Amy Varley EPQ

In order to round off the end of the development of my project, I need to present to an audience about the basics of my project as whole. The presentation allows me to summarise the development, research and production of my project and gives me a chance to show how well I have met my aims and objectives.  The presentation also gives me a chance to address the issues I may have faced throughout the two year project, alongside some things I may have done differently. Despite the fact that my project was entirely independent, I think I could have added things that would have led my product more towards a typical music magazine, but I didn't feel as if it was exactly suitable for the requirements of the EPQ as a whole.

My project has made little progress in the time between January and March. Because of quarantine, I was unsure when my presentation would take place. From this point onward, I hope to work on adding some slight corrections/additions to my PowerPoint and the flashcards I hope to use alongside it. In this time period, I would also like to make sure my blog is updated and includes as much of the process of my project as possible. I had hoped to have presented my PowerPoint during the first week back to school after the Christmas break, but this was not possible due to the closure of schools. My presentation was then due to occur online over Microsoft Teams, but was again delayed due to the hope and, in the end, success of completing this in-person. In other years, presentations were completed in front of the head teacher and governors. I will present in front of a reduced audience, but the message and rounding off of my project still holds the same value.

 Over the course of the past month, I have achieved what I set out in November in order to finish my EPQ for the deadline I set for myself. I finally have a printed, physical copy of my magazine to round off the project I've been working on for the past two years. After some design adjustments to the spread concerning independent artists and the insertion of my final text pieces, I printed the magazine at a local shop and assembled it myself.  One specific choice I faced before doing so was not one that was expected when I made the decision to create a physical print. The choice of paper was something I later realised was very important to the overall feel of the magazine itself. Using some of the examples of magazines I already owned, I had an array of models to choose from. Some of the magazine I had were printed on extremely glossy but thin paper, whilst others were thicker and more of a matte feel. In the end, I believe that my decision to choose a middle ground between the two

One of the main limitations of my project was my inability to use more original photography in my final physical product. I would've liked to have attempted to take my own photos for the magazine, other than my personal photos I have already used in the magazine. For example, the pictures I used in the 'independent artist' spread could have been done with the help of some of my friends who study music in their A-Levels. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was unable to access this department in school. Instead, I chose to use some copyright-free images from unsplash.com . This website contains a huge database of images provided by a wide range of photographers. In some ways, this may have benefitted the quality of my final project because of the more professional photos I was able to access. The amount of photos available on this website allowed me to pick the most suitable pictures not only for the topic of each page, but also the cohesive colour scheme I had aimed fo

 Whilst looking through the examples of magazines that I already own, I found that the copy of DIY magazine I had was very similar to the kind of magazine that I wanted to create for my project. The small A5 layout gave me many examples of how to create an aesthetically pleasing, cohesive magazine whilst maintaining the fan-zine style of the product as a whole. The inside design of this magazine, I felt, was a better example of the type of design I wanted to produce. Whilst the issue included a lot of original photography, it also gave great examples of how to use both images and text together on smaller pages, but maintaining the unique, cohesive design found in all music magazines. From this copy of the magazine, I was also able to get an understanding of the filler pages that were suitable for the type of magazine I wanted to create. The images below are from DIY magazine and gave me some inspiration for the pages I wanted to add, as well as some design ideas. I may not have been a

Skill 1: Using InDesign (and other design software) Where I started: Before I began my project, I had no experience of using digital design software. Despite using Photoshop occasionally in lower school, I never developed detailed skills in using them. As mentioned previously on my blog, my sister began a graphic design degree and I saw her use the software on a regular basis. Not only did this seem interesting to me as I watched her complete briefs in a similar style to that of the EPQ, I also believed it would be useful for my further education. After reading about the modules I would complete on a journalism course at university, learning these skills at my own pace would allow me through the EPQ would allow me to feel more confident doing the same during projects and briefs. My progress in this skill: I now have a basic understanding of how to use design software, more specifically InDesign and Photoshop. Through webpages and actively learning through my sibling, I have learned s

 Over the course of November, I attempted to write the articles for my magazine. Two of them were completed by the end of the month, but the third may not be finished until a little while into December. This delay was caused by a slightly heavier workload at school and the start of my new job. This will be made up for, however, in the first couple of weeks in December, with the rest of my plan being moved along to accommodate this. I also developed the website version of my magazine over this month. I wanted to create a site that looked as realistic as possible, so I worked on adding some fake interview titles, a 'monthly' playlist of favourite music tracks and a subscription service based around the schemes that free/independent music magazines use to support their writers and editors. My project now has a finish date of the week beginning the 4th of January 2021. This is a great deadline for my project as it allows me to take the Christmas break to add the finishing touches t