Evaluation Q1 Progress

For Question 1 I am using Prezi, because it it visually dynamic and has a lot of features that I can use, for example, I can change the size of the frame or even add a video. I chose the design of my Prezi to match the colours I am using in my magazine and I think it fits well. I am comparing my magazine to other similar music magazines in order to analyse what conventions I used or subverted.

Magazine: list of improvements

Evaluation Technologies

Evaluation Plan For my Music Magazine from Mark Rivas

this is a plan of what technologies I will use when making my evaluation.

Evaluation Plan Progress

For my evaluation I will first plan out what technologies I am going to use in order to answer the questions appropriately. First I will draft the plan onto a Word document then present them on a powerpoint on Slideshare because it is more visually interesting. 

Magazine Front Cover Final

Contents Page Final

Double Page Spread Final

Magazine Front Cover First Draft

This is a finished version of my front cover and I followed my plan closely and I like the way it looks, but I would appreciate any feedback to make my work better.

Double Page Spread First Draft

This is a finished version of my DPS and I would like any feedback so I can improve my work further, as I want it to be a good quality music magazine.

Contents Page First Draft

Front Cover Progress

I've started to work on my front cover using Photoshop, and I will try to follow my plan as closely as possible, I will start by recolouring the image and then working on the masthead and cover lines. My colour scheme will be red, black and white which would match the the contents page, The tool I used the most is the hue and saturation because it helps my magazine to fit the colour scheme.

DPS Progress

This is the start of my dps and it is fairly simple in its design but the layout of the text may be different to other magazines. I think the image I used is good and matches the article subject matter. The columns will be laid out in a more conventional way but the pull quotes I used will make it more visually interesting.

This is my dps article that I drafted on word and then I laid it out on InDesign. It is a q and a interview so I followed the typical interview style. I made sure the questions had depth and good quality answers could be given, but they were also succinct.

Contents Page Progress

I am currently working on my contents page for my music magazine and i have tried to follow my plan closely. I decided on my colour scheme for the contents page to be red black and white because those colours stand out and conveys the genre of rap/hip hop clearly. By colouring the text in with those colours they stand out to the reader. I chose not to use the gradient tool because it didn't fit well with the magazine style.

This is a more finished version of my contents page and I tried to add coloured boxes, originally they were blue but that didn't fit with my colour scheme. I also tried to add some puffs but i couldn't get them to work as it made my page too cluttered.

I have started to add images to my contents page and i will be finally done with it. I changed it in photoshop to match the colours of my contents page and I think they fit well together.

I am starting to put the finishing touches on my contents page and i will soon be finished. I filled in more empty space and adjusted the layout, however I am still following my plan as closely as possible.

Music Magazine Contact Sheet

...

Music Magazine Call Sheet

Music Magazine Photography session

I took photographs for my magazine in the television studio where the lighting setup was different but the pictures still came out well. The camera I used was the nikon dslr and I changed the settings to give the photos a specific look.

Front Page/Contents/DPS Plan

This is my plan for my front cover which I made on Microsoft Word, my actual magazine won't resemble this completely as I may change things like cover lines, puffs and sizes of letters because it may look better. This plan takes into consideration the feedback I received on my college magazine, as I made the magazine less cluttered with smaller cover lines and only one large one. I also used one colour for this plan which will mirror my actual magazine which will have a simple colour scheme that is not too visually busy.

This is my plan for my contents page and I will try not to make any changes because I like the look of this structure and any changes I make to my final magazine will be minute. This contents page will be A3 because it allows more content and I can make it a good quality because there is more to work with.

My plan for my dps is a simple guideline, and I incorporated elements from other magazines like the text layout. I will have a draft for my dps article on Microsoft Word which is an depth plan. I may change the layout in my final product but I will try to keep the design as close to this plan as possible because I like the way it looks.

Journalism Trip

In class we went on a trip to regent street cinema in order to get some information on how to become a journalist, how to write articles like reviews and how to conduct good interviews, this was done by a famous journalist Anna Smith. For interviews the questions have to be unique and interesting, and that haven't been asked before. It was a Q and A format and it was very informative, and I will try to incorporate these ideas into my own magazine. This trip was part of the into film festival event, which is why we went to a famous cinema.

Photography Induction

Today in class we learned about photography and how to take professional photos using a DSLR camera and lighting equipment. We learned about three point lighting and how that makes the model stand out from the background when taking a photo and also how the lights work, for example changing how bright the exposure is and the distance of the lights. The three lights were two Bowens, and one backlight called Trinity. We also learned some of the nuances of photography like standing a few feet in front of the background to avoid blending in, also taking the photos in portrait because the photo is a portrait of the model.

We learned the basics of using a DSLR camera, and how to change the settings to suit our needs, we learned about the flash, exposure and manual and auto focus. However, we didn't get to take any pictures of our own which would have helped us because we could understand how to take a photo.

These are some photos of the studio that I took which shows the equipment that we will use:

Magazine Flatplan Final

This is my new flat plan which shows the final pages for my magazine which includes ads and editorials. This will help me plan my contents page and how to design it. I also made it simpler than my previous flat plan. I didn't specify what ads are in my magazine because they will not feature in my final product.

Proposal Feedback

I got some helpful verbal feedback from my proposal, one was to change my audience age group from 18-25, as it's a large gap and my magazine wouldn't reach that many people. I have decided to change the age group to 18-23, as it's a smaller gap and my magazine will appeal towards a younger audience.

Another helpful comment was that my masthead was too stylised and didn't fit my house style. This will help me design a new masthead that is similar to other rap magazines like Vibe or XXL.

Another important comment was to have less adverts in my magazine, this is so i can have more editorial content which will help in constructing my contents page. I will alter my flatplan in order to do this.

Overall the feedback was positive and these comments were the only major changes I will make to my plan.

Music Magazine Proposal

Music Magazine Flatplan Progress

This is my flatplan progress and when it is complete it will help me make my contents page and front cover because I will have everything laid out so I know what content to advertise on the front cover and contents page. My final flatplan will be included in my proposal that I created using prezi.

Illustrator practise

In class today we learnt how to use illustrator in order to make our mastheads, this is just a rough version and the final version will be much cleaner and professional. We learnt to adjust size, shape and colour and the lesson was very helpful and I can't wait to make the final version of my masthead for my music magazine.

Magazine Distribution/Newsstand (Task 2)

We had to take a photo of a newsstand and analyse why the magazines are laid out in a certain way. I took a photo of a newsstand in WHS Smith which shows almost the entire magazine, I think this is a better way of presenting magazines as you get the full look and style of the magazine rather than the masthead. The mastheads show what the magazine is about but sometimes the masthead doesn't show completely so by presenting the images and the cover lines, it gives consumers an idea of what they are reading. 

They also are arranged so that they're in front of each other but not directly so that all the magazines are shown to show the number of magazines available and to show all the magazines. Also the magazines in the back are raised to show the masthead and a portion of the front cover image. The skyline is also shown which tells the reader what the magazine is about, for example the NME show mentions artists like Kings of Leon and Green Day, Which clearly presents the genre of the magazine.The magazines are also organised by genre, the top from right to left is organised from Internet to travel magazine. This way its easier to distinguish them.

Overall, the other newsstands I saw in shops like ASDA and other supermarkets were laid out similarly to this and even in smaller shops they were laid out the same way, which shows how this layout is more popular than just showing the top of the magazine. I think however, the magazine's masthead does is more effective at catching the attention of the reader when it's the only thing you can see so it pops out because of the bold, colourful lettering/font.

Magazine Distribution:

The other part of the task is to analyse one of our case studies and how they distribute their magazines. For Vibe which was my case study and most magazines, they use the sale and return method which is when the publisher sells the magazine to the shops and any that they don't sell get returned to the publisher. It is good for the shops because less money is spent, however its not good for the publisher because they haven't sold their magazines.

One way of magazine distribution is ezines, which is not a physical magazine and is an interactive PDF which is mainly done for convenience. However my research shows that Vibe magazine has not produced any ezines  which could be due to the fact that apps can now download magazines to people's phones. However, Vibe's website does have digital covers which people can see and interact with.

Vibe has a website to present all of there content and you can search for issues of their magazines, as well as showing news about celebrities. The website also shows other forms of media such as TV, radio, fashion and movies. The website also offers a subscription to Vibe magazine and advertises their social media accounts. Most music magazines do this because the internet is such an expansive and vast place. http://www.vibe.com/ 

Social media is also very prevalent for music magazine distribution as it gives people direct interaction with the magazine company and has shown to be successful as the Vibe magazine twitter has 680 thousand followers and their facebook page has over one million likes and they feature celebrity, music and movie news such as new album releases. They also link to their website in order to get more visitors which other magazines also do. https://www.facebook.com/vibe  https://twitter.com/vibemagazine 

Most magazines have subscription fees which allows magazines to be delivered directly to the consumer which is convenient and fast and is the most popular form of distribution. Vibe's website advertises these subscriptions but you can also buy single issues of the magazine like anniversary issues.
Freemiums are magazines that are not paid for and this means that circulation numbers are high. They are also handed out at bus stops and train stations which means many people receive these magazines and is a way of mass distributing magazines. An example of a free magazine is NME which increased circulation numbers exponentially. However these have many adverts in the magazines in order for them to make money, freemiums can also be downloaded electronically.

Apps are also a way of distributing magazines and Vibe have an app that is free on itunes and it has had millions of downloads because its free, but this means it has many adverts, its available for Ipads also which you is better for reading a full magazine. Many music magazines do have apps and some are free and this is a very effective way of distribution as modern technology allows people to consume all forms of media quickly and easily. Vibe's app can be found on their website http://www.vibe.com/2012/11/download-vibes-new-smartphone-app-now/ 

Initial ideas for my magazine

In class we wrote down our initial ideas for our music magazine that we will turn into a proposal using prezi that will plan out what our magazine would be like.

College Magazine evaluation

Self Evaluation: I like the colours which kept the look of the magazine simple and I also like the cover photo because of the lighting and it defies conventions of a college magazine in a good way. However, it does look too visually busy in areas because of the cover lines and the picture doesn't suit the look of the magazine. The contents page looks more professional and the colours and font are consistent which add to that look. It also is less visually cluttered than the front cover, however the page numbers aren't lined up properly and the which looks less professional. The image I used for one of my cover lines didn't fit well with the rest of the magazine.

Peer Evaluation: Comments
'You're Front Cover is too clustered and visually busy which may make it unappealing to certain consumers. On the other hand you're choice of image and font are correct and brings the mag to life.'

'I agree with the above statement ... but however there are some positives , for example the image that was taken looks really good and a good you use of a consistent colour throughout the whole page.'

These comments from my blog show the same feelings that I had for my magazine, others had told me my contents page could have more images and I could make it a double page to include more. I have also had comments that say the colours are nice but there should be a three colour scheme and the font could be more professional and less stylised.

Improvements:
I should use more guidelines while making my contents page to make sure the layout is properly aligned and neat so it looks professional. Higher quality images because the one I used did not fit with the aesthetic of the magazine. Use more images in my contents page so it is visually pleasing to the consumer. Better, spaced out cover lines s it doesn't clutter the front cover/cover star, make them a consistent size. Less empty space in the contents page. I could also manipulate the image in photoshop more by using tools like brightness/contrast or the burn/dodge tool on the shadows/midtones/highlights of the photo.

College Magazine Front cover and Contents page (Final)

This is the final product of the front cover of my college magazine and I decided to change the front cover picture because it looked better aesthetically, I used a consistent font to make sure the magazine looks professional, I used outlines to make the cover lines easier to read, and I tried to follow a lot of the conventions of a college magazine like the cover star smiling and directly addressing the camera. I would appreciate any feedback you have in order to ensure that any future work is of a better quality.

This is the final product of the contents page for my college magazine that I made using InDesign and I decided to make it one page as it matches the other college magazines I have looked at. I made the font consistent and tried to match it to the front cover. I also followed the same colour scheme as the front cover which is more professional looking. I didn't use many images as I didn't want the page to be too visually busy. I followed conventions by ordering the contents chronologically and listed all the editorials in the magazine and left out any adverts. I would appreciate any feedback so I can learn anything that will make my future work better. 

College Magazine front cover progress

This is a screenshot of the front cover of my college magazine and I will post all of my progress onto my blog. I am using what I have learnt like rulers, text boxes, and image editing to make sure my magazine is of good quality.

College Magazine contents page progress

This is a screenshot of my contents page in InDesign to update you on my progress, I have used what i have learned like gutters and how to resize pictures in order to make this contents page and make it good quality.

Photoshop Practise

In class we had a Photoshop tutorial that will help us make our own college magazine front cover. We practised using various tools that we will use to make our own college magazine for Task 2.

We learnt to use rulers, in order to create margins around our page so we know where to place images and text, we used rulers because Photoshop does not have the gutter tool, which InDesign has to do the same thing. 

To place images like the bar code and the cover star, we saved them and used 'place', instead of copy and paste. We changed the size without stretching the image by holding down shift, which will be useful in the future.

We used the text tool to write our mastheads and cover lines and we also learnt how to change the font, the colour, and the size of the text.

Overall it was a basic tutorial which will allow us to make our own college magazines and I learnt very useful tools which will make my college magazine a good quality one. 

College magazine flat plan

This was a flat plan of all of our college magazine pages that we did in class, it shows the adverts and editorials that we would include in our magazine.

LSC Magazine Planning

In class we had to plan out what our college magazine will look like, the image above is my plan for my college magazine front cover. 

College Magazine Analysis

In Class we had to analyse college magazines to help us make our own one for the preliminary task, (Task 3). We had to find out what is similar and what is different to music magazines.

   Similarities: 
- The cover star slightly covers the masthead. 
 - 3 colour scheme (Blue Yellow and black) not too much too look at because it's simple. The cover star is wearing black and catches the reader's eye because it contrasts the  other lighter colours. 
 - Issue and date line 
 - Bar code 
 - Cover lines 
 - Consistent font looks more professional less 'messy'. No bolds or italics used 

  Differences: 
- Cover star is smiling which is not used in most music magazines and most college magazines show the cover star smiling directly to the camera to show their college in a positive light. 
 - No puffs or advertisements 
 - Font is not stylised like other music magazines to show that the college is a professional place 
 - Cover star is posed in a different way e.g. arms crossed or raised, laying down, turned to the side.

Ideas from my case studies

From Kerrang! case study:

• Stylised masthead and cover line fonts because they look interesting and attract reader's attention. I can use Photoshop to make the fonts in the magazine more stylised like the Kerrang cover.
• The mise-en-scene of the cover, the lighting of the cover is good and it connotes feelings of rebelliousness which relate to the genre of rock. I can apply this to my magazine and make the mise-en-scene of the image relate to my genre which is rap and hip hop
• Minimalist contents page that is organised neatly and contains one large image rather than a lot of smaller ones

From Vibe case study:

• Using props in the front cover
• more formal contents page layout which looks professional
• Using blurbs for the DPS 

I can incorporate all these ideas into my music magazine and this will ensure that my magazine is the best it can be. 

Kerrang Magazine Textual Analysis (Final redraft)

*Improvements will be coloured in blue.

Kerrang! is published by Bauer Media Group which is a european based media company and their main Hamburg headquarters manage a portfolio of more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations around the world. It also publishes Q magazine from its UK headquarters (H Bauer UK)

For my analysis of the second magazine I chose Kerrang even though it is not the same genre that my own music magazine will be, I can compare both genres and write about the similarities of both magazines.

Page 1: Front cover

There is a midshot of the cover star which is a typical convention as well as having the cover star directly look into the camera (direct address). There is a 3 colour scheme of black yellow and red which keeps the cover simple and matches the cover star who has red hair. It has a 'rough look' as the main cover line text is off centre and the other cover lines are tilted to match the genre. 

The strap line grabs the reader's attention and one of the puffs mentions posters which is a convention of many music magazines. The font is consistent so the magazine is more professional looking and there are a lot words in bold to emphasise certain articles and catch the reader's eye. The main cover line is in the centre and covers the chest of the cover star and the font makes it look like a tattoo, which is a good stylistic choice.

There is direct address in the cover lines and puffs to make engage the reader, the tone is very rebellious and aggressive, which is emphasised by a lot of exclamation marks in the cover lines and in the mast head.

The cover also promotes famous artists from the genre like green day, fallout boy and guns n roses. The main cover star is shirtless and in tattoos which is common in the genre of rock and the font also matches the genre.

Page 2: Contents Page

The contents page is similar to the Vibe contents page, as it contains a midshot of a celebrity next to the contents. It contains the same 3 colour scheme as the front cover. There are still some images in the contents to make it more visually busy. It also contains an advert in the contents page but it doesn't list adverts, only editorials in chronological order. 

The page contains a consistent font also but is not tilted or off centre as the front cover. There are words highlighted in bold to make it easier to read. This shows some of the similarities between the different genres of music. The midshot of the celebrity is used to show an editorial, by showing it this way it emphasises the importance of that editorial piece. The photo of the artist is more civilised and posh, which contrasts the messages and style of rock which is usually a more rebellious feeling. We can see this because of the mise-en-scene of the image as the clothes the artist is wearing is more formal and doesn't fit with the typical style of the genre, thus making it more interesting for the reader

The magazine offers posters which can be seen on the contents page, this is a typical convention of a music magazine that offers the reader more incentive to buy it as the posters are new and cant be bought elsewhere. This is what most music magazines give away but others give out a free CD or other gifts, but this is not common practise among music magazines.

Page 3: Double page spread

The DPS has a medium close up of the cover star making a wild expression which catches the reader's eye and appears to be underwater which is visually interesting. The lighting is bright on the cover star and makes him more pale to contrast the black background. The colour scheme is black and white with small hints of red to pop out at the reader. The visuals of the dps relate to the article as the interview is about the artist opening up about something personal and 'coming clean' which is why the water is used and the lack of clothes seem connote how this is a pure look at the artist, without anything covering them up, this type of article is interesting and gives a new perspective for the reader which makes them want to check it out.

The writing is in columns so it is easier to read and contains a drop cap which is a convention of all magazines. The article is coloured white to match the colour scheme and contrasts the background. The page contains a small blurb which sets up the tone of the magazine and what its going to be about, this is also done in other music magazines and mainly in interviews which is a good way to get the reader interested and to make it easier for them to read.

The language used is informal but still professional and the tone is not serious and represents the genre well. The genre is shown by the use of the cover star, the blurb at the beginning, and part of the title shows 'rock essentials' which makes it more obvious.

Overall, despite the differences of the genres, I will use some of the imagery and style of this genre in my music magazine, and some of the similarities are interesting to note, because they show how being aesthetically pleasing or looking more professional can transcend genres of music as these elements should be included in all big music magazines and I will try to create my music magazine in the same way.