Evaluation

What have you learned from completing this task?
From completing this task I have learned the conventions of a magazine cover and how they are important to the success of the magazine. The conventions of the front cover are what makes the magazine attractive to the buyer and so they are very important in showing the buyer what they are getting by buying the magazine. Another thing I have learned is how semiotics are important to advertising and how they are used to make an advertisement successful. I have learned that different advertisements use different semiotics. I have also learned how to edit a photograph in Photoshop for use on the magazine as i did not know how to use Photoshop before doing this task. I have learned the camera framings used in photographs for media and how the have different effects on the media text by using different angles to take the photograph. I have also learned how mise-en-scene affects the photographs used in media and the impression the photograph will then give the person who sees it. I have learned how to use Blogger to post my coursework for my preliminary task which is important as it allowed me to post all of my coursework online. I have learned how to manage my time better so that I can submit all of the task on time whereas I would not have been able to do that before I completed this task as I wasn't very good at managing my time effectively.
How have you used technology?
I have used Blogger to post all of my coursework for the preliminary task which allows me to submit all of my work by posting my blog address on the college website. I have posted documents with images which have all been converted to jpegs so that I could post them on this blog.I have used Photoshop to edit all of my photographs for the magazine cover by changing the lighting and effects on my photographs I have been able to change the photograph to make it look better and more suitable for the front cover of my magazine.I have used a professional camera to take the photographs used on my magazine cover which made them better quality which therefore makes my magazine cover look more professional . 
What conventions have you used? why?
The conventions i have used on my magazine cover are,

• Medium close-up, I have use this as it allows you to see enough of the person in the photograph without it becoming difficult to see the person.
• Masthead title piece, I have placed the masthead title piece at the top of the page in the left corner as it stops it covering the main image.
• Subtitles, I have used subtitles under the main feature headlines as it gives more detail about whats in the magazine
• Main feature headline, I have made the main feature headline larger as it makes it stand out more showing that it is the main feature.
• Smaller feature, these are all smaller to show that they are not the main feature.
• Colour, I have followed a house style of purple and green with a few other colours too to make the magazine stand out as colourful.
• Barcode, I have added a barcode to the magazine to show it will be sold in a shop.
• Date,price,issue number, all of these are in the conventional places on the cover as this makes it look professional.
• Font, all of the main font is the same style to add to the house style.
• Graphics, I have added a graphical advert to draw attention to the main advert.
• Adverts blurb, i have added an adverts blurb to draw attention to the main advert on the magazine cover.

What would you change if you were to do this task again?
If I were to do this task again I would take the main image in a place with more light so the photograph seems less dark.This would make the photograph better quality and make the magazine overall look more professional.I would also try to make the cover less busy as it has a lot of features on one page which can be confusing and then therefore look less professional which would make the magazine less successful had it been real.I would change the length of time that i spent on the front cover as i didn't spend much time on it and therefore it is not the best work i could have produced.I would spend more time on it to make it look better and my coursework would then be better and it would look more professional.