Main Brief

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

Evaluation

What have you learnt?

During this preliminary task, we learnt how to use Photoshop, developing upon existing basic skills to slightly more complex skills such as using layers, selection tools, shapes, colours and text. Having used a basic form of Photoshop before called Serif, I was able to apply the knowledge I had from using that to this task. However, there were many things I hadn't done before such as use shapes and text, group layers into folders in order to keep them organised and use layer styles and adjustments. 

We also developed our analysing skills with our conventions and semiotics analysis. We had to look at the different features of magazines and become familiar with the names of these (e.g. masthead, skyline, plug, etc.) and then apply analytical skills in order to show how each of these features were effective to making the magazine look aesthetically pleasing and eye-catching so that it attracted an audience. 

How have you used technology?

During this task we had to use and become familiar with two different computers and their operating systems: PCs running Windows and iMacs running OS X. I was already quite familiar with OS X however it did prove difficult to use at times and there were many things I had to get used to such as the mouse not having a right-click button, the sensitivity of it quite low and the scroll direction being reversed (the latter two of which I was able to change and so this made everything a lot easier). Eventually, I found myself preferring to use the iMacs over the PCs as I found them easier to navigate and generally a lot more smooth-running than the PCs. 

Also, for this task I had to become more familiar with the exposure settings on my DSLR camera in order to achieve the effects I wanted within my main image. This meant learning what aperture, ISO and shutter speeds were and how to use them to my advantage. I also had to learn the different framings and composition of an image in order to make it pleasing to the eye and easy to work with when it came to editing the front cover (e.g. allowing space at the top of the image for the masthead and skyline).

Lastly, I had to make a Blogger account in order to post all my work in the form of a blog and get used to using it. This included making posts, changing the text in the posts, adjusting the pictures so that they looked good on my blog and regularly updating it. This was all new to me as I have never had a blogger account before and so I had to learn how to use everything so that I could get my blog to look just as I wanted it.

What conventions have you used and why?

In my final image I used a main image, masthead, skyline, footer, plug, date, website, barcode, price and multiple feature stories. These were all used in order to make my magazine look as professional as possible and attract the target audience (which is students at a college). I tried to keep these conventions looking clear, bold and colourful in order to make the magazine eye-catching and easy to read. I slightly challenged the genre of college magazines by making my front cover bright with feature stories that might attract a teenage student (such as the summer festivals article) rather than cramming it with information about academic-related articles. However, I didn't really challenge the placement of conventions and this was because I wanted to keep my magazine cover looking as realistic as possible.

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

If I were to do this task again I would take more photographs for the main image in different locations and of various students (e.g. science students, art students, etc.). I would pay more attention to the exposure when photographing indoors in order to get clearer pictures that would be easy to work with. I would also try out different angles such as tilted angles, low angles and high angles; props such as science equipment, art equipment and computers and poses such as somebody sat writing, drawing or working on the computer. This would give me a greater scope and variety of images to use as a main picture as well as images to include within the magazine. 

If I were to do this task again I would also make the magazine look more professional. I am not keen on how the plug looks with the shape and gradient and think with drawing or downloading shapes could give the magazine more verisimilitude. I would also download and use more fonts as I think using only two main types of font really restricts the visual appearance of the magazine.

I would also ask the teacher more questions as I usually take it upon myself to find things out alone. However, if I had asked a teacher it could have made the task a little quicker to do and my magazine cover may have looked better through receiving more feedback on how to improve had I sought it more often. 

Final College Magazine & Contents Page

This is my final college magazine cover and mock-up contents page for my preliminary task

Final Front Cover

Contents Page Mock-Up

As mentioned in my previous blog post, I used Image 6 as the main picture. The font which I used for the masthead is called 'Headline' (which is not featured on my mood board, however is very similar to one or two fonts which I did include) and the feature stories included fonts 'Headline' and 'Helvetica Neue' in light.

I did not edit my main image at all as I wanted to keep with the natural colours and lighting in the photograph and not risk making it look less natural through editing it. I stuck with a colour scheme containing mostly blues, greens and reds with white, black and grey being the main colours used for text. The colour scheme was heavily influenced by the images which I collected and displayed on my mood board and the colour scheme ideas which I drew from that (in the same blog post). However, when working on the final magazine cover I used the colours within my main image by picking them off certain aspects (i.e. blue jeans and red lipstick on subject and green trees in the background) in order to get a colour scheme which worked best with the main image.

I stuck with the mock-up layout of the front cover that I posted on my blog earlier and included almost everything picked out on the conventions analysis so that the front cover contains as much information as possible and is eye-catching to the target audience.

For the contents page mock-up, I also stuck with the contents page layout which I posted on my blog earlier and added a variety of contents, including the ideas for contents which I also drafted in that same blog post. I then added in what images would go where and gave it a title. However, the font which I used for my title I would adapt and change to fit with the front cover if I were to make the actual thing.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with the outcome of my college magazine however, I feel that there are some things which could be improved in order to make it look more professional and realistic, such as a better-looking plug and one or two more font styles.

Draft Front Cover

During my free time, I took one of the images from my framing photoshoot and used it as a main image in a draft of a college magazine front cover. I then played around with the various tools and texts on photoshop in order to get more used to its features and pick up skills which I could then use when it came to creating my final front cover.

I quite liked the black, white and pink colour scheme however, many would argue that this would make it predominantly aimed towards girls and women and so I have decided against using a similar colour scheme in my final front cover. Instead using colours which will make my magazine as gender neutral as possible.

I downloaded a font called 'Headline' to use for the masthead and feature stories. However, I'm not entirely sure about using this same font for the feature stories as it looks a little bit overwhelming so I may change this later.

I wanted the headline to be just behind the head of my subject and so took the opportunity to try different tools and layers on this draft to achieve the effect whilst keeping it looking as realistic as possible. This required me to work with the polygon selection and paintbrush tools, feathering and layers and so these are all skills which can be applied when it comes to creating the final front cover.

Lastly, I also worked with shapes, gradients and opacity for the plug and feature stories. It took me an awful long time before I finally found the gradient tool but when I did, was pleased with the outcome and will definitely apply this to my final front cover as well as the rectangular shapes that make the feature stories clearer to see.

Photoshoot - Final Front Cover Images

This is a sample of 14 pictures out of the 80 which I took when shooting for my final front cover image. I based my images upon the ones which I had collected and displayed on my mood board earlier. I took them around the college, inside and outside, and have included a sample of good and bad photographs in order to critique and give a good idea of the ones which I took.

The first 10 photos shown here were all taken outside in the courtyard of the college grounds. I wanted the background to be blurred, preferably with some greenery in it, the image light and bright and the subject in the foreground clearly in focus. The first two pictures did not wholly achieve this as the aperture on my camera was too small, making the image appear sightly dull and dark and with a wide depth of field. Image number 3 was after I had increased the aperture however set the ISO too high and so it appears to be way too bright. Images 4 to 9 were after I had found the perfect exposure balance with the widest possible aperture (ensuring a shorter depth of field which created the blurred background effect I wanted).

Images 10 to 14 were taken inside. Though they didn't look too bad on the screen of my camera, once I uploaded them I realised the images were 'noisy' and had a lot of grain due to the low ISO (the settings of which I hadn't changed from when I took the pictures outside). The images are fairly dark as well as the colour not appearing as vivid as the outdoor ones. If I were to take these again, I'd have to look into increasing the ISO and/or shutter speed in order to compensate for the lack of natural light.

In some of the images, composition and framing of the picture was the issue. I would say personally in images 1, 8 and 13 the subject is a little too small. The background in image 12 does not do the photo much justice and images 3 and 14 are a little too close. However, these framings and composition may look good on a magazine, just not the one I had in mind.

I found shooting outside to be a little bit difficult at times as people were constantly walking in and out of the shot, as well as the windy weather messing up hair (seen in image 9 as Molly's face is slightly covered with a piece of her hair that blew across at the last minute). Despite this, I was pleased with how some of the images turned out and will be using image 6 as my final image.

Framing Images - Practice for Front Cover

In order to get an idea of the types of framings that could be used on a magazine, I did a practice shoot before taking my final photographs for the cover of my college magazine.

The shots that i needed to include were:

• Extreme close-up
• Close-up
• Medium close-up
• Long shot
• High angle
• Low angle
• Two shot
• Framed left
• Framed right
• Central image

I also applied what i learned about camera framing in Film Studies and included two other types of shots: a medium shot and a medium long shot.

In order to take these, I had my friend stand in front of a lit white wall in order to make it look like it was taken in a studio, giving it a sense of professionalism. I then edited the raw images, cropping them so that the composition and black and white effect made them look appealing. Then, I named and organised them so that they could be uploaded easier.

These photos were the best ones out of the 100+ I took. i had at least one for every camera type, and taking these helped me to gain a lot more insight into how a portrait image could be framed for the front cover of a magazine. I will definitely use what I have learnt in this task, such as camera framing and picture composition, when taking and editing the final image for my front cover. However, if my final image does not turn out as expected, some of these photos may work well as the main image on my college magazine as they are quite suitable for the criteria.

Semiotics - Movie Poster

We took this poster from the film: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; one of a series of blockbuster fantasy swashbuckler films, and looked at how the colour, characters, title, etc. made it effective to the film and attract an audience.

There are four obviously main characters on the front of this poster, arranged in order of importance. The one being the largest and in the centre we assume is the main character before even having watched the film. He is looking directly at the camera with a slightly menacing stare and holding two weapons; a gun and a sword. This character also reflects the typical pirate look, which reiterates the title within his appearance. This is all important to attracting the audience as it introduces us to the main character and tells us there is a theme of danger, violence and action within the film. Just to the left and right of the main character are two other characters who hold the same stare, making them look menacing and reflecting the sense of danger and theme of pirates on the cover. However, on the far left is the only female character on the front cover. She has long hair which is being blown to one side and is looking seductively at the camera, suggesting that she may be the main love interest in the film. All of this is effective to capturing the attention of the audience as the characters connect with them by looking straight into the camera, and keep well with the theme displayed on the rest of the poster.

The title is written on a scroll of faded parchment, which keeps with the theme of pirates as well as suggesting the time in which the film was set (1720-1750). The font of the title is in a serif-style font which looks as though it could have been handwritten in the style of that era, further reflecting the theme of pirates in the 18th century. This attracts the audience as it backs up the theme of pirates and tells us that the time in which it was set makes it a somewhat 'period' film. Also in the title is a logo which fans can quickly recognise the film by and that is a skull and crossbones. However, the crossbones have been replaced by swords and the skull is smiling and wearing the same bandana which the main character (below) wears. This backs up the theme of the pirates, the front middle character being the 'main' character within the film and the assumption that the film may be somewhat mysterious and dark. This further attracts the audience as it gives us an image, or logo, within the title which we can recognise the film by (suggesting the film is worthy of recognition and a logo).

At the bottom of the poster is an image of a pirate ship, highlighted by the sun which is setting behind it. There are visible holes in the sails from cannon shots and pirates in smaller lifeboats around it. From this, we assume that the ship might be a prominent feature in the film before even having watched it. The fact it is highlighted makes the ship and the lifeboats appear silhouetted and casts a harsh, dark shadow across the water. This further adds to the dark pirate theme and makes the scene look very mysterious, attracting the attention of the audience.

The poster itself is comprised of mainly warm, contrasted colours such as oranges, reds, yellows and black. In fact, a large portion of the poster is black and the faces of the characters are shadowed, and this gives the poster a sense of mystery and adventure. From this, we get the idea that the film may contain violence and action as the general overview of the poster suggests it may be a darker film. The warm colours add to this contrast, and the use of red in the main characters bandanna may suggest danger. This is all effective to the poster as it ties all the themes within it together, making the poster look visually appealing and thus attracting the attention of the audience.

Despite the consistent dark theme of pirates, danger and action, we know that the film is family-friendly and suitable for younger audiences by the highly recognisable logo at the top of the poster which is Walt Disney Pictures. This is a key attention-grabbing point as it has a very large fan base. The audience recognises that due to the film being made by a very famous production company that it is more than likely going to be a very popular blockbuster.

Introduction to Photoshop

I have only briefly used Photoshop before, however, my secondary school had a slightly more basic version of Photoshop called Serif which I used fairly regularly in the past. I was able to build up some basic Photoshop skills on this which helped me when it came to actually using Photoshop in this introductory task.

We were given the image size (72x300) and then four pictures which we had to find ourselves and work with: sand dunes (which would be the background), the Eiffel Tower, a bear and an astronaut. Some of these proved to be a challenge to work with due to the shape and nature of them and so it forced us to have to work precisely and with different editing tools.

I started with the sand dunes as it was the background. I had to be sure to pick a high-resolution image in order to fit the picture size without causing detriment to the image quality if it needed to be scaled up. I downloaded the image, opened it in Photoshop and dragged it onto my blank image template, which created a new layer. In order to keep a track on all my layers, I made sure to name them so it kept things organised. The image I inserted needed to be scaled up, so I went to Edit > Transform > Scale and held shift whilst dragging it by the corner point so that it kept the aspect ratio.

I then found the image of the Eiffel Tower. Initially, I had some trouble with this as the image I picked was pasting as a very low quality image, even though the resolution was high. I couldn't resolve this problem, and after following advice from my teacher, looked for a new image. This time, it worked and pasted on with no problem and I was able to use the polygon selection tool to trace the image of the Eiffel Tower and then delete the background on it. I had to do this twice, however, as the first time I had forgotten to open my image into Photoshop first, and dragged it on straight from the Finder menu, resulting in it being pasted as a 'Smart Layer' and I was unable to delete the background.

I then looked for an image of a bear. This was slightly tricky as generally, the images I found of bears had their limbs covered by grass or they were laying/sitting in awkward positions. I eventually found one and used the polygon selection tool (with a feathering of 3 px to blend the fur into the background better) and placed it on my picture, deleting parts of the bear so it appeared to be slightly behind the sand dune.

Finally, I added the image of the astronaut. This proved to be the most difficult as the awkward shape of it meant that using the polygon selection tool took an awful long time, and twice I had to do it since the first time I accidentally double-clicked halfway through and had to start over. However, I eventually managed to cut the image out precisely and placed him in the faraway distance.

Throughout, I ensured that the images I pasted on blended into the background as best as possible by going to Image > Corrections and adjusting brightness, exposure, contrast, hue, etc. so that it looked slightly more realistic.

Overall, I wasn't entirely pleased with the outcome of my photoshop edit, I could have made it look more realistic and used better images. However, it is a starting point, and I feel that by having used Serif before may help and prove to be an advantage when it comes to editing photos later on.

Research - Moodboard, Layout, Titles and Colour Scheme

I have gathered research in the form of a moodboard, which then helped me to create a layout template, come up with title ideas and colour schemes for my preliminary task which is to design a college magazine.

For my moodboard, I collected pictures from Google Images which generally caught my attention and I found visually appealing and arranged them on a publisher document. Doing this began to show a general theme with the kinds of images I was picking out and I was beginning to see similarities in fonts, colour schemes and layouts. Some images, such as those of the college logo and the building itself, were put in there as I wanted to see how these might work with the general 'contemporary' theme if I were to include them later.

I began with the 'College' magazine images in the bottom right-hand corner. This was a good place to start as it showed some existing products which worked, looked appealing and I could use as a guideline later on. However, I found the search for college magazines difficult as there were not a wide variety of existing products to choose from, nor very many that I liked. 

I then moved on to searching for other magazine covers which I liked the appearance of. These were generally fashion magazines as they had the medium close-up shots and serif headers which I liked the look of, as well as light and bright colour schemes. I broadened the search for fonts by finding ones that I liked and putting these on my moodboard. Most of the fonts I have included are the titles of the fonts themselves, so I can easily search for them later and download them to use. I saw that the general pattern with the fonts I picked were serif-style fonts, with a small kerning and usually quite thin. I thought that the more 'bolder' fonts I included would look good as headers, as it would attract the viewers attention.

Then, I started thinking about the main image on my magazine. I already knew I wanted a single student rather than a group as the main image, possibly holding books. I dedicated the top right-hand corner of my moodboard to collecting images of students. From the images I picked, there seemed to be a general theme with female students (as I found that images of male students standing alone holding books seemed to be limited) holding books in an outdoors environment. The backgrounds are usually very blurred (short depth of field) or a solid colour, so I will take pictures with both in order to see which works best on my magazine cover. There are, however, a couple of images of students with laptops, and I particularly liked the one of the girl on the laptop taken from above as the high angle is quite unusual, however the more landscape appearance of this image may make putting it onto a portrait magazine cover difficult. When it comes to taking the photographs for my magazine cover, I will be sure to try out both the books and laptop as props, and both the outdoors and studio-like backgrounds.

Lastly, I looked for contents page covers in order to collect ideas for mine. I have concluded from the image research I gathered that I will have a white background, with a large title (possibly the title of the magazine) and multiple images on the page. I will try to keep it looking quite clean and minimalistic in order to make it easy to navigate when looking for pages, and the colour scheme will match that of the cover page.

After finishing my moodboard, I designed a front cover and contents template for my magazine in order to get an idea of where I wanted everything to be placed. From my conventions analysis, I decided that I wanted to include a skyline, footer and plug on my cover even though they are not particularly necessary, as I think it will balance out the appearance more and make it more eye-catching. As for the contents page, I wanted to centre the contents list as well as the title as I think that this helps in creating symmetry and making it look cleaner. These layouts are only a guideline for how I may want my magazine to look, as I may decide against including features such as a secondary picture on the cover as it might not work with the main image, or make it look too cluttered.

Then, I came up with some ideas for college magazine names and contents page ideas, and then used some of the pictures I had collected and displayed on my moodboard to come up with some colour schemes for my magazine. I can see that the general pattern with the colour schemes include blacks, greys and whites along with either bold or pastel colours in predominantly pinks, blues and greens. Although my decision on none of these are final, I found it was helpful to lay out my ideas and display them this way for future reference.

Conventions Analysis

As an introductory task, we had to research 3 existing college/university magazines, labelling them and then expanding on the labelled points to explain how it is effective and helps attract an audience. This is so we could see what products already exist on the market, therefore helping us in the production of our own college magazine.

Preliminary Task

To produce a front cover for a new school/college magazine and a mock up of the layout for the contents page and double page spread.