7. Looking back on your preliminary task, what do you

feel you have learnt in the progression from

it to the full product?

Preliminary progression• Looking back on the front cover and contents page I created for my

preliminary task, when compared to my final media product, I feel I have made a massive improvement and this significant progression is reflected in my music magazine looking like a much more authentic, professional product. In my music magazine I have use more conventions to make it look more realistic. I was also more experienced in using different types of software for my music magazine compared to my school one. I completed a number of detailed analysis of real music magazines which again improved my knowledge and made my own product look better.

• I learned to use new programmes such as InDesign, whilst developing my skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, Publisher and PowerPoint as well as in software like Photoshop and Prezi.

Comparing Front covers

Preliminary Task Main Task

Comparing Contents pages

Preliminary Task Main Task

Preliminary task progression

• For my preliminary task I took my photos in school with girls from my class. It proved difficult trying to capture a photo with good lighting and I had a very basic photoshoot plan. For my real product I prepared my photoshoot plan and organised it weeks in advanced. I got my models over and took the pictures against a white background. I feel that the vast improvement in shots is evident which was a crucial step as my target audience listed the first thing they notice about a magazine as the pictures on it. I also felt I progressed hugely in my understanding of what type of photos and shot-types are used in magazines as well as the fact that shooting against a clear background can ensure a much more polished, professional final look.

• The improvement in photos was helped enormously by my improvement in Photoshop; looking back on my Preliminary Task, in terms of the front cover, I now feel it looks very basic and not like a real media product. The cover lines I included do not stand out against the background and in some cases are difficult to read, with an unnecessary amount of blurb. TI was able to edit my images to much better effect in the main task also, having not really altered their settings when conducting the Preliminary Task – enhancing my photos was a key step as it made the music magazine look much more edgy and authentic.

Preliminary task progression

• I also feel I have learned a huge deal about appealing to target audience in the progression from Preliminary to Main Task; with my school magazine, I focused on no particular genre or topic, instead aiming it broadly at all sixth-form students in the school, however, in my main task I conducted extensive audience research using questionnaires and class feedback in order to establish a clear, concise idea of the genre of my magazine, how to reflect this and indeed how to attract my youthful, pop target audience.

• For my school magazine, I didn’t even have a house style which again seems very unprofessional as in every media product you see, the continuity from page to page is something readers would expect. In my music magazine I included a house style as best as possible. The colours I used were black, purple, red and white which all contrasted against each other making it stand out. I used the same fonts and colours across the three pieces to fit the house style.

• In conclusion my knowledge of print media, specifically music magazines, has increased greatly due to the time and effort that I have put into creating my cover page, contents page and double page spread for my music magazine, a process I thoroughly enjoyed. This experience has allowed me to gain confidence in my analysing and editing and has thereby hugely increased my capabilities as a media studies student.