Evaluation Of Skills Development

               

                For my Foundation Portfolio project I decided to produce a music magazine. The parts of the magazine I produced were the front cover, a contents and a full article. In order to produce this first I began by researching other similar magazines in order to create an idea of what other magazines produce at a professional level. I decided that I both wanted to break, and keep to conventions in order to create a more unique magazine; whilst also ensuring that it wasn’t trying to appeal to too niche an audience. Next I began to create drafts of what I would want different areas of the magazine to look like – varying from simple templates to detailed, almost finished products. I then began to take brand new images to begin creating the finished magazine parts whilst beginning to write the article and put the contents together. Because I had already drafted the magazine multiple times previously it came together quite easily and developed into the finished product which has its own look; and it also meant that the magazine had its own feel. After a little more tweaking I eventually created a finished product which I thought looked good and worked well – most importantly it looked like a finished professional product.

                Before I started the course my skills technologically were limited; because I had never had the resources to be able to practise with it, whether that is cameras, computers or editing software. I was proficient with programs like Publisher however because it is on most Windows computers so therefore was easy to access and use. At GCSE level I created a perfume/aftershave advert so had to use cameras then in order to get the right image for the advert. I also then had to use photo editing software in order to edit the image and create the rest of the advert around it, although this software was nowhere near as advanced as Photoshop is, and therefore the advert was very simple, and less well put together. I also had to research other perfume/aftershave adverts which were linked to my product in order to get a better understanding of the conventions/styles which are seen in these adverts, and for the research I never had anything like Prezzi in order to present it in a clearer, more easily understood style. Creatively I was a lot less confident because I had not used the technology before so therefore could not experiment with it properly in order to come up with better – or at least more ideas.

                I used these skills in the Foundation Portfolio during almost everything I have done. For example, having some use of cameras before meant I had a better understanding of what sort of shots I needed to take and also how they would work compositionally. It also meant that I was more confident with the camera so could get through photos quicker in order to produce more drafts in different styles so that I could show I had a range of ideas. I used Publisher to set out all of my pages (apart from the cover) because I had used It before and it is simpler and quicker than trying to do it on Photoshop – mainly because Photoshop doesn’t work well when you try to add text on top of the image. Publisher works well for this however because there are more options available to make the text/images fit together in a coherent way which works well. I tried to make my magazine standout through using things like more contrasting/complimentary colours and using sharp/soft edges and shapes in order to create a design which I felt worked well – and attracted attention because of its colours and layout. I think that my original skills helped a lot because it meant that I could more confidently create designs, and experiment more with them.

                Through working on the Foundation Portfolio the main skill that developed was my use of Photoshop (partly due to taking Graphics as well) because I had to use it on nearly every image which I developed in my work to make it at least a better quality image; or to add other things around it in order to create a design which starts to look like a magazine more, and so it looks better developed and more professional than it did originally – this also in turn allowed me to generate more ideas and create more quick designs. I was also able to develop my camerawork further in order to take better photos too as the course went on because I was using it more often and so therefore I began taking more pictures in order to create more magazine drafts and so that I had more than enough images for the rest of the magazine. Also, I began to starting putting research onto Prezzi because it was easier to understand and navigate and meant that my blog had some difference rather than just being essays. My understanding of the conventions around music magazines also grew – meaning that I could try new things more confidently in order to create my final product. 

In conclusion I think that my skills have developed vastly – which in turn has allowed me to generate more ideas; which is probably the most important part of my skills development as it mainly meant that I could show and express a large range of ideas varying in how good they are. Also from a more technical side my advances in use of Photoshop meant I could experiment more with the images I had taken (another key part of my skills development) and make them work will in my final magazine and also the drafts that came before that. On top of that it also meant that I could explore the conventions more; for example cutting the subject of the image away from the image and overlaying it above the masthead – like some magazines do – to see if that would work well for my magazine or would however detriment the quality of it.