Q7. LOOKING BACK AT THE PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION

FROM IT TO A FULL PRODUCT?

CTK-AS MEDIA: UNIT G321 FOUNDATION PORTFOLIO COURSEWORK EVALUATION

QUESTION 7.

SHEIKH MANJANG

How I approached the two tasks and how I managed equipment and other resources

• The first task that I had to complete was the preliminary task and within this task I:

1) Looked online for a college magazine front page and I analysed its connotations and denotations using Microsoft Word.

2) Created my own College magazine front page as well as a contents page. I had to make drafts of these first and I later made final versions of them after making changes to them using Photoshop.

• The second task that I had to complete was main task which was to do with real media texts and within this task I:

1) Completed a Project Introduction.

2) Used the internet some music magazine front pages and double page spreads and did a textual analysis on all of them using Microsoft Word.

3) Used Microsoft PowerPoint to draw up convention diagrams on the front page, contents page and double page spread using different music magazine brands.

• The third task that I completed was the second part of the main task which was to do with my target audience. For this task I:

1) Conducted my audience research that had to be done by electronic means. I done mine using SMS and took screenshots of the research.

2) Created a mood board that consisted of pictures and colours that represented the genre and colour scheme of the magazine that I was going to produce.

3) Put together a profile of someone that represented my target audience using Microsoft Word.

4) Wrote up a case study of a publishing house that I thought would publish my music magazine using Microsoft Word.

• The fourth task that I completed was the third part of the main task which for which I had to my drafting. For this task I:

1) Produced mock-ups of my magazine manually using coloured pencils and plain paper.

2) Took photos of my models for my magazine using a digital camera.

• The fifth task that I completed was the fourth part of the main task and this is where I had to produce my final media product. For this task I:

1) Completed my music magazine that included a front page, contents page and double page spread.

FRONT COVER

CONTENTS PAGE

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

MY HUMAN RESOURCES

• When I began this unit I started off slow and the speed at which the course moves hit me hard.

• I started to pick up the pace and make up for lost time by attending workshops and doing some work at home.

TIME MANAGEMENT

• I had problems when it came to manipulating my photos on Photoshop but after watching online videos, asking my teachers for help and exploring the different tools on Photoshop, I have improved my skills a lot.

• I had problems trying to achieve the perfect low-key lighting effect but I played around with the studio lights. Even though I am still not good when it comes to lighting, I have improved my lighting skills.

OVERCOMING PROBLEMS

• All but one of my photos were taken in the Green Room of my school. The reason for this is because I wanted to be able to edit the background of the photos whenever I thought that the current background was not as effective as I would have wanted it to be. I also used the Green Room so that I could manipulate the lighting of my photos and set the right ambience that suited the genre and main subject of my magazine.

LOCATION OF PHOTOGRAPHS

• I dressed my models to suit the Hip-Hop and R&B genres and mood of my magazine. They dressed in a way that would appeal to my target audience.

• I deliberately chose not to use any props for my photos because I wanted to keep them simple. I also felt that if I included props then it would cramp up the pages. Another problem was that the prop would have to have a meaning and relate to the main subject of the magazine and I didn’t want to just drop things into the photos unnecessarily.

COSTUMES AND PROPS