Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Creative Critical Reflection 3- Blog #54

 


Welcome Back

Edda Toscano


Candidate Number: 0741


Centre Number: US154


In todays blog, I will be presenting my answer to Compulsory Question 3. I will also be providing a transcript. The link below is to a YouTube video I uploaded to present my Creative Critical Reflection 3.


Question 3: “How did your production skills develop throughout this process?”


Link: https://youtu.be/yQ_gQ41Lgnk?feature=shared


Transcript:


CREATIVE CRITICAL QUESTION 3


Edda:

Ah, what a beautiful day.


Oh look, there's Angie!


Hey Angie! How are you?


Angie:

Hey Edda! I'm great!


Edda:

So, what are you doing here?


Angie:

I was actually looking for you, I wanted to ask you a question.


It's about your new fashion magazine.


Edda:

Ok, go ahead!


Angie:

How did your production skills develop throughout this process?


Edda:

What a great question!


In the beginning of this course, I did not have creativity, knowledge, or the technical skills needed to reach the final point of my Media Project, a 4-page magazine.


Throughout the process of blog-making, technical tasks on Canvas, learning Media terminology, the importance of camera shots and angles, and my Final Magazine; I now feel confident enough to say that this course has helped develop the skills I need to successfully complete this project.

Overall, there are very clear differences between my skills and knowledge then and now and I would be glad to show them to you.


Angie:

Yes! Examples would be great if you have them.


Edda:

Starting off with my preliminary tasks, we had to create a 4-page magazine that consists of a cover page, a table of contents, and a double-page spread. I did this having no prior knowledge about the format or conventions of a magazine.


The process of making this preliminary cover page was very simple. I started off with choosing the theme of my magazine as a whole. I ended up choosing a retro/ 90s theme, so I searched for “retro magazine covers” in the Canva templates. I chose this template with unique shapes and color schemes. The template already had everything laid out for me so all I had to do was add the information. At this point, I didn’t really understand any conventions that were already placed on the template.


My Final Magazine Cover, on the other hand was inspired by the Vogue’s typical format, which is a real and credited fashion  magazine. I made a quick draft before the final product so I can just input all the information I collected. Since I now have more knowledge on magazine conventions, camera shots and angles, and the terminology; my cover resulted in looking like a real magazine.


Angie:

That's interesting, can you specify the conventional differences?


Edda:

Of course!


Cover page:

To start, the masthead for my preliminary cover is small and not extended to the sides. It makes the cover look more like a poster than a magazine. The masthead also has no ability to be processed as a brand, its more a title for a book or an article than a brand name for the magazine as a whole. The masthead for my Final Cover stretches to the sides and has the issue date and number on its opposite sides, this is inspired by the Vogue cover format. The ETERNA masthead is printed throughout my Final Magazine, this shows the conventional use of magazine branding.


One thing I labeled incorrectly was the “ subheading” in my preliminary cover analysis. It should be corrected to the ‘magazine kicker’ because it is an additional headline for my cover. I don’t have this in my Final Cover, but I’ve labeled my cover line and tagline correctly. These conventions were not included in my preliminary cover. Both had subject names however the differences are how they are presented and why. In my preliminary cover, my subjects name is small and in the corner, this is incorrectly placed. It should be in big lettering so it will be noticed by the reader, if this is the main subject of your magazine, then that should be communicated to the reader visually. As a result, my Final Cover has my subjects name in big lettering with a different font. It is also placed on top of the tagline so when readers look at the subject’s name, their eyes will go directly to the tagline, which highlights what the subject will talk about. This helps attract the reader and persuade them to look inside.


Table of Contents:

For my preliminary table of contents, I used the template that accompanied the template I used for my cover. I rearranged the boxes so there wouldn't be any blank spaces and filled the boxes that didn't have content with corresponding graphics. At first glance, I thought I did a good job with this table of contents. However, when I go over basic magazine conventions, I now realize that my Final Table of Contents is a lot more competently created. 


First, my preliminary table of contents is too full. The graphics distract the readers from looking at the content. In addition, the content in my preliminary table of contents is too long.  Table of contents is supposed to be short and to the point so the reader wont get disinterested before they get to the actual article. In my Final Table of Contents, the heading and descriptions are short and to the point. it is also in large lettering, making it easier for readers to read. In addition, my Final table of contents has a masthead on the top right. This is an important convention used for magazine branding. This is something I learned in the process of this course.


Something unique I added in my Final Table of Contents is highlighting the main article. I learned this convention from Vogue magazines. This helps the reader find things faster and easily retain information to make an informed choice to either continue reading or not. A small difference I added is the page number on the bottom left. I did not add this to my preliminary table of contents because I was not aware of this convention. Lastly, I added actual images from my main subject rather than graphics. I was also a lot more intentional with the photos I took because I have gathered knowledge on camera shots and angles. Overall, I learned that simplicity is best for the table of contents, as long as it has the correct basic conventions.


Double-page spread:

For my double-page spread, the first thing I want to point out is the evolution of how to write a feature story. When creating my feature story for the preliminary double-page spread, I had no experience writing anything of the sort. However, after practicing with those writing leads my teacher gave us, I felt a lot more competent in writing a feature story. So, you will see this difference clearly in the amount of writing between the two. 


Another difference is the headline and lack of the masthead. A major magazine convention is its brand. For my Final double-page spread, I made sure to add the brand ‘ETERNA’ to keep up the basic magazine conventions and make it a more realistic magazine. Aside from the random photos added to my preliminary double-page spread, I added graphics to fill in blank spaces. One of the things I assumed for a magazine is there cannot be any blank spaces, I now know that it's ok to have blank spaces as long as it has a purpose. The camera shot in my Final double-page spread is a lot more calculated rather than choosing random photos. Through the knowledge I gained, I know that the photo is a close-up and I used it to have the reader have an idea on who the article is about.


Finale:

I hope throughout this explanation, you can see the process I went through during this course. Everything I learned can be seen by my work between my preliminary tasks and my final magazine. I can now correctly define and place conventions and use them to my advantage. Before, I relied on pre-made templates on Canva to lead me on how to create a magazine. Now, I rely on the knowledge, creativity, and technical skills I’ve gained throughout this process.


Angie:

Wow! I didn't realize how much you've progressed to get to the magazine you made


Thank you for answering!


Edda:

You're Welcome!



The end:

Thank You!


*Graphics and presentation made on Canva

*Uploaded on YouTube


That’s all for now!


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