Evaluation Question 7

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

I feel that my preliminary task is alot different to mymusic magazine. Just in the ways that i have learnt new styles of making magazines and editing things in different ways to make it alot better and more effective.

My prelim task was very simple in the way i went about everything, as in the colours that i used, and the limited amount of editing that i did. This made it look very cheap and like someone without a lot of Photoshop experience did it. The ways in which i editied images of people that i had for my school magazine was very simple, as i hardly did any image manipulation> whereas in my music magazine, i did alot of work on the images as i wanted to make them perfect like what they look like in the big magazines that are around.

I spent alot more time on my music magazine than i did on my school one. This was because we had more to do on the music one and had nore editing and that to do, whereas in the school magazine, it was quite simple to do the work, even though i didnt really know how to use some of the technology we had available.

The main differences between my preliminary task and my final pieces are the amount of space that i have left on the pages. With my school magazine front cover, there is alot of open space which could be filled for more information to be added to help the reader have a good understanding of what is going on in the magazine. Whereas in Replay, i have used the space efficiently, so that the reader can have a good idea of what the magazine contains. Also i used one big image for my school magazine background, which shows how i didnt have much knowledge of Photoshop, as i wouldve preffered to cut the image out and put him on another background, like what i have done for Replay. This way the main image can take up more of the page rather than just being in the corner and not looking very important.

Also the fonts on the school page are very simple and kind of hard to see, whereas in Replay they are very prominant and very easy for the reader to pick up. The main articles are alot brighter than the articles of less importance, this way the reader will immediately see the main features and this would keep them interested and make them want to read on through the magazine. Al of the different faded touches that have been added to the music magazine, give it that extra bit of elegance and class to make it see more like a authentic magazine. This was down to hours of hard work trying out different things on Photoshop and it all paid off. Whereas in the school magazine, it didnt take as long and not as much experimenting took place, which makes the magazine look quite simple and slightly cheap.

The music magazine had artificial lighting added to it to make the most out of the models look. Also it was tampered with in Photoshop to make the perfect look for the magazine, with a slight touch of gloss added to it. However in the school magazine, it is all natural lighting and the image was not manipulated as much as the other image. As the image gets manipulated, it gives it that more authentic look and gives the model that feeling of perfection, which is what most famous musicians are thought of as. One thing that i used in both images was the spot healing tool, this gets rid of any blemishes on the face, this gives it more of an airbrushed look and adds to that perfection look that i was looking for.

It is the same story with the two contents pages. The school one is very bare with not alot of writing or images on it, whereas the music one is filled from each corner to corner with writing, images and general shapes added to make it look better. The school magazine is the colours of the schools colours, but i feel i coudve done that alot better if i had the knowledge of photoshop that i have now. I compared my music contents page with those that are in stores now and it is quite similar and i feel that it is of the same standard. Same again with the front page, as i didnt do much image manipulating, however i did do some to the school one, but i dont feel it is as effective as the music magazine one. Also the fonts are very simple in both magazines, however i feel it is very effective in the music one, whereas in the school one it isnt as effective, because the two colours dont go as well like the music one. The amount of text involved in the music one compared to the school one is also very different, even though there isnt much to write about the school, compared to music, it shoudve had some more to atleast fill the page up. I think the inexperience i had of Photoshop at the start of the year was the factor for the two magazines being completely different from one another. If i had the same knowledge, then i feel i coudve made a better school magazine which would be up at the same level as my music magazine.

I feel that i have learnt alot about Adobe Photoshop just from the general day to day use of it. Also i have learnt many key technquies that i would need for the future if i was to make music magazines. I have to make most of the space i have on the page and make sure i dont leave any gaps which make it look bare. Try and get as much info in as possible without making the page look too loud as in having too much of one thing without another. The tools that i have picked up and am able to use with relative ease now will also help. I can use them quickly and not spend too much time messing about with one part of the picture which is what i done with my school magazine, whereas now i can do things together at a good steady speed and get more work done, which is what i have achieved whilst doing my Music magazine.