Final Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread

This is my final front cover, contents page and double page spread. The blank page would be for advertisement as a lot of magazines would use adverts that relate to the type of magazine so the advert would be relating to music.

Evaluation On Coursework

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

2. How does your media product represent particular social group?

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

What Kind of Media Institution Might Distribute Your Media Product and Why

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?/ 5. How did you attract/address your audience?(include evidence of audience feedback)

6. What have you learnt about the technologies from the process from constructing this product?

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the process from it and the full product?

Focus Group

My Focus Group looking at my Music Magazine

I got a few people together to create a focus to get feedback by looking at my music magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread.

Feedback from Front Cover:

• The colours worked well together
• The photograph was nice and the outfit went really well with the background
• There was a lot of cover lines
• It looks fresh and new, very modern
• Like the layout of the cover
• The title masthead in well with the photograph and cover lines
• Its fairly readable but could be made a bit more clearer
• Could've added more text on the cover
• Brighter colours of the text
• looks relaxed and calm
• Could make the font bigger
• Not too bold which is good to which it all works well with everything 

Feedback from Contents Page:

• The background is really good as it relates a lot to music
• A lot of colour
• It's readable
• Easy to find out what's on what page
• Like the use of photos to represent some pages
• Not too cluttered up and full
• Could've used different fonts for different sections maybe
• Used more images and made one of the images bigger
• Like the use of the magazine title of the side of page
• Very eye catching
•  Could make the title of the contents page different to the rest of the text

Feedback from Double Page Spread:

• Very nice
• Suits the front cover
• Like the side bar (Flannel Pannel)
• Like both the photographs
• The title look good as its a white font with a black rectangle behind it
• The colours work well 
• The article is good
• very readable
• Think it looks professional 
• Could've change the font of the quote

Final Draft For Double Page Spread

My final draft for my double page spread.
The changes I have made with my double page spread is making the header stand out more and more readable so what I did was add a black rectangle behind the text so it would stand out from the photograph. I have also changes the text on the flannel so that the text from the title header and the answers that my artist gives. I have also added who took to photograph on the right bottom corner as it is a part of a convention that I forgot to add when I did the first draft.
I think my 2nd draft is a lot more successful than the first one because I mainly made improvements which worked really well as now the conventions of a double page spread are much more professional and they stand out more such as the header and the flannel.

Front Cover Final Draft

I have editited my front cover because of the feedback from my hot desk. Overall, I got positive feedback but a could of improvements so it would a) be suitable/attract my target audience and b) so it looks like a music magazine.
I decided to change the colour of the masthead so it would stand out from the photograph because people from the hot desk though that the masthead was hard to read and it didn't stand out so I made it a lighter colour so it would stand out so the audience will notice it more.
The second thing I changed was to add another cover line because people from the hot desk thought I could fill the page a bit more and also make the cover lines more readable so I made the colours lighter.
I then finally changed the quote from the main header because people from my hot desk said that I could use different fonts so I changed a few of the fonts including the quote.

Screenshots for Front Cover Draft 2

Dcreengrab for Version 2 for Front Cover

In this screen grab it shows that I have took on what people said I should improve on my front cover in hot desking. To improve my front cover, I added another cover line as people said I should add another 1 because they felt like there was not enough filling the page up. They said to use different fonts so I used a different font on the cover lines and the pull quote from the main cover line. I also changed the colour of the masthead and also a few cover lines because people said they were quite hard to read so I changed them to make them more noticeable and readable.

Responses for the Contents Page and Front Cover

Hot desking for contents page and front cover

To get these responses, my class decided to put our Front Cover and Contents Page on our screens. We also opened a Word document and had headings which are Strengths, Weaknesses and Improvements. We then moved around the class to look at other peoples work and make comments on them.
The responses I got were very good and I was happy with them. With the improvements I am going to take that and put it into my work by changing the colour of the masthead so it is more readable, experiment with the fonts and add another cover line as it was mentioned in the improvement area

Screenshots for DPS Draft 2

Screengrabs for Version 2 for Dps

These screen grabs show how I have improved my double page spread by taking on the constructive criticism from Hot Desking. It shows that I have made a few changes such as a black rectangle behind the masthead of the dps, I have added who is the photographer for the chosen photograph and I have also changed the font for the answers on the flannel panel. This has improved my skills development by adding little things such as a black rectangle behind the the masthead so it would stand out.

Final Contents Page

My first draft of my music magazine contents page has achieved the aims that I set such as the audience.. The magazine is aimed at females aged 16-25. I have made it clear that this magazine is for females for ages 16-25 as I have used purple and pink colours for my background where I have put my masthead in the background and also I have used light colours for my background picture which is at a festival I went to as it relates to live music and this festival included upcoming artists.

I have also used one of the photographs from the photoshoot which is my  female artist who is stylish and suits the genre of the music and there is another photograph of another girl who is listening to music also relates to music The genre of the music is Unsigned and upcoming artists. To represent the genre of music I have chosen on contents, by having article titles that relate to the genre of music but when the target audience reads this they will feel more involved so I can make the audience feel more involved so the music magazine feels more direct.

 I chose this layout because it was simple because I did not want to over do the conventions where the contents page feels to cluttered so instead I used a background photograph and article titles photographs so it would look more appealing as I know the audience are more attracted to photographs than a lot of text.

The font of my contents page are clear to read as I have used a clear san serif font and dark colours as the background image is light colours so the font/article titles stand out more and are more readable.

I think to improve my contents page I could do a hot desk so that people in media class can look at my music magazine as make comments such as strengths, weaknesses and improvements.

I think this contents page looks like a music magazine because the conventions such as photographs and article titles show that the magazine is to do with music as it included article titles such as such as "Top 10 Festivals For 2014". The photographs also show it is a music magazine as I have used a photograph from the festival I went to which shows the audience that the magazine is about music.

Draft for Double Page Spread

My first draft of my music magazine double page spread has achieved the aims that I set such as the audience the magazine is aimed for. The magazine is aimed at mainly females aged 16-25. I have made it clear that this magazine is for females for ages 16-25 as I have used the photograph of my artist who is a female aged 16. for and suits the genre of the music. The genre of the music is Unsigned and upcoming artists. To represent the genre of music I have chosen on my article to be a lot about the her upcoming music, tour dates and just information about her music as she is not a big artist and this is the point of my magazine. By having my setting/background in a forest it did not over do the background or make it seem like a pop magazine. I chose this setting because it was suttle and I felt like it suited the genre because it was a relaxed atmosphere.

The layout of my dps is clear to read as I have used simple conventions such as header up the top of the first page, big photograph, stand first, drop cap to break up the the text and the columns are simple plus I've used flannel and page numbers which stood out to attract the audience's eye.

I think to improve my dps I could look for spelling mistakes to make sure every thing is correct (Header) I could also make the header more readable so it stands out from the photograph. To improve it I can also create a hot desk where people from my media class to look at my magazine to find out what I could improve overall which after my final draft I will create a focus group to see what their opinions are on my improved versions.

I think this dps looks like a music magazine dps because the conventions such as headers, stands first, photograph and flannel to give the audience a quick insight of the artist because they will find it more interesting plus the article is about music so the audience will want to read it.

 Overall I feel like my dps for my music magazine went really well and was a great outcome because I feel like the conventions worked well together and the whole appearance is stereotypically aimed at females ages 16-25 and music that isn't over the top but a lot of live music.

Working On Double Page Spread on InDesign

Double Page Spread Screenshot

These are screenshots of creating my Double Page Spread on InDesign. It shows how I used the columns by adding text into most of them. I also added the masthead in and made it white because it will stand out more because the background of the photograph is darker so using a lighter colour for the font meant the audience would find it more readable. The screenshots also show how I have added a flannel to the third column on the second page and to show that I used another photograph from the photo shoot so the flannel and the main photograph will go well together and the colour scheme will be similar.

Working On Contents Page on InDesign

Contents Page Screenshots

These are the screenshots of my Contents Page being produced on InDesign. The photographs for the background of my contents page was edited on photoshop because I wanted the photograph to be lighter so it didn't mean there would be more attention on the background than the text and photographs on the contents page. I also wanted to add the magazine title on the contents page just to add good design which is goes really well the photo for the background. For the rest of the contents page, I edited it in InDesign. The screenshots show how I added the text into the 2 columns and how I have added 2 photographs to the contents page to represent articles in the magazine which it gives an insight to the audience about the article.

Overall Images I used For my Front Cover, Contents Page & Double Page Spread

Front Cover:

Contents Page:

Double Page Spread:

These are the photographs that I have chosen to use for my Music Magazine. The front cover photograph is successful in aiming this photograph to the audience. This achieves this because the model is female and the audience I am aiming at is mainly female but can be optional. The costume my model is wearing represents the music that is including in my magazine which is "unsigned" music so it's not very popular but the music is pure so there is no extreme element to the music. The location of the photograph for the front cover also represents the music because if this magazine was a Pop magazine, the photograph would be very edited as it would be most likely to be in a studio with a lot of studio light. Where as my location of the photograph implies emphasises that the music is its own genre of what musicians have made but ins't seen as pop, rock or the other stereotypical genres.

The first photo I chose for the contents page is the photograph I took of a festival I went to last summer. I chose this photograph because my magazine includes a lot of gig dates, festivals and live performances so I wanted to include a photo that would portray that. I like the atmosphere the photograph gives such as people with there hands up that show they are having a good time and the stage is visible which represents the live music. The second and third photograph are to represent two articles so it would break up the contents page.

The first photograph for my Double Page Spread (DPS) is my main photo. I want this photo to cover up most of the first page but I want it to run over to the next page a little which is why I took this photo in landscape. I chose this photograph because I liked how my model (music artist) is standing to the left side and how she does not take up the whole frame. I also like how there is a shine of light hitting her and the tree that create deep colours and is full of detail. This indicates what sort of music my artist plays. People would get the feel that she sings original music and uses instruments such as the acoustic guitar or piano because the location suggests a gentle and calming feeling to my artist.

The second photo for my DPS is a photograph of the back of my artist walking into the forest. I chose this photo for my flannel panel which has a bit of information about my artist (like a fact file) and thought this photo would look effective as it would suit the main image and break up the DPS 

InDesign Testing For Contents Page and Double Page Spread

Media Indesign Testing

These screenshots shows the start process of creating my double page spread. It shows how I want my layout by adding the header, stand first and the text on the first page. It also shows the skills I have developed by showing how I added a photograph by pressing ctrl+D and how I arranged it and also putting the header in front of the photograph. I also have gain skills by learning how to add a drop cap so it will break up the text a little bit.

Critical Evaluation Of First Draft Of Front Cover

My first draft of my music magazine front cover achieved the aims that I set such as the audience the magazine is aimed for. The magazine is aimed at females aged 16-25. I have made it clear that this magazine is for females for ages 16-25 as I have used purple and pink colours for my masthead and cover lines. I have also used a female model who is stylish and suits the genre of the music. The genre of the music is Unsigned and upcoming artists. To represent the genre of music I have chosen on my front cover, by having my setting/background in a forest as I did not want to over do the background or make it seem like a pop magazine. I chose this setting because it was suttle and I felt like it suited the genre because it was a relaxed atmosphere.
The cover lines of my magazine are clear to read as I have used drop shadows, inner shadows and colours that were light against the background so the cover lines would stand out and easy to read.
The cover lines are placed down the left side and going a bit over the artist but not her face to which shows that the cover lines fit in just right on the front cover and the font also helped to make the cover lines easy to read a fit in just right.
I think to improve my front cover I could make the masthead easier to read. I think this because the masthead is to dark and also the background is also dark so I need to make the masthead a lighter colour so it stands out more.
On my front cover I also included the bar-code at the bottom with the numbers below it. I also included the date and price at the top of the cover just under the masthead.
I think this cover looks like a music magazine because the conventions such as cover lines show that the magazine is to do with music as it included covers such as "Top 10 Festivals For 2014".
I have released my design intentions and there is a cover of my copy in the college ICT room where a lot of people study. In ways my design of my front cover looks like what I intentionally tried to create such as the image of my artist was very successful. However, the only thing that didn't meet my own intentions is the way the cover lines look. To improve this I will change the cover lines to see if they look better and just experiment and see what other people may think. Overall I feel like my front cover for my music magazine went really well and was a great outcome.

Clearing Skin On Photoshop

Clearing Skin On Photoshop

The first screen shot shows the artist I used before I used the Spot Healing Tool and the second screen shot shows the effect of the Spot Healing Tool.

Blurring Background In Photoshop

Blurring on Photoshop

The first picture shows that I went around my artist by using the Lasso Tool and then pressed Modify and then clicked Feather.
The second screen shot shows that I right clicked the artist that I used the Lasso Tool and clicked Select Inverse which meant the background will change and not my artist.
Lastly after Inverting the image, I selected Filter and then Blur and then clicked Guassain Blur and changed the pixels to 6.

Photographs From Photoshoot

   

                         

These photographs are all of the photographs that I have took for my music magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread. The location I chose was at Santon Downham which is fairly near where I live and it is a quiet place with a river, forest and a old small chapel. I felt like this location suited my idea of what I want is a forest location because I feel like the genre of the choice of genre I want goes really well with the location because the genre of music I chose is based around unsigned musicians so people would see this as "Indie" music and these photographs show this. These photographs show a sense of freedom and relaxation which suggests that the artist that I am using is herself and her music is very original and has a relaxing sound of acoustic guitar and a few other instruments but it isn't over done or really edited which I feel like these photographs really emphasises this point.

I took a lot of photographs that were different so I had a good range of photographs to choose from so I could play around and see which photographs will look good for my music magazine. I also took many picture portrait and landscape because my front cover and contents page will be portrait and my double page spread and some of the contents page images will be landscape. 

I made sure that my artist's costume was similar to the location where I took my photographs. My artist is wearing a light pink flower crown, a green parker, pain white top, black high waisted skater skirt and white low top Converse with black tights. I really liked her costume because it gives the target audience of what style her music because music genres can be identified by the type of clothing the musician is wearing so it shows that the artist is not a very big artist, only starting out and a little Indie but also aimed at 16-25 year old girls that would wear this style which would attract them to read the magazine