Evaluation: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

I feel that I have learnt a lot of new skills while making my magazine, I also feel that I have learnt about the whole process of producing a magazine and therefore I have been able to produce a magazine of good quality.

When I first made my preliminary magazine cover and contents page I had a basic knowledge of how to use the equipment, such as Photoshop. This was evident in my final preliminary product as it wasn’t great quality, this was also down to me not having a particularly good amount of knowledge on how to produce a magazine in areas such as layout and features. However once I had completed my preliminary magazine I looked at it and decided which areas of my production process I would need to improve to make a good quality final product. When I started making my product I made sure that I had an idea of what I wanted to produce however I did not want to have very strict idea because I wanted to be able to use my imagination during the production process to try and make the best possible media product.

I have learnt a lot on how to use various media equipment and programmes during the production of my media product. I have got a lot better at using Photoshop, which has been important to me producing a good quality product because if I had not developed my skills I would not have been able to produce a product of even sufficient quality. I also learnt a lot about using equipment such as the macs and cameras, the macs have been a vital piece of equipment throughout the entire process and I have learnt about various features of the macs that have made producing the magazine a much more simple process. I also feel that I have developed my skills with a camera as I was able to get many good looking images by using things such as camera angles and also picking appropriate locations; this is something that I was unable to do before going through this process.

I also feel that my knowledge of the overall production process has increased greatly, not only in the actual making of the magazine but advertising, distribution and publishing. I have learnt about good ways to advertise and distribute my magazine so I know what to do to help my media product sell, for example I looked at areas to advertise and came up with ideas like putting up posters at Hip – hop gigs so that I can guarantee that my intended audience will see the posters. I have also learnt about publishing companies, such as IPC media, and I have been able to think about which publishing company to choose, for example I f I choose I small publishing company it will be cheaper however the quality may not be as good, but if I choose I large and recognised publishing company such as IPC media it will be more expensive but it will be of a higher quality which will help the magazine to sell.

All the knowledge I have gained is vital to producing a successful media product and I feel that while learning this as I progressed has helped me to produce a good quality media product. It will also help me to produce media products in the future as I will have all the knowledge before I have even started which will enable me to produce good quality products.