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

PRELIMINARY AND FINAL MAGAZINES Shows the use of Photoshop and the improvements I have

made with the increased knowledge of the technology.

MISE EN SCENE AND CAMERAWORK: From my prelim work I feel that I have improved greatly in terms of the use of

Photoshop and producing better images. I feel that my camerawork has improved since my preliminary work. I learnt how to use depth-of-field (DOP) on my front cover whereas on my prelim it is only a mid-shot I have used. All of my images are at a higher, more professional standard on my final magazine. There have been improvements in my model as well. I feel that I have learnt how to style my model better and discovered how to position a band in a frame. For example, writing is not appropriate for my magazine cover as it is likely not to fit my genre. Therefore it easier to have my models styled more simplistic. In my preliminary I had my model have a black dot on her hand to symbolize the title of my magazine, ‘FULL STOP’. This feature would not be relevant to my final magazine as my magazine title is different to my prelim.

I have therefore learnt how to exclude elements that are not appropriate. I feel that my improvement of cover lines is very important as they were not positioned effectively in my preliminary and therefore I feel that a big improvement has been made there. As well as this my camerawork skills have improved greatly from my prelim to my final magazine. In my prelim I did not use correct lighting and discovered that it was effective to experiment with different lights in my final magazine to secure the best image. I found out that the composition would be important to achieve the best image as well as the camera setting being on portrait to enhance facial features and smooth skin; this gives the best look. I used 2-3 artificial lights when taking my final shots. In that process I felt myself being more critical of my photography which was beneficial as it made sure I retook images I wasn’t happy with. Another type of skill I have learnt is directing. I felt that it was very important for me to direct my models effectively to gain the best image possible.

Preliminary Image

Final Image

As well as this the lasso tool on Photoshop allows me to exclude elements that I do not need in my image. I was not aware of this tool in my prelim work and therefore have been a big improvement on my final magazine. My final image had my models positioned so they were all visible in the frame effectively. This was done through multiple attempts at framing before the right image was chosen. I ensured that eye contact was made on my front cover to make the image seem more direct and captivating for the reader. I also ensured elements such as hair looked right in the frame which was an improvement from my prelim magazine. My overall knowledge of photography and its importance in a magazine has improved from my prelim. I have learnt how to position people in a frame and take a variety of shots throughout my process of creating my magazine. I considered a number of shots such as mid shot, long shot, and close up, low angle, high angle and depth-of-field. This has improved from my preliminary as I only included a mid-shot and did not vary my mise en scene.

First Test Shots:For my Draft Magazine.

Images used for my Final Magazine

TEXT ARRANGEMENT AND EDITING From doing my preliminary work I feel that I have learnt a lot about how to

make fonts look effective and which ones have the most captivating appeal to the reader. I feel that my final magazine includes more professional and high quality fonts that look realistic for a magazine design. For the preliminary work I used a very basic font that is very general and lacks affectivity on the reader. However I followed the inspiration from magazines such as NME and Loud and Quiet that offer a range of fonts that appeal to the indie genre. I decided to use similar fonts that were bold and striking, especially for my masthead. I used all my fonts that were already downloaded on the college Photoshop as I felt that they were effective enough for my magazine. I used minimal fonts on my prelim and they had nothing captivating about them.

I feel that the cover lines were randomly placed and much of the font used was far too big and did not look realistic. However this was useful as I could understand what I needed to improve on for my final magazine. I researched other magazines, such as Loud and Quiet, to see where they placed their cover lines and I decided to take inspiration from them and place them down the right hand side of my image where there was already a convenient space. They do not take the concentration away from the image which was my main goal and they are the perfect size to ensure that I do not have any blank space.

COVER LINE IMPROVEMENT Preliminary Magazine Final Magazine

The images used on these front covers were standalone pictures that tell the story that will feature in the magazine.

CONTENTS COMPARISON The new design of my contents page highlights a huge improvement from my preliminary

magazine. When I was producing my preliminary magazine I did not take into consideration how many pages I would have unlike in my final magazine where I was influenced by existing magazines. I didn’t consider much about the layout of my magazine in my preliminary and it is very poor in design. After my research I discovered that I needed to include at least 110+ pages for my magazine to be in the same category as existing ones. Also I had to consider the price as I couldn’t sell a thin magazine for a relatively large sum of money for a music magazine as nobody would buy it. Also on my final contents page there is a use of page furniture that is boxed in red. Page furniture adds more substance to the page and allows the reader to be aware of the page number as well as elements such as the name of the magazine they are reading. My final contents page was highly influenced by the contents page of Loud and Quiet.

Preliminary Contents Final Contents