Preliminary Task - Evaluation

Introduction

In the preliminary task, we set out to create a cover for a school magazine and a mock-up of the magazine’s contents page.

It was important that we were given the preliminary task because completing it meant we would be ready to start the main task head on. Completing the preliminary task meant that we would be able to recognize what our weaknesses were whilst making them. This way we could work on those weaknesses and make sure they don’t drag us down when we are completing our main task. This was also a good way of finding out what our strengths are which we could take with us when completing the main task. It also helped us to get to know the codes and conventions of magazines and their purposes, some of which also re-accrue in music magazines.

Making the student magazine also allowed us to get to know the software we were using to make it better. This let us develop our skills on Photoshop and gave us a chance to see how our photography skills were and improve them. Since we had to upload all of the tasks we did for the preliminary task onto our blog, this also let us get to know the blogging site we use (blogger.com), and learn how to properly use the features it gave us. I was new to blogging, so the preliminary task let me find out the site’s feature’s strengths and weaknesses are. This way, when we start the main task, we will know how to use the software we are given properly and make use of its tools for our advantage.

The preliminary task also let us see what kind of research and planning we need to do and how much in depth do we need to do it. This will help us by letting us know which areas we will need to research into the most by giving us a taste of the planning and research to come for our main task. It also means we will need to spend less time on planning and researching since we already know what we need to find out.

The Evaluation

I think that ‘Step Forward’ follows the codes and conventions of magazines quite well. I have included a mast head, which is present on all magazine covers; there are sell lines that are meant to grab audience’s attention by giving them a teasingly small bit of information about what’s in the magazine, but big enough to make them want to find out more e.g. “Top Tips for keeping cool in Interviews”; I have also included a date-line of when the issue was published; a main image and a puff that can give some kind of offer, or another bit of info on the contents of the magazine. I have challenged a convention of magazines by not including a banner at the bottom because I wanted the magazine to look more sophisticated and refined, and a banner, to me, takes some of that sophistication away. However, magazines that are aimed at youth often include a banner.

For my contents page I tried to keep a 1:1 ratio amount of text and images. I also included a page number next to each of the sub-categories so customers can simply go to the article they want without having to flick through the whole magazine, and the articles slowly move from educational to trivial as you go down the contents.

I feel that I could have done a better job at making sure there is a symbiotic link between the cover and the contents page. However I did use the same type of fonts as present on the cover. But I could have used a similar puff or more colours that were on the cover, because an important thing my magazine must create is a brand identity that can be identified by readers no matter what page of the magazine the readers are on. This is something I wish to improve on before starting my main task.

I also feel that some of the fonts were hard to read which could put readers off if text is unreadable, so I will need to make sure my text is clear and doesn’t blend into the background.

I have made it clear to the target audience that my magazine is a school magazine by making sure the title ‘Step Forward’ is referencing education because 6^th form, in a way, is a leap to the next stage of your education and life. It is also commanding the readers to ‘step forward’. The cover’s main image is of a 6^th Former with one of their books to reference studying and the main sell-line is talking about interview tips. Interviews are a recurring event in 6^th Form and are one of the most nerve-wracking things for 6^th Formers. Also CVs are mentioned frequently in 6^th Form which point towards education and moving forward from education.

However the sell-lines about fashion and driving tests don’t really fit in with education as much, so the readers will know that the magazine is not all about work but has some trivia as well. This will make the magazine seem more laid back and friendly, so readers can relax and enjoy reading the magazine instead of feeling it’s something they have to read.

The front cover will appeal to the target audience of male and female readers because the main image is of a fellow 6^th Former, so they know for what age this magazine is, what stage of education and can relate to her. The educational sell-lines pinpoint some of the main, important or challenging events that all 6^th Formers know they will have to go through. But the more trivial sell-lines like the ones about fashion will appeal more at girls. In the contents page, it states that there is a sports section which will appeal more to boys. So there is something for both genders, and there is something for all 6^th Form students. The mode of address is casual and uses current slang so the students can relate through that e.g ‘Need 4 Speed’ or ‘mugged’.

I think that some of the strengths of my produced pieces are the shots I took for the cover. I took many of them in case lots of them wouldn’t work out. I also think I chose appropriate sell-lines for this type of magazine and the title worked well to reflect the type of magazine it was. The strengths of the sell-lines were that they work well in drawing attention and interest and they reflect both the educational and the trivial sides of the magazine’s content.

I think some of the areas I could improve on are the ways I place the sell-lines and the colours, making sure they don’t blend into the background. Another area that needs improvement is my ability to create a symbiotic link between all of my pieces.

Conclusion

The preliminary task has taught me more about the programmes I am going to use for the main task and has shown me areas that could use improvement. Next time I will work harder on creating symbiotic links and placing my sell-lines. Next time I will include a banner and will make the magazine have a less sophisticated feel, but if I feel that it does not fit in with the mise-en-scene, I will not put it in since it’s an optional convention. I found out that placing each line of sell-lines on a new layer can help by giving more freedom of where the words can be placed; and creating shadows behind words helps them to stand out more. I found it very useful when I was researching to ask questions to fellow 6^th Formers. I will do this again but change the questions to get information that is more based around music.