Constructing My Front Cover

This shows the margins I have put onto my photoshop document to ensure that all text on my magazine front cover is aligned.  This will make my magazine look professional as everything on my page will be aligned and straight.
The horizontal guidelines are set to 0.5cm and 29.2cm.  The vertical guidelines are set to 0.5cm and 20.5cm.











This shows the masthead of my magazine and the design which I am likely to use.  The magazine is called "NOTORIOUS" because this is the kind of artists I am focusing on.  My magazine will be a rap magazine and my main inspiration is the Rolling Stones magazines as my magazine will feature artists similar to those featured in the Rolling Stones magazine.
I have gave my masthead an eroded effect to reflect on the artist's rough background.

Article Draft

Action Plan

By Monday 5th March I should have a rough cut of my products

By Monday 19th March my products should be completed

From Monday 19th - Friday 30th March I will be working on my 7 evaluation questions.

The my completed portfolio should be submitted for formal marking on Monday 16th April. I should use the Easter break to make any minor amendments to my work.


In order to meet these deadlines I will:

• Update my flat plans due to feedback and additional research on my flat plans by asking people to give feedback on my magazine flat plans and describe how I could improve them, then carry out these improvements.
• Take and upload test shots of models to show how I plan to angle my camera and pose the model, as this will give a rough idea of how my final shots will look.  Indicate how these shots have been inspired by my research and then could also inspire my final shots.
• Finish my textual analysis.
• Attend catch up sessions and do work at home in order to catch up.

Research & Planning Feedback

Flat Plans

These are my flat plans for my magazine.  They show how I would like my magazine to look like and be laid out like.  For the cover, I would like for my main model to be centered in the page with the text laid on top of him.  The masthead is positioned at the top of the page as it is the main bit of text on the page.  The price and issue number will be positioned in the top right corner as it is not as important as the rest of the text found on the cover.  The sell lines are found on the left as people tend to read from left to right, so therefore the consumer's eyes will be drawn to the text.  The main selling line will be the same size text as the masthead as it is the main story and must grab attention.  At the bottom is a sell line, which will give the possible consumers extra information on what they can find in my magazine.  The barcode is positioned in the usual area; the bottom left-hand corner.

My contents page will be mainly images, as this is more interesting than reading lots of text.  I plan to have an image of the band/artist featured in my magazine with the number of the page which they can be found on.  My contents page will also have a list of the main stories and articles featured with the page numbers, and will also include a list of articles regularly featured with the page numbers.  The date which the magazine has been issued will be faded behind the title "CONTENTS" as this looks quite professional.

My double page spread will be a large landscape image with my model in the left side and the text to the right.  This is because people read from left to right and therefore the model will catch their attention first, and show the audience what the magazine is about.  The title of the double page spread story will appear approximately head level with the model on the opposing page, with a summary of the article underneath, then the full story placed underneath.

Image Analysis & Composition

The photo of Jay Z shows importance as his eyes are positioned into the top third.  His head is tilted back but his eyes are looking into the camera, which shows that he is of high importance.  His t-shirt and accessories are kept simple to ensure that all focus is on Jay Z himself.  He is wearing a diamanté chain and expensive watch which shows he is elaborate and of high stature.  The pose of hands in his pockets is simple, and the extravagance is made with the use of the elaborate accessories.
The shot distance is a medium close up.  The background is white and lighting is used slightly up from the center of the image to keep focus on Jay Z.

This photo of Kelly Rowland shows importance as her eyes are in the top third.  The camera is looking slightly up at her as she is looking down into the camera, which also shows her importance.  The leather jacket she is wearing shows masculinity and therefore implies that she is not a woman to be told what to do, which adds a vibrant edge to her style.  Her makeup is kept simple as she is wearing large earrings.  Her facial expression isn't smiling but is serious, to add to the look of masculinity.
The shot is a medium close up with minimum background to ensure that she is the main focus of everybody looking at the photo.  There is light coming in around her face to make it the main focus of the image.

Textual Analysis

Brief

PRINT

Preliminary exercise: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally candidates must produce a DTP mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of the program.

Main task: the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine.
All images and text used must be original, produced by the candidate, minimum of FOUR images per candidate.

Photography Composition Questions

Flat Plans

My magazine is called "Keeping Up With Kollege", referring to the hit show "Keeping Up With The Kardashians", familiar to most teenagers.  The mis-spelling of the word "Kollege" shows the educational side to the magazine and also gives it a sense of humour.  The colour of the text will be beige on a deep purple background as the colours purple and light beige are very royal and sophisticated, expressing college life.  The selling lines will not be on a background, but the text will be deep purple to keep in with the masthead.  The main image will be that of a student smiling to express that college life is very exciting however a change from school life as the student is not in uniform.  The language used is aimed to be playful and relate to the students such as "Goodbye Mr Rae", named after the song known well by the younger generation, is a story about a well-loved headteacher retiring after many years.  This type of language relates to students and gives away information about the topic but does not tell the full story.

My contents page will follow the traditional style with a "Hello From The Editor" section and using banners for headers.  My banners will be beige text on a purple background to stick to the theme and colour scheme used on the front cover.  In the top right corner, I have chosen to include a collage of photographs to keep my front cover simple and more friendly to the student eye by being less busy.  My background will be a large picture of two doors.  The doors show that students are closing the door of school and are about to open new doors to reveal a whole new world.  The closed doors also symbolise the uncertainty faced by many school students on their first day of college.  I will have my contents written in a laid-back style such as "puzzles n'that" to relate to the students and the way that they speak around each other, giving my magazine a casual effect.  It also shows students that college life isn't boring and full of large words, which eases the worries of first year students.

Photography Composition

Covers and Contents Pages of Inspiration

Below are examples of magazine covers and contents pages that I'm taking inspiration from for my prelim.

'Sugar' magazine is specifically aimed at adolescent and young teenage girls.  This is clear as the colours used are very girly, being pink, yellow and orange.  These colours reflect the personality of the target audience as they are happy and fun colours, which is how young teenagers are referred to.  The colours are not sophisticated as the target audience would find this boring and would not be attracted to the magazine cover on shop shelves.  Most of the text is left-aligned as people read from left to right.  The text being on the left also means that if the magazine is stacked on a horizontal shelf then it is still easily read and the main selling lines are not covered.  The main model is covering the title which shows that the magazine is very popular and well-known.  Language such as "Golden glows to make the other girls green" is still using the simple girly colours, and the word "golden" suggests a heavenly and flawless tan.

The contents page has a similar colour scheme to the cover page as the colour pink seems to be repeated here.  This is to attract the target audience as young teenage girls are associated with the colour.  Similar to the cover page, the colours used are not sophisticated as this would repel the target audience because stereotypically, the target audience enjoy things that look fun.  Most of the text is left-aligned, which is a running theme throughout the cover page and contents page of the magazine.  This makes it easier for the target audience to read as text is read from left to right.  The main image is Taylor Swift which clearly shows to the target audience that she is the main focus of this issue of the magazine as she is also the main model on the cover.  Language such as "Celebs dress your age!" is used to give young teenagers a confidence boost about themselves being labelled as 'too young' for particular clothing items.  It also promotes these youngsters to stay away from clothing that may make them look older and raise eyebrows as they want to dress and style themselves like modern-day celebrities.

'Top Gear' magazine is aimed at a male audience with ages ranging from 18 to 40.  The colour green attracts the target audience as it is classed as a manly colour.  The main image is a Ferrari with flowers pouring out of the engine.  The flowers suggest a calm peaceful atmosphere which further suggests that the car is a peaceful car to drive.  The use of the flowers also shows that the car is a very environmentally friendly car as the flowers are fresh and colourful.  The language "Zero Guilt" backs up that the car is environmentally friendly as it states that there is minimum amount of guilt involved in driving the car, and therefore there is no need to drive less as it is not as harmful to the environment as other cars.  This is further backed-up by the choice of colour that the whole cover is in.  The main colour is green showing that the Ferrari is a very 'green' car, also meaning environmentally friendly.

This contents page is different to traditional contents pages as the Top Gear contents page has a different layout.  It uses banners to separate the contents much like a traditional contents page however it does not feature everything that will be found in the magazine, and only mentions the main selling lines with a bit more information on each.  As the banners are highlighted yellow allows the headers to stand-out much more from the white background it is placed upon.  Having an image of The Stig placed at the top shows that he is the main focus of all Top Gear magazines as the contents page is usually a recurring page.  The layout along with a photo of each allows                                         the reader to find what they want quicker than typical magazines contents pages.

Brief: Print

PRINT PRELIM

Preliminary Task:  Using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photo of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead.  Additionally, you must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate your grasp of DTP.

Main Task:  The front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine.  A minimum of four images must be used.  All images and graphics must be produced by the candidate.