Final post for Pre-liminary task

I now feel that i have completed the task of producing the front page of a college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid out text and a masthead. Also produce a mock-up contents page. I am proud of what i have done and I have learnt a lot along the way including how to use a blog. My final pieces are:

Next I am going to make a music magazine consisting of a front cover, contents page and two page spread. I hope to do well in this next task and I will start off by doing research.

Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?



Front covers

Student ID is a real magazine whereas Impact is my magazine. They both have Mastheads, Cover lines and Graphics. These are some of the main things that are needed on any magazine cover. Also they both show a price, date and bar code which is needed to sell the product. However I think my magazine is quite plain and simple compared to the other one.

Contents page

I think that my contents page is quite similar to the ones i analysed as it has a list of the pages and page numbers. However i feel that it is different as it has a letter from the editor and it is set out in my own individual way.

How does your media product represent particular social groups? and Who would be the audience for your media product?

I have based my magazine on people aged 16-18 years old. I have also tried to make it for both males and females. Students are more likely to pick this up as it relates to their everyday life through the ideas of fashion, exams and relationships. The main cover line ' Stress! Too much! ' will make people think and will hopefully encourage people to read on. Also the photos feature students and people of a similar age to the reader. The magazine has been designed by the help of the feedback from the questionnaire so it done how people had suggested.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I think the college would distribute my magazine as it relates to college life.

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

I have used Publisher to create my front cover and contents page. This was a good programme to use as it allowed me to set my work out on an A4 page and move it around. I used Paint to edit the photos and to add more colour to the pages. I also used a digital camera for taking my photo. This worked well as it enabled me to take my own photos and to see them will doing the photo shoot.

Weekly review

This week i have completed both the front cover and contents page. I'm pleased with both pieces and with the feedback i have got. I just have to evaluate my work.

Contents page

Please comment!

This is my contents page it links to the front page as it carries on the idea of the brick wall and it covers the same issues and more. It features a letter from the editor and a front cover. Down the middle it has a list of all the pages and their page numbers. It covers lots of issues including stress, revision help, fashion, financial problems and life stories. On the right hand side there are many photos that link to the different pages.

Analysis of contents pages

Smaart Talent contents page was very boring but clearly laid out. It listed the different pages and their page numbers. The title of the page was in a big font and it was in blue. There was a second section which was under a separate heading in red. It stated the title of each page, the writer or a small bit of information and the page number which was separated from the title by dots. It had the magazine logo in the bottom right corner and the page number in the bottom right corner. It also had boxes along the side and the top which had the website and page title in it.

Student ID contents page was set out clearly but had pictures to attract the reader to a certain page. Down the left side there was a letter from the editor and then a picture of the editor and the front cover of the magazine. In the middle there was a list of all the pages and page numbers. This tells you everything in the magazine and some have small comments next to them to lure you in like ' do you dare to look?!' On the right hand side there is an assortment of photos that link the title to the story.

final design

please comment !

This is my final design. I decided that a depressing picture fitted in with the theme of stress and i made it look more attractive by using bright, bold colours such as blue, yellow and red. I used a deep red and a big font to make the masthead IMPACT stand out. This masthead was chosen by people that commented on my post. The cover lines link to the theme and tell you more about the magazine. They say 'for the students!' 'stress! too much' 'in this issue: is he the right man for you?... beat pre-exam stress... fashion must haves'. To make this look like a proper magazine front cover i have added a bar code, issue number and date of release.

Ideas for a name

• catch up
• student's approach
• survival
• essence
• impact

any other ideas????????

weekly review

This week I have done many rough ideas and have come up with one main idea. I have planned and carried out a photo shoot, thanks to the help of Lorna Clarke and i will add photos shortly. After looking through the comments on my questionnaire I have decided to base the magazine on the age range 16-18 year olds.

Main idea

Here is my main idea so far i just need to think of a name for the magazine and re-take this photo as we are not allowed to use ones from the internet.

My three cover lines say: For the students!,stress! too much, In This Issue: Is he the right man for you?... Beat Pre-Exam Stress... Fashion Must Haves.

i need a name any ideas!!!!

Planning for a photo shot

i will take at least 6 photos on the theme of student life.

location : areas around college and buses

props: if outside maybe a coat or umbrella

people: in the age range of 16-18, both males and females

lighting: in dull weather lights may need to be used

camera: all different shots; mid shot, close up, high angle and low angle

Questionnaire evaluation

From the questionnaire comments I learnt that:

• the age range should be between 16- 18
• it should be suitable for both males and females
• it should cost 60p
• the pictures should be colourful
• purples and blues should be used
• it should be about fashion, college life and relaiotnships
• most people read magazines at least once a month if not more
• suggestions for names were catch up, life and katy's catch up.

Developed idea

I started off with a black, grey and white photo and decided that if i was to use it i would have to use a lot of colour. I added the text and played around with the colours but found that this was still too plain. I then filled in the bricks with primary colours and also used these colours for the text. I placed the blue text across her arm show it fitted in with the photo. also the word stress links with the photo as the girl looks quite worried or stressed. I placed a smaller set of text at the bottom and thought i could use that to list some of the key articles in the magazine.I put the masthead i capitals to make it stand out. To improve this further i could put a border around the masthead and fill it behind it with a pale colour to make it stand out more.

A review of this week

This week i have made a blog, made an action plan, analysed two magazine covers, done a questionnaire and found a range of photos. I need to collect together the information from the questionnaire and use some of the ideas as a basis for my magazine. Next week i have to do some rough ideas for the front cover and decide on an age range.

photos

Here are some photos. They show some ideas of what i could use on the front page. please comment on them. i got these off the internet later i will take my own photos.

Questionnaire

This is to find out what my target audience wants from a student magazine. Please can you fill it in.

1. Are you male or female?
2. How old are you?
3. What magazines do you read?
4. How often do you read them?
5. What genre do you like to read the most?
6. What do you think would be a suitable name for a magazine?
7. What price do you think it should it be?
8. What current events do you think should be covered?
9. What pictures do you think are suitable to be put in a magazine?
10. What colours do you think should be used?
11. What font do you think should be used?
12. What do you think it should be about?

second analysis of a front cover

The second magazine i analysed was youth action. This masthead is done in big, bold writing and each word is separated by two different colours. This makes it stand out and is straight to the point helping you recognise easily that it is a youth magazine.
The byline is at the bottom and it tells the reader that the magazine was done by ' The National Youth Agency '. This is connected to the target audience and shows that it is a magazine for young people.
The magazine uses a catch phrase or tag line to give readers something to remember and to show the main aim of the magazine. This is placed under the masthead and is orange and white to stand out and to link to the masthead.
It uses a big photo, that takes up most of the page. This links to the tag line ' young people taking action in their communities' as it shows the people working with the life boats. This will be the focus for the rest of the magazine. A white background is used to make the graphics stand out more.

analysis of magazine front cover

The first magazine that I analysed was Student id. This masthead allows people to identify that it is a student magazine. Also it is a brand identity as allows you to recognise it easily.

Cover lines are used on the front page to tell what is inside the magazine. This is placed on the left hand side of the page. It is done in bold and different colours for each section, for example the headline is written in white and under the heading ' This issue:' whereas the the text under ' Plus:' is split into two sections which are separated by red and green. These are also done in a small font compared to the words in white.

At the bottom of the page there is a yellow strip which has the words ' new york pics' on it. This adds an extra detail to lure you in. There is a wide range of topics on the front cover this lures in lots of different people.

The background cover is black. This makes the graphics stand out and links to the masthead which is black and red. The photos are connected to the text ' spotted!! bash photos' as they show photos of people at the bash.

The brief

Produce the front page of a college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid out text and a masthead. Also produce a mock-up contents page.

Action plan

week 1

• set up a blog
• analyse some student magazines
• research and find examples of student magazines ( audience, interests and how they attract the reader)

week 2

• collect some rough ideas for the front page of a student magazine
• decide on an age range ( possibly create a mood board of interests
• plan for and carry out a photo shoot

week 3

• final draft for front cover
• analyse and change accordingly ( possibly ask others for their opinions)
• analyse at least two student magazine contents pages

week 4

• create design ideas for contents page
• finish off
• evaluate