The document compares the student's preliminary task cover and contents page with those created for their main music magazine task. It shows improvements in their Photoshop and InDesign skills like using brighter colors, less text on the cover, advanced selection and editing tools, adding effects like drop shadows, and creating their first double page spread using InDesign which they had to learn from scratch. The student learned through trial and error, practice, and tutorials to develop their technical skills for the higher quality final piece.

1. IMPROVEMENTS
PRELIMINARY TASK VS MAIN TASK

2. PROGRESSION
I feel as though I have really improved my Photoshop skills
as I have moved through the AS course, and comparing my
preliminary task with my music magazine will demonstrate
this. I have also managed to develop my InDesign skills – a
programme which I had never used before I began making
my music magazine.

3. HOW DID I GET FROM
THIS…

4. … TO THIS?

5. COVER
vs

6. On the previous slide I have included the cover I created for my preliminary task, and
also the cover I created for my main task.
One of the main things I learned from my preliminary task is that dark colours don’t
work well on covers because they are not eye-catching enough and generally make it
difficult to see the text. I also learnt that too many cover lines/too much text on the front
cover and be overpowering for an audience and make the magazine less appealing as a
consequence. So, on my final piece I used bright colours and far less text.
In terms of Photoshop skills, my manipulation of text has become more professional,
and I have used a bigger variety of tools on my music magazine than on my school-
based magazine.
On my preliminary cover, I have only managed to use the bevel and emboss effect and
the drop shadow effect to create my masthead, whereas on my music magazine cover I
have improved my use of these tools by using the more complex settings which allow
you to manipulate factors such as the depth of the bevel, and used them on my heading,
and also some of the other text on cover. I have also included the use of a stroke effect
which I feel helps my typography to stand out.
Additionally, on my preliminary cover, I simply used the magic wand tool to cut Lucy out
from the blue background I took the photo in front of. I then went over the rough edges
with the eraser tool on a low opacity to smooth them out. Whereas, when I created my
music magazine cover I used the magic wand tool, the quick selection tool, the smudge
tool and the eraser tool on a low opacity to cut Chelsey’s face out of the background
properly, catching every bit of blue.
COVER

7. CONTENTS PAGE

8. CONTENTS PAGE
The previous slide shows both my preliminary contents page, and the
contents page which I produced for my main task.
One of the main things I learnt about contents pages from doing the
preliminary task is that the dots in between the article names and the
page numbers aren’t effective because they are so boring functional.
So, when I created my music magazine, I decided to use a different
structure which is similar to some of the ones I saw when I was
researching and deconstructing magazines of a similar genre. I also
used a brighter colour scheme on my music magazine, which like with
my preliminary task, matched the colour scheme of my cover but made
it more fun and eye-catching.
In terms of Photoshop skills, I have used a bigger variety of tools on my
contents page, too. For instance, through making the contents page on
the right I have learned how to add effects, such as drop shadows, to
shapes and images. This is what I did to my pinned editors note and
Polaroid-style photographs to make them look more realistic.

9. DOUBLE PAGE
SPREAD
Although I didn’t create a double page spread for my preliminary task, the
creation of this double page spread for my music magazine shows how my
skills have developed.
To create these pages I used InDesign because it is a software that is more
suited to this purpose than Photoshop. However, I had never used it before
and so I had to learn how to do it from scratch. I did this by watching
tutorials and seeking advice from my teacher. Through doing this, I learned
how to import and place images, create columns and manipulate text among
a multitude of other things.
I am proud of what I have achieved.

10. THE LEARNING
PROCESS
The main way I learned how to use Photoshop was through trial
and error. Before I started working on my music magazine, I did a
mock-up of a music magazine cover using an image from the
Internet so that I could become familiar with the different tools and
the software itself, because it is very different to any other
programme that I’ve ever used.
I did the same for InDesign, but as it was a completely new
software, I also watched tutorials and sought some help from my
teacher when I needed it, as I mentioned previously.