EVALUATION QUESTION 7Harmony Willsher

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

product?

FRONT COVER

CONTENTS PAGE

Since my preliminary task, I feel like I have progressed in many technical ways, improving my skills with the knowledge I have gained over the duration of this course. At the start, I had little to no knowledge of how to use Photoshop, whereas over time I’ve been able to develop my skills.The images used for both my front page and contents page I felt were disappointing due to the fact there is little lighting used, other than the natural lighting in the room. I barely spent any time on the image itself, and instead tested out all sorts of fonts. I also felt I could’ve added more features to the front page so that readers knew what to be expected instead. I also would’ve liked the second image to be set somewhere else, using other tools instead of just art products; otherwise it gives off the impression that that’s the only thing it focuses on, instead of other subjects too.

My final production shows a variety of coloured lighting, and I definitely spent more time on the photo editing features. I looked at different contrasts and brightness settings to see what looked the best. I definitely progressed in font choosing. I felt the fonts on my preliminary task were more childlike, appealing more to a younger audience – even though the main attraction was supposed to be sixth formers. My final task has a similar audience, but with a wider range of ages that stretched to women in their mid-twenties. I needed a more professional look that appealed to a wider audience. It also made it look more formal.

My Photoshop skills have improved immensely, as I began the course with very little knowledge on it and now have taught myself to be familiar with a majority of the tools they have.

I now know of adding layers, and how to position each one so all the others I want people to see are visible through the others. I also know how to edit the contrast and brightness of the colours, as well as sharpening the image. This was helpful for my main task as it darkened my photo and made the reds and blues stand out more. It made it more eye catching and vibrant, whereas before it was plainer and didn’t look as appealing.

My layout/design has become increasingly complex; when before, in the preliminary task, there was no proper structure to the contents page. It is obviously shaped around the image itself, but I believe that my final task looks so much better due to proper columns and a variety of fonts to separate each section. It’s lack of structure and limited amount of features on the contents makes it look plain and boring; this might discourage readers to continue reading due to lack of interest.

With my music magazine, it’s variation in font and layout made it look more interesting. I also learned how to use the line tool, layers, and used all the fonts to differentiate each section from the other. This structure made it look more appealing and more professional looking; like one you’d see in a magazine such as CLASH. My research was very useful and helped a lot when it came to my final production, whereas with my preliminary, I did little to no research on it and therefore simply added things without much thought put into it.

Continuing from fonts, I learnt how important mastheads are when it came to popular magazines. The masthead, besides the photograph/model, is one of the initial things that attract the attention of the audience. My masthead for the preliminary task was vibrant and childlike to attract a younger audience, and as it was a leaflet for school, I felt that if it was bold, it would make it seem more interesting and less formal, and therefore attract the attention of the students. However, I felt it was inappropriate for a music magazine with such a wider target audience. My final production’s has a more professional and older look, the thin capital letters making it stand out against the black behind it. The colour scheme looks more adult and professional.

Through much research and planning, as well as using all the information I now knew from both my final production front cover and contents pages, I managed to construct my double page spread – which is my personal favourite of the three. I like the colour that’s lit up behind the model, as it makes the magazine look extremely professional. I also like the fade from pink to black, which was originally caused by shadows from the shot I took, but as I made the canvas wider, I filled in the empty space with a black fill as well as burning around the pink so it looked like the image naturally faded into black. I found this looked so much better than if I filled the blankspace with the same pinkcolour as it would lookunnatural.

CONCLUSIONIn conclusion, the change from my preliminary task to my final production was a very positive thing and definitely shows that I became increasingly familiar with the program to create both tasks. I acquired new skills, as well as improving on older ones. The skills I learned would then help me to construct a professional looking magazine, as well as using my time to research and plan. The research and planning made my magazine look like one you’d see on the market, as I followed many codes and conventions to make it look professional. The variation of fonts, shots and layout of my magazine were necessities that I used to successfully complete my final production. Lastly, my progression in Photoshop was extremely useful. If it wasn’t for this program, I wouldn’t have been able to successfully make my magazine.