Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Friday, 26 March 2010
Main Task Final
Over the last few weeks i have been creating my final design. we were given around 3 weeks to finish it all which at the time seemed hard but after while got easier. I started off with some plans and mock ups. I showed where i was going to put some of the content and how the layout was going to be. I found that doing a plan, i was able to decide what would be good or bad in the magazine. I also asked some of my friends to comment on it and give me any advice regarding improvements. One bit of improvement in particular was to put the main picture in the middle. i applied this as shown below:
This gave the image a sense of importannce which is good for attracting readers.
I also arranged the images (mainly of the people) to show where the bit of the article about them is. I also cropped them using the cookie cutter to add more excitment. To show that the magazine isn't dull and to suit the type of magazine, i added a questionnaire featuring one of the band members and i made it so it was a bit of banta and not a dull survey.
The main issue with making this project look professional was the images i was going to use. As we wernt allowed to use any of the internet, we had to take our own or use ones that we had previously taken. I instead took pictures of 3 friends and gave them instruments and a band name etc. I had to choose my background carefully as it was a rock/indie magazine. I found a wall with a bit of graffiti and decided that would be perfect. I took one of them singly eg Ryan posing for a shot, then Stew posing with a guitar, I then took a picture of both of them together. As Dan was unavailiable for picture taking, i had to cut a previous image taken of him and add him with the other 2. I then added the cropped image to one of the pictures i took of wembley. I also edited other images so that i only got the face of the actor and added it to the black background of the magazine:
As most magazines have a bar code, i had to make one in Paint:
With the front page, i decdided to follow an NME stlye of cover, with a band member taking up one half of the page, and having some contents on the other:
For the contents page, i decided to follow the same style. I cropped out the image of Ryan leaving just the wall with graffiti on it. I enlarged it to cover the whole page and made it my background. This helps it tie in with the front page and stop viewers from getting different views of music and genre from the first 2 pages:
In this task, i found that using photoshop can be challenging and frustrating but once you get the hang of it and using all its functions, it can be pretty usuful. One problem i had to overcome was getting the images to appear in colour and not black and white. I tried to play around with the colour options but in the end i asked a technition for help which was successful. I now dont have any trouble with black and white images.
Photoshop is also good at bringing out the best in the images you edit. It allows you to edit them to what ever you want them to fit or be.
One negative thing about photoshop however is trying to get to grips with all the different uses of the prgramme. For a first time user, it didnt offer a lot of help and guidence as some of the other microsoft programmes. This posed difficulties in the beggigning.
I feel that this was a better improvement than last years work i done:
New:
Old:
This gave the image a sense of importannce which is good for attracting readers.
I also arranged the images (mainly of the people) to show where the bit of the article about them is. I also cropped them using the cookie cutter to add more excitment. To show that the magazine isn't dull and to suit the type of magazine, i added a questionnaire featuring one of the band members and i made it so it was a bit of banta and not a dull survey.
The main issue with making this project look professional was the images i was going to use. As we wernt allowed to use any of the internet, we had to take our own or use ones that we had previously taken. I instead took pictures of 3 friends and gave them instruments and a band name etc. I had to choose my background carefully as it was a rock/indie magazine. I found a wall with a bit of graffiti and decided that would be perfect. I took one of them singly eg Ryan posing for a shot, then Stew posing with a guitar, I then took a picture of both of them together. As Dan was unavailiable for picture taking, i had to cut a previous image taken of him and add him with the other 2. I then added the cropped image to one of the pictures i took of wembley. I also edited other images so that i only got the face of the actor and added it to the black background of the magazine:
As most magazines have a bar code, i had to make one in Paint:
With the front page, i decdided to follow an NME stlye of cover, with a band member taking up one half of the page, and having some contents on the other:
For the contents page, i decided to follow the same style. I cropped out the image of Ryan leaving just the wall with graffiti on it. I enlarged it to cover the whole page and made it my background. This helps it tie in with the front page and stop viewers from getting different views of music and genre from the first 2 pages:
In this task, i found that using photoshop can be challenging and frustrating but once you get the hang of it and using all its functions, it can be pretty usuful. One problem i had to overcome was getting the images to appear in colour and not black and white. I tried to play around with the colour options but in the end i asked a technition for help which was successful. I now dont have any trouble with black and white images.
Photoshop is also good at bringing out the best in the images you edit. It allows you to edit them to what ever you want them to fit or be.
One negative thing about photoshop however is trying to get to grips with all the different uses of the prgramme. For a first time user, it didnt offer a lot of help and guidence as some of the other microsoft programmes. This posed difficulties in the beggigning.
I feel that this was a better improvement than last years work i done:
New:
Old:
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Image Manipulation
for some of the images, i had to manipulate them so they would fit in with different veiws. The main image was Stew, Ryan and Dan cropped out and added to a image (taken by me) of Wembley Stadium:
After Edit and Photoshop:
After Edit and Photoshop:
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Main Task (Double Page Spread)
As i have a basic layout from last year, i decided to edit it. The background suited the style so i left that as it was. This was the same with the articles and the font.
All i really changed was the images, the amount of images and the manipulation of the images, such as cookie crops etc. I added more images of the band members but due to one of the members being busy or ill, i had to use the previous images of him and edit them with the new images.
Last Year Version:
New Images:
All i really changed was the images, the amount of images and the manipulation of the images, such as cookie crops etc. I added more images of the band members but due to one of the members being busy or ill, i had to use the previous images of him and edit them with the new images.
Last Year Version:
New Images:
Monday, 22 March 2010
Main Task (Contents)
For the contents page, i wanted a different look from the black background look.
I edited one of my images so i just had the background which was a wall with graffiti. I cropped ryan out of the image, maximized it and cover the whole page. This gives it a street look but still with indie/rock features.
I then cropped out some imgaes that were relevent to the contents and edited them into the page with different cookie cuts such as a star and a other various shapes.
I edited one of my images so i just had the background which was a wall with graffiti. I cropped ryan out of the image, maximized it and cover the whole page. This gives it a street look but still with indie/rock features.
I then cropped out some imgaes that were relevent to the contents and edited them into the page with different cookie cuts such as a star and a other various shapes.
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Main Task Plan (Front Cover)
For the main task, i have decided ti do a rock/indie magazine. I have planned the front cover. The name will be 'MOSH'. This is relevent as when you attend most rock/indie concerts, the crowd break into what is called a 'mosh pit' where people barge into one another and basically cause mayhem.
I will design a logo in paint and add it to the top right corner of the page.
For the main image, i have decided to make it a background image consiting of the lead band memeber from the featured band in the magazine. I will place the singer on the right hand side of the page, leaving the left side for the inside features etc.
I will add inducements such as competitions in which the reader can win free tickets to a concert of their choosing.
I will use a standard font but give it a different colour from black. I dont want the audience to get bored or put off by the look of jumbled up wording
I will design a logo in paint and add it to the top right corner of the page.
For the main image, i have decided to make it a background image consiting of the lead band memeber from the featured band in the magazine. I will place the singer on the right hand side of the page, leaving the left side for the inside features etc.
I will add inducements such as competitions in which the reader can win free tickets to a concert of their choosing.
I will use a standard font but give it a different colour from black. I dont want the audience to get bored or put off by the look of jumbled up wording
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Kerrang Presentation
In this task, we were asked to create a presentation on a music magazine of our choice. I chose Kerrang.
We had to talk about the history of the magazine, Content, Images, audience profiles and publisher information:
We had to talk about the history of the magazine, Content, Images, audience profiles and publisher information:
Friday, 26 February 2010
Audience theory
As i was absent for this lesson, i had to view another students book to get information on audience theory.
I read up on uses and gratifications and the different theories of Blumer and Katz (1974) and Denis Mcquail (1987).
Blumer and Katz theorised that the audience used media as a diversion, personal relationship or/and personal identity and surveillance. It was seen tnhat the audience would use media as a way of escaping reality.
Denis Mcquail theory is similar to Blumer and Katz. It is said that people use the media to escape problems, relax, fill time and emotional release. People seem to form personal relationships with their media type and it helps them to connect to modern society.
Media uses Audience as labour. This is notable in mainly newspapers and magazines as they persuade advertisers to pay to add their advert by saying how many people buy and read their product.
I read up on uses and gratifications and the different theories of Blumer and Katz (1974) and Denis Mcquail (1987).
Blumer and Katz theorised that the audience used media as a diversion, personal relationship or/and personal identity and surveillance. It was seen tnhat the audience would use media as a way of escaping reality.
Denis Mcquail theory is similar to Blumer and Katz. It is said that people use the media to escape problems, relax, fill time and emotional release. People seem to form personal relationships with their media type and it helps them to connect to modern society.
Media uses Audience as labour. This is notable in mainly newspapers and magazines as they persuade advertisers to pay to add their advert by saying how many people buy and read their product.
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Preliminary Task
This was to be our first real go at using photoshop. We were asked to plan a school magazine front cover and its contents page. I got to work planning the layout of the front cover in my work book. I added anotations and imgage/caption locations. This was to be my basic design.
I then set out to take pictures. I planned to get pictures of a medium close up of students, a long shot/establishing shot of the common room, image of a teacher and various images of students in a relxed environment.
Once i had taken these, i had to upload them to the laptop, and start with my magazine. I started off with the front cover. First of all, i added in the images. I placed the image of the 3 students as the top background image. This is to be seen as the main trademark image of the magazine. The second background image of the common room was to be seen as the main story. I added the variuos images around and infront of the main ones. each image had its own caption.
The second part of the task, was to make a contents page. Fir this, i didn't add and background images and instead used sub images which had relevence to some of the contents. There were 4 images on the contents page, these were 3 main images abd 1 logo image. The logo was made bigger on this page compared to front cover. This is to emphasise the importance of it.
I then set out to take pictures. I planned to get pictures of a medium close up of students, a long shot/establishing shot of the common room, image of a teacher and various images of students in a relxed environment.
Once i had taken these, i had to upload them to the laptop, and start with my magazine. I started off with the front cover. First of all, i added in the images. I placed the image of the 3 students as the top background image. This is to be seen as the main trademark image of the magazine. The second background image of the common room was to be seen as the main story. I added the variuos images around and infront of the main ones. each image had its own caption.
The second part of the task, was to make a contents page. Fir this, i didn't add and background images and instead used sub images which had relevence to some of the contents. There were 4 images on the contents page, these were 3 main images abd 1 logo image. The logo was made bigger on this page compared to front cover. This is to emphasise the importance of it.
Monday, 1 February 2010
School Magazine Homework
For this task, i am going to research "The Grape Vine" from The Weald of Kent Grammer School. The link to this is : http://www.wealdofkent.kent.sch.uk/LearningSystem/PortalHome/preDefault.asp?Resource=9A03D2EC-23F3-489F-A6FA-DA7449FE4EA9&ResourceID=7230
Then click on the PDF file.
Contents
Firstly the contents page was also the front page. I found this good because it lets you know what the Magazine is all about and whats inside it. In this case it seems there is a lot about the school and events going on. As you scroll down, you get information on AS subjects such as media and theatre. Also there is careers advice which is good because above is GCSE and AS advice and so it shows that this magazine is suited for all.
Once you go down further, you start to hit the informal pages which tell us about events such as a beach party (in this case) etc. Then after we hit the school trips and exchanges. There are a number of images showing what happened and relevant to the topic. The layout is also simple but effective at getting the reader's attraction.
After all this, we get to the news and gossip section which a lot of Newspapers have and are very good at attracting readers. We also start to see student pictures and reports on the things that have done or attened such as a Muse concert.
Lastly in the contents, there is a thank you page to all the poeple that participated in the Magazine.
Layout
The layout is very simple and plain (white background). Many of the pages also have images or a margin background such as hearts or a melon. The text style is also "Berlin Sans FB" which is odd because it isnt a common font. The font colour is also a kind of aqua style.
I think the layout is good at keeping reader's concerntration because there isnt too many pictures or different colours but at the same time it isnt dull.
Target Audience
i think that the target audience for this magazine is secondary school students. This is because the layout doesn't contain a lot of images and instead has a pretty nornal background of white and and aqua. I also think this because a lot of the gossip and stories are about older students and use similar language.
Conclusion
In conclusion i think that the magazine is a professionally made style and good at attracting its target audience. I also think that it is very easily made and therefore would make a better profit due to its layout of a white background and aqua text or a few marginal pictures
Then click on the PDF file.
Contents
Firstly the contents page was also the front page. I found this good because it lets you know what the Magazine is all about and whats inside it. In this case it seems there is a lot about the school and events going on. As you scroll down, you get information on AS subjects such as media and theatre. Also there is careers advice which is good because above is GCSE and AS advice and so it shows that this magazine is suited for all.
Once you go down further, you start to hit the informal pages which tell us about events such as a beach party (in this case) etc. Then after we hit the school trips and exchanges. There are a number of images showing what happened and relevant to the topic. The layout is also simple but effective at getting the reader's attraction.
After all this, we get to the news and gossip section which a lot of Newspapers have and are very good at attracting readers. We also start to see student pictures and reports on the things that have done or attened such as a Muse concert.
Lastly in the contents, there is a thank you page to all the poeple that participated in the Magazine.
Layout
The layout is very simple and plain (white background). Many of the pages also have images or a margin background such as hearts or a melon. The text style is also "Berlin Sans FB" which is odd because it isnt a common font. The font colour is also a kind of aqua style.
I think the layout is good at keeping reader's concerntration because there isnt too many pictures or different colours but at the same time it isnt dull.
Target Audience
i think that the target audience for this magazine is secondary school students. This is because the layout doesn't contain a lot of images and instead has a pretty nornal background of white and and aqua. I also think this because a lot of the gossip and stories are about older students and use similar language.
Conclusion
In conclusion i think that the magazine is a professionally made style and good at attracting its target audience. I also think that it is very easily made and therefore would make a better profit due to its layout of a white background and aqua text or a few marginal pictures
Thursday, 28 January 2010
Textual Analysis
Textual analysis is the process of analysing a page or cover and looking at various techniques and aspects that have been used. In the lesson, we were given two front covers of college magazines. They were called 'QUAD' and 'Newsman'.
In the lesson, we learnt that many images used are POLUYSEMIC meaning they have multiple meanings. These images can also be ANCHORED by text or captions which help the audience to understand what the image is representing.
For the two magazines, we were asked to annotate and talk about the layout, colour, font, image choices and presentation. At first glance, 'QUAD' seemed to have a spohisticated look about it. It is aimed at Alumni (past graduates). NEWSMAN however was aimed at a more younger audience and had to be designed so it kept them interested. I believe it is aimed at Uni new comers (freshman)
In the lesson, we learnt that many images used are POLUYSEMIC meaning they have multiple meanings. These images can also be ANCHORED by text or captions which help the audience to understand what the image is representing.
For the two magazines, we were asked to annotate and talk about the layout, colour, font, image choices and presentation. At first glance, 'QUAD' seemed to have a spohisticated look about it. It is aimed at Alumni (past graduates). NEWSMAN however was aimed at a more younger audience and had to be designed so it kept them interested. I believe it is aimed at Uni new comers (freshman)
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Nature Magazine
In this we task, we were asked to go out and take photos of areas and objects that are relevent to nature, such as the pond, flowers or bird's nests. I was sharing a camera with Sahr. These were some of the images taken:
I manipulated the images and added effects to come up with the front cover of a nature magazine. I used cropping, colour effects and various techniques to attract attention:
I manipulated the images and added effects to come up with the front cover of a nature magazine. I used cropping, colour effects and various techniques to attract attention:
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