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

I feel that from my first task my main area of progression has been my improvement in the ability to use Photoshop and to use the available tools to produce a far more authentic final piece. Whilst I have also developed my skills regarding using different technologies, such as with cameras, as well as creating a far more in depth understanding of how magazines are created and the features/conventions that are used to make a publication that appeals accurately to my audience.

Firstly I have greatly developed my skills regarding the use of software such as Photoshop. During the production of my preliminary my knowledge of the program was minimal, if any at all as I had never used such software before. Just setting up a page, let alone additional layers proved a challenge. For my Preliminary I was able to create text boxes, insert images, create shapes, but only after extensive practice and effort to achieve this. But now as well as all these skills, which I have also improved my efficiency and accuracy of completing, I have learnt to cut images to fit my magazine more suitably, enhance/edit images to improve my magazines professional look, rotate text boxes to add another dimension to my magazine and editing text professionally such as capitilising or making parts bold to enhance/emphasise them. Therefore throughout this process my work and ability to use this software has vastly improved, as my understanding of the program is now far greater. Furthermore in comparison to my Preliminary Work, the editing and authenticity of my magazine is of a much more professional standard, than I would have been able to achieve at the start of the process. I also am far more competent at completing simple tasks such as editing items and managing to complete layers completed quickly.

Secondly my knowledge of using technologies (as mentioned in question 6) has been greatly developed in order to produce my final piece. I am far more efficient on Blogger, as well as being able to use Scribd better than I previously could and develop new skills in using programs such as Animoto. Whilst with practical equipment such as cameras I am far more adept at using their features such as altering the shutter for faster shots and using the Lighting Equipment in the studio to produce high quality images. However  I won't go into too much detail regarding my improved skills on technology, as this is covered in question 6.

Third and finally my understanding and knowledge of the production and publication of magazines has vastly grown and improved. I gained the majority of this knowledge during the Research and Planning section of this process. In particular during my analysis of Magazines and Institutions that publish such products. I was able to learn how magazines appeal to specific audiences, as well as the techniques and conventions that they adopt, such as the use of the 3 Colour Rule. I was able to learn how things such as how the positioning of everything on the pages was designed and manipulated in order to create a aesthetically product, to meet my target audiences wishes. Due to this research when it came to my final product I was able to put this knowledge to very effective use, in order to create a credible product following real conventions and techniques, but also developing and challenging them. Unlike in my Preliminary Work, where the use of such conventions was very basic and in many cases non existent. Personally I believe my greatest improvemnt from my Preliminary Work has come in my Contents Page. The one of my Preliminary was brief and lacking in information, it didn't include any other information apart from magazine content. Whereas my final magazine includes an issue number, web address, Twitter name, images of content, accompanying captions and photography credits. With all these things my final piece was more credible and authentic, looking like a far more professional publication. Quite simply it didn't look like a magazine Contents Page in many ways, due to the lack of conventional techniques used. Things such as the text not being well aligned, the graphics being out of place and the page numbers appearing squashed in the boxes. In addition the use of a photograph in the final Contents Page makes my magazine far more conventional and makes my magazine far more authentic, especially with them being edited which makes the magazine look more credible, due to their high quality finish.

In addition I changed my usage of fonts from my Preliminary Magazine to my Final Magazine, to suit the audience more accurately. On my Preliminary Magazine the Font was quite jagged and techno, as if it was from an old type writer, in order to fit into the theme of a school magazine/ However using such a font on an Indie Music Magazine aimed at 18-30 year olds would have been inappropriate as the last thing they want to be thinking about is school in their free time. Therefore on my Final Magazine I used a classy font, which was both bold and clear, so could be read easily and quickly as my target age group don't want to waste their spare time. Whilst it was also a stylish font that suited the magazines minamilistic and relaxed feel.

Furthermore my use of images has developed significantly from my Preliminary Magazine to my Final Magazine. to suit my Indie genre accurately and to improve the quality of my publication. The image on my preliminary work was designed to suit the genre with the costume being of a school uniform and the props being a book and some glasses. Both further suiting the school theme, although they did somewhat look a bit cliche. Therefore for my final magazine I used no props in my images (e.g. a microphone) to avoid this cliche feel, whilst also maintaining my minamalistic magazine. Additionally the quality of image on my Preliminary Magazine was very low, it was done on an iPad 3 so the actual camera was to a decent standard. However the quality wasn't of that produced by using the cameras as with my final piece, which gave a superb image with a high resolution. Whilst also the photo for my preliminary was taken at home, with no white screen behind and with no proper lighting, therefore a shadow was created. But with my Final Magazine photos a white screen and professional lighting was used to enable high quality photos, enhancing and improving my magazine. Finally the poses in my Preliminary Magazine photo was very staged and appeared that way, it was far from looking natural. Whilst in my Final Magazine the poses in the images were far more relaxed and simple fitting the genre, as well as the minamalitsic style. This also made my magazine look far more authentic and credible that my preliminary piece.

Overall by just quickly looking at my Contents Page, it is clear the development I have managed to achieve in producing my magazine and how my understanding of magazines has improved and most importantly contributed to the former. Therefore not only do I feel I have learnt a lot in this process but I believe I have been able to put all of this to good use.