Planned points

Research and planning
AS- I looked at other music magazines that have a similar genre to mine so I could get inspiration for my colour scheme and layout/font overall. It helped me to understand the conventions of the magazine I was trying to convey and how to portray the person in the magazine. With it being a music magazine I was able to use props such as a guitar to make it seem more real, I got this idea from an existing magazine such as NME which shares the same genre as mine. It was easier to take features and ideas/inspiration for my AS coursework because it is a very popular genre which has a lot of existing magazines such as the examples above. From AS creativity I have learned that research is very important so I can understand what I need to include in my product to make it as professional as possible.
A2- In a2 I used regional magazines combined with fashion magazines to create my genre which uses both together. A regional fashion magazine is hard to come by so I used both genres separately to make a unique magazine. I took ideas from each example magazine and put them in my own because I think this is my USP. I didn't use as many examples (current existing mags) in my A2 coursework because the genre is very difficult to come across in terms of finding it through research. I also stuck to typical conventions of the two genres I used to keep a wide range of audience.

Digital technologies
AS- I started using Photoshop which took quite a long time, it was beneficial as it was professional but as I have very few skills in Photoshop which was not ideal for time management. Most parts of the images were done on photoshop but I was a day behind compared to when I expected to finish. The images came out professional looking but I wouldn't use PS again because it takes to long to figure out. If i gained skills in this programme I would most likely use it. I opened the images on publisher to organise them as if it were a proper magazine, this helped me to figure out what dimensions to use.
A2- I used the same principles like PS but soon found that it was not suitable for me and it was really hard to use, so I found Pixlr which was a simplified version and it helped me create my images and edit them (also looking professional) but it took less time. I used Wix for my website which gave a huge variety of themes and layout etc. I spent a lot of time on this as it was a big project. (detail on wix and uses) I also used publisher to set out my magazine because this is it's primary use.

Real media texts 
AS- I researched other existing music magazines to identify the genre conventions it has and include them in my production. These were things like prefered colour schemes, font, layout etc. Then I made a collection of rock/punk music magazines and annotated them which helped me to understand why people like these things in their magazine and what I can do to challenge conventions. I did this by creating a magazine with similar connotations and conventions as real ones which would be seen as competition if my magazine was also a real media product.
A2- I did the same for AS but for a feminine indie/rock genre which is very uncommon. I found this one challenging because there are not many like it. I combined two of these opposing genres together to create a genre that is now becoming more recognised nowadays. I had to look at different types of magazine such as regional, fashion and, more specifically, indie/punk. I analysed these types to create a mashup of the two. My magazine is predominantly pop/feminine with a hint of indie (especially on the double page) and rock. This helped me develop my creativity skills more as I didn't follow all the conventions of the genres but instead I created my own twist on them. Examples of real media texts I used to research into genres similar to my own was magazines such as etc and northnews. 

Creativity
AS- In my first year I did a music magazine which was in the genre of punk/rock as shown by the front cover layout. I followed similar conventions of a real magazine with a punk/rock genre because this would grab their attention, ultimately, as this genre is very specific and typically you wouldn't see much of any other kinds of colours, layouts, overall presentation, and word choices etc. With research into other magazines I carefully chose the conventions of this type of magazine by choosing a girl with the same fashion genre of that of the magazine and, overall, this creates an impression that the images and magazine topic link up thus making it attractive in the eyes of someone interested in punk rock genre.
A2- This is also a magazine but for regional fashion. It is a very uncommon type so I picked two genres of fashion and region and combined the two categories together so that it created a unique magazine. It would only be as popular as the regional magazines as this magazine would not be published anywhere else except the North East of England. It would also have a similar demographic to the magazines which would attract fashion interested people. I carefully thought this out as this is a hard genre to comply with in terms of picking specific features and layouts to suit the target audience. I got my inspiration from real media texts mentioned above.

Post production
AS- I edited the whole page once it was done to alter the colours that I thought was more suitable for the genre of magazine. I made the red darker and the black more intense to get the 'rock/punk' look across that would attract my audience. The images were still a little bit rough around the edges so I took the photos and spent some time getting rid of any white parts that were not needed. After a few comments on my final product (magazine) I got some suggestions that there was too much writing on the front cover so I thought of a few ideas that would make the page not so crowded. I took the ones that had the least writing but had the biggest effect on the audience, ie something that would grab their attention like 'exclusive...!'
A2- The same goes for my A2 magazine. After some feedback I got some interesting ideas that would help my magazine look more professional. I edited the photos to look better (lighting and contrast) so that they would stand out. The colour scheme for my front page was altered slightly as I used to have more purple/blues but changed it to a little bit of pink. In the end I added or took away minor detail that made the magazine seem more professional with more effort put into them. I took away one of the page numbers (5) because there was no room and the other words were off centered compared to the other page because of it. This didn't look right so I changed it along with the position of the black bar on my double page spread. I lifted it up and shrunk the headline above so I could move it further. This was because the images and text were being too compacted together and I had a lot of empty space at the top. It is important for these minor details to be corrected as it can affect the whole magazine and make it more of a success in terms of professionalism and attractiveness.