Research and planning: Masthead Collage

Indie Masthead Collage

Before drafting my magazine I also decided to do a collage of different mastheads from indie magazines, therefore I would have an idea of which font/text would match my magazine genre. Here is a collage of Indie magazine mastheads: 

Whilst creating this collage I discovered that there was an on going theme with the text and was often black, white or red. I also realized that the text's were not complicated, but were simple block texts and was all easy to understand. 

Research and planning: Indie Collage

Indie Collage

Before starting to design my magazine I did a Indie Collage for inspiration and to see if there is any ongoing themes, what I could include in my magazine, here is my collage: 

After making my collage I realized there are a lot of symbols such as crosses, triangles etc. I also realized there are props used in pictures what are usually vintage such as old camera's or stereos and also guitars and instruments, finally I realized that there is a autumn theme to many indie things, with leaves and outdoors etc. I will try to include as many of these into my magazine as possible to make sure it matches the genre magazine I am trying to create.

Research and planning: Indie Magazine Analysis

Indie Magazine Analysis

The target audience for this magazine is not for younger people as there is swearing on the front cover and this would not be appropriate for children to read. The type of people who would read this magazine would probably be young adults and people who listen or are interested in indie/alternative music. The magazine suggests it is a indie magazine as the make up is not 'casual' make up what you would see people wearing everyday and is different and not the 'norm'. Also there is a lot of bands/indie artists mentioned which shows that this is a indie magazine, as if it was a pop magazine pop artists would be shown/mentioned on the cover.  

The image suggests that the model is vulnerable as there is a heading saying "I feel so alone", she is also covering her face which may suggest she is on the edge about something and finally she is wearing no clothes which means she is bare. In contrast to this the image also suggests she is strong as she is making direct and intense eye contact and has red hair which is seen as 'fiery red'. Therfor this picture is intriguing as it sends different messages and will draw in the readers or viewers attention. There are no props actually used in this image but things are used to make the image and cover stand out, such as blue eye shadow is used to match the blue in the cover stories, dark nails are used to convey her strength and slight darkness and finally her vibe rent red hair to bring colour to the cover and match the red of the 'Q' section in the top right corner. 

Research and planning: Evaluation

College Magazine Evaluation

To produce material appropriate for the target audience and task I made sure that it was suitable for students to read, as that was my target audience. To do this I made sure my magazine had a picture of a student, therefor they would know that students are also the target audience. I made sure I used the correct font size's such as the masthead being a lot larger than just the cover stories, I did this correctly and think that all my text's were in the correct proportion to each other and the magazine. The only thing I would have improved about my font's was on the contents page change the list of the page's to a smaller size, and change the font as I don't seem it seems very professional. I would also like to add more cover stories to my front cover as I feel that it looks blank. 

To show my understanding of conventions of layout and page design I stuck to the three colour rule and made sure I put my photo and cover stories in the correct place. I did this by putting the photo in the centre as I wanted to show that the magazine was organised, so it would suggest that the college is also. I didn't stick to the three colour rule on my front cover as I only used yellow and blue whereas my plan was to use yellow, pink and blue as they are the colours used on the college logo, although there is a lot of brown on the cover so that may be classed as an extra colour. On my contents page I did stick to the three colour rule and used yellow, pink and blue on my contents page. 

I used ICT appropriately for the task set by using both photoshop and in design so I could show my skills on two programs, before creating my magazine I also did extra tasks so I got used to the software and could use it to the best of my ability when actually completing the task. I also appropriately integrated illustration and text by using the same colours and same text on both the front cover and contents page so it was obvious that my front cover and contents page was from the same magazine. 

I made sure I shot a variety of material for my front cover, so that if anything went wrong or I didn't like the picture or something small about the picture there was many I could use for a backup. I also uploaded the ones I wasn't over keen on or ones that I didn't shoot properly to say why I did not choose to use them. 

I manipulated and edited photographs so that they would be appropriate to the context for presentation, I manipulated the background image of the college to make it brighter. I didn't manipulate or edit the photographs as much as I should have as I should have cropped the photograph down as my model to make it into a more medium close-up than a mid shot. 

Research and planning: College Magazine Contents Page

College Magazine Contents Page

Here is my contents page, just as I was finishing it on InDesign:

Here is my completed College Magazine contents page, which I created on InDesign:

Research and planning: My College Magazine, Front Cover

 My College Magazine Front Cover

Here is my completed front cover that I created in Photoshop:

Research and planning: My Magazine So Far

My Magazine So Far



So far I have added and edited the background and added the picture. 

Research and planning: Taking The Medium Close-up

Taking The Medium Close-up



I went out to take pictures for the main image on the front cover, I used a cannon camera, a ..... and a note book as a prop as it is a college magazine and I wanted people to know that my model was a student.

Here are the pictures I took

 I didn't want to use these pictures as they look too obvious and I wanted my picture to look more casual so I decided to go out and take a few more..

 Here is my final picture what I have decided to use as I think it looks casual and i like the lighting of the photo:

Research and planning: Prop And Costume List

Prop And Costume List For Images 

Props

Book/Books

Costume 

White t-shirt 

Student card

Location 

Hyde Clarendon College 

Research and planning: College Magazine Contents Draft

College Magazine Contents Draft

After making the draft of my front cover, I also decided to do a draft of my contents page, so again I would know exactly how to make it when I was on indesign. Here is my draft:

 

Research and planning: College Magazine Front Cover Draft

College Magazine Front Cover Drafts 

Before making my magazine cover on photoshop I drew up a draft of how I would like my magazine to look, I put where they would be, what they would be and the colour things would be. 

After doing a simple draft I wanted to add more detail so it would be easier to create my magazine, I added a few more details on this draft. For example instead of just writing 'title' or 'cover line' I actually wrote what they would say. So it looked like this:

Research and planning: Possible magazine pictures/background

Possible Magazine Backgrounds

Before creating my magazine, I went around the college and took pictures so that I would have the pictures all on my imac so I was prepared and ready to make my magazine. Here are some of the pictures I took what I might use as my magazine background or to use for a picture in the magazine: 

 

Research and planning: Mastheads Fonts

Masthead Fonts 

We was given three magazine mastheads, one a music magazine called 'Death Metal', another music magazine called 'Popworld' and a film magazine called 'Popcorn'. We had to choose fonts for each masthead which represents the magazine or genre well. This is what I came up with: 

 

I chose the font for the masthead 'Death Metal' as it looks bold, and I feel like it shows death metal or darkness, I used red because I relate death metal to red and black, as it is dark/danger like.

 

I chose the font for the masthead 'Popworld' as it looks like a popular, simple font, which looks like one you would see on a pop magazine, I also chose the colour as in between blue and purple as blue is stereotypically seen as a boys colour, and purple as a girls colour, therefore the colour is in the middle therefor the magazine will cater for everybody and wouldn't just have a specific target audience.

 

I chose the font for the masthead 'Popcorn' as it looks animated, which links to the cinema or films, and as 'Popcorn' is a film magazine I feel like it portrays the magazine well. I also chose red as it is a popular colour and again would not narrow down the target audience. 

Research and planning: College Magazine Interviews

College Magazine Interviews 

I went around college to ask students the interview questions I last posted on my blog. I did this to see what students would like in there college magazine and will also use there responses to make my magazine and use ideas from the answers of the students. 

Research and planning: Interview Questions

Interview Questions 

Before drafting my college magazine, I will interview students from Hyde Clarendon College and ask what they would like there magazine to be like, as they are the target audience. 

The 5 questions I will ask are: 

• What is the first thing you look for in a magazine?
• What cover lines/stories would you like to read in the college magazine?
• What type of image would draw you into a college magazine?
• WHat 3 colours would you use for a Hyde Clarendon College magazine?
• What title do you think would represent our college magazine well? 

Research and planning: Medium Close-up Images

Medium Close-up Images

A medium close-up is an image of someone from the chest upwards, like this: 

Medium close-ups can be used in numerous things in media, such as album covers, like this: 

Medium close-ups are also used in magazines, like these: 

Research and planning: Magazine Analysis 2

Magazine Analysis 2 

This college magazine uses different features to draw in its target audience such as students, which are young adults. I can tell this as there is a masthead saying 'College' this shows that it is a college magazine and the masthead to inform readers of what it is and to draw in its target audience it is also very large and bold to draw in attention. A image is also used on the front of the magazine of a young adult holding numerous books titled with things such as 'Law, Buisness and Society', this also conveys that the magazine is a college magazine as there is a young man who is clearly studying as he has numerous books. You can also tell that this is an american college magazine as the cover lines use american vocabulary, for example "spring break" and "campus casual". To make the magazine look official and profesional a issue number, date of realise and barcode is used. The barcode is found in the bottom left corner also with the price to inform students how much the magazine is, students may also find this useful as they could scan the barcode with there phone to find other issues if they like the magazine and would like to read more. There is a website URL at the top right of the magazine just under the masthead which also conveys that this magazine is directed towards young adults, as it was a magazine directed towards an older generation it would be less likely to have a website URL on as the internet is usually understood more by younger generations. Numerous cover lines are used to draw in the attention of students and to also intrigue them so they want to read the whole of the story, one cover line used on this magazine is 'the ultimate spring break escape', you can tell this is directed towards students as if you are older and not a student you would not have a 'spring break' and people have different ways they enjoy to spend there spring break, which varies in different generations. An other cover line used is 'make money on campus' this would intrigue students as they would be living alone and extra money would be ideal for them whereas an adult would not need to know how to make money on a campus as they would not be living there, unlike students.

In my magazine I will also use a masthead, issue number, date, barcode and cover lines.

Research and planning: College Magazine Analysis

College Magazine Analysis 1 

This college magazine looks professional and has used different features, such as colour. The blue has been used to convey calm and peaceful, so that people know that they will be in a calming learning environment and will get a good education. A picture has been used (of a man in a suit in front of the college) so that the college looks professional, which makes the college look good. Also the front of the college is informative as people will see there college/where they are going or may choose to go. A quote has also been used on the front which reads 'Bridging the divide', this makes the college have a good appearance as people will feel reassured that there will be no divide, will be safe and will not be bullied. Even if they was bullied this suggests the college has a 0 tolerance for bullying and something would immediately done about it. The front cover also implies that it is informative with the quote 'What's going on in academies and free schools' this suggests that the magazine will tell you a lot. The title is also big and bold therefor it stands out and draws in the reader and would also attract attention.
I would also like to include an image, quote and color on my front cover.

Research and planning: Adobe Indesign Tutorial

Adobe Indesign Tutorial 

For this tutorial we had to make a film review of our choice. I chose The Hunger Games, I used different tools and colours to make it simple to use or to match the theme of 'The Hunger Games'.

The tools/methods I used were:

• Editing the page so there were columns and a margin, like other magazines/reviews. To do this I used the create guides tool.
• I then had to insert my text and place it into each column.
• I moved the text using the 
• editing text 
• inserting picture (drag and drop)
• fitting tool (make the picture fit to border)
• changing the color of the background

Research and planning: Photoshop Challenge

Photoshop Challenge

For this photoshop challenge I had numerous instructions I had to complete and had to write on a sheet how I did them.
The first thing I had to do was open up a A4 document to work on, I did this by going into file, new and then international paper.
The second thing I had to do was write the text 'AS Media Studies' in Century Gothic in size 24 font, I did this by clicking into the text on the correct layer and then changing the font on the drop down box and also the size to 24 on a separate drop down box.
The third thing I was instructed to do was change the colour of the text to res and then center it in the middle of the page, to do this I clicked into the text, again on the correct layer and selected into the colour pallet, and changed it from black to red.
Fourthly, I was asked to change the background colour of the page to blue. I did this by going on the background layer, again clicking into the colour pallet and changing it from white to blue.
The fifth thing on the list to do was highlight the text and give it a drop shadow. To do this I  went into the layer, selecting the drop down box at the top of the page called 'layer' and went into layer style and changed the layer style from there.
The sixth thing I had to do was place a picture of a person of the internet on it under the text. I did this by going onto www.google.com and finding a picture of Borris Johnson, I then saved this picture into the computer and then putting it into Photoshop
The final thing what I had to complete was to change the colour of his hair, to do this I selected the brush, selected a colour in the colour palette and changed the opacity. I then zoomed into the picture so it would be more accurate and coloured in his hair red.

Research and planning: Photoshop Skin Tutorial

Photoshop Skin Tutorial 

My photoshop skin tutorial which I used tools and methods such as;

• Enlarging and decreasing the image size
• The brush tool 
• The sponge tool
• Changing the colours of brush's and sponge's
• Changing the density of the colour/brush 
• The spot healing brush 
• Adding and editing different layers. 

Research and planning; Photoshop CD Tutorial

Photoshop CD Tutorial 

I created a CD cover using photoshop, here are the different tools and methods I have used:

• The magic wand 
• The transform controls
• The quick selection wand
• Editing the colours of backgrounds and shapes 
• Changing the order of layers so certain layers are brought to the front/back
• The text tool to add a title 
• Using filters (the wave filter).