media coursework

1. EVALUATION
QUESTION 7
LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL
YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO YOUR FINAL
PRODUCTION?
By Hannah Chyriwsky

2. RESEARCH AND PLANNING
• During the process I would say that my skills in research and planning have improved what has had a positive affect on my
work. One way how my research has improved would be that I know have a better understanding of what I should look for,
this includes images, text and the layout of the magazine. As I was looking at professional magazines it helped the
planning of what sort of images I would use, the reason for this is because depending on what music genre the magazine is
they have different style images which can represent the genre. Then by looking at professional pop music magazines and
there layout, in research tasks, it give me more ideas for my product because I would like my magazine to look professional,
so by doing this I would copy the layout of the magazine for all of the pages.
• Another way how my research and planning has improved would be that I have a better understanding of the forms and
conventions, so because of this tasks like textual analysis, institutional research and inspirational shots I have found it
easier writing about the pictures and the conventions used in a magazine. This is important because if I can describe why
the producers have laid it out in that way or what they have in common with other magazines it would be easier for my to
justify why I did what I did.
• Also through the process my research and planning has probably became more detailed and I have got straight to the
point quicker than at the start. This is because I write a lot about a little so I described and explained everything that I could
even if I couldn't write a lot about it I still tried. So through the process of this course I have started to write a little less and I
have put more focus onto the key conventions, by doing this my time management has got better.
• I would say that my time management has got better as I am writing less than I did to start with and I have prioritized things
for specific times. I decided to start writing less and focus on key areas because I would spend about twice as much time
on a piece of work than is expected. Also by focusing on certain parts I found that I completed work much quicker than I
used to because I stick to my plan.

3. CONSTRUCTION
• My skills in using software and hardware to produce this magazine have improved from the start as I think that
my final product looks much better than my prelim task, this is because I am finding Photoshop much easier to
use than I did at the start and I have also learned the importance of some of the hardware choices.
• My improved skills in Photoshop are probably evident in my work because I have learnt the importance of the
layout and have found it easier using the tools that are made available. By using a variety of different tools like
the paintbrush, level adjustments and boxes it adds to my final product which makes is look nicer and
professional. Unlike on the prelim task I thought more about the framing of my model of when it would be on
my magazine, by doing this it makes room for the sell lines and main sell line, so then the cover won’t look over
crowded. I have also used different camera shots which made a difference when producing the front cover,
this is because on the prelim task I used a long shot, which allowed room for the sell lines, and then I used a
medium close up to make the model more noticeable as they attract the readers. However the similarity is that
both of the models that I used were appropriate for my magazine because they both fit in with the type of
magazine, which meant that my magazine will be appealing to my target audience. As I developed the skill of
using the tools I used the box tool, to put a solid colour behind the sell lines which then meant the text was
clearer to read. So unlike my prelim task I wasn’t just relying on the colours because I put a solid colour block
behind the text. Then because I added on graphics around the sell line about Autumn style it meant the leaves
wouldn’t be as distracting because there is lots of different colour on the page. Also just like the prelim task I
used the same font for the masthead and main sell line, the reason for this is because it is also like this on
professional magazines which I am aiming for. Overall on my front cover I have improved since the prelim task
and this is noticeable because my final product looks more like a professional magazine because I have
copied layouts from music magazines, that I looked at in research and planning, I have used tools on
Photoshop which added more depth to my product and the lighting is right because it hasn’t created any
shadows which could have affected the way my final product looked like.

4. CONSTRUCTION
• For the contents page I would say that not much has changed in terms as they layout because it is very similar
except the picture and content information has been flipped over. So this shows even through the research
and planning I had the same idea for the layout, but by looking at professional magazines the way the content
has be produced has changed. This is because for the subscription box on the prelim task it was just about
how to subscribe to the magazine, but on my final product I added that they could follow the magazine on
social media as this is appealing to the target audience of my music magazine.
• One improvement would be that I added on that you can follow the magazine on social media, by adding this
on it could be appealing to the target audience because they use social media. Also it informs the readers that
they have a social media page, but when i was creating the college magazine students are aware that they
have a Facebook page so I didn’t include this is in my magazine.
• Overall my skills have improved when I was creating my contents page because I added things that would
make it more appealing to look at, like graphics, and i also made a layout that it similar to other professional
magazines.