AS Reflection

Looking back at my completed AS coursework i have noticed that there are both various strengths but also room for improvement.

Preliminary task:

This is the task that i was set at the very beginning of my AS course. Just from looking at the quality of the two pages it is clear to see how limited my knowledge and skills were with the programs available to use and the overall layout of a good quality magazine.

Front cover

The front cover is very unprofessional from the layout to the images and text used.
The only strengths i believe this cover has is that within the images used are students which will complement the target audience of the magazine as it would be made to notify the students of the college in what is going to be happening. There is also the fact that the colour pallet is very suited with the theme of the magazine and the college's logo. There is the various text included on the page which are all relevant with informing the students on the new happenings.
The weaknesses are that there is very little (if any) editing done on on either of the pages. The font does not vary which makes the magazine very dull to look at and will not do well to appeal to the target audience and attract them to the magazine. The image types used are vary inappropriate for a front cover as with the main image there is only one individual looking into the camera lens with the other not facing the camera at all, this would fail to attract the audience. This use of a two shot would have been made more effective it it was converted into a single mid shot of one of the students looking into the camera lens to make a connection with the audience and attract them to the magazine. The title also does not do well to appeal to the audience as it is very dull and in an extremely basic font, with a fairly young audience this causes for more need to hare a are bold and interesting headline which will be recognisable and make the magazine overall look more appealing.

Music magazine:

This is my completed version of my music magazine which i created for my AS level coursework. After careful evaluation I have noticed that there could have been a range of improvements made to the pages in order to complete the full look of the magazine, making it look more professional and appealing to its target audience along with their strengths also.

This includes each page with various improvements to do with their layout, colour scheme (house style), images, font sizes and styles and the overall connotations and denotations of each page.

Front cover

Strengths

• This front cover is fairly busy with a lot of information and conventions used to connote to the audience that there is a lot included within the magazine which will also give the representation that the magazine is good value for money.
• The main image is very strong and relevant as it if of the music artist who is featured within the main article, this will help promote the article but will also bra the audiences attention as she is a well known modern artist who is doing well in the music industry. There is also how this photo has been constructed with her pose, costume and make up all done to represent her look and music style to her fans and make her more recognisable.
• The text on the page is quite varied in style and size this will make the text more interesting  to such a young audience who would normally mainly be entertained by the images involved.
• The layout I believe has been done well, with a smooth flow of the title, heading and subheading around the page featuring the ain image in the centre as it will be the main aspect on the page which grabs the audiences attention to the magazine. There are various conventions which were found and developed from the preliminary task and then the later research which were included on the page in order to make the cover successful with its purpose. For instance the use of left side third was used to promote the magazines competition prize, this will also get the audience involved in the magazine and therefore make it more appealing.

Weaknesses

• There is a lot of the same style font within the subheadings and there is also the fact that this font is very basic, this could be seen as boring to such a young target audience and would not attract their attention to the featured articles.
• Although the page is very jam packed with conventions and a vary of different features there are still some bank spaces such as between the subheadings and the main image. There is also a bit of space around the title as the font choice for this is very bold but spread out leaving a lot of spacing between letters.
• There is also the question concerning the image use of in it could have been beneficial if the main image was made target to make a more dominant effect on the page. Or if the appearance could have been improved by the use of a sub image given that the target audience are young and therefore are attracted by images which would help the magazine itself stand out.
• Some of the conventions on the page could be seen as childish such as the stars and the 'Exclusive' banner, it could have been improved if I had thought of some different and more creative ideas of how to fill up space. For instance i could have made the main image larger as well as the sub headings as this would have limited the amount of space left after all of the major conventions on the page had ben added.

These strengths and weaknesses were very similar to those on the other two pages showing where my personal strengths are when creating a magazine and also where there is room for improvement which could be done by carrying out further research and by developing my skills with the certain software available.