Contents page process

Here is how much I had done when I first started doing my contents page.

The photoshoot

 

Here are the images I have taken from the photo shoot. I feel as if not all of these pictures were a success because of the lighting in the background of most of the images. I feel as if some pictures did not fit the theme, however I will be using the images with the guitar to represent country music. Moreover, these images will be used in the contents page because I was unable to reschedule time with the model to redo the images. I have now got a new model for my cover and DPS.

Props

I have decided to use a guitar as a prop for my magazine because the instrument seems to associate well with country music and I feel it would be a good prop to use.  I have also used a hat that looks very country.

My model

 

Here is an image of my model that I'll be using for my magazine cover and dps.

Who's modelling for my magazine

I have chosen a female model for my front page. I have chosen a girl to do it because the target audience is mainly aimed at a female audience so it seemed more relevant. I will be uploading an image of my model soon.

Case Study Redraft 2

 

Here is a redraft of my second case study which helped be achieve a higher grade

 

 

 

Case Study Redraft

 

 

I had a chance to redraft my case studies which I did. This helped improve my grade and helped me gain a better understanding of how the magazines should be represented.



 

Magazine Mock Cover and Contents page Evaluation

Evaluation

We were asked to make a school magazine cover and contents page that had to do with our college Leyton sixth form.  This task helped us develop skills that would come in handy with our music magazines.

Magazine Cover

Image

We had to take a photo of a student in a medium close up form which was from the upper waste and up. I think the medium close up seemed appropriate for the magazine because it took up most of the page which seemed relevant. The student in the picture is looking at the camera which I think is a good way of engaging with the audience and drawing them in.  I had used a canon 12mnp camera and had taken the photograph in the hallway where light had been exposed on the student which highlighted the students face.  

Layout

The layout of the magazine seems to look like a typical magazine arrangement. This is because of the information I had gathered in which I learnt what makes a magazine look appropriate and what it needs. I learnt where to put cover lines in appropriate places so that when it is on a magazine shelf, the cover lines on the left is what attracts the audience so I tried to make the teasers seem catchy. The cover lines are well lined together so it seems professional as opposed to making it look messy if they were put in various places. One of the main cover lines, ‘Geek it up’ anchors the picture of the student which I think is a good feature to have in the magazine. It anchors the picture in the sense that the student is wearing big glasses that look ‘geek like’ which reflects the text.

Colour scheme and font

For the masthead, I made it bold so it could stand out as it is one of the main features on the front cover. The masthead is shown to be dark green which contrasts well with the image, making it stand out even more. I chose the colour because it seemed to go well with the image and would attract a bigger target audience, the reason being, if it happened to be a pastel colour e.g. lilac, then the female audience would find the magazine more appealing. This wouldn’t be appropriate for a college magazine so I went for a more elusive colour, which I think works well with the colour scheme. The colour scheme consists of three colour, dark green, orange and white. I think these three colours work well together and don’t just attract one group of a target audience but a variety. I chose orange and white because they contrasted well with each other and looked bold against the background. I only used three colours because it makes the layout seem more formal and professional as well as properly put together. The font I used for the cover lines was franklin gothic heavy which I think looked formal and well used as well as relevant for a college magazine cover. If I used an italic or curly font, the cover would look inappropriate and completely irrelevant. For the masthead, I used the font Copperplate gothic light. This ‘gothic’ font contrasted well with the cover line and made them seem well put together. 

 

Contents Page

Images

I went around the college and took pictures of students doing things, such as, using the computers and studying in the library. I took various shots of pictures ranging from close up to long shots so I could show the college surroundings which seemed relevant for a contents page. I used a canon 12 mnp camera for these shots making the images look clear and professional which is important for a magazine to make it look formal.

Layout

The layout of the contents page looks like a typical contents page you would get in a magazine which I think is appropriate.  I have set the contents page out on a double page spread with sections that categorise what is held in the magazine. The sections included are ‘on the cover’ which will include the features that I have on the cover. The contents page also includes regulars which helps create a pattern of what is featured in the publication. I added information underneath the sub headings to elaborate on what that individual article is about. This helped the layout look more like a contents page as that is what you generally see in contents pages.  

Colour Scheme and Font

I have used a colour scheme for my contents page which consists of the colours, maroon, green and white. Green has connotations that make you think of the environment and greenery which I think is appropriate for a school magazine. I thought the maroon and white contrasted well with the green, white helped make the contents page look less dull. I used these colours so that they seem relevant for a wider audience if both male and female, the reason being, if I used pastel colours, a female audience would be able to relate to it more. The font I used for the masthead is Perpetua Titling MT. The font seemed simple and suitable and contrasted well with the fonts I used for the other texts for the subheadings etc. the other font included on the page is Myriad web pro. I think this font also seemed appropriate because it was simple and relevant to a school magazine as opposed to other fonts, for example, a curly/ italic font would look too formal or feminine for a general school magazine.

 

 

What I could improve  

I am generally happy with my mock cover and contents page but feel as if I could have added or improved a few things. I think my cover seemed a bit too simple and I could’ve added more cover lines to it to make it seem more interesting and as if more is going on. Looking back at my contents page, it didn’t seem as attractive as it should of because of the background colour that happened to look like a dull purple/grey colour. However I think the font colours stood out well against it.

Weaknesses and Strengths

I think my weakness throughout this task was that I didn’t have very good Photoshop and InDesign skills and learnt as I went along. I think if I had the advantage of being familiar with these software’s, it would have helped make my mock pages look more attractive and professional.

I think my strength in this task was that I developed skills on how to use Photoshop and InDesign. I learnt as I went along which comes to my advantage in the sense that I have now improved my abilities that will be reflected in my actual magazine features.

Photo shoot preparations

I have been looking for props and locations online and around the city that would be relevant for my magazine genre. I have booked studio time for next for my photo shoot. I will soon be updating who I will be using for a model and what locations I will be taking pictures in. 

My magazine Proposal

I done part of my presentation prezi and the rest on PowerPoint. Prezi link:
http://prezi.com/e6rkat9jkiaj/magazine-proposal/

Photography

 

We learnt new photography skills that would help us gain a better understanding of how to take photographs for our magazines.

 

I learnt that Colourama meant the black backdrop that is used in the background behind the model.

I know that there are two lights that stand on either side of the model that are used to channel great light across the subject. These lights contain something known as soft boxes which have square grids in them to help diffuse the light and create perfect symmetry of light. Along with the flashlights, we learnt that poly boards were used to reflect/bounce light of the model. Reflector boards are also used to help compose light on the model, gold gives a warmer tone to the face as opposed to silver, which creates a harder light upon the models face.

 

Moreover, we learnt how to use a Nikon D7000 camera which holds 16 million mega pixels. The camera is 3.5 LDC.

There is two camera settings, A and S.

The A stands for aperture priority: how much light there is in the lens

The S stands for shutter priority: how quick or slow light comes through the lens.

 

There is a remote control on the lighting known as Godox. The camera transmits a signal and the godox receives it.

I still have to prersent my magazine propasal to the class so I'll put it up soon

Magazine newstand

 

 

The photo I have taken is of a newsstand at a newsagent and had used an iPhone to take the picture. The layout of it is shown to have kid’s magazines and comics at the bottom. This tells us that it is visible for children to see and easier to reach. The freebies from the children magazines are shown clearly which could attract the young target audience even more. This layout looks persuasive in the sense that the child would want to buy it. The colours at the bottom are visibly more colourful which could further attract the young target audience. From looking at the children magazines, I have learnt the layout does not need to show the cover lines to attract the audience because the colours and freebies displayed happen to do that anyway.  Moreover, the kid’s magazines are shown to be mixed with teen magazines such as Bliss and Shout. They are not overlapping each other as both magazines are shown clearly. However the teen magazines are not as visible and look well blended amongst the others. The middle shelf of the layout would be the one you look at first. This shelf consists of women magazines and TV magazines. I think these have been put there because they are the most popular ones. The middle shelf also holds individual magazine holders which could be because theses magazine are more commonly bought. The bottom shelf and the middle shelf are the only ones that do not have the publications overlapping each other as they normally should do. However, you can see from the top shelf that the magazines are over lapping and the cover lines and teasers that are more important and attention grabbing are shown. These magazines are gossip magazines and on top of them would be adult magazines. These magazines are usually placed there so they are out of reach for children.  I have also realised that the stand has newspapers laid out right at the bottom of the shelf which is appropriate and common for newsstands to have.

Newsagents and supermarkets are one way of distributing a publication amongst others. Newsagents are known to buy 20 copies of the publications. If for example, fifteen of those publications are sold, then the remaining five are sent back to the distributor. This means the buyer will not lose any money which comes to a huge advantage for their business in the sense that they are still making a profit and attracting customers to their shop.  Another type of distribution could include online distribution. This the biggest type of distribution because it can be easily accessed and once you have subscribed to the magazine, you do not have to go out and get it because it comes to your doorstep.  Moreover, when people subscribe to a magazine, they have the advantage of receiving a free gift which is a good technique in persuading people to buy it. It makes the publication a bigger success and I think it is a good way of distributing a magazine.

Another way of accessing a magazine is electronically. This can be done via a kindle, ipad etc. I think this is a good way of publishing a magazine because technology has become a part of everyday life. People can access these via phone apps which mean they don’t have to waste paper and it takes up less room as the magazines are all stored in one place.

The distribution method I would use is subscribing to a magazine and having it delivered to me so that I don’t have to go out which comes as a huge benefit. I like the fact that the magazine comes to you monthly and becomes a regular read.