Social class & demographics of my product

My Reader Profile

Reader profile research

Genre Research

Convention analysis of music magazine

Conventions of a front cover, contents page and double page spread

Conventions of front cover of a magazine:

• Mast head
• Main image
• Pull quote
• Plug
• Barcode
• Footer
• Sky line
• Main story
• Other feature stories
• Secondary images

 

Conventions of a contents page:

• Letter from the editor- written in an informal way and reflects the ideologue of the magazine
• Main story—usually with an image and the image have page numbers on
• Structured lay out- usually in columns
• Other page stories, page numbers and images
• Title “contents”
• Sub headings
• Page numbers
• Stories and features
• Previous editions/ social media

Conventions of a double page spread:

• Main image taking up most of the page
• Title (usually a pull quote)
• Stand first- a summary of the article that makes you want to read on
• Drop cap- is the big letter at the beginning of the article
• Main article- will be written in columns
• Page number and mast head

 

Main Brief

To design a front cover, contents and double page spread of a music magazine. All images and text used must be original, a minimum of four images must be used.

Finished product

Evaluation

What have I learnt from completing this task?

I have learnt how to work in a team since I started making my front cover for my college magazine, because I needed to work in a group so I could get the photos I needed for my front and for the rest of my team to be able to get the photos they needed. I have also learnt how to use a proper image taking camera, because I felt in order for my front cover to be able to look as professional as I wanted I would need to learn how to use a proper image taking camera.

How have I used technology?

I have used technology in the form of a camera and a computer, because in order for me to be able to create my magazine cover or get on the blogger website I would need to use a computer, I have also used a camera to take the photos on my magazine cover, because I felt like using a proper image taking camera would make the front cover looking more professional.

What conventions have I used and why?

Some of the conventions I have used are the main image, main story, footer, full quote and plug. I have used a plug because I feel it brings a bit of fun to the magazine because they can get involved in the competitions inside the magazine, so by including this on the magazine cover it may persuade readers to buy the magazine. The reason why I have used main story is because it gives the reader a little bit of an insight to what the main story is about in the magazine, so they can decide if they would like to read this magazine or not. The reason why I included a main image is because I feel it makes the magazine look more professional and usually a main image has some relation to the main story, so people get another piece of information on what the main story is about. The reason why I have included footer is because I felt it broke the magazine cover up well, so people could see the information they wanted without it being lost in the main image. The reason why I have used a full quote is because I believe it makes my college magazine look more professional and I feel it gives the readers an insight into what has been happening at the college and what people think and feel about the college.

If I was to do it again what would I change?

If I was to do it again I would include feature stories, because I think including feature stories makes the magazine cover look more professional, it also adds a bit more information to the magazine because it isn’t just the main story that the magazine includes, so this may interest more readers because there’s more to the magazine. I would also include a barcode because it lets the reader know how much the magazine will cost, so they can decide if the magazine is value for money. I would also have the model for my magazine smiling more on the magazine cover, because it would give a positive connotation of the college, because by him smiling it suggests that he is enjoying college.

Print screens of designing the product

In this screenshot I have created a new document using the International Paper page type.

In this screenshot I have imported my maion image for my magazine cover and named the layers I am going to use, I have also duplicated my main image layer, because if something goes wrong whilst editing the main image I can always use the original image.

 In this screenshot it shows that I have positioned my main image to wher I want it to be on my magazine cover, I have also left a white space at the bottom of the page, because that is where I want my footer to be on my magazine cover.

In this screenshot it shows my completed magazine cover. I have added a footer, a plug, a main story line and a pull quote.

Front Cover Photographs

One reason why this image would be good for the front cover of my magazine is that it shows the name of my college above, so I believe this makes the image good because I feel it will make the magazine feel more relevant to a college. However, this image isn't good for a magazine cover, because the model for the photo is in a weird pose, so by having this image as my main image I feel it would make the magazine cover look unprofessional.

One reason why this image would be good for a magazine cover is because of the lighting used whilst taking the photo makes the model stand out in a bright background, which gives the positive connotation of college, because it could be seen as a bright and fun place to work. 

One reason why this image isn't good enough to be the main image on my magazine cover is because it has random people in the background of the photo, so if this image was my main image it would make my magazine cover look unprofessional.

One reason why this image isn't good enough for my magazine is because the lighting used isn't bright enough, so the models used in the photo and to dark to see any of there facial features.

Framing types

List of images that need to be demostarted on my blog:

• Extreme close up- a small part of someone of something to show emotion

• Close up- someones full face

• Medium close up- soemones face and half of their body

• High angle- the camra is placed above the character maing them look smaller

• Low angle- the camra is placed below the character making them look bigger

• Image framed to the left- where the person in the photo is at the left hand side of it

• Image framed to the right- where the person in the photo is placed at the right hand side of it

• Central image- where the person in the photo is at a central position

• Two shot- two people are in the same photograph

• Long shot-the whole of a person from a distance and showing some of the background

Feature Story Ideas

The best university for you
Your guide to campus activities
Ten top tips to help you revise
The ultimate spring break escape
Make money on campus
College activities inside
How to spend your free time
New beginnings
UCAS
Open days

One of the feature stories I think I am going to use on my front cover of my magazine is called College activities inside, because every week there is always some new activity going on, so by including this on my front cover I believe it would make my front cover look more like a normal college magazine front cover.

Another feature story I think I am going to include is called The best university for you, because many of the students at a college go on to further education, so by including this story it could make the reader buy it, because they can find out which university they want to go to by seeing all the information on offer.

One other feature story I am going to use on my front cover of my magazine is called Ten top tips to help you revise, because the main aim at college is to get the best grades you possibly can, so by including a feature story like this it may get the reader to buy the magazine, because not everyone knows how to revise properly so they are getting the best out of revising, so they could be persuaded to buy the magazine by this feature story, because it could help them achieve the best grades they can get.

Mise-en-scene and location ideas

Mise-en-scene is a French word for everything that is placed within a scene, such as props, characters, costumes, location, lighting.

Some of the mise-en-scene and location ideas I have for my college magazine are:

• On my magazine I would like to photos outside each of the buildings making sure the name of each building is in the photo, because there is always different things going on each of the buildings, so by having a photo outside each of the buildings could be good for the magazine becasue it could cover what has being happening in each of the buildings and have the photo next to the text to show people which building the text is on about.
• Some of the props that will be included in the photos that I take will be books or some other form of text book that shows the name wyke on it, because the magazine is a college magazine and that is the college I go to.
•  Some of the costumes I would like to have included in my magazine would be a two of the boys wearing their Wyke football kit, because the football team at Wyke is a big part of the college and recently the teams have been anmounced so it is recent news for my magazine cover. 
• The lighting I would like my photos to have on my magazine cover would have to be natural sun light, because I don't want my pictures to be taken in the dark because it gives a negative connotation of wyke college, whereas if i had natural sunlight used as my lighting for the pictures I take hopefully it will make the photos look brighter and give off a positive connotation of wyke college.
• Some of the other characters I want to use on my magazine front cover are a student holding their results and smiling, because at college the main aim for evryone to get the best results they can, so by including this photo of the magazine cover it will remind everyone what they're here to achieve and once they have achieved their results it shows them how happy it can make them.

Basics of Photoshop

How to create a new document-
File and then new
Make sure the preset is set to international paper
Colur mode needs to be set to RGB

Down the right hand is the layers and down the left hand side is the tool box.

Open an image-
File and then open
When opening an image it opens as a new tab, so drag the image from that tab to the photoshop tab
When opening the image make sure itis transferred as the original document

To transform a scale of an object-
Edit and then transform and then scale
Hold shift when moving the scale factor of an image so the image doesn't look weird
I must always make a duplicate of an original image
To duplicate I need to right click of a layer and press duplicate layer
Always make sure the original image layer ishidden

To add text-
Click the T symbol, this automatically creates a new layer
To adda stroke or outline double click the text box
Make sure blend mode is set to normal

To you need to hold Alt and scroll

This is what I created when I only used the bsaic rule of Photoshop.

Digital Drafts

The reason why I have put my mast head at the top of my front cover is because it needs to be clear to see, so by not having to close to the rest of the things included on the front cover the readersn will be able to clearly see what the name of the magazine is, and will always be able to spot the magazine when out looking for it.

The reason why I have had made the main image so large and in the centre of my magazine is, because it is the most important thing on the magazine, because it lets the reader know what the magazine is about and they be able to find out by looking at the main image if the magazine is interesting to them. Also, I have included the full quote and the main feature story below the main image, because usually the main feature story and the full quote has something to do with the main image, so if it is not close enough to the main image the reader won't know what the full quote and the main feature story are about.

The reason why I have put the other feature stories to the side of the main image is because they are not as important as the main image so they don't need to be in the centre of the page or be as large as the main image or the main feature story and the full quote, however they are still important so i have put them to one side of the magazine, because it lets the reader know that there isn't just one interesting story in the magazine but a few others they might enjoy.

The reason why I have included a footer on my magazine cover is, because it is usful to present other things that are needed on the magazine without them being lost of the magazine front cover if they are to close to something else, such as the barcode because it could get lost if everything was to close to each other, so by having a footer it can protect these things that are needed from being lost.

The reason why I have put a plug on my front cover is, because it is something that is fun within the magazine and gets the readers involved so they are not just reading the stories.

The reason why I have coloured the different shapes of were evrything is going to go on my magazine cover is, because I would like these to be the colour of my magazine, so by colouring the shapes it lets me know what work well were and what doesn't.

Colour Scheme

 The reason why I chose the colour yellow is because it is a bright colour, so by me using that colour in my magazine it suggests that college life is fun and makes you into bright person.





The reason why I chose the colour red is because it is darker than all my other colours, so I can use it to make things that are important stand such as the main story, because that it the most important story in the magazine and will draw the reader in.



The reason why I chose the colour blue is becasue this is a light colour so it suggests that student life is fun and bright, whereas if I used a darker colour it could suggests that student life was boring and dull.

 

Mood Board

The reason why I have included the different activities on my mood board is because they are all things students might like to, for example some students like to play sports such as football, whereas other students have different interests such as going shopping, or going to cinema, or going on a drive, or being invloved in the college play and the music involved in the college play.

The reason why I have included three different colours on my mood board is because they're the colours I want use on college magazine because they are bright colours so therefore suggest that college is a bright and fun environment to learn in.

The reqason why I have included two different college magazines on my mood board is because they good examples of what I want my college magazine to look like, because they don't just have stories in them they also include activities and competitions for people to enter, also they're bright colours so it suggests that college will make life fun and bright.

The reason why I have included a person holding his A level results up is becasue thats what every student dreams of doing, which is to get the results you want which will put a smile on your face, so by having a image like this on the college magazine it will inspire the students to try little bit extra to make their dreams come true.

The reason why I have included the Wyke logo on my mood board is becasue it is where I go to college so I want my magazine to be based on the college I go to

Name Ideas

Campus Fun
Student Life
College
Life on Campus
Student
Crazy College
Life of a Student
Life Inside College
Weekly News
Your Updates on Campus
Students in Mind
Study Time
Through the Eyes of a Student
The College Knowledge
College Weekly

The name I am most likely to use on my final design of the magazine cover is Life on Campus, becasue I feel like it is the most appropriate name to a student since this magazine is aimed at telling the students what is going on the campus, so by having the name as Life on Campus it lets the readers know what the mgazine is about.

Conventions Research

Semiotics and LIIAR analysis

LIIAR:
L- everything that has been placed on a product, these include imagery text and the text and the use of colour and codes
Institution- the organistaion resposible for the production of a product
Ideology- a set of attitudes, values and beliefs
Audience- the age group and the gender the product is aimed at
Represention- how something is represented to the audience

Semiotics- helps you decode visual objects

 

Brief

To design a College magazine front cover and mock up  contents page. Images used on the front cover must be original (taken by you).