EVALUATION ACTIVITY 7

Looking back at your preliminary task (the school magazine task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

When I put both my preliminary task and my main task side by side, it is clear that I have learnt quite a lot over the few months that I have been working on both tasks. As you can see, I have kept my likeness for the black and white effect into place both magazines. I felt that in both magazines, the idea of simplicity was best. For the first task, the preliminary task , I learnt that doing these things doesn't always quite go to plan. I had to think on my feet most of the time correcting things that needed to be changed on an area. I also discovered that it takes longer to do certain things on a magazine task and said to myself that on my main task I have to be more prepared than I was for the preliminary task. If i'm completely honest, I did believe that the easiest part of these tasks would be to take my photos as I saw myself 'proffesional' photographer. I did take quite a few photos until I got it absolutely spot on.

There are a few similarities between both my magazines. For example, the black and white effect on both of the magazines are similar. The only difference between this is the fact that the main image on the preliminary task has been given back its original colour making it stand out on the page. On the bottom of both magazines, there is a strapline advertising one thing or another. For example on my preliminary task, I've advertised that within this magazine, there are tips and hints on how to conquer upcoming January exams. Equally, on the main task I have put a list of artists that may feature in this magazine. Most magazines such as Kerrang for example also make use of such a feature.

Comparing my first magazine and my main task, I can see that I have learnt to utilise space on the magazine, giving my audience a chance to analyze what will feature in the magazine. Using the space attracts an interested audience, unlike an empty magazine which is less likely to interest anyone, as there is a lack of advertising of that magazine. An empty magazine doesn't look as attractive as a magazine with lots of content on it. On the right hand side, I have taken away some of the elements of my magazine and seen how uninteresting this makes my magazine look.

The contents page of my preliminary task is not quite to the standard of an average magazines. I used very simple methods whilst creating my contents page for the first magazine. In other words I didn't spend as much time on it as I should have on it. On the other hand, with further research, I was able to make my main task much more enticing than that of my first magazine. I looked at magazines such as kerrang, NME and Rocksound and found myself using a similar style that rock sound have used.

Over the past few months, I have learnt a great deal of things which need to be taken into accout when creating a magazine. Overall, I am happy with the progress I have made on both magazines, especially that of my music magazine. Considering I am new to using such software such as Adobe Photoshop, I feel that I have come a long a way from a person who was quite sceptical about creating a magazine. My preliminary task isn't all bad, but compared to my main task, there is quite a lot of work which could have been done to it. If I was to go back and change things on my preliminary task, I feel that I would be much more confident and comfortable making it a better product than what it is now.