Prelim Evaluation.

To begin with, the prospect of this task was very daunting to me, I had had no real use with cameras or even photoshop for that matter, so when I was told I would have to use both these things as the primary instruments for this task it can be understood that I was slightly nervy.

At the start of the project, I designed a flat plan of the cover and contents I originally wanted for my magazine, I thought I had set ideas for the magazine, I knew I would have my niece on the front, dressed in uniform; this was to represent the change in stages of education, hence the reason why the magazine was called transition.  

The idea for the contents page was not set in stone, originally the idea was to have a stack of GCSE books alongside some children’s books, again to represent the difference in educational stages. I then realised that this idea did not fit cohesively with the front cover. In the end I decided to go with colour to increase cohesiveness, as opposed to image relativity. It just so turned out that I preferred the contents I ended up with, rather than the one I had originally planned.

I never had any problems with producing ideas, but they were not always as good on the screen as they were on paper, or in my head for that matter. Alongside this, even ideas that I thought looked good on the screen, upon advice from teachers, I realised that they did not reflect the properties of a magazine. For example, they made the magazine more confusing, or too busy. I learnt that for magazines, in the majority of cases, simpler is definitely better.

During the production of this project, the main thing I found hard was using photoshop itself. I found it to be very confusing, after three or four sessions using it, I found using it much much easier. I grasped the concept of when and where it was appropriate to use certain tools, in ways that would positively impact my magazine and the way it was received.

To conclude, I am more than happy with the way my magazine cover and contents page has turned out. I am happy because something I could not see myself doing, I managed to do to a quality that I am very proud of in a matter of weeks. This has now given me the confidence to go into the rest of my media course, knowing I will not drown.