Front Cover:
Contents Page:
Double Page Spread:
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Monday, 3 May 2010
Evaluation
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Throughout my music magazine - front cover, contents and double page spread - I have used many conventions.
For my front cover image I decided to use a medium close-up of my model, looking directly into the camera, as this is a convention used by many music magazines. Having the model look directly into the camera when taking the photo, gives the illusion that the model is looking out of the magazine, at the audience, helping the magazine to connect on a more personal level with the target audience. For this reason, this type of cover image is often used by similar magazines. The title of my magazine is positioned at the very top of the page, as are most magazine titles. The front cover image overlaps with it slightly which is also a 
convention of magazines, as it makes the model stand out further to the reader and gives the page a sense of depth. Also, my magazine cover contains a pug, as well as a barcode, date, price and issue number. These are all features of a conventional magazine. Another conventional trait that my front cover has is that the left-hand third of the page contains the most information. The pug as well as the majority of the coverlines are listed down this third, the reason for this being that this is the section
of the cover that will be visible from a shop shelf. If the audience is able to clearly see what the magazine has 
to offer when on a shop shelf, they are more likely to be drawn towards it. I have chosen to use conventions rather than challenge them, as it is clear that conventional magazines are very successful, and so I didn't think that challenging conventions would in any way benefit my magazine. The only thing that I would say is maybe not so conventional about my magazine is that there is not a strapline running across the top. I decided that there was not enough space at the top of the cover to fit a strapline without sacrificing the visibility of my masthead. Instead I decided to run a strapline across the bottom of the page. I think that in this case, challenging this convention has been successful, as I think the strapline running across the bottom of the page fits the page well.
My contents page also uses many conventions. To start with I have followed the same colour scheme that I had used for the front cover. This is often seen in magazines as it helps the magazine to flow from page to page. The title of the magazine, Quake, is also repeated on the contents, however on a much smaller scale. This is again a convention and helps the magazine to flow. As well as this the issue number is also shown as is commonly seen on a conventional magazine. 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 relevant page number, followed by a brief summary for each page listed. I have also put page numbers on the images, so that it is clear what image is representing what story. These are
conventional features that make the page easier for the reader to navigate from. I have also included a smaller image of the double page spread, along with a smaller image of the front cover, as I had seen this done on many magazine contents pages. Again I haven't really challenged any conventions however, I have used an image as my background. I haven't seen this done in any of the music magazines that I analysed. Most music magazines appear to use a plain, block colour, background.
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. There are also 2 small versions of the magazine title - the same as that on the contents page - positioned in vertically opposite corners of the double page. I have seen the magazine title repeated like this in many other music magazines. The pages are also numbered in the bottom corners which is nearly always the case in any magazine. There is one main, very large image on the page as well as 2 much smaller additional images. Having one very large image dominating the page is conventional for a magazine double page spread. It is also common for there to be several other images, breaking up the page and making it look more interesting. The text on the page is arranged in equal columns and there is a brief summary/caption above, spreading across the width of 2 columns. This arrangement is conventional and makes the page appear professional. I have also made sure that the arrangement prevents the fold down the centre of the double page from interrupting any text. This is definitely an important magazine convention. I have again chosen not to challenge any conventions as I think that following the conventions is likely to make my magazine more of a success with my target audience.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The representation of different social groups, such as, age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality and social class, can be both negative and positive. I think that it is important that my media product is not in anyway biased towards particular social groups. My music magazine clearly represents the indie/rock genre of music and is in many ways similar to other music magazines that focus on this genre. The model on the front cover is wearing clothing that is often associated with indie/rock music. Her leather jacket in particular indicates just how the type of people that would be interested in the magazine may dress. The models are all of a young age (mostly late teens), as this represents my target audience that are aged, late teens - adults in their 20's. Also, models on other similar indie/rock magazines tend to be within this age range. My main model Em (who I have used on the front cover) is very pretty and so men are likely to be drawn in as they will find her physically attractive, whilst woman may be attracted as they aspire to be like her. Attractive people are often put on the covers of similar magazines for this reason. This can however make some people feel inferior in comparison, which is why using mainly attractive people can often cause controversy. I do not think that this will be such an issue with my magazine as it is aimed at a relatively young audience. I think that it may have been more of a problem if the magazine was aimed at an older audience, who would probably rather see ordinary looking people photographed. There appears to be more girls than boys photographed in my magazine, which was mainly due to the fact that the stories I was going to photograph in my magazine were about female artis
ts. 
I did however consider using more girls/women so that the magazine was more likely to appeal to the male members of my audience. I would usually however want my magazine to have an even spread of both genders. All of the people photographed in my magazine are white, the only reason for this being that the indie/rock magazines I analysed previous to production seemed to predominantly contain white people. Like rap music is often associated with black people, indie/rock music is often associated with white people. I would happily feature people of other races in my magazine and am in no way biased towards white people.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think that a media institution such as Bauer media group (http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/), that is responsible for publishing and distributing magazines such as Q and KERRANG, might distribute my music magazine. Bauer m
edia 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 (Quake). This could mean that they would be interested in publishing Quake, although they might see Quake as competition for the music magazines that they already publish. For this reason they may not want to publish my magazine in case it 
causes any conflict or issues to arise. I would hope that this would not be the case, as my target audience is very different from the mature men Q magazine is aimed at. Quake is also not really focused on the kind of 'hardcore' rock that KERRANG is, and so I would say that my magazine has its own place, fitting somewhere between the 2.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience I am aiming my media product at is young people, aged late teens-adults in their 20's, who have a particular interest in indie/rock music. The 'Target Audience' post on my blog includes 2 target audience profiles, as well as a brief explanation as to who my music magazine would be aimed at and why it would be suitable for the 2 boys/young men I have written profiles for.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
I have attempted to attract my target audience by producing a conventional magazine, that is similar to other existing magazines that my audience are likely to already be interested in. The images I have used in my magazine are all of young people (most in their late teen
s). This helps in attracting my young target audience as they will be able to relate more easily to the models photographed, as they are of a similar age to themselves. The clothing that the main cover model (Em) is dressed in - her leather jacket in particular, with its studded collar and edgy appearance - resembles clothing that the target audience are likely to wear. This again helps my target audience to relate to the model.
The main image on the contents page of the model (Michelle) wearing a fancy dress
ladybird outfit is a bit 'wacky and out there'. Indie/rock music can often give a similar impression which is why this choice of clothing/costume should appeal to my young, fun loving, target audience. Also, the position of the model's body in this image portrays a laid back relaxed feel, whilst the angle of the image still gives it that quirky edge. The other fairly large image on the page shows the model (Em) striking a lively pose. She almost looks as though she is dancing, which would appeal perfectly to the young audience I am targetting, as they are at the age when they enjoy going out to clubs and bars, where dancing is a main focus.
Indie/rock music often involves instruments such as guitars and drums, which is why I decided to photograph my main model holding an electric guitar. This electric guitar is featured on all 3 of the pages. This not only helps to continue the musica
l theme of the magazine as you go from page to page, but also engages the audience, showing them that the people featured in the magazine have similar musical interests to themselves.
Also featured in my magazine is a red classic MG BGT car. I have used an image of the main model (Em) sitting in the driver's seat of the car on my double page spread. I have chosen to use this car as not only does it fit well with my colour scheme, but it is also a
very classy car, the type of car that anyone would be proud to drive. As young people tend to care a lot about their image, this choice of car should appeal to my target audience. Em's facial expression in the image is inviting and could even be seen as seductive. This will appeal to the male members of my target audience, who will not only be attracted to the car - boys being stereotypically interested in cars - but also the girl within the car. This image should also appeal to the female members of my target audience as they are likely to envy the model's good looks, as well as her sexy sports car.
All 3 of the pages portray a sense of darkness that I think will appeal to my target audience, as rock music in particular is often associated with darkness. 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. The language I have used is also very dramatic, for example, I have described May'em's time in rehab as her 'battle with addiction'. Using dramatic language and emphasing points in a loud way will appeal to my young target audience. This style of language would not be as well recieved with a much older audience, who would probably rather just have the facts than a dramatised version of the truth.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Throughout this coursework unit I have used a variety of different technologies. I 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 t
o use a computer with software that I was more familiar with.
Another new concept for me was blogging. I had never had my own blog before, so setting up one to document my coursework was completely new to me. I wasn't too keen on the idea of posting all my coursework on a blog at first and I was sure that I would have preferred presenting the work in a folder. However, once I got used to Blogger and had spent time playing around with all the different page settings, I found that it was a much easier, more efficient way to complete my coursework. Posting on my blog was so quick and simple, and any mistakes could be easily adjus
ted.
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 didn't seem to really have a problem with any of the other tools once I had familiarised myself with their functions. One thing that was an issue though, was that Photoshop tended to crash quite frequently when I was using it on the Mac computers. One time when working from my memory stick, on my preliminary task, Photoshop crashed and deleted the whole document off of my memory stick. This was unbelievably frustrating and meant that I had to produce the whole task from scratch, as I didn't have the work saved anywhere other than my memory stick. I learnt from this and made sure that from that moment on I saved work in several places, in case this was to happen again. I don't know why the software kept crashing but it never happened with the Photoshop that I used on my computer at home, which is why much of my production was completed at home in my own time. As I used photoshop more and more I found there were so many interesting effects I could add to my pages. I used the inner and outer shadows on much of my text as well as many of my images to give the page more depth. I also used the software to adjust the hue and brightness of images. I would spend ages exploring and experimenting using all of the different editing tools and features. My magazine title, QUAKE, in particular to me a long time to create. 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 the title, so that I could use it elsewhere on the page, helping to keep
with the colour scheme of the page.
Before I could even begin to use Photoshop, I firstly need to take my images for my magazine. To do this I used my ordinary, 10.2 mega pixels camera. My main photo shoot was done in the woods, in the evening which meant that lighting was very poor. 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 (Em) face looked fluorescent white, with little or no definition showing her features. Fortunately, I was able to use a fair few of the photos that came out well. I have learnt from this that it would have probably been better to have taken the photos in anything other than pitch black conditions! I should have been more prepared, by maybe using some form of artificial lighting or using a more professional, better equipped camera.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to 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. The main image on the front cover of my school magazine is especially poor, the image is blurry and the model looks distracted. I can see now that is not at all suitable as the main cover image. For my full product (music magazine) I put a huge amount of thought into how and where the photos should be taken. I had done my research and after analysing several other music magazines, I could make informed decisions on what sort of images would best appeal to my target audience. I also used a digital camera that was double the mega pixels of my phone camera, so that my images would come out much clearer and look more professional. I took a wide variety of images to make sure that I had lots to choose from when it came to picking the best ones to use for my magazine. I took very few for the preliminary task and so limited the amount of choice I had.
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. During production my Photoshop skills improved very quickly, enabling me to produce a much more professional looking magzine, that would be better suited to the audience I was aiming it at.
Throughout my music magazine - front cover, contents and double page spread - I have used many conventions.
For my front cover image I decided to use a medium close-up of my model, looking directly into the camera, as this is a convention used by many music magazines. Having the model look directly into the camera when taking the photo, gives the illusion that the model is looking out of the magazine, at the audience, helping the magazine to connect on a more personal level with the target audience. For this reason, this type of cover image is often used by similar magazines. The title of my magazine is positioned at the very top of the page, as are most magazine titles. The front cover image overlaps with it slightly which is also a 
convention of magazines, as it makes the model stand out further to the reader and gives the page a sense of depth. Also, my magazine cover contains a pug, as well as a barcode, date, price and issue number. These are all features of a conventional magazine. Another conventional trait that my front cover has is that the left-hand third of the page contains the most information. The pug as well as the majority of the coverlines are listed down this third, the reason for this being that this is the section
of the cover that will be visible from a shop shelf. If the audience is able to clearly see what the magazine has 
to offer when on a shop shelf, they are more likely to be drawn towards it. I have chosen to use conventions rather than challenge them, as it is clear that conventional magazines are very successful, and so I didn't think that challenging conventions would in any way benefit my magazine. The only thing that I would say is maybe not so conventional about my magazine is that there is not a strapline running across the top. I decided that there was not enough space at the top of the cover to fit a strapline without sacrificing the visibility of my masthead. Instead I decided to run a strapline across the bottom of the page. I think that in this case, challenging this convention has been successful, as I think the strapline running across the bottom of the page fits the page well.
My contents page also uses many conventions. To start with I have followed the same colour scheme that I had used for the front cover. This is often seen in magazines as it helps the magazine to flow from page to page. The title of the magazine, Quake, is also repeated on the contents, however on a much smaller scale. This is again a convention and helps the magazine to flow. As well as this the issue number is also shown as is commonly seen on a conventional magazine. 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 relevant page number, followed by a brief summary for each page listed. I have also put page numbers on the images, so that it is clear what image is representing what story. These are
conventional features that make the page easier for the reader to navigate from. I have also included a smaller image of the double page spread, along with a smaller image of the front cover, as I had seen this done on many magazine contents pages. Again I haven't really challenged any conventions however, I have used an image as my background. I haven't seen this done in any of the music magazines that I analysed. Most music magazines appear to use a plain, block colour, background.
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. There are also 2 small versions of the magazine title - the same as that on the contents page - positioned in vertically opposite corners of the double page. I have seen the magazine title repeated like this in many other music magazines. The pages are also numbered in the bottom corners which is nearly always the case in any magazine. There is one main, very large image on the page as well as 2 much smaller additional images. Having one very large image dominating the page is conventional for a magazine double page spread. It is also common for there to be several other images, breaking up the page and making it look more interesting. The text on the page is arranged in equal columns and there is a brief summary/caption above, spreading across the width of 2 columns. This arrangement is conventional and makes the page appear professional. I have also made sure that the arrangement prevents the fold down the centre of the double page from interrupting any text. This is definitely an important magazine convention. I have again chosen not to challenge any conventions as I think that following the conventions is likely to make my magazine more of a success with my target audience.2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The representation of different social groups, such as, age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality and social class, can be both negative and positive. I think that it is important that my media product is not in anyway biased towards particular social groups. My music magazine clearly represents the indie/rock genre of music and is in many ways similar to other music magazines that focus on this genre. The model on the front cover is wearing clothing that is often associated with indie/rock music. Her leather jacket in particular indicates just how the type of people that would be interested in the magazine may dress. The models are all of a young age (mostly late teens), as this represents my target audience that are aged, late teens - adults in their 20's. Also, models on other similar indie/rock magazines tend to be within this age range. My main model Em (who I have used on the front cover) is very pretty and so men are likely to be drawn in as they will find her physically attractive, whilst woman may be attracted as they aspire to be like her. Attractive people are often put on the covers of similar magazines for this reason. This can however make some people feel inferior in comparison, which is why using mainly attractive people can often cause controversy. I do not think that this will be such an issue with my magazine as it is aimed at a relatively young audience. I think that it may have been more of a problem if the magazine was aimed at an older audience, who would probably rather see ordinary looking people photographed. There appears to be more girls than boys photographed in my magazine, which was mainly due to the fact that the stories I was going to photograph in my magazine were about female artis
ts. 
I did however consider using more girls/women so that the magazine was more likely to appeal to the male members of my audience. I would usually however want my magazine to have an even spread of both genders. All of the people photographed in my magazine are white, the only reason for this being that the indie/rock magazines I analysed previous to production seemed to predominantly contain white people. Like rap music is often associated with black people, indie/rock music is often associated with white people. I would happily feature people of other races in my magazine and am in no way biased towards white people.3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think that a media institution such as Bauer media group (http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/), that is responsible for publishing and distributing magazines such as Q and KERRANG, might distribute my music magazine. Bauer m
edia 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 (Quake). This could mean that they would be interested in publishing Quake, although they might see Quake as competition for the music magazines that they already publish. For this reason they may not want to publish my magazine in case it 
causes any conflict or issues to arise. I would hope that this would not be the case, as my target audience is very different from the mature men Q magazine is aimed at. Quake is also not really focused on the kind of 'hardcore' rock that KERRANG is, and so I would say that my magazine has its own place, fitting somewhere between the 2.4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience I am aiming my media product at is young people, aged late teens-adults in their 20's, who have a particular interest in indie/rock music. The 'Target Audience' post on my blog includes 2 target audience profiles, as well as a brief explanation as to who my music magazine would be aimed at and why it would be suitable for the 2 boys/young men I have written profiles for.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
I have attempted to attract my target audience by producing a conventional magazine, that is similar to other existing magazines that my audience are likely to already be interested in. The images I have used in my magazine are all of young people (most in their late teen
s). This helps in attracting my young target audience as they will be able to relate more easily to the models photographed, as they are of a similar age to themselves. The clothing that the main cover model (Em) is dressed in - her leather jacket in particular, with its studded collar and edgy appearance - resembles clothing that the target audience are likely to wear. This again helps my target audience to relate to the model.The main image on the contents page of the model (Michelle) wearing a fancy dress
ladybird outfit is a bit 'wacky and out there'. Indie/rock music can often give a similar impression which is why this choice of clothing/costume should appeal to my young, fun loving, target audience. Also, the position of the model's body in this image portrays a laid back relaxed feel, whilst the angle of the image still gives it that quirky edge. The other fairly large image on the page shows the model (Em) striking a lively pose. She almost looks as though she is dancing, which would appeal perfectly to the young audience I am targetting, as they are at the age when they enjoy going out to clubs and bars, where dancing is a main focus.Indie/rock music often involves instruments such as guitars and drums, which is why I decided to photograph my main model holding an electric guitar. This electric guitar is featured on all 3 of the pages. This not only helps to continue the musica
l theme of the magazine as you go from page to page, but also engages the audience, showing them that the people featured in the magazine have similar musical interests to themselves.Also featured in my magazine is a red classic MG BGT car. I have used an image of the main model (Em) sitting in the driver's seat of the car on my double page spread. I have chosen to use this car as not only does it fit well with my colour scheme, but it is also a
very classy car, the type of car that anyone would be proud to drive. As young people tend to care a lot about their image, this choice of car should appeal to my target audience. Em's facial expression in the image is inviting and could even be seen as seductive. This will appeal to the male members of my target audience, who will not only be attracted to the car - boys being stereotypically interested in cars - but also the girl within the car. This image should also appeal to the female members of my target audience as they are likely to envy the model's good looks, as well as her sexy sports car.All 3 of the pages portray a sense of darkness that I think will appeal to my target audience, as rock music in particular is often associated with darkness. 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. The language I have used is also very dramatic, for example, I have described May'em's time in rehab as her 'battle with addiction'. Using dramatic language and emphasing points in a loud way will appeal to my young target audience. This style of language would not be as well recieved with a much older audience, who would probably rather just have the facts than a dramatised version of the truth.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Throughout this coursework unit I have used a variety of different technologies. I 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 t
o use a computer with software that I was more familiar with.Another new concept for me was blogging. I had never had my own blog before, so setting up one to document my coursework was completely new to me. I wasn't too keen on the idea of posting all my coursework on a blog at first and I was sure that I would have preferred presenting the work in a folder. However, once I got used to Blogger and had spent time playing around with all the different page settings, I found that it was a much easier, more efficient way to complete my coursework. Posting on my blog was so quick and simple, and any mistakes could be easily adjus
ted.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 didn't seem to really have a problem with any of the other tools once I had familiarised myself with their functions. One thing that was an issue though, was that Photoshop tended to crash quite frequently when I was using it on the Mac computers. One time when working from my memory stick, on my preliminary task, Photoshop crashed and deleted the whole document off of my memory stick. This was unbelievably frustrating and meant that I had to produce the whole task from scratch, as I didn't have the work saved anywhere other than my memory stick. I learnt from this and made sure that from that moment on I saved work in several places, in case this was to happen again. I don't know why the software kept crashing but it never happened with the Photoshop that I used on my computer at home, which is why much of my production was completed at home in my own time. As I used photoshop more and more I found there were so many interesting effects I could add to my pages. I used the inner and outer shadows on much of my text as well as many of my images to give the page more depth. I also used the software to adjust the hue and brightness of images. I would spend ages exploring and experimenting using all of the different editing tools and features. My magazine title, QUAKE, in particular to me a long time to create. 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 the title, so that I could use it elsewhere on the page, helping to keep
with the colour scheme of the page.Before I could even begin to use Photoshop, I firstly need to take my images for my magazine. To do this I used my ordinary, 10.2 mega pixels camera. My main photo shoot was done in the woods, in the evening which meant that lighting was very poor. 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 (Em) face looked fluorescent white, with little or no definition showing her features. Fortunately, I was able to use a fair few of the photos that came out well. I have learnt from this that it would have probably been better to have taken the photos in anything other than pitch black conditions! I should have been more prepared, by maybe using some form of artificial lighting or using a more professional, better equipped camera.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to 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. The main image on the front cover of my school magazine is especially poor, the image is blurry and the model looks distracted. I can see now that is not at all suitable as the main cover image. For my full product (music magazine) I put a huge amount of thought into how and where the photos should be taken. I had done my research and after analysing several other music magazines, I could make informed decisions on what sort of images would best appeal to my target audience. I also used a digital camera that was double the mega pixels of my phone camera, so that my images would come out much clearer and look more professional. I took a wide variety of images to make sure that I had lots to choose from when it came to picking the best ones to use for my magazine. I took very few for the preliminary task and so limited the amount of choice I had.
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. During production my Photoshop skills improved very quickly, enabling me to produce a much more professional looking magzine, that would be better suited to the audience I was aiming it at.
Preliminary Task
Front Cover:
Contents Page:
Contents Page:
For my preliminary coursework I had to design and produce a front cover and contents page for a school magazine.
To begin I had to decide what my magazine would be called. This was relatively easy as I knew I wanted to go for a simple heading and quickly settled for ‘Goffs Weekly’. After this I had to think up at least 8 story headings that I would list on the contents page; some of which would be included on my front page. After I had an idea of what my front page and contents page was going to include I had to draw up 2 designs for each page. This went well and I was pleased with my designs and just hoped that I would be able to create something similar when it came to producing the pages on the computer.
For my 2 pages I was going to need to take several photographs that related to the story headings, as well as a medium close-up of a student to be the main feature on my front page. 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.
Following this it was time to start producing the finished pages. To do this I was going to use photoshop, a software that I had no experience using. Firstly I needed to cut out the medium close-up for my front page using the magnetic lasso tool. This was extremely difficult and really tested my patience. After several attempts I finally managed to cut around the picture successfully. I copied and pasted the picture on to my front page and began resizing the image until I was happy with its position. 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.
Finally I made a start on my contents page, which was much simpler. I tried to use similar colours to the front page as I wanted both pages to have a similar theme. I used bold font for the title ‘contents’ as I wanted it to stand out clearly. I also included the school logo as I had on my front page to link the 2 pages. The pictures on this page related to the story headings listed and I tried to choose carefully so that I had a variety. One thing that I found difficult when doing this page was positioning the numbers over the black boxes. I think that this was mainly due to the fact that the software was completely new to me.
I was pleased with both of my pages, particularly the contents as it looks very similar to my original designs. It also looks slightly more professional than the front page. The front page to me looks quite amateur, probably because I’m not very advanced at using the software. Hopefully this will improve with practice and experience, and in the future tasks should be easier to complete and look more professional.
To begin I had to decide what my magazine would be called. This was relatively easy as I knew I wanted to go for a simple heading and quickly settled for ‘Goffs Weekly’. After this I had to think up at least 8 story headings that I would list on the contents page; some of which would be included on my front page. After I had an idea of what my front page and contents page was going to include I had to draw up 2 designs for each page. This went well and I was pleased with my designs and just hoped that I would be able to create something similar when it came to producing the pages on the computer.
For my 2 pages I was going to need to take several photographs that related to the story headings, as well as a medium close-up of a student to be the main feature on my front page. 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.
Following this it was time to start producing the finished pages. To do this I was going to use photoshop, a software that I had no experience using. Firstly I needed to cut out the medium close-up for my front page using the magnetic lasso tool. This was extremely difficult and really tested my patience. After several attempts I finally managed to cut around the picture successfully. I copied and pasted the picture on to my front page and began resizing the image until I was happy with its position. 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.
Finally I made a start on my contents page, which was much simpler. I tried to use similar colours to the front page as I wanted both pages to have a similar theme. I used bold font for the title ‘contents’ as I wanted it to stand out clearly. I also included the school logo as I had on my front page to link the 2 pages. The pictures on this page related to the story headings listed and I tried to choose carefully so that I had a variety. One thing that I found difficult when doing this page was positioning the numbers over the black boxes. I think that this was mainly due to the fact that the software was completely new to me.
I was pleased with both of my pages, particularly the contents as it looks very similar to my original designs. It also looks slightly more professional than the front page. The front page to me looks quite amateur, probably because I’m not very advanced at using the software. Hopefully this will improve with practice and experience, and in the future tasks should be easier to complete and look more professional.
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