Evaluation

What have you learnt from completing this task?
In making my front cover for my magazine, I have learnt how to take a photograph properly by knowing what kind of images I would like to take such as a medium close up, extreme close up, diagonal from high and low angles and long shots etc. These will all benefit me for future references when wanting to take individual photos. I have also learnt how to use photo shop, with being a beginner to the software, I didn’t see that hard to know how to use this software, but now I know how to use it, I am aware how to make me photographs look even better. In making my front cover, I have also learnt how to analyse my work by using the different types of conventions that there is for media such as a skyline, a footer, a mast head, feature stories and also a plug. Now I know what all of these mean as well as writing them in a convention analysis and also my annotated front cover. From starting my front cover 3 weeks ago, I now know what it is like to work to a deadline which I never knew how to work to a deadline but now I do. I think working to a deadline makes you realise that you need to be prepared for doing media and how much is in media at certain dates and times. The last thing I have learnt whilst doing this project is learning how to create a blog because I didn't know how to make a blog or even that ‘blogger’ existed. It has also made me aware that I will be using blogger quite a lot in media and will need to get the hang of it and post all of my projects and work through my college years.

How have you used technology?

I have used technology in this project by first of all using a MAC computer because before I started to do media, I never knew how to work a MAC computer and have never been on one before. I have now got used to being able to know what type of different combinations you need to do certain types of things on the MAC computer because the mouse doesn’t have a right hand click for different settings which took a lot to work out. Another type of technology I have used in my project is using photo shop which was quite difficult at first knowing what tools and type of paper you should use, but after a week, I got the hang of it and was able to manage it easier than beforehand. Another type of technology is using an SD card because I never was able to work out where it was supposed to be place in the camera or what it even is. Now, I am able to use it on different cameras and knowing that all my pictures will be saved on there even if I get a new camera, my pictures will always be available if I keep that SD card. I also realise that you can get different types of GB on different SD cards, but I only need to have an 8GB SD card. The last thing I have learnt by using technology is different types of internet research such as finding different types of college magazines to analyse with conventions and being able to see other magazines from around the world using Google. I have also used internet research by using photo shop because for my photo shop test we had to find 3 images of different things and I used Google images for that as well.  

What conventions have you used and why?

A convention I have used in my front cover is a Mast head. This is to show what the college magazine is called and normally has a bold and short title to draw the attention to the audience. Mine is called “STUDENT” to draw the readers in and have a snappy title which is better than a very long title because the audience wouldn't be interested. I have also used a skyline which is called “SEPTEMBER EDITION 2014” to show what year it was made in and this is placed above the mast head which means that it is important. I have used a footer to show who it is made by and who it is made for which is important even though it is placed at the bottom of the front cover. I have used a main image which is placed in the centre of the front cover to show what the main feature story will be about and in my case it is a college girl as it is a girl’s college magazine. I have used all of these conventions to make my product look real like the existing products that are out in the world right now and all have a different type of style and how they would do it to convey their magazine. I have made my front cover like it would be going onto the shelves today with the basic elements of the magazine because there are certain expectations to fulfill the magazine/media career. The most challenging convention would be the mast head as it needed to be something casual but also something to attract the attention of the reader and that is why I picked STUDENT because it explains what the magazine is about in just one word and it is short and snappy to get the audience’s attention such as college students.

What would you change if you were to do this task again?

If I was doing this task again, I would change my background first of all because I think it is very basic and plain and doing a girl’s college magazine it should be more outgoing and basically defining what girls are in society today. I would also change the types of shots I took for my magazine, I would make the girl have a lot of college books and folders with her in different environments around the college because I would like to have the full picture of what I shot instead of having a plain background to cover the background and not just the girl standing there. I would like to have a true college environment in the court yard with people in the back just doing their work to show this a good college. I would also work in more detail if I did this task again. I think I was very panicky when being told about this project that I rushed it and didn't include as much as I should of done and made the front cover packed full of different things such as more plugs, more feature stories and a better main feature story. I would also ask much more questions in this project because now looking back I was quite shy on asking if I didn't understand anything and I should have been upfront because I have never done media before and I should of put my full intention into the media work I was producing. The last thing I would have changed would be to explore different ways of presentation such as using not just power point but Microsoft word as well to make me presentation different and unique. I wish I was more creative with my planning and research because I didn't brain storm what I wanted to do and basically had no idea on what I would of liked to do and if I did that, then I think my magazine would have been better than I planned it.