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

2. I think that I have learnt a lot from the preliminary task about planning and preparation, as during the preliminary task I didn't plan
the layout for my magazine very well except for a very limited number of sketches, and therefore I did not complete my
preliminary task very quickly as I did not know much about what I was going to do. However, I think that I have planned relatively
well for my main task, and this allowed me to keep within the deadline of the production. I have included more sketches, and
annotated what I was going to do, allowing me to be on track with the production, but I still think that I could have included a few
more sketches so I could understand what I was going to do even more. Also, I created the templates this time myself for my
magazine, gaining inspiration from magazines in the same genre, and I was able to bring in my own ideas on what to include in
my magazine.
The research in which I asked people of
my target audience on what they liked
and disliked about the magazines in my
genre helped me decide on what to
include, and therefore unlike my
preliminary project, I did take my research
in account, and included the ideas that
would appeal to my target audience. For
my preliminary project, the audience
research which I had done was very
brief, and I did not really ask other people
their own opinions on ideas for my
product, and therefore lacked on
planning. As you can see the outcome of
my preparation and planning is shown
throughout my final project.

3. I think that I have organised my time very well during my main task, and plays a huge part for the successful outcome of my
product. I had made a detailed plan for my planning on my iPod so therefore my plan would be with me wherever I went, and I
would be reminded of what I had to do for every day so I keep to the deadline, but I do think that the deadline for research and
planning was tight, and I found it difficult to spread out my tasks, but I kept towards my deadline. For the production part of my
main task, I used a calendar on Microsoft outlook (on next slide), and therefore I was able to spread my tasks over more
days, so I could spend more time editing, and polishing my products up so they're at their best quality. During my preliminary
task, I did not really set up a schedule for what I was meant to do and on what day, and therefore this did not allow me to have
lots of time for the polishing I needed for it's success and spending too much time on editing. I think I've improved greatly in my
organisation of time from the preliminary task to my main task as my final product is exactly what I've pictured.

5. I think the photography for my main task is very different then the
photography for my preliminary task. This is because despite
using a DSLR camera in both magazines, my photographs were
much more professional looking in my main task. One of the
main ways my main task photographs look better is through the
image manipulation I used, which is in this case Photoshop, in
the photographs of my main task I played around with
Photoshop a bit more, and tested more filters and tools,
whereas for my preliminary I just used my basic skills about
Photoshop as it was my first time using Photoshop. In the
picture on the right it is shown that for my front cover I have not
used many effects, but the spot healing brush, and to the picture
on my left it is shown that I have used a range of different tools
to manipulate my image, such as the colour filters, exposure etc.
Also, in my image for my main task, I've thought carefully about
the angles, and used the rule of thirds, whereas with my
preliminary I did not really think much about the angles, and not
as well done. I thought about the lighting more too, as with my
preliminary I just went outside of college and took the photo
without planning, whereas with my main task photo I thought
about what time I was going to take the photograph, in order to
get the perfect lighting for my magazine.

6. Main During my preliminary task I was not very used to technologies
such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign and the DSLR
Contents camera, and therefore this transferred to the outcome of my
preliminary product. In the preliminary task it was my first time
using Photoshop, so I had to follow a tutorial on how to use it
gaining basic skills, what I lacked during the preliminary task
was greater skills in which I developed during the production of
my main task, by experimenting with Photoshop to get the best
outcome. InDesign was especially difficult during the
preliminary task, which caused me to not finish my contents
page very quickly, and spending more time on the contents
page then I intended to, this was improved in the main task as I
was used to InDesign, and could quickly arrange things on my
contents/double page spread, and complete it in my ideal
amount of time. With the DSLR camera I did not use a variety
of techniques like I did in my main task, as in my preliminary I
only used the landscape setting as I did not have any
experience with professional cameras, but in the main task I
had to use the camera a lot for my photographs, and I used a
variety of different settings making my product a success.
Preliminary
contents

7. I think that for my preliminary task that I have used many genre conventions of a student, giving dominant ideology. As in my
front cover it is a picture that denotes a girl student who is smiling at the camera and looks like an achiever (someone who
wants to achieve something in life) and therefore I think that it has lived up to the audience profile. Whereas in my main
task, I have used most genre conventions of a teenager who is into 'indie' things, but I have not represented teenagers in
my magazines as delinquents, and trouble makers, but instead I've represented that as carefree, and hedonists (people
who enjoy life), which I believe is exactly what would appeal to my target audience as I've described them as hedonists and
carefree, therefore being 'emergent ideology'.
Preliminary
Main task

8. In my opinion, the most important thing which I have learnt during the progression from the preliminary task to the main
task is that your target audience plays a huge role in the success of your product. In my preliminary task I didn't really
take into account the opinions of people in my target audience, and had just used my own ideas and put in what I
thought would be best, making my magazine biased. However, I believe that in my main task that I have explored
many opinions from people in my target audience as I had created a Facebook focus group especially for my
audience's opinions and their opinions have definitely influenced my ideas for my magazine, and the final outcome of
my magazine making it a success, and much better than the final outcome of my preliminary task. With the opinions of
my target audience I believe that the magazine is a reflection of the audiences interests, and not just mine, making the
magazine much more appealing to them.