Personally i feel i have improved vast amounts from where i started from, during the process of production of my Preliminary task. During the preliminary task i didn't really have any sort of idea how to operate and use the photo shop software to create my Prelim Geek magazine. I was also very unaware of the general and common conventions of a good and clear music magazine. I was also unsure about the features that a successful magazine would boast and express throughout. When i look back at my prelim task now after completing my final magazine I certainly feel that it looks very unprofessional and too some extent very fake and unfinished. Due to the fact there is no real colour scheme, combined with no real central theme at all included in the magazine. I also feel that the prelim mag looks tacky and cheap, this is the opposite of what i wanted my final piece to look like. Comparing the magazines i feel that my final mag 'Fresh Echo' very much is an improvement from my prelim task as you can feel there is a central theme that runs throughout adjacent too a colour scheme that also is continued throughout the entirety of the magazine. Another thing i have noticed about my prelim task is there was no real set layout that was set throughout the mag, instead it looked muddled and slightly complacent on my part. I really do feel this was due to the fact that i hadn't found my bearings on the photo shop software.
My Understanding and knowledge of magazines has drastically improved. My knowledge was mainly gained during the research and planning as it showed me how magazines appeal to different types of audience and the techniques and conventions they use. I really tried to let the real magazines inspire me as i regularly looked at exciting mags for ideas and conventions that they tended to use. The main magazines that inspired me were those of Vibe, GQ, Billboard Fader etc. I think the reason i mainly chose these mags to inspire was due to the fact they appeal to a similar genre to whom i wanted my magazine to aspire to also. These selection of magazine gave me a clear understanding of what worked and more importantly what doesn't work at all.My photos are defiantly of a higher standard than on my prelim as they much more clearer and suit the style of the magazine a lot better. I think this is due to the fact that i put more thought into who was in the photo and also what sort of outfit they were wearing, where the photo was going to be taken and the poses the artist was performing.
