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.