Evaluation of the Preliminary Task

I created this magazine using the codes and conventions that you would find with a typical school magazine. In order to complete this task, I created a front page and contents using different conventions I found from existing school magazines. The magazine I analysed in the first lesson two different magazine which I incorporated two different magazines and used their ideas to create a more conventional magazine. The style model magazine models are called ‘Chill’ and ‘Fusion’. The reason I chose both of them is because they both used qualities I have noticed in other school magazines and also because they were both eye catching and I thought co-operating them together would mean I could use different qualities. For the front cover, I based my ideas around the ‘Fusion’ front cover because it was very eye catching and the picture was what drew your attention in. One of the more direct convention I used from 'Fusion' was the image that took up the whole page and placing any text around it. This meant that the image could appeal to the audience as well as incorporate any eye catching titles to draw the reader in. The words used were very informal and relaxed, aiming this for younger generations to read rather than the teachers. In the contents page, I used the codes and conventions from 'Chill' magazine because it had a good layout which is most commonly found in school magazines. Using the rule of thirds, 'Chill' had put all the description of each article in the left hand side and middle thirds of the page. I used the same conventions when I constructed mine because it keeps it organised and clear to use for anyone who wishes to simple see a certain article. I also used the convention of making a letter from the editor on the right hand side third and using only little images of certain articles to give the reader a little more of an insight to some of the article. One thing I did not used from each of the magazines is the colour scheme. I used one to match our school colours and to match the picture on front.

I learnt a few things from technologies like how simple movements can affect what type of camera angle is used for a picture e.g. taking one step forward could change the picture from a medium shot to a close-up shot. It shows that you have to be careful whilst taking pictures. Another thing I learnt was how effective photoshop can be when creating a magazine for simple things. For example, when I was putting a picture of the front cover and noticed a flaw within the picture, I could use the clone stamp and the healing tool to cover it up and make it look neater. Also being able to use layers affectively like being able to cover part of the title whilst still having the image in the same place. Also, I learnt a lot of useful short-cuts on the computer keyboard that allows me to use Photoshop quickly and more effectively. Light is also a big issue. With my picture on the cover, I used nautral light which is a lot more effective when highlighting certain aspects on the model. Artifical light is better to be used when you want a more flawless effect and to have light manipulated to the way the photographer requires it.