PRELIM TASK: Step by step production of my front cover

Click the Prezi above to see how I produced my magazine cover. This was my first time using Photoshop ever so I am quite surprised with the result however I am simply satisfied with the results, not glad, just satisfied due to the fact that I was not exactly happy with my magazine cover due to changed I could have made with image choice and font choice, however, I believe I did quite well knowing the time frame I had to have it completed by along with all my blog work. Learning Photoshop was certainly a new experience and I would like to continue using it during my time throughout Media Studies as it is a fun software to fiddle with until you have exactly what you want. I think that if I had managed my time a little better and had a little more time, I would have come up with a much better magazine but I cannot change that now so I will just have to do with what I have. It took me a while to get the hang of Photoshop but when I did, I found it a lot more simpler and could navigate and make necessary edits really quickly whereas in the beginning of my time studying Media, I really struggled so I feel a sort of satisfaction that I learnt a wide range of skills and vocabulary related to media.

PRELIM TASK: Final front cover/Audience feedback

As you can see, I made a few changes from the front page I thought I was going to have to the one  I actually would like to use. I edited the graphic in the bottom left corner turning it from yellow to red. I did this because I was told that the yellow doesn't really go with my colour scheme so I was advised by my peer to search for a colour wheel and whichever colour is opposite to the most used colour in my front cover, use that as it will definitely stand out more so I tried this and now strongly believe that it was a good change to make as it does really stand out. Furthermore, I duplicated the layer with the text of 'Look inside for your free Parker pen' as it made it stand out more because it made the black bolder meaning it is easier to read and will catch the reader's attention as people would like freebies if they are paying for something.

In addition to this, I was advised to add a picture of the prize that could have been won (a Macbook Pro) which made my front cover stand out more as I looked online and deconstructed other magazines which allowed me to come across this technique various times in various magazines. I did this so there was more on my page as it looked slightly empty. This made the perfect addition to my front cover because it filled up the page more and the colours on its screen are similar to the colours on the scarf of my model.

Lastly, I changed the text from 'A beginner's guide on how to make it through secondary education' to 'A beginner's guide on how to achieve more success!'. I did this because Mr. Varghese told me that the first line of text seemed as if anybody can make it and seemed childish. Although Mr. Varghese is not my target audience, I trust his advice as he has ten years of past experience in Media Studies classes and also, I asked younger students as to which they piece of text they found more attractive and most of the students chose that the second piece of text was better as it seemed more friendly due to the use of punctuation (the exclamation mark) and the fact that 'Secondary' wasn't used again which is bad because it felt as if the word 'Secondary' was repeated quite a few times even though it was only used twice. I used younger students, in years 9,10 and 11 as this magazine is targeted at them because they are reaching the middle/end of their secondary school careers meaning they will be doing their GCSEs soon.

PRELIM TASK: Final shots (front page and contents)

I chose these images as the models look as if they are in a normal environment and doesn't look unrealistic so the people who read the magazine don't feel as if the models are trying to forcefully impress. Also, each of these pictures allow me to use different colours meaning I have the ability to match each of them with my colour scheme especially those on the contents page as the front page and contents page need to link due to the fact that they should look as if they are from one magazine. Furthermore, the mis-en-scene of each image is very natural due to the objects such as computers, sofas, bags, people, etc. This naturalistic mis-en-scene creates tranquillity and the models look very happy which links to my title of 'Ace Secondary'. It links because people who do/did well in their exams will be happy due to the fact that they must have worked hard and this magazine will teach students of GCSE level how to do so. Lastly, I used sixth form students because they recently completed their GCSEs which is ideal because I am aiming this magazine at students of GCSE level which allows them to trust the magazine as the people seen on it are those with first-hand experience.

PRELIM TASK: Contents page

Final magazine cover:

Final contents page:

These are my two final pieces of work. Analysing my contents page, I can see there is cohesion between my magazine cover and contents page. The graphic in the bottom left hand corner of my magazine cover links with the contents page as there are several red sofas within the images. I made this specific link as I didn't have much on my contents page which matched with my front cover due to the fact that the image as I used on the front cover was quite plain but I had to do with what I had and came up with this. Also, within the images of the contents page, my models are wearing quite a lot of blue which connects with my magazine cover as you can see there are light blue text boxes along with display up in the mis-en-scene with blue in it. I know this worked because I was told by Mr. Varghese that if you want two colours to go together, you either choose a lighter or darker version of the same colour so I did exactly this and asked my models to wear these specific colours. I was also told by Mr. Varghese that if you want something to stand out, use the opposite colour to create the shape, etc. that you would like to stand out hence why I used the blue and red because if you analyse a colour wheel (look at the one below), you will see that blue and red are exact opposites which is why I chose this background to take these photos in.

Furthermore, the text used in each page are exactly the same. I did this so the pages didn't look like they belonged in completely separate magazines because if I used Times Roman with the Italic font I used, it wouldn't have looked right because it would be completely opposite meaning they would clash and move my work away from looking professional and like real media text. Lastly, I placed the name of the magazine on the contents page as well as obviously the front cover to make an obvious link with both of these pages.

I got the colour of the grey from the shirt of the front cover's model and darkened it a little because if I didn't, any white text such as 'Secondary' would not have shown up which as said before, decreases professionalism which also means my magazine cover and contents would not look like real media text.

PRELIM TASK: Magazine front cover

This is my finished magazine cover. I added in the oval in the bottom left hand corner as I was advised from Mr Jones to do so as it would fill up the cover more. Also, placing the yellow on the cover allows there to be a wider variety of colours so it doesn't look plain and there isn't as much empty space. I chose the picture of a young girl as it relates to my target audience. the magazine isn't specifically for any gender, I just had to change the image I used to a girl's picture as I go to a girls school and there aren't many boys so I couldn't get a hold of one in formal clothing.

PRELIM TASK: Manipulation of mast head

Firstly, I had my masthead horizontal. However, it didn’t really stand out so I changed the design and placed the word ‘Ace’ vertical and increased the size of the word ‘Secondary’ making it stand out as it is now bigger than the rest of the text unlike before where it was a similar size to the rest of the text making it difficult to distinguish between the masthead and other text which are present on the front page. Also, I changed the colour of the word 'ACE' so it would stand out a little more as well as match my colour scheme. I couldn't find a school magazine with the same layout as my masthead but I found a music magazine with a similar design. I changed which side the vertical text was on because 'Secondary' would become too small if I placed it vertical and seeming 'Ace' is a short word, it allowed me to increase the size of the text so it could be read.

Furthermore, after I obtained my first masthead, Ms. Collins said that it looked very plain and simple. Although my teacher isn't a student, she has been doing these magazines with students for quite a few years now which is a sort of expert opinion and knowing this, I believed her opinion was very valuable as she has probably seen the best and worst work. To make sure Miss was right, I asked my peers in my class who also said that the first masthead I made looked very plain and simple, it didn't catch their eye either. They said that the edited version looks a lot better as it has more colour to match the colour scheme and relate to the rest of the front cover. Knowing from personal experience, as I am a student, I know that if the masthead isn't attractive, I most likely won't even open the magazine. So keeping this in mind, I chose to listen to the criticism I obtained and changed it accordingly. Making these changes allowed me to draw closer to making my masthead look more like real media text which is my main goal.

I chose the title 'Ace Secondary' because every student wants to do well in secondary school and the word 'ace' means to excel in a certain field but in this concept, an exam. This relates to  my magazine because it is designed for students in secondary school who are just about to sit their GCSE exams which are the exams a student sits at the end of their secondary education. In addition to this, 'Ace Secondary' has never been used before meaning it is unique and the words 'Ace' and 'Secondary' go really well together.

Thanks for visiting again.

See you next time.

PRELIM TASK: Why I chose this image and model consent form

The image I chose for my magazine cover:

I chose this image as it represents an advance in technology and that the school is keeping up with these advances and it isn't the normal book and pen, computers are used which are a more recent creation. Also, this image relates to the target audience who are young students and the person in the picture is young and also a student. As the model relates with students, the magazine itself is more attractive to young people because there is somebody just like them on the front cover and not and adult who the student may assume that doesn't understand their point of view school wise and just generally. Also, I chose this image as it is in a school environment showing briefly what the magazine is going to be about (doing school work and revision). I made sure there weren't various colours present in the background as this would have made the magazine look unprofessional meaning this has a professional approach from a real media text.

This was just a quick update, see you next time.

PRELIM TASK: Flat plan compared to real layout/Cover layout decisions

 Flat plan for magazine cover:

Created magazine cover:

The layout for my final piece matches my flat plan because the background image and masthead are similarly placed. However I changed the location of the text boxes as they blocked a key part of the image being used on my magazine front cover. Also, the text stood out more where I placed it on Photoshop rather than on my flat plan due to the fact that it is in a more obvious position meaning it is easier and quicker to read. Furthermore, I didn't leave the text boxes along the bottom and top of the page as I did in my flat plan as it looked clustered when I did. Also, I decreased the opacity of each text box so the reader could faintly see the image rather than having rectangle blocks blocking the image which would have decreased the realism of the magazine cover.

In my opinion, I completed this front page really well analysing the time I had to complete it. However, the next time I make a magazine cover, depending on the topic it'll be on, I will aim to have more colours meaning the colour scheme will be a lot more vibrant and eye catching. I couldn't really do that with this magazine cover because it is for school students and if I added a lot of colours, the professionalism of the work would have decreased highly which is moving away from the real media text I am aiming to produce.

Lastly, I changed the gender of the person I was using in my front cover as I go to a girl's school meaning it was hard to get hold of a male student in formal clothing as the dress code is 'smart casual' and this student volunteered to take the picture instead as she was in the appropriate attire.

Thanks for visiting again, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

PRELIM TASK: Shot lists and Flat plan

Below will be my flat plan. I intend to make the front cover of my magazine to look like this. It is short and simple allowing the reader of this magazine to easily figure out what the magazine will consist of. I may make a few adjustments to the design however, the text and the layout will mostly look the same.

As you can see in my shot list for my front cover, I have used mostly medium shots and close ups to ensure the model stands out allowing the audience to quickly identify the magazine and whether it has relevance to them or not. I drew these shot lists to have a brief plan of what type of pictures I could possibly take and place on my front cover allowing for me to actually take the pictures quicker as I will know all the shots I need to use.

On the other hand, for my contents page I used more medium and long shots so the person reading the magazine can actually see what there is to offer and how the school looks. Also, having nature in the mis-en-scene has a tranquil effect which makes it more suitable for the audience as they will most probably be reading the magazine in order to ensure success without panicking, etc.

Furthermore, in my shot lists I provided the following information:

  Shot type               Location                   Model             Mis-en-scene

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Flat plan for magazine cover:

Shot list for magazine cover:

Shot list for contents page:

     

    Thanks for coming back, I appreciate it. If you have any feedback, simply drop it on the comments section as it would mean a lot and allow me to edit it too. Bye.

PRELIM TASK: Image adjustments

Unedited image:

 Edited image:

The only edit I made on my image was the brightness as it was a little dim in the beginning so I adjusted the brightness to make it a little brighter so the front cover stands out more and looks more attractive. Adjusting the brightness allowed the hair colour to be richer and darker so it also stood out more and looked a lot better than the unedited version. Adjusting the brightness also allowed the background colours to be brighter so I could choose colours better as I needed to choose colours which were already present in the picture and you can see that the blue is brighter, the yellow is too and so is the red.

PRELIM TASK: Reader Profile

This is my reader profile. I chose this person for it as she is the ideal reader because she is studying her GCSEs and would like to know how to do well. Also, this magazine gives her advice on how to approach the stress of exams and how to revise without feeling demotivated/bored. Keeping this in mind, she feels as if when she revises a lot, she seems to lose the social aspect of her life which she believes she needs due to the fact that if she doesn't socialise with others, she feels like there is no benefit of revising so I will be making this magazine targeting students like this to help them enjoy their time in secondary school as much as possible and do as well as possible too.

PRELIM TASK: Magazine deconstruction

Hey everyone, good to know you're back again. This was my attempt at deconstructing a magazine cover. I had to complete this task for my preliminary task and to help me have a taste of what I need to include in the magazine I will be creating. Completing this task has aided me in learning a range of new vocabulary and their definitions. I chose this magazine cover as I am interested in fitness which also allowed me to enjoy doing this task as it relates to me.

Hope you enjoyed!

See you later!

PRELIM TASK: Introduction to my blog

Hi and welcome to my blog for media studies. I’ll be presenting all of the work I complete in year 12 on this page so if you’re interested, pay a visit, I guarantee it’ll be worth your while. I believe Media as a whole is an amazing creation of man as it interconnects the whole world whether it’s through music, adverts or in this case, magazines.

I have currently been assigned a preliminary task which I have to complete by the 30^th of September giving me just under a week to complete it. During my briefing, I was told to produce a magazine cover and contents page for a school or college. Now, you may be thinking that it’ll be a simple task if you haven’t studied Media previously but believe me, there is a lot more to it than just putting titles and pictures together. I will be including pictures of a student, maybe more alongside all the normal features a magazine would have. I have to include my own photos and edit these using Photoshop which I am extremely excited about as I have always wanted to learn how to use it.

So as I said before, pay a visit every now and again, I will be uploading regularly meaning there will always be fresh content for you to look at. Wish me luck, I think I’ll be needing it.

Thanks for reading! Hopefully I’ll catch you again but until then, make sure to stay safe, bye.