Preliminary task evaluation.

In this evaluation I will be evaluating my preliminary task, which was to create at college magazine front cover as well as a contents page. In this evaluation I will be commenting on what worked well, what I need to improve on and how I will improve on these points before creating my main task to produce a music magazine.

I feel my overall design of both my front cover and content page for my college magazine was successful. I created both the front cover and contents page for my college magazine in Photoshop.

 

What went well?

 

·         Use of Photoshop: - I feel I used Photoshop to a good degree on both my Front cover and contents page. I used features within the program to make my magazine pages look slightly more professional such as the rulers, which I used to see where to put each Coverline was be and if each Coverline was an equal distance from the last. I also used Photoshop to brighten up and to add contrast the photography I took.

 

·         Photography:  - The camera I used was a compact cannon 12mp. I used this camera to capture the photography used on my front cover and contents page. I took a range of different shots in different locations in the school such as the front of the building, canteen and library. Out of the few images I took I only used 2/3 of them. The main image I used as seen on the front cover of the magazine is a shot of the college with the sign saying ‘Leyton Sixth Form College’ on. I choose to use this image, as the main idea of the magazine was to be a first issue of a magazine that featured within the college so I used the image of the college as an introduction of the magazine symbolising the ‘first’ issue.

 

What do I need to improve on?

 

I feel I have two main points I will need to improve on. The first is my knowledge of software such as InDesign and Photoshop. To improve my current skills I will use the software(s) more frequently to familiarise myself with it. I will do this by learning how to do different techniques within the programs from YouTube or other sites that offer the information. The Second point I need to improve on is my photography skills. To improve this I will plan what I want to be going on in each shot will be used for each image. I will also consider what poses and shots will be used in each image,

 

Write three key points for development when producing the main task (music magazine)

 

The three points I have decided I need to develop on before producing my music magazine are improving the use of software such as Photoshop and InDesign, to help make my finished piece look professional and believable as a music magazine. Another point is the photography I will be using which I will improve by planning what I will what to be used in each image and researching existing images within music magazines to see what fits in with the theme and genre of the magazine. The Last point I will consider is continuing to research music magazines similar to the style of mine such as NME, Q and Kerrang. I will take a note of how the pages are structured, the design layout and the style of writing (informal/formal) in the articles and on the main pages.