Preliminary Task

Once I had created my draft copy for my contents page I then went on to make my final draft on Photoshop. Below I have posted the final piece;

 

As you can see I managed to get the background and the masthead the same colour and font as my front cover for the magazine so that it looks more professional and less tacky. I have also used the same colour for the font throughout the page so that it all links together. I have made up some story headlines to do with St Marks to make my page look as realistic as possible. The only change that I made from my draft copy was the font that I used for 'Contents Page’; the reason why I decided to change it is because I wanted to be larger and bolder so that it stands out more to the readers.

 

Preliminary Task

 

Now that I know how I want my contents page to look and I have the photo that I want to use, I was able to draw a draft of it as shown below;

 

 

As you can see I have attempted to draw the photo that I want to use and in the position on the page that I want it to be placed. Similar to the Vogue magazine contents page I then planned to have my main cover stories separate from all the other page numbers so that people can see them easier as they are the most important stories to read. Where I have drawn a wiggly line is where I am planning on writing what you will find on each page although I haven’t planned what story is going on each page yet. I have roughly sketched with a red pencil to show that I was thinking of the colour background that I want. Then finally I have use the same font and colour as I did on my cover page for my masthead and then in bold writing I have wrote 'contents page' underneath so that it is easy for the readers to tell what the page is about.

Preliminary Task

I have decided that I only want to use one photo on my contents page so that there is enough room for text to go without it looking crowded. Similar to the Vogue magazine I am going to have the picture very large so that it is the first thing that the readers look at.

I walked around school looking into different classes and departments hoping that an idea would come to mind on what type of photo I wanted to have on my contents.

Below I have posted the picture that I finally decided to use for my contents page of my magazine;

 

I took this over the shoulder shot of a student playing the piano. I like this photo as I think it looks well planned and acted out. I like that the student has a straight face as it looks as if she is concentrating and really playing the piano. I think the lighting and the angle of this photo is good as everyone will clearly be able to see all details and what the main reason for the photo is. The only disadvantage of this photo is that I have used a plain piece of paper as the music script which doesn’t make it look as professional and realistic as it could. If I was to do this again I would make sure that I used a real music script to make the photo look more effective.

Preliminary Task

As I weren’t sure on how to lay my contents page out I searched on Google to see if I could see a contents page from a professional magazine to influence me.

Below I have attached a photo of a contents page taken from Vogue magazine;

 

I like the look of this contents page as I think it is very eye-catching and easy to find your way around the magazine due to the organised layout and bold heading they have used. As I have mentioned before I think that it is important to have an image on the page of a magazine especially for school students as they help to attached them and therefore are more likely to read the articles.

Preliminary Task

 

As you can see from the brief that I previously posted I am also expected to produce a mock-up of the layout for the contents page for my school magazine. Now that I have finished the front cover I will now start on planning and designing my contents page.

Preliminary Task

 

Once I had planned my draft copy I then went on to create my final piece for my school magazine cover on Photoshop. I had never used Photoshop before so I had a lesson just to focus on how to use the basis tools on the program. Once I played around with random images that I got from Google I started to pick up how to use it. I think it was useful to practise my skills on Photoshop on my preliminary task because I now think that I will be able to make my final music magazine cover to a better standard. Below I have posted a picture of my final piece for my school magazine;

 

As you can see from looking at my final piece I had to make a few changes to how I originally planned it to look on my draft cover. I was able to get the masthead in the correct position and colour that I originally planned as well as the school logo photo that I took myself. I am not too happy with the way that I cut out and removed the logo from the background of the photo, however now I know how to do it I will be able to do it better next time I try. I wasn’t planning on making any changes to my draft copy but when I then tried to create it on Photoshop I found out that I was unable to have it the way I wanted it. This is because I originally planned to have my main image taking up the whole background and then placing the other cover line stories and font on top of it, but I wasn’t able to do this as it was very difficult to see the writing as it blended into the background photo too much. That is why I then changed my plan and added a rectangle at the bottom using the same colour as the red background at the top of the page so that now it is a lot more visible. the same issue happened when I tried to place the cover line photos on top of the main image, so I decided to put a black rectangle behind them to make them stand out against the red background and to make them look more bold. I also added the date to the top of my magazine cover as I forgot to put it on my draft copy. Then the final change that I made was not including the bar code, this is because I realised after doing my draft copy that this magazine should be free for the students to read and take home to their parents so the bar code would be unnecessary.

Although I made changes that I didn’t originally want, I am still happy with the way my magazine cover turned out as I think it looks more professional this way than what it would have done if I copied my draft.

 

Preliminary task

Now that I have taken my photos it will help me to put together a picture in my head of how I want my final piece to look. Below I have attached a photo of my hand drawn draft

 

 

I have attempted to draw the photo of my main image and placed the masthead and logo above it, where I would like them to be on my final piece. I have then put two other boxes around the main image to show where I want other images to be placed with a caption underneath for the cover lines. I have roughly sketched with a red pencil in several parts of my background to show that I have thought about what colour I want my background to be when I come to making it.

Preliminary Task

 

I am planning on having more photos on my front cover than text. This is because the most likely people to read my magazine are going to be the students themself. The reason why I chose to have more photos than text is because students are more likely to get attracted to images as they are easier and more eye-catching for them rather than a big block of text.

Yesterday I went round school to take potential photos for my school magazine cover. I had a rough idea of the type of images that I wanted to use so I was able to get most of the pictures the way I pictured and planned them in my head. However some of the photos that I took were not thought through a lot and because of this you are able to tell by the quality of the photo. Below I have posted all of the photos that I took;

 

The first photo that I took was of a student using a computer; I thought that this image would work well on my front cover as it is realistic. I like this photo as it is simple and easy to understand what the student is doing and therefore obvious to the reader that there is going to be an article about information technology inside. As the image is very simple it will also be easier for me to make up a story for my cover line.

The next photo that I took was of another student in the common room. I am not planning on using this image on my magazine cover as I don’t think that it represents the school very well. The reasons why I think this is because;

· the student isn’t dressed very smartly which goes against the dress code of St Marks's

· in the background there is another student wearing a grey hoodie which also doesn’t create a very good image for the school

· There are pieces of paper scattered over the floor in the background which makes the school look untidy and may influences younger student to litter around the school as the sixth formers do it and are seen as the role models for the younger pupils

· I also think that the lighting is not very good as you can hardly see the student’s facial features due to the bright light reflecting onto her.

 
 

This image is of a smartly dressed teacher working at her desk. I like this photo as it is very realistic due to her surroundings such as the computer and all of the folders on her desk filled with paper work. The teacher is also smiling which helps to suggest that the staff at St Marks are all friendly and helpful and therefore creates a good image for the school.

I took this photo of the St Mark's logo as I planned on inserting the logo onto my magazine cover. I will add this photo onto my cover page as I wanted to make sure that all of the images seen on my magazine were mine rather than getting the logo from the internet. I am planning on cutting around the outline of the logo so that you are unable to seen the wall in the background as it will help to make my magazine more realistic.

I took this action shot of a member of staff at reception taking a phone call. I wanted to get this image as it would help to show that the staff are helpful and there to take down any notices and quires that students/parents have. However I  don’t want to use this image on my magazine as I don’t think the picture is close enough for everyone to see what see is doing, especially as she is holding the phone to the ear furthest away from the camera. Another reason why I am not planning on using this image is because you can slightly see my reflection in the photo as I took the photo through a glass window. This makes the photo not look a very good quality and it also doesn’t look planned and very well though through.
 

I took this photo of a student in the food tech department of the school. I am planning on using this image as I think it looks like a real action shot as she is wearing an apron and is also using cooking equipment. I also think that this photo is good to have on the front of the school magazine because it shows that there are a variety of fun subjects and the student is also smiling which helps to suggest this. The only thing that I dislike about this photo is that there are no other students in the background cooking and therefore may not look as realistic, however I am planning on cropping the background out of this photo so that people only focus on the main purpose of the picture.

 

This is my favourite picture that I took yesterday. I like this photo as it looks like a real action shot and also creates a good reputation for the school. I think this because there is a sixth form student taking part in paired reading with a year 7 student. This may help to show that all students are helpful and friendly. I also like the colours of this picture as they are bright and also the colours of St Mark's logo and uniform. As this is my favourite image I am going to use this as my main picture to appear on my magazine cover.

 
 
 
 
 
 



Preliminary Task

Preliminary Task

  

For my preliminary task I have been asked to create a front cover and a contents page for a school/college magazine. I have decided that I am going to focus my magazine on my own school, St Mark's. I am going to focus my preliminary task on my own school as I believe that it will help to make my magazine look more realistic, as I will be able to get ideas and take photos of students in a school environment during school hours.

AS Media Studies- Foundation Production- Brief

AS Media Studies- Foundation Production- Brief

Preliminary Exercise

Produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in a medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally candidates must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page and demonstrate their grasp of the program.

Main Task

Produce the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. All images and text used must be original, produced by the candidate, and minimum of FOUR images per candidate.

Name: Reah Norris

Candidate Number: 8391