Preliminary task

The task:
In this task I was asked to create a preliminary magazine front cover. The purpose of the task was to familiarise myself with photoshop in order to give me the skills I need when I make my actual magazine. It also taught me about fonts, and how to upload images on to the front cover. It gave me a gist of how long each stage takes, and what I will need to spend more time on. It was good to understand how photoshop works, and the features it offers. It was a school magazine, and had to have features that would appeal to the students, such as a stories about fellow students and staff. I created the magazine in December, so I gave it a festive feel. To do this, I cut out a Christmas tree and placed it in the bottom left hand corner. I also used a Christmas colour scheme, and gave it a cold/window effect around the edges.

Strengths

• Conventions- I included the appropriate conventions needed for a school magazine. I included pictures, a bar code, a name, a slogan and features. This was definitely successful. 
• Background image- the background image is a candid shot of two students interacting with one another. It seems alive and active, and stands out to the audience because the students look happy- they are laughing, which implies that the school is a place of fun and learning. Their clothing and position makes them look relaxed and comfortable which reflects the way they feel about school. It shows the school in a positive light, which entices the audience into buying it. The students are in a classroom- this is a generic image of what one might see in a school. Therefore, it fulfills the audience's expectations. I made the backround slightly hazy, so that it didn't stand out too much. I didn't want it to be too vibrant otherwise it takes away the attention from the features.
• Colour scheme- the colour scheme in this magazine worked well. The vibrant red, green and orange created a good contrast from the light hazy background, as they stood out. The colours were specifically chosen to match the Christmas feel. I think that this is obvious, as red and green are associated with Christmas by most people. They also help to bring out the colours of the Christmas tree, which makes the colour scheme consistent and helps to tie the whole page together. If too many colours are used it becomes confusing and hard to read. Furthermore, these colours also appear in the background, which helps them blend in well. For example, the poster in the background has a green border which is the same colour as my writing.
• The contents page has clear, relevant information which the audience can refer back to if necessary.
• The writing is clear, bold and wide, making it easy for the reader to have a good view of all of the features.

Weaknesses

• Font- The name and slogan font was definitely effective. It is big and bold, and helps to connote a strong message- it is a weekly school magazine. However, I do not like the font for the features. It is clunky and doesn't blend in very well with the background. It's also unnecessarily thick and takes up a lot of space.
• Magazine name- the magazine name was not innovative and creative and didn't help to draw the audience in. It was inspired by the school name JCoSS, hence the "J" mag. It is quite dull and boring, which has made me realise the importance of making the real magazine's name fun and interesting to help catch the audience's attention.
• Photo quality- the photo quality definitely needs to be improved on when I make my real magazine. For the preliminary magazine, I used an iPhone, which was not focused enough. Therefore, the photos were not was clear and focused as they could have been if I used a proper camera. I am also unhappy with the angle of the feature image (the girl taking a photo). When I took the photo, I was standing below her, which made her look slightly out of proportion and far away. This makes her seems candid, and unaware of me taking the photo, which was not the effect I was going for. Next time, I will try to stand inline with the person I am taking a photo of. I will also use a better camera and spend more time editing, in order to make the photo more effective.
• Absent information- Although I followed the conventions as best as I could, there were still bits of information that were missing, such as a price (which tells the audience how much the magazine costs before they buy it), an issue number, (which tells the audience what edition the magazine is), and who is in the main image. This is important because the people in the main image are usually the main feature of the edition.
• The content page has a lot of wasted/empty space, which could be filled up using photographs. The lack of images make the contents page less visual, which could be a problem fr the visual demographic I am appealing to- young, state school children. Also, I didn't take the photograph myself, which I will need to do in order to obtain marks when I make my real magazine.

Improvements
There are definitely some improvements that could be made. The font needs to be lighter, and the size of features can vary. Perhaps the more important features could be bigger, and the less important features could be smaller. This is because the audience choose to read a magazine based on what stands out to them most. I must improve on the name- it should be original and interesting and must clearly connote genre. The photo quality and colour scheme must also be  more clear and consistent; I could even use a green screen to make the background harsher. This would also allow me to use a pigmented colour background. I also need to add more images to my contents page, and make it more fun. I could use fillers or even splashes of colour which could be filled with text.

What I have learnt
From this task, I have become much more experienced with using photoshop. I now know the features it has to offer, and how to use them. I am also aware of how to position and layer my images and words, and what makes a magazine front cover more effective, in terms of production. I have also learnt the importance of having good quality photo, and how shot angle makes a difference to the representation and interpretation of a front cover. I have learnt that I must make the most of all the space on the page and fill it with relevant, fun images which relate to the features. My magazine has to connect with my audience- they need to be able to read and understand the messages I am trying to get across.