1) Comparing their preliminary magazine to the music magazine, the author saw improvements in their layout and image skills from researching existing magazines. 2) For the preliminary magazine, the images looked less professional and similar, while the music magazine images fit the genre and had more variety in poses. 3) Planning and research was more limited for the preliminary task, while an in-depth plan and shot list helped make the music magazine look more realistic.

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

4. For my preliminary task, I had to create a front cover and contents page for a
school/college magazine, whereas for my foundation task I had to create a front
cover, contents page as well as a double page spread for a music magazine. Looking
back at my preliminary task, I can see very evident changes and improvement in
my skills concerning layout and images, using inspiration from existing music
magazines.
Looking at my preliminary task, I feel like it does not look like a realistic and
believable magazine. This is due to different things, but I think the main issue is the
graphics I used and the visible shadow in my front cover image. My front cover
uses too much of a range of fonts, which makes it look to busy and unattractive.
However, I have stuck to a colour scheme and not used too many colours, which
makes it look better. The images I used on my contents page look too similar, which
I feel would draw the reader away as there is no range in the photos, making it lack
appeal and interest.
When researching existing indie music magazines to help me create my own, it
helped a lot with making it look aesthetically and conventionally pleasing. I took
inspiration from the types of images used, as well as colours and fonts that I
noticed were used.

5. Comparing my preliminary magazine to my foundation task music magazine, I can see an instant improvement in skill
and appearance of my music magazine. The background image on my music magazine looks much more professional, as
unlike my preliminary task, there is not shadow behind my model, and the shot is just generally more in focus and looks
more professional. I also positioned my model in front of my masthead, instead of having her behind, which also makes
it look more attractive and professional. I made the decision the have her in front of the masthead by looking at existing
magazines, and using Rolling Stone as inspiration as this is a common convention the magazine does. The photographs
used in my preliminary task look less professional and more like I had taken them for fun, but the ones used in my music
magazine fit the type of magazine it is fully and look like they are images taken for a magazine. Using images I had taken
when at concerts also added to the realistic feel of my magazine, and gave a variety in types of pictures I took and used,
whereas the images in my preliminary task are all quite similar and there is not much range in poses/angles.

6. The image I took for my prelim task was
hardly edited , hence why there is a
shadow cast in the background. I only
edited the levels of the image, but
evidently not enough too hide the
shadow. The image was also not fully in
focus.
On my music magazine front cover, the
image is fully in focus and there is no
shadow. It is fully centred, making it look
professional. I edited and manipulated this
image more, changing the levels more
adventurously and changing the saturation
so that it is black and white.

7. By planning my magazine in more depth, it
helped me to develop it further into looking
realistic and attractive. My preliminary task
planning was limited, especially my shot list, so
the images on my contents page were all very
similar. Looking at existing indie magazines
helped me create a in depth flat plan that was
useful when making my magazine.
Since creating my preliminary magazine, I
realised the importance of having a flat plan
and a shot list. In comparison to the research
and planning I had conducted for my music
magazine, my planning and research for my
preliminary was limited. I had a wider range of
shots on my shot list, as well as a more detailed
flat plan, whereas for my preliminary task I was
not as organised.

8. I learnt that time management is vital in creating a successful magazine. I managed my time much better for
my music magazine, as I planned out what to do for each time I worked on the magazine, and spent
significant amounts of time on each page to ensure the standards of them was all very high. When creating
my college magazine for my preliminary task, I felt I had not planned out my time well enough as they were
not up to even standards.
I learnt the importance of having a shot list for my images. My shot list for my preliminary task was limited
and not very detailed, so my pictures came out very similar. For my music magazine however, I had a much
more obvious and varied shot list, so my images were all different and none looked similar.
Researching how artists’ pose in music magazines was also helpful in creating a realistic music magazine. I
looked at the conventions of poses and mise-en-scene used in images, whereas I did limited research into
this area for my preliminary task so my images had little to no links to the content I had listed in my
contents page.

9. I linked all three of my pages for my music magazine
through text, colour schemes and included small details
from the front cover such as the masthead and graphics.
For my preliminary task I did try to link them, but it was
not as effective or attractive as when I did it for my music
magazine, which overall looked more realistic.
My preliminary task magazine had no links to the front
cover and contents page which made it seem unrealistic
and not believable. By having to create a double page
spread for my music magazine, I felt it helped me to link
the paged together easier and more effectively. It made it
easier to link what was on my front cover to what was
inside.
Overall, I have learnt a lot about creating a realistic
magazine, as well as furthering my skills concerning
Photoshop, types of camera shots, as well as time
management.