3.
I have developed my skills through the use of online software and
Mac software such as Photoshop and InDesign. This has largely
benefited my final product due to the face it has enabled me to
learn the ways in which the software works and how I can
manipulate it to produce creative designs and layouts for my
magazine.
Prior to making my product I did a lot of research and planning in
to magazine conventions and professional work. I now have a
more detailed understanding of how magazine products work and
the features they contain. I used this knowledge to apply the forms
and conventions of professional magazines to my own when
producing my product.
For my real product I had much more time to get it right and to a
higher standard. The prelim was used as more of a practice
product to get used to the software. I feel was able to manage my
time better and ensured my magazine was the best quality it could
be for my capability.
I planned my work through setting up a schedule of work and
writing notes of what needed to be done when to ensure
everything I wanted to get done was completed and I feel this
worked well as I completed everything I needed to.
4.
A lot more work went in to my final product when planning it:
Prelim Planning
Final Product Planning
5.
I feel I have developed many skills through constructing my
product and have now successfully been able to develop a
final magazine product which has improved massively in
comparison to my prelim product.
6.
I feel I have greatly improved my skills in both the software and hardware I
have used. Through Photoshop and InDesign I’ve been able to practice my
skills and learn new ways of using the software/hardware to create a
successful product.
Photoshop, InDesign,
Dafont, Camera, Tripod,
Studio lights, Apple Mac
Photoshop, Apple Mac, Camera
7.
In comparing my final product to my prelim product it is
evident that I have made many improvements and widely
developed my skills in both hardware and software. These are
some of the features I included from Photoshop and InDesign.
Cut-out images
Downloaded fonts
Basic font
Graphics
Layers
Highlights
My own
images
Font stroke
Colour scheme
Empty white space
8.
It is evident the imagery is of a much higher
quality and composition in my final magazine than
in my prelim. For my prelim images I used a
camera on its own and took this photo in the
corridor against a white wall, making it of a much
lower brightness and standard. The model was
also randomly chosen and there was no special
effort to make sure she was wearing the
appropriate clothing/makeup to suit the genre.
However, for my real product I chose a reliable
model who had appropriate clothing that would be
suited to my magazine. I also did her
hair, jewellery make-up and took a wide variety of
shots in different poses which I could choose from
in order to make sure the image was right and
appropriate for my pop magazine. To take the
image I set everything up in a photography studio
with a completely white background and studio
lights to make the model stand out and be clear. I
also used the light meter to set the aperture and
shutter speed setting on the camera in order to
ensure that my photograph wasn't over or under
exposed. This is clearly shown by the quality and
brightness of my image in comparison to the
prelim magazine. Furthermore, I ensured my
model was an appropriate distance a way and the
framing was right, using a tripod and ensuring
everything was positioned correctily in order for
the infrared setting on the studio lights to be
triggered.
9.
I have learnt a lot more about professional page layouts and designs within other magazines and
tried to apply these conventions to my own magazine. It is clear that within my prelim, not as much
research had gone in to the layout and design, therefore making it look un-professional and very
basic.
After studying layouts of other magazines I used a wide range of techniques within Photoshop and
InDesign software in an attempt to re-create this professional look and produce a high quality
magazine. I used techniques including: Cropping, font effects, brightness/contrast settings, quick
selection, inserting media, editing photos, use of graphic design, rectangle frame tools, grids &
guidelines, layers and more.
As you can see, the layout is much more advanced and there is a lot more going on within the
pages compared to my prelim product which involves a lot of white space.
10. In my prelim product, the only fonts used
were those that are already included in the
Photoshop software, making my magazine
look quite unprofessional. Whereas, in my
final product I used Dafont.com to
download and try out a range of fonts which
I felt would fit the genre of my magazine
and through this I found a range of fonts
that I downloaded and included in my
magazine pages. The fonts are supposed to
represent the pop genre and try to capture
the conventions of other pop magazines.
However in my prelim product I haven’t
thought as thoroughly about the genre of
fonts and have just used generic fonts. In
comparison I feel my final product looks
much better with regards to font styles and
there is much more range and thought gone
in to it. I particularly like my title font, which
I feel stands out a lot compared to my
prelim product which has a very basic title
that barely stands out.
Prelim Product
Final Product
11.
To create mise-en-scene I have dressed my models appropriately to suit the
genre by making sure they dress similarly to those in the pop industry. I have
also used props and jewellery to ensure they convey a pop artist style and I
feel this has worked in my magazine. However my prelim had a mise-enscene of college and life studying, but I haven’t used any props for this or
dressed my model appropriately so the magazine looks unprofessional and
not thought through very well.
It is noticeable here how much more planning I’ve put in to my final
magazine and the effort that’s been made to ensure it suits the pop genre.
