Looking back at your preliminary task (the College magazine), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?
Over the time,working on the College and music magazine I would say I have learnt a lot which has helped me improve and have a better outcome for my production of my music magazine than my college magazine. When i first started the practise task I did have a history of producing a magazine from school with some knowledge of what I needed to include, however when creating the college magazine I learnt that more was needed in order to be up to the standard of a professional media product. I believe I have successfully done that, by comparing my college to my music magazine there is definitely a difference in the production value, also a deeper depth of technical and symbolic codes.
The use of codes and conventions has also improved, if I compare my analysis of magazines in the practice task compared to my analysis in the main task there is a much better indentification of codes and conventions and their technical and symbolic meaning. Aswell as there representation. With this greater intentifying of codes and conventions I was able to apply this to the production of my magazines, knowing representations I would be able create throughout the magazine production. Comparing the two magazines there is a much larger use of representation in the music magazine then in the college magazine.
Aswell as gaining a better understanding for the technical side of the print media, I have gained more practical skills in the production of media products. Before the practice task I had only used a simple form to create a magazine on the system PhotoDraw. Where as now I have learnt to use PhotoShop and InDesign, which are though more complicated to use as they are two different computer systems, it has allowed me to produce a more realistic media product. In the pratice I did really struggle using the systems not knowing what or how any of the tools worked, as a consequence my college magazine although did include the necerssary codes and conventions did not live upto the standards of a real magazine. Where as for my music magazine there was an improvement as through out the production as produced different drafts I was able to identify the different problems I needed to improve, therefore through every draft i was able to improve the standard and gained a better understanding of how the different tools worked.
I also have learnt how the photography is able to have such a big impact for technical and symbolic codes as well as representation. I knew that I would have to use techniques such as direct mode of address to help my magazine connect to the audience and use a variety of other shots and angles to get a different effect for each photo both technically and symbolically. The way my photos progressed from my college magazine to my music magazine is noticeable, as i was able to edit the images better for the music magazine then the college magazine as I had applied mise-en-scene by using costume, hair and make up, also shot with props which helped add more represnetation to the magazine. Also the experiences of taking the photography was different, for my college magazine I made up on the spot the type of photos I was going to take, although I was quite happy with the outcome I think if I had time to plan the photos I could have applied symbolic codes more to create a happy environment about the college. Where as for my music magazine I was able to plan my photography meaning I was able to apply a better use of symbolic codes and representation.
Altogether I think I have learned alot about how magazines are created and that alot is taken into consideration before it is actually published as there is all the planning, production then evaluating the product to make sure that is at a high enough standard to sell on the shelves of the nations retailers. When i compare the difference between my college magazine and music magazine I can tell I have learnt alot which has come to good use to creating my final production.
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