Evaluation Question 7 - DRAFT

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

In my opinion, I feel my ability to use different technologies and software has improved greatly, due to my lack of experience with regards to using Photoshop and PagePlusXP. My knowledge of these programs was extremely limited throughout the course of the preliminary task because I hadn't really used Photoshop properly before, only for editing photos, and PagePlusXP was a new program I was introduced to by my teacher, for this project. I also improved my product through teacher and peer guidance, extra research and input/opinion from myself. 

Throughout the coursework stages, my knowledge of these programs progressed rapidly, and I managed to use it them to a good extent, through the many skills I learnt and adapted to ensure my final draft was to the best of my ability and creativity. The drafting process I believe enabled me to receive lots of feedback to work with, to ensure that I could improve it to look more professional.

Due to the lack on knowledge of the technologies I was using and the magazine conventions to which make a magazine successful, my preliminary magazine was not to the best of my ability now, however was at the time when I created it. This is because from that stage to the final stage I was still learning through the research I carried out, to ensure I had a wide variety of knowledge to ensure I could make a good magazine. This meant, looking further into my target audience, house styles and fonts. This allowed me to play around with different styles in my draft to pick out the best possible design. Giving me more confidence in being able to attract the correct consumer for my product, which I feel is an important to skill to have when working with any type of media. 

I have learnt that the most crucial conventions for my target audience is the image and the graphological layout of the product. The colour scheme should be basic, to ensure that the photos stand out, and the magazine attracts my particular audience. I also believe that a house style makes a magazine unique, and therefore was something I included for this reason. I really looked at developing the layout of my page as a progression point. This is because females aged 16-26 generally appreciate the aesthetic in a product, from the research I conducted. I believe I managed to do this through the use of technology i.e Photoshop and PagePlusXP.

I didn't create a successful and aesthetically pleasing magazine because I was unaware at this point how important the F, Z and E models were to ensure that the magazine looked respectable amongst others on a shelf. I was also unaware of how the techniques such as rule of thirds and the spiral effect come in handy, and ensure that the pages image is especially  put across in the correct manor. Due to my lack of knowledge of this, as well as magazine conventions I created a pretty poor standard magazine, with the audience not really easily identified, because the colour scheme wasn't researched into, to show development and planning. 

In conclusion, I believe that Photoshop is the heart to the construction of my magazine, and without it, I would have found it in great difficulty to produce the product I have on another program such as Microsoft Word. Even though I have great experience with Microsoft Word, I feel that I wouldn't be able to use it in the way I would need to if I was to create such product. My preliminary magazine indicates huge progression, as I can explain that there is little consideration taken into account with magazine conventions.