Original Evaluation;

For my main task I created a Front page, Contents page and a Double page spread for a music magazine idea of my choice. I followed this brief: create a  front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. All images and text used must be original, produced by you - minimum of four images.

 

The first aspect of my magazine that challenged typical conventions of existing products would be the layout of the front cover. The image takes up the entire of the page, an aspect you would not usually see in pre-existing products as it restricts the colour and amount of text you can use around it. Another variation of typical conventions is the masthead. Most magazines, especially ones I based my final idea around, have their masthead as an acronym with a bold colour block behind it so it can be repeated when the next issue is out. My masthead does not have a colour block behind it, however it does have a red border around it which can be repeated or changed to fit with a specific issue, the font of the masthead would remain the same if it were to be published.

After researching the conventions of magazine house styles. I kept my colour schemes and font styling’s consistent throughout my front cover, contents and double page spread. I also kept the images consistent. I made sure the images used on my double page spread were from the same shoot used on my front cover

After looking at pre-existing music magazines, I decided to base my original idea on magazines like Kerrang! And Metal Hammer. I researched the conventions used in those magazines and based them in my idea. The typical audience for those magazines is SEG C – E2 so I based my idea on the same SEG range. When I changed my Idea for my magazine I decided to change the magazines I had based my original idea upon. I changed them to magazines such as Q and NME as they  are more wide ranging in genre and bought more by my target audience (students and young people aged 15-25) and I also decided to incorporate ideas from Vogue magazine seen as my new idea is involving an image that could be related to being a model.

I took an image that would be more likely seen in an issue of Vogue as my model looked very fashionable and “classy”. The image would not be usually be seen on the cover of a music magazine as it doesn’t fit typical conventions of having a full body shot of an artist incorporating something to do with music e.g. microphones or instruments. I believe the image to be very eye catching as the model is positioned in the centre and looking straight forward at the camera.

I used Adobe Photoshop CS3 to edit my images and compile my front cover, contents and double page spread. My first idea for my front cover was thought together using digital and hand drawn layouts, and was the pieced together using Photoshop. Although my first idea involved a lot of precise editing and manipulation, it did not work well as a magazine cover. I believe the main reason it did not work was because of the boldness of the colour schemes and the fonts used.

My second and final idea was not as complex but still required the use of Photoshop. The image didn’t need cropping and compiling like my first idea but did need a small amount of tweaks e.g. airbrushing, sharpening and adjustment in overall colour to black and white. After struggling with my first idea, I wanted to keep my new idea as simple but effective as possible.  

The images I used for my first front cover idea were photos I took at a concert. I thought they would be effective because they were original and of a real existing artist. However, when looking over key conventions of music magazines I realised a front cover image is usually taken in a studio and not from an actual concert unless is image of very high quality. So when changing my idea, I decided to re-shoot photos of a model in a proper studio. My final image used on my new front cover idea still challenges music magazines conventions despite being more effective than my first idea, because it uses an extreme close up of my model instead of a full body shot which is usually used in music magazines and has no background unlike most cover images.

I believe by it challenging conventions it adds more to its appeal by standing out from the rest of magazines but not being too different to be seen as a different genre of magazine.

The colour scheme on my new idea is a lot simpler and less bold as my first idea. The colours are consistent throughout the entire magazine and the same font is used for my contents page and my article.

Because of the size of my magazine title, I did not want to repeat it on the contents page despite it usually being done in existing magazines, so I thought that seeing as the title is “Arrow” I could create an arrow shaped border in order for the audience to see the continuity of the title and see that the contents page belonged to the magazine.

From looking back at my preliminary task and my first idea for my music magazine I feel I have learnt to not go with an idea if it only demonstrates examples of good digital manipulation because it will most likely challenge the conventions of creating a successful product.

Initial Idea;

I completed my first initial idea fully but due to using real images from a concert I attended and a lack of knowledge with the software used for digital manipulation, I decided that it was not the best idea when finished. After many attempts at trying to design it better within the genre conventions, I decided to change my idea fully to a complete new genre and convention style.

After receiving feedback from my tutors on my final product and obtaining a grade I thought was fair but I was unhappy with, I have decided to re-submit my AS Media coursework.

I am going show more evidence of planning as on my first attempt, due to changing my idea half way through the production process I lacked time to show thorough preparations.

I am going to tweak my main cover layout a small amount as I was very satisfied with the original, my contents page and double page spread will be my main area of focus in terms of actual production.

Digital Layout Ideas;

Genre and Analysis;

For my initial magazine idea I have chosen the genre of: Rock/ Metal.

I have analysed a few existing magazines that fit this genre and I have learnt what key features they include to appeal in the most effective way to their target audiences;

-Bands of similar genres
-Dominantly dark colour schemes(matches the genre)
-Don't discriminate against sexes but do tend to lean more towards male audiences
-Include wide varieties of information (bands, gigs, reviews)

Main Task Brief;

Main task: the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. All images and text used must be original, produced by you - minimum of four images.


Language- What language is suitable for my audience
                  - How advanced the product will be (Level of vocabulary)
                  - Language that will appeal to the audience(not to formal but formal where appropriate)


Institution- Representing the magazine positively.
                - Write to attract new people to the bands not to discourage them.


Ideology- Represent the magazines ideology on every page
               - Represent a vast range of fans Ideology (and my own) in sync with the magazines
              

Audience- The age range of the target audience
                 - What gender
                 - Whether I am aiming it to only fans or bands.


Representation- How I present the institution
                           - How I keep the magazine unbiased towards stereotypes(Sexuality, Ethnicity, Gender, etc.)
                           

L-The camera angle which I believe will be most effective for my products front cover will be a mid-shot/close up, as it will capture the emotional effect of the eyes of my artist  . The colour schemes that i would like to incorporate are Blacks, Reds and Whites as they are bold but sophisticated.

I-  I want my product to be a next issue in an existing series. The thing that i would do to make my magazine different to pre-existing magazines is identify things in other magazines which i would see as weaknesses then try my best to make them better in my product.

I-The message that I aim to get across to my target audience is to inform them of the latest news within my chosen genre. I aim for the reader to be able to look at the magazine cover and know instantly whether they would purchase and read it or not, I think it's important to establish the genre of the magazine straight away by using the front cover so the audience will be able to recognise whether it would appeal to their tastes.

A-The aim is for my magazine to be targeted at an audience of roughly within the mainstream of 15 to 25 year olds. I have chosen this audience because they are one of the main targets that other pre-existing products aim towards and I am a part of that category so I believe I can relate a lot with what this audience would look for in a magazine

R- I will keep my magazine unstereo typed and for my double page spread I will stick to an interview format so as not to portray biased opinions of myself, the creator, but of the artist's personal beliefs.

Evaluation;

For this task I followed a brief to create a front cover and contents page for a new college magazine of my choice. I analysed the brief and broke it down into key points to follow in order to get the greatest effect from my final product.

I analysed previous students work(on their blogs) and pre-existing college magazines in order to gain perspective on what conventions needed to be present for a college magazine, I then put these conventions to use in my draft designing. I worked out a design that, in my opinion, would have most success as a magazine able for actual production.

I thought carefully about what my target audience would be and what style of language would be suitable to include. I established that as the product I was aiming to produce was a draft of a college magazine, that the audience should be college students(16-22) and also college staff and parents(22+). I chose to aim it at staff and parents in order to widen my target and because staff and parents tend to show an interest in what is going on in a students education and in their life, so the magazine acts as a monthly update into what is going on in the student community. And obviously, to the students, it informs them on upcoming events/reviews and covers articles the students want to read and be involved in.

After drafting out some layout ideas and convention specifics, I began to create my first draft of the front page. I used a digital camera to take several images of a model(following the instructions in the brief of using a Medium Close-Up shot) and chose the most accurate image that fit. I then edited the image in Adobe Photoshop CS3 on the college computers. I tweaked the models hair and face slightly but I mainly focussed on the back ground, I cropped the image so only the model remained on an empty background and transferred the image on the draft background and layout I had previously created. I placed the image where I thought it grasped most attention and worked around it. I followed key styles of colour and text; I used the Wyke College logo and text colouring for article titles and the magazine title. I also place article images in order to take up some empty space and add a greater attraction to the magazine which would entice the reader to explore the magazine.

Due to the speed of the college computers I did encounter a fair amount of problems involving the blogging website in which I posted all my work(www.blogger.com) and Photoshop, but these did not hinder my work rate to badly as I could do work at home or on Microsoft word and upload it to the internet at a later date.

I was quite pleased with the overall outcome of my final front cover and contents page but I do believe if I had managed my time more accurately and hadn’t encountered as many technological problems as I did, I could have improved on the quality of my editing and arrangements to produce a neater product.

Original Front Page & Contents;

Draft Ideas For Front Cover Design;

These images were taken from the internet and edited using Photoshop CS3. I did not use these images as they were not my own, nor did they meet the requirements specified in the brief.

Unused Photos;

I did not use these images as they did not meet the requirements of the brief and some of them were not properly in focus.

This is the final image I edited and used for my front cover

Magazine Analysis;

Here I have analysed and made clear the key conventions of college magazine front covers to help towards the layout and contents of my own.

Design;

For my magazine I will try to design it in the most successful way to appeal to my target audience:

-The Layout-
-Not to cluttered but not to spacious
-Image placement; arrange the images used into effective positions(Main images usually central to grasp readers attention)
-Don't give too much information away on the front page; entice people to pick up the magazine and read it


-Text-
-Use a font that is easy to read but not plain and boring
-Use minimal text on front page and contents page
-Use regular vocabulary(nothing to simple or advanced)


-Colour-
-Use a specific, fluent colour code throughout the magazine
-Do not use colours that clash
-Make sure you can read text at all times(e.g. do not place black text over a black background)
-Make sure the colours used are not too harsh on readers eyes but not too dim(resulting in eye strain)

Brief;

Preliminary exercise: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally you must produce a mock up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of DTP.

I will be using camera shot 5 for my preliminary exercise.

For this exercise to work to all the top conventions of a college magazine I will consider:

-The Language Involved-
-What language is suitable for my audience
-How advanced the product will be (Level of vocabulary)
-Language that will appeal to the audience(not to formal)

-The Institution-
-Representing the college positively (no criticism or negativity; unless in a "Your Opinion" section)
-Write to attract new people to the college not to discourage them

-The Ideology-
-Represent the colleges ideology on every page
-Represent a vast range of students Ideology (and my own) in sync with the colleges
-The college's expression and opinion of education importance

-The Target Audience-
-The age range of the target audience
-What gender
-Whether I am aiming it to only students or teachers/parents and college representatives

-The Representation-
-How I present the institution
-How I keep the magazine unbiased towards stereotypes(Sexuality, Ethnicity, Gender, etc.)
-Show the college's ideology of equality