Question 7 Looking back at your preliminary task (the school magazine task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

When I compare the two tasks I can instantly recognise that I had a much more advanced thought process and actions whilst contrasting the main task. With the preliminary task, my management was admittedly poor.

When creating my first school magazine, I did not manage my time affectively. I rushed the construction of the image, as I literally took various photographs, during one of my media lesson, of my school friends. At the time, I did not consider the many aspects that should be considered when taking a photograph, and the importance of it. Such as, the props, lighting, angle etc. However, as I took many photographs, I was lucky to receive and use an arguably decent main image/

In comparison, the creation of the main image for the main task had a more in depth thought process. I carefully, decided the mise-en-scene and the lightly, pops, positioning etc. I planned to take the photo on a black background, as I knew that this would give the model a profound and pronounced look. I also decided to solemnly focus on the face, so I did not want any other object/ props in the image. I made sure that the model wore appropriate indie/rock clothing and when taking the photo I knew that I wanted her to an “empty” expression and to be looking directly in the camera. These aspects where all taken into consideration and I managed my time well to make sure the correct photo was produced.

With my preliminary task, I also did not spend much time editing the cover or contents page. This shows in the final results. As I had left everything to the last minutes, I did not have the time to focus on editing the pages, and I also did not have the knowledge of how too. In the main task, I gave myself plenty of time to edit and was fully prepared, as I had watched many training videos.

I also drafted my design for the main task, but did not for the preliminary. This is because by the beginning of the main task, I knew that it would be best to have something to refer to, to keep on track. I did not know this the first time round, when creating the school magazine. I used the drafts of my front page, contents page and double page spread as something to aim for when I was constructing the pages, to help me produce high standard work.

When taking this photo for the preliminary task, you can see that there is not many aspects taken into consideration. The lightingdoes not focus on the subject, the direction of gaze from the model is hidden by the hair style, the poistioning of the model is cut out of the photo etc. I can see that I have progressed since then as I am able to understand the qualities of taking a photograph and how to do it properly.  

Comparing the two tasks I can see that there is many design aspects that are included in the main task magazine, compared to the preliminary task. These design features were interrupted into my main task as I had managed my time well and had a broad understanding of how to use various programs and equipment, such as the camera.