Magazine Evaluation

For my main task in Media, I had to create a music magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread. Since this was my main task, I had to make it look as professional as I could. The magazine has to conduct the same generic conventions as any other magazine around in the industry today. For my magazine, I had to use at least one original image. Other images I could use could be of Rock bands/singers. For the contents page, I would need to include pictures relating to the articles that are featured in the magazine. For the double page spread, I would have to come up with a story based around a rock musician. Since I had to create a music magazine, the first thing I had to think of was the genre of music I wanted to focus on. By doing this, I would know what kind of magazines to research. To begin with, I decided to choose a genre of music that I listen to, which would make the magazine much easier to create, as I am familiar with the genre already. However, I wanted to set myself a challenge within this project so I decided to choose a genre that I could also learn more about. I chose to create a Rock magazine.
Before I began to think about creating the magazine, I had to do some research into the Rock genre and Rock magazines that are around in the industry today. I began to look at magazines on the Internet such as Kerrang! When doing the research I had to focus on the topics they discuss in the magazine, what kinds of photographs they use for the main images, what colours they use and how the magazine is laid out overall. I also brought a few of these magazines as well so I could analyse them more closely. The first thing I wanted to base my research around was the main images that were used on the front covers of the magazines. Having looked at most of the magazines online, I found that the images are the main hint as to what genre the magazine is. Normally with Rock magazines, the image is of a musician/rock band that is very close to the camera. For example, if a Rock band were used on the front cover, all band members would be featured, but the lead singer would be the main focal point on the page. The other kind of image that would be used would be a close up, ‘photo shoot style’ picture of a single musician/singer. While doing some of my research I decided to make a few plans on what I would want my front cover to look like. Having analysed a few of the covers, I had already decided that I would want my image to be of a female musician. I would like the cover to look like a photo shoot, but I had to bear in mind that it could not look ‘glossy’ or airbrushed, as it would take away the theme/genre – it would look more like a fashion magazine. I planned to have a rather large image that takes up the majority of the page. The image would be bright and eye-catching but the model would be wearing very dark colours. I would create and edit my image on Adobe Photoshop Elements 7. I would want an image that ‘jumps’ off the page, where the pose and camera angle immediately grabs the audience’s attention.
The next thing I wanted to look at was the colour that is normally used on Rock Magazines. Dark colours are usually used to accompany the Rock theme. The colour Black used on the clothes of the singers, the strap lines of the magazine or the text all contribute to the style. Black is associated with rebelliousness, dark, deep meanings. Other colours that are used are Red, which represents danger. Red is also an attention-grabbing colour, which is perfect to use on the cover of a magazine. After seeing many magazines that use these colours, I also planned to use them on my cover, whether it is on the strap lines, the clothes on the model or the text. Colour is very important in a magazine, it is one of the main features that can make a magazine look busy or very organized. If too many colours are used on the cover of a magazine, the audience may find it very hard to focus on one thing on the page, finding it very hard to read. If the maximum of three colours are used, the magazine looks very organized; it is easy to find different sections on the page. On my plan, I arranged to have very plain, pale coloured backgrounds on the contents page for example. I would overlay a bright bold coloured text or title on top of these backgrounds. By doing this, the text would be much easier to read along with making sure that the page doesn’t look too busy.
The next thing I focused on when doing my magazine research was the strap lines. There are always a lot of stories that are featured in Rock magazines, therefore that means that a lot of strap lines are on the front cover. This doesn’t always happen with all Rock magazines. They can either have a lot of strap lines that compete with the space of the main image or they have a few strap lines accompanied by a large main image and a large kicker. When making a plan of my front cover, I already decided that I would not want a lot of strap lines as I think I would have trouble making it not look too busy and distracting from the main image. The strap lines on a Rock magazine obviously all relate to music, musicians, albums, and tours/gigs so I needed to make sure that I related my strap lines to the same or similar topics. After looking at my research, I had generated a good plan to start working on, but before creating the cover on Photoshop, I needed to take my images. The image to me is the most important part about the cover. Image is everything. It is the first thing the audience wants to focus on, the thing that grabs the audience’s attention and what makes the magazine look professional.
I wanted to make my images look as professional as I could make them, since I was basing them around a photo-shoot style image. I decided to use my best friend as the model. I have used my model in previous work that I have produced in media and I knew that I could direct her in the image easily, making the photo turn out exactly the way I would like it. The first thing I thought about before taking the images was costume. The majority of the females featured on Rock covers, wear very dark make-up, dark clothes and have a very fierce look on their face. I wanted to create an exact replica of this style of image but add my own little twist on the creation at the same time. I planned to have my model wear either a black top or dress. On top of the dress, I had my model wear a cropped black leather jacket, which has studs, buckles and chains. This was the perfect look for my magazine, as it is a typical costume for a female rock musician. There were also studs on the black dress underneath. I wanted to use black on the cover to represent rebelliousness.
After trying a few test shots with the model wearing all black, I knew that I wanted that to be the look I used on the front cover. The next thing I had to move onto was the hair and make-up/beauty. My model’s hair is black so it matched with the outfit very well, immediately making her look like a ‘rock chick’. Sticking to the genre of the magazine, I needed to make her hair a little wild. On a fashion cover, hair would be curled or be straight but I need to make it completely the opposite. To style her hair, I added a lot of hairspray and shine spray. How you dress reflects on the way you act, so her hair needed to be wild in order for the audience to know her personality. When taking some photographs after her hair was done, I used a fan that was placed right next to my camera along with some other fans that were placed on either side of the model. This would give it an effect of a photo shoot instead of just a normal photograph against a background. The fans made her hair blow against the wall, making the photo seem a lot more professional. After doing some test shots after my model’s hair was styled, I then decided to move onto the make-up. I wanted dark smoky eyes, but I also wanted to add some bright colour in on the make-up. Since I was starting the magazine by creating the image, I decided that the colours used on the image would determine the colours used on the whole cover. My model’s nails were already painted red so I decided to match the colour by using bright red lipstick. Not only did this compliment the photos but it also fit in with the rock genre. Black and Red were the perfect colours to use. Only a small section of the photo was Red: The lips and the nails, but it really made the image Pop!
After trying out a few poses, I decided that I wanted to position the camera below eye-level. If the model was looking down a little on the camera, it would give her more power, she would be more dominant. After trying out this technique, I found one out of many images that I really liked and would like to use for the cover. The model was leaning to one side of the cover, the camera slightly below eye-level, her hair blown and the pose worked really well. The make-up looked more electric due to the pose that my model did, her eyes seemed a lot fiercer. I had managed to create the exact look that I wanted and so I took many other photos in different angles, with different poses incase I needed to use them on my contents page and double-page spread.
After taking the photos, I knew that I could start to create my front cover but I decided to hand round a survey to a group of 20 people. This survey would determine what colours the audience thought should be used on the cover. I had created photographs that focused around the colour Black and Red. Before handing out the survey, I was hoping that these colours would be mentioned. If they didn’t, I would have to experiment with different photos depending on the advice the audience gave. It would mean that I would have to do different photos and start the photo shoot over, but the audience’s opinion and advice would result in the success of the magazine. When I did have the surveys returned, luckily the colours Black and Red were mentioned as being the colours that should be featured on the cover. The other colour that was mentioned was White. At first, I couldn’t see how it fitted in, as I am familiar with White representing innocence and purity. However, having a dark colour for the background, little splashes of Red to make the cover stand out: White would make a great colour to use for the strap lines. They would stand out from the page and work well against the other colours.
After having positive reviews about the colours I was thinking about using, along with a few other suggestions, I could then start to move on creating the cover. I really like the image I picked to use on the cover, but I wanted to make it stand out on the page a little more. I decided to experiment with the brightness/contrast. Increasing the contrast made the make-up seem much more vibrant, made the model’s face glow a little and made the black on the image much darker. I didn’t need to adjust the main image much as I didn’t want to over-do the look that I had already created just by using the make-up and costume. After editing the image a little and adding some warmth to the face with a skin tone adjuster, I then decided to add the strap lines, masthead and kicker. While making the front cover, I was closely following a plan. I planned to have a skyline on the cover, as I could not find a Rock magazine that didn’t feature one. I used the colours I was advised: The background black, the writing made white and the décor was Red. Before I could design the masthead, I needed to come up with a name for my magazine. Looking at other names of Rock magazines, I researched into how they actually got their name. For example, looking into the very successful name of Kerrang! : The sound a bass instrument makes when put into a low tempo. Kerrang is the name an instrument makes, The Rolling Stone magazine is named after a famous rock band so I needed to come up a name that also relates to Rock or a musician of some kind. After thinking about the meaning behind the name I would create, I decided that I would base my name around the message that Rock bands give to their fans, what impressions they make. Rock bands and musicians, whether male or female create music that is very dark, very deep. The lyrics they sing and they way they act, reflects a certain way on their fans. Most people refer to rock bands as rebels. This is where I got the name for my own magazine: REBEL. They are seen as rebels, but they are also very respected for what they do. Looking at the rock –style photograph and the name Rebel on the magazine, it gives away the genre of the magazine. I then placed the masthead at the top of the magazine on the left, which worked out well, and it slightly overlaid the model’s face. Due to the position of the photo, the cover would not look right if strap lines were placed on both sides. As a result, I only placed a few strap lines on the right hand side. The kicker is the only main strap line that I decided to feature on the left hand side of the cover. By having no other strap lines accompanying the kicker, it will stand out much more and will be one of the first things that the audience will read. My kicker read: Alexa Rocks. The kicker related to the main image, as the main story in the magazine would be based around her. After looking at what I had created so far, I decided to go ahead with what was drawn on my plan and design the banner for the bottom of the cover. This banner would be used to feature more pictures and text on the cover, along with adding a bit of decoration. I made the background banner Red to match the colour on the model along with some of the strap lines. Across the banner, I added 3 photographs of rock bands, along with text to accompany each photo showing the audience just some of the stories that are featured in the magazine. The photographs I picked are full of colours and they are bright which makes the magazine much fresher. The colours from the photos and the banner make the magazine come alive, it is much more eye-catching. I originally wanted to add a few more strap lines after looking at the result of my magazine and comparing with other Rock magazines, but I didn’t want it to look overcrowded. Most rock magazines normally do look overcrowded with text but it is usually organized into sections. With my magazine, I thought it was best not to add any more as it would crowd the main image. I still had to include the usual conventions shown on the magazine such as the Barcode, the date and price of the magazine. I planned for the date and price to be underneath the Masthead as this is usually where this piece of information is included. I made sure to add a barcode, which was found through Google.
My front cover didn’t take as long to create as I thought it would because I was following a plan. All stages went according to plan. I also used the colours on the magazine that I was advised to, which were: Black, Red and White. I was very happy with the success of the magazine, I had no trouble making it and the reviews I had from the audience were very positive from first view. To get official responses to my magazine front cover, I handed out another survey. This survey included questions based on what the audience thought of the cover, if they thought the colours worked and if they thought anything could be improved on. I handed the survey out to 20 people and all had positive reviews. I only had advice to alter the size of the Masthead. The size I made the Masthead was a little too big for the size of the overall magazine. Looking at the advice given by my audience, I finally adjusted the font size of the Masthead before officially finishing my magazine.
The next thing I moved onto making was the contents page. I followed the same plan that I used when making my front cover. That plan was to research on magazines that are already in the industry today, decide which techniques I would like to focus my magazine on and then make a plan of what I would want it to look like. I decided to look at the same magazines online again so that I could stick to the same theme. I looked at Contents pages from Kerrang! and The Rolling Stone. When looking at the contents pages, I was focusing on the colours that were being used, the way the page was laid out and what types of things are featured on the page. By looking at a few contents pages from the different issues of Rock magazines, I noticed that they generally tend to look full. There is always a lot to look at on the page. The contents pages always feature photos from articles featured in the magazine. I liked some of the styles the magazines used, such as the way the photos are laid out on the page or how the text is overlaid on top of the images. For my contents page however, I wanted to design something of my own to feature. I started to think of ways that I could separate different sections on the magazine. I thought of using one colour and using different coloured shades of that colour to use for different backgrounds. By doing this, not a lot of colours would be used in the magazine, so I wouldn’t be abusing the rule of using more than three main colours on the page. I couldn’t make the text and pictures very formal because it wouldn’t suit the theme of the magazine. I had to make the pictures bright; I had to include loads of text and most of all I had to make it very eye-catching and appealing to the audience. I handed a survey out to a group of 20 again, just like I had done with the magazine front cover. I briefed the audience about the colours and layout I was thinking of doing along with questions based on what they would like to see on the contents page. The main responses I got from the survey was to use bright colours, make sure to fill the whole page and to use bright and eye-catching images of rock bands. I kept all these pieces of advice in mind when starting to make my contents page.
When beginning to make the contents page, I wanted to add a few things of my own that I see featured in many other contents pages including an editor’s section. I created a small section where the editor talks about this month’s issue of REBEL. I didn’t add very much text, as it was not the main focus of the page. I placed this section in the top left hand corner, using my own name for the editor, as I am the creator of the magazine. To accompany the coloured section and text, I added a smaller picture of the issue. On the top right hand side, I decided it was the perfect place to put the title of the page, which of course was entitled: Contents. The background of the overall page is a very pale colour, so I made the background of the titles very dark in order for the text to stand out on the page more than anything else. I obtained the background patterns on Photoshop. To accompany the titles, I added a quote from a famous Rock Band. I had seen this technique used in magazines a lot, so I decided to feature it on the contents page. Something like this would be featured on the contents of every issue. Normally a quote featured on a main page like this, means something that the magazine is based on or what the magazine creator was inspired by when making the magazine. My quote was based around the famous Rocks stars: The Rolling Stones. The left side of the page was inspired by many of the contents pages I had seen. It was a pretty simple design; I didn’t want to distract the attention too much from the main focus on the page. I made the actual contents very simple to read. To accompany the contents, I added some pictures of rock bands including one of my original images. By using one of my original images, I was posing my model as being a rock singer too. This fitted in very well as I had tried to create a photo-shoot style photograph and the pictures I used of the bands were professional too. As part of my design, I wanted to add something more creative to the page so I added pictures but in a slightly different way.
Along the right hand side of the page, I created a bright red background. On top of this background, I added more photographs of bands. I wanted to make the background look like a notice board. By developing this idea further, I added and edited some paperclips on Photoshop and overlaid them on top of the images. To make it look more like a notice board effect, I overlaid multiple images to make it look they are being held together. By adding this design to my page, I think it made the overall page look much brighter and interesting. It added something, which made the page seem much more appealing to look at and read regardless of how much or how little text there was on the page. I didn’t add as much text on my contents page as I have seen on other rock content pages, but I added the same amount of detail by adding pictures. I made sure to add the story I was featuring for my double page spread on my contents page. This would make my coursework link together, making the magazine much more realistic and professional. After completing my contents page, I handed out another survey to determine whether I needed to change anything on the page such as certain colours. After asking questions based on what the audience thought of the contents page and how I could improve, I changed a few things. Some of the surveys responded saying that I should change the font I originally used, as some words could not be made out. Another suggestion was to change the layout of the contents titles. After adjusting the page a little, I then decided to move onto creating my double page spread.
When it came to creating my double page spread, the main thing I had to think about was what would be featured in the article. This was a change from making the cover and contents, as I had to focus on the layout more than anything. Most double page spreads featured are posters of singers or top celebrity stories and interviews. I decided to do an interview on my double page as I had already featured the story on my contents page. The interview would be based around the model I featured on the front cover. Her rock celebrity stage name is Alexa the Punk. The double page spread would be an interview based around the singer. I have read many magazines that feature these types of interviews so I was very familiar with the techniques that are used. This was the only part of the magazine where I did not hand out a survey beforehand, as I already planned an idea for my double page. I didn’t want a lot of bright colours on the page. Although it is a rock magazine, interviews are usually quite formal pages. This means that I would keep the background very basic and add one main bright colour. For the first page, I featured a quote taken from the interview in large bold writing accompanied by speech marks. This quote also acted as the title on the page. I have seen this technique used in almost every interview page, so I used it too in order to make it instantly recognizable as an interview. Just below the quote, I added some text, which briefed the audience as to who and what the interview is about. The bottom half of the page is where the interview started. The interview I created is completely made up along with the questions. The questions based around the singer were about her personal life and career. Normally these are the type of questions that are featured, along with being the type of information fans want to learn more about. I set the interview text as a very simple design by using white and yellow text against a black background. This made the text much more easier to read. The second page featured the next part to the interview along with another quote taken from the featured story. The main colours I used on the page were black and red because they contrast very well and look very attractive when put together. These colours are also featured on the clothes and make-up of the model that I have also featured on the page. The picture I have used was another photo shoot style shot that I had taken. To adjust it a little, I made the contrast a little higher so the photo jumped out more than anything else on the page. This was a perfect photo to use, as most interview photographs are photo shoots. This makes the magazine and the interview look a lot more professional. Overall, the double page spread was very easy to create, as it doesn’t need much on the page in order to stand out.
I think my overall magazine was very successful. I had applied all the conventions of a magazine that I should including my own little creations. I put a lot of time into making my magazine and planning it out before hand, which made the process a lot easier. I think by handing out surveys before doing certain stages of my coursework, gave me constructive criticism when needed. It helped me adjust my magazine for the better, along with learning different techniques on Photoshop at the same time.

Magazine: Summary Survey

After finishing all of my production work, I decided to hand out a survey which was to find out exactly how successful my magazine was. This was handed out early enough, so I could make changes if needed. The survey can be located above.
I created a simple survey on Microsoft Word and it was handed out to a group of 20. Just like market research, I have made my reasearch very fair by handing al my surveys out to the same number of people.
Some of the questions were along the lines of what the audience thought of my production work as a whole, how I could have improved my magazine and if they think it looks professional.
Overall, I had good responses to my magazine especially my front cover. Most of the surveys stated that the main image for my front cover looks very professional. I also had very good responses to the creativity on my contents page. Due to the responses to the magazine being very positive, I had no need to make any major changes to my Rock Magazine.

REBEL has been more the than a success with my audience!

Rock Magazine Double Page Spread.

I decided to stick to the idea of doing an interview for my double page spread. I wanted to be able to use the original shots I took for the magazine. I based the interview around the celebrity on the cover as this would be the main feature of the magazine. This would be the main story that my target audience is interested in. The interivew was exclusive and so this was advertised on the skyline of both pages. This will make the article in the magazine much more appealing to the audience as this interview cannot be found in any other magazine.

The main colour I used on my double page spread was black as it not only matched the colours my model was wearing but it fit into the theme colours on my magazine. I decided to use the other two colours (Red and Black) that were suggested by the group who took my previous survey. After changing the colours, I realised that the double page looked a lot more eye catching to the reader.

I used a quote taken from the interview as the title of the magazine which catches the reader's attention - influencing them to read the whole interview. This article included a lot of text so I had to make it of an appropriate size. To make it readable, I made the writing white in order for it to contrast in the right way against the black background. For the questions to stand out more from the answers, I highlighted them in yellow. This also makes a certain question much easier to find. To separate the page and prevent it from looking crowded, I separated the pictures from the text by using a thick bold red line/box. This also added a little bit of simple decoration to the page along with it complimenting the photograph that was used for the 'celebrity photoshoot'.

Double Page Spread Plan.

This is a brief plan of my double page spread. I have decided that I want my double page spread to be an interview with a celebrity. In this case, it will be my covergirl. The exclusive interview will be done with Alexa.
Due to the magazine being of a rock genre, I will base the interview around her personal life, upcoming gigs and tours that 'Alexa' might be doing along with possible rumours that are going around. This is because, in all interviews, something new about a celebrity is always revealed. For the photo that I will use on the double page spread, I will have to lay it out covering most of the page, After doing soe research on interview pages such as Kerrang! and even Cosmpolitian, I have picked up on a few techniques that are used when creating an interview double page spread.

Some examples are:

- Having one or more photoshoot-like images on the page.
- Fitting the text around the images on the page.
- Using a quote from the interview as the title of the magazine.
- Placing one or more quotes on the page or over the image to show what the interview includes.

I plan to use these techniques on my own double page spread of my magazine.

Rock Magazine Contents Page!

This is my Rock magazine contents page. This contents page had to be filled with bright colours, pictures and plenty of text in order for it to fit into the genre. A normal contents page would be laid out very simple: There would be titles and simple text. However, my contents page includes much more.
To begin with I included 'the editor's section' which is allocated on the top left hand corner of the page. I decided to add this feature to make the magazine seem more professional as most magazine would include a shoutout from the editor of the magazine. I used my own name as the editor, as I am the creator of Rebel magazine.
I made sure to make the titles stand out, making it clearer for the audience. I also made the actual contents on the page stnad out by highlighting certain words in yellow, contrasting it with the black background. For the main part of the text, I changed the colour to white making it much easier and clearer for the audience to read.
On the right hand side, I decided to explore photoshop and use a range of different skills to create something that looks a little more interesting in order to lay the photos on the page. Instead of just arranging my photos on the side of the page. I wanted to make it look like a pile of photographs/a stack of photographs on a notice board. I simply overlaid many images on top of each other and edited a photo of a paperclip to make it look more realistic as if the images are being held together.
I used this technique for the right hand side of the contents page. By creating this effect, making it look like there are more photos underneath also gives the message to the audience that there is much more to offer in the magazine. There is a lot in the magazine for the audience to look inside and discover.
For the rest of the magazine, I decided to find some photos that would be featured in the magazine. One of the examples: Using a photo of Fall out boy, showing that there is an article inside the magazine which has been published about them.
Other small features on my contents page such as the quote below the contents titles were inspired from other rock magazines such as Kerrang!

Contents Page Plan

This is the plan of my contents page. This is a very brief sketch of what I want the outline to look like. I have included where the titles will go, where the contents will be featured along with where I want the pictures to be placed. I plan to keep my contents page simple but I also want it to look eye-catching to the reader. What this also means is that I will have to keep the colour scheme the same. This means that I will have to use the colours Red and Black in my contents page.

Analysis/Contents Page Research

Before attempting to make my contents page for my Rock Magazine, I decided to do some research as to what other Rock content pages look like. The magazine I chose to look at was Kerrang!, as I have analysed many Kerrang! front covers. Look at the cover above, I can see that nearly everything shown on the page is highlighted in bold outlines, the contents titles is also bold. This makes the contents stand out much more on the page along with making it much easier to read for the viewer.
This particular contents page is very organized in terms of where certain parts are laid out. The pictures are clear, the features of the magazine are clear: All the different parts of the contents are shown in different sections. The main point of a contents page is to be able to find what is inside the magazine quickly and easily.

I would like to follow some of the aspects and techniques this content page uses for my own rock contents page.

Rock Magazine Survey

I handed this survey out to a group of 20 people. This survey was a simple research device used to find out the responses to my magazine after I had created the cover. The questions are all created in order to find out the pros and cons to my magaizne.

After having these surveys handed back to me, my overall results were very positive.

I found out that the audience really liked my choice of colour and the way I matched it with the colours the model was wearing.

I had great responses to the photograph I had used for my main image along with the layout I had chosen for the magazine.

The only negative response I had to the magazine in general was to the straplines. 6/20 mentioned that I hace included some more straplines.

The only reason that I did not completley agree or add many more straplines to the magazine was becasue of the layout I had chosen. If I was to add more straplines to the magazine, I feel that the cover would have look over-crowded along with ruining the professional look to the magazine.

My Music Magazine Front Cover

This is my Rock Music Magazine cover.

Rock Magazine Name: Rebel

Cover Girl: Hollie Chan

I created my front cover on Photoshop Elements 7. I took many potential shots for my front cover and so I decided to use this one. (Shown Above) This image not only stood out to me more than the other images but the camera angle was very imortant. The camera angle is slightly below eye-level which shows the model/celebrity as being a higher status. The cover girl is more dominant, she is looking down on the viewer. My rock magazine is named Rebel. I was inspired by many rock legends, musicians and songs to come up with the name for my magazine. Rock musicians are rebels along with writitng rebellious lyrics. As a result, I thought this would be a perfect name for my magazine.

I managed to stick to the layout of the magazine that I originally planned along with the choice of colour. Before adding any straplines, I wanted to make the image stand out a little more. As a result, I increased the contrast and decreased the brightness so the hair appeared darker and the overall was much crisper and fresh-looking. I didn't want to make it look completlet airbrushed as I had to stick to the genre of the magazine. Airbrushing the photo to perfection would have made it look more like a fashion magazine.

I wanted to add a few straplines on the magazine on the right hand side, as I had to make room for a bold kicker just below the face of the main image. I added a skyline at the top of the cover, after learning that most of the rock music magaazines use this technique. At the bottom of the magazine cover, I added a colour border to make the images on the layers above stand out along with including the red colour on the magazine to match the straplines. The entire magazine layout and theme was insprired by the rock magazine: Kerrang!

Music Magazine Cover Pre-Survey

This is just a small survey that I handed out to a group of 20 that were of all age groups. This survey was just about the front cover of the magazine. Bascially, I wanted to make sure that I was going to create this magazine along the right guidelines. The questions were based around what costume the audience thinks is appropriate for a rock magazine along with the type of colours that would be used. I also asked a question based around what I was going to call the magazine which is Rebel.

After having responses from the survey, I found out that the main colours the audience said to use was Red, Black and White! From this, I then knew that I could keep the photographs that I shot. beforehand. I also found out that I had 100% positive repsonses to tghe name Rebel for my magazine. The majority of the repsonses to the last question were to wear anything that is black or dark and to make sure that my model is wearing leather.

This survey confirmed that I was thinking along the right lines for my magazine, so I could happily continue making my front cover.

Potential Photos For My Music Magazine

These are some of the shots that I am thinking of using in my music magazine. I have shot many pictures to use in my magazine and for my front cover. These two are just samples of the type of shots that I am working on. I have used my best friend as a model once again for my cover. Before I took the shots, I wanted to make sure that the costume and make up was right. I have added the colours red and black which were intentional as these colours symbolise a lot for many rockstars. These can be the colours they wear, the colours they use and what meaning these colours have; for example in their rebellious lyrics they write.
As a result of this I decided to dress my model completley in black as this is what most rockstars wear the majority of the time. I used a jacket that had studs and buckles on it as I hace associated it with the celebrity pictures above.
I intentionally added the colour red in the picture, not only to add the rebel/danger colour but to pose the model to be more of a 'rock chick'.

Scan of My Music Magazine Front Cover

This is a scan of my music magazine front cover. Once again, because this is a sketch/ basic outline if what I want it to look like, I have added no colour. However, I do definitely want to add the colours red and black on my cover as these are the main colours used on Rock magazines. They are considered to be rebel colours. This is partly the reason where I got the idea to call my magazine: Rebel. I reasearched a little into the impact rockstars have on people, especially teenagers. The rockstars are seen as rebels, they write seditious lyrics and fans want to follow how they act and what they do. As a conclusion, I thought this would be a perfect name for my magazine.
I have so many potential original images that I could use for my rock cover, on the plan above, I have decided that I want her posed to the right hand side of the cover. I also want to use a shot where I have taken it below eye level, to show dominance. I have chosen to add a skyline because I have seen that the majority of rock magazines use this technique to advertise what is featured in the magazine. Unlike the school magazine that I produced before, this time I will not be using just one image, I will be adding other images of rock bands, to make the cover more attractive to the reader. Also, this tecnique is used on many other rock magazines, it is very rare to see just one image on the front cover.

My Music Magazine Idea

After looking at many music magazines and analysing the front covers, I decided on the genre I would like to focus on. I would like to base my magazine around is Punk/Rock. I would not usually choose this style of music but I chose it to set myself a challenge within this project. I would usually choose a genre like R'n'B or Pop but I think I can make an interesting cover by choosing Rock, allowing me to be a little more creative. Before I actually make my magazine, I plan to create stunning, eye-catching photographs that are very dark and powerful. I plan to take my photographs outside of school and use different props such as a fan, a tungsten lamp and other objects in order to create an interesting photograph for my front cover.

Main Task: My Music Magazine Research

The cover of most rock magazines are usually taken up by various images of singers along with many straplines to completley cover the whole magazine cover. Usually the colour used on certain music magazines reflects the type of genre it is advertising. For example, dark colours used could suggest Rock music whereas light neon colours could reflect a genre such as Electropop or Techno. I am basing my magazine around Rock music so the majority of my colours would be dark but I also want to put a 'refreshing theme' to my magazine. I want to make it a little brighter. The model I will be using will be one of my friends who I will dress up in leather, dark clothes, with bright lipstick and smoky eyes. I want to shoot a picture that shows that the model is the one in control of the cover. I will be posing my friend as 'the' celebrity of the cover. Before I shoot my cover, I have done some analysis/research on Rock magazines.

This is my school magazine contents to accompany the front cover. I have used the same colour scheme on the background on the contents page as the colour of the MastHead. I used the same colour for the background, but just different shades for different sections of the contents. On my contents, I included some text that I see on the inside of many magazines to introduce what will be included in this issue. I made up my own description based on the theme of college and school news. Just below, I have added the main contents of the magazine with the page number with the appropriate size of font so it is readable. Underneath each main heading, I have added what is included in that article in a smaller font. This not only makes it eye-catching, but it offers a deeper insight as to what is included in the magazine.
On the right side of the magazine are a few photographs of what is included in a few of the articles. For example, the top image shows a picture of a girl struggling to study, a small strapline to accompany the image and the page number of where the article can be found. This type of technique if found on many fashion magazines, so I thought it could make a simple school magazine a lot more interesting to look at.
I tried to make the contents as interesting as possible as it is only the second page of the magazine. By doing this, the audience will want to read the articles in the magazine.

Scans of School Magazine Contents Page.

This is a scan of my school magazine contents page. I haven't included colour as it all depends on the pictures I use on the right-hand side of the page. What I have included in this post however, is the entire layout of the contents page which I will eventually create on Photoshop Elements 7. I will design a simple background layout which will make the whole page bright and eye-catching to the viewer making them more interested in what is featured in the issue. I have added pictures and a small introduction to the magazine as most issues feature when they released every month.

School Magazine Contents Page Research.

For my school contents page, I also decided to do some research. I found this contents page above on the internet at the following website:
http://spudini.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/school-magazine-contents-page/

This is a contents page that I really like because of the layout. I thought that the idea was really good to have a school book open and the contents layed out over it. I was thinking of following an idea like this but the layout of the contents shown on the page wasn't very clearly. So I thought that I needed to make my contents a little more simple.

The contents in the magazine should relate to nothing except education, school offers and school work/tips. My contents page will include pictures of what is featured inside the magazine.

Some of the contents I am thinking of including are:

- 100 Benefits of being a student

- Energy Foods for On-The-Go

- 'I got my A with extra revision classes'

- Competitions/Prizes

My School Magazine Front Cover

This is my school magazine front cover. I decided to stick with the magazine name:Live&Learn which is a simple yet appropriate title for the theme of the magazine. I took my magazine main image outside of school in front of a simple plain background. I was originally going to take the image in front of a college atmosphere such as a classroom or a common room but I thought that the image and straplines would contrast too much. The image I wanted to capture was a college student, dressed casual with folders and workbooks to compliment the style of the magazine. I needed to dress my model appropriately to go to college. Any other magazine would have a model in high-fashion clothes and full make-up.
The image I captured was meant to be a quick snap-shot of a student who is just on a way to a lecture. My model is smiling which shows a positive light on the theme of the magazine, she enjoys school: Students will enjoy reading this particular issue of Live&Learn. I brightened the main image a little which makes it seems a bit more fun and enjoyable to read.
I made sure to add one of the main conventions on the magazine, the bar code on the lower right-hand corner.
I didn't want to add too many strap lines on my magazine; I wanted to prevent the magazine from looking over-crowded, which would easily lose the interest from the teenagers who will read this issue. The strap lines that I did add however were appropriate for the theme of the magazine. I also added a kicker and a few effects on the writing to make it stand out more from the other strap lines. I determined the colour of the strap lines and the masthead by looking at what colours my model was wearing. The main colour was Green so I matched the large Masthead with the same colour.
The price of magazine was Free so I made sure to advertise that on the right ear of the magazine. I needed to find another colour but something that did not contrast too much!
So, I decided to use pink not only to highlight the word FREE but to match the tiny part of pink shown on the model.

Overall, I think my school magazine was quite successful. If I was to give it some positive criticism: I would probably make the strap lines a little bit smaller then add some more.

Scans of School Magazine Front Cover Plan

This is a scan of my school magazine front cover. This is just a very brief sketch of what I would want my cover to look like. (The layout, straplines etc)
I have not included the colour yet as I have not planed what I want my model to wear. I will base the colours on the magazine around the colour clothing that she wears.
The conventions I have included on my cover however include the Masthead, main image positioning, barcode, strapline positioning and layout.

I have decided to call my magazine Live and Learn. I think this name suits very well to the theme of the magazine. It is a very simple yet catchy title for a school/college magazine, along with giving the magazine a little more sophistication. The name of the magazine helps to show what audience it is aimed for which is teenagers.

Previous School Magazines Analysis

I took the time to look at previous school magazines that were made by previous Lordswood students. I have annotated these magazines and picked out the main conventions. For these two magazines, I did spot the basic conventions which were:

- A Main Image
- Kicker
- MastHead
- Straplines


I did think these magazines could be improved to make them seem a little more professional. First of all by looking at these magazines, I have taken note that I need to have a background that compliments the layout of the straplines. I cannot have something that contrasts too much or something that does not make the straplines readable. I cannot inlcude too many colours as it will not make the magazines eye-catching but a little amateur.

I need to have plenty of straplines but I cannot put too much on the cover, if it will crowd the main image.
For my magazine, I plan to have a a simple image with a simple background but it will also have a powerful effect for the front cover. I want to compliment the strapline and Masthead colour with the main image. One thing I have to remember for my magazine is that it is formal so the colours and image need to be appropriate for the theme.

Preliminary Task School Magazine Research

Before strarting work on my own school magazine, I did a little research on the internet. The pictures I have seen on Google images show very simple, formal-style magazines with very laid-back images. At this point I realised that I do not need to focus on a very glossy airbrushed magazine front cover. Normally the pictures that are used are of students, dressed in casual clothes or they are of pictures of students working.

The masthead for the magazines are genernally the school names or a name relating to education. For example some of the names I came across were called "St Mary's School Magazine 2008" and "School Ties". Not many colours are used on these magazines except for school colours or something very formal such as black and white. I would like to add some colour to my magazine, but keeping in mind that I cannot make it bright and colourful otherwise it will take the formailty away from the magazine. By looking at some of the school magazines I had came across, I had gathered some potnetial ideas that I could use for my own school magazine.

Rule Of Thirds

The rule of thirds ensures that all the proportion in the image is correct. The main square box in the middle is very important. The four points on the center square is very important, espeically if you want to capture and eye-catching image. Those four focal points is where the audience is always drawn to. For example, this image above shows the 4 lines drawn on leaving 9 equal parts. The audience automatically looks straight at the eye. For this particular image, it is following one of the rules of photography which I have mentioned in previous posts. (Looking the subject in the eye/eye level).

Camera Angles

Turning your camera in different positions determines the effectiveness in your image. For example, the photograph on the right, would not have the same effect if it was taken landcscape. Something in the image has to compliment the angle, focus and distance of the overall photograph. The girl in this image has very long hair which is a complimented feature in order for the photographer to choose to take this photograph portrait. It is something that fills the whole image.

Focal Points

The only part of the image that needs to be in focus is the subject your basing your photograph on. The focus needs to be locked in. In this photograph on the left, the honey bee is main focal point in the image. The audience knows this because the bee is very clear, very sharp and the background is not something we can identify. The background is blurred, allowing our eyes to move directly onto the honey bee. This technique can be used on every subject you want to put in the image. Depending on the distance that your image is taken, it can be very hard to capture the same amount of focus on the camera on both your subject and the background.

Positioning

Center imagery is great for a person, but for capturing a landscape image, it is best to capture the main pat of the image on either the left or the right. The picture can be brought to life but allowing the viewer to see the other surroundings. By doing this, the viewer can focus on everything in the image but not be distractd from the main focal point, which in this case would be the building.

Zooming In

Although certain shots may be needed for different types of media (Magazines, News Articles etc), it can be very effective to zoom in on the subject. This photograph on the left has been zoomed in to capture the emotions/expressions on the face. The image is very clear/sharp. Normally the technique of zooming in can only be done effectively with very small/medium sized objects. The pciture has to be filled, but it has to be with the correct proportion. Zooming in caputres a lot more detail. Getting too close can make the pictures seem blurry or be very hard for the viewer to focus on. The photo to the left is a perfect example of how to capture a zoomed in photo.

Lighting

If your photograph is going to be taken outside, the bright sun can leave a dark shadow on the subject you want to focus on. Instead, I can focus on using flash outdoors to brighten a persons face, for example, just like the photograph on the left. By using natural sunlight and combining with a flash, the person's face can become more alive and look much fresher and leave a really nice effect. The photo is also much more sharp. This technique may not always work. If outside seems cloudy but there is plenty of brightness, the effect can still be the same.

Backgrounds

Depending on what kind of image you are capturing, it can be very effective to use a plain background. By doing this, the viewer can focus on the subject and not be distracted by many other people/buildings etc. Nothing can interact with the main focal point. Something is soft, easy on the viewer's eyes is the kind of background that needs to be on an effective photograph.

Subject Looking At The Camera

When taking a photograph, I have learnt that it is important to capture the image with the subject looking directly at the camera. Having direct contact is very engaging, it has a much more powerful effect. By capturing a photograph on the subject's eye-level, it is a more personal feeling for the viewer, it is much more inviting and gives you the sense of being pulled into the picture.

Conventions Of A Magazine

For my first blog post, I have decided to write about the codes and conventions of a magazine. I have chosen to base my first blog around the magazine named Cosmopolitan which is a women's life magazine. This can be seen above.

The list of conventions shown on the magazine are as follows...

• Main Image (Jessica Alba)
• Kicker (Sun-Kissed styles)
• Pug (Save 20% at Oasis Online)
• Date/Price (August 2008 / £3.30
• Barcode
• Rule Of Thirds (Top right of the magazine)
• Straplines including

1. Beat-The-Heat, Hair 15 cool style ideas.
2. Anorexia Fightback

The codes and conventions of a magazine are split into three main groups which are:

- Technical

- Symbolic

- Written & Audio

These can give the text meaning and provide a response from the viewer.