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

As I had done media at GCSE I knew about some of the conventions of magazines, which helped me with the preliminary task. I wanted to use a direct mode of address as I think it draws in the reader. I also understood that when a magazine is in a shop, sometimes the only thing that can be seen is the masthead so it must be distinctive and eye catching. I researched a few other magazines for layout and made a brief sketch of what I wanted to do before creating the magazine. From the preliminary task I learnt that planning and research was very important and so is audience feed back because when making the school magazine I did not plan fully and therefore did not create a realistic magazine cover. For my music magazine I made sure that I planned each page, although as I went through I made a few changes and improvements. I also took audience feed back and changed some of the design and text so it was more appealing to my target audience.

The picture I have used for the preliminary was very rushed and not edited well, it helped me understand that editing was a vital part as the image is a main selling point of a magazine. I made sure that I edited the photo on my front cover well to give it the correct look I was after for my magazine. The layouts of the magazines are quite similar although on the front cover the preliminary task there are not as many articles. The music magazine cover looks more realistic in terms of layout and is busier making it more interesting to look at. The fonts used on the front cover are specifically aimed at the audience of 11-18 years and the fun bold masthead reflects this. The rest of the fonts are quite formal and easy to read. For my music magazine I wanted to use striking fonts that made an impact and were bold. For the rest of the copy I wanted to use something more relaxed and fun. I learnt that you need to make sure that all the elements used on the front covers must be appropriate or aimed at you target audience.
I also understand that the two magazines had very different purposes and that the school magazine would probably have been independently distributed for free by the school.