This is my weekly progress for the magazine project and a rough plan
Here is the plan my teacher made for each week of the 2nd term of this academic year. Me and my classmates will be following this timetable made by our teacher and there will be a more indepth explanation below,
SEMESTER 1
Week 1 (OCT 6) ;
I had an introduction to the brief for my component 1. I dont know much about magazines but I'm excited to learn all about them. We begun with learning a lot of magazine terminology that is very confusing to me as I struggle in differenciating on some terms like coverlines and masthead or understanding their uses so I will need to do further research at home on them to fully understand all of them. At the end of the week, I was tasked with doing a small research on magazines we brought in by identifying and labeling the terminology said previously to help us better understand the layout of a magazine then inserting it into a blogpost. Others concerning the blog, we learnt to label our blogposts into 'Comp 1'.
Week 2 (OCT 13) ;
My class had begun focusing on representation and I practiced it through looking through different representation of the same character, for example Queen Elizabeth II in 'The Crown". I think this lesson helped me to grasp the concept of representation better and see the different representation of various social groups and learn what their purpose was. I found this useful in my magazine analysis and what their demographic and psychographics are.
My teacher had tasked me to create 2 detailed analysis on the cover of 2 magazines. I did one on a magazine I had myself then another from Pinterest. Then I was tasked to do small analysis on 4 magazines that included their cover, content page and a double page spread that helped me pick out what I liked and disliked to be implemented in my project. I found this extremely time-consuming and very difficult as to why certain technical elements target a social group. So to solve this problem, I consulted to my teacher to develop my understanding of why and how a media text targets an audience as well as start a planner to better divide my tasks throughout the week so I can stay organized and balance out the project with other school work.
Week 3 (OCT 20) ;
I decided to change the format of my weekly progress to be more concise and reflective for me.
CLASS LESSON:
This week I went further in my understanding of representation and what is a stereotype and countertypes. I also learnt about representation theory by Stuart Hall and how media doesn't reflect meaning but creates meaning. We practiced this by looking at representation of a social group (women, men, eldery, etc) in Indonesian media. I think this lesson is very helpful to assist me in clearly defining my target audience for my magazine project.
TASKS:
This week I was told to finish my 2 big analysis and 4 small analysis on magazines as well as beginning to think about my magazines' genre and create my statement of intent that details all necessary information like target audience (demographic, psychographic and secondary target audience), an overview, unique selling point, representations, dominant reading and ways to increase engagement on my magazine.
PROBLEMS:
I found that magazines with people are the easiest to analyse because they had a more obvious expression that is clearly represented and seen in their body language, facial expression and technical elements (camera angle, lighting, colours, etc). So when it came to magazines with inanimate objects like food, I got quite stuck multiple times. I struggled in thinking outside of the box since food magazines was something my teacher didn't touch on in class so I was unconfident and unsure on how the food could possibly be set up to represent a meaning or target an audience.
SOLUTION:
I solved this problem to researching further on Youtube, learning on what to look for that I might of missed which greatly helped since I learnt that most inanimate objects are unable to convey meaning through methods than their colours and shape so I began looking deeper into colour connotations and shape language. I had also asked my teacher for feedback and ideas with one of the food magazines I researched and his advice was quite similar. I was suggested to do a deeper dive on the use of colours in varying contexts.
TO-DO LIST:
I have decided to do a local cuisine magazine however I haven't completed my statement of intent because I feel extremely unsure or uncertain on several of my decisions therefore I think I will need to do more research on other magazines of the same genre beforehand to see possible stereotypes, conventions or symbolic codes within the genre that I could conform to or subvert from.
Week 4 (OCT 27) ;
CLASS LESSON:
This week my class discussed genre theory by Steve Neale that can be described with similarities of media texts so they can be recognised as a particular genre but different enough to be new and original. I think learning this is very essential to my project as I want to make my magazine unique to attract more customers so learning this helps me understand i need to find a difference between my magazine and existing magazines to create my magazine's unique selling point.
TASKS:
I started with my magazine's development at the end of the week. Firstly, my class and I did exercises to help with brainstorming such as list out 10 words related to my magazine genre for the masthead, then 10 ideas for the coverlines and 10 images that will be shown in my magazine. Then I picked out my favourites while reflecting on my decisions as to why I picked them out.
PROBLEMS:
I realised because of this exercise that I'm very indecisive. I find myself struggling in finalizing a decision either because I like multiple ideas or I dislike all. I found this problem frustrating and pushed me to procrastinate and lose lots of time that I should've been using to finish my work.
SOLUTION:
My solution to this issue is to refresh my brain by reminding myself of the intention behind my magazine as well as t aking a look back into my research of food magazines and research further into the conventions set up by the genre to help me pick what will be best to attract my target audience. I also consulted my peers and teacher to give me suggestions and their own opinions on the names of coverlines that they liked. In the end, their comments really helped me pick out my finalized masthead.
TO-DO LIST:
By next week, I am tasked to complete my magazine development. I am told to finalize my choices as well as reflecting on why I choose them.
Week 5 (NOV 3) ;
CLASS LESSON:
This week my class and I had to prepare for an upcoming test and winter exams so we spent most classes reviewing theories. The test asked how audiences are targetted by the media and to mention 2 case studies, where I choose Vogue and Forbes magazine. I had added this to one of my blogpost as I believe it served as a great reminder that there are many ways to target audience's demographic and psychographic as well as review the uses and gratifications of people to be applied to my magazine.
TASKS:
During this week, I became sick with a flu for a few days and was unable to attend class. Despite that, I took to chatting with my friends and found out this weeks tasks were fairly simple due to our teacher wanting to focus on our exams for the time being. I was told to create 3 blogposts- consisting of Magazine Terminology, Magazine Research: Double-paged spread and Techincal Skill (Online). It was slightly hard to catchup especially with the research so I did consult my teacher who gave me a more in-depth explanation of our task.
PROBLEMS:
Terminology and Technical skill blogpost was quite simple and took little time however with Double-paged spread research, I found myself bored with the repetitive need of researching that was done frequently and my lack of resources as magazines were not popular in my area thus I had to use the same magazines in this research and my magazine research.
SOLUTION:
I decided forcing myself to finish the work when I was highly demotivated was unhealthy and will negatively affect my performance and quality of my research so I took breaks in between a few paragraphs by watching short videos to clear my mind, eating snacks or stretching. Coming back with a fresh head did make my eyes feel more sharper as I begun noticing details I had not previously pointed out.
TO-DO LIST:
Finishing this research is the only task I was given this week and so I will mostly be focusing my exams from here onwards.
Week 6 (NOV 10) ;
CLASS LESSON:
This week we moved forward in our progress and started the first draft for the article in the double-paged spread. My teacher began by first assigning me to create a persona of the author for the article and repeating my magazine's target audience, tone and the double-paged spread's topic. Our entire lesson period was spent creating this article however I continued it more during my own time.
TASKS:
I had to write the essay with a 700 word minimum on my free time outside of class
PROBLEMS:
I found myself stuck on not knowing what to write on even with a topic in mind. Because of this, writing this took forever and I kept getting stuck after each sentence. Boredom was a reason that I put off this task for a very long time and made me realise this problem is often reoccuring.
SOLUTION:
My solution for this will be to draft out a better plan before creating a starting sentence. This plan included using a method my teacher used that was previously mentioned. I brainstormed multiple sub-headings then added a small overview to each. I then reordered these sub-headings to have a more comprehensable flow. With a starting base, I built on it by adding a topic sentence and continuing it, not forgetting to make a connection with the previous paragraph to ensure a smooth transition between all paragraphs.
TO-DO LIST:
Currently, its very essential for me to finish continue my article and finish it by the end of the week to ensure I have more time to prepare for my exam.
Week 7 (NOV 17) ;
CLASS LESSON:
Our winter exam is beginning next week. Therefore, there was nothing new that we learnt during this week as we used the week to review for said exams.
TASK:
My teacher did handed out a checklist with everything we needed to complete to be graded at the end of the term. It included all blogposts that should have been on our blog by this time as well as their reflection. Additional notes can also be added.
PROBLEMS :
The checklist helped me realise I had a lot of blogs that were halfway done or incomplete, so I need to continue those. However, I was having difficulties in tackling with time managment between doing these tasks as well as studying for my exams on media studies and other subjects.
SOLUTION :
In the end, I missed my deadline, however I will continue to finish up blogposts that are lacking throughout my holiday and my next semester. I will try to implement time management methods like Pareto Analysis or the Pomodoro Technique to prevent this in the next time.
TO-DO LIST :
I will be focusing on my exams so no dued tasks were given out other than finishing our blogposts. In spite of that, I was given a small task to do a location scout all along the holidays by taking 10 pictures (different angles and locations).
Reflection : Writing this weekly progress has truthfully been confusing to me as sometimes I was lost on what solutions I could use to help solve my problems but I think that was exactly what helped me gain a better disciplin when it comes to planning. This blogpost has also been extremely helpful as it helps me keep track of what I did throughout the week which I use to refresh my memory before continuing with my unfinished tasks, to get into the right headspace that I've found to increase my focus.
This is my last week for this term and the first semester so I will not be having any more classes until January 8th.
SEMESTER 2
Week 1 (JAN 11)
CLASS LESSON:
This is the first week of Media class for the second semester so I will return to "Week 1" to make it easier for me to follow. I, firstly, reviewed feedback I was given by my teacher. He reminded me that I had to finish up some blogposts like my weekly progress and reflection and addon to some of my research, especially the double-paged spread. He also reccommended me to fix up my blog layout and format to be easier to read; one specific comment was on my double-page spread 1st draft that seemed too long for the typical conventions of food magazines so suggested me to split it up more or cut it down. Overall, he said I was on track and mentioned how my reflections are good but just needed to be polished.
TASKS:
The class started on doing a risk assessment for our location scout as well as quickly changing the format of our own blogs to fit to the examiners request of having opened blogposts all in the blog rather than blogposts having their own seperate thumbnail.
PROBLEMS:
Concerning my blogpost format and layout issues, I found this change to be extremely time-consuming because I constantly had to adjust each subheading and text that my teacher commented on. Other than that, I had issues are related to the risk assessment as I was not familiar on how to find nor pick althernative locations.
SOLUTION:
To ensure I'm thorough with my change of layout and formatting, I took breaks whenever I felt bored so I didn't pass by mistakes out of laziness and requested a friend's help to skim through my blog. I also solved my issue with alternative locations by asking my peers their suggestions as I feel that they were more knowledgable about more niche areas with less crowd which definitely gave me more ideas that I initially had.
TO-DO LIST:
On this weeks to do list, I simply need to finish my location risk assessment as I have yet to finish the risk assessment for my first location and decided on the second location for my magazine cover.
Week 2 (JAN 18)
CLASS LESSON:
This week, my teacher had made an activity relating to designing the magazine. This activity can be found in the blogpost titled 'Magazine Layout Tutorial' and will explained clearer there but in summary, my teacher had given me a template on google draw to experiment with different magazine layout. Afterwards, I was told to create sketches for the cover page and take sample pictures of said sketches.
TASKS:
The class lesson period was over before I could finish so I was tasked to finish it on my own time, add it into a blogpost and doing extra research on the 4 basics of design (borders, hierarchy of type, typeface, and colour) so I could input my understanding of it into the blogpost as well.
PROBLEMS:
Google draw was bad, not enough time for all my magazine shoot/didnt get to shoot all of them
The website my teacher used for the activity was google draw, which was extremely difficult to use for design. Its interface was simple and easy to understand however there were certain limits that made it difficult to follow the border rule as sometimes a text box cant be aligned properly to be within the border and will be poking out slightly.
SOLUTION:
A solution to this is to try out an alternate application like canva as it has a familiar interface thats easy to use but much more fitting for design compared to google draw. It has more features as well including more typefaces and custom colours. However, I had plans to use Adobe Indesign for my final magazine so I will most likely use canva for planning out the general composition.
TO-DO LIST:
On my to do list for this week is to learn the basics of Adobe Indesign as I have no prior experience to it. I will most likely be using the help of Youtube and Google to give me a rundown of the software
Week 3 (JAN 25)
CLASS LESSON:
My teacher set our deadline for this project to the end of the term (approximately week 7 as of writing) so I have begun developing and designing, starting out with my covers page. This activity will be written in detail in the blogpost titled 'Front Cover Development' but in short, I took my sketches and picked out 2 to be developed digitally and 1 out of the 2 to be further experimented on.
TASKS:
My tasks for this week required me to have completed the task above and place it onto a blogpost and then continue the activity with the other pages (content and double-page spread). I also will be taking my actual photos soon so I will need to begin preparing for the photoshoot.
PROBLEMS:
My indecisiveness has proved to be an issue once more as I struggled in picking which sketch to develop, whether it was because I didn't like any of the sketches i had formed or if there were too many I liked.
SOLUTION:
I solved this by consulting with my teacher and peers. My teacher reminded me to look back into my genre conventions and see what they have in common- additionally why they choose to have that in common. For example, the birdseye view is common as it easily displays the entirety of the dish. I also talked to peers who gave me their input on why they find certain sketches more appealing than the rest.
TO-DO LIST:
My to do list for the week is to complete this task for my front cover page and continue with the other pages, starting out with sketches.
Week 4 (JAN 30)
CLASS LESSON:
This week, I had started the self critical reflection. My teacher reviewed the questions asked for the reflection and reccommended that I write down ideas of my answers rather than jumping straight in. So, I wrote in my media studies diary about magazine conventions, representations, ways of engagement, distribution, etc. until the class had ended
TASKS:
My teacher reccommended me to finish the self critical reflection soon as the work may pile up so I need to be developing my answers and make the presentation.
PROBLEMS:
The biggest problem currently is time management. I have much to do between classes and with many local events, class times are cut short occassionally. Some questions also have me stumped as I'm not sure how to appropiately answer them in clear detail.
SOLUTION:
I will be setting a time-blocking schedule to help keep me on track as well as set deadlines for myself.
TO-DO LIST:
This week I will have to begin planning out my designs and e
Week 5 (FEB 8)
CLASS LESSON:
This week, I did not attend school as I was feeling under the weather but by previous rundowns of the schedule, I had expected this week to be the start of designing the front cover. I asked friends through social media and caught up with my teacher once I was able to come back.
TASKS:
While I was sick, I simply tasked myself to look at more designs of front covers to get a better grasp of the common conventions and also how its broken to stand out. I also continued my front cover, contents page, and double-paged spread development.
PROBLEMS:
Being sick was the major problem of the week as I was mostly bedridden or could not handle looking at the screen for too long as I'd start getting a headache. This definitely forced a pause in my workflow.
SOLUTION:
There was no solution to this other than just waiting until my health bounced back so I was careful to treat my body well.
TO-DO LIST:
This week I had to catchup on my work by completing my design development and beginning on my front cover to ensure I made it to my deadline.
Week 6 (FEB 15)
CLASS LESSON:
This week, I had worked on all 4 pages of my magazine (front cover, content and double-page spread). I begun each page with doing quick research and look into other magazine examples to get an idea. Using the previous development, it was easy for me to start for the front cover however it was more difficult with the other pages.
TASKS:
I begun developing each page in every class of this week, starting with front cover to content to double-page spread. I also did extra research for minor details including typeface, text positioning and further common conventions I may not have noticed in my first magazine research.
PROBLEMS:
One problem from this week was a local ceremony that cut down half the class time which meant that there was less time for me to work during class time.
SOLUTION:
The only solution to this was to finish my work on my own time. I spent lots of time this week creating the general look of my magazine so I could gain feedback from my teacher on the next week, however during the weekends, I did consult my various of my friends to gain more insight on what would look best.
TO-DO LIST:
I was reminded this week to not neglect my self critical reflection and be sure to have completed that as well. I have completed half of the content and the presentation itself and would just need to continue. Other than that, I need to collect lots more feedback to ensure my magazine will look its best.
Week 7 / Submission and Deadline Week (FEB 22)
CLASS LESSON:
This week was the deadline of our project to be graded into our school report cards. In class, I asked my teacher for feedback and he expressed that my magazine was already wonderful but just needed slight adjustments and tiny more experiments on colours. I adjusted and recorded the changes accordingly and added them to my blog. I finally added my 2 final blogposts consisting of the embedded self-critical reflection presentation as well as the final product/magazine. I felt fine as I've prepared for this deadline and had my final magazine ready (only waiting for last lesson feedback) but I worried much about the blog on the development as well as the time needed for self-critical reflection.
TASKS:
This week I had much to do including finishing touches to my blog to ensure all information/research and development is complete and ending my self critical reflection presentation. Most the empty spaces in my blog was related to my final magazine's development where I had yet to add in pictures of my experimentation/changes with comments.
PROBLEMS:
A problem I had run into is the large consumption of time from recording, documenting and writing comments during my development as I had to take screenshots with every little change, added them to a canva whiteboard and download it to be placed in my blog. Although sounding simple, It took a while to properly get all of these changes written down and placed into the blog.
SOLUTION:
A solution I found to this was rather than documenting each change, placing it and commenting on it, I just gathered all the screenshots with quick jot down of notes where I then expand in my developments if needed.
Week 8 / EXTRA WEEK (APR 18)
CLASS LESSON:
This week was an extra week that my class were given to improve our magazine/self-critical reflection before it was submitted to Cambridge. During this time, I checked over my feedback and my teacher had assisted us by giving a checklist to go over to ensure we had every blog required. My teacher had also provided us a link to example blogs he had made as a 'template'.
TASKS:
1. I was told to check over all blogs to look over mispellings, mistakes, errors, etc. before submission
2. Complete the feedback by my teacher
PROBLEMS:
A problem that I found was with feedback my teacher had given regarding explaining my choice of technical elements (camera angle, colours, mise-en-scene, etc) as I found it difficult to explain my reasons to my choices in writing. I was particularly distress by this and would procrastinate on the task for a few days.
SOLUTION:
To solve this issue, I asked for the support of my peers and tried verbalising my reasoning for the choices I had picked to them. They gave me their patience and input into how to articulate my ideas into writing to be properly/clearly explained in my blog, which I'm eternally grateful for.
Reflection: Weekly progress was something I quite disliked doing on the regular as it felt boring and at times, I didn't know what I should write. I would just write a summarized version of my class' tasks before the end of the lesson and expand on it more at home. However now I have found an appreciation of doing this sort of journaling as I was able to look back and see how far I've progressed from the very start of this project. I've noticed I am more intentional with my decisions rather than picking which ever decision "felt right" and I've developed an eye for what makes a design good or bad after so many researching done. Weekly progress, without even realising, has helped me come up with solutions that work well for me that I could be applying to my life (such as that timed brainstorming which was stressful but still pushed me to experiment with my magazine and to think outside of the conventions).
