Flat plans and rationale questions

Here is my flat plans for my front cover,contents page and double page spread. A flat plan is basically a rough plan/idea of what you want your final product to look like. This was just what you wanted your magazine to look like at the begining and it may not have been how it turned out in the end.

Front cover

Colour usage: For my front cover i will mainly chose colours that would link in with my image. The colours in the image fit in with my style of magazine, The main colours will be dark red, dark purple and bright pink. I will chose the bright pink to brighten up my front cover and also add contrast. I am to use a simlair colour scheme of dark red, dark purple and bright pink throught out my full magazine. I think using these three colours will be effective and add the retro style i want to my magazine. This will  add a professional and consistent look to my magazine.

Image useage: The only image I plan to use on my magazine is my main image. This will be a medium shot with a eyeline match. My image will be in colour. I want the audience to notice this first and focus mainly on this. 

Text usage: I will use the text to capture the reader’s attention when the magazine is placed on the shelf. I will use buzz words like ‘NEW’ and punctuation ‘!’ to grab attention immediately. The text will let the reader know what magazine it is and what articles will be featured inside. These need to be exaggerated in order for the reader to pick up the magazine and buy it. My sell lines will show what can be found inside and I will use a pull quote from my main image to introduce my double page spread. I will not add too much text as I do not want this to detract away from my main image. I want my main sell line to stand out alot more than the smaller sell lines. In my final piece you can see how this all works. I will make sure i have the important information like the date and price and barcode all on my front cover.

Layout: My main layout of my magazine will be quite spacious but this gave the front cover the style i wanted. I postioned my main image to the left side with the masthead in the top left corner. My main sell line will be postioned in the bottom left corner in a very large text next to the main image. I will made sure there wasnt to many sell lines and also made sure it didnt look over crowed with information.

Contents and Double Page Spread

Colour usage: My colour scheme for my contents and dps both linked in my main image once again. The dark red, dark durple and pink stayed in use. For this i will use black for my font, as it was simple looked good and stood out on the white background. I will keep the colours the same to keep the professional and consistent look to my product.

Image usage:  I will use four images on my magazine. I willl use these instead of page numbers. I plan to keep  the main image bigger than the others as this was the image linked in with the front cover. Using images made my magazine look alot more effective rather than boring text. 

Text usage: My text will hopefully be quite limited. I dont want the readers to get bored of reading my information i so plan to keep this to as little as possiable. Obviously i will have the page numbers and information about the pages and the main text on the dps. 

Layout: The layout for my dps will hopefully be a big main image on one side with the page title and and main texts on the other side. For my contents page I want the four images with the limited texd postioned around it.

Preliminary Photos

These are the photos i took for my preliminary task some of which i used and others i didnt. Underneath are my preliminary photos are they reasons why i did and didnt use them.

I used this picture for my front cover image. I thought this was appropriate for the front cover as it has a eye line match and the model is looking into the camera. It is also a medium shot like most professional magazines. I had to edit the lighting to brighten the models face slightly as i felt it was to dark. I placed the model on a plain white wall so the masthead, sell lines and advertisements would stand out clearly.

                                          

 

I chose these four pictures for my contents page as they all gave information about each separate page. I also chose these images for my contents page as contents page images didn't need to have eye line matches which is one of the reasons why they haven't been use for my front cover image. I made each image slightly brighter to fit in with my front cover image as i lightened that up as well.

At first i was going to use this image as my main front cover image. I thought it was a good image as it has a clear background and good lighting but i then realised the models weren't looking into the camera meaning they didn't have a eye  line match meaning i would have a got lower grade than i did.

I didn't use this image as one of the models wasn't focused and was talking mid shot. If one of the models wasn't talking i think this would have been a good image as the lighting is good and it is advertising the college which was the aim of the task, to make a college magazine. I wouldn't have used this on my front cover as the models are to far away from the camera and aren't medium shots.

I didn't use this image in any part of my magazine as i thought the picture was to dark and out of focus. I also feel as if the model wasn't ready for the photo and it looks as if it was taken as the model was laughing.

Simpsons Movie Photoshop Task

This is my Simpsons movie poster which I created during my lesson using photoshop. We were given 2 hours to complete this task and it helped me gain my photoshop knowledge. Underneath is my finished product. This exercise helped me with my final product as I was constantly gaining more knowledge of photo shop and of the Mac computers. I was also comparing my poster to the professional Simpsons poster so I had a good idea of what i needed to do to make my poster look professional. I took this into mind when creating my final piece. I thought about space, colours and positioning when creating my final piece.

Musical Influences.

Underneath are my musical influences and the music i like listening to. I aim to put these types of music forward in my magazine.

Pink-Try

      Kate Nash - Foundations

Paloma Faith- 30 minuet love affair.

Lana Del Ray - Video games

Ellie Goulding- Explosions

Magazine survey.

We had to create a magazine survey to find out the target audience for our magazine and the music they like and can relate too. Underneath is my survey of which i will ask 20 people to find out my result. The results from this survey will help me  wit my final product as i know what they like and what they will enjoy in a magazine. For example I found out that my target audience notice the attractive model on the front of the page before anything else there for I made sure i had a young pretty model on the front.  I also made sure my magazine was of a reasonable price as my results told me they would pay anything up to £3.00 if they enjoyed reading it.

Feedback

This is a example of a filled in questionnaire.

1. Are you male or female?

2. What is your age?

For this question i asked people from the age of 16-21 because thats who i aim to target my magazine at.

3. What is your favourite music genre?

4.What is your favourite musician/band?

The artists that came up included:

• Rhianna
• Radiohead
• My Chemical Romance
• Nivana
• Swedish House Mafia
• Robbie Williams
• Coldplay
• Kasibian
• Mumford and Sons
• One Direction
• Florence and the machine

5. What makes a good front cover image?

6.How often do you read magazines?

7. What would compel you to buy a magazine?

8. what colours would attract you most?

9. How much would you consider paying for a magazine?

10. Whats your favourite music festival?

This is me interviewing one of my peers.

Jarvis Cocker Task.

We all had 2 hours to come up with a basic front cover for a magazine using the Pulp star Jarvis Cocker. This task was given to us so we got used to using Photoshop and understood the tools on it. We were given 2 hours to complete the task. At first I found the task quite hard as i didn't know how to use the tools but after following the Jarvis Cocker workbook we got given I was able to complete the task a lot easier. Overall I found the whole task useful as i gained a lot of knowledge about the program. Underneath is my finished product.  

I was very happy with the grade given to me for this task. The task helped me with my final product as i had been gaining my Photoshop knowledge throughout. It gave me ideas on how to layout my final product and the different tools available on the software. It the negative feedback given to me for the piece also helped me massively as it helped me realize the front cover image needed to be a mid-shot or close up and not a long shot like i used on my Jarvis Cocker task.

Preliminary Task.

This is my front cover. I made sure i used a eye-line match for the front cover image. 

 

This is my contents page. I used colours which would make the text stand out and included images to make it more interesting for the readers. 

For this task I got a grade B. Underneath is my mark sheet from my teacher.

Doing this task helped me with my main product as it helped me understand the layout and the basic structure of a magazine. The feedback given to me by my teacher made me understand the positives and negatives of my preliminary product and made me realize what i would have to change for my final piece. I found this task very helpful as it helped me gain basic Photoshop skills which helped me with my final piece.

Possible Photos For My Magazine

Possible photos i could use for my magazine:

The three photo above were not acceptable for my front cover as the models head is cut off meaning it would be hard to postion the masthead. My teacher told me they would be sutibale to use for a contents page image. She also said I had done well with the eyeline matches and quailty of the photos.

The photo above is the photo i chose to use for my front cover. I chose this because my models head is fully on the photo and the eyeline match is perfect. I also thought this was a better photo as the model is holding a guitar which in linking into the theme of music. I editing this photo on photo shop and zoomed in making it a more acceptbale image for my front cover. I was aware the image needed to be a mid-shot which is why i zoomed in and made my model bigger. You can see this on the 'working in my magazine' post.

I chose the image above for my double page spread. I thought this would be a good image as it can take up one side of the double page spread. Also the image has a eyeline match once again, and i thought it would be a good idea to have a pull quote on the fence behind the model where there is alot of blank space.

I used this image for my main contents page image. I based the colour scheme on my magazine on the colours on this image, the colours being dark red, black and dark purple. You can see this on my working on my magazine post.

I didnt use this on my contents page but i shared this image with the peers in my class and 3 of them used this as a contents page image.

I didnt use this image at all as  I thought it was to negative having the word 'Hate' across the page to put in a professional magazine.

 

 This is just an idea of what I could have as my masthead. I didnt choose i use this as my final piece.

Looking at other students Work.

To help us understand the positive and negative sides to a magazine we looked at other students work. We had to say what we thought the strengths and weakness's were and also what grade we thought it would have got.

Name of product	What I thought were the strengths	What I thought were the weaknesses	What grade you think it got?
AMPLIFY	Good use of font on the contents and front cover. Good colour scheme. The font cover has most of the necessary information a front cover should have (e. barcode, price, masthead, main sell lines and sell lines, advertisement. )	On the front page and contents page the images have been cut round and this is clearly visible to the readers.  Also on the double page spread the text on top of the image isn’t clear and in the bottom right hand corner there is a random pattern to full in space. Also the font is plain and the kicker and main text aren’t separated so it’s hard to tell the difference. Also all three images were pixelated and didn’t look professional like most magazines. There also isn’t a background colour on either page making It look plain and messy. It’s not exciting and engaging and there is nothing about it which would make you want to read more.  On the front image the top of her head is cut off into the masthead which is clearly visible and looks messy and unprofessional. Also the contents image is random and when the picture must have been take the model is against a wall whereas on the contents she is just standing in a random position against nothing which doesn’t fit in with the topic.	U
ETA	The strengths of this magazine are the font cover looks like a professional magazine. It has a suitable colour scheme which fits in well with the image. The masthead and main sell lines look professional. There are advertisements and usp’s which both fit in with the magazine topic and colour scheme. The font cover has all the necessary information needed, e.g. barcode price date and issue number.	The images on the double page spread are blurry isn’t what you would find in a real magazine. As well as the images the writing on the double page spread is blurry which makes is hard to read and gives it an unprofessional look. The images on the contents page are pixelated, unclear and not in any certain position making it looks unprofessional. The contents page also has no colour and is very plain which could bore the readers and makes is look untidy. The masthead and the main sell line are both equal size which isn’t like a professional magazine.	C/D
FUNK	The double page spread looks professional and is set out well with a relevant image. The front cover has all the necessary information needed. The colour scheme fits in well with the images. The contents page is set out well and is clear to read but also looks effective as it isn’t all text but images to split the page up.	The image on the double page spread and front cover is badly photo shopped and it clearly visible the mistakes and the way they have cut round the image. The masthead doesn’t look professional and is hidden slightly by the image. On two if the images in the contents page the page number isn’t clear to the reader.	B

Over all looking at other students work gave me different ideas about what i want my final piece to look like. It helped me decided what type of theme i wanted to base my magazine on and also the type of image i am aiming to use for my magazine. It also made my realize what i needed to include in my magazine to help me achieve the higher grades.

Double page spread

                    This is my deconstruction of the main parts of a double page spread.

The main parts include:-

• Drop Cap
• Columns
• Pull Quotes
• A dominant image
• Kicker
• Introduction
• Strap-line
• Article title

Looking at his has gave me a lot of ideas about my final product. I now know that i want to have an A4 image on one side of my double page spread along with the text on the other. I hope i stick with this and when taking my photos take into consideration one of them will need to be used for a DSP image.

The aims of the course

The aims of this course are to:

• Enhance your enjoyment and appreciation of the media and its a role in your daily life;
• Develop critical understanding of the media through engagement with media products and concepts and through the creative application of practical skills;
• Explore production processes, technologies and contexts;
• Become independent in research skills and their applications. 

Deconstruction of a front cover

This is a deconstruction of the front page of a magazine called 'The Crack.'

This is a deconstruction of the front page of a music magazine called 'Top of the Pops.'

This is a deconstruction of the front page on a music magazine called 'Billiard.'

Mast Head 

The Mast head is the name or brand of the magazine, it is usually placed above the magazine and usually conjured to be bright or eye catching. In some cases, especially the very well known magazines can have part of the Main Image overlap it, very much like the one above. The mast head always is larger than the other text on the cover

Main Image

The Main Image is a photo that sells the magazine, the main image can vary to; brand of the magazines, genre of the magazine, special editions and of course every monthly issue. The main image has also been known to be very provocative ranging from the weird, eccentric, bland and downright sexual. 

Sell Lines

The Sell Lines are pieces of text scattered around the magazine, they are placed to include more information to what is in the magazine itself. Sell lines are typically short, straight to the point and ambiguous to attract readers into buying the magazine. They normally are in different font compared to the Main Sell Lines to stand out.

Essential Info

 The Essential Infos are pieces that usually dictates the edition of the magazine, e.g. Feb 2012. Essential Info also shows the price of the magazine, and they are always very small to hide the actual price of the magazine. The location of the Essential Info can vary from underneath the Mast Head or close to the barcode.

Main Sell Line

The Main Sell Lines is what attracts the interested buyers or readers, Main Sell Lines are usually very big, bold and bright to be able to catch the eye of an semi-interested buyer from a distance. The Main Sell Lines in every magazine is also know to have a unique font that you and I normally come across. Much like the Mast Head they normally overlap the Main Image and can be usually located near the center of the magazine or Main Image

Sub Head
  
The Sub Heads is always located below or near the Main Sell Line, they are placed there to add more information to the Main Sell Line. Sub Heads are usually a different font, size and color to the Main Sell Lines.

Barcode

The Barcode is usually located at the bottom right of magazines, however they can feature on the front cover or the back cover of the magazine, depending on the choice of the head editor. The main purpose of the barcode is for scanning on the tills for the retail prices.

Deconstruction of a Contents page

This is a deconstruction of a contents page from 'The Crack'

Feature	Description
Masthead?? How is it positioned? Font Style? Colour Where on page is it positioned?	The masthead is featured at the top of them page, in the centre just below the introduction. It is in big, bold. Block capitals in black.
Necessary Information?? Date? Issue Number? Page number? Where are they positioned? Website info? Links?	The necessary information is positioned in the bottom left corner. There is a contact number, email address, postage address and fax number.
Text?? What is it? Form of address? How much text? What is its purpose? Subheadings? Order? Layout? Use of numerical features?	The main text is all positioned in the center of the page just below the masthead. The mini subheadings include the page title and number and are in a darker and bigger font. The text is telling readers briefly what is going to be on each page.
Font?? What font is used? Are there different font styles? Why is this? Colour? Are italics used? Where? How? Bold text?	There is mainly the same font used across the full contents page.  All of the text is black, but there is a lot of bold text in the use of subheading and mastheads.  The page title is in a different colour so it stands out from the other text and so the readers know what they are reading.
Images?? How many? What size? What are they of? Are the images anchored? (i.e. by a caption?) Is there writing over any of the images? Positioning of images?	The images on the page are all positioned down the right hand side. The main image is the same image as the front cover but in a smaller size and is positioned in the top right hand side. This image is anchored by a caption. The rest of the images are underneath the main image and are attached to page numbers. This is another way of giving readers information about the pages without using writing.
Composition?? Framing? Layout? Layering? Relation of text to images? Image led? Text led?	the pages layout is very spacious and spread out. There is a lot of space between text and images.  There is no relation of the text to images. The introduction is at the top of the page above the masthead.
Linguistic features?? Rhetorical questions? Alliteration? Assonance? Enigma Codes? Puns? Anything else of note? Effect of linguistic features?	There is no use of linguistic features. There is use of advertisements.
Colour?? How many colours are used for text? Colours of images? Effect of colours?	The main colours used are black white and yellow. This makes everything stand out clearly. A few different colours are brought in through the images down the side. The full page stays with quite dull colours.

This is a deconstruction of a contents page from a music magazine called 'Mixmag.'

Feature	Description
Masthead?? How is it positioned? Font Style? Colour Where on page is it positioned?	The masthead is positioned at the top left of the page.  It is in a bold, big white impact text which stands out very Clear on the dark background.
Necessary Information?? Date? Issue Number? Page number? Where are they positioned? Website info? Links?	The necessary information is at the bottom left of the page. This includes the date and issue number. The website is located bottom right.
Text?? What is it? Form of address? How much text? What is its purpose? Subheadings? Order? Layout? Use of numerical features?	The main text is down the left hand side on the page. The text is in white writing like the masthead. The is use of page numbers also down the side. The subheading is in a bold white text in a slightly bigger font. The page numbers go in order.
Font?? What font is used? Are there different font styles? Why is this? Colour? Are italics used? Where? How? Bold text?	All the text on the page is white and the entire font is the same. It ranges in sizes and changes to bold on occasions. All the text is of this colour because of the dark background. The page numbers are in a whiteish/yellow colour just to give someone change.
Images?? How many? What size? What are they of? Are the images anchored? (i.e. by a caption?) Is there writing over any of the images? Positioning of images?	There is 4 four main images on the page. The main image is in the center of the page and is big and bright.  Another two images are smaller and are positioned below, and then finally in the top left hand corner there is the smallest image. This is a small picture of the front cover. The other two images are linked with page numbers to give readers ideas of what each page is about.
Composition?? Framing? Layout? Layering? Relation of text to images? Image led? Text led?	The layout is very neat and looks very organised.  The text links in with the images. There is no use of layering.
Linguistic features?? Rhetorical questions? Alliteration? Assonance? Enigma Codes? Puns? Anything else of note? Effect of linguistic features?	There is no use of linguistic features.
Colour?? How many colours are used for text? Colours of images? Effect of colours?	The main colours are black and white but the colour from the images brings brightness to the page.

This a deconstruction of a music magazine called 'NME.'

Feature	Description
Masthead?? How is it positioned? Font Style? Colour Where on page is it positioned?	On this contents page this isn’t actually a masthead with the page title on.  In the top right hand corner they have the magazine name which in this case is used for the masthead. The masthead is pink in a big bold text.
Necessary Information?? Date? Issue Number? Page number? Where are they positioned? Website info? Links?	The necessary information is positioned at both the top and bottom of the page. The date is positioned at the top where as the contact information is at the centre bottom.
Text?? What is it? Form of address? How much text? What is its purpose? Subheadings? Order? Layout? Use of numerical features?	The text is positioned all over the page. The text ranges from advertisements, to information on each page to contact details. There is use of a lot of subheadings. The text is very compact and there isn’t a lot of space.
Font?? What font is used? Are there different font styles? Why is this? Colour? Are italics used? Where? How? Bold text?	There is a variety of fonts used.  Most of the writing is in a messy style which fits in the with the magazine type. The subheadings and mastheads are all in bold are either in pink or white. The fonts do this so we can tell it apart from the other text.
Images?? How many? What size? What are they of? Are the images anchored? (i.e. by a caption?) Is there writing over any of the images? Positioning of images?	There is three images on the page both of music bands and both relate to the text. There is use of layering as one image is covering some text. The biggest image on the page is anchored by a caption. The images are all linked in with the text.
Composition?? Framing? Layout? Layering? Relation of text to images? Image led? Text led?	The layout of this page is very cramped and hard to read. There is text everywhere mixed in with a lot of colour which makes is hard to read. The main image is linked into one of the page, but links into the full magazine as it’s a picture of a band.  The use of layering is used with the advertisements.
Linguistic features?? Rhetorical questions? Alliteration? Assonance? Enigma Codes? Puns? Anything else of note? Effect of linguistic features?	there is use of rhertoical questions to get the readers involved with the advertisements.
Colour?? How many colours are used for text? Colours of images? Effect of colours?	There is a lot of colours used on the page. It makes it slightly hard for the reader to look at. The main colours are black, white and pink.

Doing these constructions helped me gain knowledge and understanding of what a professional magazine's contents page would look like. I also started to understand fully the content of a contents page, the layout and colour use. Although I don't plan for my final product to look anything like the three annotated contents pages it has helped in greatfully.