2. PRELIMINARY TASK: AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
There is a lot of blank space on the
cover, which could be filled with more
features. The emptiness makes the
cover look unprofessional.
There is a lack of font
and colour variety which
makes the cover look too
plain and simple.
The main story isn’t
easily distinguishable
from the other feature
stories so it’s hard to tell
what the main attraction
point of the magazine is.
There are only three
other feature stories so
the reader has very little
idea of the content
inside.
The main image is badly lit and
includes a lot of background that isn’t
necessary – the focus should be on the
subject. It’s also better to have an
image with a plain background as it can
be more easily manipulated and the
text is easier to read. There was little
consideration of costuming, props or
body language.
The plug isn’t really related to the topic
of the magazine and therefore might
not appeal to its intended audience.

3. CONVENTION COLLEGE MAGAZINE MUSIC MAGAZINE
Masthead Bold font, conventional position Bold font, conventional position
Feature Stories Only three, all down the left side. Lack of variety
of colours and fonts.
Listed down both sides in a variety of fonts and
colours. Several different stories advertised plus
a list of artists inside.
Plug One plug, positioned in the footer. Advertising a
free gift that is not related to the topic of the
magazine.
Two plugs: one main one advertised in a corner
in a bright, bold font, the other positioned in the
footer. Both advertising music-related free gifts.
Footer Block colour, located at the base of the cover.
Used to advertise a plug.
Colour matches the colour scheme, located at
the base of the cover. Used to advertise more
feature stories and a second plug.
Barcode and Price Positioned in the bottom right corner, quite large
on the page.
Positioned in the bottom right corner, fairly
small and font colour matches the colour
scheme.
Main Story In the same font and position as the feature
stories so it’s unclear which story is the main
one.
Advertised in a bold font, printed bigger than the
other feature stories and in a more central
position. A pull quote is used to make it more
appealing.
Image Mid-shot. No consideration of costuming or
lighting so the photo quality isn’t too good.
Two-shot framed as a mid-shot. Against a plain
background so the artists stand out. Use of
model’s body language and specific costuming
and props that follow the colour scheme.
Layout Mostly conventional but plain, with a lot of
empty space that looks unprofessional.
More conventional. Clear but not too empty; the
text doesn’t cover up and important parts of the
image.
Colour scheme Use of only one colour besides black and white
(purple). The whole colour scheme is not obvious
and not necessarily suited to the audience.
Obvious colour scheme which conventionally
uses no more than three colours alongside black
and white – peach and purple. Appeals to the
intended audience.

4. My preliminary task was to create a college magazine front cover. This helped
me to understand the codes and conventions of magazines so that when it
came to producing my music magazine, I could create a more professional front
cover. The preliminary task was useful and helped me develop in the following
areas:
The photos I took for my preliminary task were
sufficient but as I had not done much research
at that point, I lacked knowledge of framing,
lighting, positioning, costuming, location and
props. I also took less than ten original images
to choose from which limited my choice.
However this process was useful in that I learnt
that I needed to produce a wider range of
images for my music magazine and
experiment with colours and props to make the
main image more aesthetically pleasing.
Lighting was also a significant aspect that I
learnt needed to be manipulated to create a
high quality image. The image for my
preliminary task was not of a professional
standard so I was able to assess what went
wrong and correct it for my music magazine.
PHOTOGRAPHY
The positioning of different aspects on my
preliminary task front cover looks unprofessional. I
attempted to follow conventions which helped me
to do the same thing when producing my music
magazine. However the structure of the front cover
leaves a lot of empty space that looks
unconventional and therefore amateur. When
designing my music magazine front cover I made
sure to be aware of this and try to not to repeat the
same mistake again. I think the preliminary task
was really useful here as I was initially sure that
challenging conventions and producing an original
product was more important than making it
conventional. The preliminary task helped me
realise that conventions exist for a reason and that
if I wanted a professional looking product, I
needed to follow them.
LAYOUT

5. Learning how to use Photoshop to create my product was one skill from
my preliminary task that was really beneficial when producing my music
magazine. Although I had some experience using the software
beforehand, my skills were not specifically centred around editing
photos and manipulating text to get the look I wanted, so the preliminary
task was useful in developing these techniques. All the tools I have
discussed using in my assessment of what I have learnt from
technologies throughout this process began with my preliminary task,
which demonstrates how it has clearly aided me in the production of my
final coursework magazine. Editing photos was one main skill that I
developed in the progression from my preliminary to my final product, as
you can see in the difference in quality of the photos used in each
magazine. Simple things like adjusting brightness, saturation and colour
levels, editing backgrounds and touching up images were all things I
learnt from completing the preliminary task which I could then use when
creating my music magazine.
PHOTOSHOP

6. Overall I feel that my preliminary task was very
useful in helping me understand the basic
conventions of magazines. It also helped me
develop skills in photography and editing, as
well as allowing me to explore what looked good
and what didn’t. I feel I have improved since the
task and that you can see evidence of my
progression when comparing my preliminary
product to my final product.