When I chose Media Studies as a subject in my AS Level, I knew I had a few quick and easy editing and camera skills up my sleeve. However when I created my own magazine, I realized how much time it actually takes to create a magazine since you have to play around with different fonts, colour schemes, images etc. until you find the perfect ones. I started off as a basic but during the course of 3-4 months my photography, editing and production skills developed gradually.

My research and planning skills developed after I delved deeper into websites like Pinterest or Tumblr to find out my inspirational covers, contents pages and double-spreads. Researching the Music Genre really helped in accomplishing what I wanted my final tasks to look like. I got to know different colors and fonts that went together and how different shots and angles are used to distinguish an action of an object. Moreover, research helped me develop what would work better for my magazine and made it easier for me to create something that targets towards my audience rather than just being something that I liked.

Having been assigned a presentation right at the start of the year of certain camera angles and shots really set a pathway of me being able to explore various photography techniques. I got to know about different camera angles such as low angle, high angle, canted angle, close-ups, overhead position etc. Such camera techniques are conventionally used for the Main Image of the Music Magazine Cover Pages as they make the subject occupy most of the frame thus making it appear more appealing. Moreover, I learned about the proper handling of the camera while capturing a series of photos learning the value of good lighting, angles and composition. With regard to angles, I learned how to represent the central object with the help of a proper angle. 

The video editing procedure was by far the most challenging part of the project for me as I was not really familiar with it. I had a firm grip on photography editing techniques as I have done that multiple times using apps such as Canva and my phone’s camera and so I easily edited my 4 final task pictures. I effortlessly colour-corrected these pictures, fixed their lighting issues, changed background of the double-spread picture and made them appear even more attractive. This eventually helped me in learning new editing techniques and I got hang of it. Practice gave me enough exposure that by the time I reached on presentations with voiceovers and podcasts for Creative Critical Reflection, I knew exactly what I wanted to do and how which ultimately saved time.

In addition to that before making the actual covers we had to cover the Preliminary Task of the AS Media project which played out to be the perfect opportunity to learn and familiarize myself with all kinds of tools and software apps to make a magazine. I was recommended to use Canva for my Preliminary Task. Initially I had no clue of how to use it. Not only was it difficult to learn all the tools and tricks but it took a lot of consistent effort and practice. However, in the end I got hold of it and using it again for my Final Task pages, developed my production skills. Although I used the same camera and editing software for my Final Task, there was certainly a drastic change in my time management after the Preliminary Task which is a proof that it greatly helped me in upgrading my production skills.

Apart from this, I used WIX to create a blog which seemed pretty hard in the beginning but gradually I mastered it. To make a product successful it is important to identify the target audience, therefore during the thinking period I was able to formulate a detailed questionnaire on Survey Monkey to identify my target audience. This helped me make some imperative choices about my magazine. Again, this was my first time conducting a survey and it definitely gave me a lot exposure.

Overall this project really taught me the importance of planning your work, whether it be shooting or designing. My photography skills developed greatly and I got hold of different photo editing, video making and graphic designing applications which gave me a lot of awareness and ultimately polished my skills.