Diary Entry - 19/12/13;

Today i continued construction my front page and contents page;

Diary Entry - 18/12/13;

Today i continued my construction of my magazine contents page

Diary Entry - 16/12/13;

Today i worked on my contents page;

i just need make some final touches and then i will gain feedback and make any necessary changes.

Diary Entry - 13/12/13

Today i have began my front page by finding an appropriate font for my masthead 'Revolution' and edited it ready for my front page;

I have also added it to my construction page and analysed it in full detail;

I have also gained feedback from Steph on my double page spread and uploaded it to my construction page saying that i will be influenced by these changes when editing my double page spread;

Over the weekend i will be continuing with my construction and ensuring it is all complete and printed off for Mondays lesson to gain feedback and then continue with the evaluation questions. I should be up to date with my work by the end of next week like the rest of the class.

Diary Entry - 13/12/13

Today I will be beginning my front page and then continuing at home over the weekend and receiving feed back next week on my front page, contents page and double page spread. I will updating my construction page with detailed analysis of my stages when going through my construction of the front page. I will also go through my analysis of my other stages within construction page and ensure they are detailed enough.

Diary Entry - 12/12/13

Today i worked on my contents page and will continue with these tomorrow and tonight.

Diary Entry - 10/12/13;

Today I have managed to make the bloggers website work on my home computer which means that I am now able to upload my work as I do it. I also had a meeting with Sophie today which resulted in me making a decision of creating posts at the beginning of each lesson of what I want and expect myself to of completed and then a final entry of how I have done.  This way I know for sure that I am working at my highest potential and putting in the most effort i possibly can.
Today at home i have continued creating my double page spread and here you can see the image and font that i have edited and added to my double page spread. There are only a few more final stages and then my double page spread will be completed.

Diary Entry - 06/12/13;

Today I have began creating my double page spread;

I will continue with this at home this weekend and will add the images and other text that is necessary. The deadline for all our construction is today but due to me losing my work i am able to have it all completed by next Friday which will mean i will need to pay a lot of attention and spend a lot of time on my construction this weekend and gain feedback etc... next week. I am happy with my double page spread construction so far but will keep referring to my computer drafts to see how it goes. Overall, I am feeling a lot better about creating my construction over the weekend and it should all go well.

Diary Entry - 05/12/13;

Today I finished my double page spread interview ready for the construction. I also discussed with Sophie how i could keep up with the work i am now behind on. I now have until next week to have my constructions will be completed so i will have to complete as much as possible this weekend.

Diary Entry - 04/12/13

Over our long weekend i had completed all of the tasks up to date and saved them onto my memory stick. I came back to college to upload them onto my blog yesterday, as i had difficulty with loading my blog on my home computer, and my memory stick was completed empty and all of my work had been cleared. So I went back home and plugged in my memory stick to see if it was just the college computers but still i had no documents. So i have lost all my construction work, including my double page spread, my front page and my contents page. Also including my double page spread article and my images. So due to this i have began another double page spread article and today i am going to have my pictures re taken and edited. Luckily, I do have Photoshop at home so will be able to create my construction at home. now i am extremely far behind so i am going back to SMART targets and will find more free periods within my time table to which i will come into media to catch up. Hopefully i will be caught up with all more work within the next couple of weeks.
Below you can see my work on my double page spread so far;

Diary Entry - 28/11/13;

Today I began my front cover construction but then realised that my images were too dark for my front page so i will be doing another shoot over the weekend and be constructing it this weekend.

Diary Entry - 27/11/13

Today i organised my folders and uploaded the construction to my contents page.

Diary Entry - 25/11/13

Today i continued with my contents page as my Photoshop didn't work at home this weekend. i will get this fixed tonight and continue with it to have it completed by next lesson.

Diary Entry - 22/11/13

Today I continued with my contents page;

This is stage four of my process of creating my contents page. I will complete this at home using Photoshop. I need to tidy up the page number boxes, add headings underneath my images on the right hand side and add a few more page numbers and detail to the contents page. I may also add a editorial note. I will ensure this is completed over the weekend.

Diary Entry - 21/11/13

Today i worked on my contents page and uploaded the stages of my construction so far.

Diary Entry - 20/11/13

Today I had to begin my contents page again as I had lost my work from the previous lesson. Here you can see in two stages how much i have completed today. Although, not as much work was completed as i had a little difficulty with how the text didn't appear on top of the image. Although, i solved the problem and continued.

Stage 1;

Stage 2;

Dairy Entry - 18/11/13

Today i began my contents page draft on photoshop and uploaded my images i took this weekend for my construction of my magazine.

diary Entry - 15/11/13

Today, i re-wrote my article and gained feedback. This feedback was good and i will upload to my blog shortly. I will be creating my draft this weekend and taking more photo's this weekend. I will download Photoshop to do so and ensure it is completed by Monday.

Diary Entry - 14/11/13

Today I tried to create an article page with the images i had previously taken, which i didn't like. So this weekend i am going to take more photos and create the article draft at home. To do this i will need to download photo shop and then create them. Here you can see some images i moved around and tried to create an article page with but unfortunately i wasn't successful;

Diary Entry - 13/11/13

Today I have created my computer drafts for my front page, content page and double page. This helped me concentrate on how i want my layout for my magazine. this will also speed up the construction process of my magazine. These are uploaded to my planning page on my blog.
I also tidied up my planning page whilst Iwas uploading my computer drafts.

Diary entry - 11/11/13

In this lesson I gave feedback to Ellie's article. I then updated my SMART targets that i had set myself at the start of course and related them to the feedback i received from Sophie. This was uploaded to the home page. Throughout the week I will ensure my weekly task sheets are completed. Although, all Photoshop work will need to be completed within college as i haven't got Photoshop on my facilities at home.

Update on smart targets;

Here you can see my smart target i had previously set myself whilst completing the course;

Specific - I'll use a plan giving time allocations for media and other subjects.

Measurable - The amount of hours i put into each of my subjects, including media.

Achievable - Ensure that the amount of time i allocate to each lesson is achievable amongst my timetable.

Realistic - Don't over work on subjects, ensure that they will be easy to keep up with.

Timebound - Ensure timing fits in with my time table and social and working life.

After receiving my feedback from Sophie about my blog so far i feel as though i need to concentrate on my measurable target to ensure more work is completed in the amount of time allocated.  I also feel as though i need to concentration on tidying my blog and have a clear layout and use of headings within my blog.

Diary Entry - 08/11/13;

Today I uploaded my article feedback and commented on how this will effect my construction of my magazine. Here you can see a print screen of it;

I have also begun rewriting my article as I have commented on my article feedback analysis. I have also tidied my research page as Sophie commented on it as untidy. I have also gone through all of my task sheets and highlighted and ticked everything that I have completed. This will make it easier to see what I haven't completed and make me keep up to date with work. Over the weekend I will finish my weekly task sheet and ensure my blog is tidy.

Diary Entry - 07/11/13

Over the half term I took my images for my final magazine construction, although I need to move them onto my memory stick and bring them into college to upload through these computers. I will od this next lesson. I have been having difficulty to upload my podcast, as whenever I am home I upload it and it works but is inaccessible at home and doesn't even show up on any other computer when going to view. So I will be bringing in the podcast within my next couple of lessons to try and upload it in college and if this doesn't work I will have to re-record it and upload it then.

Today, I have received my comments from Sophie and my grade. I was given a c/b grade as I have a good standard of work but this needs to be carried out through all my work. I have gone through all the comments she has left on my blog and corrected them. For example, I have edited my prezi presentation to ensure it have more detail and how this will effect my designs of my construction of my magazine. Although, I haven't been able to edited my textual analysis as it saved at home, so tonight in my own time I will do so and re-upload it and hope that it will work and home.

Diary Entry - 24/10/13

Today I have managed to recieve feedback for my article and also finish my pitch and upload it to my blog. I will esnure the rest of my work will be completed by tomorrows dealine.

Diary Entry - 23/10/13

Today, I uploaded a blog entry from yesterday about the lesson we attended to do with our photography for our magazine. I then uploaded my survey monkey results which I was behind on. Today, i finish early at college so am planning on spending plenty of time on my media coursework to meet the deadline by friday.

Diary Entry - 22/10/13;

Today we had a lesson on how we should use photography within our creations of music magazines, this will help me with the presentation and image of my magazine.  We were taken through step by step of how and where we should take our photographs.

Firstly we were told about the studio the college provides for us and that we will need to book it if needed for use. To do this we will need to go to the art office and book it with a technician Sophie advises that we book the studio for many sessions if we are planning on taking many photographs with many different people. The technician that you will book this with will then check the studio before and after it is used to ensure no damages are made. They will then take you through the rules of the studio, which are; no food, no drink, you are not aloud to stick anything up on the walls and the maximum amount of people aloud in the studio at one time is 4 people including the photographer. Sophie also told us to inform your own personal media teacher when booking and using the studio. The studio is highly recommended if you were planning to remove the background of your image as it is a clear white background and will be easy to edit on Photoshop.

We were then informed that special lighting is available in the studio and this increases how preffessional the image look and is useful for our music magazines. Finally, we were advised to check our images before we leave to ensure they are up to high enough quality, and then we were shown some poor examples of what they shouldnt look like.

Sophie then went through some top points that need to be taken note of and kept in mind when creating our magazine. Firstly, do not have an image in the centre of double page spread because if the double page spread was actually created the centre of the magazine would ruin the image. She then continued to make us ensure all of the poses used within my magazine link, for example make sure they all relate to the genre of music used within the magazine and to the other poses. Also, to ensure the photographs taken are of a high quality and the cropping done in Photoshop is also to a high quality and have smooth edges.

One of the most important things Sophie informed us of not leaving any coursework until  the last minute as this will cause panic and we will then not complete our coursework to our highest standards. Also, that planning is essential in this course, without planning the whole coursework will be messy and not completed by dealines etc...We were then told to make sure the music magazine as a whole looks proffessional, this will increase marks.  We were then recommened to experiement with the depth of field within the images.

We then continued to talk about the representation of your genre of music through images. So the use of costume and make up will make a huge impact on if your genre of music will be representated in the magazine. Also to include additional images but to ensure these relate to the genre and the rest of the magazine. The minimum of images throughout the front page, contents page and double page spread is 4 images. Although it is recommended to have a dominate image on the front page and double page spread, with perhaps seperate images in relation and then for the contents page a wide variety of image relating to whats included in the magazine. We were then informed to ensure the same style throughout the magazine is kept and is altered.

Then we were informed of our key considerations when creating our magazine and photogrpahy for our magazine;
- Lighting
- Mise en scene
- Backgroun
- Clothing
- Pose
- Model
- Quality.

We also need to ensure all of our image are our own, cannot be taken off the internet because this is seen as copyright. WE were then told also to plan out our images, have a set plan on what, where and how they will be done. Also, to spend a lot of timeon these images to ensure they are up to our own highest abilities. Finally, a highly recommended idea is to create mood boards for the costumes are you are thinking of using in your images so it can be easy to create when it comes to putting together the images.

I found all of these recommendations and tips for our photography for our magazines very helpful and will ensure my images will be taken, edited and shown in the highest quality I can.

Diary Entry - 21/10/13;

Today the college power went down so we had a lesson without computers. To which i continued completing my work by hand. I was doing my hand-drawn final refined and detailed versions of my front page, contents page and double page spread. I then went home and continued doing work on the computer. For this i typed up my interviews which I had written by hand and uploaded it to my planning section of my blog. I then continued and am going to ensure that i complete all my hand-draw tasks by the end of the day. Tomorrow I will produce my pitch and begin my computer roughs for the layout of my front cover, contents and double page spread. I am a little behind so will be spending more time on my tasks this week then any other week to ensure it is all completed by 25/10/13.

Diary Entry - 18/10/13

Today I have completed my smart target update, my uploading and comments on my drafts for my influence magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread. and completed my evaluation for my final college magazine. I am happy with what I have been able to complete today, and will continue over the weekend to ensure the task sheet is completed.

Smart targets update;

Here are my previous smart targets i had set for myself whilst completing the media course;

Specific - I'll use a plan giving time allications for media and other subjects.

Measurable - The amount of hours i put into each of my subjects, including media.

Achievable - Ensure that the amount of time i alicate to each lesson is acievable amongst my timetable.

Realistic - Don't over work on subjects, ensure that they will be easy to keep up with.

Timebound - Ensure timing fits in with my time table and social and working life.


I have kept my target in mind but i do believe i could relate to them more, i need to use more time on media as i have lost my work and had difficulties at work which have set me back slightly. I do find completing a task week within the allotted time a bit of a difficulty but i will continue to work hard and try to meet these targets. If i didn’t complete work out of class i would be very far behind but due to me doing work by hand when having no internet etc. I have been able to keep up to a certain point. I am happy with what i have completed so far, I just will have to work harder to meet the deadlines faster.

Diary Entry - 17/10/13;

Today I managed to begin my contruction adne evaluation of my preliminary task. I will compelte this tonight and continue with the other task sheet also.

Diary Entry - 16/10/13

I lost my front cover and contents page of my preliminary task, so i had to re-do them both. So this lesson I spent my time re-doing the front cover and contents page. As this wasted time on my new task sheet I will have to add more hours int his week to catch up. I have only uploaded them to my blog at the moment and will be writting about them and analysising them by the end of the day. Then I will continue with my task sheet.

Diary entry - 14/10/13

today i have managed to continuing created my magazine and upload my preliminary task images. I have also tidied my blog.

diary Entry; 12/10/13

Today I have uploaded my textual analysis and checked all the information on my log was correct.

 Although, the scan of my 'Pulse' college magazine contents page still will not upload onto my blog. So I will need to re-scan this next lesson.  

diary Entry - 11/10/13

Today I managed to upload my podcast script and begin my photoshop for my front cover. I will continue doing this in my free periods today and hopefully record and upload my podcast. Over the weekend I will complete the restof my task sheet unless I have difficulties with my internet again.

diary entry; 10/10/13

Today I managed to typed up my podcast script ready to upload with my podcasts as soon as possible.

Diary Entry - 09/10/13

Today i ahve managed to copmplete my survey and also scan the appropriate things that need to be scanned. I have now added in the double page spread images in my textual analysis and uploaded the print screens of my survey ontomy blog. Next lesson I am hoping to complete the textual analysis and upload it to my blog and also to have my results from survey and upload the results I have gathered.

Diary Entry - 09/10/13

Today I am hoping to complete my Survey for the magazine and scan anything that needed to be scanned as the last time I did this it wasnt scanned straighht.

Diary Entry - 08/10/13

Yesterday, I managed to scan any research and planning that I needed to for my blog and alo managed to begin a draft at home for my magazine by hand. I chose the name 'Revolution' for my magazine and started a draft of my masthead and other designs for layout. Today I am hoping to complete my textual analysis so I am able to upload it tomorrow and complete my draft for my front cover of my magazine at home.

diary Entry - 07/10/13

Over the weekend I unfortunately haven't had any access to the interent as it broke at home, therefore I am now behind on the previous week task sheet. This lesson I am hoping to complte my texual analysis and upload everything to my blog.

Diary entry; 04/10/13

Today, I achieved editing my essay for my comparason of analysis of two magazines; Kerrang and Top of the Pops. I am still a little behind and need to compeklte my draft for my college magazine and my podcast. I now have a free period and will complete my draft of my college magazine next.

Diary Entry; 23/09/13

Today I managed to creat my blog and upload my 'what makes a level 4 portfolio coursework' poster. This was completed easily and without any difficulties. I also chose my colour cheme of my blog and filled in the appropriate information. Although, to be able to create a blog I had to create a gmail, this took up some time so I didnt complete anymore work.

Diary entry; 03/10/13

Today I am planning on improving my layout of my blog and writting my podcast's script. I want to improe the layout so it easier to navigate around and look more presentable.

What might hold me back in this task?

Personally, I feel as though my biggest weakness and difficulty in completing this task is going to be my time management to ensure all my tasks step by step are completed in time. This is a weakness due to my busy time table and other courses I take that are also very coursework based. Although, to ensure I can and will complete this work in time and to my best ability I will take free periods and specifically set them to media so I can concentrate on completing my tasks.

Here are my smart targets that I will concentrate on taking in consideration when working on my task and this will help me overcome my weakness;

Specific - I'll use a plan giving time allications for media and other subjects.

Measurable - The amount of hours i put into each of my subjects, including media.

Achievable - Ensure that the amount of time i alicate to each lesson is acievable amongst my timetable.

Realistic - Don't over work on subjects, ensure that they will be easy to keep up with.

Timebound - Ensure timing fits in with my time table and social and working life.

What makes a level 4 coursework portfolio?

Here I have created a poster to have the clear points of having a level 4 coursework portfolio. I found these main points on the mark scheme and put points i personally think I need to concentrate on. Whenever i am completing any work for my coursework portfolio i will refer to this to ensure its done to my highest ability and it at a high enough level to be a level 4. The preliminary task will help me have a good understanding of how these main points can be put into practice and can improve my final full task.