Double Page Spread - Improved

After gaining feedback on my original double page spread, I made several changes to improve the document, such as;

• Adding a strapline - because this is a common feature of double page spreads in music magazines and are important as they give the reader an introduction to the article
• Extended the size of my dominant image - because I wanted to get rid of the space covered by bricks
• Got rid of the black rectangles behind the headline - because they made the article look unprofessional and I could not get the proportions right to match the size of the text

Time Management - Week 17

Time Management - Week 16

Time Management - December

In this month, I have struggled to complete my double page spread due to illness and being unable to work. However I managed to comet my double page spread and also upload a post showing a comparison between my contents page and contents pages made by my competitors. To show how I intended to produce my double page spread. I created a post showing the influences I would use. These would be other double page spreads made by my competitors.

Double Page Spread

This is my double page spread. I am happy with it's appearance and I will gather feedback on how it can be improved when I return to college.

Contents Page - Further Improvements

• I added a title to the editor's note as before, I thought that it seemed quite unclear that it was actually the editor talking, therefore I added a title so that readers knew that it was the editor talking.
• I shifted the masthead, the date and the word 'contents' around in the top of the page. This was to decrease the amount of empty, white space and make the top of the page look more innovative. 

Time Management - Week 15

Double Page Spread - Update

This is my double page spread. So far, I have created the article headline with a black rectangle as the background. I have also edited my original image on Photoshop, so that the image looks the way I want it to look. The next stage of creation will be to add my article into the document, and ensure that the leading, font size, etc, is appropriate for the document.

DPS Picture - Editing

The first image is the original image, the one below is the edited version. It is clear to see that I have removed the door / hatch that is behind the model's heads. Using the cloning tool on photoshop, I did this by highlighting another section of the image and going over the part that I wanted to remove. I also got rid of the white bricks that are on the right hand side of the image, again, to do this I used the Photoshop cloning tool. The new image has a slightly lighter shade than the original. This is because I added a filter to the image on Photoshop to give the image a grainy, weathered feel to match the mise-en-scene of the magazine. 

Double Page Spread - Inspiration

This is my most preferred inspiration for the double page spread. I like the overall design and the way that one of the pages concentrates purely on text and one concentrates on the dominant image. I also like how poll-quotes and sub-images have been integrated into the two pages. Similarly to how this magazine does, I will include a poll quote on the page where the picture is. On the other page, I will include mostly text and may add a sub image.

I like this double page because, similarly to the last one, the two page separate text from the dominant image. I also like the how the headline of the article is positioned as it gives an immediate implication of what the article is about. For my double page spread, I will position the headline in a similar place to where it has been positioned in this one, so that my readers can instantly see what the article is about. I also like how each paragraph of the article starts with a very big capital letter. This lets readers know when a new paragraph is starting and perhaps could infer that a different subject is being discussed. 

I chose to use these double page spreads as influences because they both come from issues of NME. From my target audience research, I found that NME was the most preferred music magazine, therefore I want to try and recreate their designs for my double page spread.

Contents Page Improvements

These are the improvements that I have made to my contents page as advised to in the feedback:

• I replaced the image in the editor's note as I couldn't crop the other one without distorting it. Also I feel the new image is better as it is a lot clearer and is less pixelated.
• I have reduced the amount of page numbers in the contents list as it would be unlikely that a monthly magazine would have anymore than 80 pages.
• I have added a pull quote to the image within the page because I looked at a couple of other magazine's (NME and Rolling Stone's) contents pages and they had also included pull quotes therefore I felt it would be necessary to add one as it would be appropriate for my target audience. 

Front Cover Improvements

This is my front cover improved.

• I was told that I should include a website underneath the masthead so I added one. 
• I was told that I should enlarge the dominant image in order to get of the white background space. 
• I noticed that the masthead and the first subhead were on the same line. I moved the subhead downwards slightly so that they weren't on the same line.

Update - 10th December

Today I will continue to work on my double page spread. I didn't get to work on it last lesson because I was absent due to illness, however I have worked on it at home and in the ILC and I hope to make more progress on it today.

Time Management - Week 14

• I have assessed how effectively I managed my time in November.
• I also made a post showing what I plan and hope to do in the month of December.
• I have also made a post showing what my main inspirations for my contents page were and which conventions I liked and tried to emulate within my own work.
• I have posted more feedback that I received for my front cover first draft. This will help me decide which measures I should take to improve the page.
• I also posted some of the feedback received for my contents page first draft. This too will help me to know which improvements to make in due course.

Contents Page Feedback

This was the feedback I gained from my teacher after printing off my contents page. Similarly to the front cover feedback, I will acknowledge the comments and make the appropriate changes in order to improve the work.

Front Cover Feedback

This was the feedback I gained from my teacher after printing off my front cover. I will acknowledge the comments and make the appropriate changes in order to improve the work.

Contents Page - Inspiration

This was probably the main influence for my contents page. I liked the strucure of it and I like the way that the dominant image in the right hand corner stands out. I also like the strapline that goes across the top of the page as it makes the masthead and headline of the page stand out. I have tried to recreate this with my contents page and I feel I have succeeded in doing so. However, I feel that this particular contents page includes too much text and makes the page look a bit too formal. Therefore I will not include as much text in my own contents page. This will involve; giving briefer descriptions in the contents list or taking away the review section in the bottom right hand corner of the page.





I like this page because it looks the most like one that my target audience would like. It has an informal feel but still portrays a smart professional look at the same time. I like the use of the conventions as well, for example the subscription advert at the bottom of the page. I included on of those within my contents page. Also, the contents list is good because it uses black rectangles behind the subheads therefor the font stands out. My contents list is very similar to this because I tried to recreate the features that I liked.

Plan for December

In December;

• I will display the feedback that I gained from my teacher and peers regarding my contents page as I was not able to do this in December. 
• I will then proceed to make the required improvements to my contents page. 
• I will produce my double page spread and make an inspiration post prior to its production. 
• I will hope to receive feedback on the double page spread and display this feedback along with the improvements that are required. 

Time Management - November

In this month;

• I achieved my targets of uploading the flat plans for my magazine along with a detailed rationale for each. 
• I also produced and uploaded my front cover and contents page along with a detailed comparison post for each. 
• I was also able to display some of the peer feedback that I received for my front cover, along with showing a few updates of my progress.

Time Management - Week 13

• I have posted a screen shot of my front cover first draft.
• I also posted the feedback I gained for it during a peer assessment task.
• I have also posted a screen shot of my contents page first draft.
• I have posted another general update in order to show where I am at with the work.

Contents Page

This is my contents page so far. I am happy with how it looks and I feel it is complete. However, in the next lesson, I will gather some feedback from my teacher and my peers and try to find out if there are any ways in which I could improve the contents page further.

Update - 26th November

Today I will aim to complete my contents page as I am nearly finished and only need to apply the finishing touches. Because this task will not take long, I am also going to try and improve my research and planning. Once this is finished I will make a start on my double page spread.

Front Cover - Peer Feedback



This is my front cover. I feel that it is finished and I am happy with how it looks. However, after a peer feedback task, I received some comments from other people in the class on what is good about the front cover and what I could do to improve it.
The good comments were;

• That the colour scheme was good
• The dominant image was good
• The cover lines are good
• Good use of a poll quote
• It looks realistic
• It is well edited 
• The text is clear and easy to read

The bad comments were;

• The masthead could stand out more
• More information is required
• Should've used sub images
• Could change the layout
• More sub-lines required
• Decrease barcode size
• Change the masthead's font 

I will reflect on these comments and make relevant changes in order to improve my work.

Front Cover - Progress

I have started to put together my front cover. So far, I have added the dominant image, the masthead, the barcode and the main headline, however in due course, I will implement the rest of the conventions which I discussed in the rationale of my flatplan

Time Management - Week 12

• I have began to work on my front cover as we were required to start the page during our lesson.
• I am simultaneously working on  my contents page in my spare time as I did not finish the page last week.
• I have made a post showing what my main influences were for the front cover and which ideas and conventions I will be trying to emulate.

Front Cover Influence

I liked the design of this NME front cover because it has a neat simplistic look which my target audience would want. It also uses a colour scheme which I feel is totally appropriate as these particular colours have strong connotations with the genre at hand. The shot also uses a good font size style, with the masthead and the main sub head in a very big, bold font style. This way, readers can see which pieces of information are the most important. The cover also uses a medium close-up two-shot. This is pretty much exactly the same as the photo I will be taking, however in mine, both artists will be in indirect mode of address, where-as on this photo only one is in indirect mode of address. The models are also pulling the millim's "practical" facial expression. This is the expression that I would want my models to pull in the photo shoot.





This was another one of my main influences for the front cover. Again, I like the tidy, simplistic design and I would like to recreate it for my front cover as it is what my target audience want to see. One of the main things I like about this cover is that the sub heads are positioned vertically going down the right hand side of the page. I like this because it creates more spate in the centre of the page so that the dominant image is more visible to the reader and it also contributes to the neat look of the magazine. The magazine also uses a pull quote just above the main sub-head. I like this feature because pull quotes are a common feature to indie rock magazines and they also create an enigma for the viewers meaning they will be more intrigued to read on.

                                                                                                                                               

This front cover was also an influence as it uses a similar neat design to the other two I have looked at. Once again, the cover uses a similar colour scheme to the one I feel would be appropriate for my target audience. It has a pale white background which I will use for my magazine. This makes the dominant image and certain sub heads stand out to the reader. The magazine uses a pull quote which I will also use and its has sub heads running vertically down the right hand side, another aspect which I will try to recreate. This cover does however, only use one artist's face for the main dominant image, this is different to the way I want my dominant image to look, however, I do like the grainy, weathered effect that the artist has on his face and I will try to recreate this.

Time Management - Week 11

• I have began creating my contents page, using Photoshop. The page is not yet complete however I have posted my progress of the page and how it looks during production.
• I have also posted a general update to show my progress after not posting any updates in the previous weeks.

Contents Page - Progress

This is my contents page so far. The big white space is where the photo will be placed. I also need to finish the text inside the contents list.

Update 12th November

In today's lesson, I will start to design my contents page. I currently don't have my photos as I have left the memory stick containing my photos at home, therefore I will start adding layers (text, barcode, etc) to the document.
Once I have finished this, I will start planning the double page spread.

Time Management - Week 10

I have began working on my contents page during this week. We have spent lots of lesson time going over how to create contents page therefore I haven't been able to make any update post this week. In the next weeks I will make frequent updates and posts showing where I am at with my work

Time Management - Week 9

During this week;

• I have made a post assessing how effectively I managed my time within the month of October. This helps me to see where I have excelled and where I could potentially improve my time management for the coming month.
• I then made a post showing what I hope and plan to do within the month of November.
• I have created my flatplans. This will help me to easily plan how I want the magazine to look. I screen shotted my flatplans and uploaded them to the blog.

Flatplans for Magazine

This is the flatplan for my magazine front cover. I have chose not to use many conventions as this will make the front cover look tidy and subtle. I also feel my target audience wouldn't like a crowded page. The general colour scheme for this front cover will be black, white and maroon. This will match the miss-en-scene of the magazine as these colours have connotations with the genre. For the photo, I am also going to use high key lighting. This means that the background will be white and the models will be wearing black items so that they stand out more. This will add emphasis to the darkness of the genre. The photo will be a medium close-up two shot of the models and both will be in indirect mode of address, as this is associated with arrogance which relates to the miss-en-scene. They will be both pulling Millum's practical facial expression. This facial expression will be used as it is associated with concentration and having a job at hand. The colour of the fonts will be a mixture of red black and white, as these colours have strong connotations with the genre and add to the miss-en-scene. All of the font will be in myriad pro, bold italic. As mentioned in a previous post, I admire this font and feel it suits the mood and design of my magazine. The size of the font, however will differ across the page, for example, the masthead and main sub head will be both be around the size of 90-100. This is because this is probably the most important info on the front cover and it needs to stand out to the reader. Most of the other sub heads, pull quotes, etc will be in the standard size of about 30-40. It needs to be this size because if it was any bigger, it would probably clog up the page and not leave enough room for the other conventions. The essential info, as in the date, issue number etc will be around the size of 5-15. This info is always in a small font and is usually situated above or underneath the masthead, therefore I will put it into a similar position. 

This is the flatplan for my contents page. Again I have tried to make it look very neat and subtle by not using many conventions as this will appeal to my target audience. Some of the conventions used for this such as the contents list are crucial aspects of the contents page so that is why I have included them. I used a contents list as this is an essential feature of contents pages due to the fact it includes all of the information regarding the contents. It will be situated on the right hand side of my page, this is so that there is plenty of room for the main image. Similar to the front cover, most of the font within the page will be in myriad pro, bold italics as I admire this font and feel it suits my magazine. The only parts that won't be in myriad pro will be the pull quote and the editor's signature. These will be in different thinner fonts as I don't want to overuse myriad pro and other fonts will be more suited to these parts of the text. The size of the text within the contents will differ as each of the different category's subheads which separate the list will be in approximately 30-40, where as the actual font within the list will be the size of approximately 10-20. This is so readers are able to differentiate between the subheads and the contents of the list. The size of the pull quote font will be around 15-20 and the editor's signature will be about 25. There will also be some text within the subscription box at the bottom of the page. The font in this will be about 10-15 as this size will ensure that it is the correct size to fit into the box along with the picture. The picture which will be included in the subscription box will be a small image of my practice Photoshop front cover as it is supposed to be a past issue. There will be two pictures throughout the page, one of the artist from a certain feature of a magazine and one of me (the editor). In the image of the artist, the model will be wearing all black clothing as this colour of clothing is commonly worn by rock artists. He will also be in indirect mode of address to put forward a cutting edge feel which the target audience want to see. He will be pulling Millum's catalogue facial expression which suggests he is neutral and looks quite artificial which puts forward a sense of mysteriousness around the artist. The image will also be a medium close up which puts forward the sense that the artist is neither close nor distant from the reader, they are simply neutral. The lighting used will be high key so that the darkness of the model is really highlighted, this adds to the mise-en-scene and also suits the target audience. The other image is a close up shot of the editor. On the image, I am pulling Millum's 'carefree' expression, this puts forward the sense that I am a happy relatable character. I am in direct mode of address on the picture which suggests that I am in contact with the reader and I am trying to relate to them, this is important as editors need to be relatable characters. Similarly to the front cover, I will include the essential info at the top of the page in a small font. The reason it is in a small font is because it ensures it is subtle but can still fit in the page.

I have decided to use the typical conventions for a double page spread such as a dominant image and a poll quote. The dominant image is going to dominate the whole of the second page. Hopefully, this will enable the reader to understand the significance of the image as it dominates a whole page. The headline of the article will be situated at the top of the page with the size of about 60-70. This is so that the headline is totally visible and stands out to the readers. The strapline will feature just below the headline. The font within this will be in myriad bold italic as I have used this font numerous times throughout the magazine and the reason it is in bold is because the text in the article won't be, this way readers can differentiate the strapline text from the article text. The fonts size will be about 15, however the article text will be 9. Both of these sections of the text will be in the colour black as it has connotations with the genre, however two words in the strapline are in maroon as this is another colour that is associated with the genre. The contrast in size between the strapline text and the article clearly shows the reader which one is which. I also needed to make the article text 9 so that all of it could fit into the one page. The text within the pull quote will be about the size 25 this is so the pull quote stands out to the reader. This is important to me as I want the pull quote to be noticed as it is an integral part of the DPS. The colour of this text will be maroon and white. This is because the background is dark and therefore bright colours such as red and maroon need to be used so that viewers can read it. There is a reference to the photographer at the bottom of the second page. Again this is in white so that it is visible in the dark background. It is also small so that it is subtle and doesn't take too much space. The essential info is included at the bottom of the first page. The font is black so that it is visible in the white background and it is also small so that it is subtle. The image is a long shot of the artists, this is so that they seem as though they are distant  from reality. Natural lighting is used as the picture was taken in an outdoor position. This is a benefit as the lighting is easily accessible and cheap. The models are pulling Millum's "practical" expression which shows that they are in deep concentration and are very serious characters. The models however, are in direct mode of address on this picture which could suggest they are relatable characters and are in contact with the reader. They are wearing the same black clothes as they are on the front cover. This is because this colour is strongly associated with the genre and adds to the mise-en-scene of the magazine.



Plan for November

In this month, there will be not much for me to do in terms of research and planning because I have managed to complete most of the important tasks from September and October.
I will, however aim to;

• Draw, scan and upload my flat plans for the front cover, double page spread and contents page, along with a long, detailed rationale for each. 
• Most of this moth will be taken up by the actual production of the magazine, therefore I will hope to finish producing my front cover. Before production, I will make a comparison post with other competing front covers. This whole process will probably take approximately one week to complete. 
• I will then start to produce the contents page, again making a comparison post with competing contents pages prior to the production. I will then proceed to make the actual contents page which will again take about a week to complete.

Time Managment - October

The tasks that I aimed to finish by the end of October were;

• Complete and upload my proposal form + potential problems table.
• Produce and upload college magazine.
• Upload the 'Recce'.
• Upload my costume research.
• Upload sub-genre research.
• Upload photo-shoot planning document.
• Upload my magazine mood board with justification.

Overall, my time management throughout this month has been excellent. This is because I managed to complete all tasks that I set out to complete during the month and also because I uploaded more tasks than I thought I would, such as; my camera angle research, my lighting research, my font research-with justification and also a screenshot of my communication with the models. I completed my proposal form and potential problems table within the first couple of days of the month. I was happy with this as I actually was supposed to finish in September, however I didn't and therefore I ensured that it would be completed within the first couple of days in October.

Competitors

• NME:

NME was the magazine that mine was mostly based on. I will try to incorporate many of the same conventions as they use, given that many participants in my reader profile survey said they like to read the magazine. The magazine's genre is very similar to the genre that I would be covering, indie/alternative rock. Therefore it would probably be my main competitor as the content covered within the two magazines is very similar. Also, both would have a very similar target audience. This would tend to be a multi-generational audience of people within the age range of approximately 15-30. However, NME is a weekly issue priced at approximately £2.50 per head, where-as my magazine is a monthly magazine priced at £3. During research, I found on online surveys that people found that the quality of NME issues is sometimes low due to the sometimes tedious nature of the content and the fact it is mass produced. Being a monthly magazine ensures that the content would be fresh within each issue, resulting in my magazine having a slight edge over this particular competitor.

• Mojo:

Given that this magazine is targeted more at just adults makes itself and my magazine slightly more different, however it would still be a large competitor due to the fact that the genre covered once again is very similar. Unlike NME, this magazine is a monthly issue, as is mine. This shows that there would be high demand for this as the readers may want to see fresher content that isn't out of date. Sometimes, NME tends to cover many different aspects of rock music such as, heavy metal, pop rock, etc. However Mojo tends to purely cover indie rock. My magazine would also do this. Not many other magazines cover only one kind of genre like this therefore there would be lots of competition between my magazine and Mojo.

• Uncut:

This magazine is very similar to Mojo in that it is one of the other few magazines which concentrate on indie rock, therefore there would be lots of competition. However, Uncut does tend to have a slightly older target audience and the content doesn't tend to cover new, up to date artists very often, therefore there may be more demand towards that magazine from older readers. Also Uncut is a monthly magazine so therefore readers may want to see fresher content, like they would if they were to buy magazine, so therefore there will be competition between my magazine and this one.

Time Management - Week 8

• I have created a post justifying the date of my photo shoot and why it will be appropriate for the photo shoot. 
• I have taken screen shots of the messages I sent to my models when arranging the photo shoot. This shows that I have organised my models and photo shoot appropriately.
• I have created a presentation looking at the types of costume I want my models to wear within the photo shoot. Therefore I can inform the models what they need to wear within the photo
• I have created a presentation looking into the different types of lighting that should be used within a photo shoot, and how I could use them to create certain effects within my product.
• Similarly, I have looked at cinematography and camera angles. I created a presentation on that as well to help my gain a better understanding.
• I have also done research into the sub genre of my magazine. This will allow me to make reference to the sub genres within my product.
• I have completed my Photoshop planning document which is a compulsory task and helps me to plan my photo shoot easily.

Communication with Models

Here is a screenshot of the email that I sent to my models prior to the photo shoot. This ensured that models knew exactly what they were required to do and that we had a good, organised schedule where-by everyone knew where we had to meet, ect.

Photo Shoot Date - Justification

Here is a screenshot of the weather forecast for the day that the photo shoot is set to take place. As you can see, the weather is going to be good on this day, therefore I will be able to achieve the natural light that I need for one the outdoor photo.

Sub Genre Research

This is a presentation of my research into the sub genres of indie rock; This research hoped me a lot because it ensured that I had a much deeper knowledge of the genre I was covering. It also made me realize which which sub genres were appropriate for the content of my magazine. For example researching the sub genre 'c86' taught me to include certain artists such as primal scream within the magazine as they were part of that particular sub genre.

Lighting Research

A video/slideshow showing my research into lighting. This research has helped me a lot as I now understand the connotations of certain lighting types and how they can be used in certain ways to suit my target audience and mise-en-scene. For example, I may use high key lighting in my photo shoot to make the band seem nice, friendly characters as this lighting method has connotations with brightness and friendliness.

Camera Angle Research

This is a video/slideshow I created on Powtoon showing my research into camera angles. This research has helped me a lot as I now understand the connotations of certain camera angles and how they can be used in certain ways to suit my target audience and mise-en-scene. Forr example; using a low angle to make the band seem to have authority and dominance over the reader.

Photo Shoot Planning Document

This is my photo shoot planning document in the form of a Powtoon presentation.

Costume Research

Here is a presentation that I created on Prezi showing various items of clothing that I want my models for the magazine to wear. These items are also strongly associated with my target audience.

Time Management - Week 7

• I have created the recce, which is a compulsory task and helps my to plan my photo shoot safely.
• I have created a post detailing which fonts I want to use and which ones I feel will be suitable to my product.
• I have then created my masthead, using the appropriate font and colour. This font will be used as the main logo/title for my product.

Recce

Masthead as Title

This is my logo for my magazine brand. This logo is pretty much the masthead of my magazine. Big rock magazines such as NME and Kerrang use their names as their logos. However, the thing that makes these logos unique is the font that is used. For example, if somebody saw the font that is used on NME, they would automatically associate that font with NME. The font that I have used is Myriad Pro and I want to ensure that this font is always associated with my magazine. This is why I have included that font on the logo.

Font Selection

The style of font that I have decided to use is Myriad Pro (Bold Italics). I visited many sites such as; Dafont, Font Squirrel and UrbanFonts.com to find the appropriate font for my magazine. However, I didn't find any fonts that I liked. Here a few examples of fonts that I was contemplating using;

       

Comix Loud - I decided not to use this font as I thought it looks too informal. It is the sort of font that would appeal more to children than my target audience.

  

Varsity - I felt this font wasn't appropriate because it has strong connotations with the RNB/HipHop genre. I would feel this my put off my target audience as they would prefer to see a font that is more associated with rock music.







Whilst producing my practice magazine front cover on Photoshop, I browsed through some of the fonts already installed on that program. This is where I found Myriad Pro. I located the font and applied it to the text. I found that this font looked very cool and easy on the eye. However, when it wasn't in bold italics, I found that it looked too formal and wouldn't suit my target audience. I applied the bold and italics to the font and thought it looked like the perfect font to use for my magazine as it looked; neat, professional and very slick.
Here is a sample of the font.

Time Management - Week 6

This week has very much involved getting familiar with the program Adobe Photoshop.

• I created a practice past issue to enhance my Photoshop skills. This is also useful as I will use this issue to advertise the subscription section of the contents page.
• I then created the preliminary college magazine task in a group of several people. This again enhance my Photoshop usage as I was able to see how to use the program effectively in a group.

Preliminary Task - College Magazine

Our preliminary task was to create a magazine front cover and contents page for the college. Here is a presentation showing a step by step run-down of how me and my group created a college magazine.

Photoshop Usage

Before I created this blog, I hadn't used Adobe Photoshop for anything. I was totally new to the program however after watching a few Photoshop tutorial videos on YouTube and getting some help from peers who had used it in the past, I was able to do some of the following tasks;

• While creating the presentation of my magazine deconstruction scans, I used photo shop as a way of transforming the scanned document from being a PNG to a JPEG. This meant that I could save the document as an image therefore I was able to easily transfer the document onto my Powerpoint Presentation.
• This is a practice magazine front cover that I created a practice magazine front cover on Photoshop. 
  
• The original feedback that I received from peers and my lecturer was very positive. They said that the document had a nice simplistic feel, that it looked realistic and professional and that the dominant image was edited well.
• However they felt that there was aspects of the front cover that could be improved and that I should make alterations, such as; filling in the white space in the background, including more photos and including more information. I will take this constructive criticism into account when I create my real magazine in order to ensure it is up to a high standard.
• I also filled out the 'G321 Introduction to Photoshop' booklet. This helped me as I had to write inside the booklet how to perform certain tasks such as; creating new documents, adding layers, using the tool bar and using adjustment tools. This helped me to gain a better understanding and once the booklet was completed, I felt that I was a lot more familiar with Photoshop.

Time Management - Week 5

In this week;                                                                                                                          

• I have completed my proposal form which is a compulsory task.
• I have also completed my potential problems table which helps me identify which precautions I must take when preforming the photo shoot.
• I have assessed my overall time management within September in order to make sure I am up to date with everything within the course.
• I then made a post detailing what I hope and plan to achieve in the month of October.

Potential Problems Table

This is a presentation showing the different possible problems that could occur and hamper the process of me creating my coursework. I have also stated within the presentation what I will do to prevent these problems.

Proposal Form

This is a presentation showing the different steps of my proposal form, such as; original images, conventions, target audience, ect.

Plan for October

In this month my main targets will be;

• To finish my proposal form and potential problems table. I was supposed to complete this task in September but due to the large amount of work that I had to complete. This is why I feel this is such an important task and I also intend to get it done very early in the month. Thankfully, I have already finished the proposal form and I am ready to upload it to the blog. I also intend to complete my potential problems table within the next couple of days.
• To show my usage of Photoshop through the blog. This will involve producing a practice magazine front cover on Photoshop. I will also fill out the Photoshop booklet and record my progress of it onto the blog. This will help me gain a better understanding of Photoshop and will also help me to improve my skills of the program.
• A compulsory task in October is to produce, complete and upload a preliminary magazine front cover and contents page about the college. This task will be made in a group so that will mean that it will be completed quickly. This task will also improve my Photoshop skills and will also give me a better understanding of magazine production.
• To have my Recce uploaded. This is another very important task as it helps me to consider many different aspects regarding my photo shoot.
• To have my costume research uploaded. This helps me to gain a good understanding of how I want my models to dress for the photo
• To have my sub-genre research uploaded. This will give me a greater understanding of the genre and sub-genres of my magazine and will help me decide what the mis-en-scene of the magazine will be.
• To upload a mood board of different magazines. Helps me to get a feel of what to include in my magazine based on the other ones.
• To complete my photo shoot planning document so that I can have a set-out plan of how I want my photo shoot to be.

Time Managment - September

By the end of September I had set myself many various tasks to complete. These are the tasks that I have completed;

• Magazine deconstructions
• Target audience research
• Induction Homework
• Location Research

Unfortunately, I haven't yet completed the proposal form and potential problems table. This is because the other tasks that I have completed have been very time consuming. I have also had other work to do in other subjects therefore I have not found the time to complete the tasks. However I have began to produce my proposal form and I hope to have it completed and uploaded to my blog within the first few days of October.
On a whole, I feel my time management this month has been generally very good. I have completed four out of the five major tasks that I had planned to complete by the end of the month and feel I produced the work to a very high quality. Hopefully, if I continue to work at the pace I will be able to finish my research and planning work in time for the deadline.

Induction Homework - Music Article

This is a presentation I created on Prezi which shows a music article that I produced for my induction homework. It features and interview with  band members of Sunderland-born rock act Pride of the Revolution. This task helped me a lot as it took place within the very early stages of the AS media course. It gave me a good introduction into the course and the feedback helped me to gain a solid understanding of the use of conventions such as images, colour-schemes, mastheads etc. The actual writing of the article also helped as this was the basis for my real magazine article

Time Management - Week 4

• I have done some location research to help me decide where would be the best place to take my photos and whether it will be suitable for what I want to achieve or not.
• I have created another mood board on Pinterest looking specifically at magazine ideas.
• I have done research on the various facial expressions seen in magazines and created a presentation on it. This will help me see which facial expressions will be suitable to use within my magazine.
• I then went on to do my target audience surveys. I gained information such as the price my target audience would be willing to pay.
• Using this data, I then created my reader profile and then after that created a post showing how I gained my target audience research.
• I have created a presentation on the different magazine institutions which are prominent within the industry. I then stated which institution I believe would produce my magazine and gave a justification explaining this.

Institution Research

This is a presentation that I created on Prezi. It includes lots of information about media institutions I.E. their backgrounds, statistics, milestones, ect:

What I Learned From my Reader Profile

The reader profile helped me to understand the needs and requirements of my target audience quite clearly.

• I have learned that the majority of my readers would be around the age of 16 to 20. They would also usually be full time students, and males would prefer to read the magazine. This information however was taken inside of the campus which means that all of the people who took part had the qualities mentioned above. Although my magazine is aimed at a multi-generational audience, I will consider these results and perhaps add certain features to the magazine, such as colours and images, which would be more suited to younger readers seen as a strong portion of my audience would be 16-20.
• Most of the participants said that they would pay £0-£2.50 on music magazines. This may be due to the fact that they are students and perhaps don't have jobs meaning they won't have the funds to pay more than this amount. However, my magazine will be a monthly magazine and monthly magazines such as Kerrang, Mojo and others usually are priced at around £3-£4. This is a standard price for monthly magazines and decreasing the price to any lower than that could mean that the magazine would struggle financially. Moreover, I understand that my target audience may struggle to pay for the magazine therefore I will make the magazine priced at the lowest possible amount needed for a monthly magazine.
• Many of the participant's favourite artists were from the indie/alternative genre. This is helpful to me as it has shown my which types of artists to include within the features of my magazine. Participants also mentioned which magazines they read. Again, most of the magazines mentioned, such as NME and Kerrand, were from a similar genre to mine. This helped me as I now know to make my magazine similar to these other magazines mentioned. I will do this by using similar conventions and making the content similar.

Reader Profile

The following reader profile will show a summary of the results that I gained from my target audience survey.

                                                                                                                    

How I Gained my Target Audience Research

In order to carry out the research, I created this following questionnaire. I offered a copy of this questionnaire to everyone in my media class. Everyone completed it and handed it back to me. Once the results were in, I was able to produce my reader profile.

Facial Expression Research

Facial Expression Research from joe_hair

This is a presentation that I have prepared and uploaded to Slideshare. It involves the research I have gathered on different types of facial expressions, such as Millum and Ferguson. This research has helped me a lot as it has made me understand the connotations of certain facial expressions and I will therefore use these facial expressions in a way that will most suit the target audience and mise-en-scene of the magazine.

Masthead Ideas

• I considered many different names for my magazine. For my induction homework article, I called the magazine MDR. I was trying to replicate the initials based masthead which NME use. The initials would stand for 'modern day rock'. However, I soon went off the name as I thought it seemed slightly clichéd and it also did not flow very well. I scrapped this name and tried to think of others.
• I then thought of the name 'Sunderland's rock monthly'. I soon decided that this idea was not good as this name means the magazine would focus only on one particular region, when I wanted it to be a national or global magazine.
• When designing my practice Photoshop front cover, I came up with the name 'Mayfair'. I thought this name seemed to flow very well, it hadn't been used before and seemed like a short catchy name for a music magazine. For these reasons, I decided to stick with the name 'Mayfair'.

Mood Board - Magazines

Follow Joe's board Mood Board - Front Covers, Content Pages, Double Page Spreads on Pinterest. This is a mood board that I have made on Pinterest showing lots of images of magazine features such as contents pages, front covers, double page spreads. These are all inspirations for my magazine and I will look at these images as a basis when I am creating my own magazine.

My magazine will feature much colloquialism as it is aimed at a younger target audience and will be slightly more informal than the front covers, double page spreads and contents pages shown above. There would also be more variety of fonts than there is in the magazines shown. The variety of fonts will suit the younger target audience as it gives the magazine a more informal feel and also, having the same font throughout the whole magazine could perhaps make readers bored.
Similarly to the magazines in the mood board, the magazine will be about £2.50. This is because my target audience will be young which means they may not be able to afford paying £4-5 for each issue. This means that more magazines will sell. It would also come out monthly as the target audience may not be able to afford buying a magazine every week.
There will be plenty of colours and pictures used. This is because this will make the magazine more informal which will appeal to the target audience. Similar to what the magazines in the mood board do, I will use the colour scheme of black, white and one other bright vibrant colour as this makes the magazine seem professional yet informal at the same time.

Location Research

I have contemplated using various different locations for the front cover photo-shoot of my magazine.  They are all distinctive locations spread across the north east.

However, I have decided to use a studio as I want the front cover to just be plain with one colour as the background. I have not decided yet but I think that the background will be either dark green or dark blue as those colours have connotations with the music genre that my magazine covers. Another reason I am only using one colour is because my main magazine inspiration NME rarely uses actual pictures for the background of it's front covers, it tends to just use colours. Also, I feel that using a picture in the background would look unprofessional and tatty. It may make the writing harder to read if colours clash and it may also draw the reader's attention away from the main picture on the front cover which would be of the band.  I wouldn't want this as I want their attention to be focused on the main picture.

Here are some pictures of the location ideas I had and an explanation of how the picture would have been framed; 

Marsden Grotto:            

  

I was going to use this location because it is an iconic location in the north east. I also think that the size and powerfulness of the grotto would give the picture an atmospheric feel. For the picture, the two band members would be standing about 50 yards from the grotto. They would be positioned so that one half of the picture would be dominated by the rock and on the other half of the picture, the band members would be standing together. It would be positioned this way so that both the band and the grotto can be seen very clearly by readers. I am not using this location for my photo-shoot for the reasons that I stated in the earlier paragraph and also because it may be hard to perform the photo-shoot as it would be on a beach. 

Penshaw Monument:  

I was going to use this location because it also is an iconic location in the north east (particularly for Sunderland). Similar to the last location the band would have been standing about 50 yards away from the monument but this location is on top of a hill therefore the band would stand on the steps in the middle of the hill. It would pretty much be identical to the picture of the monument I have used above, however the band members would be standing on the steps. This would mean that they would look as though they were underneath the monument and this would show it's dominance and power. Also the readers would be able to clearly see the monument and the band members in the same shot. Moreover, I still will not be using it for my photo-shoot for the reasons I have already stated. The fact that the photo would be taken on a hill may also make the photo-shoot hard to perform as it may be very windy and this may affect the appearance of the band members.

Wearmouth Bridge:

I was going to use this location because it is a very atmospheric location and it also is iconic to Sunderland. This would be useful for my magazine as the band who would be on the front cover are from Sunderland. The band would be standing in the car park that can be seen on the image. The image will be framed so that the bridge can be in the background with the band as the main feature of the image. I would have also taken the photo when it was dark so that the bridge would be lit up. This creates even more of an atmosphere and the darkness would also signify that the music genre covered during the magazine is dark. I have decided not to use this location as it may be hard to access as you need to pay to access the car park that I want to use. Also lots of people go fishing in this location therefore they might interfere with the image. Similar to the last location, the weather may also be an inconvenience in this location. It may be very windy, therefore affecting the band's appearance. 

Time Management - Week 3

• Due to the imminent creation of my product's reader profile, I have looked at various other magazine's reader profiles to gain a better understanding of how to make my own. 
• After this I have began to work on my deconstructions, I completed my three magazine deconstructions across the week.

Magazine Deconstruction 3

Mag deconstruction 3 from joe_hair

This is a presentation I have uploaded to Slideshare featuring scans of my deconstruction of certain magazines. In this presentation you will see a written deconstruction of an issue of Mojo from May 2011.

Magazine Deconstruction 2

Mag deconstruction 2 from joe_hair

This is a presentation I have uploaded to Slideshare featuring scans of my deconstruction of certain magazines. In this presentation you will see a written deconstruction of an issue of Mojo from May 2011.

Magazine Deconstruction 1

Mag deconstruction 1 from joe_hair

This is a presentation that I have uploaded to Slideshare featuring scans of my deconstruction of certain magazines. In the presentation you will see a written deconstruction of an issue of NME from September 2012.

Other Magazines - Reader Profiles

NME:

The target audience of NME is mainly young people of many different ages. Usually between the ages of approximately 15-30. These young people tend to prefer the genre of rock. NME covers pretty much all of the rock genres from indie rock to heavy metal, therefore the magazine will appeal more to this target audience.
This is similar to the target audience that I want my magazine to be aimed at. However, my magazine will mainly focus on the indie and alternative music genre therefore my target audience won't be as flexible as NME'S is. In my survey I will include the question, "Which music magazine would you prefer to read?". In order to find my target audience, I will hope that most of the participant's answers will be "NME" as my magazine will have a very target audience as NME.

This is the reader profile for NME that I found on the internet. The statistics show that NME is very popular with those who spend lots of money on shoes, clothes, audio equipment, ect. This is the sort of stuff that I would expect my target audience to spend their money on. Also the average age of readers is 24, which again is similar to what I thought the average age of my target audience would be. Many of the statistics shown are similar to how I predict the results from my survey will be.


Kerrang!

Similar to NME, the target for Kerrang tends to be the younger generation. As shown in the official reader profile below, the median age for readers is 19. This again is similar to the target audience I am hoping that my magazine will appeal to. However, Kerrang focuses on the Heavy Metal/Hard Rock genre. My magazine won't be covering this style of music, therefore my target audience may be different to Kerrang's in terms of the genre. I also think that during my survey, a lot of participants will write Kerrang as their favorite music magazine. This also will be useful as it will help me determine which generation my target audience are a part of.

The reader profile above shows that Kerrang is a very generalizable to our population magazine as 60% of readers are male and 40% are female. It also mentions that, on average, the readers buy approximately 31 music albums per year. Similarly to NME, I predict that the results generated from my target audience survey will produce similar results to these.

Time Management - Week 2

In week 2 I have continued to gain a good idea of the program Blogger and other various pieces of software. During this week I have;

• Created a post explaining my initial inspirations and giving justification as to why I chose them as an inspiration.
• Using Pinterest, I created a mood board including lots of various image and mise en scene ideas which I will consider when creating my magazine.
• I have also created a post detailing my initial ideas of my target audience, looking at their various traits. This will help me identify what my target audience will want to see within the magazine.
• I then later created an audience profile to help me gain an even better understanding of the demographic and how I can make the magazine cater to their needs.
• I have created a plan detailing what I hope to complete and achieve in this blog within the month of September.