4. Progression of Images
• From my preliminary task to my full product, I think that I improved in many areas. One of these
areas is my photography- I learnt how to use a camera efficiently to obtain high quality images. I
did this through the use of tutorials on the ISO, aperture and depth of field- this was invaluable as
I was able to use the camera more effectively and not on any automatic settings; I had more
freedom and managed to capture images closer to what I wanted. I also learnt how to edit my
images on Photoshop to a higher standard so that my full products’ images appear more
professional. As images are one of the main features of my magazine, this progression process
was important to make my final production look more similar to a real media product.
• More planning and consideration went into my photography for my full product, an example of
this is through the use of mise-en-scene. This ranged from the background setting featured
(preliminary task was the school common room and the full product was a plain, black
background), to the clothing that the main model was wearing (preliminary: business wear, full
product: red top and leather jacket). This shows attention to detail and would be more appealing
to my target audience as it would be similar to what they would wear themselves (relatability
forms relationship between artist and audience).
5. Research
• I did more intensive research into my full product as opposed to my
preliminary task- this allowed me to cater for the needs of my target
audience and use typical codes and conventions in order to entice my
readers.
• In doing so, I have managed to associate relevant theories e.g. uses and
grats, reception theory etc. Examples of these in my production are
direct mode of address (uses and grats) and having images of females to
attempt to convey the empowerment of women in the media and music
industry (reception theory).
• Applying this research allowed me to create a media product with the
audience more in mind; which had major influence on my final outcome
and would make my magazine more accessible to my target audience.
This knowledge of the wants and needs of my readers made my product
more targeting and specific to my audience; my magazine would be
more successful with these demographics. See next slides for how I put
this research into use.
6. Masthead
Compared to my preliminary task, I feel that I improved my masthead in my full product.
• For example, my preliminary tasks’ masthead is placed at the top of the page over the top of the models’
head where it is unclear to read, it does not reflect my audience in any way and was a focal point even
though it has a simple design.
• Compared to this, my full products’ masthead fits in the page behind the head of the model- this suggests
that the magazine brand name is well-known and so that the artist is the main focus, makes the masthead
appear more professional and only takes limited attention away from the main image.
• My final product has large, plain and bold, white on black font in capital letters and serif style- this is eye-
catching and promotes brand awareness. I used ‘LTC Bodoni 175’ font downloaded from dafont.com- this
font replicated ones that I had seen from existing media that appealed to me and my focus group. This font
is more typical of a fashion magazine than a music magazine- this suggests a young, perhaps more female-
dominated target audience.
Existing media examples of
fashion magazine mastheads:
Full Product Masthead
Preliminary Task Masthead
7. Fonts
• In progression from my preliminary task, I think that I have been able to understand and incorporate
the use of styles and fonts more suitably. This was achieved through research into my target audience
more so than my preliminary, in turn me having better understanding of their wants and needs. This
had an effect on the style of my chosen fonts- the majority of my text is bold and sans-serif. This was
more appropriate for my audience as it replicates my readers’ “bold” characteristics as stereotypical
teenagers/young adults, is more eye-catching and can be seen throughout my full production for
consistency and professionalism.
• The magazine overall appears a lot more stylish with these different fonts (downloaded from
dafont.com)- these were replicated from my target audience and codes and conventions research. As
well as this, I also researched tutorials as to how text can be highlighted in Photoshop so I could
differentiate text of the same font to captivate attention (uses and grats).
• I altered the size of my text, which made it more suitable for my audiences’ wants and needs. For
example, some text in the headings, as well as the masthead needed to be considerably larger in
order to captivate the readers’ attention and show it’s importance. Some text also needed to be
smaller in order to look more professional and have overall size differentiation in the text. For
example, in my full product contents page, my sub-title font is bigger and in upper case, compared to
my smaller, lower case font for the short descriptions (in my preliminary contents page short
descriptions were not even featured). This was inspired from Q magazines’ contents page.
• I have more variety of fonts in my full product than in my preliminary task- this appealed to my
audience as it differentiated the text and showed contrast- it was more eye-catching (uses and grats).
One example of this is the use of a different font when featuring artists’ names- this makes the text
stand out and creates enigmas (Barthes).
Q Contents My Contents
Artists’ names on my
Front Cover
8. Layout
• From my preliminary task, I think that my design of layout has improved significantly. I have a lot
more content (text and images) and less blank space- this makes my product more eye-catching
and informative (fulfils the needs of my audience).
• My sub-headings are arranged in line with each other- this contributes to a more organised feel.
The sub-headings themselves also allow my audience to go directly to the category of interest-
this allows them to fulfil the needs of the individual (e.g. for informative needs, the reader may
go directly to “regulars”- this would result in the individual becoming more satisfied with the
magazine.
• The rows and columns suited the codes and conventions that I researched (this replicates Q
magazine). The use of bright house colours (red, black and white in this text in the columns and
masthead draws attention to the information featured (uses and grats).
• My arrangement of images is different- having a single image on my preliminary does not reflect
my target audience through their wants and needs and does not allow me to use the variety of
shots required to generate an interest in the features included. This was something I corrected in
my full product as I used multiple images of both portraits and a landscape in order to satisfy my
entire target audience.
• The positioning of images was also significant- it makes the overall composition of my product
more visually appealing, which makes the contents page more effective. I also placed page
numbers over these images so the readers can fulfil their needs (uses and grats). This was all
down to my research and planning into how layers work in Photoshop.
10. Double Page Spread
• Text- from my research, I kept to codes and conventions of a music magazine by using pull
quotes, an introduction to my article and masthead in a similar font to Rolling Stone Magazine.
This bold masthead draws attention (uses and grats) and reflects the magazine. The language in
my article acts as a sensualisation to the audience as it is hyped up, exaggerated and
disproportioned in order to generate interest around the featured story based on a break-up
(this content would be of interest to my target audience as they may be going through similar
relationship experiences). This was an improvement from my preliminary as I did not consider
how I could aim at and reflect my target audience in my work.
• Layout- after research, my new knowledge allowed me to produce a fairly simple, yet effective
and easy to read double page spread- which would cater the needs of my audience. This
included having my text on one page, and the focal point (being the image) on the other- this is a
convention of magazines similar to mine. However, my article was not split into columns like
most conventional articles (my layout follows Rolling Stones Magazine). This was an
improvement from my preliminary as I considered codes and conventions and the needs of my
audience in my full product.
• Image- after learning how to use a camera efficiently, I took a close-up of my model and then
learnt how to edit the image on Photoshop so it was more eye-catching and therefore intriguing
for my audience (uses and grats). I used direct mode of address in my full product image (I did
not do this in my preliminary)- this makes my artist stand out and create a relationship with the
reader (uses and grats). My mise-en-scene also replicates that of my audience which makes the
model more relatable, as well as giving a higher quality image which suits the magazine and adds
to the atmosphere of the page- this leaves much higher production values in place than the ones
on my preliminary as it is more targeted at my target audience.
My Full Product
Rolling Stone
11. Conclusion
I have learnt a lot since my preliminary task in the progression from it to my full production. The
following are what I have learnt:
• My full product progressed significantly from my preliminary task mainly due to the research level
of needs and wants of my target audience, but also from learning the techniques necessary in
how to achieve them. This ranged from the lighting and quality of the image to the actual layouts
of my products.
• My images were a key aspect which improved through the use of tutorials. This allowed me to use
my camera more effectively, as well as understanding editing and manipulation on Photoshop.
This was an improvement as my preliminary images were poorly taken and edited as I had very
minimal knowledge on how to use these technologies.
• Research was also key into finalising my choices in my full production due to more in-depth
knowledge of the codes and conventions of magazines similar to mine- this created a more
realistic outcome for my target audience which would satisfy them further. Without these aspects
my final production would have been far less professional and to a lower standard.
