Weekly Journal 19/12/14

I have started to create my first draft pieces for my contents and front pages; I have created a general house style of where my masthead, sell line, pugs, bar code and other font cover features would be placed but I will add detail to it later.

I feel that I could take a few better shots for my front cover because upon further inspection, I see that the top half of my model is a little blurry. I have also had an extremely hard time removing the background from the hooded fur area so for the next time we take pictures, I will make sure my model does not wear any furry clothing. 

The problem with the clothing however is that the weather and temperature is very cold so we need to consider warmth when choosing our costumes.

Weekly Journal 12/12/14

This week is all about practising out photography skills; we are taking quite a few shots with a few different cameras for our magazines. This week I was focusing on finding the perfect front cover image so I am testing a few different shots in different scenery.   

Unfortunately, I was unable to get the DSLR camera I was hoping for so I had borrowed a Bridge Camera (Sony Cybershot DSCH300B) from one of the other students. I took many photos but deleted most due to aspects such as bad lighting, poor angles, image quality, correct facial expressions, mise-en-scene etc.

Originally, I planned to shoot in  Camden Lock since its very diverse in scenery; one section can look totally different to another - this was great for me since I could switch up the style of the location without having to actually go to another location. The problem was that Camden Lock was a very popular tourist attraction and its most likely always crowded; we tried getting the best shots possible but the crowded area meant that the shots were disturbed and there were always problems such as lighting because people would walk in front of our light source or ruined backgrounds because people were in the way. Even the slightest problems would completely ruin the shot such as someone's shadow on the floor. Our main dilemma was that we could either:
- Go to another location and take photos at the last minute: This meant that the results would be a lot quicker since we wouldn't have to waste time waiting for people to get out of the way but the problem was that we didn't know where to go; I have carefully planned exactly where the shot would be taken place, what angle, what pose etc.. but this would not be possible in another location since we don't have enough time.
- Wait for the crowd to get smaller: This would mean that my planning would not go to waste and as soon as the crowd left, we would know exactly what to do. The problem was that we didn't know how long we would have to wait but also because we had a short amount of time. Since its Winter time, the sun sets pretty early and its gets dark fairly quick; this is a major problem since we needed a heavily lit location because our camera was not able to perform well under poorly lit conditions. We did have a flash available but the quality would be reduced and the lighting would not feel natural and well rounded.

Due to this we decided it would be best to go to another location and find interesting scenes on the way; we ended up going to Eversholt Street where there was an unoccupied park and Bloomsbury where there was an estate (which would match my hip-hop style very well).

Newer Shots

A few practise shots

These shots are not the final ones, they're just the practice shots we have taken to see how well the location suits us. As you can see, the lighting is not ideal and due to this, the images come out grainy; the images appear dark and I don't think these are editable. 

When we take the fully professional shots, we will not be using this location because of the low lighting; I am thinking of choosing a newer location, maybe in another part of Camden.

The costumes used are going to be similar to the ones in the final product. The model with the grey tracksuit is wearing a very stereotypical costume, one we with to utilise in our real photos.

Even though, these photos will not be used, they still appeal to our target audience. The reason for this is because even though they're no fully professional, they still show the stereotypical connotations of a rap magazine.

These images were not successful because of the location and the costumes, we did not wear the costumes intended because this was not a fully planned shoot. The location itself represents the connotations of a raper's life however, the lighting is not suitable.

Photoshoot Practise

Today we went out to practise our photography skills; we went to our locations and took pictures whilst considering these aspects:

- Camera Angles

- Lighting

- Composition

- Colour Correction

We will go back another day to the same spots and take better pictures, this week I used my Phone Camera but next time I plan on using a DSLR, I plan on borrowing one from my friend.

I will be looking at the images taken today and evaluate the different aspects like shot types and angles. I will use this information to make my real photo shoot better.

This was done as a plan for the images for the front cover and contents page.

Weekly Journal 03/12/14

I have got my front cover photoshoot plan on. It's got the different details such as the location, model, time and date of when the photoshoot will take place. I have even looked at the potential costumes and what type they're going to be. I have also looked at the different camera angles, I want something like a medium shot from a low angle - this shows dominance.

I also updated my contents page analysis. I have added more annotations and linked it to another contents page from the same company to compare it. I have noticed that VIBE have a distinctive style which they carry onto each of their contents pages. This is something that I plan on doing myself.

Contents Page Analysis

Front Cover Photo-Shoot Plan

Front Cover Photo

Weekly Journal 28/11/14

This week we have been focusing on planning for our photoshoot. We are going to take a few test shots (quick and unproffessional) of our planned locations and models. They wont be in full costume but we just need to get an idea of how to get the perfect shot for our magazines. 

I will try to get it done next week, however I need to check if my models are available and I must also plan on getting my camera. If I cannot arrange a camera, I will have to use my own phone (Samsung Galaxy S4) however, the only problem is that there may not be sufficient memory on my device.

We're also just fixing the blog a little, adding details and posts to help us keep it more developed. I have recently edited a double page analysis, I have added new annotations on aspects such as the lighting and the conventions and stereotypes. I will get this uploaded next week on Monday. I have done this so I can look back on my blogger whilst making my magazine to see what conventions need to be added.

Double page Spread Analysis

Weekly Journal 14/11/14

This week I have uploaded my double page spread text/article. I have changed quite a few things at home and have expanded on certain elements. I have added follow up questions to make the article feel more genuine too, I didn't have enough of those before.

I have uploaded my double page spread moodboard. This was done so I have a better understanding of the conventions of a double page spread. I will be suing the format of some of these spreads to make my own. I intend to imitate some of the camera angles used on my double page spread because upon looking at these, I think they would work really well on mine. I am focusing on different aspects of the double page spreads, for example the costumes, colour scheme, layout etc.

Double Page Spread Moodboard

You can clearly see the pattern in the double page spreads, they all consist of a large image on one page and the article on the other. It goes together seamlessly since the colour scheme and the backgrounds match together. For example, the one with Justin Bieber has red text to match with his red trousers.  

The fonts match with the image, for example the one with T.I saying summer time matches his summer attire and. The circles around it make it look more colourful and nice. 

All of the double page spreads have black coloured text for the main article (or white if the background is black). 

Genre Case Study

Convention	Genre Convention	How will this inform your own planning?
Masthead	The magazines I am looking at are VIBE, Billboard and Source. They all have a kind of bold font to make it seem more intimidating. They are in very eye-catching colours, they're not hidden away or anything. They're behind the main image though; that is a convention in most magazines to show that its widely known.	I will have my masthead follow convention and be placed behind the main image. This once again gives off a professional look and makes my magazine seem well known/popular.
Colours	The colours of the magazines are very bright. They are not opaque, you can clearly see them. There is a colour scheme going on that matches with the colour of the main image in some way (typically the costume or jewellery)	I will stick to a specific colour scheme which houses three contrasting colours. I don't want it to match because I want them to stand out from each other. They will somehow match with the main image (most likely they would be the same colour as the costume)
Fonts	The fonts are all bold in the mastheads, you can clearly read what's said but its not boring. They all look distinctive to be eye catching. They have an individual style so you know what brand it is. The text is clearly written out in standard fonts so you can read it.	I will use a unique font for my masthead to keep it distinctive and recognisable. It will look very different from other magazines so my customers can instantly know what magazine it is. The text font will be black or white (depending on background) and will use a readable font. I don't want to make the text seem confusing.
Images-        Shot type        Mise en scene        Lighting	VIBE and Billboard magazine have medium shots that pan upwards. This is conventional since it makes the artist seem a lot more intimidating to the reader. Billboard magazine show the whole body of the artist, I think this is because they want to flaunt the body of the female artist. Its very conventional to have the main image sexualised.	Since my magazine is rap and hip-hop, I will follow the convention of making my artist seem tough and intimidating. With the use of a low angle shot, I will make them taller implying that they have more power. It will be a mid shot - not showing all but most of the body.
Sell lines	The magazines are full of sell lines; it lets the reader know that its packed with different content and articles. The more there are the better because it seems more informational. The text works it's way around the main image, they don't overlap.	This will suit the theme I am going for, for my magazine. I will have minimum sell lines because again, I want to keep my main image my focus. This will keep my house style effective and not scattered like a gossip magazine.
Model	They have big named artists on their front covers. They have popular artists that are of the genre of the magazine. For example, The Game is featured on Source Magazine; they're both in the rap genre.	I will have one main model on my front cover. If I decide to make the main image a group of rapper then i will feature them all on it, however it's most likely I will have one solo artist. They would be a famous and well established artist to imply that the magazine is professional.

Double page spread text [WORK IN PROGRESS]

Audemar Adz Magazine Article

Weekly Journal 7/11/14

This week I have been planning for my double page spread. We have started to already plan for what we will include in the article' I have been researching on different other articles like VIBE and Billboard magazine.

I will be adapting some current articles but will mostly have my own original content along with it. One article I have looked at is on VIBE magazine's website on J. Cole.

Through this, I have learnt that I should put questions and follow up questions. It makes the interview look more genuine. I should also have a paragraph or so giving a little context on the artist; a small amount of background information. I have chosen a name for the artist but this is not final.

Its still a work in progress for now but can change once I am finished. I estimate that it be up on Monday (10th).  

My Double Page Spread plan

Double Page Spread Plan

Double page spread research

This is an article from VIBE magazine which I have analysed. This was done to help me get ideas for my own magazine

Double Page Spread Research

My preliminary task feedback

Rahul Feedback

Conventions of Music Magazines

Conventions Slideshow

Focus Group

Focus Group

Weekly Journal 31/10/14

This week we have been focusing on our exams, we aren't really going to work on our blogs too much. We have been looking at stereotypes and portrayals of different types of people. This week we have been focusing on the representation of males and females especially.

However, I have been improving my blog a little. For example, I have added extra annotations on some of my analysed magazines. I will be adding some more content on my blog in a few weeks or so too, this will be the

In a few, weeks we will start to look at planning for our magazines. I have been asking around to find some models to be in my magazine. Adil has offered to be in my magazine as long as I get in his.

Audience Questionnaire Analysis & Findings

Weekly Journal 24/10/14

This week I have finished off my final draft for the questionnaire I intend to give to my target audience. I will be sending these out to at least 7 or 8 people that are my target audience so I know what to include in my magazine. I will get to know vital information relating to my magazine by getting answers from my questionnaire. Fore example, one of my questions are "How much money do you make per month?", this is important because through the answers I can see what the optimum price my magazine should be.

Its also important for me to get answers back because it will allow me to know what is appealing  to my audience; it will help me when it comes to making my magazine because I will know what people like and what they don't like. For example, I am stuck between two names for my magazine, either "Rap Attax" or "Non Stop Hip-Hop"; when I get the answers, I will see which one is more popular and why then I will choose it.

I expect to get my answers back very soon, due to printing problems however I cannot give out physical copies, I must use other methods to give the questionnaires. I could use WhatsApp to send an image and get the answers however, that would be bias since I need the person's number which means that I know the person. This is not helpful for me since I want to get feedback from all kinds of people, not just the ones I know. 

2 more questionnaires filled out

These are two more of my questionnaires filled out. This is very useful for me since they are quite different to the other answers, which means that the input I have received is gained from all types of people with different opinions. This is good for me since if I that once I follow the answers from the questionnaire when I do my magazine, it will appeal to more than one type of audience. 

3 more questionnaires filled out

I have just received these from my email. I now have enough answers to aid me when I make my actual magazine. 

5 Questionnaires filled out

These are filled out questionnaires that I have received through my email. I am expecting to get a lot more. These will seriously help me when I plan to make my own magazine because I have opinions on how to make  a good magazine before I even start.

Questionnaire

This is what my questionnaire looks like. These will be filled out with answers once I get replies back from the people I emailed. It is intended to help me understand what features will make my magazine be better. For example, I have asked what colour the front cover should consist of, this is important because I can know for sure which colours would suit from a vast range of people.

Masthead Moodboard

As you can see, most of these are behind the main image. Mine will also do this since it shows that the magazine is well known. Its a convention I will definitely add.

The slogan is usually on top of the masthead too, I will be implementing this feature once I have finished organising where every feature will go.

Weekly Journal 17/10/14

This week I have made a table of conventions for music magazines. I will use this table and look at the popular music magazine conventions and add them to my own.

I have done a case study on a magazine which relates to my own. I have looked at and analysed VIBE magazine and looked at the convention, prices, stories etc.

I have also created a questionnaire for my target audience. It includes basic questions about themselves, questions about what magazines they read, what they like in a magazine and opinions on a few features I would like to add in my own. I will have gotten at least 10 questionnaires filled out by next week.

MoodBoard

I had chosen the first eleven magazines that came up when I typed "Music Magazine" on google. This is because they are the most popular magazine issues on the music genre.

Weekly Journal 10/10/14

This week I have improved the front cover for my preliminary task. I was given feedback from one of my peers and he suggested that I should do something to fill in the lower middle of the page since it was "missing something". A normal magazine should be packed fully and there shouldn't be any blank space; I then thought of adding a little "button" which displays information in a new style. I was quite hard to make since it had to match with the colour scheme but also be big enough to have space for text. It couldn't be too big though otherwise it would become the focal point.

My Contents Page has been finished too, I had to fix a few things so that's why it took a little longer than expected. I had added page dividers since I ran out of ideas on actual content for my magazine, it just takes a little more space up so it looks fitting. I made a 3D look to the magazine too since the foot is overlapping the text box, this is not really conventional but it made the magazine look a lot more professional.

I had edited an old post to add a little more information. This was the "Magazine Article 2"; I just re-organised it and added a little more information. 

Magazine analysis number 2

This is not fully finished. I can add more to this.

I know that its not fully a music genre magazine cover but there are music elements to it. It can suit my own magazine when I start to do it.  

Finished contents page

I have finished the contents page features and have changed the font to match the one on the front cover. This keeps a continual flow, keeping everything matched. The colour scheme is the same too.

My image is the same as Adil's because we were given a video camera which only shoots videos rather than an actual camera for still images. We decided to use a phone instead and ended up working together and use a phone camera instead. We only got a few usable images from the shoot and we decided to use the same image. Except his is the front cover and mine is the contents page

Improved version of my magazine

I have added the star with the "10 tips" because the lower centre of the magazine was empty

Contents page

the contents page is not fully done. There are two more articles to write about.

Finished Magazine

Weekly Journal 03/10/14

This week we are all starting our preliminary task so I had to choose my masthead; it took a lot of time to decide since I had to make it appealing for the sixth form students but I couldn't make it too "extravagant" since it would look a lot less professional. The colour scheme chosen is red and green, this is because they both contrast each other very well and are unique colours which are not seen that much in the main image. 

I have started Photoshopping with the pictures we took last week. Since my magazine is aimed at the students, I will make it look a lot more relaxed and have humorous contents on the front page. I have chosen the image with the three students studying as my front cover since the sixth form students can relate to it a lot more. It seems a lot more relaxing and natural, showing that the magazine is made for them by someone who knows about what they like and how they are.

The only problem is that it seems a little plan, there isn't much space on the sides for me to do loads of sell lines, I can probably fit in two or three. The space between the students seems empty, I might add some books or a bag in between them to fill up the space, I could even write something on the walls.

Start of photoshopping

I used the image on the left and transformed it to a half done magazine. More will be put on once I am finished

Weekly Journal 26/09/14

This week's focus was about getting images for the preliminary task (the front page and contents page). I started planning what I wanted in my front cover so when the time for taking pictures came, I knew exactly what to do. We had studied in the lesson what types of camera angles look best for each situations and I had decided that I would like one with a low angle shot to make the people in the image look powerful. I had already contacted my friend prior to the photo shoot since I wanted him to be in it, along with Adil and Yaaseen  (we had all agreed that we would be in each others magazines).

My main goal was to get a group of at least two sixth formers studying together; this was because by the time my preliminary task would be finished, students would be getting used to the routine of studying a lot. Studying is something all students can relate to, even the ones who aren't sixth formers, this was a good thing for me to capture since any one in the school can read it, it doesn't have to be a sixth former (although they are the target audience).

When it cam to the day of taking pictures, the school didn't provide us with proper cameras, so we had to use video cameras. This was very hard to do so our group decided to use a phone camera instead. We took as many pictures as we could in the our we were given and I feel that I have the perfect one for my front cover and my contents page. We may end up using the same picture for each of our magazines because we were all using the same camera. 

Questionnaire Answered

Different Mastheads

Different Magazine Names

Audience Profile

Weekly Journal 19/09/14

This journal is to help us keep track of what we have done, it is also here for us to see how much we have progressed by the time we finish this year. 

This week we have learned about what we are going to do in the course, we familiarised ourselves with what is expected and what we need to do. 

We first started off by making accounts for Blogger, Scribed and Pintrest. We are going to upload all of our work to Blogger and our word documents on Scribed so we can put them on our blog. 

We familiarized ourselves with Photoshop too, we were given the task to do anything we want on Photoshop and we were told to upload it on the blog.

Audience Profile

Age: From around 13-18, they're mainly in the higher up years of Secondary school to sixth form. Its not designed for year sevens and eights because they're just new to the school. Its more for the students who know the school a lot more.

Gender: Both - Its targeted for both male and females; this is because it relates to both genders. Its not going to be based on one gender but for everyone.

Type: They're going to be students, typically the ones who attend Regent High School or the sixth form. They could be from other schools too but it's more designed for those students. The reason for this is because it includes articles about what is going on in the school - it wouldn't make sense  or even matter to outside people. 

Wants: They are looking for information about the school, it's going to essentially be like the Regent Reporter that the students can relate to a lot more. There will be other subjects that the students can relate to though. It will be informative because there will be news and updates about what's going on in the school.

Surveys and questionnaires regarding the school magazine

Magazine Genre Analysis (Hip-Hop/Music)

Type of school magazine I will make

(I didn't fully understand what you meant by "type" of magazine)

I will make a magazine targeted at the sixth form in RHS. It will be informational and have important news about the school. E.g. The new clubs, teachers, and lessons. Like the real school one, but aimed for sixth formers. 

Main ingredients of a magazine

The Masthead:
- Should always be the same font as other issues, the colours may change.
- Should be large and eye catching. It's the logo for the magazine
- A fraction of the masthead is normally covered by the main image.

The main image:
- The main image must be clear. Everything should revolve around it
- It should be overlapping the masthead to show the magazine's popularity
- The colour scheme is usually based off the image e.g. The character's outfit match the font colour
- If the genre is gossip, then there are many cluttered pictures to imply many stories
- It is alongside text which describes/relates to the image e.g. The name of the person on the cover.

Cover Lines:
- Relate the the genre of the magazine; they intrigue the reader and make them want to read on
- They're all bits of information that's in the inside of the magazine. So like the stories/articles.
- The left third contain most cover lines due to the way magazines are stacked together.
- The font is a lot "reader friendly" than the other texts. It's follows the colour scheme too.

Other:
- Strap lines show an important article on the front cover. They're right at the top.
- Pugs are free offers to attract customers. Mostly in kids/teen magazines

Getting familiar with Adobe Photoshop (Draft 1)