think i could use elements of in my magazine. 

Drafts

More Test Shots..

These are some more test shots that I took for my magazine, I decided on most of them i wanted Katy to be smiling as this would suit the type of artist I want her to be and also the genre of music that she sings. In these shots there is a mixture of Long shots mid shots and close up shots, this is because I am still undecided on what type of shot I would like to use on my cover and inside my magazine.