Main brief

To design a front cover, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. All images and text used must be original; minimum of four images must be used.

Finished products as last post.

Evaluation.

What have you learn from completing the task?

The preliminary task has given me an insight to what conventions are essential when creating a magazine and what each one of them is needed for. Creating a conventions analysis for another college magazine allowed me to go back and check that whichever convention I used on my magazine was right and situated in the correct place. Secondly, experimenting with the different camera angles and taking a range of shots from each angle helped me to discover a further understanding of which shots are used for the front cover, contents page, doubles page spread etc. As well as this has prepared me for when I move onto the second part of the coursework where I will be creating my own magazine relating to music. Also, by creating different mood board and colour schemes this helped me to decide what style of college magazine I would create, what theme it would have and what three main colours would be used to fit the correct style I was going for.

Furthermore I feel that the preliminary task was a brilliant way to be introduced to the different aspects of media and also allowed me to understand exactly what media holds and what I am going to be faced within in the future of the course.

How have you used technology?

The main website which was used for the preliminary task to be posted on and viewed was blogger. Blogger was a brilliant way to post the work that we had created and was easily accessible if anything needed to be edited. It can also be viewed from a number of devices such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops etc, as it is an online website therefore I was able to view my work at home and continue any work that needed to be followed on from.

As well as blogger a number of website were used to create the work which was posted into blogger. Google played a big part as it was used to find information which I needed to understand certain things that became a struggle. I also used it to find the photos which were used for my mood board because google has a lot of photos which are available to copy and paste on to power point. Power point and word were also used as both software allow images to be placed onto them and writing to be added therefore it made it easier for me to place everything in the correct places and then save it as a JPEG which allows it to be opened up onto the names posts on blogger.

To create the possible colour schemes I used a website called ‘abdobe colour wheel’ which automatically matched up the correct colours that should be used alongside the colour you have chosen to enter into the wheel.

What conventions have you used and why?

For my final finished product I used a number of conventions to create the front cover to standard. A main image, being one of the most important conventions, which I took myself is situated taking up the whole of the front. Every magazine must have a main image and I chose to take my main image relating to not only college but to the main feature story as i believe that it would make it more understandable for the reader. Also using an image actual image instead of just a black background is more appealing to the reader therefore it would catch more people eyes and more people would debate reading it. Secondly I also placed a masthead (Your College) at the top of the magazine taking up approximately 1/5  because when the magazine is on the stand it is always going to be visible as it is right at the top even when another magazine is placed in front of it on a shelve below. I chose for it to be red with an outline of black because  red is one of my three colours from my chosen continuous colour scheme. Also I placed a plug in the bottom left hand corner which is advertising a competition to win a laptop. Using a plug to advertise competition or small extra bits of information can persuade people to read it more as it leaves them curious as to whether if they enter will they win. 

Multiple features stories are listed along the top right hand side in a column style. Feature stories are a small list of what is going to be included within the magazine therefore stating them on the front cover allows people to see what that issue is going to be about and whether it is going to be beneficial if they were to buy and read it. The main feature story is placed just below the feature stories however it is in a larger front with a black outline like the mast head. This is to show that the main feature story is more important and that is what the main image links to. Also the feature stories are placed onto a blew background where as the main feature story is placed straight on top of the main images as it is easier to read with it been in a larger font. I used a man feature story to address the reader on what the main topic of the issue is going to be and the allows them to decide if it is going to be for them. As well as all the above I placed a barcode, date, issue number and price along the bottom of the front cover. A barcode is essential for any form of magazine as it is used to scan when being payed for. Also the date and issue number are just as essential as it allows people to identify whether they are reading the correct issue .

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

If I were to do this task again I would definitely change the way I managed my time. I don’t think I gave myself an even/correct amount of time for each stage of the task therefore I don’t think it was completely to the best of my ability and I know I am capable of getting a higher grade. Secondly I would have spent more time planning out my front cover and making it because the end result is not how I imagined and wanted it be due to the lack of time I had towards the end of the task. 

Secondly, I would have taken pictures of different locations and props to have in the ‘mis-en-scene and location ideas’ folder because I believe that would have given a stronger feel towards what I wanted my magazine to be based around also I would have been able to explain the different places in more detail as I would have been able to relate back to the picture when describing and explaining the different settings. 

As well as I feel I could have created more than one moodpboard dedicated to different things to identify the different themes I could have chosen for my magazine. It would have also given me a more options on what the magazine could be themed from.

Consequently, I think I could have done this task a lot better than what I did however I think within the short space of time that we had to complete the task I did fairly well. But I will remember all of the things that could have been done in this task for the next coursework task that we receive. 

Creating/designing product (Print screens).

Basics of Photoshop.

3rd step.

2nd step...

1st step...

Mise-en-scene and location ideas.

Location ideas:

College entrance alongside the piano

Music corridoor

Music room/recording studio
Media room

The front of the college

In the courtyard

The stair case in Oak

Computer suit
Lockers
Canteen
School bus stop
Outside the gates


Props:
Grand piano
Keyboard
Guitar
Brass instruments
Microphones
Drum set
Music folders and study books


 



Camera framings.

Two shot.

Low shot.

High angle.

Long shot.

Medium close up.

Extreme close up.

Close up.

Feature story ideas.

• "Music lessons are available at Wyke and can be fitted around your timetable" - At Wyke there are a number of different music lessons which can be taken up by any student here at Wyke. They are also fitted around your timetable therefore it gives everybody a chance to try out something new and it planned for when/what is best for yourself.
• "Careers adivsers are available to speak to at Wyke if you are looking a career related to music or performing arts" - If you need any help or in need of any advise to do with further education after college or confussed as to what you do want to do after college, career advises are available to speak to within Wyke. They can also help you to research diffferent universities and gather all the information you made need to help with your decision making. Or help search for placements in work places following on from the subject you had taken at A-level.
• "Different courses which wyke have to offer that are related to performing arts" - Multiple courses are available to study at AS and A2 related to performing arts at Wyke. These are brilliant subject to take if you are looking for a career in the performing arts department. It is also an amazing subject to study if you just simple enjoy it and have an interest in the performing arts department
• "Updates on college life and what there is to look forward to in the coming weeks" - Updates are always posted related to the previous week about whats new, upcoming events, new social clubs and any vital information that student will have already been told but is included as a reminder. 
• "A former student that has recently graduated from Wyke and moved on to bigger things over in america involved withe the music industry" - Student Former pupils from Wyke are known to move on to great success and the news relating to a music student supports this well known fact. A singer who studied AS and A2 music has just earned herself an internship at one of the most well know record labels in the world, island def jam records.
• "A student currently studying at Wyke being accepted into Juilliard dance, drama and music school in New York City" - A student who has been at Wyke for a year now and has just gone into her second year has been accepted into her dream school over in USA to continue her studies of theatrical music and drama at Juilliard on a scholarship from the school.

Name ideas.

Here are some name ideas as to what I am going to name my magazine. I have used a range of different fonts, a different one for each name idea, which I may possibly use and feature on the front of my final magazine. By labelling the name ideas and having different fonts it will make the decision of what the magazine is going to be called and in what font it will be printed in less difficult as I will be able to see which one i think looks best and will fit the front cover of a music themed magazine the most. 

Digital drafts

Annotated digital drafts of my front cover.

Simple digital draft of my front cover.

Digital draft of my contents page.

Mood board

Above is my mood board for my college magazine which is design for music students. I have used a range of photos which all link to my chosen magazine theme which is music therefore they will give me a lot more inspiration when it comes to creating my magazine. Also these photos helped me whilst I was thinking of possible magazine name because each photo is different and evinces a different impression. As well as I have included four front covers from real music related magazine, this will help me when it comes to thinking of features stories to include and where to situate everything.

Colour scheme.

Above are some colour schemes which I created using adobe colour wheel. I used the colour wheel as it matches the correct colours and shades to a choosen colur. Also using the colour wheel it aloud me to experiment with different colours and investigate which colours would be acceptable for a mucis related magazine.

Conventions of a College Magazine

Semiotics/LIIAR analysis

A text: A product of the media industry for example newspaper, magazines...
Deconstruction: Analysing a media text.
Signs and signifiers: Features we 'read' and are seen as 'clues' to the meaning of texts.
Denotation: What is shown on the page or screen.
Connotation: Meanings we infer from what we see in front of us, a hidden meaning.
Conventions: Expected and predicatble signs that we read and that create expectations in the audience.
Codes: A system in which signs create meanings.

L = Language: media language i.e shots, graphics, sounds, texts, includes 5 senses.
I = Institution: company or individual that manufactures media texts like BBC and rockstar.
I = Ideology: beliefs and emotions connected to the media texts.
A = Audience: the people who consume the media texts.
R = Representation: how individuals are portrayed in the media.

Brief

To design a college magazine front cover and mock up contents page. Imagines used on the front cover must be original.