1. Looking back at your preliminary task,
what do you feel you have learnt in the
progression from it to the full product?
Zaynab Akhtar
2. Looking back on my preliminary task, right from the beginning such as
the research and planning, through to finally constructing the student
magazine, I have learnt a lot. Both in terms of the conventions of
magazines, and the appropriate terminology, and in terms of all the
different forms/types of technologies used.
3. From the research and planning section, I learnt the about the layout of
a magazine. Like where everything should be placed, such as the
barcode should be in one of the bottom corner, and that the masthead
should always be at the top of the front cover. I incorporated this in my
preliminary task, and then later also applied it to my main task. The
codes and conventions taught me what people would expect in
a student magazine, and this I applied to my own student magazine. So
I also researched the codes and conventions of a rock magazine, and
learnt what I should include.
Barcode in
the bottom
corner
Pug, not
concealing
main image
Masthead at the
top of the page
4. I also learnt how to use the
equipment, such as the
Nikon camera that we used.
I learnt the different settings
and options, and was able
to practice them on my
preliminary task. So when it
came to the main task, I
knew how I wanted to take
my photographs, and was
much more comfortable
using the camera. As a
result, my main task images,
turned out to be better than
those I took for my
preliminary task, because I
was more skilled.
5. The most important thing I
would say the preliminary task
taught me was how to use
Photoshop. It is a software used
by professionals, and so can
be tricky to learn how to use.
But when constructing the
preliminary task, I was able to
learn the basics of using
Photoshop, and was able to play
around and experiment with it.
So I learnt how to use it, and
learnt what features I liked, and
wished to incorporate in my
main task. In comparing the
front covers of the preliminary
task and the main task, the
progression is evident, and my
skills have bettered.
6. So as a result of the preliminary task, I learnt the essentials
of a magazine, as well as learning how to use different
forms of technology, and therefore, my main task looks
much better compared to my preliminary task.
