Coursework - Photoshoot

Now that my flatplan and my research has been completed, I now know what sort of direction I am heading in towards creating my final front cover for my music magazine. The research has given me the background knowledge I need to understand and see what makes a successful front cover on a magazine. From this research I have been able to compose a flatplan design for my own front cover, although kept basic it allows me to follow certain guidlines along the way.

The next stage was to create my own photoshoot, using a close friend as a model and research on makeup / clothing and set design, I was able to get a clear idea on what I wanted for my front cover. Some of the images from the photoshoot are posted below, in a powerpoint presentation, which haven't been altered in photoshop;

Photoshoot

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Coursework - Flat Plan For Front Cover

Now that I have successful created and produced my own media pack for 'Outspoken' I now have a clear idea of where I would like my magazine to end up, hopefully finishing with at a professional standard.

The first step after producing my media pack was to create a flat plan for my front cover page. I successfully produced this on a word document. Having previously completed in depth research into music magazines I have a pretty clear idea on how I wanted my front cover to turn out. The image of my flat plan is shown below;

This is a screenshot of the flat plan I created on word for my final front cover design. I kept the design simple as I felt I could get a better understanding of it when I was in the process of creating the magazine. The title of my magazine is called 'OutSpoken' and this will be placed where my masthead is written. The reason for having 'OutSpoken' as my title for my magazine is because I feel it can express the views of artists which will feature in the magazine.

Overall this flatplan design has allowed for me to follow a guideline when making my magazine front cover, although some alterations may be made.

Coursework - OutSpoken Media Pack

Over the past few weeks I have photographed images of my model, researched and designed my very own media pack for my upcoming coursework of creating a music magazine. Using the likes of Mojo and Q music magazine media packs I have allowed access for readers to understand the thinking behind my magazine, to offer the opportunity to advertise within the magazine and to get a specific idea of who my typical audience member is. The media pack is a good understanding of what I aim my magazine to be and how I hope to achieve this.

Media pack

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Coursework - Magazine Analysis

In recent lessons, to carry out further analysis on music magazines we were studying the content of double page spreads from the well known likes of 'Radar'. The article chosen was a specific feature on Little Boots, who then (2009 - when the article was written), was a new and upcoming artist.

The image on the left here was the image that featured in the double page spread. Here I have written out the analysis in which we carried out in the lesson, analysing and comparing the image, headlines, subheadings, text and many more.

IMAGE - the central image here is one where the artist is looking directly at the camera, a popular feature with nearly all magazine cover pages and double page spreads. The keyboard strongly suggests the use of music within the artist and within in the text which was written on the right hand side of the page. The image is kept to a minimal use of colour, keeping it simple so the reader can focus on the image and text rather than it looking to busy and chaotic on the page.

HEADLINES - Although it is not shown in this particular image, the headline of the article was clear, stating the sub name or name of the article from the popular magazine NME, it read "RADAR, finding the best new music". The clear headline allowed for the reader to be attracted to the piece. 

SUBHEADINGS - The subheading of this article was "Little Boots, Our favourite new UK electro act". The importance for a subheading is to allow the reader to get a quick insight into what they are reading, therefore it neads to be catchy and involve the reader. We as a class decided that NME achieved this very well. 

TONE - The tone of the piece overall seemed to be quite informal and the large chunk of text was off-putting for me as a reader. The lack of colour wasn't appealing and the tone of the text didn't involve the reader and they used very simple language which made the piece seem informal, conforming to a sterotypical article.

PAGE LAYOUT - The layout of the page seemed simple, the use of the plain background gave off a sophisticated and clean look but overall the lack of colour was too noteable and therefore the consequence would be that this piece wouldn't attract a reader easily.

Overall the analysis of this article allowed for me to understand more easily what makes a double page spread successful and what the drawbacks can be, therefore I can input my own knowledge into creating my own double page spread.

Coursework - Magazine Analysis

When studying the front page covers of specific music magazines it is important to note their particular selling feature alongside noting what works well and what could be more successful.

Out of a wide range of magazines I chose this front cover on the basis that it all works well together. The colour scheme suits the outfit of the chosen artist and blends well with the colour scheme of the writing. I like the photography used in this magazine as the pose is kept simple but the use of the florals really emphasises the character of the magazine.

The only thing about this magazine which I feel lacks success is that it is possibly to simplistic. The text, although effective, is difficult to read, however I do like the idea that the image is pushed slightly to the right with the text type kept to the left. Therefore I may use this idea in my final magazine front cover.

I particularly like 'Billboard' magazine because it focuses on its main selling point and the contrasts between the image, colour scheme, and text all works successfully. For this magazine I would say that the main audience is aimed towards a female side, prehaps late teens and early twenties. I have come to this conclusion because the colours suggest a more 'kid-like' feel to the magazine whereas the use of more whites and greys would suggest a more sophisticated older audience. But in this instance it works well and sells well.

When comparing this magazine to the one previously shown above I would say it has a more sophistaced look to it, therefore aiming for an older audience.

I like the unique factor of this magazine, the imagery and even the text type varies, its interesting and different to most magazines and I think this is what makes this magazine sell well. The background is kept to a simple grayscale colour which constrasts well with the black used in the image and the white text which makes it stand out boldly. The use of the 'puff' allows for certain information to stand out and become attractive to the readers eye although not taking away attention from the main feature.

Overall I like most things about this magazine however I feel that it suffers with a limited range of colours, sticking mainly to white red and black I feel that my magazine should include more colours to make it stand out.

In an overall conclusion, the amount of research that has been put forward into front cover page analysis has allowed me to see what makes a magazine successful and what the drawbacks can sometimes be. Therefore I now have a good amount of detailed information on magazines to allow me to produce a successful and sophisticated front page music magazine cover.

Coursework - Magazine Presentation

In order to gain marks on my overall course it was important to focus on the presentation side of things. Therefore I made a short two slide powerpoint comparing and contrasting the likes of music magazines such as 'Billboard' and features of their double page spreads. Within the presentation I spoke to my peers about the evaluation of the cover pieces and inside stories, in other words what I liked and didnt like about the pieces alongside what was successful and what could have been improved. Then, thinking ahead I focused on how this would help me with producing my overall music magazine.

Below is the overall conclusion to my whole presentation using the notes I made when presenting;

 What I Like About The Representation

I have chosen to analyse the magazine of ‘Billboard’. I specifically like this music magazine for many reasons;

Advertises popular and well known successful artists, such as Adele, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Katy Perry and many more.
It aims itself to meet the needs of a more feminine and sophisticated older audience.
It comes across as oversimplified but this gives the magazine a ‘fresh’ look. I am also drawn to the different uses of text font and text size. The important bits of information are noticably bigger while less important text tends to be of smaller size, some of which may even be in capital letters. I will bare this in mind when it comes to producing my magazine front cover.

What I Don’t Like About The Representation

The typography seems to be kept simple, the same font has been used on almost each piece of information portrayed on the front cover.

All the information seems to kept towards the top of the page instead of being evenly spread out throughout, this makes it seem like there is little information or news updates to be given in the magazine.

I also picked out the feature that 'Adele' is looking directly into the camera, as if she is looking directly at the audience, through research I know that this is important to have on your magazine front cover as it engages the reader. Therefore overall I like the outlook of this magazine and will try to emulate some of this within my own music magazine although altering some parts and adding additional information.

I particularly like these two examples of music magazines double page spreads.
I like the layout and overall presentation of the first one because the title of the piece really stands out and attracts the reader, as does the main image, which is kept modern and simple. However I think the text is kept in one main block which doesn’t engage the reader, it needs to be broken down to make it reader friendly.
I like the presentation of the second image because its colourful which attracts the reader, the title stands out and there is more than one image included. The smaller 'factual' boxes towards the right hand side of the page allow for the text to be broken down which makes it less daunting for the reader.

In conclusion I like both layouts of the double page spreads although I am aiming for a more feminie look within my final piece.

Coursework - Music Industry Details / Information

On the written side of my coursework I felt it was important to have details on the music industry itself as the overall aim of my coursework is to create a music magazine. 

The first research I did into the financial sides of the industry was where and how music can be accessed. This can be through a variety of things;

Downloads - Both illegal and legal downloads such as the use of 'ITunes'.

Physical Items - This can be through the purchase of CD's or records.

Streaming - A well known streaming site is known as 'Spotify', this is where you can access the music without downloading it.

I then continued my research into looking at record labels and independant labels. The difference between them is that major record labels have many businesses running and hold major artists, they are well known and very profitable. Whereas independant labels are the ones who run off one manager and hold three or four smaller artists, prehaps from local areas. 

Major Record Labels - EMI , Sony , Universal

Independant Labels - 679 Artists , Domino , Jeepster

When focusing on the promotional features of music magazines I came across a varied amount of points and ways in which music can be promoted. You can promote a lot of music through the use of TV interviews, getting your artist to appear as guests on well known chat shows, this can also include radio interviews. The money or profit made from this allows for the upkeep of the labels. Comercial Sponsership is also a popular promotional feature, again the money gained from this allows for the upkeep of labels. The main point of promoting a brand is that you are trying to sell a product to an audience which leaves them wanting more or wanting to purchase the product which always allows for a profit to be made.

When analysing the purpose of promotional features in the music industry, it is because;

It keeps the fanbase / audience up to date
Advertises the artist or brand
Useful for introducing new artists through interviews

Coursework - Local Interview

Over the past few weeks I have conducted my very own interview with a close friend who is aspiring to be an artist, not only does she succeed in writing and acoustically rehersing her own songs, she also does feature copies of previously recorded songs. I have chosen to conduct an interview with her because I felt it was important to get a feel for how I would like my final interview featured on my double page spread to turn out. Although this was extremely helpful in my research stage it was only a brief and general interview. 

Here is a mock-up of the interview; 

Amy-Leigh is living a life only few could dream of. Aspiring to be a successful artist she has broadened her music around the local area and it is only a matter of months before her music is heard and engaged with by the founders of music lovers. As we take a step closer to into her thinking behind her personal songs she reveals the longing she's been needing to release about all her hard efforts, will they finally pay off? 

Amy, your aiming for the indie-chic look today, is fashion something that's important to you?

Always, I find myself browsing all the time! I've always been a sucker for delving into 'vogue' but I am human, I love wearing joggers and a baggy t-shirt!

Don't we all! Do you think the media puts too much pressure on us to have a slimming figure?

Yes, whever you look there's always promotions for diets and healthy eating choices, whatever happened to ten being a size?

We agree. Do you believe more in the music than the image your providing?

I've grown up with music in my life for over twenty years, its the music that counts, a lyric can be so emotive and creative, something that your fans can connect with and I think if your fans understand your music then they'll accept you without thinking about it.

You've been sharing your music for more than seven years now, are you prepared to alter your style and play around with different sounds?

I'm always looking for a challenge and one that is difficult to overcome is what excites me about this industry. 

You haven't yet been signed to a major label, do you not think changing your sound will alter your fan base?

It's a difficult thing to decide. My fans are my fans because they love the music I write, it has a meaning and comes from personal experiences, but I think most would be accepting of what I have to offer! (laughs)

We'll always be listening! Is your music always related to personal issues?

Mostly, they come from the broken hearts and the issues with love.

Have you had your heart broken recently?

There's a be a few in my time...(laughs) 

The interview above was a small 'snapshot' of the overall interview I did with Amy-Leigh. I chose that part of the interview because I felt it educated the readers about her music with minor detail on her herself and also kept the answers quite light hearted in order for the reader to enjoy what they are reading for entertainment purposes. When thinking about my final interview in my magazine I will look to add more detail, make the questions fit the audience and the aim as well as using entertainment features. However this interview was only used for research purposes, and I believe it will help me get a better understanding when it comes to my final coursework.

Coursework - Music Magazine Interviews

Research into double page spreads produced by music magazines has allowed me to get a clearer idea of how I want my audience to percieve my given text when it comes down to creating my coursework. I have noted that almost all double page spreads will include a photographic image of the artist who's interview is being conducted, be it an extravegant image or a simplistic image. Therefore I can use my knowledge on photography in magazines as well as studio lighting and positioning to create the image I need for my double page spread.

I have also learnt that all the interviews begin with the writer's explination of who the artist is and a brief outline of what the interview includes. So it is largely important to focus on this when doing my music magazine as well as ensuring the artist fits the needs of my audience and bodes well with the genre of my magazine edition. When analysing the text, as in questions and answers, it is clear to say that the questions are kept simple but to the point, this allows the reader to stay hooked on what they are reading and get information fast that is also easy to locate. The answers on the other hand tend to be more humourous and light hearted, of course depending on the chosen artist to interview. This is largely important because the reader needs to feel connected to the artist and to feel as if they are there in the interview. I hope to promote this in my music magazine as its mission is to create detail on a level the audience can connect with.

Normally on the top of a double page spread is the artists name alongside a quote featured from the interview that has taken place. I have learnt, as a reader, that this quote needs to be intriuging and eye catching, so altering the text type is essential, playing around different colours is also essential, therefore as a conclusion I will look to have a go with doing this on my double page spread. 

I found this feature page on double page spreads which was shown in an edition of Kerrang music magazine. I was particularly drawn to this image because of the simplicity of the piece allowed my attention to immediately go to the "ABSOLUTELY!" and it was this which made me recognise the importance of having a quote which is going to grip the reader. I also like this page because the text is easy to navigate and the headings in white (The questions) break down the text block, making it less daunting to read. I like the idea of making use of a plain background and really enlarging the foreground image of the artist, who looking directly at the camera. As previously researched this makes the reader feel connected with the magazine and the article in which they are reading. Overall I see this double page spread as being very successful, the use of a neat border brightens up the grayscale background, the only critisism is that prehaps there is not enough text to provide the reader with adequate knowledge, therefore in my music magazine I would make the photographic image smaller and provide more text. 

This double page also features in the magazine of Kerrang. I have chosen this piece because it appears so chaotic and packed full of information that it actually works well and wants me as a reader to understand what is being written. The use of the image of the world at the top of the page makes the reader assume this could be a travel topic, prehaps someone going on tour, but I like the idea of having an image that is not the artist themselves but is related to the feature story in some way. The only negative about this is that the amount of text placed together in one block is enough to turn the reader away, if it was broken down into smaller sections it may be more inviting for the reader. In conclusion I like this magazine although I will not look at using it for emulation as the colour scheme and overall outlook on the piece appears, to me, to be leaning on a more masculine and male audience whereas I am looking to create an upbeat signature magazine which is more gender bias towards females. 

Below are a few images of magazine double page spreads in which I have chosen to select because of their appearence and because I was easily drawn into wanting to read more. These are the double page spreads in which I think are successful; 

 
 

Coursework - Music Magazine Photographers

I have conducted research on the type of photographers popular music magazines use as their portfolios in their magazines. Such photographers are found in magazines like mojo, kerrang and Q. 

The most common names for music magazine researchers is Andrew Cotterill, Andy Fallon, Paul Harries, Mick Hutson, Rodger Sargent and Andy Willsher.

Images such as this one have been previously placed in popular music magazines, supplied by the list of photographers shown above. I particularly like the look of this photograph and the band it is representing.

I have done this specific research on photographers because I believe it is important to get an understanding on all sections of music magazines. Photography work is widely incoporated within magazines and I feel that having researched into it I can have a better grasp on a professional look when it comes to completing my coursework.  From what I have gathered, self portriture work is the most common use of photography within magazines, whether or not it portrays a specific part to music or just the artist. Therefore I have concluded that in my final music magazine I will use specific portriture work with an indie twist on the look as that is what I am aiming for. I will also ensure that the artist is looking directly into the camera as this is what many of the magazines achieve with their photography work. This is because it engages the reader and makes them connect to the artist that is being previewed on the front cover.

The Use Of Artificial Lighting In Photography:

When photographers use artificial light they are drawing with light, and photographers normally the light in a way that makes it look natural. Therefore when positioning the lighting you are going to use it is essential that it is positioned where the sun might be in relation to the subject. This is normally fairly high and coming from behind the camera at an off centre angle. The beneficial points of using studio lighting is that you have total control over both the direction of the lighting and the effect of it, creating an image you want to achieve is always successful.

Overall after this research it has become clear that using a studio would allow me to achieve a professional outlook on the photography side of the magazine, therefore I will use this reseach and apply it to my photography work which will be portrayed in my overall music magazine.

Coursework - Music Magazines Graphics

What is a graphic?

A graphic is a representation of an image used to convey visual information. Most graphics come under photographs, clip art, line art, digital art, icons and many more.

This image is an example of a coloured graphic. Although it may not be specific to music magazines, it represents a good image of a graphic. The use of colour allows for a chaotic look to the piece but surprisingly they work well together. The parallel lines and symmetrical shapes make for a good graphic because it doesn’t make the image a subjective thing. The difference between a rich textured design and a clean modern design allows for the variation of emotions as well as using eye popping colour or soft pallet colours and occasionally a combination of the both. I think this image portrays this well.

The image of 'Kerrang' music magazine masthead is often shown as the image above. It creates a slight shattered effect which often bodes well the band being advertised on the front. This is a good example of representing what the magazine can offer, a slight rock band effect, promoting rock bands such as 'Metallica'. I really like the graphic used within the title because it isnt instantly noticable but gives the magazine a different outlook.

Overall from the research I have uncovered, I have found out that there are no guidelines as to what makes a good graphic, it is simply using your knowledge of your given task and applying it to the chosen audience. When completing my music magazine I will consider using graphic designs in order to add differentiation between my photo shoot photos and my text type.

Coursework - Music Magazine Typography

‘Panic At The Disco’ are a well known band. I have specifically picked out this advertisement of the band in order to comment on the typography. I really like the colours presented within this media extract, they all compliment one another and blend cleanly with the background. The graphics used within the text allows for a diverse effect, different than if writing the text normally, giving off a worn texture, floral patterns mixed with a vintage style. When looking at advertising on my final music magazine I will look at using the effects of this piece shown above, I particularly like the vintage style of the extract alongside the floral designs, it seems to give off an unexpected effect.

In contrast to the media typography used above, this piece is strictly simplified. The plain grainy white background really allows for the graphics of ‘Stag Dagger’ to stand out. Whilst the text type is closely dense allowing for the reader to want to stop and analyse what is being advertised. Although the graphic is slightly explicit, I like the way vector shapes are built up to allow for a more varied and indifferent style. The main information such as ‘tickets £4’ are written in a vibrant pink mainly for it to catch the reader’s eye. Therefore I really like the desing on this typography because it has a mixture of depth and simple uses of colour.

This music magazine poster became a quick inspiration for me, acting as the basis to extreme and successful uses of typography. The interface between the graphic and the text type really allows for a perspective effect on the words born out of discipline.  The sparse area of the text type really gives the overall presentation of the piece a fresh look, making it easy to read. I especially like the text that is written back to front, although still accessible to read, it makes the whole poster interesting and the effects really add to the unique style.  When thinking about producing my music magazine coursework, I will look into collecting ideas from this media extract as I think it portrays the best typography.

In conclusion, the typography in a media extract, particularly those trying to represent an upcoming feature, places an important emphasis on the overall presentation of the piece. Having background knowledge of typography terminology after carrying out research and having analysed pieces of typography, both in general cases and in music magazines, I feel that I am comfortable to move forward and allow my very own coursework to have good and successful typography.

Coursework - Music Magazine Typography

Often, all that’s needed to create a killer music magazine is unique and inspired typographical elements. There are various examples of both great classic and modern music magazine typography already released by music magazine producers.  

Here are seventeen examples of typography which could eventually be used within music magazines. I first began my research by looking at different styles of typography on a general scale before moving it specifically to music magazines. This image allows for different effects and styles to be used rather than just altering the font type. I specifically like the research into typography because most typography’s will include a graphic or altering of the word somehow. I have concluded that is the texts which include graphics that attract the most attention the readers eye. This simple image is one that can be used as a template to the wide variations of typography within the world, which can then later be put forward and concluded with music magazines.

After a brief conclusion of the typography shown above, I went on to carry on with research on specific terminology used in typography, these being the definitions of a typeface, point size, line length and leading. All of which are described below;

Typeface A typeface is an artisitc representation or interpretation of characters. It is simply the way the type looks. Typeface can also be classified as the size of the letter or character of the block type.

Point Size In typography the point is the smallest unit of measure, however it can also be known as the size of the type being used in typography.

Line LengthLine Length is simply the width occupied by a block of typeset text. A block of text or a paragraph has a maximum line length that fits a determined design.

LeadingLeading refers to the distance between the baselines of successive lines of type. Research shows that this term is still used in modern page layout programmes.   

Coursework - Music Magazine Research

Now that the Prelminary Task has been successfully completed we are able to move onto studying, analysing and comparing music magazines. After careful research I have produced a music magazine board of particular magazines which have immediately caught my eye, be it because of colour, the central image, the text type, graphics or its successfuless.

Here is a printscreen shot of all the music magazines which have caught a general audiences eye. After doing the research on this particular part of the course I have notably recognised the average criteria needed in order to attract specific audiences. on an overall basis colour is essential, however the colours tone in which are used are dependant on who the audience aim is. I have also noted that using successful people who have easily risen to fame helps the selling point of the magazine.

Overall this image board has allowed me to see the differences and make comparisons between what attracts a music magazine reader and what allows for a greater impact to be made on the audience. I will take forward this research in order to allow for an overall professional finish to my completed music magazine.

Evaluation - Results Of My Magazine Contents

In order to fully complete my Preliminary Task I had to create a contents page to go alongside my magazine front cover. This was to be completed through the use of photoshop. Having previously written and posted about my draft copy for my contents page, I was happy to continue through and begin the process of producing my contents page.

STAGE ONE

Stage one began with me simply following the draft design I had previously made, again, I used the online website DaFont to create the title 'Your First Look'. I particularly liked the way the lettering panned out on this title design, it has been kept to minimal simplicity, aiming for a sophisticated look. I chose this to be the title of my contents page on the basis that it differs from other, showing a more creative idea, and also it allows the reader to feel engaged with what they are reading. It is the readers 'First Look' on the summary of the whole magazine. The puff underneath the title is a strap or tag line which follows on from the title of the contents page. It reads 'On The October Issue', therefore relating to the selling date of the magazine. I believe putting the words into the coloured puff allows for a different effect on the magazine. It makes it stand out to the readers eye and the colour contrasts well with the front cover of the magazine, as well as breaking up the page. Lastly, at the bottom of the page I added in a black and white swirled design, I believe this gives the page a different and sophisticated look. Following the design of my draft, I felt that having the page with just writing on would not appeal to my audience, but the swirled design adds an unexpected sense to the page.

STAGE TWO

In the second stage of the process of completing my contents page I have edited in the information on the contents page, as well as adding in an image and a puff around the title and labelling my page. For adding in the page number I simply used the text tool on photoshop, writing in block capitals for the words to stand out, yet positioning it in the corner because it is not vital information. The next stage was producing the picture behind the title, again still following through with the sophisticated theme, yet adding a slightly different twist. Because of this I ended up having to alter the title and place a lightly coloured puff behind in order for the text to be visable and to stand out. I think the colours go well together and compliment the background image therefore I was pleased to produce this as my title. The final stage before completing my contents page was to produce the actual content in clear information form. For the content of my magazine I wanted something that would be lighthearted but also contain nessecary information such as important upcoming dates for university open days. In total there are twelve pages to my magazine and this is clearly portrayed through the contents page. There are fashion and music sections, to key events and transportation as well as exclusive interviews from students themselves. Overall I was pleased with the completed outcome of my contents page and believe it compliments the cover page or front page well. This is my completed Premilinary Task.

Draft Ideas For Magazine Contents Page

With the first half of the preliminary task happily completed, I began to gather up my ideas for the second half of the task which involved creating and designing a contents page to go alongside my magazine front cover. Having the knowledge and research of other magazines contents, knowing they range from cluttered and full of information to simple and sophistacted I knew that I wanted my contents page to follow the same design as my front cover. Therefore, I wanted to release the feel of a sophistaced look so kept it simple. When planning out my design I kept it rough so that there would be room for error and improvement. Having the basis of my guidelines and the skills to create the contents page I was confident I could move on and begin a first draft. The image below is a screenshot of my first draft, showing the very basics of how I want my magazine contents page to pan out.

Evaluation - Finished Preliminary Task



FINAL FRONT COVER OF MY MAGAZINE 



The central Image above is a screenshot of photoshop which presents my final front cover of my magazine. As evaluated before it holds all the same information alongside the same stages of processing my magazine. After recieving positive feedback and end results from my media teachers I felt it could add a final touch, and that would be adding a bit of colour. Although previously stating that the grayscale colour allowed for an 'old school' style I felt that the contrast between the blacks greys and whites did not recieve the overall effect I was hoping for. Therefore I used the 'duotone' tool from photoshop to add in a touch of maroon like reds and lightly coloured mustard yellows. The overall effect this leaves, I believe, is greater than before, it breaks up the magazine, allowing for the puffs to have a sense of colour and to stand out more. Overall the use and knowledge of photoshop has allowed me to create this effect which is complimentary to my original starting draft ideas. This is my final desgin of my magazine front cover.

In future, for example when producing my media coursework - a music magazine, I will take the ideas and skills I have learnt front producing this preliminary task and take things further by ensuring I can make a better and more positive result. If I was to do this particular task again my first to ensure would be that the central image is taken with a good digital SLR Camera in order for the image to be clear and not pixilated when zoomed in or focused. For this task I used an ordinary camera which inevitably decreased the overall professional effect of the magazine. I would also look into focusing more on using the ideas provided by other magazine companies, although I used the idea of a fashion section taken from other magazines and produced onto my own, I feel I could expand on this to create a sense of professionalism. Again I would perhaps look into focusing using the magazine as a colour tool, instead of leaving the magazine set to a grayscale colour, or, like I did, using a duotone tool, I would leave the image as it once stood and add varitey of exciting colours to allow the reader to be more focused, however for this I was sticking to a sophistaced and formal aim and I think I have achieved this well.

As a final conclusion I am extremely pleased with the end result of my preliminary task - producing a school magazine cover. The audience, inevitably, was aimed at young female sixth form students. I think the use of reds and pinks as tones adds to the feminimity of the piece and particularly adding in the fashion style section allows for the audience to be narrowed down and to reach the female section of sixth form students. Having a specific age group, between sixteen and eighteen, allowed for the magazine to be slightly more sophisticated than if it were for younger school students, I think the exclusive cover story reaches the need for this. Also, as it was a school magazine I felt it needed to have some light hearted sections within it, therefore I presented the magazine with a section specifically dedicated to the latest music around. Lastly I felt the magazine needed to have a unique selling point, therefore, steming from my original ideas, I kept it 'old school', which I felt was achieved by the colour tone and the use of font types. However I believe its main difference from other students magazines is that it is written from the mind of a student itself, hence the strapline 'From An Insiders View'. I felt the audience would be able to relate to the magazine if it was written from a student. Therefore I feel I have met all the needs I originally set out and am pleased with the overall design of the magazine front cover, enjoying completing the task as well as expanding my skills on photoshop and opening up my mind to the world of media.

Evaluation - Results Of My School Magazine Cover

Witht the skills learnt from photoshop and the ideas to emulate magazine front covers I was able to produce my very own front cover of a magazine using photoshop and including all the key details such as a mathshead, a barcode, the date, puffs of information and a central image. The evaluation and key stages of this process are shown below;

STARTING IMAGE

On the left hand side here is the preview of the original image I used for my front cover. I especially picked out this image to be the central attraction of my front cover on the basis that it was simple and went well the title of my magazine cover which is explained below. When thinking about doing another magazine cover I will be sure to use a Digital SLR Camera in future because the image became slightly pixilated when zoomed in on photoshop. Overall this image worked successfully with my front cover.

STAGE ONE

Here on the right hand side shows the first stage of making my magazine front cover on photoshop. I originally had the idea of siding with a black and white theme because I wanted my magazine to be different and follow an 'old school' style. I thought this complimented the central image picture and allowed the magazine to look slighty more sophisticated. When comparing this image to the one shown above, not only has the colour contrast changed dramatically but I have used my photoshop skills to crop and erase the background so that the image of the girl is more prominant and the plain background can be filled with key details on information about the contents of the magazine. Overall I think the grayscale theme works well with the image and helps promote the style and theme I was heading for.

STAGE TWO

This image here is the representation of my second stage in the process of producing my magazine front cover. As clearly shown, it has come a long way from the image shown above. The first step was thinking and creating my magazine title, otherwise known as the mathshead. My main title for the magazine was chosen to be 'That Girl Daily' with a strapline promoting 'An Insiders View'. I have chosen these titles because I wanted the magazine to come from the view of a sixth form school student, therefore 'An Insiders View' is complimentary to both the title and the central image. I used a well known website called DaFont to create these titles, by copying, pasting and then applying to the image and multiplying so that it blends well with the background. The text fonts I used were 'Today' and 'Travelling Typewriter'. I used the website of DaFront rather than the text tool in photoshop because it allows a more varied option of text fonts to add variety to the magazine, using the 'text flip tool' I was allowed to add variety and have the writing going vertically down the page for a different effect. I think using two different types of text for the mathshead really makes the magazine original, and also sticks to the 'old school' theme. In stage two I have also added a barcode, date and price to the magazine as these are the key essentials to making a magazine more realistic. I have put the price in a darker grayscale puff in order for the cheap price of the magazine to stand out and have thoughtfully placed it by the title so it is noticable for the buyers to see. The last stage in this process was creating the background puff behind the text in the top right hand corner. I believe allowing the puff to go behind the text allows for a more varied look and although it is being covered, makes it stand out more. Inside the puff reads 'Bringing You Your Weekly Edition'. I have chosen to put this in my magazine because I believe it makes it more personal, the use of personal pronouns allows for the reader to feel more engaged and essentially wanting them to buy the magazine. The 'Weekly Edition' allows the reader to know that the magazine is produced on a weekly basis. I chose the choice of having a star shaped puff to add a greater effect on the magazine which works well. Overall I was really pleased with how the first few stages of my magazine were coming along and how my knowledge of photoshop and websites such as DaFont has allowed me to create a sophisticated effect to the overall magazine.

STAGE THREE

Stage three in the process of making my magazine mainly involved adding the information of the contents of my magazine. Firstly, at the bottom of the magazine I used the 'Text Tool' in photoshop to create a simple but clear website link address. It reads 'Feature Stories Now Avaliable Online At www.ThatGirl.Blogspot'. The main reason for adding this feature was not because it was an important piece of information to get across, it was because the magazines audience is aimed at young sixth form students and the youth of this century are extremely familiar with the avaliabilty to internet access that it was more of a promoting point for the magazine to help attract the younger readers. Therefore it is has been positioned at the bottom of the page on the left hand side so it clearly notable yet not a feature point. I especially like the way the text covers part of the central image aiming for more effect, again sticking to the grayscale theme. After following through with lots of research on the emulation of magazine front covers, I mainly picked out the point about how I liked the fashion ideas to stand out on the front covers. Good examples of these are 'Look' magazine, 'Heat' magazine and 'Teen Vogue'. Therefore my inspiration came from these magazines and so I added a fashion style part to the front cover. 'The New Mix For Autumn Trends' was the catchline I used to promote my fashion style part. I designed this magazine around the time of autumn and so the theme connected to this. For this I created a Text box in microsoft word and used a light 'Broadway' font in 'Italics' to create a different typewriting effect. I then used the copy and paste technique, cropping and then selecting and multiplying to get it to the professional standard it is now. By this point my magazine was really starting to come together and look professional, I believe it was beginning to hit and aim for reaching the needs of its target audience which was young female sixth form students aged between sixteen and eighteen.

STAGE FOUR

Stage four was the final stage before my magazine was initially checked by my media teachers. By this point I was almost finished, I had included the esstential details a magazine needs such as the date and the barcode and the price, I had used key skills and knowledge of photoshop to create different fonts of text which stand out to the reader, and including ideas from magazines I had previously carried research out on. So for my concluding part I decided to add an 'Exclusive' story and an image on which I imported along with some more inserted text. Through research on other magazines and through my own knowledge and understanding of media texts it was an obvious point that each and every magazine had at least one cover or feature story. Therefore I included one in my own. I had the word 'Exclusive' written underneath the date on my magazine which is almost directly under the headline, the reason for this positioning was because it needed to be recognised. Therefore I used a clear font, and placed the words in 'bold' to make it stand out, I also used the text tilt tool on photoshop to make the positioning of the word titled so it can again, stand out. I then inserted another grayscale puff onto the magazine which is the exclusive cover story, in order for it to stand out I wrote the words in block capitals and used the words to make the reader feel more engaged, 'Why Pride And Prejudice Worked For Me'. Lastly to fill the last gap on my magazine front cover I used an image of a music note, it was small enough to not block out the central image but not so small that it wasn't notable to the readers eye. I think the image of the music note promotes the less formal part of the magazine, 'Including The Latest Must Have Tunes To Get You Motivated'. As the magazines audience is young students, and I am trying to make the point that the magazine is written and produced by a student, it comes as no surprise that people will be interested in the music inductry and what they produce. Therefore I added in this section to help get the readers wanting to buy the magazine, again using personal pronouns to make them feel a part of it. Handing in this as an initial front cover, I was pleased with the overall result. I had stuck to my 'old school' theme and used different tools and targets to create different effects. 

Draft Ideas For School Magazine

After having completed a few careful analysis' of magazine front covers and ideas for emulating them, I have created a draft as a rough template for what I would like my final front cover to be. It is the first stage of my rough draft as I need to prepare time to find and picture my central image. As shown below there is a very vague template in which I will put towards to my final assignment. I will use this as a clear guideline to how I want my magazine to be presented.   

Familiarising With Photoshop

As the weeks draw closer to having to think seriously about our preliminary assignment task, I have in spare time made adaptions to a photo of my choice on photoshop. Although this will not be the image I will be using on my front cover, I found myself needing to understand properly how photoshop works and the skills and tools you need to edit pictures. The image shown below is a screeen shot of my work, after successful use with the tool bar given in photoshop. In the future I will carry through these skills with me to ensure that my magazine cover is presented as professionally as can be.

Along with this I have also had a go at using the filter gallery provided in photoshop, where I altered many photos to create different styles which can then be taken forward when using my magazine as it needs to be colour and exciting to gain the younger audiences interest. There are some examples shown below;

 

Emulating Magazine Front Covers

Over a series of lesson I have looked closely at the way in which magazine front covers are presented and how they meet their audience needs. As shown below I have complied a detailed analysis of an 'Elle' magazine front cover, it is this work however (shown below) which has allowed to make clear comparisons on different types of magazines, thus allowing me to have a clearer idea on how I would like my school magazine front cover to be presented.

I particularly like the magazine presented on the left here featuring Jennifer Aniston. It is eye catching and gives off a refreshing yet contemparary style. I will look at emulating this sort of style in my later magazine as coursework.

After looking directly at the specific features presented on a magazine front cover, of all ranges, it has become clear that the mathshead of the magazine is the part in which makes a stand. It is normally partially covered by the main image, have been successful enough for its audience to know what magazine it is. The main features on a magazine include eye catching commentary and exclusive insights as to what the magazine will entail.

After careful consideration and analysis I have decided that I will plan and put forward my ideas of making my own school magazine for the higher end of the school, preferably sixth form, this way I will allow it to have a sophisticated outlook yet keeping it classic with an 'old school' style.

Examples Of Given Work Through Photoshop

As stated before, the work I have provided through the use of photoshop has allowed me to learn new skills and techniques in which I can put forward into my coursework.

Following on from the post below where it was explained about the work of adding text to images in photoshop, these are some expamples of my work;

Example 1 is clearly shown on the left side here, this is a picture of Shantel Vansanten, a well known character from the Tv series of One Tree Hill. In order the get the picture to provide noticable text, I was advised to use the eraser tool to remove the background and replace with a plain colour, I chose the slighty greyscale colour due to the fact I wanted it to look sophisticated with the text standing out. Example 1 differes from the example below as I used the 'Text' tool in photoshop and just added my own text directly onto the picture, this has the disadvantage that there is nt a variety of different styled fonts, however this was only in order to practise the use of text in photoshop.

This is Example number 2, again clearly shown on the right hand side. For this picutre, I used the same style of using the eraser tool and creating a greyscale background. However, through the use of the website 'Dafont' I was able to create two very different looking styles of text and apply them to my image. I think this example is more successful as it allows a wider range of examples of fonts and texts to be used, it also allows you to have the advantage of moving and styling the text to however you want it, this will be particulary using when looking ahead and focusing on my coursework covers.

Overall the work I have proceeded to do on photoshop has given me the correct skills I need to carry out my coursework.