Final Products

Final Products

Final Front Cover

From the previous final design, I have added a price tag in the top right corner so that the customer would know what they are paying for the magazine, instead of taking the magazine to the counter before finding out how much it is, because if it was too expensive and they couldn't afford to buy it then it is embarrassing for the customer to take the magazine back to its original place and therefore it would be good to avoid embarrassing our target audience by not informing them of the price of the magazine.

_________________________________________________________________

                                                                  Final Contents Page

This is my final contents page. I have made a drastic change to the layout because the two column layout didn't look good. Also I have made the writing smaller so that I can fit more information on the page as well as moving the image to the right so that I can fit a column on the left hand side of the page. I have done this so that the one column has all the information the audiences needs and it is one place on the page, making it a lot easier than looking at both sides of the page for information.

_________________________________________________________________

Final Double Page Spread 

This is my final double page spread. The improvements I have made are changing the bright red font to a dark red font so that it matches the colour of the clothes that my model is wearing to combine the colour scheme. I have also added the number "6" in the bottom right corner of the right page to show the audience what page they are on.

Evaluation

In the evaluation the following questions must be answered:

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

·         How does your media product represent particular social groups?

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

·         Who would be the audience for your media product?

·         How did you attract/address your audience?

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

·         Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

__________________________________________________________________________________________

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

Front Cover
In my front cover research I looked at many different types of music magazine, trying to make sure they all associate around similar genres of rap, hip-hop and R&B unless I couldn't manage to find them. Whilst I was analysing magazine covers, I was realising of certain features that we're being repeated, such as the cover being colour scheme pacific and always having the writing, image, and colours match up to look attractive to the reader. The cover lines tended to not all be one colour, they changed colour and used eye catching ideas such as alternating the colours to attract the audience.
I didn't really know what features would attract the audience, but I chose to use features that attracted me like a good colour scheme that contrasted the background colour but also complimented other features on the page. The result of this is that the audience will be invited in by the cover and feel compelled to read the information available on the cover and this should mean that the audience will read on through the magazine.
 I also considered the size and placement of the image or images on the front cover. Most front covers would use one large image, and would vary the types of shots use, as you could have a long shot, mid shot or even a close up and they would all be large images and fill up the page and catching the eye of the audience, hence attracting them to take interest of the information on the front cover and within the magazine.
The effective use of space on the front cover was one of the features I noticed as well. There was never a space on the page that wasn't used. There was so much information being packed onto each front cover than some of the text was having to be placed on images so that it could actually be put on the page because all the other space was taken up. In some cases this meant that the page was too pack but the writing wasn't completely so packed onto the page that you couldn't read it, it was enough to add mystery from a cover line or an image which would reel in the audience to find out what was going on with the celebrity who was the cover image or what the cover line was describing.


Contents Page
In my research on contents pages, I found that they were not much like a front cover. They would normally have a title of the magazine or a title "Contents" and then would have a large image and maybe a column or two of stories describing the articles and stories available within the magazine. The colours weren't particularly eccentric but the writing would contrast the background colour and the important information would stand out from the background colour.
I chose to stick to a background which was light and would be able to use dark writing that would easily contrast the background colour, as well as helping me stick to my colour scheme of using red and black so therefore it also linked the colour scheme from the front cover to the contents page. The strength of this was that the writing would be stand out and catch the eye of the audience and hence they will pay attention to the writing and take the information in that is on the page and guide them self through the magazine to the stories they want to read.
I chose to also use a large image on my contents page. Using the large image allows me to use it to catch the attention of the audience and then the audience will pay attention to the page, and will look for the story surrounding the celebrity in the picture. The strength of this is the audience will be attracted in by the image on the page and then the image will draw attention to the other features on the page which have the relevant information like the column of text. I chose to put the image in the centre of the page to be in the best place to catch the eye of the audience and a strength is that the audience is further invited into the page.
The column of text was a mixed bunch, where some contents had used one big column with big writing, some had use a smaller column with smaller writing, others use two medium sized columns with medium writing and this meant I had a large variety of layouts. I chose to go for two thin tall columns, one column on each side of the image. This means that the image can attract the audience then the audience will notice the columns either side and look at and absorb the information available for the audience on the page.
The title on other contents page is always at the top and may be aligned in the centre, on the right or left. I chose to make my title no different and make the text large and align it to the left side of the page, because typically my target audience will read the page left to right so therefore if I place my title at the top of the page on the left, it is the first thing they see and will immediately let them know this is a contents page. The title is simple and named "Contents..." and it isn't there to be glamorous or make the page look unique, it simply lets the audience know this is the contents page and they can find out where certain stories are within the magazine, and a strength of this is that the audience will be informed of all the information they need to know from this page and the title helps them acknowledge it.
The sell line from the contents page is on top of this page and it is there because it offers an element of continuity within the magazine, as well as reminding the audience what magazine they are reading. The strength of this is that it makes the magazine flow better and and also raise awareness of the magazine which will result in more sales via of friends talking about the magazine via word of mouth.



Double Page Spread
In my research of double page spreads I didn't manage to find examples that were all specific to the genres that I had used for the previous front covers and contents that I had used. So therefore some of the double page spreads that I have found represent different genres like rock and pop and may help me better with reaching a different target audience. Therefore these features can still make a good contents page but may appeal to an audience of a different music taste, age and possibly gender.
 The titles on the double page spreads had variations of how they were set out. There were titles that were over the top of the two pages, there layouts which had one title on one page, there were two separate titles on each page, etc. This meant that I had different ways to put the title of my article on my double page spread. I chose to use the title over the top of two pages in order to make my writing bigger and to be more eye catching as well as catching the eye of the audience on both pages.

The written text on most articles was not made to totally stand out and catch the attention of the audience. The colour of the text always contrasted or slightly contrasted the background colour so that when the audience read that writing it was still clear and easy to read because it stood out on the background colour. There was not a set writing colour because there was not a set background colour, for example a black background used white writing and a white background would use black text. My double page spread was an interview style layout. I thought it would be a good idea to use a different colour writing to outline the answers from my celebrity who was being interviewed. This would also add a feature of being an eye catching feature if it was clear the colour of text had changed rather than slightly changing it, for example black and dark blue writing. Therefore the use of the writing and colour I have used clearly identifies the red text as important.

The images on double page spreads are varied. There can be 1 image, there can also be around 10 images. So there is a lot of variety within this section. On some of the examples I found there was a main image which other minor images around the page. On some examples there were 2, 3 or 4 images which all stood out just as much as each other and all varied in size, orientation and how they were edited. I chose to use 3 images on my double page spread, using one large image as a main image and use two small images to fill a space on my page and not use too much writing on my double page spread to avoid boring the reader.


The colour scheme on the double page spread was never a fixed feature, and would normally link up the use of colours. There would be colours that compliment each other as well as colours that contrasted to make certain features stand out and be an eye catching feature for the reader. So therefore it was important that I made the colours of the text, title and images link up to make the page look attractive so the use of black and read writing contrasted the background and also the red writing complimented the red in the image, which was an attractive feature.


The use of space in the double page spreads I found was always a well used factor. The writing always filled up the space and there was always enough images to fill up the space. Therefore I couldn't afford to leave a random area of space on my page because leaving an area space where you could use an image or insert some text is a waste as a double page spread will never waste space. So therefore I used writing to fill up the bottom of the left page and the left side of the right page and used images to fill the rest of the page, and hence space wasn't wasted.

_____________________________________________________________________________

(How does your media product represent particular social groups?)

My product represents age as younger people are representing older celebrities because young aged people can be mature. I have used images of students from my school, and I have used an image of one of them to represent Kanye West, a music artist in his thirties. Therefore this shows that I am prepared to use younger people as an older celebrity because younger people are trendy and becoming more mature and can have the same factors as a well known celebrity like Kanye West who is stylish and also mature. I have promoted Kanye and people in their thirties by giving them a mature approach to the way he answers questions from the interviewer, by now trying to be cocky like the stereotypical young person and therefore I am showing the middle aged group as a group of people who are laid back and approachable, as they are being shown as not being cocky and they answer the questions with honesty and don't make it a complicated process. I also show them as a stylish age group as they are wearing clothes associated with younger people, younger people who obsess about having the best body, best clothes and looking the best whereas the older and mature adults don't waste their time normally, and this is showing that even though they are older, it does not mean they change completely.

My product represents gender by showing men as an in-demand gender. I have used all images of men and this is because a hip hop and R&B magazine is more likely to appeal to males because of the bass behind the rhythm of the song, which stereotypically appeals more to a male audience. Using males for the images therefore has a sexual appeal to females and they will buy the magazine because they will be attracted to the males in the images. Therefore this represents males as superior to females in this instance because the females will buy the magazine for the celebrities they like and the images in the poster. It would be the other way round if it was aimed at males, with images of females in the magazine. It is also a negative representation of women because I haven't represented any women in this magazine apart from on cover lines. Therefore the audience may think that I have not included women in the images because "They are not good enough for the magazine". This is not the case but this negative vibe can be taken from my product.


My product represents sexuality as all people of any sexuality are equal as I haven't went out of way to make effort to show heterosexual, homosexual and bisexual people in a different light, because they are equal and I haven't commented about sexuality anywhere in the magazine, and I haven't used images that have clearly outlined the sexuality of the model and therefore there is no negative representation in my product, only positive representation that all sexualities are equal.


My product represents social class by showing rich celebrities and upper class people as the models that working class and lower class people idolise and want to be. It can also be linked to colour because black people are stereotypically working class. Therefore my magazine mostly represents celebrities and will grab the attention of my audience who will idolise the celebrities. However, Kanye West is black and stereotypically wouldn't be idolised because of his ethnicity but because of his celebrity status he defies this stereotype.


My product represents physical ability in a positive light and and disability in a negative light. All my images have models in who are perfectly able to walk and have no physical disabilities. Therefore I am showing people who are disabled as a group of people who I won't use in my magazine and that they are not someone that the target audience would want to know about and not someone the target audience would idolise. Therefore this is a negative representation because I am pigeon holing them as a group of people which will bring the reputation of my magazine down.


My product represents regional identity by showing American people as a superior and contemporary group of people when it comes to them being celebrities. Most of the names of celebrities on my magazine are Americans because their are more famous Americans and most music artists which are "Superstars" are quite often American so therefore the use of American artists promotes Americans as in a positive way to the audience.


My product represents ethnicity in different ways. There is the way which makes it seem all ethnic groups are equal because I am using different ethnic groups in my images throughout the magazine and therefore promoting equality throughout all the ethnic groups. There is always a positive light for white people because I have used an image of a white person on my front cover and contents which is the first page the audience will see, and hence this could be using the ethnic group that I believe will attract the majority of the audience, and therefore this is a positive light for white people and Caucasian groups whereas all other ethnic groups are all promoted in a negative light. However, there is another instance in my product and that's the use of 3 images of a male who is black on my double page spread, and this could be seen as a positive promotion of the black ethnic group as they are good enough to be used on one of my main articles and therefore they are interesting and will be able to satisfy the needs of the audience with their story and the audience won't be repelled away from the article because of their ethnic inheritance.
____________________________________________________________________________


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

I have looked into 3 different media groups, which were; http://www.ipcmedia.com/, http://www.condenast.com/ and http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/.
First of all I looked into the IPC media and looking at the current magazines and media that they currently promote, there is space for my magazine to be taken and distributed, because they currently do not promote any music magazines. This means that my magazine would be the first music magazine within the IPC media group. However a worry for me is that if I did distribute my magazine with this group that with their inexperience and not currently distributing any music magazine that they would not be a good media group to distribute my magazine to audiences with an effective distribution media. So therefore I do not think that the media group would sign me because they focus on a different area of the magazine market, focusing on leisure magazines, sports magazines and also a men's  lifestyle magazine like "Nuts". Hence, the expertise of dealing with and distributing music magazines is not within their skills, and I don't think they would distribute my product.
I next looked into the Conde Nast media group. The magazines that they distribute are all involved in making the subject of the magazine look glamorous such as men's fashion magazines like "Details", women's fashion magazines like "Vogue". There are also fashion magazines for younger ages like "TeenVogue" and therefore will promote fashion for younger people. Magazines for brides, golf, food magazines, a travelling magazine and also a magazine about gossip and general life. These magazines all have glamorous front covers, and all have stories which will either seem outrageous, or help you with life, or will help you improve your fashion style, etc. Therefore my magazine would fall into the category of a magazine which is contemporary and in fashion, but none of these magazines are music magazines and therefore this media group are not interested in distributing music magazines, and even though there is a space for a magazine of the genre of my magazine, it doesn't necessarily mean that it is good for my magazine to be apart of this media group. I don't think Conde Nast would take me on as they will want to stick to the areas they are familiar with and not go into an area which is not in their area of expertise of distributing music magazines, but there is also a chance they would take my magazine because they do not currently have a magazine of my genre, hence there are two answers to this query and it will depend on the whether the company are looking to grow into other types of markets for distribution of other types of magazines.
Thirdly and finally, I looked into the Bauer media group. This media group represent magazines in women's lifestyle and entertainment, and men's lifestyle, as well as a mixture of gardening, transport, sports, pets, motoring, photography and general lifestyle. There are music magazines distributed from this group and they are of the following genres; pop, rock and punk. Therefore the group distribute music magazines but do not currently distribute a Hip-Hop/R&B magazine. The company have space for a music magazine of my genre and hence it is most like that my magazine would suit this media group best because they have experience in distribution of music magazines and if they use my product, then they will have another genre on the market covered and then will apply their expertise in distribution of music magazines to the distribution of my magazine, and the result of this will be my magazine will be there to satisfy the needs of the target audience and then the media group will receive income that they weren't receiving previously, so it is a good deal for business, rather than distributing more rock magazines like they currently distribute and end up competing with themselves. They would be entering into a market where they wouldn't have to compete with magazines within their own media group and would grab more of a different type of audience.
______________________________________________________________________________

(Who would be the audience for your media product?)

The target audience of my product is aged primarily 16-19 but will also look to capture the youth in general, so from ages 15-30 as well as fans of hip-hop and R&B. I aim to capture the youthful audience by using images of younger aged models, and the effect on the audience will be they want to know about people around the same age that they are and how well they are doing and what music they make. This puts the audience level with the celebrity because they are the same age and they feel a more personal connect to them than an adult would. A way of capturing the attentions of the younger audience to is by using extremely well known celebrities, for instance Kanye West. He is an iconic figure and everybody knows about him so therefore this will reel in most audiences and the youth will buy the magazine because they will want to read about an iconic figure in music and the world. A way to capture the audiences that like hip-hop and R&B music is by including articles and images in the magazine of artists who are artists in those genres, and they can be superstars, moderately good artists or new artists who are on the rise to fame. Doing this will attract the fans of hip-hop and R&B when they see the name or image of the celebrity on the front cover of the magazine.
______________________________________________________________________________

(How did you attract/address your audience?)

I used different features to attract the target audience. I didn't specifically put on the front cover it was a hip-hop and R&B magazine, but I used names of celebrities which are common and well known names in those magazines as well as making up the name of a potential new artist, by the name of "Brogdo". Doing this promoted the artist well and the fact he was on the front cover must mean he is an important person and can draw in the audience with interest. It could also repel because not using a well known artist might not grab the audiences attention as much as if a well known artist was on the cover. Mainly the use of celebrities names on the front cover, outlined by an eye catching colour scheme using on the cover lines would then strike the eye of the audience. From this, they would recognise the name of the artist, and then would buy the magazine because the famous artists have articles within the magazine. On the contents page I also mentioned these names and highlighted them in red, so that they would stand out from the other text which was black. Doing this meant the audience would see a colour different to the rest and recognise that to have a higher importance than the black colour. This will then make them realise the artists who are featured in the magazine and will cause them to be attracted to the article about them within the magazine, inspiring them to read on.
______________________________________________________________________________

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

Camera skills - I had a basic level of using cameras when I first started this project. I had not took a lot of photos before and had only used cameras with a film strip attached or a Polaroid picture camera. It was the first time I would use a digital camera so I had to become familiar with how to use it and I did have minor problems along the way. I didn't know what mode I was in, so sometimes I recorded videos when I was supposed to be taking a photo of my model, but I managed to become familiar with the digital camera and avoid making this mistake. Also, another problem which I encountered was that I wasn't sure how to transfer the pictures from the camera to the computer. I had to ask classmates to help me and quickly after being shown how to, I learnt that I had to take the camera memory chip and attach it to a USB device which attaches to the computer. Then after this I search through the files and find the files which are the photos I had just taken, and transfer them to "My Pictures" via a drag and drop method.

Computing skills - My computing skills were good before I started the project. I have used a computer daily for nearly 5 years now so a computer isn't a new device for me to be working on. I knew basic skills like turning the computer on and off, how to navigate the program, how to navigate the Internet and how to communicate using the Internet. Therefore the skills I had and was using during my project was just updating the already advanced skills that I had and I didn't learn much new from this in terms of computing skills apart from how to research for front covers, contents pages and double page spreads. This helped me learn how to use Google images more effectively.

Program skills - My program skills started off at good level/advanced level because I have computers daily for nearly 5 years now. The programs I was using were programs I had used before. Microsoft Publisher was where I was creating my my documents and I have used publisher many times, from previous work in other lessons from the last few years. Therefore all I was doing was updating my publishing skills and slightly extending them with effects on the text, images, etc.

Editing skills - My editing skills were basic before I started this project. The program I used was Macromedia Fireworks, and I had used this a few times before this project. I managed to use the program without much problem because it was easy to navigate and well laid out so that even if you were inexperienced with the program, you would not have too much trouble using it. I learnt how to remove the background from my images using the tolerance magic wand tool and using the rubber to rub out any other unwanted features. Another place to edit my images and text was in Microsoft Publisher. I had to update my skills with altering the styles, sizes and colour of text. I also updated skills of altering the size, placement and any effects on images. This meant I learnt how to use these features more effectively for the next time I use Microsoft Publisher.


Blogging skills - Before this project, I had never used a blog before, so therefore it was a completely new skill for me to be learning, as I didn't understand the aspect of a blog. I quickly learnt that a blog was in fact a very simple tool to use, and that at any time I could log on and add some analysis or evaluation about any work that I had uploaded. Therefore I quickly learnt how to use a blog basically by being able to navigate around my blog, and being able to access and add parts to my blog when I wanted without much effort.
_______________________________________________________________________________

(Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?)


From the preliminary task I researched school front covers and analysed them and using them as a basis to make a front cover for my school front cover. From this part of the preliminary I managed to learn how to research front covers and learnt how to get better results of Google images for what I search for. 
Other factors that I progressed from was the creation of my documents. In the preliminary, the documents I created were nowhere near professional level and literally anybody could have made the documents I made. Therefore what my skilled progressed in were the innovation and creativity put into ideas towards the creation of my front cover, contents page and double page spread to make them look professional, and to a standard that would be seen in a national music magazine.
Another factor which I improved on since my preliminary task was my analysis. In my preliminary I wasn't sure what I was analysing and when it came to the music magazine, I knew what I was doing and which features of the document or image I was analysing and to say the strengths and weaknesses and why I would or wouldn't choose to use it which was a great improvement because in my preliminary I didn't do this well.

Images used on the Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread

These are the five images I have used throughout my music magazine creation. I have used one image on the front cover, one image on the contents page and three images on the double page spread.

This is my first image that has been edited and was used on my front cover. I used this image on the front cover and the factors that make this image appealing are as follows; The pose of the model invites the audience in and also the fact that he is staring straight into the camera lens means that the audience will feel that the model is directly addressing them and will help make reading the magazine a more personal experience. Also the editing of this photo has been done very well as you can barely tell that I have had to remove the background from this image. The only editing mistake I can personally spot is perhaps a little gap cut out of the models' left arm or a slight little bit that I have missed and not removed on his right cheek. A negative of this image is the way the model has unbutton all of his buttons on his polo t-shirt. I think the model would look better if he buttoned up a few buttons and had a more formal look rather than totally casual.

This is the second edited image of my magazine and has been used on my contents page. The image has been edited well as it almost seems like the model was standing in front of a plain white surface. I cannot personally spot any editing mistakes from my editing. A good factor of this image is that the model looks directly into the camera lens and the audience will feel directly addressed by him, making the experience of reading the magazine more personal. A bad feature is that the pose of the model seems disgruntled and dull and this won't be a pose that will attract the audience to read on through the magazine.

This is the third image that has been edited for use in my music magazine, and it has been used on the double page spread. The quality of my editing is questionable on this image, as it is slightly pixelated around the edges. However, this image was intended to be a small image on my DPS and therefore the pixelation will be reduced when it is reduced in size and the editing mistake will not be seen so easily. A good feature of this image is the way the model stares past the camera, creating an element of mystery which will intrigue the audience and will invite them to read on and see if they can find information about why he may be posing the way he is. A negative of this image is that despite the pose being a positive, if he stared into the camera, it would seem like he was addressing the audience and invite them to read the article.

This is the fourth image that I have edited and used and it is on the double page spread. I have not removed the background on this image like I did in my other photos. I have instead decided to be adventurous and use a different effect and create a type of image that looks like a portrait painting of the model. I have been inspired by a film to do this, as in the film "The Godfather", there is a similar type of pose in a painting and I have done this to make the model seem like a classic and legendary artist and to add the extra image to the page to not leave it as too spacious. A positive of this image is that it is a unique image and will definitely catch the attentions of the eyes of the audience and draw them into the article. A negative is that it is very experimental, and may make my magazine look unprofessional and childish.

This is the fifth and final edited image, and it will be used on my double page spread. While editing this, My focus was to remove the background but by accident I created a rather snazzy effect which looks brilliant. This sort of image is definitely an image that will be seen in a music magazine as it is different, eye catching and makes the model look good. I have accidentally created a great image and my favourite image of the whole five. The effect at the bottom of the image is a breathtaking feature which is an attractive element of the image and will reel in the audience to read the article. A positive of this image as well as the unique effect, is the long shot. I have managed to fit his whole body onto this image, and this means the audience can seen the whole artist for what he really is and it is also a stylish image as will promote the artist well and invite the audience into the double page spread. Another positive is the way his clothes are colour co-ordinated and will attract the audience as it adds to the stylish nature of the image. A negative of the image is that the top of the image is rather empty compared to the packed bottom half of the image with the unique effect.

Double Page Spread Target Audience Feedback

David Brogden
Positives:
like the effects used on the images
sell line is continued onto this page from the front cover and contents page
article is easy to read (colour scheme helps with question and answer)
Negatives:
no page number
quite a lot of unused space on the right side of the double page spread
_____________________________________________________________________________

Daniel Smith
Positives:
Image on the right is really good, blend in with the background
Images look natural and real
Good use of house style with sell line across top and colour scheme
Negatives:
No page numbers
Contrasting colours hurt your eyes, looks good on title but not so good on article
Hard to distinguish what is answers or questions
_____________________________________________________________________________
Kaysie Chambers
Positives:
The way the pictures are edited and the way they are presented are attractive because they are unique features
The red colour in the masthead and colour drop cap writing is a nice feature as it links the masthead to the beginning of the text
Negatives:
Too much bright red, hurts your eyes as it is too bright
_____________________________________________________________________________
Helen Martin
Positives:
Good colour scheme which runs throughout the pages I have seen so far. The information is set out really well.
Negatives:
The red font  isn't the exact shade of red used on the models top and is too much of a contrast.

Contents Page Target Audience Feedback

David Brogden
Positives:
colour scheme stays the same from the front cover, makes it a running theme for the magazine
sell line follows on from the front cover
artist is highlighted on the contents page for what page they are on
Negatives:
numbers aren't clear for what page they are for
________________________________________________________________________________
Daniel Smith
Positives:
image in the middle of the page helps him stand out
Colours used clear to see
Negatives:
The red isn't so clear on the coat
I don't like the green background
________________________________________________________________________________
Kaysie Chambers
Positives:
Same colour scheme as front cover looks good
Negatives:
The writing overlapping the image sometimes isn't clear to be read
Numbers are not clear for which story is assigned to which page
________________________________________________________________________________
Helen Martin
Positives:
I like the continuity used regarding the fonts and colour scheme when comparing this with the front cover. The information presented is clear and straight to the point.
Negatives:
Although I said I liked how easy the information is to read, I think that there might be slightly too much information on one page.

Front Cover Target Audience Feedback

David Brogden
Positives:
The use of space on the front cover is good. The front cover isn't too crowded, nor too spacious, there is just the right amount of content. The cover line have been arranged so that they flow around the main image and this means they are easier to read and you don't have to go searching for them. The contrasting colours used on the front cover make it eye catching and the written text is easy to read.
Negatives:
The masthead does not stand out enough as it uses a basic font and is not particularly eye catching.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Daniel Smith
Positives: I like the way that the cover lines go across the right hand side.
Switch of colour helps break it up.
Main image big
It is clear to see what the mast head is and makes it stand out amongst cover lines
Negatives:
The change of colour is a bit too much, it hurts my eyes.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Kaysie Chambers
Positives:
The way the image overlaps the masthead and the way the cover lines overlap the image is an attractive feature
Negatives:
Dull green background is not very appealing and does not make the front cover look attractive
No price listed on magazine, customers don't know the price until they take magazine to counter so they won't bother wasting their time and effort
_________________________________________________________________________________

Helen Martin
Positives:
I like the font used on all of the page because it is clear and stands out, I also think that the colours of the fonts help emphasis the words used.
Negatives:
I don't like the shade of green used for the background, although I think it compliments the picture well.

Double Page Spread Production

This is the production stages for my DPS (Double Page Spread).

This is the first stage of production for my double page spread. I haven't messed about with using different colours or anything like that, I have focused on creating the content and placing it where I believe it should go. I have stuck with the light green background as this continues the continuity from the front cover and contents page that I have used the same colour background as I have on this document. I have made a three column layout on the left page for text which the text box links with text boxes on the right hand page which has one long column and a small bit of writing at the top of a second column.

I have also made my title which runs across the fold in the centre of the page and I believe the way I have placed the word would be fine if I were to print out this page and they wouldn't be sabotaged by the fold in the middle of the pages. The title is large and also adds mystery to the article and the use of an extremely well known celebrity name will reel in the audience as they want to know about "Kanye West" and what his "Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" is. It is a title which draws the audience in as it invites them to read the article and therefore this is a strength of my title. However, I haven't added the sell line to this document yet, and I may placed it in the document at the top of the page to keep the element of continuity within my magazine and not just stopping it after my front cover and contents page.

This is the second stage of production for my double page spread. I have altered a few features on this draft from the previous draft. I have made the name of "Kanye West" in the title the colour red to catch the eye of the audience, as the name is what will draw their attention so making the name a different colour to the rest yet also an eye catching bold colour will be a feature that draws attention to the article.

I have also introduced a drop cap feature at the beginning of my first paragraph which the first letter of the first word being made bigger and taking up two lines to further draw attention. Also I have added a colour to this letter and made it red to further make the letter stand out and signal the beginning of the text and document. The audience will want to start reading from the start of the text so this will help them notice where the start of the text is, which means the reader will read on through the text from the start of the text, receiving all the information available on the page.

I have added the sell line to the top of the pages which was on the contents page and front cover. By doing this it will remind the reader of the magazine they are reading, hence promoting the name and brand of the magazine as well as installing the element of continuity throughout the magazine, and by doing this I make the magazine flow efficiently.

This is the third stage of my production of my double page spread. I have introduced images onto this draft. I have inserted an image onto the left page of a close up of my model and with the background of the photo in the image, and it looks wrong because the background doesn't match the magazine background colour and contrasts but in a bad way. I will edit this image and take the background out.

Also the image on the right hand side had been put in. It is a long shot and I have the whole body of my model in shot as well as a dusty effect around his lower body. I have also had to make the image smaller so that it didn't overlap the writing  and image seems too distant and too small and just doesn't catch the attentions of the audience and needs to be enlarged.

This is the fourth stage of production for my double page spread, and I have made many changes in this draft. First of all, my images have been edited and altered. The image on the left page has been edited and had the background taken out of the image and now the image looks a lot better as it seems like a picture has been taken of the model with the background colour as the background colour behind the model and puts more emphasis on the model in the image. The image on the right hand side has been enlarged and it will help catch the attention of the audience much better and also the dusty effect now runs off the page and the image doesn't just cut off in the middle of the page like it did on the previous draft.

I have edited the title too. I have made the word "Fantasy" the colour red in order to catch the attention of the title on the right page too, because red was only on the left page and didn't draw emphasis to the right hand page.

I have also tried to introduce my colour scheme of using red and black on this page by turning some parts of the writing the colour of red as well as making them italic. The article is a "question and answer" type interview with the celebrity and therefore using a different colour for the answers or whenever Kanye has said something during the interview. This will draw attention to the article and especially to what the celebrity says, because the article is about Kanye and therefore the information about Kanye and whatever Kanye says is what the audience wants to know, not the personal opinion of the writer of the article. Therefore highlighting the important information to the audience makes it easier for them to find the relevant information, which will in turn give the audience an easier time looking for the information that they are looking for and they will be happier to read the article. The use of varying colours also means that it brightens up the article rather than using one colour which will make the article seem dull and makes it look like there has been a lack of effort put into it.

Improvements are to remove the last paragraph next to the image on the right hand side because it limits the image and it looks out of place. I also think I will introduce another image on the left hand page because the one image doesn't fill the page up enough and an extra image may fill the space and not waste the space available on the page.

This is the fifth and final stage of production of my double page spread. I have made a few improvements from the previous draft. I have inserted another edited image onto the left hand page to the left of the other image and moved the other image to the right side of the left page to make space for the new image. The effect I have used is a blur effect in an attempt to make the image seem like a portrait painting of Kanye, which is a unique type of photo and also something that I was inspired to created through the film "The Godfather" as the image gives a classic and old fashioned feel to the article. The image suggests that Kanye is a classical artist, like a legend and this is promoting him in a positive light using this sort of image.

The other improvement I had made is getting rid of the paragraph that was standing by it self on the right page, and this has allowed me to enlarge the image on that page more which gives a more professional look. The one column on that page looks organised rather than having a random paragraph which appears out of place.

I have also went through all of the text making sure the text is organised well so that a word doesn't split, so that the audience can read the article with ease and so that the written text looks professionally written like you would see in an actual music magazine.

Contents Page Production

This was my five stage production stage of my contents page.

This was the first stage of my production of my contents page. I have created a basic layout of the page which a title, and a colour of stories to invite the audience in. The green title "Contents Page" was used on my first stages of creating my front cover. I want to see if it worked on my contents page as it didn't work well on my contents. I have elected to use the same light green background as the cover and therefore and dark green title does not work very well and therefore I may choose to go to a black title, because it doesn't stand out enough and doesn't compliment the background colour either so therefore the colours simply do not work together. Whereas a black title would contrast the light green background and therefore this will be good for the colour of my title and will catch the attentions of the audience.

I have also used a red and black colour scheme with red highlighting the celebrity name and the start of the story which will draw the attentions of the audience. This works well better on the contents page because this is useful to show which stories are separate and this therefore is useful as the job of the contents page is to give information the audience about where the news stories are within the magazine.

This is the second stage of production of my contents page. I have stuck to the light green background in order to make the other features stand out by using bold colours such as reds and blacks. The title colour has changed from dark green to black in order to stand out. The dark green wasn't a strong enough colour to stand out on the light green surface. However the new black coloured title achieves this affect much better as the black is a strong and bold colour which will stand out from the background and catch the attentions of the audience. From this the audience will be drawn in by the title then will look to the information on the page which is the column of stories.

I have also changed the colour scheme for the column of stories to an alternating colour scheme, just to see if it looks professional. It does stand out but it doesn't look right on the contents page. It looked good on the front cover but the contents page would look better with the system I used on the first draft where red signals the start of the story and then black is the rest of the story which is a system which makes it easy for the audience to identify where the stories are.

Improvements I will make within the next few stages are reverting to the colour scheme of my font from my first draft. I will leave the title the way it is as it looks better than it did before.

This is the third stage of production for my contents page. I haven't made any alterations to this apart from the addition of the image. The image is inserted and I feel the page seems like there is space left on the page and it hasn't been used. I am going to alter the layout of the page and put a column either side of the image and centralise the image and see how this works out. Doing this should make more effective use of space and cram more information onto the page.

Also, the title says "Contents page", I don't think I have ever seen a title written like that, I think that they might say "Contents" but the word "Page" would not be written as it would make the magazine look unprofessional. Therefore I will fix the problem and try to solve it by shortening the title. I will also change the the colour scheme of the column of stories.

Here is my 4th stage of production of my contents page. I have changed the layout of the page by now changing to a two column layout, laying a column either side of the centralised image. By reverting back to my previous colour scheme, the magazine looks a lot better. However, the numbers of the pages are bigger than the writing and this has altered the positioning of the writing making the page look unorganised and also makes it look like it has been put together very shabbily. Therefore, I may have to alter the position of the numbers or alter the size of the number to compensate for the problem. Also the columns don't seen like they go far enough up the page as the top of the page seems empty and perhaps adding some stories and extending the column up to the top of the page would make the contents page meet it's purpose with more success.

Also, the title being alone at the top of the page also makes the top of the page look too empty and as it is central on the page, it just doesn't look right in my opinion, therefore I may shift it to the left side of the page and perhaps introduce the sell line from my front cover. I could use the sell line as a continuous feature throughout my magazine which will introduce a sense of continuity to my magazine and this will be a good feature because the audience will be attracted to such a feature running through the magazine, and to keep them interested in the content in the magazine.

So improvement I am going to make are as follows; to move the title to the left side of the page, introduce the sell line to the top of the page, add more stories to the columns and extend them further up the page and perhaps change the colour of the numbers in order to make them stand out more as I may have to change the size or positioning of them.

This is the fifth and final stage of my production for my contents page. I have introduced the sell line to the top of the page and this has filled the top of the page, and I feel it looks a lot better and now injects the element of continuity into my magazine. This combined with the title being made smaller and aligned to the left makers the top of the contents page much better and look professional. 

 The columns have also been filled with more content which has extended them up the page and and fills the sides of the page more and doesn't leave gaps of space on the side. However, the writing overlaps the image, and despite the writing being a strong bold colour and being easily readable on the light coloured clothes of my model, the writing is slightly harder than usual to read and may distract the reader. The change in the colour of the numbers is also a positive effect as the numbers are a different feature to the text and the use of a different colour helps the number stand out and will catch the attentions of the audience.

The use of the centralised image does catch the attentions of the audience, however it does not need to be the main attention on a contents page, so this may be a slight error on my part as the audience may not want to read the contents page if the image takes attention away from the written information. However, I believe that this negative also comes with the positive that the image will also draw in attention to the columns of written text so it can be seen as both a negative or a positive, depending on how you look at it, and I believe it is a positive.

Front Cover Production

This was my stages of production for my front cover. There are five stages all together.

This is the first stage of production for my front cover. The background is a dim and light green colour because I don't want a white background. A white background is boring and will bore the audience. Therefore I have chosen to change the colour of the background to a colour that isn't too powerful so that it won't overpower the other features on the page. This is an advantage because the other features will easily stand out on the background.

I have use a dark green colour for my masthead. I have also used a seriff font, and I have made the title big so that it will easily catch the attentions of the audience. The style of the font makes it obvious that this cover has been created in Microsoft Publisher, and this is not a professional look for a magazine cover, and therefore I will look to change this.

Also, The bar code overlaps the masthead and this may be because the masthead is too big or because the bar code is placed in an awkward place that means I may have to either compromise the size of my masthead or move the bar code, or perhaps overlap the bar code with the masthead.

Also, the cover lines have been put onto this first draft. I have used a colour scheme that the first line of one of my cover lines is red and the other lines are green. This creates a system that the audience will understand clearly and will indicate which news stories are separate from one another. Therefore an advantage of this is that the audience will have the front cover made simple for them and they will have to put less effort into read the cover and therefore this will please the audience. However, it still isn't a style of colour scheme you would see on the front of a front cover, you would normally see an alternation of colours and therefore I need to improve this by perhaps alternating each line between the colours of red and green.

This is the second stage of production of my front cover. I have altered the masthead, by changing the font style and it also now overlaps the bar code. This font style looks a lot better than the previous style, you are more likely to see this font on a front cover than the previous style. This is a positive as I feel more confident that my front cover looks professional now. However, I still feel that this font isn't the font I want and may change it in a few stages time when I put my image onto my cover. Also with the masthead overlapping the bar code, it just doesn't look right. It looks like a clumsy mistake and therefore I will have to alter that too and make an improvement to the masthead.

The cover line colour scheme has been improved too. The alternation between red and green makes the magazine look much better than before. The change of colours every line is a professional look and makes my front cover look more like a magazine you would buy. The positive of this is the customer looking at this will obviously take more interest and be attracted to the colour scheme. However there is one issue with the colour scheme and that is I have tried to keep the start of each cover line as the colour of red and this has meant that in one instance the order of the colours going down the page is; (red, green, red, red, green). This one minor hitch is enough of a fault to annoy me and I think that it makes the front cover look pathetic that therefore I definitely want to rectify this problem. I will have to scrap keeping the start of each cover line the colour of red.

On the next stage I will look to insert the image, so that I can see how adding a large image to the page will create problems for other parts of the page and how I will find solutions to these problems.

This is my third stage of production for my front cover. I have used a green background so that the background isn't a boring white colour and I would prefer to fill the background as a different colour to make my front cover unique. I have done this in order for the audience not to be scared off by a boring background colour and to give the audience the impression I have used creativity to make a cover which won't bore the reader.

 My title font is large to capture the attention of the reader and inform them of the magazine they are looking at in order to raise awareness of the name. A negative of my title is that it is placed over the top of the image which ruins the image. The image is the greatest asset in catching the eye of the reader. So therefore the title spoils the image. Also the font style of the title doesn't look professional. You can tell that this has been designed in a simple publishing programme and the dark green doesn't stand out on a light green background as much as I wanted. So therefore this isn't a good look for attracting the audience and therefore improvements to the title include placing the image on top of the title and changing the title font style and also the colour of the title to a bold and strong colour which will stand out on a light background.

The cover lines are green and red and vary as each line of a cover line starts going down the page. The red is a bold colour which stands out on the light green colour, but the dark green doesn't particularly grab the attention of someone looking at this magazine. Perhaps the use of another bold colour that will stand out on a light coloured surface. The cover line on the image will require a light coloured cover line because of the dark blue t-shirt that the model in the image is wearing. Therefore, I will need to use a light and bright colour, perhaps white so that it clearly contrasts the dark blue colour and will stand out and be noticed by the reader.

I have inserted my image onto this draft to show how the cover lines fit in comparison to having an image on the page to consider shaping the cover lines around. This will help shape my cover a bit better.

This is the fourth stage of production for my front cover. First of all I have tried a method of making the cover lines stand out by using more colours to make it stand out. I have used the red and dark green from the previous draft and added white and black in there too. The white stands out well and works well with the dark blue colour on the image and I am happy with this improvement. However, the use of the dark green still does not work and the addition of black makes the magazine look scruffy and unorganised. The improvement I will next do will be to remove the dark green colour and replace it will a black font to see what this looks like.

The title has been improved, as the title is behind the image now, the font style and colour changed too. The font style is much more sensible and looks like a font you would see on the front of an actual cover. Also, the image is now not sabotaged and just because the image is on top of the title does not mean you can't tell what the title of the magazine is, because the title is barely even covered by the image, it only blocks a small part of a couple of characters in the title. Also the black is a great contrast from the background and catches the attentions of the reader with much more success.

I may also make the image bigger because it isn't big enough to be the main feature on the page, and although it will take up more of the page and cover more of the title, making the image bigger will catch the attentions of the reader with more success.

This is stage five of my production of the front cover. This is my final product. I have made a drastic change to the colour scheme by changing all green lines to black. I think the black lines stand out much better against the green background than the dark green cover lines. Also, the black cover lines are complimented by the dark clothing being worn by my model and the masthead and sell line are also black and compliment each other too. The only slight glitch of the colour scheme is that I couldn't use black cover line of the dark blue t shirt of my model and had to keep a white cover line and couldn't relocate the cover line to another point on the page. Therefore, The white may look out of place but it stands out and catches the attentions of the audience which is the whole reason I made the cover line white in the first instance. The black completely contrasts the light green background and the strong red is also contrasting of the background so therefore the cover lines will grab the attention of the audience.

The masthead is a large feature which doesn't overlap the bar code like in previous stages and the style of the font has a professional look to it, and also the way I have overlapped the image over the title slightly can suggest that my magazines brand name is already widely recognised and does not need to further promote the brand name and can use the image to promote the sales of the magazine.

Double Page Spread Photo Shoot

This is my photo shoot for my DPS (Double Page Spread), and I have took 3 long shots and 3 close up shots.

This was the first long shot image I took. I took it as a portrait photo to capture a long shot full body image. This allows an image which doesn't end suddenly at my models waist or half way down his legs. It means when I use this image I won't have to compensate for his body being cut off at some point. The pose that my model is showing with his arms folded and his hood up is a powerful pose. The image will make the audience feel inferior to this superior character. The audience will often idolise celebrities and music artists and this sort of image will be perfect to represent the character as a superior artist who needs to be idolised. A negative of the full body shot is that the floor will be included in the shot, and in this case the floor is a different colour to the wall which can be seen as a positive because it helps shape the picture with better emphasis and even though his lower body won't stand out as much, his lower body isn't vitally important. A negative could be that the trainers that my model is wearing don't stand out on the dark patch at the bottom of the image. If I could improve this photo, it would be to get my model to wear some bright trainers to catch the eye of the audience and appeal as a more attractive image. Therefore I think this image is an image that I would choose to use on my DPS.

I like this image and will use and edit the image because the pose is stylish and contemporary with the current audiences. Therefore I will use this image and use it as a large image to show the whole body of the model in order to attract the audience.

This was the second long shot image and I took it as a landscape image. It is also an in-action picture so it shows my model was doing something whilst he was having his image taken. One positive of the image is that there isn't a dark grey boring background at the bottom section of the screen. This means that the attention will be drawn to the model only and not a part of the screen with a dull and random colour. Negatives are that because I have used a taken the photo from a landscape orientation, I have cut off my models image from the middle of the legs, which means I am limited to where I can place my image because I can't show a full body image on the page. Another negative is the in-action shot means I couldn't see the face of my model and cannot clearly identify him and therefore this means that the audience might lose interest. The two negatives cancel out the one positive from this image, so therefore I wouldn't use this image in my DPS.

This is an in-action shot from distance and immediately I realise that the in-action shot doesn't show the face of the model, and therefore this may repel the audience because they want to see the face of the celebrity and therefore I won't use this image for editing because it won't serve a high quality service as an image.

This was my third and final long shot image that I took of my model. The pose is a laid back pose and will invite the audience in to read any information presented around the image. In this image, it was taken as a landscape photo and this has taken the dull grey colour out of the image but also cuts the image short halfway down his legs. This is bad because even though I have eliminated the dull grey from a previous photo, I have also cut the model off my image and will limited me to what I can do with the image.

This image is a more relaxed long distance image. The pose is chilled and also directly looking at the camera, hence addressing the audience and inviting them into the article. I would use this image but I believe my first long shot image is a better image and will probably prefer to use that instead.

The next three images are close ups taken in a landscape orientation.

This is the first image I took. My Model has his hood up and the white background helps him stand out and will catch the eye of the audience. He is also staring past the camera which can add mystery into the minds of the audience, they will think; "What is he looking at" and be interested and read on to see if the article provides the information. The strength of his dark coloured clothes stands out from the background colour and will catch the eye of the audience.

This image is a close up image and the model stares past the camera, creating a atmosphere of mystery and suspense because the audience will be intrigued what he is looking at. So therefore I will use this image to edit and use on my double page spread.

This is the second image that I took. My model has this time looked past the camera much like the other image, but instead is looking the other way to see whether looking to the other side looks better than image number 1. Once again the use of dark clothes against a white background helps him to stand out from the background. The result of this will be he will catch the eye of the audience.

This image is similar to the previous image and therefore I will consider using it to be edited and put on my double page spread as it installs the same elements of mystery and suspense because he starts past the camera.

In this image, I have asked my model to look at the camera to vary the pose on the image compared to the previous images. With him looking directly at the camera, the audience will feel directly addressed by him in the article and can add a personal feel to the image.

This image is an image which the model looks directly at the camera and directly addresses the audience, and combined with the laid back pose, this may attract the audience to the article and therefore I may also use this image but it is likely I will use the other images for a different type of element, and add to mystery to the mind of the audience.