Tuesday, 30 September 2014

Existing Magazines


I have decided to focus on Kerrang! magazine for inspiration for my magazine. I regularly buy Kerrang! (including all of the following issues) and so I am more experienced in rock magazines, and therefore will be better at creating my own. These magazines are very conventional, which therefore makes them more believable and professional. Each magazine features a similar layout. The title is always displayed in the same font, however the colour differs to fit in with the overall scheme of the entire cover. Such as the example to the right, which features the band 'Green Day', and therefore it contains a lot of green, including the title. A similar header and footer is also used in each example. They contain side features which include small images to represent the side story. Also, free posters are usually displayed in either the header or footer. 


Kerrang! also usually features more than one person on their front cover, which is unconventional of music magazines, however it is very conventional of a rock magazine, as most rock artists are in bands (apart from a few solo artists such as Gerard Way, who was once in My Chemical Romance). This in genre specific, and I may use more than one model on the front of my rock music magazine to improve the believability of a rock magazine. The colour schemes used are usually very bright colours to catch the eye of the target audience, and therefore I will use bright colours on my front cover. The colour yellow/gold is the most used on Kerrang! covers, and therefore I will also use yellow/gold, as it connotes luxury, that the magazine should be '1st' choice, and that the artists in the magazine are 'stars'.




My Genre

I have decided to choose rock as my genre. This is because I enjoy rock music, and therefore will do better at producing a rock magazine. Some conventions of rock music are long guitar riffs and loud rhythmic drumming. Some existing artists in this genre are:

  • Fall Out Boy
  • Panic! at the Disco
  • Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance)
  • Paramore
  • Green Day
  • Bastille
  • Muse
  • All Time Low
  • You Me at Six
  • Imagine Dragons
  • The 1975

The history of rock and roll

Significant rock artist of the 1900's include Elvis Presley and The Beatles, who contributed to the genre, developing it into the rock we know today. Songs such as "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, experiment with the rock genre, creating separate rock branches such as "indie rock", "hardcore rock" and "pop rock", each with a slightly different viewpoint to the original genre. An example of an indie rock band is Bastille, still a rock band, but has a different sound to a band such as All Time Low (a pop rock band), or My Chemical Romance (a hard-core rock band).




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rock_genres

Brief 2.0

MUSIC MAGAZINE BRIEF

For my AS Media Studies, I need to create a music magazine specifying in a specific music genre such as pop, hip hop, rock, country or indie. I need to produce a front cover, a contents page, and a double page spread using at least four of my own original images and texts.

Friday, 26 September 2014

Evaluation

Evaluation


What have I learnt from completing this task?

By completing this task, I have learnt many things, such as the basics of Photoshop. I can now use different tools to edit my images, such as levels, hue/saturation, contrast, layers and transformations, which I did not know how to use before. I have also learnt the conventional themes which are used on most mainstream magazines, such as a footer, masthead, skyline, plug, main features and side features. This will help me in completing my further AS media coursework, when I create my music magazine. I now know to use medium closeups when choosing images for my front cover, as this will allow me to include everything necessary into my mise-en-scene, also leaving room for my masthead and features at the side of the image. I have now learnt that color themes are important when designing a magazine, and I have changed my mind many times on the color scheme I would like for my magazine, but I think that my overall choice suits my magazine. I have also learnt to use Photoshop to create my magazine rather than Microsoft Powerpoint or Microsoft Publisher which i originally tried to use as it is more user friendly, however Photoshop makes my product have the best professional finish. I now know how to use denotation to analyse the semiotics used in media texts such as film posters and magazines, which will help me in my media AS level coursework and exam. I have also learnt that different images can be used, such as a close-up, a medium shot, a long shot, a high angle and a low angle. These will affect the mise-en-scene of media texts.

How have I used technology?

To capture my images, I have used my phone (a Samsung Galaxy S5). I have chosen this camera instead of one more professional because it had a 16 megapixel camera which takes photos which are easy to access. I used a cable to transfer my photographs and then I used a 16GB memory stick to transfer the images onto my college account. Once in my files I used Photoshop to edit my images, using specific tools such as hue/saturation, levels and contrast. My drafts, my semiotics piece of work, and what I thought would be my final product were completed on Microsoft Publisher, however Photoshop proved better as it had tools that wasn't included on Microsoft Publisher, such as the layers tool which proved effective when editing my cover. I used Microsoft Powerpoint to create my mood boards which worked well as it is very user friendly and easy to use, however it has some very professional tools which I have used to edit my mood boards.

What conventions have I used and why?
I have used many conventions in my cover of my college magazine, such as a masthead. A masthead features the magazine title, so it is obvious that I needed to include this, or people would not know the title of my magazine (which is "aspire.). I have used images, such as a medium close-up, which is used in most mainstream magazines, with the top of the head overlapping the masthead, which I have done to produce a more professional finish. I have included a main feature, and side features which are in different fonts and colors which contrast with the background so they can be easily seen. I also have included a footer which has the text "INSIDE: ARE YOU WYKE'S NEXT RISING STAR?" which will make the audience want to buy the magazine to find out if they are, in fact, "Wyke's next rising star". Finally, I have included a bar code  with information of the issue of the magazine, which is conventional of mainstream magazines.


What would you change if you were to do this task again?

If I were to do this task again I would firstly add more features to my cover which will attract more of an audience. Secondly I would add a plug, such as "free coffee with this magazine", which is conventional of magazines to include. Thirdly I would change the circles in the skyline of my cover into stars, which I did not know how to do, so I left it as circles, however I could have researched on how to do different shapes on Photoshop. I would also include brighter colors such as yellow which will catch the eye of the audience, and make them look at my magazine. I would also use a wider range of fonts which will interest the reader. I would include graphics around the top of my magazine cover, which at the moment looks bare, and would have looked more professional if I had filled the spaces.

Final Product

My Cover


Contents Page

This is final product for my Contents page, however I still need to add images and captions.

Monday, 22 September 2014

Semiotics

Denotation and Connotation

Below is my annotated denotation of a "The Hunger Games" poster. I have evaluated the poster and it's effect on the audience.

Editing my Images

I have edited my images using the different Photoshop tools, such as brightness/contract, hue/saturation and levels. This makes my image have a more professional finish, which increases the believably of my overall product. 





This is screenshots throughout the creation of my magazine (before I have edited my main image).





My Images

My Images


The closeup is not suitable for a college magazine as it only shows the face and nothing else. If I included this image in my college magazine, the text would cover some of her face. Also it isn't the conventional, professional sized image to use on a magazine front cover.


This is a medium closeup shot, which is the type of photograph I will be using for my magazine as it shows clearly who the person is, and the setting. Although I will Photoshop into a different setting, such as the corridors, or outside the college, depending on which has the most similar lighting, color themes, etc.



A long shot would not be ideal for a college magazine, as it shows more than necessary. Also, it makes it harder to see the face of the person. It is unconventional for magazines to use a long shot on the cover, however it has been used in the past by mainstream magazines, such as Kerrang! (as seen above).



This is a shot to the right, which I will not use as it shows scenery which isn't needed, and it in unconventional for magazines.



This is a shot to the left, which I will not use as it shows scenery which isn't needed, and it in unconventional for magazines.



This is a center shot, which is better than shots to the left and right as it shows exactly what is needed. Furthermore, it leaves spaces for text which will be added to the sides of the image.

Medium closeups






Creating the Cover

Creating the Front Cover

These images show me creating my front cover for my college magazine. 



I have decided to change the color scheme slightly, however, when I edit my main image in, I may change it again to fit alongside the image's colors. I have also added side stories which will link to my contents page. I may have to change my text size after I have added my image because the text might overlap on the person centered in my image. I have also used fonts which go alongside the main theme.



Wednesday, 17 September 2014

Conventions 1.0

Most magazines include the same conventions, and have a similar layout of their front cover. These conventions include:
  • Masthead - includes the magazine title, normally at the top of the magazine. This is usually the second item the audience will be drawn to, after the main image.
  • Price - to show the reader how much the magazine will cost.
  • Date - the date the magazine is released.
  • Issue Number - the number of that magazine, such as with the magazine below, it is issue 5 of 'Sixth Sense'.
  • Barcode - for the retailer to use 
  • Teaser - an attention grabber, usually short and snappy
  • Main Feature: Headline - a short sentence that is a summary of the main story in the magazine. Normally this is larger, in a different color and font to capture the reader's attention.
  • Subtitle
  • Smaller Feature - other features that are included in the magazine.
  • Images - usually there is one medium closeup image of a person on the magazine front cover. This image is normally bright (unlike the one below) to attract the attention of the reader, also it is closely linked with the main story to invite the reader to want to buy the magazine.
  • Font - the size and style of the text.
  • Color - usually a clear theme with around four bright, complementary colors.
  • Graphics
  • Offers - a promotion or giveaway that will entice the reader to buy the magazine as they may get free products.


Tuesday, 16 September 2014

Name Ideas & Color Schemes

Name Ideas

My magazine requires a title that is attractive to the student population, but also links towards college. I have considered the following names because they are short, snappy and can motivate students to do well in their education:
  • Success
  • Forward
  • Prosper
  • Achieve
  • Aspire
I have decided to choose Aspire (which will be stylized as 'aspire.') because it is short, catches the eye, and inspires the students to have a strong goal to aim for. I have experimented with the title in different fonts, such as:

(Rockwell, MV Boli, Aharoni, GungsuhChe)


Color Schemes

Each font is suitable for my magazine, but I am going to use aharoni because it is the boldest (which catches the eye of the audience). I have also explored different colors for my title, and different color schemes, such as: 



Magazine Template



Monday, 15 September 2014

Mood Board

I have designed this mood board to show student interests, which if I include, would make my magazine more successful to the target audience. These themes include clothing, makeup, video games, music, books, film and television.


However, the following mood board is centered more around college life, and therefore I need to include the content of both mood boards in my college magazine to be completely suitable for my target audience.


Using Photoshop

Using Photoshop


This was my first time using Photoshop, and during the creation of this image I have learnt to use some of the tools essential for editing on Photoshop. For example:
  • Setting up a file - there were very specific details to setting up a file, such as making sure it was set on A4 international paper with a pixel per inch ratio of 300, which ensures my image will be suitable for a magazine front cover.
  • PSD + layers
  • Scaling an image - to do this, I have to use the scale tool, however I also had to hold down the shift key whilst adjusting my image size as it is necessary keep the aspect ratio of the image balanced. If I had used scale without holding the shift key, my image would be distorted and unusable for my overall product.
  • Saving files - when saving files, I had to change to image format into JPEG (if I had completed it), or keep it as a Photoshop file (if I hadn't completed it). This is important because if I had saved my final product as a Photoshop file, I wouldn't be able to upload it onto my blog, on the other hand, if I'd have saved it as a JPEG when it was incomplete, I wouldn't be able to edit the layers in Photoshop.
  • Selecting images - my selected images needed to have a size of 500x500 or higher, this is to make sure my they were all in high definition for my overall product. My images also had to be complete, for example, the brown bear couldn't have an ear out of shot, or else the final product wouldn't be believable, as the bear would be missing an ear. 
  • Polygon lasso - this tool is more difficult to use than the quick selection tool, but is more defined and has a higher quality, more professional finish.
  • Image adjustments (hue/saturation) - changing the hue of an image changes the entire color scheme, which is ideal for creating abstract images. However when creating professional pieces of work, it is unwise to change the hue as it makes the images look unreal and have a lower quality. Saturation is the amount of color in an image has, which can be used on professional photographs, as increasing the saturation of an image makes the overall finish look brighter and more colorful.
  • Image adjustments (brightness/contrast) - affecting the brightness and contrast is important to creating a well finished piece of work. Increasing the brightness and contrast ensures my image has bright, vibrant colors that catches the eye of the audience.
  • Image adjustments (levels) 

Sunday, 14 September 2014

Brief 1.0

Brief

I have to create a magazine for Wyke college. My magazine will include all of the conventional texts that is usually included on the cover (and contents page) of the mainstream magazines. I will research themes and subjects that the average student is interested and include them as features on my magazine.