Looking back at my preliminary task, what do I feel I have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQOFGlGqcJI

When comparing my preliminary task (the college magazine) to my final product (the music magazine), there are many differences. Both use conventional methods such are headers, footers, primary and secondary features, and barcodes. However these methods are used in different ways, in order to create a professional look. My college magazine is very 'blocky', and the main title is in an unprofessional and unclear font. This isn't very stereotypical of magazines as the title shows the reader which magazine they are buying. I have corrected this in my music magazine by making the title bright, bold and putting in a different font. I have also used the shadow tool in Adobe Photoshop to make it stand out against the background.

I have edited the images on each magazine differently. In my college magazine I have only increase the brightness, whilst in my music magazine I have used tools in Adobe Photoshop such as levels and contrast. These are also used by professional magazines such as Kerrang and NME to edit their images, therefore giving my magazine images a polished and slick look. The background of my college magazine is a separate image I have taken. I have made the image blurry, however it is of lockers found in the college corridor. The background of my music magazine is not an image, but a mixture of browns to comply with the color scheme, and I believe this gives it a much more professional feel and finish.

Graphics have been added on both magazines. On my college magazine, I have used little circles in my header to split the magazine categories, however these look very unprofessional. The arrow on the footer points towards the opening of the magazine, therefore making the consumer want to read it, however it looks out of place, and the text displayed on it is placed disproportionately and is too far towards the bottom. The graphics used in my music magazine are much better than in my college magazine. This may be because I have used logos, such as those for 'Fall Out Boy', 'Paramore', and 'Reading and Leeds Festival', which would be out of place if put onto my college magazine.

I have used conventions in both magazines, however in my music magazine I have used them more appropriately. Which are explained in my "In what ways does my media product use, develop, or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?" evaluation question. It is clear that the better use of conventions does increase the professional quality of my magazine, making it more equal to mainstream magazines such as Kerrang and NME.

All of these factors put together, create a very full and detailed cover, which is essential to give my magazine a look of completion. The main point of a magazine cover is to sell the magazine, and therefore empty spaces (like on my college magazine) don't allow the magazine to feature many articles on it's cover. With my music magazine, I have tried to fill all empty spaces to go that it will draw the reader in, unlike with my college magazine. 

My contents page from my preliminary task contrasts with my overall contents page. Much like my college magazine cover, the contents page is very blocky and lacks a variety or fonts and colors. When compared to my music magazine contents page, there are many clear differences, such as the bright colors, use of images, and 'spotlight' like background (which complies with the music genre).

In conclusion, during the progression of my preliminary task to my full product, I have learnt that the use of magazine conventions such as headers, footers and barcodes will increase the professionalism of my work. I have also learnt the best ways to edit images, by using editing software on Adobe Photoshop and the Polygon Lasso tool to remove backgrounds. I have also learnt to include a variety of colors, fonts and graphics. This is so that the cover looks full and interesting, in order to catch the eye of the audience and increase sales. What I have learnt is vital to create a professional magazine.