My Preliminary Task.

During research I was given a preliminary task; to create the front cover and contents page of a college magazine. This would give me essential experience using the tools needed, Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Adobe Indesign CS3, whilst also letting me explore the conventions of a magazine in more detail.

When planning my preliminary, I wanted to portray the stress and pressure most students feel. Exams can make students angry, or in some cases upset and during my photography sessions, I captured the photograph (featured left, on my final cover) which I think portrayed these emotions perfectly. This front cover portrays two teenage boys, one feeling extreme anger and the other feeling extreme anxiety/sadness. Looking closely at the title, "frustrated" is in red, as red represents all emotions and actions surrounding anger whereas "upset"is associated with tears and therefore the colour blue. The masthead is in the top left corner, in a bold but fancy white in order to attract the eye. Underneath is the date, the issue and as it is a college magazine, it also states that it is free. The black background allows the faces of the two young men to stand out, attracting our eyes towards them. In the bottom right corner of the page is a smaller photograph, of teenagers socialising followed by a small summary of the article. The title of this description is in bold white italics to stand out on the white background. After producing this front cover, I then needed to create a rough draft of a plausible contents page, suitable for a college magazine. The headline is larg and eyecatching whilst the page itself is "busy" and if created, would be full of colour. I thought it was suitable to include a letter from the principle, as in most magazines a letter from the editor is featured on the contents page. Down the right hand side is an easy to read contents list, consisting of the page number and a small summary of the article, resulting in a easy-to-read choosing process. In the bottom left corner is a larger summary of the main article, portrayed on the front cover of the preliminary magazine, complete with large photograph. As in most magazines, located in the bottom right hand corner, a competition. To add a sense of "community" to the page, it is covered in photographs of students, lessons and the premises which not only create a friendly and inviting atmosphere to the page, but also add large amounts of colour, attracting the readers eye.

What did I learn from completing the preliminary task?
By creating my own front cover and contents page, I learnt more about the conventions needed to make them successful and also gained experience in using the programmes involved. For example, I have learnt new tools whilst using Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Adobe Indesign CS3, such as selecting particular objects and separating them from the original image then transferring it onto a plain background, which can be seen on my preliminary front cover.