Location, props and costume

For location I decided to use the photography studio in the college because I felt that the white background would brighten up the front cover. I wanted to keep the front cover simple because there is already a lot of colour in the text and this may cause the text to become lost or less visible. I did want to use a different background for the feature article though. I wanted to have my model leaning on a brick background to show how down to earth the singer was, so that the reader could relate to him. But I couldn’t find the right model and the person that I did use, Liam, was being very difficult to work with so I doubt I would be able to have him pose outside of college. Also but keeping the background plain it made it easier to edit them out of the images and place them on different backgrounds.

I decide not to use any props because I didn’t want to have too much on the front cover and I didn’t want to take the focus away from the model. Since the picture I took of my model was mainly of his face I didn’t use props because you wouldn’t be able to see them anyway. For the feature article I wanted to only use images of the band members because I wanted all of the focus to be on them and not the material goods that would surround them. But for the contents page I did use some images of some props like the guitar, I thought this would make the page look more interesting rather than having just images of people on it. Also I felt that if I put images of props on this page then it may encourage the reader to see what else is inside the magazine.

I tried to have my model wear clothes that would match the genre of the magazine, rock. Luckily he wears clothes similar to this so I didn’t need to ask him to wear anything specific. These clothes represent the clothes that my target audience would wear so hopefully they will feel the connection between then and the magazine and this will encourage them to buy it.

Draft of contents page

I like the layout here as it is quite all over the place which really represents the way typical rock magazines are presented. Lots of images here will keep the reader interested and since they will be linked to the articles inside it may encourage them to read what is going on in the images.

Third draft of magazine cover

I really liked this cover as the writing of the masthead  is supposed to look like the wire of a microphone, which is why it has a plug-in at the end. this would obviously suggest a music magazine and because it is quite unusual it may attract more people to buy it.

Second draft of magazine cover

I wasn't too sure on this cover as it is quite minimalistic, and since I am crating a rock magazine this may not help attract my target audience, and it isn't as cluttered as most rock magazines are.

First draft of front cover

This was the first idea that I thought to use for my magazine. I really liked the masthead as it shows attention to detail and also symbolises how the music inside the magazine will shatter you mind because of how loud it is. I may use it in my final product but it may take a while to create on Photoshop but it should be worth it. when asking my target audience what they thought of it they thought it was a really good idea and it would really good when it is done.

Looking back at your preliminary task (the college magazine task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

I have become more aware of how much magazines have developed the way they get their magazine shown. It had changed so much from just magazines in small retail shops to big magazine industries to being sold and advertised online and maybe even into mobile apps.

I have gathered much more information on the magazine industry; I know have a much better understanding on how much it actually influences people all over the world. By learning about the stereotypical means that the media places upon society, I have a much better understanding on how marketing, advertising and image influences what people would buy. For example a woman would be expected to buy a glossy fashion magazine where as a man would typically buy a sports magazine, that is if he wasn't ‘hard at work’.

All of the research proved useful when developing my ideas for the magazine, I was able to see the big and subtle differences between what make a magazine appealing. By looking at the different layout of magazine I could see how particular ones show different styles of magazine and how these particular layouts will attract different target audiences. Also by seeing what is advertised in the magazine i was able to see how every little thing in the magazine should always be aimed at the target audience.

I have also picked up on how much presentation really matters; it’s all the little details that are on the cover that make a person want to buy it, especially when you are aiming for a particular audience. Things such as text alignment, if it’s out by a few centimetres, it looks wrong or too messy. If I don’t like the way it looks then why would anyone else? Presentation is everything. By learning how much presentation means to the media I was able to achieve the desired affect that I would want my target audience to feel. I also played with the opacity levels on some of the layers on my front cover, I feel that by adding new elements to the cover then it would keep it interesting.

It is always important to make drafts. I made a few drafts before I made final decisions and even after I decided what I wanted I still made alterations. But I wouldn't have been able to make these without getting feedback from other people, by talking on what other people said then I could widen my target audience by making something that everyone likes.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Have learnt a lot from Photoshop at the beginning of the course I hadn't used it at all, now I have become much more confident when using it. I have picked up on all of the basic skills, after struggling at first I did pick up the skills. This has been very useful in trying to make my magazine look realistic and appealing to my target audience. I have learnt a lot about the best way to present my magazine and all of the effect in photo shop have helped me in doing so, for example,

Using the camera was easy as I have used cameras before; I was able to make the photos I took more professional by taking them in the photo studio. Using the lights and background I was able to take the pictures

to a professional enough standard. Although, I was disappointed that the images turned out a bit darker than I wanted but I was able to use that to my advantage, as my magazine isn't bright and happy so this added a more convincing mysterious atmosphere.
I also used survey monkey so that I could ask and receive feedback from other people, this website allowed me to see how many people liked specific things about my magazine ideas in survey form. This was very useful as it helped me collect information so that I could make my magazine suitable for everyone.

Using the blog has proved very useful when looking back on how I started out the project and how it has developed throughout the course. I like how I can put my ideas up for everyone to see but I can just as easily take them down and change them whenever I want. I also see this as a safer way to store work as there is less of a chance that it will be lost or destroyed.