What have you learnt from completing this task?
From completing this task, I have learnt about many things I
did not know before. I have learnt about the different conventions of
magazines, for example mastheads, feature stories, skylines and plugs. These
are things I did not know the names of before, and just saw them on magazines
and didn’t really think much of it. I have used my skills of Photoshop which I
already had, as well as expanding on them and improving the overall quality of
my work. I have also learnt about the different stages of making a magazine,
from initial ideas of names and layouts, to drafts and all the way through to
taking photos and editing them to actually make the product itself. I have also
learnt how to analyse magazines effectively, to pick out the key features and
conventions and their purposes. I have found this is a very important skill to
have as the knowledge I have learnt about what makes magazines effective can be
applied when I my own magazines, as I know what it is which appeals to the
reader/target audience.
How have you used
technology?
While completing the task I have used a range of different
technologies. I have used computers and the internet to plan and research
before making my product. Also for my planning and in order to present my work
on my blog, I have used Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Publisher, for example I
used Publisher to create the digital drafts for my cover and contents page,
then used PowerPoint to present them on there and annotate them. I also used a
phone camera to take my images for the task, then a USB to transfer my images
from the phone to the computer. I then used Photoshop to edit my images and
create the final product.
What conventions have
you used and why?
The masthead was an extremely important convention of my
magazine front cover, as it is what tells the reader/target audience the name
of the magazine. This is important because the name of the magazine can say a
lot about what the magazine is about. For example, my magazine being called
‘Campus Connect’ instantly tells the reader that my magazine is educational and
contains information related to college and is suitable for college students.
The skyline and footer of the magazine offer extra
information about the contents of the magazine to the target audience. For
example, the footer of my magazine is very similar to a feature story or a
plug, as it is telling you something about what has been written about in the
magazine, but it is also advertising an event. I have used a plug on my front
cover as it is another key convention of a magazine.
The plug I have used is to advertise NUS cards, which would
appeal to my target audience of college students as student discount would be
very useful to them.
Around the main image of my magazine, I have added lots of
feature stories from inside the magazine. This is very conventional of a
magazine because the audience can see very quickly some of the articles which
are in the magazine, and decide whether they want to buy it. The aim of using
feature stories is that the audience will see them and these will appeal to
them, resulting in them buying the magazine.
What would you change
if you were to do this task again?
If I were to do this task again I would organise my time
better so I had time to take my images using a DSLR or bridge camera. I would
do this so that my images were better quality, but also so that I gained more
skills which would be transferable for future assignments. I would also spend
more time in Photoshop creating my product, so that the quality would be of a
higher standard. I would also make sure to take more photos, so I had a wider
selection to choose from.
