5. Progression and Learning Along the Way...
Images - The photographs I took on my preliminary were either to over or too under exposed and also slightly blurry. I also only used two
images in the whole of the preliminary so there wasn't much to look at image wise. I did not think about the lighting nor mise en scene for the
preliminary task. However in my final production I put a lot of thought into the mise en scene and the lighting (natural sunlight and where it hit the
face/body) and also composition of the whole photograph. I planned the images well before taking them. The quality of the final images are also
better due to using a better more suited camera and also learning about the features which meant the quality of photos were better (e.g. IOS). In
my final production I used a lot more images as I wanted to vary it more from the preliminary task, I also learnt how to alter my final images
which made them look more professional and stand out either more. I did this my editing the brightness and contrast and also adding other
features like darkening the image in certain places.
The preliminary task was rushed therefore did not look very professional, so I wanted to change a lot in the progression of my
preliminary to my final magazine construction.
Text - I feel like I have progressed in text concerning what was written, in my
primlimary I did not really know what I was writing about however in my final
production I had researched what to write about and what language to use and
also how to format the text therefore I knew exactly how to construct that same
style and content onto my magazine to make it as professional as the magazines I
had researched. However I also did improve when choosing different fonts, in my
preliminary the fonts were bit boring and also slightly difficult to read but in my
final production I used a similar masthead to the researched magazines and
learnt how to space out the lettering, and change the width and height and also
the colour from black to white by using photoshop (I had to teach myself how to
do this bit as the font was an image). This meant it looked more professional and I
spent more time on how I wanted it to look.
6. Layout - My preliminary layout is much different to my final production. The preliminary is a typical layout of a
magazine what you would immediately think when you think of a magazine, however it's constructed quite badly.
But in my final production it's a completely different set out due to the magazines I researched I wanted more of an
indie magazine than your typical pop culture, therefore the front cover was very plain however i think this adds
integrity. Even the complexity was changed from preliminary to final I do think learning how to use layer on
photoshop helped me to get a finished professional look as I was not sure on how to use them in preliminary
however had a better understanding when creating my final piece.
Masthead - The masthead is a key aspect to any magazine I learnt this when researching my codes and
conventions. In my preliminary task my masthead was difficult to read and stood in front of the model even though
it was bold it just didn't look quite right sitting on that page. When I learnt how to alter and manipulate text this
really gave my magazine an edge, as I could make the text look exactly how I want it to look which I could not
achieve on my preliminary as I did not have those skills. So, in my final production I used these skills to make the
masthead the biggest feature on the page even though it is placed behind the models head (which looks more
professional) it's still dominant on the page and stand out and is easy to recognise the brand.
7. When I progressed
from my preliminary to
my final production I
learnt a lot of things
and new skills when
creating my front
cover and content
page. All of this was
than transferred into
my final production of
my double page
spread.
8. Changes from preliminary to final used skills which i used in double page spread,
these skills included image, text and layout.
Images - how to take a striking well composed and in focus image using a
DSLR camera and also manipulate these images by altering the brightness
contrast and adding features like black and white.
Layout - my research gave me the knowledge of how to layout a professional
and interesting double page spread which flowed.
Text - I learned how to use different fonts which helped me when writing quotes
and illustrating the artist's name as i could do this in bold or italic or a
completely different font to make it stand out and be prominent on the page. I
also learnt how to write the writing in different shapes (e.g circle) which was
good to use for the artist's name as it drew the reader's attentions as they had
to concentrate to read the writing due to the different format, which stood out
9. To Conclude...
The final production of my magazine was at a good quality level, due to the fact that I had learnt different
skills and techniques along the way of the construction which made the progression of my work from
preliminary to final production two completely unrecognisable pieces. The techniques and skills included
how I used my lighting in each images, changing the settings on the camera (the camera was different
from my preliminary to my final piece therefore the quality of the final pieces’ images were much better) .
The use of photoshop also impacted on my work drastically as if i had not learnt the skills that i learnt
through the progression my magazine would look completely different as to what it does. These skills were
learnt through tutorials I found on youtube.
Not knowing about these techniques meant I couldn't of achieved a professional looking magazine, and
the consistency would not have been kept throughout. By researching codes and conventions this helped
me a lot as my final production would not had been as professional and well thought out; without this
research my target audience's needs would not have been met.
