My Evaluation

What have I learnt from completing this task?
From completing this task I have learnt about the conventions of a magazine and how to analyse magazine covers using LIIAR and this was useful as I knew what I should include in my magazine and the purpose of it.
I also learnt the basics of Photoshop and the skills that I would need to create my cover and contents. Something else I learnt was camera framings and the different shots I could use on my music magazine cover and spread.
I also learnt how to create and use a blog.

How have I used technology?
I used technology by using my camera to take the pictures for the cover and other different framings. I also used the computer to create and edit my college magazine and also to use the blog. To actually create my cover and draft contents I used Photoshop. This involved me scaling images to make the shot the right framing, using the shape tool to draw the boxes for my feature story and plug to make them stand out and also using the text tool to be able to write the information on the front.

What conventions have I used and why?
I used the masthead to show the name of the magazine and I tried to make it stand out by using a bold colour (orange). Another convention that I used was a plug, this was to get people interested in the magazine and try and make them want to buy it. I also used a skyline which displayed things in the magazine that I thought would be useful for and an interest to students. My main image was the focus of the cover and I also tried to make the model stand out by making sure she wore a bold colour which matched my chosen colour scheme.

What would I change if I were asked to do this task again?
If I were to do this task again I would make sure that I took more images for my cover in different locations and make sure that more of the pictures are in focus or of a good quality. I would also spend more time on editing and creating my cover to make sure it was as good as I could make it. 

Finished Magazine Cover and Draft Contents

This is my completed cover and draft contents page for my college magazine. I tried to make sure that the colour scheme showed throughout both pages so that it matched and fitted together well. I also tried to include things that I thought would fit into a typical students life so that it would appeal to my target audience which is students.
Overall I am pleased with how they turned out with the amount of time I was given.

Step by Step of My Front Cover

This is the step by step process of what I did to create my cover for my college magazine. It shows what order I put the conventions onto the front cover and the colour and size changes I went through to get the final cover.

To begin with I had to decide on a colour for my masthead that went with my overall colour scheme. I matched it to the clothes the girl in my picture was wearing and as orange is quite a bold, stand out colour, that was my choice.

After adding my initial masthead I had to change the colour and the size of it to make sure it was readable and that it would stand out against the background.

When I was happy with the size and colour of my masthead I moved to do the skyline in a blue colour. I tried to use things that I thought would appeal to a typical student.

As a main convention I had to add the plug as something that would make people want to read the magazine and to make sure it stood out I changed the colours of the main words of the sentence. Another thing I added here was my main feature story which would again hopefully make people want to read the magazine.

The final thing I added to my magazine was the barcode. This would make my cover look like an authentic magazine.

Layout of the Magazine

For my cover I created a digital draft using Microsoft publisher. This is to show what the basic layout of my cover to give myself an idea of where I should place the conventions of my magazine and whether it would look alright. This also shows whether generally the conventions would be placed on regular college magazines.
I also created a digital draft for my contents page to show the layout I will be using for my draft contents page.

Feature Story Ideas

As my magazine is aimed at the college lifestyle I need to choose feature stories that my target audience would be interested in and would appeal to a typical student. The stories I have been thinking about using on the cover are:
-Back to college tips
-Frat party pictures
-Kaiser Chief competition (possible plug)
-Revision tips
-'Real life' story
Other stories I could use for my draft contents page are:
-Agony Aunt Column
-Upcoming Events
-Changes around the college
-Easy and quick recipes

Ideas for college Magazine Name

As I have decided that my magazine will be based around the college lifestyle, the name will have to reflect that so some names I have been thinking of include:
-Life on Campus
-Wyke Life
-Campus
-College News
-Wyke Monthly
One of these names will be displayed on my cover's masthead.

My Mood Board

This is the mood board I created to help give myself some inspiration on what I could include on my college magazine cover and draft contents page by looking at what I think students are interested in.

Mise-en-scene and Location Ideas

When thinking about my main image for the cover, there are many places around the campus which I could use for the background of my shot. These include:

-In front of the Wyke sign

-On the balcony

-In front of some trees

-By the lockers

-By a brick wall

-In the quad

-Have a colour background edited on Photoshop

The design brief stated that the image must be a medium close-up. I have decided that the person in the shot will be central and not looking at the camera. This is because I think it would look more natural and as this would be a lifestyle magazine I want to try and show that she is just walking without noticing the camera. I also want which ever background I choose to be seen on the cover.

Colour Scheme

Looking at the clothes that the girl on my cover is wearing I have decided to go for an orange, white and blue theme so that I won't have a lot of colour which could distract the audience from reading the feature stories.
I thought orange was also a good colour to use as it is quite bold and could easily stand out to a reader and attract them to the magazine.

Semiotics

Semiotics is the study of signs or symbols looking for their meanings, the effect on the audience and seeing what they can interpret from the media text. An example is looking at the colour scheme of a text to try to understand the tone of the text e.g. blue toned could mean the text has a sad theme.
Semiotics consists of two parts, the signifier (the form which the sign takes place) and the signified (the concept represents). An example of this is a red traffic light, the physical red light is the signifier and the concept of stopping is the signified.
Semiotics is important because it allows the creator of the text to give more meaning to show the reader what the message behind the text is and sometimes put across the institutions values.

Looking At Other College Magazines and Magazine Conventions.

Magazine Conventions:

Most magazines will have certain, recognisable aspects (conventions) which give the magazine a clear layout and can attract people.

Masthead- the title of the magazine, usually displayed at the top of the cover in the left hand corner.
Price- usually along side the barcode.
Date- the date of the magazines release and display dates.
Issue Number- informs the audience of which magazine they are reading for reference.
Teaser- one word/phrase that acts as an attention grabber.
Main Feature: Headline- the main point of the feature. Stands out on the cover to catch the readers attention.
Subtitle- this is a smaller headline that may summarise the feature.
Smaller Feature- shows the audience other articles featured in the magazine along with the main article.
Colour Scheme- colours chosen by the editor to compliment the image used on the cover. there are usually 3 to prevent the reader getting distracted from the actual articles.
Plug- something that would make the audience want to buy the magazine. For example you could receive a free gift.
Skyline- banner-style shape featuring free products/promotions.
Footer- words that relate to the magazine in some way. Usually found at the bottom of the cover.

Conventions of three existing college magazines:

To analyse a magazine you would use LIIAR:

Language- This isn't just the words but it includes colour, costumes, props and camera angle.
Institution- Whoever made the media text. For example the BBC. The media text usually reflects the institutions values.
Ideology- What message is the institution trying to put across through the text.
Audience- Whoever the text is aimed for (mass or niche).
Representation- This is the representation of social groups which usually includes some stereotyping.





This is an example of a college magazine. It has a clear masthead in the top left and they have used a clear font so the reader can clearly see the title. The name of the magazine also clearly states the target audience of students.
This creator of this cover has used a clear colour scheme using red, white and green. This is good because it means that there isn't so much colour that it would distract the reader from the headlines but the green also compliments the main feature of St. Patrick's Day.
The main image on the cover is a medium close up as this is a common camera angle used for magazine covers.
This magazine cover is aiming to provide what typical university students would want in a magazine so it gives advice on things the institution would expect university students to need. This is an attempt to relate to their target audience to try and gain a larger set of consumers.







This is another college magazine which has a clear title and uses the colour scheme of black and yellow. As yellow is quite a bold colour it stands out against the black and would attract an audience.
The props the figure in the main image is holding show that its an academic magazine and as well as the title tells the reader what the magazine is about and who it is targeted for.
The smaller features also fit in with the colour scheme and are to the far right and left of the cover so that it doesn't block the main image and the words are also readable.















Like the second magazine, this magazine also uses yellow as their main colour. This is because it stands out well and grabs the attention of the reader.The main image of the magazine relates to the main feature as it shows a part of student life but something should try to avoid which coincides with the 'student guide'. The footer of the magazine shows the reader what the magazine would include and what type of magazine it actually is. This is important because it can give the reader a quick insight into what the entire magazine is about without having to actually read it.

Pictures

Here are the pictures I took for my college magazine. From these I will choose my front cover.
When taking the pictures I had to think about whether the shot was a medium close-up, the quality of the image (whether it is in focus), whether anything in the background of the image was obstructing the shot.
The pictures I took also had to relate to the articles inside the magazine and the type of magazine I am creating.
Some of these images do not match the brief therefore I will not be able to use them.

 

Framing Images

Image framed to the right.

 Low angle.

 Extreme close up

 Close up.

Image framed to the left.

 Two shot.

 Central Image.

 Medium close up

High angle.

 Long shot.

Photoshop Practise

This is my practice for my college magazine. 
We had to create an image including the Eiffel Tower, a bear, an Astronaut and sand dunes.This was my first time using Photoshop so I had to learn the basics such as how to set up a file and how to save it as a psd. so we didn't loose the files layers. I also learnt how to scale an image (edit-->transform-->scale), this means making it either bigger or smaller and to do this without affecting the quality of the image you can hold down the shift key.
We also used the polygonal lasso tool to cut out the images to place on the background. This took a lot of patience especially with the astronaut as it was quite hard to be accurate and it was also easy to loose what you have already cut out by double clicking. For the bear we had to change the pixels to give it 'feathered' look so it makes it look realistic.
Another thing we looked at was colour manipulation so we learnt how to change the hues and saturation on some of the layers. This would be useful for my college magazine colour as I would have to make sure that the colour balance is accurate enough.

Brief

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