School Magazine Front Cover - Mock up

Once I had decided on the colour scheme and had a rough image in my head of what I might include, I could finally bring my ideas together to create the final page. To begin with, I created a mock cover page to get all of my ideas onto paper for a practice magazine. On the mock page I placed the idea of my masthead, a temporary image to show where my photography would go and some idea sell lines. This enabled my classmates to peer asses my work and give me any ideas of how I could improve my ideas before I created the final design. This is the mock cover that I created:

 

I created a clear masthead, sell lines that are easily identified and a main image all of which appealed to my female target audience.

Starting The Magazine

I have now started to create my cover for the school magazine. To begin with, I debated with myself whether to choose a colour scheme of pink, green and white, or, pink, purple and blue. I wanted to make my magazine appeal to the female target audience however I still wanted the colours to look professional and not too bright or tacky. I received feedback from other classmates and decided that the pink, green and white colour scheme was the preferred idea as the colours are not too overpowering but still appeal to the target audience.

The next task for me to complete was to start thinking of my masthead and what colour, font and size I wanted it to be. I knew that the masthead is one of the key representations of the magazine which stays consistent throughout each issue and therefore has to appeal to the audience and also be a statement. I finally decided that I was going to have a bold masthead as it is eye catching and would draw the audience in but it would also be pink as that fits in with the colour scheme and therefore appeals to the audience. I also to put 'magazine' under the masthead to make it look official but also have it in fancier writing to show the feminine side of the magazine as well as the bold side. This is the masthead I decided on:

Photography Practice

As we had learnt all about photography and how images portray meanings, we also learnt about framing an image. We learnt that when taking an image, we should imagine that it is split into a grid containing 9 squares. We learnt that we should always try and get the model in the centre of the grid to show clearly who or what the meaning of the image is. This helped us then to go on and take our own images of all the different shot sizes and angles that we have learnt about, also using the grid supplied on the iPad camera. By trying out photography myself and trying to get a perfect image of all the shot sizes and angles, I realised how difficult it is from the photographers point of view to show a clear motivation or meaning of a camera just by positioning the model. This photography exercise gave me some photography experience and something to think about and consider when taking my own photos for my magazine. Here the images we captured of all the different shot angles and sizes:

Preparation For Preliminary Task

We have now started to prepare our preliminary task which is to create the front cover and contents page for a school magazine. I now feel prepared to do this task as we have spent lessons analysing and annotating many different types of magazines and also looked into photography too.
I have decided that my target audience for my magazine will be year 11 girls going into year 12 to give them advice and tips about starting sixth form and deciding on their future. I chose to do this age group and genre because I am the same age therefore I have an idea as to what the colour scheme and images should be like. As well as this, I thought it was a good Idea to make it for people going into sixth form as it is a big step to take and is a topic that people of that age will put a lot of thought into.
I decided to name my magazine 'Future' as it is short so it will stay in people's minds as it is easy to remember, but it is also relevant with the theme of the magazine considering the transition of the audience and the 'future' aspirations of students.
I will have to be careful with my photography skills and editing skills when it comes to creating the magazine to make sure that it appeals to my target audience but also continues to look professional too.

Shot Types

We also learnt that there are different types of photographs you can take, as well as the shot sizes and angles. We learnt that there are 3 main types of image which are:

Posed - This is when the person in the photo knows it is being taken of them and they are posed and ready for it
Action - An action shot is where the person is aware the photo is being taken but are taking part in something making it an action shot
Grabbed - This is where the person in the image is not aware the photo is being taken of them, this could be a paparazzi image for example

All 3 of these images can be used in magazines as they all portray different meanings. Posed images can be used, for example, on fashion or beauty magazines as the audience would aspire to be like that model and that would be a key reason why the target audience may want to buy the magazine.

 

Action images, for example, can be used for magazines that include tutorials such as knitting magazines. The image shows how something can be done that the audience may want to do making them want to buy the magazine.

 



Grabbed images, for example, can be used on teenage magazines to represent the care-free and crazy characters that that specific age group are. It can be used in a variety of magazines to portray a 'good time' vibe which again would make people want to buy the magazine.

 

 

 



Shot Angles

As well as shot sizes being important when capturing images, shot angles are too. We have learnt so far that there are 6 different shot angles that you can use when taking a photo for a magazine. These angles can also have an affect on the overall meaning of the photo. The shot angles are:
Low - camera is positioned at a low angle looking up
Eye-level - camera is positioned at the same level as the face
High - camera is positioned from above the face looking down
Worm's eye - camera is positioned at the floor looking straight up
Bird's eye - camera is positioned right above the person looking straight down
Canted - camera is positioned so it is slanted and not a usual straight image

Each angle has a different affect on the audience and what they absorb from the image. For example, a low angles shot is looking up at the model suggesting that they are inferior to the audience as they are looking down, however, and high angle shot is the opposite and suggests the model is inferior and we as the audience are superior for looking down on them, this example can be used in a chase or fight scene to make one character look like they have more power or strength than the other.

Shot Sizes

We then looked into more detail of the photography which plays a main part when creating a cover of magazines. I have learnt that when capturing a picture of someone, you need to make sure that the image has a clear motivation and this means that distance is a key aspect which needs to be considered. Different sizes of shots has a large impact on the motivation of the image. For example, and extra long shot is an image of someone far away. We are able to see the whole length of the person and the scenery too which shows the meaning could be linked in with where the photo is taken and not just the person in it. On the other hand, if the image was an extra close up, that would just be of the face and nothing else. This shows that the meaning behind the photo is based on the person and the facial expressions they are showing.
When we learnt about these shots I considered what shot I was going to use on my school magazine and decided on a medium close up as that is the most popular in magazine front covers and is also close but not too close to see only the face.
Shot sizes:
XLS - extra long shot (can see the full body further away and scenery)
LS - long shot (can see the full body and some of scenery)
MLS - medium long shot (can see the full body)
MS - medium shot (can see half of the body)
MCU - medium close up (can see from the chest upwards)
CU - close up (can see no more than the head and shoulders)
BCU - big close up (can see no more than the face and hair)
XCU - extra close up (can see no more than the facial features)

Key Terms

As we were studying covers of issues, we also came across many key words which make up the magazine:
Masthead - The main title or name of the magazine, this is consistent for every issue
Skyline - A strip of information at the top of the magazine, can include the slogan or what the magazine is about
Slogan - A small but catchy piece of text to fit in with the theme of the magazine
Anchorage text - The text next to, or on top of the main image supporting it and giving an idea of what it is about
Byline - Small amount of information, can show who has made the magazine
Strapline - Another strip of information, also known as the skyline
Main image - Large image on the cover of the magazine, it is usually the centre and helps the magazine to be sold
Medium close up - Most popular size shot when it comes to magazine covers, shows no more than face and shoulders
Sell lines - Small amount of information on the cover of the magazine saying what is inside making the audience want to buy it
Direct address - Direct address to the audience drawing them in through text (E.g- "How to make you look beautiful") or through eye contact of an image
Colour scheme/pallet - Main colours used on the magazine, usually stereotypical of the target audience due to age, gender or theme

I will consider these key terms when creating my magazines and ensure that I have used most, if not, all of these features.

Key Conventions

We started this course by focusing on magazines, what they include and what effect this has on the audience. We began by looking at a range of magazine front covers and analysing them. I have learnt that every magazine made has a specific target audience which they consider when producing and creating each issue. The target audiences are always thought about whilst creating the codes and conventions of a magazine. Some of these codes and conventions are mastheads, sell lines and colour schemes. For example, if the target audience of a magazine is young boys, the colour scheme would not consist of pinks and purples but primary, darker colours. I have found that target audiences are important when creating a magazine because the audience are the people who are interested in it and who will buy it, therefore, without one the magazine will not be successful. This means that it is important that the product appeals to the specific target audience.

Example: Target audience - young girls aged 8-13
Here there is a pink bubbly masthead which attracts the target audience as it is big and eye catching and is stereotypically girly.
There is a pink, white, purple and yellow colour scheme. Again, this is very stereotypical to appeal to young girls as these are the colours that come to mind when you think of their age group.
There are many sell lines on the cover of this magazine such as "fashion A to Z" and "Who is Justin Bieber's new BF?" Both of these sell lines appeal to the target audience as they have used topics that young girls are interested in such as fashion and boys.
They have used a MSL (Medium Long Shot) for the main image of this magazine, this appeals to the target audience as you can see the clothing and style of the main celebrity as that is what young girls want to see. There is also direct address from the celebrity which draws in the audience as she is looking straight at them.

Introduction

This is my portfolio blog where I will be consistently posting my school work and homework with what I have done so far showing my improvements and developments that will contribute to the final task.