final outcome

Front cover

Contents

Double page spread

Evaluation 7

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

For my preliminary task I had to produce a front cover and contents page for a school magazine. This was in aid of having a practise on photoshop, to help with the construction of my front cover, contents page and double page spread for my music magazine. This also enabled me to compare the two and therefore show the improvements I made. A major factor distinguishing between the two tasks is the amount of time spent on them. For the preliminary task we only had a few weeks worth of lessons whereas we spent a much longer time period on the full product. I have learnt so much in the progression from my preliminary task to my full product. When completing my preliminary task I had carried out no real research into how a school magazine should look and what it should contain. Little planning went into producing both the front cover and contents page. The images that I used were taken quickly and with no real thought going into certain vital aspects such as costume and location. At the time I didn't realise just how important it was to have good, strong images for my magazine. To take many of the photos I had used my 5 mega pixels camera on my phone, which is why the images were so poor in comparison to the images I used for my full product.I wanted my magazine to be effective and successful.It was very important to get feedback on my ideas because I wanted my magazine to be effective and successful. Overall, alot of research was done before producing the final piece and everything was thought about beforehand in a lot of detail. For example, when it came to the photoshoot I planned it out detailed beforehand which included locations, clothing, make-up, poses, hair, lighting, props, backgrounds and what pages it would be on.I think the locations of where i took my preliminary magazine made it look how it looks, By finding interesting locations other than a plain wall made my final products interesting to look at whereas in my premliminary task all the photos had simple backgrounds. My Photoshop skills have also improved dramatically. My school magazine cover and contents (preliminary task) look very cheap and amateurish. I had used the magnetic lasso tool to cut out my main cover model, which I found extremely difficult. The edges around her head look rough and the image stands out like a sore thumb - not at all as it should. At the time my Photoshop skills were very basic and looking back now I should have atleast tried to soften the edges using the eraser tool. The cover's blue background looks very basic and the shade of blue I have used clashes badly with the bright red. The contents page looks slightly better in comparison to the cover, however it is still very basic. All in all I have learnt a great deal in the progression to my full product, and my skills have expanded on photoshop so i can use more advanced tools without any help.

Evaluation 6

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I have learnt many different technologiesI have adapted to using the Mac computers, which before this project I had never used. At first it was strange as the set-up was very unfamiliar to me. All computers that I had used in the past used microsoft windows software, where as this was obviously not the case with the Mac computers All of the icons and programmes were arranged differently, so it took a bit of time for me to get used to it. I liked some features of the Mac computers however, I think that I would have preferred to use a computer with software that I was more familiar with. The main technology that has been vital during the whole production process is the photoshop software. I first used this software when completing my preliminary task. To begin with I 

found it extremely difficult to use. There were so many different settings and tools that made the software just bewildering for someone like me who had never used it before. One tool that I found particularly hard to use was the magnetic lasso tool. I remember using this in both my preliminary task and my main coursework production. I used the tool to cut out people from images and it was a very frustrating process. You needed a very steady hand and lots of patience to be able to cut out the images neatly. I was also new to blogging, i didn't like the idea at first but after i posted some of my work and got used to it i like the idea and found it interesting using different fonts and colours. An advantage of blogger is that it eliminates the large amount of time spent on making a folder look attractive. The main benefits of blogger is that it is simple, quick and teachers can help you at anytime because they have access to this. My camera managed pretty well in these conditions, I had to use the brightest flash available and luckily still managed to get a few amazing photos. I was extremely pleased with the pictures until I uploaded them onto the computer and found that unfortunately many of them looked grainy and not as sharp as I had hoped. Also, due to the bright flash the model's  face looked fluorescent white, with little or no definition showing her features. As the front cover was the first page I produced, much of photoshop was still completely new to me and so it took me a while to find the desired effects I wanted to add to my title. I used the effects column that runs down the right-hand side, combining effects until I was happy with the overall look of my title. Another very useful tool was the scale option on the move tool. This allowed me to re-size any images without stretching or altering the proportion of the image. The eyedropper tool also came in handy, as it allowed me to take a colour from one section of the page and use it for another section or feature on the page. I frequently used it to select the shade of red used for thetitle, so that I could use it elsewhere on the page, helping to keep with the colour scheme of the page.

Evaluation 5

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

  

By attempting to attract to the audience i have used images of young people, this helps to attract my target audience as they are young as well, also they can relate more as they are a similar age  to themselves. This image i have chosen i feel relates to the audience, as the audience is more likely to connect more

 with the model as she is young. The clothing the my main model is wearing is a leather studded jacket, this makes her appearance more edgy, as she resembles to the clothing the audience will be wearing. Again this helps me to relate to the audience. 

 

                                

                             

I find this image interesting as it looks like she is not wearing anything. This attracts to the audience because once again they are young, and young boys would find this sexy, attracting the audience. also her pose portrays even more seduction. I think its wacky and different, almost like a rebel which is a good thing if i want to attracts the rock music listeners, as they are seen to be quite rebellious. The text uses normal everyday language which attracts readers as it's not intimidating. The readers are more interested about the music than a high use of special vocabulary words.In addition to this, my image of em, and distorted notepad is a way of attracting people because it stands out and is about a chance of winning a signed guitar by a famous girl. It was important to have a prize that my target audience would want, otherwise it would be pointless. For certain text on the pages I have used bold, capital font to grab the attention of the audience, as well as to give a loud impression, much like the music itself.

Evaluation 4

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

My target audience are older teenagers, and young adults aged in their 20s. Who are interested in indie/rock music. I have explained in more detail who my target audience in a previous post, and who it is aimed for and why it would be suitable for them. 

Evaluation3

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I think that the Bauer might distribute my music magazine. Bauer publish magazines such a kerrang and Q. Bauer media group are hugely successful and have a portfolio of influential media brands that includes many of the best known magazines in the UK. The institution already publishes music magazines that contain similar content to my magazine, http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/ However Bauer may think my magazine is competition and therefore not want to publish my magazine. However Q attract more mature people to read their magazine, and Kerrang have more hard core readers, so i think there would not be any conflict between us so Bauer would be the best publisher for Sniper. 

Evaluation 2

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

m I wanted my media product to represents indie/rock fans. This is portrayed through the look of the model. This includes her leather jacket and her shaggy curly brown hair. Also the font style of the Sniper masthead relates to the rock genre because it is edgy and quirky.Youth is also expressed through the bright, modern colour scheme. My main model, Georgia attracts men because she is attractive and has a seductive pose. At the same time women would aspire to her and envy her because of her quirky style and good looks. I noticed that using white people for models was a convention of existing rock magazines which is why I did it aswell. Stereotypically, rock magazines are associated with white people whereas rap and R&B magazines are associated with black people.I decided to use white models for all of my models so this shows that my media product represents white people. My media product represents late teenagers which is portrayed through my young main model used on the front cover who is a similar age to the audience. 

Evaluation 1

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media 

products?

Front cover

Thorughout my front cover, contents and double page spread i have used many conventions. For my front cover image i decided to postition  the title at the very top of the page, thi

s is a convention of a magazine as many titles run across

 the top. The front cover image overlaps slightly which is also a convention of a magazine as it makes the model stand out, further this makes a personal relationship b

etween the model and the reader. I placed the model's head in front of the masthead, meaning that you slightly 

can't read Sniper. However, i made my media productassuming it w

as a real product which meant that the audience do not need to see the whole of the masthead because they already recognise it from the logo and fontstyle. A lot of music magazines do this. I decided to use a medium close-up, with the

 model looking straight at the camera. This convention is used by many magazines. by the model looking out helps to connect more with the audience, it also has the illusion the model is looking out of the magazine attracting the target audience and standing out from the shelf. I have also added a pug and barcode, this is on the right hand side away from the other information. the audience is clearly able to see what the magazine has to offer when on a shelf, they are more likely to be drawn towards it. This is the only thing that i would  say is not conventional, as pug's are normally on the left hand side with the cover lines, as it's clearer to see on the shelf to attract the audience.I have chosen to use conventions rather then challenge them, as it is clear that conventional magazines are very successful. My strap line runs across the top, which is another convention as it is seen on many front cover music magazines. 

Contents 

For my contents i have also used conventions, i have used the same colour scheme that i have used for the front cover, thats is seen in magazines as it helps the magazine to flow from page to page. The arrangement of my contents page has been mainly influenced by the 

Kerrang contents page that I had analysed previous to production. The pages are listed under 2 headings - 'REGULARS ' and 'FEATURES' - resembling a Q magazine contents page. Grouping the page listings under separate headings is conventional and makes the page clear and easy to use. Also, under each main heading there is a sub-heading in capital letters, positioned next to the relevent page number, followed by a brief summary for each page listed.

The colour scheme was inspired by q contents page, i like the vibrant colours as it look interesting and sexy. The neat organized text also inspired me as it looks professional and goes well with the loud vibrant colours.My contents only takes up one page which I suppose could be an example of using coventions or challenging conventions be

cause I have also seen a lot of double page contents.

Double page spread

My double page spread is also very conventional. I have again used the same colour scheme as the other pages so that the magazine flows throughout. I have used equal columns and a lot of text with page number, these are all conventional as they are used in other magazines. It is very common for a large image to take up 1 page or nearly 1 page of the double page spread, which relates to mine. In a lot of double page spreads I have seen a large quote which is seperated from the rest of the text. It is usually in between a question or text but I placed it near the model's head to show that the words are coming from her. This is important because the interview illustrates how when she was younger she was controlled by 

other people in everything she did and she didn't no her real self as she was so constrained. A quote attracts people into reading the story because it gives them a little snippet of the extract but not telling enough, making them curious and therefore read on. I haven't spread the text to the other side of the page, because i didn't want to overlap the image, i think that this is challenging the conventions because many magazines have their text continuing on the opersite page over the image. 

development of front cover

Firstly, I re-sized the cover image to fit the page. Following this I added my masthead, Sniper, choosing a font I felt was appropriate, which i found front a website from dafont.com. As you can see the mast head covers my models head, i didn't want this so i had to find a way around this. I coloured in her nails by using the paint brush tool, because i didn't like the colour of her nails, as it didnt match the colour scheme i was going for.
















I wanted the image of Georgia to overlap with the masthead slightly and so opened the same picture again in another document and cut around her head using the magnetic lasso tool. I took me quite a while, but after many attempts i finally done it. The rest of the image was cut out and carefully placed on top of the other identical photo of Georgia. After cutting out the image, I used the eraser tool on a thick, blurred brush to soften the edges around her head.

















I then added a strapline at the top of the page using a red rectangle with text ontop of it. I then added a thin black rectangle underneath it. This clearly seperates the strapline with the background and also gives a professional look. I decided to then add another red rectangle at the bottom with text on top with bands that will be inside the magazine. I made the 'plus' with a black rectangle because i wanted that to stand out the most and look professional, and have a unique edge. I then put a black distorted notpad on the side, which was inspired by Kerrang magazine. I put my model on top and i have 'win' in red so it stands out and catches the audiances eyes, also it goes really well with my models hair.

















Next, I began to add text. Firstly, I added the main coverline as it related to the image and so needed to stand out in comparison to other text. I added a rectangular shape and used the eyedropper tool to make it the same colour as a section on Georgia's lips. I added effects to the text to make it look more interesting, helping the magazine to grab the attention of my target audience. By having some text with a red rectangular background, and some text not it adds quirkyness and makes it unique. And also using differen't sized font makes it interesting and loud.
















I added one more coverline to the cover, i used white as its not as important then the other coverline, i also didn't add a red rectangular background. Finally i added the final features which is a pug and a barcode. I created my pug by using the shape tool and adding text ontop of it, i also added a black cirle underneath the white one to give it more of a shadowing effect. I also got the blur tool so it merged together and look professional.

development of contents page

I didn't want the word contents to take up a lot of space and I also wanted it to be unique so i got the font from dafont.com and I cut out each letter seperately so I could rotate them individually. I then added three photos down the left hand side, i wanted this to also be unique, i have not come across a contents page with three images in a neat line all the same size.


















I wanted to add red to this page as i want to use it throughout my three pieces. I thought that a border around all the photos would make it stand out more, and attract the audiances attention. I also wanted it to look professionall and loud. I then put a thin black line down the middle of the text section, i think it looks more neat and makes it look more organized. I also fell there are a lot of lines going on, i like this as it seems interesting and classy.



















I then added text, using bold black font to stand out against the white background. I listed the titles for example 'feedback' in red with a black background, making the page easy to use. I also have the page numbers in red so that the numbers are separate from the text and really grabs the audiances attention. Following each heading I typed a very brief summary just to let the reader know vaguely what each page has to offer. This will help to draw the reader in, particularly if the reader is just flicking through the magazine. Kerrang magazine inspired me with the headings and text.



















I finally added a small version of the magazine front cover to the box containing the subscription offer. I had seen this done on other music magazine contents pages and think that it makes the page look more professional. I also added page numbers to the images to make it clear what images represented what stories/pages.

development of double page spread

Firstly i had to make sure the image was exactly half way, so i mad a guide line in the centre of the page. When i done that i wanted the green colour to continue on the next page.

















To solve this problem, using the cutting tool I cut out a section of the green background and pasted it one time beside the photo as shown above. I then stretched the cut out image to the perfect size. I then used the burnt tool to make the photo darker and make the background look more natral and professional. A bit of the money was cut out and it looked horrible, so i cut and pasted a corner of the money to make it look whole.
















I then added the text which was in keeping with the red and white colour scheme which is used on the front cover and in the contents aswell. I then added a title which i think it short, to the point and powerful. I added a white rectangualr line a white circle to make it look professional, it also adds uniqueness to it.
















I decided to put red rectangualr lines underneath the questions, i did this because it looked way too boring without it, and it also looked good with my colour scheme. Finally, I added the final touches to my double page spread. This included page numbers, spaced at equal distances from the edge of the page in both bottom corners, i then put in a quote which is commonly used on double page spreads. I decided to slightly rotate the quote to make it look interesting and quirky, and also make the main words red.

preliminary task

For my Preliminary work I had to create a front page and a contents page for a school magazine. It is intended to show how my skills in photo shop will develop over time when it comes to creating my own music magazine. To create my school magazine I needed initial ideas to help me plan and design what the school magazine would look like, I began brainstorming ideas for the title and storylines, by doing this it saved a lot of time when it came to create the school magazine as I could refer to my designs. I also created draft title pages and contents pages showing a rough idea were I was going to place pieces of text and pictures. I then took numerous pictures around the school that worked with my chosen storylines. I used a medium close up of the model for the front cover which was required and took photos of other students in different locations around school for numerous stories I had created and placed them on the contents page and front cover. I really enjoyed this part of the task and loved being imaginative and thinking of different ways to represent the story behind each heading. I did however have some issues with the quality of some of my photographs, particularly the medium close-up for the front page. For this photo I used my phone camera which resulted in the quality of the picture not being as clear as it probably should have been. I learnt from this and decided for the rest of the photo’s to use a digital camera. However, I did still use the medium close-up that was taken with my phone camera as this was my favourite and definitely the most suitable, but in future tasks I will know to use a higher quality camera for all photographs.

For my front cover i cut a a image of my friend, i used the lasso for the first time so it looks messy and unprofessional, it also took me a long time to get the hang of it. I then chose a font for the title and carried on resizing photos for the front page, trying to follow my design where possible. I chose to use bright colours for much of the font so that it would stand out against the blue background. My front page was nearly complete but before I was happy with it I experimented with the different tools on the software, hoping to improve it further. I then went on to my contents page which had the same colours as the front cover, looking back now the blue and red colours look really messy and child like, i don't like the colour together of it look horrible. The Goff's logo also looks messy, as i should of blended it in or give it a border. Overall i think it looks good for a first attempt, however it does look amateur as i was not advanced. But i think it's good or a first time.

photo analysis

For one of the contents stories i wanted Cyd to be a rock chick who has just left her band. I wanted her to dress in a simple black top as it would go with my colour scheme. Also the black top will contrast well with her white hair and white background. Cyd's expression is good as it shows her fun, young side, which will relate to the audiance. It isn't a strong enough photo to use as a cover so i want to use one for the contents, however i don't think i will use this image as the story is she has just left a band, and this doesn't show her powerful, strong side i wanted. But i do like this photo and would like to use it somwhere in my magazine.

I like this image as the white wall contrast well with her black top. Cyd's expression is very powerful her eyes looking out, allowing her to connect with the target audience, drawing them in. She looks happy but also strong, which is what i wanted to achieve. It's a good mid shot, making her look prominant and the main focus, because if it was a full lenght shot she would get lost in the white background, especially as she is pale and has white hair. I think i am going to use this image for my main focus on the contents page, as it's strong and she represents a rock/indie genre that will connect to the audiance.

I really like this photo because her hair is very vibrant and would look amazing on my cover. I wanted a small image of my model Em on my cover, and the story will be someone can win a signed guitar from Emily May. I think her red hair would go really well with my colour scheme, especially on the fornt cover. I like the way she is posing because it looks very sexy and suductive, also the fact she looks nude makes it even more sexy. I do like this image, however she isn't looking at the camera and i wanted her to be looking straight at the camera to connect to the audiance.

I really want to use this photo for a little image on the front cover, as it's exactly what i wanted in a photo. She look sweet and innocent, however she style and pose makes her look edgey and striking. The simple white and black makes her hair stand out even more, and makes it more vibrant. Her rock/indie style will definatly relate to the audiance, and that is important as the audiance will want to win a signed guitar from her. I also like it that she is looking straight at the camera and connecting more with the audiance, and again that is important.

Photo analysis

This is my all time favourite, i think its a very powerfull image mainly because of her expression. There is not alot of the background, so there is more focus on the model which is what i want. The photo is not busy at all, just a simple green background. The pose itself is very powerfull as well, as she looks in control as she holds the money in her hand.I have decided to use this image for the double page spread because of the pose and I can image all the other features of the double page spread surrounding it.

This is another one of my all time favourite and would like to use this as my front cover. Rock music has a reputation of being rebellious and outspoken which is what I wanted to portray in this image. Georgia's expression is very powerful - her eyes looking out, allowing her to connect with the target audience, drawing them in. The idea behind the photo is that Georgia is a rebel form a rock band, and i think that this definatly expresses who she is and her personality. I like the way she is leaning to one side, so it gives me room to have writing down the side without it looking squashed. The model is slightly leaning towards the camera which is very inviting to the audience. Again she has a striking and dramatic pose. There is one poster in particular that attracts my attention as it's in black and white, i want to make sure that the poster stays visible, as it will contrast well with the red making it more vibrant. It will also look unique and interesting to have as my font cover.

I do like this picture, however i dont think its the strongest one i have taken. I like the way its all dark behind her, it makes it look mysterious and interesting, however i would like to have had some of her shoulders in the shot, as she just looks like a floating head and look quite weird, as she is leaning into the camera too much aswell. I like the way she is biting the money, it makes her look suductive and a bit of a rebal, which is what i wanted her to portray.

Again the way she is biting the money, and the way she is posing makes her look suductive. However i dont like the way the camera is angled, with the fence not looking straight, and the floor looking wonky. It makes this picture look unprofessional and messy, therefore i dont think i will be useing this image.

In this photo i have adjusted the brightness as in the original image Georgia wasn't as prominant looking as i hoped. By increasing the brightness i managed to make her face look lighter, and highlight certain areas improving the overall effect of the image. I love the way she is holding out the money and has a flitatious look on her face.

I find this photo interesting because the expression on her face. I think she looks like she has been caught of guard and confussed. And also the way she is holding the money, it looks natural and different from my other photos, which are all poses.

I really like this photo, i like the way she is positioned in the centre of the shot and isnt too close that it cuts out the bottle, and not too far away that she wont stand out or see her expression. I also like the way she looks innocent even though she has a huge bottle of alcohol in her hands.
Also i think the way she is drinking the drink with the straw makes her look innocent, however she does look quite suductive in a suttle way by the way she is looking straight into the camera, this gives it an edge to the photo.

I like the way Georgia's body is positioned in this photo, leaning back while holding the bottle. Her expression tops off the photo, as it fits together and very effective. The only problem is some of her face is hidden by her hair, by this it makes the photo less powerfull.

I do like the expression on her face in this, and the way she is holding the bottles, but the photo as a whole is not very strong as i dont like her legs in the image, and the way the camera is angled with a lot of floor in the image. If it was closer, cutting out some of the background it would have looked more professional, but it looks messy so i dont think i will be using this.

This image interests me, mainly because the way she is leaning towards the camera makes her top half look larger then her legs, which look really small. Also the way her hands are on her hips gives it more of an edge, also the way she is slightly looking up. I decided to take the pictures infront of a wall with posters, i started with a plain white wall, but then i thought it would look interesting and different as that was what i wanted my magazine to portray. I think it goes well and is very unique, and is considering using this as my front cover. She is leaning toward the camera, which is very inviting to the audiance.

This is another image that interests me. It's quite similer to the one above, but it's a closer image that is consontrating more on her face as she is leaning in more. Her facial expression looks as if she is teasing, and she looks very sexy. The fact that she has some cleavage makes her more sexy, it makes her look like a rebal, which is what i wanted to achieve. The only thing bad about this image is the radiator by her legs, it ruins the photo and makes it look unprofessional.