Final product of my front cover

This is my final product of my front cover!

Evaluation

What have you learnt from completing this task?
In making my front cover for my magazine, I have learnt how to take a photograph properly by knowing what kind of images I would like to take such as a medium close up, extreme close up, diagonal from high and low angles and long shots etc. These will all benefit me for future references when wanting to take individual photos. I have also learnt how to use photo shop, with being a beginner to the software, I didn’t see that hard to know how to use this software, but now I know how to use it, I am aware how to make me photographs look even better. In making my front cover, I have also learnt how to analyse my work by using the different types of conventions that there is for media such as a skyline, a footer, a mast head, feature stories and also a plug. Now I know what all of these mean as well as writing them in a convention analysis and also my annotated front cover. From starting my front cover 3 weeks ago, I now know what it is like to work to a deadline which I never knew how to work to a deadline but now I do. I think working to a deadline makes you realise that you need to be prepared for doing media and how much is in media at certain dates and times. The last thing I have learnt whilst doing this project is learning how to create a blog because I didn't know how to make a blog or even that ‘blogger’ existed. It has also made me aware that I will be using blogger quite a lot in media and will need to get the hang of it and post all of my projects and work through my college years.

How have you used technology?

I have used technology in this project by first of all using a MAC computer because before I started to do media, I never knew how to work a MAC computer and have never been on one before. I have now got used to being able to know what type of different combinations you need to do certain types of things on the MAC computer because the mouse doesn’t have a right hand click for different settings which took a lot to work out. Another type of technology I have used in my project is using photo shop which was quite difficult at first knowing what tools and type of paper you should use, but after a week, I got the hang of it and was able to manage it easier than beforehand. Another type of technology is using an SD card because I never was able to work out where it was supposed to be place in the camera or what it even is. Now, I am able to use it on different cameras and knowing that all my pictures will be saved on there even if I get a new camera, my pictures will always be available if I keep that SD card. I also realise that you can get different types of GB on different SD cards, but I only need to have an 8GB SD card. The last thing I have learnt by using technology is different types of internet research such as finding different types of college magazines to analyse with conventions and being able to see other magazines from around the world using Google. I have also used internet research by using photo shop because for my photo shop test we had to find 3 images of different things and I used Google images for that as well.  

What conventions have you used and why?

A convention I have used in my front cover is a Mast head. This is to show what the college magazine is called and normally has a bold and short title to draw the attention to the audience. Mine is called “STUDENT” to draw the readers in and have a snappy title which is better than a very long title because the audience wouldn't be interested. I have also used a skyline which is called “SEPTEMBER EDITION 2014” to show what year it was made in and this is placed above the mast head which means that it is important. I have used a footer to show who it is made by and who it is made for which is important even though it is placed at the bottom of the front cover. I have used a main image which is placed in the centre of the front cover to show what the main feature story will be about and in my case it is a college girl as it is a girl’s college magazine. I have used all of these conventions to make my product look real like the existing products that are out in the world right now and all have a different type of style and how they would do it to convey their magazine. I have made my front cover like it would be going onto the shelves today with the basic elements of the magazine because there are certain expectations to fulfill the magazine/media career. The most challenging convention would be the mast head as it needed to be something casual but also something to attract the attention of the reader and that is why I picked STUDENT because it explains what the magazine is about in just one word and it is short and snappy to get the audience’s attention such as college students.

What would you change if you were to do this task again?

If I was doing this task again, I would change my background first of all because I think it is very basic and plain and doing a girl’s college magazine it should be more outgoing and basically defining what girls are in society today. I would also change the types of shots I took for my magazine, I would make the girl have a lot of college books and folders with her in different environments around the college because I would like to have the full picture of what I shot instead of having a plain background to cover the background and not just the girl standing there. I would like to have a true college environment in the court yard with people in the back just doing their work to show this a good college. I would also work in more detail if I did this task again. I think I was very panicky when being told about this project that I rushed it and didn't include as much as I should of done and made the front cover packed full of different things such as more plugs, more feature stories and a better main feature story. I would also ask much more questions in this project because now looking back I was quite shy on asking if I didn't understand anything and I should have been upfront because I have never done media before and I should of put my full intention into the media work I was producing. The last thing I would have changed would be to explore different ways of presentation such as using not just power point but Microsoft word as well to make me presentation different and unique. I wish I was more creative with my planning and research because I didn't brain storm what I wanted to do and basically had no idea on what I would of liked to do and if I did that, then I think my magazine would have been better than I planned it.

Making my front cover screen shots

This is the start of me making my front cover. Recently I have made my mast head "STUDENT" using the font "Goudy stout" size 250pt and also my skyline "SEPTEMBER EDITION 2014" is also "Goudy stout" but the size is 40pt  and my footer "WYKE SIXTH FORM COLLEGE" and that is also "Goudy stout" and the size is 48pt. I have also put my barcode on as well which is saved from Google.

This is me using the lasso tool to take away the background of the shadow because it had a white background around so i had to go around the shadow with my lasso tool and eraser to take the excess background off. The shadow is used to show where about the image will go on my front cover because I have not got a picture yet.

This is me creating my first feature story onto my front cover. I have used a green colour for the text saying "GIRLS GUIDANCE need help?" this is to make the story stand out with the bold colours and different types of writing such as the "GIRLS GUIDANCE" is the font of "Goudy stout" and the "need help?" is the font "segeo print".

This is me creating the plug for my front cover. I have used an oval shape to make it noticeable so that the audience will be distracted by the free ipad. I have also used the font "Goudy stoud" to make it bold and the white writing on top of the green background of the oval. Then i linked the two layers together so I could move them about at the same time so I couldn't lose the rotation of the text and the oval.

On my front cover, I have changed the place of the picture to make the magazine much more better and organised to read. Also, I have put the main feature story in the middle with a rectangular box around it with the opacity of 30% to make sure it just shimmers over the main feature story to show it is the most important one. I have also created two more new layers for the teeth and lips to make her lips stand out by making them more pink and also make the teeth more white to make her face much more brighter.

I have now also created more cover stories to make the front cover stand out more and not just a plain pink background. The green text stands out on a pink background because it is a dark colour and also bold.

In this print screen, I have changed the font of "Leah Hewitson" which therefore makes it stand out a lot better because it helps the reader see the most important story and also makes the feature story different from the others as it has a different font and not the same colour and same look as the rest of the magazine looks like.

This is my end result for my front cover. Recently,I have added the "issue 1" and also the "100% free" as well as using the ellipse tool and also the rounded rectangular tool which I then made both of them shapes have a low opacity so then it can bring out the writing and it will be much better for people to read as well.

Camera shots to use for my front cover

I didn't use this picture for my front cover because it doesn't show the full face of the person and it isn't a clear shot.

This is also another shot I didn't use because it is not a very good image to put onto the blog because it doesn't show the full face of the person and also doesn't give full aspect to the image.

This is a medium close up and I also didn't use this image because it doesn't give the picture full impact of the girl and it doesn't give full justice of how college life is.

 This is an extreme medium close up, however, I wouldn't use this on my blog because it doesn't show that she really enjoys college, it just shows mainly her eyes and it doesn't represent college.

This is a good medium close up because it shows full effect of her face and it is a good close up for my media magazine. This could be used in the process of my front cover magazine making.

This also is not a very good picture because even though it is a long shot, it doesn't capture what college is about. 

This is a good long shot, however, you cannot see her full body into the camera as she is not looking at the camera.

This is a high angle shot and it is a good picture with the folder on her lap like a true college student, however, it would not look good on the front cover as it doesn't give full potential.

 This is the photo that I will be using on my front cover as she is against a good background, looking straight into the camera and holding her folder to show she is a good college student. 

Different basic shot types

This is my first close up shot of the body.

This is my first medium close up with is just the top half of the body.

This is my first high angle shot which fits in all of the body.

This is my first diagnal shot.

This is my first central image of the body.

This is another central image of a college building.

This is a diagnal image of some lockers in the college building.

This is a long shot of the inside of the building.

This is a diagnal image of a corridor.

 This my first extreme close up of the body.

This is my first low angle shot.

This is a central image of the front of college.

Name ideas, colour schemes and feature stories

 

This is my name ideas, colour schemes and feature stories I would like to use on my front cover. I have got basic ideas and I will develop them if I use them.

Contents draft page

This is my first contents draft page for my college magazine. I have showed where certain parts will go such as the plug, the main feature story, images and the page numbers. For me, this is just a rough idea of how I will make it and maybe decide on better things later on when making this actual contents page.

Digital Drafts Page

This is my first draft page for my front cover. I will be using mainly stories on my front cover as well as a mast head, a medium close up image, a plug, footer, skyline and a barcode.

Mood Board

This is my first mood board on what I want my magazine to be like such as exams, sports teams, stressing and work at the college life. I have used different colleges to get a feel of what images and backgrounds i would like on my front cover of the magazine.

Semiotics

In the Pirates of the Caribbean, the uses the colour black in the background shows the connotation of the Caribbean being a mystery and very dark to show that the film isn't about being happy and exciting, it is seen to be frightful and not knowing the expected.
The use of the skull and crossbones as a denotation shows that Johnny Depp who is the main character is implied with death and also treasure because as you can see in the picture, that Johnny Depp is wearing the same head scarf as the skull is which therefore could mean that Johnny could be the centre of the movie and it is not normal for a skull to have a head scarf on which shows that Johnny Depp is a unique character and therefore so is the skull.
The most significant point in this advert is of all the faces of the main characters because Johnny Depp is the one with the largest picture face and then it goes onto George Rush which shows that he is the next main character in this as his face is the next character showing he is bad to deal with because his hand on his face implies that he is mysterious and you do not know what to expect of him. The next largest character is Orlando Bloom who looks like he is very serious about his occupation. The last main character is Keira Knightley who seems very relaxed and looking very beautiful as all pirate widows should look. All these characters are interlinked because on the top of the advert it shows the order of how important of the characters as which is also implied with the face size.
Also, in the background with the ship on the water with the sun in the background shows that the pirates live on their and travel via there ship because it is on the front cover and shows it is important information for the actual film. The smoke behind the ship shows that something bad is going to happen because when on a normal sea route, it is not normal for people to allow smoke on the sea.
The creator of the Pirates of the Caribbean "Disney" is placed on the top of the advert in the middle in bold which is to show that they created it and that they allow different audiences not just male audiences as they do different genres of films.

Conventions Analysis

Introduction To Photoshop



This is my first time photoshop image I have published. My task was to create a photoshop image with different types of pictures such as the Eiffel Tower, a bear, an astronaut and a sand dune.

Setting Up A File
Firstly, I had to open up photoshop and create a file which was 800 x 1000 pixels and had a resolution of 72 pixels. After that, I then changed the name of the file to "Photoshop Test" as it was my first time in doing this. Then, I went onto Google and found my images which was above 400 pixels for each image.

Setting Up An Image
When setting up an image, you first go to File/Open/Photoshop Images/Click on the image you want too.

Saving A psd and layers
When you want to start using layers, you click the image you would like to layer and then you go to the layer palette which is at the bottom right of the photoshop screen and then double click on
the image and write a name into it calling it what you want. For instance I changed my name to "bear" when i had to layer my pictures out. With the "bear" i had to overlap it onto the sand dune which made me put my "bear palette" above the sand dune because it is overlapping the sand dune picture.

Using Feather at 2 pixels
When using feather at 2 pixels, you need to go to the third tool down on the left hand side and hold down the tool and then click "polygon lasso tool" and when you have clicked on that, at the top bar above your picture you will see "feather" you put in that tool box "2" for 2 pixel quality on your picture. After that you go on the zoom tool and the bottom of the tool box and zoom in around the picture you want to feather and it will be an easier line to go around the picture to get a better quality of your picture. Finally, once you have done your feathering of the picture, go back onto the zoom tool, but to zoom out press ALT whilst clicking on the image.

Brief

To produce a front cover for a new school/college magazine and a mock up of the layout for the contents page and double page spread.