Finished Front cover and contents page

Evaluation

What have you learnt from completing this task?
During the task I learnt the conventions of a magazine and also how to use Photoshop effectively. Learning this will help me in the future in terms of media, especially with future work on the course. I also learnt the different types of shots that can be used such as the medium close up that was used in my front cover. I learnt the importance of each convention on a magazine front cover, even some of the smaller ones that have to be added such as a var code which can be easily over looked when creating the front cover.

How have you used technology? What conventions have you used and why?

Through using Photoshop I have learnt different techniques on how to use different tools for different effects. For the conventions I used the sky line and footer as they are frequently used on magazine covers for feature stories along with the other feature stories on the side. I used the main feature story as a convention and usually it is larger on the cover than the other feature stories. I added a bar code to the bottom to make it more realistic as magazines feature as bar code. Other conventions included are a plug to entice people to buy a magazine and the main image which is the first thing people see when looking at a magazine

 

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

If I were to do this again I would change the style of the magazine so the magazine then has a clear theme such as music or theatre. This way the stories can be focused more on a clear theme. Also I would change the overall colour scheme to better suit the main image so it doesn't clash with it. I would also use better feature stories and main feature to better suit somehting you would see in a weekly magazine. This is due to a weekly college magazine wouldn't use stories on revision and deadlines if it has been going on for a while as that would be the first issue and it would focus more on college news.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Photos for front cover

Moderate lighting, not too bright or dark, medium close up, nothing in background , will be used

Too dull, people seen in background, face is being pulled so will not be used

Lighting is off, bus setting doesn't seem to work for the main image so none of them shall be used.

Not medium close up as it shows below the chest plus bad lighting through the bus setting, will not use

Busb setting doesn't work becasue of light from windows, will not use

medium close up, good lighting, background setting is better, can suit a writing theme as subject is reading a book, definately a good choice, could be used, subject however not looking at camera

Not medium close up so can't be used plus subjec t not looking at camera plau lighting is less effective, can't be used

effective lighting and location, is medium close up, could be used

people seen in background and would be more effective if full wyke logo is shown rather than it being cut off, however setting does work, won't be used

location and background not very effective although it is a mdeium close up and lighting is good, Will not be used

Making of the college front cover

First I started with the main feature and the featire stories as well as the mast head. This way I can work out what all the stories and the name before choosing the picture to go with it.

 

Next after putting in the main feature and feature stories I changed the colour of the text to match my colour scheme to make it look more formal. I chose the colour blue so the stories stand out from the mast head. Overall it also makes the mast head stand out in contrast to the stories.

To try and make the feature stories stand out more i've added title to them which have the same colour as the mast head. This way the feature stories grab your attention a lot more than before.

After this I added the plug and the bar code which are normal conventions of a magazine. The plug has the same colour scheme as the rest of the magazine cover to make it fit in yet stand out.

At this point I added the main image however the colour scheme didn't work well with the image so I had to change it.

Next I included the sky line and footer to the cover.

The text didn't match the colour scheme so I change the green text to yellow.

Location Ideas

The best location for the magazine front cover would be around the college grounds. Preferably outside or while a student is working. This way it can focus more on the college aspect of the magazine instead of just a white background. Or have shots of students on a bus to get the college feel and style. I will either use a picture of someone working or just a normal picture of them smiling. I will test both to see what works out.

Basics of Photoshop

In my first run with photoshop I used a test image of Harry Kane to create a draft of a sport magazine front cover. Overall, this is what my front cover came out as.

With it being a sport magazine it was given the name athlete which was one of my previous name ideas for if I wanted the college magazinwe to be sport based. It is simple in design but that's only be because I was figuring out the basice of phototshop as a whole.

Shot definitions/ Types of shots

The first type of shot is the extreme close up which is normally a close up of something like an eye









The next type of shot is the close up which focuses on the face of the individual










The next is the medium close up which includes the chest of the individual as well as the face. This is the shot type that will be used for my magazine front cover.











The next shot is the long shot which is a shot that shows the entire body in the picture.













The shot here is a high angle shot which shows the individual from above and another is a low angle shot which is looking up at the individual









The next is a two shot which is of two people instead of one. These types of shot are normally used for bands in music magazines.








The next three shots are very similar as the they're all based on where the individual is framed. These are when the image is framed to the left' right and centred

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Magazine front cover analysis

Conventions analysis of a front cover of a music magazine. LIIAR to be applied and each area to be explained in detail.

All magazines have basic conventions such as this one, which include
Main image
Mast head
Plug
Bar code
Date
Issue Numkber
Sell lines/ Sky line
Headline
Sub heading

Mood Board

This a list of what college students are interested in and what the college magazine could be about

Sport







Music








Writing

Drama

Magazine Name

These are the possible names of the college magazine

For sport based magazine cover= Athlete, Athletic, Action, Physical, Compete, Jock



For music based magazine cover= Melody, Chorus, Verse, Volume, Audio, Tempo



For writing based magazine cover= Scrawl, Scribble, Textbook



For average college magazine cover=  Pupil, Scholar, Study, Course,

Colour Scheme

These are the possible colour schemes for the magazine front cover


This one would be better for a sport magazine with the green representing the grass and the brown representing the mud.

This colour scheme is based on a lighter red and could be used for the average college magazine.










This one could be used for a darker colour scheme overall for a more formal look.

Feature Story Ideas

In terms of feature stories for a sport based magazine it could be about the Wyke sports teams or about how to exercise while keeping on top of college work.

With writing it could be about the writing competitions that are going on at the moment and past winners at wyke. Or it could be about tips on writing.

In music terms it could talk about the music clubs at Wyke and how to keep on top of that as well as the college work. I may expand the idea to performing arts as well to talk about upcoming productions or the story on the student now on the HBO drama.

For the average magazine it could just be based on revision tips or advice about dealing with college life in general.

Semiotics/ Trebor mint advert analysis

Position signs: the camera and the viewer
The focal point of the camera is the unicorn's muzzle, which in turn draws attention to the mint.
The point of view positions the viewer as being not quite level with the unicorn's gaze-which would be the case were the viewer stood to the side of a large horse. This has the effect of making the unicorn superior in size, which relates to the word 'discerning' from the slogan, and the fact that (despite the fact that they're not real) unicorns are fabled to be extremely rare and thus considered to be the 'elite' of horses.
Treatment signs: devices of filming and of processing
The white background might not seem to be an obvious choice against which to depict a white unicorn and a mint. However, the white emphasises the theme of purity, and adds an element of fantasy to the image. Furthermore, white is often associated with luxury items, thus the white background provides a luxury background against which the black evening glove stands out in high contrast in terms of colour- though the bejewelled, gloved hand and the word 'discerning' are both signifiers of wealth and class.
The framing of the scene means that the viewer cannot see to whom the arm belongs, but this means that the attention is not diverted from the product or the message that Trebor wish to convey. The message conveyed by the advert may be interpreted as being that Extra Strong Mints are mints of distinction- a cut above the rest.
Content Signs: Objects in the picture and their placing
Black evening gloves and diamond jewellery are featured to emphasise the quality of the mint. This image provides a strong contrast with the scene you might expect if you imagined a stable girl feeding a pony a mint- surrounded by hay and horse manure, whilst wearing practical clothes (which stereotypically might involve various shades of khaki green and an assortment of tweeds with wellington boots). Trebor are keen for the viewer to understand that Extra Strong mints are of such a high quality, that they are certainly not a mint that you would feed to a mere pony in a stable with your bare hands.
The diamond jewellery could be considered to signify wealth and success, which relates to the slogan 'sweet success'- the mint is of such quality that it in itself is a sign of success (though in reality they retail for about 50p a packet)
The pack shot of the packet of Extra Strong mints is centred at the bottom of the advert, and draws the eye in as it is the only part of the advert that makes use of the strong colours.

LIIAR Analysis

LIIAR stands for
Language
Institution
Ideology
Audience
Representation
Each are key elements of Media Studies that must be understood

Media language is what particular medium you're looking at and what its particular terminology is.
Institution is who controls the production process and how that affects the final product.
Ideology is if values are explicit or implicit.
Audience is defined by who it's for, what people do with it and whose needs it fufils
Representation is which groups/individuals/issues appear in it, how they are portrayed and what is excluded.

Breif

To design a college magazine front cover and mock up contents page. Images used on the front cover must be original