Josh's Blog

All the pictures of my music and school magazines can be seen on photobucket (username – jprior-91) however due to faults with the internet connection not all pictures are in order. http://s586.photobucket.com/home/jprior-91 

My evaluation presentation can be seen on http://www.slideshare.net/jprior3/foundation-production-evaluation and the video of my presentation can also be seen on photobucket

After researching a couple of different magazines I then started to design my magazine. I started with the front cover and firstly got a picture of a friend (who is in a band) playing a guitar. I set up this picture in the music room where we could get a guitar for him to play. I stood him in front of a white wall so that it would be an easier image to cut. I then told him to actualy play the guitar and I would take some pictures of him playing so that the image looked real. I told him to roll up his sleeves which I felt would make him look more like a rock band member. The only problem I found with this was that it was not possible to have any pictures of a real concert which I felt ruined the authenticity of the photo.

I then moved on to adding headings and sub-headings and putting effects in. I started by adding a red border to the page and then giving it a blue glow to highlight it a bit more which I thought gave the page an extra bit of colour to make the magazine stand out more.

Secondly, I started to put in the page headings. previously, for my school magazine I had used fonts from the computer however this time I got them off the internet as they were better for this style of magazine because it is in the same type of style you see a lot of album covers for this genre done in. After putting the writing on my front cover I decided to put some colour in the backround as apposed to a plain white backround. To do this, I went on the internet to get a metallic colour because I thought it went well with the rock genre of music. I then set this as the backround to my front cover.

To finish off, I sharpened the heading and image and also added shadows, glows and a price and bar code to give it more authenticity. I then started on my contents page. I added the same backround as the front cover but I made it a little bit more brighter. I then added the title giving it the same effect as on the front cover to keep the theme the same and then also added the sub-headings which I tilted to one side to give a nice effect which again I felt went well with the genre of the magazine because it looks more exiting rather than a plain design. I then added the same style border as the front cover and then I also added a glow to the page numbers to give more of an effect.

Lastly, I had to write a double page spread. For this, I used my friends band to write about. I began by taking some more pictures of him with other friends as I could not get the real band together. I took the pictures in the music room of the school where we got some instruments and I put them in poses to make them look as if they were in a band. I felt that this added a lot more authenticity to my magazine. I added the title to the page and put it in a glow to follow the theme of the magazine and give it more effect and then I wrote the spread which I tried to write in the style of a rock magazine.

I put the story into collums to make it look more like a magazine. I chose a green font for this because I had to use a white backround for it to be read clearly but a black font could not be seen over the images. I then finished by adding the pictures of the band I had taken previously behind the text and adding a red glow to them to give extra colour to the page as it was a white backround and then I also put quotes from the band in a different colour around the page to give it a proper magazine feel as I had seen many magazines do this in my research.

Before I start to design my music magazine I am going to analyse three different music magazines for three different genres of music. The first magazine I looked at was Kerrang magazine which is associated with the Rock genre. I already knew that is was a Rock magazine however if I did not know then I would of thought it was because of the way it is designed and by what is featured on the front cover. Firstly, there is pictures on there of people singing and who look like members of a Rock band and there is also a picture of a man with a guitar. Also, the font is one that would be associated with this type of music as it is big and bold and broken up in places. the main sub-heading is ’100 greatest gigs ever’ which would tell me it is a Rock magazine because the word ‘gig’ is commonly associated with the Rock genre. http://www.livemusicphotographer.net/images/myspace/kerrang.jpg

The second magazine I looked at was Vibe magazine which is a Hip Hop magazine. The first thing I noticed was that 50 cent was on the front cover and he is a big Hip Hop star. On the front cover he is stood next to Robert De Niro who is strongly associated with playing gangster rolls in films and Hip Hop is also strongly associated with gangsters. The style of the magazine i very plain with a white backround and a basic font however you are drawn into it because of the two people on the front and the sub-heading ‘The Hollywood Issue’. http://img504.imageshack.us/i/deniro50coverwp0.jpg/

The last magazine I looked at was Blender magazine. This is a magazine for Pop music. Taylor Swift is on the front cover and she is a big name in this genre of music so that was what told me which kind of magazine it was. Also, the colours are very light and the design is very simple which suggests the music involed is very easy going unlike Kerrang magazine where it was obvious that it is for Rock fans. Also on one of the sub-headings the word ‘stoopidest’ is used which indicates this is for a popular audiece who understand the use of the word. http://www.adweek.com/adweek/photos/stylus/76574-Blender.jpg

In this, I will be analysing the front cover og ‘Now’ magazine. Firstly, the title is put in big letters to attract the readers eye and is also implying that the reader will discover what is happening ‘now’ with the celebrities featured on the front cover. The price of the magazine is placed inside a big star with the words ‘now only £1′. This makes the reader think that they are getting an interesting magazine for a cheap price. Also, next to the price there is a caption which states they are the UK’s best selling celebrity magazine which gives the impression that there magazine is the best one for readrers to buy. The magazine also features an exclusive on Julia Roberts suggesting that she is pregnant. The word ‘exclusive’ is implying that this magazine is the only one to feature this particular story and there is also an arrow pointing to a picture of Julia to make the heading stand out more. There is also a heading at the bottom of the page called ’8 pages of holiday fashion’. This is used to draw the reader into buying the magazine so that they can get some fashion tips.

There were many stages involved in planning for my magazine front cover and contents page. Firstly I had to decide what I wanted to feature in my magazine. This was done by creating a questionnaire to be filled out by students as it is a school magazine. By doing this I could see what young people like to see in a magazine and therefore design my magazine accordingly. After carrying out the questionnaire I started to design a rough plan on paper to give me a guideline when producing the actual front cover and contents page. After my planning had given me a good idea of what I wanted to do I then had to set about making it. My first task for producing my front cover was to take a backround picture. I thought that as it was a school magazine then it would be a good idea to show some students on the front cover. I took the picture in an internet cafe of the school which showed students working. I then uploaded the picture onto the computer and put it onto my blank canvas. I then took some time with playing around with different styles of the backround. My first idea was to have it in black and white but I then decided it was not very appealing so i put some colour to it. I then highlighted the main outlines in the picture to make it stand out more. My next task was to add sub-headings to my front cover. I chose my sub-headings based on what people who took my questionnaire said they like and I then put them onto the front cover in a modern hand written style font which I felt would appeal to students. I then decided to add a glow affect to make the headings stand out and catch the eye of people walking past it and I also added a shadow to my main heading for the same reason. I finished off the front cover by adding a price and a bar code to make it look authentic. Secondly, I had to produce my contents page. The steps I took in this were very similar to those of the front cover. First, I found a bright and modern pattern off the internet and set it as my backround which I felt was eye catching. I then added the main heading to the page and added a glow to it to make it stand out. Next, I put in the article headings and also added a glow to them and then I put the page number next to it in a different colour to highlight it more. I then finished off the contents page my adding a illistration to the sub-heading, for example, a football for the sports page.

1.  Which year are you in? (please circle)
     7    8    9    10    11    6^th form

2. Which of the following would you prefer to see on the front cover?
    Bright colours    Dark colours    Modern style

3. Do you regularly buy magazines?
    Yes    No

4. Which type of magazine would you usually buy?
    Music    Sport    Fashion    Film    Celebrity    Other

5. Would you like to read about different clubs within the school? (e.g. chess club)
    Yes    No    Maybe

6. Would you be interested in seeing a range of photography?
    Yes    No    Maybe

7. Would you be interested in reading a teacher and student profile?
    Yes    No    Maybe

8. Would you be interested in reading articles written by students about what they think?
    Yes    No    Maybe

9. How much would you expect to pay for a school magazine?
    0-50p    50p-£1    £1-£2 

10. How often would you like the magazine to be released?
      Weekly    Fortnightly    Monthly

11. Would you be interested in reading Q and A’s with teachers and students?
      Yes    No    Maybe

12. Would you think you would benefit from reading different study tips?
      Yes    No    Maybe

13. Would you want to take part in competitions?
      Yes    No    Maybe

Before starting my magazine I had to conduct a questionnaire to find out what people look for in a magazine. I thought it was important to find out how old the person filling out the questionnaire was in order to gain information about what that age group looks for. However, as it was for a school magazine I could not target one particular age group so I had to go with what the majority said. Other questions inlcuded what style of magazine people preferred and most people said they like a modern theme so that is how I tried to design my magazine. I also took into consideration what people like to see in a magazine. for example I asked if they would like to read about teachers and students and most people said they would so I included that as a sub-heading. I also asked students if they would like to read information about joining different kinds of clubs which would give them the opportunity to join. They also responded yes to this so, again, I added it to my magazine. Asking students how much they would expect to pay for the magazine and also how often they would expect it to be released gave me an idea of how interested they are in it. Most students were willing to pay around 20p for it so i made that clear on my front cover. I also included the opportunity for students to take part in competions to add a bit of fun to my magazine which they responded positively to so I added it to the magazine.

The second stage of my magazine was to do the contents page. I had a lot of trouble trying to find a backround I was happy with and one which fitted in with the style of my magazine. I then chose my backround which I had a lot of trouble with. At  first I tried to find a suitable pattern on the internet however none fitted the theme of the magazine so I changed it to a plain green one. while I was deciding on my backround, I took into consideration what my teacher said because my original idea was to have a dark backround but my teacher advised me that a lighter one would be more beneficial for it to stand out more. I then had to add the headings of my magazine articles to the contents page. I felt that my chosen font looked quite modern and interesting so I used it for my sub-headings in yellow and then added a red glow which I felt made it stand out especially with having a light green backround. I finished off my contents page by changing the colour of my page numbers instead of having it the same colour as my sub-headings because I felt that it made the page stand out more. This decision was made after a friend pointed out that she felt it would look better and would stand out more so I tried it to see if it worked and it did.

To make the front cover of my school magazine I had to go through a number of different stages. First, I started with my front cover. The backround was taken in the bec area of the school in the internet cafe. The picture shows students on the computers.I chose the backround because I felt that it gave an impression of student life, which is the title of my magazine, and i felt that it was a good action shot of students doing work which is a good representation of the school. I then changed the style of the backround. At first I had it in black and white but I then decided to experiment a bit more with different styles which brought me to change the colour and style. I then highlighted the main outlines in the photo to get my desired effect. I felt that my backround was bright with a modern style which I thought would appeal to students more than my first idea of having it in black and white. Once i had set my backround I then had to put in my magazine title and sub-headings which involved trying out a variety of fonts, sizes and colours. For my main heading I used a big and bold font and then added a red shadow to it so that it made it stand out more. For my sub-headings, I used a hand written font to give the impression it was a student magazine which also gave the impression it was modern and stylish which i felt would appeal to students. I then added a glow effect, which a fellow student who had done the same thing advised me to do, to my sub-headings to make it more eye catching and also to bring peoples attention to the different article. I then finished off my front cover by adding a bar code and the cost of my magazine. I encountered some problems while doing my front cover. for example, this was my first time using the Fireworks software so it took a little while to get used to and use with confidence.