Evaluation Question 7

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

it to your final production?

Prelim Product Final Product

I have developed my skills through the use of online software and Mac software such as Photoshop and InDesign. This has largely benefited my final product due to the face it has enabled me to learn the ways in which the software works and how I can manipulate it to produce creative designs and layouts for my magazine.

Prior to making my product I did a lot of research and planning in to magazine conventions and professional work. I now have a more detailed understanding of how magazine products work and the features they contain. I used this knowledge to apply the forms and conventions of professional magazines to my own when producing my product.

For my real product I had much more time to get it right and to a higher standard. The prelim was used as more of a practice product to get used to the software. I feel was able to manage my time better and ensured my magazine was the best quality it could be for my capability.

I planned my work through setting up a schedule of work and writing notes of what needed to be done when to ensure everything I wanted to get done was completed and I feel this worked well as I completed everything I needed to.

Research & Planning

A lot more work went in to my final product when planning it:

Research & Planning

Prelim Planning Final Product Planning

I feel I have developed many skills through constructing my product and have now successfully been able to develop a final magazine product which has improved massively in comparison to my prelim product.

Construction

I feel I have greatly improved my skills in both the software and hardware I have used. Through Photoshop and InDesign I’ve been able to practice my skills and learn new ways of using the software/hardware to create a successful product.

Construction – Software & Hardware

Photoshop, Apple Mac, Camera

Photoshop, InDesign, Dafont, Camera, Tripod, Studio lights, Apple Mac

In comparing my final product to my prelim product it is evident that I have made many improvements and widely developed my skills in both hardware and software. These are some of the features I included from Photoshop and InDesign.

Construction – Software & Hardware

Basic font

Empty white space

My own images

Downloaded fonts Graphics Layers

Colour scheme

Font stroke

Cut-out images

Highlights

It is evident the imagery is of a much higher quality and composition in my final magazine than in my prelim. For my prelim images I used a camera on its own and took this photo in the corridor against a white wall, making it of a much lower brightness and standard. The model was also randomly chosen and there was no special effort to make sure she was wearing the appropriate clothing/makeup to suit the genre. However, for my real product I chose a reliable model who had appropriate clothing that would be suited to my magazine. I also did her hair, jewellery make-up and took a wide variety of shots in different poses which I could choose from in order to make sure the image was right and appropriate for my pop magazine. To take the image I set everything up in a photography studio with a completely white background and studio lights to make the model stand out and be clear. I also used the light meter to set the aperture and shutter speed setting on the camera in order to ensure that my photograph wasn't over or under exposed. This is clearly shown by the quality and brightness of my image in comparison to the prelim magazine. Furthermore, I ensured my model was an appropriate distance a way and the framing was right, using a tripod and ensuring everything was positioned correctily in order for the infrared setting on the studio lights to be triggered.

Construction – Photography composition

I have learnt a lot more about professional page layouts and designs within other magazines and tried to apply these conventions to my own magazine. It is clear that within my prelim, not as much research had gone in to the layout and design, therefore making it look un-professional and very basic.

After studying layouts of other magazines I used a wide range of techniques within Photoshop and InDesign software in an attempt to re-create this professional look and produce a high quality magazine. I used techniques including: Cropping, font effects, brightness/contrast settings, quick selection, inserting media, editing photos, use of graphic design, rectangle frame tools, grids & guidelines, layers and more.

As you can see, the layout is much more advanced and there is a lot more going on within the pages compared to my prelim product which involves a lot of white space.

Page Layout and design

In my prelim product, the only fonts used were those that are already included in the Photoshop software, making my magazine look quite unprofessional. Whereas, in my final product I used Dafont.com to download and try out a range of fonts which I felt would fit the genre of my magazine and through this I found a range of fonts that I downloaded and included in my magazine pages. The fonts are supposed to represent the pop genre and try to capture the conventions of other pop magazines. However in my prelim product I haven’t thought as thoroughly about the genre of fonts and have just used generic fonts. In comparison I feel my final product looks much better with regards to font styles and there is much more range and thought gone in to it. I particularly like my title font, which I feel stands out a lot compared to my prelim product which has a very basic title that barely stands out.

Use of fonts

Prelim Product

Final Product

To create mise-en-scene I have dressed my models appropriately to suit the genre by making sure they dress similarly to those in the pop industry. I have also used props and jewellery to ensure they convey a pop artist style and I feel this has worked in my magazine. However my prelim had a mise-en-scene of college and life studying, but I haven’t used any props for this or dressed my model appropriately so the magazine looks unprofessional and not thought through very well.

It is noticeable here how much more planning I’ve put in to my final magazine and the effort that’s been made to ensure it suits the pop genre.

Mise-en-scene content