Question 7

Question 7: Looking back at your Preliminary Task, what do you feel

you have learnt in the process from it to the full product?

Question 7: Looking back at your Preliminary Task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

TECHNOLOGICAL FEATURESPhotoshop

Eyedropper tool


In both my Preliminary Task and my Main Task, my colour scheme flowed from my masthead. However, in my Preliminary Task, I simply guessed the closest shades to the shades used in the masthead.

However, when I made my Main Task, I had learnt how to use the eyedropper tool to take the shades for the colour scheme directly from the main image.


Giving text an inner shadow

My original colour scheme for my Preliminary Task was black, yellow and white. However, I discovered that – because of the main image – the white coverlines weren’t visible, so I had to remove white from my colour scheme.

However, when I did my Main Task, I learned how to give text an inner shadow, which meant that even if a coverline wasn’t visible, the inner shadow made it visible.


Disappearing guidelines

When working on Photoshop documents, it was easiest to use guidelines to make sure that the coverlines were lined up and stayed within a sensible area on the front cover. However, this meant that you couldn’t see what the finished product would look like.

When working on my Preliminary Task, if I wanted to see what the product would look like without these guidelines, I had to export the document as a JPEG. However, in the progression to my Main Task I learnt how to hide the guidelines on the document, so I didn’t have to export it to see what the product would look like..


TECHNOLOGICAL FEATURESInDesign


Rectangle tool

In my Preliminary Task, I made the titles for the different sections (regulars, features, etc.) on PowerPoint and added them to my InDesign document as pictures.

However, when I made my Main Task, I learnt how to use the rectangle tool on InDesign. This meant that my titles were directly made on my InDesign document rather than having been added in as pictures, which meant that I could edit them directly on my InDesign document.


Glow effect tint

Looking back at my Preliminary Task, the writing on the pictures had a glow effect that made the writing look childish. This would have been fixed by using a feature that I learnt to use in the progression to my Main Task: changing the tint of a glow effect.

I learnt how to change the tint of a glow effect because of a different problem to the one that my Preliminary Task faced. This new problem was that I had an article that started on page 6 and an article that started on page 8, but because of the glow effect, the numbers looked the same. Therefore, I had to work out how to change the glow effect from 100% to 20% so that the numbers could be distinguished from each other.


TECHNOLOGICAL FEATURESZooming In


During the progression from my Preliminary Task to my main task, I learnt that zooming in when working on trickier areas of the product is very important, for three main reasons. Those three reasons are:1. To make sure that the coverlines are lined up on Photoshop2. To make sure that there is the same amount of space between the title and the text

for all of the subsections on the contents page (regulars, features, etc.)3. To make sure that pictures are the same size when re-sizing them on InDesign


1: Lining up coverlinesThis was especially useful for the three coverlines in the left third of the front cover. Looking at them like this, it is not clear whether they are lined up with each other, because they are not touching the guidelines. Therefore, when you zoom in, you are able to see more clearly whether or not these coverlines are lined up.


2: Getting the same sized spaces

In my contents page, I realised that the gaps between the titles and the text were different sizes, which made the magazine less professional. However, the only realistic way of sorting out this problem was to zoom in, which made it easier to make the gaps the same size, like they are in the finished product (right).


3: Getting pictures the same sizeOriginally, the smaller images on my DPS were even smaller than they were in the finished product. Therefore, when I re-sized them to make them bigger, I used a guideline and made sure that the tops of the pictures touched the guideline, so that I knew that they were the same size.However, from Actual Size, it was difficult to see that the pictures were in fact touching the guideline. Therefore, I had to zoom in to make sure that they were touching the guideline and therefore were the same size.


TECHNOLOGICAL FEATURESStudio Photography


Photography was an important element in both my Preliminary Task and in my Main Task. However, in my Preliminary Task, I had not yet had my studio induction, so all of the photographs were taken on a compact, without the benefits of studio technology. Therefore, everything that I learnt about studio photography and technologies was learnt in the progression from my Preliminary Task to my Main Task.


Colourama I used a white colourama when in the studio because the photo that I took from the studio shoot was intended to complement the Christmas playlist article on the contents page. Therefore, I decided to use a white colourama – and have the model dressed in winter clothes – to give the photo a wintery feel.


Whiting out the colourama

In order to get an even more authentic winter feel, I decided to use various technologies to white out the colourama; technologies that I had learnt about at my studio induction. These technologies included:• Flashlight, which shone a light directly on to the

colourama to white out the colourama• Polyboards, which are useful especially when using a

white colourama, as some of the light from the flashlight gets reflected back; however, this light then bounces off of the polyboard back on to the colourama, to ensure that a maximum amount of light from the flashlight is hitting the colourama


Soft boxes

Soft boxes were used to help with the lighting of the photograph. They helped my model look more natural and improved the general lighting of the photograph altogether. Without soft boxes, the light would have been too harsh and my model would not have looked natural, which would not have fitted in with my genre.


FRONT COVER


Structuring the layout

In my Preliminary Task, I did not structure my layout. Instead, because my model was in the middle of my main image, I simply put the coverlines where they would obscure the model. For this reason, when I did my evaluation, I included a layout that I would have preferred to have used (above), as it would look better.


When I was doing my House Styles, I paid more attention to the layout of my front cover and worked harder on it. This was also due to my Newsstand Task, which I did after my Preliminary Task. While doing my Newsstand Task, I learnt that coverlines should either be in the left third or in the top quarter, so that they can be seen by the reader when the magazine is on the newsstand. Therefore, when I designed my House Styles, I used the inspiration that I had got from my Newsstand Task and the principals of the ideal layout that I created for my Preliminary Task to help me with the layout of the front cover in my Main Task.


CONTENTS PAGE


Double-page contents page

In my Preliminary Task, I had a single-page contents page. However, this was problematic as it was difficult to fit everything on to my contents page.However, looking back at my Case Studies, I saw that Q had a double-page contents page. Therefore, I decided to make a double-page contents page for my magazine, as this wouldsolve many of the problems that I had with my contents page in my Preliminary Task.


The placing of articles

In my Preliminary Task, I made a Flat Plan to help me sort out where the articles would be placed in my magazine, which would help me with the page numbers on my contents page. However, I noticed that the regulars were bunched together at the start of the magazine, then there were the features, and then there was the competition. Therefore, it was not following conventions.


The placing of articles

Therefore, when I created my Main Task, I paid more attention to my Flat Plan, and tried to place the articles more realistically within my magazine. The regulars are more spread out, and the Christmas playlist article takes up more pages, as this would be quite a long article.


Pictures In the progression from my Preliminary Task to my Main Task, I learnt the importance, of the placing in particular, of images on the contents page. In my Preliminary Task, I had not paid much attention to the images on my contents page. I simply put images were I had room for them and was spending more time on the text than the photography. Also, the image to complement the Student Column was taken at the last minute and quickly added in. Furthermore, the Agony Aunt picture is squashed into the writing and makes the contents page look less professional.


Pictures Therefore, when I created my House Styles, I paid more attention to the images on my contents page. I left spaces specifically for images on my contents page and chose what some of the images would be before I even began work on my magazine.


Editor’s Letter

When I did my Preliminary Task, I made the Editor’s Letter quite long, but was told in my audience feedback that my Editor’s Letter did not need to be that long. Indeed, the length of my Editor’s Letter had also caused me problems while creating the contents page for my Preliminary Task, as it meant that the rest of the content had to be squashed together in order to have room for it all. Therefore, when I made my Main Task, I made the Editor’s Letter shorter.


COLOUR SCHEMES AND FONTS


Main body text

In my Preliminary Task, I simply used the default font for the main body on my contents page. However, when I did my House Styles, I took more care over the font that I was going to use for my Main Task, so I chose a font other than the default and used that for the main body text in my Main Task.


Coverline font In my Preliminary Task, the font that I used for my coverlines flowed from the masthead. However, when I did my Main Task, I used a different font for the coverlines than the masthead. This helped make the masthead more distinctive and increased the branding opportunities.


Masthead font

In my Preliminary Task, the font for my masthead was taken from the LSC logo that I used. However, in my Main Task, I trailed fonts for the masthead and chose the font that I thought was the most appropriate, because it was similar to the font that is used in Bibles which therefore made it more suitable for my genre.

Avenir LT 65 Medium (chosen)

Calibri Poor Richard


Colour scheme In my Preliminary Task, the colour scheme flowed from the LSC logo that I had chosen to use. However, in my Main Task, I already knew that I wanted my colour scheme to be blue and green, but chose the shades from the main image on my front cover using the eyedropper tool on Photoshop; the blue from one of the flowers on the model’s dress, and the green from the model’s cross.


WORK IMPROVEMENT


Time keeping

When I had more time to do my Main Task that I had to do my Preliminary Task, I had to learn how to fit everything in on time. This included making time to improve the work that I had originally done, including changing the main image on my front cover and to rewrite the Editor’s Letter, as it was too long and hadn’t mentioned the cover story.


Checking for mistakes In my Preliminary Task, there were quite a few grammatical mistakes – especially on my contents page – that I hadn’t noticed until after I had finished my Preliminary Task. These included:

The fact that the writing on the picture complementing the Student X doesn’t really make sense, and that I had ended the cover story description with a full stop when all the others didn’t would not have been problems if I had checked my work.

Therefore, when I did my Main Task, I made sure to check my work and changed any article descriptions that didn’t make sense.


WORK IMPROVEMENTThe Importance of Audience Feedback


I received audience feedback at various times throughout the project. Firstly, on my Preliminary Task, then on my House Styles, then on the first draft of my magazine, and finally on the final draft of my magazine. The audience feedback that I received on my House Styles and my first draft helped me to improve my work, and I learnt that even if I didn’t necessarily agree with what the audience had said, that it was always good to try and see what it looked like; if I thought that it didn’t work, I could just change it back.


Acting on audience feedback

One of the pieces of audience feedback that I received was that the front cover main image needed to be changed. I could have ignored this piece of feedback, but instead I acted on the feedback and changed the main image, and it made my front cover look more conventional and more like a music magazine than a college magazine.


Learning new things

Another thing that I found audience feedback was good for was that the audience will often give you feedback that you weren’t expecting. One piece of feedback that told me something that I hadn’t noticed myself was when, on my first draft, I received a comment on my blog that said that I should make the main image on my DPS lighter.

Question 7: Looking back at your Preliminary Task, what do you feel

you have learnt in the process from it to the full product?

Question 7

Documents

main task

finished product

product wouldlook

main reasons

main image

glow effect thatmade

glow effectfrom

innermy colour scheme