Q7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

My skills while creating my magazine have improved as I have developed skills within using different software's and websites such as Photoshop and InDesign. This benefited my work as it meant that I could create my work to a better standard due to being able to use software's which create good quality products.

In addition my skills whilst creating my magazine improved as I became more confident and comfortable with magazine terminology and what features are best for certain genres. Due to having a bigger understanding of the forms and convention of real media products made my work more in line with professional practices. This is because I gained an understanding of what needs to be on a  magazine and how to attract your target audience. Compared to my preliminary tasks the layout of my magazine looks more realistic and professional.

In the process of my preliminary tasks I realised how important time management was and the importance of reaching deadlines. I also learnt how planning my work before I did it, created a better outcome as I knew what to expect and I had something to work towards in my research and planning. This means when it came to actually making my magazine I was aware from the beginning on what to do as I had detailed plans and drawings of how I was going to do things.

Compared to my preliminary tasks in my research and planning I created plans and drafts more appropriately so my development was more realistic and logical.  This is so that when it came to creating my final product it was realistic and professional.

Below is the front cover I made in preliminary task compared to my final product.

Overall my final front cover looks much more polished and professional compared to preliminary task. This is because in my final product I planned everything that I was going to put on there as I needed it to make sure it would appeal to my target audience. Where as when I was creating my preliminary tasks I did not have the knowledge of that. You can also see that I developed a range of skills. For example page layout and design. This is because in my final product the layout looks more like a real magazine and it is positioned in wa way were everything is clearly seen. Also the choice of fonts is better as they are all similar and are suitable for a hip-hop magazine. Compared to my school magazine where some of the fonts may not be suitable for a school magazine. I also selected more suitable mise en scene. This is shown by the use of costume and poses as I planned them to relate to hip-hop by having serious facial expressions and intimidating poses. Furthermore there is more content on my music magazine compared to school magazine which does not look finished as there are no features included on it such as plugs and buzz words.

Below is the contents page I made in preliminary task compared to my final product.

As you can see below there is a big improvement to my final product compared to my preliminary task. This is because I developed more skills using software. In my preliminary tasks I created the contents page in Photoshop where as my final product was produced in InDesign. This is because I learned that InDesign would give a better quality product as InDesign is very skilful within text which important for a contents page as it contains key information about the magazine. However both these contents pages are similar as they both have similar colour schemes but in my final product the colours are used more wisely to make it more attractive to look at. On my final product there is much more content on the page compared to my first one. This is because is I learnt about the information that is required to go onto a contents page and how much is needed.