My genre of magazine

I produced a video the express the genre of magazine I had chosen through a different form of media, I used characters who spoke to one another speaking about the genre and several methods of how to complete this genre in a good way. I chose Rock, therefore the characters speech expands on this particular area. My genre of magazine by Connie Wray on GoAnimate

Music Magazine Brief

Music Magazine Brief

Main Task

The front page, contents page and double page spread of a new music magazine. All images and text used must be original, produced by you - minimum of four images.

LIIAR Analysis of College Magazine and How It Was Created

Evaluation

I decided to base my college magazine on Law at Wyke College, and update all the students on all law related topics not only at the college, but outside of the college too. I really wanted to portray the idea of success and high grades from the students. Which is why I photographed my model in front of UCAS and university related posters, to reach out to the audience and inspire them to work hard in order for them to get into the university they want. I chose my model to be female, although boys and girls are of equal intelligence I decided that because throughout most of my research girls were used on the photographs, so I decided it would be good if I did too. I enjoyed photographing my model, holding an piece of work with an A+ on with her smiling, as based on my research this is what was conventional from within a college magazine. I chose the colour scheme of blue, red and white for my magazine, as these are primary colours which are likely to stand out when place on top of a main image on a magazine. The red text was allocated with the risky topic of revision, as this is what students are usually stressed out about. I chose blue as the main colour, as it is very bright and bold and creates the connotation of cool and calm, to relax students and help them with any problems which they have. I want the audience of my magazine to be not only students of the college who take Law, but others as well, as if they are interested in Law there are still aspects of my magazine which they will find interesting. Also, the test paper has a red A+ and the university posters situated behind the posters are red, therefore this links the two together, suggesting that if you work hard, you will achieve success and get into your chosen university. My magazine focuses on looking into the future in particular, as there is no point in looking back to the past.

I also named by magazine Order after deciding many different names, because it is short, snappy and is something that the audience are bound to remember. I also added a skyline which is ‘Audition for Bar Mock Trials now! Can you make it?’ which is likely to grab anyone who is interested in Law’s attention as it is something which could be beneficial to them. I placed a percentage of people who get A’s on the front in large letters to inspire the current Law students to work hard and do well, so they can achieve the positive outcomes at the end.

I also added typical conventions such as the date, barcode and price, these are less significant than other conventions but they are important as they are what the audience look for when they are looking at the magazine.

Just like in my draft and in my research I placed my model in the centre of the page, holding a successful exam in their hand with a high grade achieved on it. Also, as the model attends the college than they will be easily recognizable to the people around, therefore all of their friends and classmates are more likely to purchase it if they see that they know the person who is featuring as the main image. I priced the magazine at £2.20, as it would be quite a thick magazine as I decided it would be published monthly, therefore there would be around 200 pages, therefore £2.20 is an easily affordable price for the magazine, especially as the audience are likely to be students, therefore they will be able to afford this rate on a monthly basis. There are a lot of people who take AS Law, A Level Law, Btec Law and GCSE Law; therefore there is a wide range of people who are likely to buy this magazine, as well as people who just have an interest in general law.

I included a wide range of topics inside, such as shocking case, bar mock trials, law society, a law test, revision and previous grades. As I believe all of these articles are relevant to the theme of the magazine and fit in well with the whole magazine. I chose the layout of the magazine to be tidy, as the audience will probably be quite tidy as they have to keep all of their work in order; therefore I neatly situated all of the articles and text at the sides of the magazine, with the model situated in the centre. This is the conventional layout of a tidy magazine.

To connect the denotations together, I made my model wear a blue jacket to fit in with the blue theme of the magazine, therefore people will realise that the magazine and the model link together through the topic of Law. The audience are likely to look up to the model as they have achieved a high grade in Law, therefore they will want to as well. I enjoyed making my magazine and allocating all the denotations together to create the appropriate connotations, using Photoshop to add the skyline, masthead, main image and articles I produced the magazine. I enjoyed planning my magazine and creating lots of potential idea which I could use and convey onto the practical part of the task, I also enjoyed analysing other magazines and looking at photographs as it helped me with making decisions about my work, such as what articles to include and how to situate my model.

Although, I struggled with taking an appropriate photograph, as completed all the appropriate planning but found it difficult to convey my ideas into the form of a photograph. Also, as Law is really a colourful visual subject such as art or music, it took me a while to figure out what location I could photograph my model. Then I resolved this problem, by finding a big notice board around college with a huge reference to universities and UCAS, therefore I decided it would be beneficial for the readers if they thought about university when receiving their grades, especially those members of the target audience who are excited about going to university, they will be especially interested.

Also, my model doesn’t do Law as a subject, which I figured was another problem, so I gave her one of my previous Law tests and she held it. I think it would have been more appropriate if I had found an actual Law student to photograph, because then they would have had some knowledge about the subject and she wouldn’t of just had to pretend to do Law. This was one of the negatives of my magazine. Another negative is that I need some more practise from within Photoshop, therefore I think that my magazine’s appearance could have been improved if I had knowledge about all the possible tools on Photoshop, although my confidence is increasing when using Photoshop, I still need certain practise. Also, I think I should of taken some more photographs outside as when I was photographing my model I stayed just inside the college buildings and walked around, therefore if I had been outside I may of found a more exciting or appropriate area in which I could take the photograph.

Draft of Contents Page

Draft of Contents Page

This is the draft of my contents page, I chose the layout, font and photographs which I would like to create. I added page numbers up to 173 as it is a monthly magazine and I added relevant photographs about Law and the contents of the magazine. I continued the blue theme from the front cover onto the contents page, to produce the connotation of continuity. I added the date and contents title to make it easily recognisable for the audience when they open the magazine. More important titles are made larger and highlighted in a different colour to the rest, therefore they stand out more.

Final Front Cover

Final front of Cover of my magazine

Photographs and Images

Photographs and Images

I photographed my model holding an essay which was graded an A+.  I took her photograph in front of they UCAS posters, with posters from universities and locations of universities across the country.

I also made the A+ red, because the posters in the background were red, therefore they link the two things together and connote that with hard work and success you are able to get into a good university of your choice. I located her in front of these University posters, to represent what happens after college, so the readers have something to aspire to.

In these ones I attempted to include the UCAS logo within the photograph to highlight the relevance to university from within the main image. I also photographed all of the listed universities in the background and a map.

£

 I also took photographs on a white background, so I could add a photograph of the college behind her using Photoshop, therefore I took various shots of her holding up her work and smiling, assuring she was directly addressing the audience whilst doing this.

I dislike this photograph as it is not appropriate for my magazine as I accidently photographed a poster in the background, which is behind the model, and will divert the readers attention to something irrelevant.

 I also photographed my law folder, to show reference to work that you have to do from within the subject, so this will connote hard work and success. It can also be used on the front cover or contents page as part of an article. I made sure it had the word Law located clearly on it, therefore it will be easily recognizable to what the topic of the magazine is about.

 I also photographed an article in the local newspaper, as this connotes recent happenings in society and what type of law this is and what laws have been broken in the area. Therefore, it will create more of a personal feel, as it is local news, so the reader is more likely to be interested if it is happening in an area near them.

Digital Mock Up of Front Cover

Digital Mock Up of Front Cover

This is my digital mock up of my front cover. This is what I want to achieve as my final product, with similar colours and conventions to this one which I have created. I used Photoshop to produce this, I used a photograph of a past student of the college, then added all of the typography how I would like it, when I create my actual version. I added the appropriate conventions, such as the masthead and skyline.

I chose the colour scheme of blue, as it a very neutral colour as well as a popular colour. I also chose to use black as it is a very used colour and is conventionally used on magazines. I used white text to create the contrast of black and white together, therefore they both stand out on the main image. Although, I highlighted the revision headline in red, as this connotes the idea of danger and panic, which is connoted with the idea of revision and exams.

The girl is smiling and holding her results, which I discovered from my mood board was a good idea and was conventional, therefore I decided to transport this idea onto my magazine draft. Her smiling connotes the idea the law students that is a good and exciting subject to take, and the fact she is holding her results creates the idea that good results are achieved from within the subject. Also, the girl's photograph is a medium close-up which matches the brief, and her clothing 

 matches the colour scheme of the magazine, linking the two conventions together. I create headlines which were all relevant to law and would be recognizable my law students at Wyke. I added a date to show relevance to the month, and a skyline to catch the readers attention, as it could be beneficial to them if they take part, therefore it is also the USP.

Magazine Name and Type Style

Mood Boards and Influences

Mood Board and Influences

The first slide includes my ideas all on aspects of the magazine, therefore I can decide on one and expand on it. The second slide I have collected a wide range of photographs and placed them together, to see the contrast so I can produce similar ideas to these. I have chosen to base my magazine on Law purely, therefore all my research is based around the topic of Law. It helped me decided on the theme of my magazine, topics I could include and what I would like the overall layout of the magazine will look like, including all the appropriate chosen denotations and conventions.

 

I included potential themes, topics which are inside the magazine, possible names, law themes and names, font names, possible headlines and the model. I brainstormed various ideas under each of these titles, which helped me decided on what my magazine was going to be about and what it was going to look like. I focused on the stereotypical conventions which I would expect to see in a Law magazine, and then developed them further. I also then looked back onto the brief and focused on the idea of a medium close-up, then decided from within this shot what the model's facial expressions would be, how they would be stood and how I could create positive connotations from this.

I then discovered various photographs from the college website and from internet seduce a mood board. I would like to create the idea of success and represent this through the Law magazine. I discovered all of the people photographed are expressing happiness, therefore I should do this too. On most of the photographs they are also holding up there results sheet, so I discovered it would be beneficial if I used this idea too, as I thought it conveyed the idea of success well. I also added possible magazine names, associated with Law and photographs of Wyke college.

LIIAR Analysis of a 3 Magazine Front Covers

LIIAR Analysis of 3 Magazine Covers.