COMPLETED MAGAZINE

This is my completed magazine.

Working on my front cover, Contents page and DPS

Over some time now I have been working on my magazine. During this time i have had  many attempts to create and re start my magazine. This was due to my lack of software skills.

The mast head is 'SOUL N' RYTHM'. Rythm is spelt the way it is due to the 'slang' culture of teenagers. I think that this relates to young people and they will still pronounce the word as 'rhythm'. The mast head was also voted by my classmates to be the masthead for my magazine. This showed their interests and i decided to go along with it. 

Final Draft- Front cover

To start off, this design and model was my front cover. i changed this because I felt that a male represents Hip Hop more in magazines. This draft allowed me to get the hang of PhotoShop as I made many mistakes with this image as well as learning from my mistakes.

First draft

The DPS has images and page numbers. I followed it as the specification stated.

For my double page I had to photoshop the image of my model in order for my image to look professional and work well on the page.

The image below is of the image being photoshopped.

I created my double page spread in Adobe InDesign. although this was a bit difficult to use i got the hang of it with some help.

To create the DPS I did one of many things:

• Gradient (colour and shading of images)
• Font and text
• Journalism- Q&a With a artist

These had to be adjusted to my target audience and my plan, some of the work which i created differs from my plan. This may be because I feel that it looked better as well as still meeting the target audience and the specification of the assignment.

Below are two images.

The first image is of my DPS when I created it as my first draft. However with some feedback from peers in my class i decided to change it to the second image. This is because i was told that it did not look professional nor did it look attractive. The colours used were very dull even though they were part of the color scheme. To add to this where i placed the page number and date was not seen as in a suitable place. The feedback from my classmates helped me as they were the age range I was aiming to sell my magazine to. This meant that if they did not have a liking towards my magazine then other teenagers might not either.

First Draft

Final draft

Photoshoot images

I had a photoshoot with two models, these models were friends from around the college. their looks, age and interests fitted in to my target audience.

Here are some images:

In this image my model is wearing branded trainers, this will be featured in my magazine. It also shows that music magazines feature different things inside it.

Photography studio lesson

In one of my media lessons we had an insight to the photography studio, this allowed me to understand how to use the equipment. I had to be aware of many things for my models before the photoshoot took place. This was:

• Props used for models
• the colour of the backdrop, white is up but black will be available the following week

There were a few points we had to take into consideration. If we wanted to take group shots with multiple people then the backdrop can be extended. In addition the model/models have to be 5-6 feet away from the backdrop, this will ensure that the model will not be bleached into the background.

When shooting, the room lights must be turned off, this will ensure that the photography lights will work properly. 

There are 3 photography lights, and they have flash which can be adjusted. The lights at the back will ensure if the model has a shadow behind them or not. The lights will produce different looks. The flash is used to highlight, contrast etc. The flash heads are called trinity.

In total there are 5 lights in the studio, in addition everything is infared, this means that there are no leads. To work the flash on the lights will be tested through the buttons. the 'Test' button will flash and 'beep' (make a noise) as many times it is pressed. The '+' and '-'   will change at the highest number is 6. the higher the number the longer the flash, therefore the lower the number the shorter the flash. The receiver on the camera controls the flash when on '6'. 

The light ratio is 3:1; this means that every light does something different.

The key light is the main light, this is the first light in the studio; the Feel light which is on the right hand side. The purpose of this light is to take out the shadow on the light hand side of the models body.

The hairline light (snoot) won't make the image look flat, it gives it depth.

There are black covers on the lights these are called soft boxes, in addition umbrellas and other lighting props can be used for a different glow or look to the model. these are called reflectors and come in gold and silver
. this bounces light anywhere when held up. The gold reflector gives a warmer tone e.g. to the bottom lip, nose etc. The silver reflector gives a harsher tone, so more contour.

The camera which is used in the studio is DSLR Nikon D7000, this camera is 17megapixel. when using the camera the settings will have to be selected on black and white OR in colour. This cannot be changed after the photo has been taken. The way to do this is by pressing 'set picture control' on the menu, after this standard or monochrome can be selected for images.

The camera has 2 memory card slots and the lens is 18-135 with standard zoom. the images can be seen through the viewfinder and not on the screen. This is on the play button and the pictures appear when selected. The toggle button on the right hand side swipes through pictures.

When the camera beeps, it means that it is in focus. the lens has  the letters 'A' and 'M' this stands for 'auto mode' and 'manual mode'.

the 'A' and 'S' functions stand for 'Aperture' and 'Shutter Priority'. 'S' means that everything will be in focus when shooting when the models are moving or jumping. 'A' means that it will be in and out of priority. 

Lastly the Godox back of the lights should be turned off once used. 

Image of the light boxes

Task 6- Magazine proposal pitch

In the lesson I had to present my presentation in class, i created the presentation on Prezi.com. This was a creative way of performing my presentation.

This would engage the readers, look attractive as well as organised.

This was presented to the class t gain feedback and to allow me to gain ideas and views from the audience i would be creating the magazine for.

The audience in my class have suggested that I use the name 'Soul N Rhythm' this was the second option on my prezi slideshow; to add to this the audience voted for me to pick the second theme of the font.

I agree with this idea as it works well with my genre and target audience.

The font and name fitted in to my genre of music well, so what my class have voted for me to pick ensured me that the majority of people their age may enjoy it too.

In addition, i will be using social networks to publish news about my magazine, this will be to keep up to date with the youth i am aiming to reach out to.

I have had some criticism, this was to insert the colours and designs of my magazine front page and contents. Doing this will ensure that I have my magazine planned out. I will be making these adjustments then uploading them on to my presentation.

Masthead demo- Illustrator

In today's lesson we had a demo on how to use Illustrator.
This software will be used to create our masthead which is the main centre of attention on a magazine. the basic tutorial allowed me to understand on how to use the software and what the tools do.
I can do personal learning by using the software at home or in my spare time; tutorials on youtube will help me greatly and provide me with guidance.

This was my first attempt of my masthead. the letters 'N' and 'O' have be adjusted with the tools.

This was also created in lesson, I was trying out the tools and adjusting to them and knowing how they work.

Photography Call sheet

For task 8 i had to create a call sheet for my photography studio shoot; this has all the main information as i included how i would like my models and the time and location. this call sheet allowed me to be organized and on time so i will be able to keep on track with all my tasks for the photoshoot.

Task 6- MAgazine proposal

Task 5B- Research of the distribution methods

Task 5A- Newsstand

For part of task 5 I had to look for a newsstand where music magazines were sold. I had to look at the front cover and how each magazine was displayed.

Where I found this magazine newsstand was in WhSmith, in the store they had sections with many categories of magazines. In the music section magazines were displayed according to genre, so POP, Rock etc were displayed in each of their own section. The reasoning of why they are like this is because, customers would most likely be interested in magazines in the same genre of the one they were looking for. To add to this, it would also mean that there would be competition between magazines of the same genre, therefore each magazine would have to stand out and be eye catching.

The magazines are all spreaded out displayed in a way that the masthead id the centre of attention on every magazine. Some magazines have only the masthead shown. This shows the importance of the magazine's masthead as it will give off impressions to possible consumers.

·         From the newsstand I can see that the more further away the magazine is, the less popular it is. Magazines which don’t sell as much as others might carry on selling at a low amount due to their placement on a shelf or newsstand. This would most likely be due to the lack of recognition from customers

·         Magazine models are all also looking at the audience; direct contact. Some models are even covering part of the masthead, this shows that the model has more importance than the brand. In addition, it shows that the magazine is confident that their brand is well known.

·         Most of the magazines have white coloured mastheads; this is very big and bold against the variety of backgrounds. As I can see from the newsstand the colour red is also used a lot on magazines, these colours are common because of it being eye catching to the eye of customers.

·         The magazine ‘NME’ is behind a lot of other magazines however, it still catches the attention of buyers due to the bright red masthead.

·         On the top shelf the magazine ‘SLASH’ has a bright yellow tag underneath it stating that it has £2 off. This promotion will attract customers as they would likely be interested because of the price; the colour yellow shows that its something which is of the centre of attention.

·         The popularity of magazines can be shown as on the newsstand the names of a few magazines are printed on the shelf it self.

·         Lastly, on the bottom shelf, the magazine ‘Songlines’ comes with a free CD. This is advertises the magazine as well as the artist of the CD. When consumers see that there is a free gift with a magazine they would think it has more value for money therefore, they would purchase that magazine. This competes with other magazines which have a better price however with no promotion.

Task 4- Evaluation and Audience Feedback

Evaluation & audience feedback

For my media assignment three my task was to produce a front cover and contents page for a college magazine. Before actually creating my LSC magazine I researched on how college magazines looked on the internet. I had found that many of them had images of happy students who looked very smart. I also found that the images of the model were not a full length shot; the creator showed a medium-close up image of a student. They focussed on how the student dressed and what he or she was holding. This would be if they were dressed smartly o dressed like a teenager, as well as books in their hands and I.D. badges around their necks. The images were of professional looking students and expressed how they would expect an ‘ideal student’. The models were also directly looking at the audience, direct contact.  To add to this from my research I have found that the colour scheme creators used represented the college’s logo.

I think that producing a magazine for the first time went well for me, the criteria was set for college students, and therefore I created a magazine for the target audience. To begin, I had to plan out how I would possible want my college magazine to look. I completed this by just creating a sketch on Microsoft Word, including all the aspects of a college magazine. To add to this, I think that this allowed me to have an idea of how I wanted my college magazine to look and also be organised. Secondly, I travelled around college to take photographs whilst finding possible models. I took a variety of photos with students participating in different activities. The places I took photos in were in the field, canteen and a classroom-look scene. The photographs that I took had to fit the specified genre and look of the magazine.

Front cover

On the task sheet the specification insisted on a body shots of model. My front cover had an image of a student who wore her college I.D. badge and folder. I made this image my front cover as it was a medium close up shot and it worked well with the colour scheme. The text (subheadings, sky lines, cover lines and masthead) were all on the top of the main image. This made my text and additional images stand out and eye catching. The reason why I used the colours yellow and white was to show the relevance of LSC’s logo. In addition, I place the barcode at the bottom of the page on the front cover so that customers will be able to see the price quickly without hassle.  

The set price my magazine would be sold for was at £3.99, I think that this is a fairly reasonable price and many magazines sold in stores are price similarly or at a higher price. I also put in this price as I have stated that the magazine will come with free coupons. I think that the free coupons would most likely draw the attention of consumers, this may also conclude that I will get more copies of magazine sold.

As I asked for feedback from my peers I had gotten a range of positive and negative views. They positive aspects were that the colour scheme look bold and bright therefore it was eye catching. In addition it matched with LSC’s logo, this was my aim. I had also been told that I successfully made it look like a typical magazine, this is good as this style looks appealing. The fact that I used different font types, colours and sizes is said to be good. The cover lines looked attractive and also referred inside to the contents page. Lastly, the ‘free coupon inside’ has also given me positive feedback, this is because the free coupons were good for students who are on a budget and appealed to everyone.

However, as I asked for feedback from classmates I have had criticisms as well as positive words. Criticisms of my front cover were that I will need experiment with different angles for photography, this will make my photos look better as well as appeal to the eyes of consumers. I do believe that I should have used the others photos I took as the main image however, I did not make them as medium close up photos. I have also been told that it did not look appealing as the face of the model was not shown. I have also been criticised for the masthead not being bold enough, I could agree that it went well with the colour scheme however the gradient made the colour yellow dull.

            The overall experience of creating the front cover of the college magazine was fun, although at first I did struggle with using Adobe Photoshop and I restarted a numerous amount of times. However, now I know that I have had practice and I can become better next time.  

Below is an image of the feedback which I received from students in my media class. 

Contents page

For the second part of my assignment I was told to create the contents for my college magazine. For this part I used the InDesign software which I have had little practice with. When I looked on the internet for contents pages of magazine they did not look too complex or too simple. They were still attractive and the colour scheme and texts referred to front cover. I had gained inspiration from them however I kept to my normal idea of a college magazine contents page.

The images I used were for the contents page were taken on different locations with students doing different things. These activities related to student life e.g. work in the study, friends and in a classroom. The contents page required sections, images, number of pages and the editor’s letter. I did include page numbers and images as well as make it look attractive but basic.

I asked for feedback from classmates as a task and I received many criticisms as well as positive words. I have been criticised for not including sections and not being organised. This is because of a typo and I had gotten the page numbers wrong. This cannot happen on a real magazine therefore the criticism has allowed me to reflect on my work for the future. I have also been criticised for the amount of text and images on my front cover. I have been told that there should be more of an input and more features due to the ‘empty’ look.

Advantages of my contents page was this it is easy to understand as its very simple. I have also received feedback for the colour scheme as it went well together as well as with the rest of the magazine.

Below is an image of the comments I have received from students in my class for my contents page.

Overall producing the front cover and contents page for my college magazine went well for me. Although i did struggle i did feel as though it was going well for me during the beginning with using all the softwares however, I did get used to it. I felt as the colour scheme i went for (yellow and white) worked very well with LSC's logo. 

     

College newsle

Task 3

I have created a contents page for my college magazine. This is nice and simple to understand, the colour scheme is also similar to the front cover. I have placed in images which show shows students taking part in different activities. 

The font that I used are different to each other, this is depending on the sub heading. I think that this may attract the attention of readers.

I have found creating my contents page easy, I know that I will be developing my skills on how to use the system over time.

Task 3- College newsletter cover

I have created my college newsletter in Adobe Photoshop, this resulted me in using a variety of tools which have allowed me to create my front cover. the colour scheme i have used is white and yellow; these come up big and bold against the background. 

Yellow is the same as Leyton Sixth Forms student ID badge therefore I have made it my centre colour scheme.

I have inserted a barcode with pricing, mini images and subheadings. 

the fonts of the subheadings are also in different sizes this is to show the importance of each story.

In addition the way i have written the text is relatable to readers.

Task 2- Case study analysis 2

Classic Rock

I have found a Classic Rock magazine which I have analysed. 

I have analysed how the magazine is displayed and structured for their target audience; their target audience would most likely be people aged 20-30 years old.

I have also compared and contrasted the colour scheme used and the text font and how it relates to the audience.

Task 2- Case study analysis

Front cover

Contents pg 1

Contents pg 2

Add caption

Induction assignment- File sharing magazine

I have completed task 1 which was set to me at a later date due to starting the media course at a later time. I have completed my magazine independently in my own time.
i found using InDesign quite hard however I think now my skills have expanded a lot.

I used images of Jessie J and Angel Haze who are quoted inside the magazine.
My magazine spread talks about both for and against music piracy, this will appeal to readers who take different sides of the situation.

File sharing-Music piracy

Insight to InDesign

An insight to InDesign was given to me explaining how to use the software. 

This lesson on how to use the software has helped me a lot and will help me throughout the media course. I have learnt:

• How to add and lock layers
• How layers are used
• How to place in images etc.

Just like Photoshop I was shown how to maintain the images shape but change the size on InDesign, I struggled with colouring my background however I have been shown how to do that.

I feel comfortable with using InDesign and I think that I will get better at using this software.

Tsk 3- College magazine planning

For task 3 I have been planning my college magazine, in todays lesson I created my plan for my magazine including all possible aspects i would like to include.  

So far I have planned the front cover and soon I will be uploading images of models who will be on the cover of my magazine.

In this plan i have included: 

• The masthead and where it will be
• barcode/price tag
• Sky lines and cover lines
• places of where images will be placed

This plan will help me have an outline of how I would like my magazine to look and anything additional can also be added or removed.

Magazine Planning

Insight to photoshop

In today's lesson we had an insight to PhotoShop.
I had demo showing me how to use the programme; I was taught how to edit and insert text as well as insert images. I learnt how to:

•  add background colours
•  text sizes and fonts 
• placing in images

When adding in my image of The Weeknd (Abel) I was shown how to maintain the images shape but make the image bigger or smaller. This is done by holding the 'Shift' button and dragging the points on the image.

My first document on PhotoShop is the one pictured below and basic tools have been used. I feel as though I will be able to get the hang of Adobe PhotoShop however it may take me some time to get used to.

Magazine analysis

In Task 2 I have analysed a 'Vibe' magazine; my analysation has described the magazine thoroughly. I have analysed NickiMinaj and how she is presented on the magazine as well as the other artists presented. 

 The masthead is behind the model and she covers most of it, this shows that Vibe is a very well known company. The colour scheme is all coordinated to orange and white and important text is in bold black writing; this is a way to make the audience interested. Important text such as 'Drake' and 'Shaq'. Other artists who are featured inside the magazine are also famous and will attract people who do not necessarily like Hip Hop to show some sort of interest in to purchasing the magazine again. this will also make them more attracted to buy the magazine.

The magazine is most likely directed at young people who are interested in Hip Hop.

Production schedule