Evaluation for my Premilinary Task

In the evaluation the following questions must be answered:
Working with existing forms and conventions

1 How does your school/college magazine and music magazine relate to existing examples of these media forms?
And 2. What conventions have you used in terms of the following:-design-mode of address (the language used and how appropriate it is.)-use of imagery

My school magazine is associated to existing examples of media forms because it is a college sports magazine. It has a cover which represents some students participating either in football or volleyball. This relates to media forms as many schools and colleges all have sports magazines. Every school has a logo, and a school/college name, and mine is related as it is called TCAT, with its own made logo. You can even see on the uniform, the name/ representation of the school. You also get quotes from the students on these teams and you get an inside look of the school players and their life of volleyball and football. It even has an issue date such as February 2009, on the top, meaning it is TCAT’S February month’s sport issue with a school website on top, referring to the school www.tcat.sports.com.
I used the name TCAT, and I did not keep it as a bold font, and instead kept it in transparency because I thought it looked more effectiveness, in line with the pictures at top and the football in the middle of the words. TCAT represents me and a college from where I am from, and also I needed a college name with the same about of letters as SRIS, so it was an easier change to make on my logo. As for my design I kept my design based on a school/ college sports magazine. A February’s sports issue. My design was based on football and volleyball. I chose these two main sports because it some how relates to me. So that is why I also put my own picture on the front cover, pointing toward my logo which says TCAT. This then shows that these sports and teams and these students represent the school.
As far as the language and text goes, I used the text in relation to my images, and what the magazine was about. For the pictures at the top, the football pictures, they were taken of my brother, so then I used him and him name and put a quote from him. ‘HAMZA’. ‘Home or Away?, for me there is only one way” tells a story about his football, his experience. Then I wrote a British mandarin, this is a clever sentence as it shows he from Britain went to china, to pursue his career of football. It has two meanings. Then I used TCAT student shines in china” this shows an article about his life’ which makes the readers want to read more. For the other texts at the bottom, I wrote short sentences, reflecting the TCAT volleyball team and their future desires and dreams of reaching the Olympics, it gives a slight preview of what is inside the magazine and a temptation to read it.
I also used the logo from my passport, because it represents GREAT BRITIAN, represents the school. I used black and white imagery because I thought it is much more powerful and it stands out much more with the gold lining.

Working in Media Production Professional practice

1. How did you approach the tasks as an individual and how did you manage using the equipment and resources?

First of all, I began the preliminary task by gathering together a few ideas which I then posted up on my blog. The software we were taught to use was Xara, and Photoshop. We for a few lessons then learned how to use this software for it to help us with our front covers for our college magazine. After that I went round taking pictures, of either students in sports, students who were playing football and volleyball. Although I explored many aspects of sports, such as basketball, and kiting, even when people were in classes, the library, wanting to also to relate my college magazine not only to sports, but also on academics. But at the end I came to a conclusion and used the sport pictures I took. Then after I started my cover using class time but mainly my own time at home as if was impossible to be able to finish everything during lesson time.
The resources and equipment we used were the software’s Xara and Photoshop. I found them quite difficult to use, but Photoshop was much easier, so I mainly did all of my cover on Photoshop. I even for my logo used the cover of my passport, as I scanned it and placed it on my cover after cutting it out.

2. Can you provide any examples of creative problem solving decisions you have had to make in relation to the development of ideas/still photography/image editing/desk top publishing and trialling work?

Yes, there a few problems which I went through in order to get my front cover for the way I wanted it to look like. First of all, I had the issue of using black and white images. I had saved my images as black and white when I had edited them. This then meant that I could not have another bright picture on the page, as it did not fit in. Then I had a few white blank spaces which meant I had to find a suitable colour to put it as the background. So then what I did was I used the colour of my passport’s logo, which is a maroon colour to use as my background, and decided to use gold for the writings and the boarders. Another problem I had was that when I scanned the image on to my computer of the front cover of my passport, it was then quite blurry, so I spent quite a lot of time fixing that and also cutting around it so that I could just get the logo which the gold outline. Another creative problem I solved was that first of all I was wearing the school rego SRIS kit. The logo clearly on my uniform said SRIS, but I had already changed the name to TCAT, so what I did was that I changed the logo on my kit, by first of all, colouring it in and then using Photoshop to put in the letter T C A T and not using S R I S.

3. How did you organise your human resources; i.e. the people in your production?

The two main people I used in my magazine were my friend, malou and my little brother Hamza. First of all, Malou had helped me take images of her while she was playing volleyball, in the school gym. I took a few mid shot images, while either she was in motion or when she was sitting down. Then for my brother, I took images of him, when he was playing football, not intentional, just for an extra idea. So at the end, I thought id put a few images on instead of just one, so it gives a variety of photos and so that readers know what my magazine about. So I took a close up image of me, wearing now the TCAT uniform- PE and then used an image of my friend playing volleyball, meaning representing me and volleyball and my brother for him football. I even asked a few quotes for my brother to put on my magazine, gives a sense of reality and experience, which captures reader’s attention.

4. How did you manage locations for photographs and any costumes or props?Remember that deciding not to use a particular strategy (not to use props in photos for example is also a creative decision.)

For my brother, I did not use any props; it was just me taking photos while he was playing football. There were no costumes or props involved in which I told him to wear or to use. It was completely natural, him in his football kit and playing football. Whereas for my friend I used volleyball, and she was already dressed in her school uniform, which showed and represented the school. The location for my volleyball images was in the school gym, so that it related to the pictures.

5. Reflect on the importance of design and drafting and how the final outcome related to the draft layout in each case.

My draft was completely different to my final piece. I first of all had an idea actually of how it was to look, which was to use a big image at the background and then a few smaller other images at the bottom of the page, so that is showed what else there is in the magazine. But this changed towards the end, while I was playing about on Photoshop, trying to fix my front cover. My idea and thought was the same, but my layout changed, to where I had two big pictures at the lower end of my page, and at the top I used 4 smaller images.

6. How did you manage your time? This is important when creating a media text.

During the first few weeks, we were taught how to use Xara and Photoshop so for a few lessons, we just took pictures and played about with our fonts etc, to get started. I then after lessons, at home started my front cover bit by bit. This however was after I took my pictures.
Over all, it took me quite a lot of time, but with the time I used in lessons and at home, I was able to finish it on time, for the deadline.
Using technology1. Can you provide examples of the DTP technology allowing you to do things that extended your creative control?
Yes there were a few examples in which DTP technology allowed me to extend my creative control. For an example, instead of using the image with my school uniform on, which stated sris on the logo, I was able to erase that with the magic pen on photoshop and I was able to put my own made up school’s name on, TCAT.
I also was able to scan my passport’s cover on and place it on my front cover, cutting around it and see which colours looked best with it etc.

2. Are there examples of the technology obstructing/limiting the creative process?

No, there were limits of using Xara, as it was hard to use the cut of tools etc, but i had used Photoshop for my front cover, so it was much easier to use, as the tools were easier to understand. I hardly had any limitations.

Thinking about the audience

1. Throughout the two activities you have been making creative decisions based on ideas you were developing about your readers.Where did those ideas come from and how did they influence the 'micro' detail of shot composition/framing/anchorage/text layout/mode of address and register?

2. Did audience feedback confirm expectations or generate surprise?
Representing-constructing the 'real'.1. How did your ideas and their execution amount to specific representations of school life/music and the readers of music magazines?

3. What sense of reality have you constructed in each case and who is included and excluded as a result?