Friday 17 April 2015

Final Magazine



Flat Plan & Preliminary Magazine








Note To Modirator

To the examiner,
I hope you enjoy reading through my blog and looking at the work I have produced. I have labelled each post to ensure that it is easy to navigate around my blog, and carried out my research and planning with great interest and effort, which I hope comes across in both my blog and my final product. Overall, I have enjoyed the course immensely and I hope you enjoy looking through my work. Thank you.

Thursday 16 April 2015

Question 7

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

I have made a significant amount of progression from my preliminary magazine that I created compared to my final magazine. The main aspect of this progression is my ability to use Photoshop and use it to a good standard. At first I hadn't been on Photoshop before and was therefore inexperienced in using the software, but as the task went on I was able to perform the actions I wanted to do instead of just making a basic and not very good magazine. I also gained an idea of how to make my magazine and for it to fit into a certain target market which I was unsure on who to target my preliminary magazine on and aimed it at a college audience but didn't really perform this successfully.

The development of my ability to use Photoshop was the most significant progression that I achieved while I was constructing my final magazine. The preliminary front cover that I have created was poorly made as I look back on it now but when I first created it I believed it was a goo piece of work. Firstly I used the same text throughout the magazine and that text was a poor decision to use. Also, the sizing of my text was poorly thought of as most of it is too big and certain things such as the date on this front cover was way to big and stood out which it shouldn't have done. As the task went on I was able to get a good knowledge of what size to make texts and which fonts to use. I was able to make images look better which are used in my final magazine as I learnt how to brighten and contrast photos which made them look better and gave them the desired effect that I set out for. I was also able to use the cropping tool a lot better and gained an idea of what size to make images so they looked better and improved the look of my magazine. The attention to detail that I shown on my preliminary magazine compared to my final magazine was drastic. Reasons for this are because on the preliminary task some of the text is not centred or in line with the other content on the page. Also, it doesn't have the look of a professional magazine as it is poorly constructed with too much space between text and varied spaces which isn't the desired look I wanted. The mast head is poorly positioned aswell as it is too far from the top of the magazine and isn't eye catching because of the size of the other writing that is on the page. This compared to my final magazine is a massive difference as I paid attention to every detail throughout the magazine and made sure the spaces between text were all the same, I made sure the text was aligned with the other content, I also made sure that the sizing of the font was all perfect and was well constructed, I made sure I positioned the images, text and the barcode perfectly so nothing looked out of place and all worked well together to give a professional feel to my magazine. I believe this profession was also due to me when I was looking at many different magazines for inspiration and this then improved my ability to be able to construct a professional looking magazine and the thought process and planning that I had to do before hand and during the process. The layout of the magazine has been thought through and even though I had used the conventional ideas F, Z and H, I still believe it is a well structured magazine.


The progression that I made on completing my contents page on my final magazine compared to my preliminary magazine was performed well I believe. The contents that I originally created for my preliminary task was very poor and had no thought process to it which is evident when viewing the page. The use of text that I used was bad as the positioning of it is poor and the size is also poorly constructed. The layout of the whole page isn't that bad but that way I executed it made it look a poor layout as I got none of the details right. The text is too big for a contents page as it stands out and looks bold which isn't the desired affect that I went for. The alignment of everything is all wrong and the way I put the title of the page down the side of the page didn't work.  The font chosen was wrong and didn't look professional and changed the complexion of the magazine. I believe that the progression shown from my first contents page that I created for my preliminary magazine compared to the contents page on my final magazine was extremely significant. I paid attention to detail on this page by making sure everything was perfectly placed in order for it to look professional. I used columns for the text which shows the content of the magazine which gave it a neater look and made it look more professional instead of doing it all in one column. 


The page that I cannot compare with anything is my double page spread which I didn't do for my preliminary take as it wasn't needed. However, seeing my progression throughout the process I feel as though I would have improvedon what I would have produced to come out with the pages at the end which I am proud of and I have have a neat and professional look to them.

The progression that has seen me through the duration of the tasks has been very good and have came from not being confident in myself in using certain types of software which include; Photoshop as the main aspect of progression I have shown. I have progressed massively throughout the duration of tasks set and have been able to show my magazine in the best way I could.

Question 6

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I have used so many different types of technologies throughout the duration of my coursework while constructing my product. I have learnt a lot by using new softwares and being able to use them instead of not knowing anything before starting this process. This could also help me in the future with a program such as Photoshop as it would be used with a more creative job if thats the career I wish to pursue and this would be fundamental in creating and producing images.



 Computer - The computer that we used was the Apple iMac. This is something that I used throughout the whole process of constructing my product and has allowed me to access all of the software needed to generate my magazine and also allowed me to do my research and planning on. I have used the schools Apple Mac and my own laptop which is an Apple MacBook Pro for the construction of my product. I mainly used my laptop at home to complete all of the research and planning and used the schools computers to produce my magazine as my Photoshop trial had ran out on my laptop. However, I think that I managed my time wisely as I kept up with both my magazine and blogs that need to be produced.



 Camera / Lighting / Back Drop: The camera that I I used to take pictures for my magazine was the school's DLSR camera which was  a Nikon D3200. I had issues with setting the camera up and making sure it was working properly as I was new to this technology and was nervous around this type of technology because it wasn't mine and there was a risk of damaging it. Therefore, the first photo's that I had taken weren't the best and needed some work but I believe I got there with my final images as I got used to this type of technology and became confident around it. I found that this camera provided a high quality image as I took the photos and therefore used this camera for my final images. I also used artificial lighting for my photos because it didn't create a shadow around the image. Also, it made the image appear a lot more clearer when opened on a bigger screen or enlarged. Plus, I used a white back drop when taking my photos because it enhanced the look of colours in the photos and especially the clothing worn by my models / artists.



 Photoshop: This is the piece of software which I used to create my magazine on and construct it over the time period allocated. When I was first introduced to Photoshop I had heard of before but never used it and was clearly very inexperienced and struggled when I started to use it for my preliminary magazine. However, as the process went on I became more and more confident with using this type of software and didn't need help all time time and found myself helping others nearer to the end of the magazine construction. Therefore, I developed my skills using this software and created a product which I am proud of. I produced all of my pages using Photoshop CS6 which was already installed onto the school's computers which was handy.





 Internet: I used the internet throughout the whole process of constructing my product and doing all of the research and planning. This was vital because if I didn't have access to the internet then I wouldn't be able to have done my research for my blog. This was also very helpful for finding images, taking inspiration and finding new ideas which would give me the success I needed. The search engine that I used throughout this process was mainly Google and I accessed this by using Safari which comes with all Apple products.









 Blogger: I have used Blogger since the start of the process and navigated my way around using it pretty quickly as it is a simple piece of software to use. I also had knowledge of this by using it for other pieces of Media work created for uploading essays. This is where I created all of my research and planning by using posts to upload it to Blogger. The great thing about Blogger is that it automatically saves your work so there isn't any cases of missing work of forgetting to save it and therefore having to re-do it. It is also easy for my teachers to comment on my blog and therefore make the necessary adjustments to my work. It is also a good piece of software because it is easy to display my work online once completed.







 Microsoft Word / Powerpoint: I used Microsoft Word to help me create my draft and final article which was an interview and used on my Double Page Spread. It helped me in creating this as it had a word count and ensured I didn't write too little for it to be too brief or write too much which will therefore be hard to fit on my pages and would make the readers to lose interest when reading the article. I used Microsoft Powerpoint when doing some of my research and planning which has the same tool bars as Microsoft Word. Both of these types of software helped me as they corrected or outlined any spelling mistakes and also made me aware of any mistakes I had made in writing the document. I had used both of these before so I wasn't fazed by using them and knew how to use them. The work was easily transferable to other softwares and in particular by using the copy and paste tool to transfer my work.



 Animoto: I used Animoto for the creation of my 25 word pitch which was to summarise my magazine in 25 words and what content it featured. I used the type of software as it was easy to adjust to using it as I hadn't used this program before. Also, it gave a professional look to my 25 word pitch and made it interesting by using the facilities that Animoto had to offer with the use of music and images. I believe this made it look better than just writing 25 words out which can be boring and may not give my magazine the credit or promotion it needs / deserves.








 Scribd: I used this type of software while doing my research and planning and was easy to use and navigate my way around the site. This is an online publishing website in which I used it to upload my Word Documents and then upload them to my blog. I hadn't used the software before but learnt how to use it very quickly and easily as the site is a basic one and hasn't got any complications.

 Uk Tribes: This is a website that shows you different types of social groups that there are and are associated with certain music genre's. I used this site to find out my target audience for my magazine and then see what sorts of products and companies are associated with that type of social group. I hadn't used this type of software before and it didn't take me long to get used to it as it is pretty straight forward to use.

Thursday 2 April 2015

Evauluation - Question 7 - Draft

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

I have made a significant amount of progression from my preliminary magazine that I created compared to my final magazine. The main aspect of this progression is my ability to use Photoshop and use it to a good standard. At first I hadn't been on Photoshop before and was therefore inexperienced in using the software, but as the task went on I was able to perform the actions I wanted to do instead of just making a basic and not very good magazine. I also gained an idea of how to make my magazine and for it to fit into a certain target market which I was unsure on who to target my preliminary magazine on and aimed it at a college audience but didn't really perform this successfully.

The development of my ability to use Photoshop was the most significant progression that I achieved while I was constructing my final magazine. The preliminary front cover that I have created was poorly made as I look back on it now but when I first created it I believed it was a goo piece of work. Firstly I used the same text throughout the magazine and that text was a poor decision to use. Also, the sizing of my text was poorly thought of as most of it is too big and certain things such as the date on this front cover was way to big and stood out which it shouldn't have done. As the task went on I was able to get a good knowledge of what size to make texts and which fonts to use. I was able to make images look better which are used in my final magazine as I learnt how to brighten and contrast photos which made them look better and gave them the desired effect that I set out for. I was also able to use the cropping tool a lot better and gained an idea of what size to make images so they looked better and improved the look of my magazine. The attention to detail that I shown on my preliminary magazine compared to my final magazine was drastic. Reasons for this are because on the preliminary task some of the text is not centred or in line with the other content on the page. Also, it doesn't have the look of a professional magazine as it is poorly constructed with too much space between text and varied spaces which isn't the desired look I wanted. The mast head is poorly positioned aswell as it is too far from the top of the magazine and isn't eye catching because of the size of the other writing that is on the page. This compared to my final magazine is a massive difference as I paid attention to every detail throughout the magazine and made sure the spaces between text were all the same, I made sure the text was aligned with the other content, I also made sure that the sizing of the font was all perfect and was well constructed, I made sure I positioned the images, text and the barcode perfectly so nothing looked out of place and all worked well together to give a professional feel to my magazine. I believe this profession was also due to me when I was looking at many different magazines for inspiration and this then improved my ability to be able to construct a professional looking magazine and the thought process and planning that I had to do before hand and during the process. The layout of the magazine has been thought through and even though I had used the conventional ideas F, Z and H, I still believe it is a well structured magazine.

The progression that I made on completing my contents page on my final magazine compared to my preliminary magazine was performed well I believe. The contents that I originally created for my preliminary task was very poor and had no thought process to it which is evident when viewing the page. The use of text that I used was bad as the positioning of it is poor and the size is also poorly constructed. The layout of the whole page isn't that bad but that way I executed it made it look a poor layout as I got none of the details right. The text is too big for a contents page as it stands out and looks bold which isn't the desired affect that I went for. The alignment of everything is all wrong and the way I put the title of the page down the side of the page didn't work.  The font chosen was wrong and didn't look professional and changed the complexion of the magazine. I believe that the progression shown from my first contents page that I created for my preliminary magazine compared to the contents page on my final magazine was extremely significant. I paid attention to detail on this page by making sure everything was perfectly placed in order for it to look professional. I used columns for the text which shows the content of the magazine which gave it a neater look and made it look more professional instead of doing it all in one column. 

The page that I cannot compare with anything is my double page spread which I didn't do for my preliminary take as it wasn't needed. However, seeing my progression throughout the process I feel as though I would have improvedon what I would have produced to come out with the pages at the end which I am proud of and I have have a neat and professional look to them.

The progression that has seen me through the duration of the tasks has been very good and have came from not being confident in myself in using certain types of software which include; Photoshop as the main aspect of progression I have shown. I have progressed massively throughout the duration of tasks set and have been able to show my magazine in the best way I could.

Wednesday 1 April 2015

Evaluation - Question 6 - Draft - Scribd

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I have used so many different types of technologies throughout the duration of my coursework while constructing my product. I have learnt a lot by using new softwares and being able to use them instead of not knowing anything before starting this process. This could also help me in the future with a program such as Photoshop as it would be used with a more creative job if thats the career I wish to pursue and this would be fundamental in creating and producing images.

Computer - The computer that we used was the Apple iMac. This is something that I used throughout the whole process of constructing my product and has allowed me to access all of the software needed to generate my magazine and also allowed me to do my research and planning on. I have used the schools Apple Mac and my own laptop which is an Apple MacBook Pro for the construction of my product. I mainly used my laptop at home to complete all of the research and planning and used the schools computers to produce my magazine as my Photoshop trial had ran out on my laptop. However, I think that I managed my time wisely as I kept up with both my magazine and blogs that need to be produced.

Camera / Lighting / Back Drop: The camera that I I used to take pictures for my magazine was the school's DLSR camera which was  a Nikon D3200. I had issues with setting the camera up and making sure it was working properly as I was new to this technology and was nervous around this type of technology because it wasn't mine and there was a risk of damaging it. Therefore, the first photo's that I had taken weren't the best and needed some work but I believe I got there with my final images as I got used to this type of technology and became confident around it. I found that this camera provided a high quality image as I took the photos and therefore used this camera for my final images. I also used artificial lighting for my photos because it didn't create a shadow around the image. Also, it made the image appear a lot more clearer when opened on a bigger screen or enlarged. Plus, I used a white back drop when taking my photos because it enhanced the look of colours in the photos and especially the clothing worn by my models / artists.

Photoshop: This is the piece of software which I used to create my magazine on and construct it over the time period allocated. When I was first introduced to Photoshop I had heard of before but never used it and was clearly very inexperienced and struggled when I started to use it for my preliminary magazine. However, as the process went on I became more and more confident with using this type of software and didn't need help all time time and found myself helping others nearer to the end of the magazine construction. Therefore, I developed my skills using this software and created a product which I am proud of. I produced all of my pages using Photoshop CS6 which was already installed onto the school's computers which was handy.

Internet: I used the internet throughout the whole process of constructing my product and doing all of the research and planning. This was vital because if I didn't have access to the internet then I wouldn't be able to have done my research for my blog. This was also very helpful for finding images, taking inspiration and finding new ideas which would give me the success I needed. The search engine that I used throughout this process was mainly Google and I accessed this by using Safari which comes with all Apple products.

Blogger: I have used Blogger since the start of the process and navigated my way around using it pretty quickly as it is a simple piece of software to use. I also had knowledge of this by using it for other pieces of Media work created for uploading essays. This is where I created all of my research and planning by using posts to upload it to Blogger. The great thing about Blogger is that it automatically saves your work so there isn't any cases of missing work of forgetting to save it and therefore having to re-do it. It is also easy for my teachers to comment on my blog and therefore make the necessary adjustments to my work. It is also a good piece of software because it is easy to display my work online once completed.

Microsoft Word / Powerpoint: I used Microsoft Word to help me create my draft and final article which was an interview and used on my Double Page Spread. It helped me in creating this as it had a word count and ensured I didn't write too little for it to be too brief or write too much which will therefore be hard to fit on my pages and would make the readers to lose interest when reading the article. I used Microsoft Powerpoint when doing some of my research and planning which has the same tool bars as Microsoft Word. Both of these types of software helped me as they corrected or outlined any spelling mistakes and also made me aware of any mistakes I had made in writing the document. I had used both of these before so I wasn't fazed by using them and knew how to use them. The work was easily transferable to other softwares and in particular by using the copy and paste tool to transfer my work.

Animoto: I used Animoto for the creation of my 25 word pitch which was to summarise my magazine in 25 words and what content it featured. I used the type of software as it was easy to adjust to using it as I hadn't used this program before. Also, it gave a professional look to my 25 word pitch and made it interesting by using the facilities that Animoto had to offer with the use of music and images. I believe this made it look better than just writing 25 words out which can be boring and may not give my magazine the credit or promotion it needs / deserves.

Flickr: I used Flickr to upload images that I had taken during the photoshoots of my models that featured in my magazine. This was an easy process and meant I could access the images wherever I was along as I had internet connection. Also, this gave my peers the chance of viewing my images and deciding how well I had taken them.

Scribd: I used this type of software while doing my research and planning and was easy to use and navigate my way around the site. This is an online publishing website in which I used it to upload my Word Documents and then upload them to my blog. I hadn't used the software before but learnt how to use it very quickly and easily as the site is a basic one and hasn't got any complications.

Uk Tribes: This is a website that shows you different types of social groups that there are and are associated with certain music genre's. I used this site to find out my target audience for my magazine and then see what sorts of products and companies are associated with that type of social group. I hadn't used this type of software before and it didn't take me long to get used to it as it is pretty straight forward to use.