Preliminary tasks
- 1. Brief • We were asked to create a front cover and contents for our school magazine. • Our school magazine had to include an original image that we had to take a photo of. I intended to include an appropriate title that was linked to my text. In addition, throughout this process I was familiarising myself with Photoshop and how to use it etc.
- 2. Italic style writing connotes to the old fashioned style buildings, which till now these buildings were and are considered posh and sophisticated, this links with how the students are dressed. The blue background indicates the rich background how much expensive this college is, when we think of blue we automatically think, posh, expensive, sophisticated and well mannered. This links in with the images of the students. Posh building reinforces to the sophisticated students dressed smartly as well as the high standards Sophisticated students, people reading this can relate to them The only negative side of this article , is that it only shows the middle/high class people. Others who are not in these categories will not find this appealing and will back away because they feel they cannot compete with the high standards of this college. They are dressed very neatly and look good-mannered, this indicates the school is very high class and people wanting to come to this can expect these high standards The word investor can relate to the students expensive suits, due to the fact investors are highly wealthy and wear suits. The well structured writing reflects how well organised the college is, this is also shown by how well organised and neat the students are shown towards us. Images at the bottom show how diverse they are in terms of sports and activities and not only focusing on education.
- 3. The title is big and bold, its also red which links in with the red shirt The red shirt and title connotes she’s sexually active due to her dressing as well the colour red. She’s presented as a cheerful and confident person, this is shown by the way she's standing and her facial expressions indicates she's satisfied and proud with her self. Her style of dressing and appearance reflects the stereotypical western American ‘college girl’. The background looks like it’s a very friendly green environment, the environment also links with the way the girl is dressed and her emotions i.e. its summer and she's happy, she’s tanned etc. The sub-heading may link in with the girl in the image as the words ‘American’ and ‘Teenager reflect this There’s a little skin shown which may attract the opposite sex The magazine is free, its shown so people can see it.
- 4. AS Media Studies Preliminary Task – School Magazine Front Page Proposal Form Target audience: (age range, interests) Although it is a school newsletter you still have to think about your audience and how to appeal to them. targeted at group age between 11-16 year olds. Young audience Possible title ideas: (masthead / title block) What is your magazine going to be called? Main image: What will be the focal point of your front page, remember, your work “must include a photograph of a student in a medium close-up” Two students smiling with arms around each other Main cover line: What will be the main story? Preston manor football team Additional key images: What other images will be on your front cover? Remember, it is a school magazine. teachers, view of the school, football team and other students in their daily school life Additional cover lines: Other features, stories or selling points which will be inside the magazine, these need to be audience appropriate. school related matters and situations, activities, extra curriculums etc. Typography: (style, size, colour of copy) Think about the writing and the style of the writing on your front page. A4 sized front cover Background colour/image: What will be in the background, remember you don’t want to take the focus away from the main image. light purple background Technical considerations: (equipment, setting, props, costume, lighting) Be realistic and creative, think about what you have access to and how you could use it. using Photoshop and DSLR camera
- 5. Audience Research 1.Gender Male: 11 Female: 19 2. Age 11-13: 2 14-16: 11 17-18: 17 3. Would you consider buying a school magazine if you don’t usually? Yes: 14 No: 8 Maybe, if I like it when I see it: 8 4. How much should a magazine cost? £0.50-1.50 : 18 £2.00-3.00: 8 £3.50-4.00: 4 £4.00+: - 5. Should school magazines have free gifts? Yes: 12 No: 8 Maybe.. It would be nice though! : 10 6. What would encourage you to buy a school magazine? Good controversial story: 6 Affordable: 13 Vibrant colours: 7 I don’t like school magazines: 2 Other: 2 7. What features should appear on a school magazine? Interesting news: 18 Info or news that is linked with students: 7 Latest news on students and teachers: 3 Other: 2
- 6. Final Design and rough drafts
- 7. Final design
- 8. Notes on process The changes I made with this image was that I brightened the original image. The reason why I did this was because the original image was much darker and less visible than the adjusted image. I clicked on the ‘Brightness and contrast’ tool option and increased the brightness. This image was used as my background for my front cover. I had a cropped image on top of this background, so I had to make it as real as possible. To do this I lowered the contrast but increased the brightness. This gave the adjusted image an improvement when used as it was brighter and gave it a more ‘natural look’. This image was my main image that I used for my front cover magazine. I cropped the image by using the Polygonal lasso tool. In addition, I also brightened the image(person) so it could blend in the background and make it as real as possible.
- 9. What have I learnt? • Over these past few weeks I have learnt how to use Photoshop. I can now use the software confidently and I showed that during the process • I have also learnt how to use my blogger in my google account. Prior to this project, I would not have been able to do so, however now I can say that using my google account and inserting data in my blog is not an obstacle.