Foundation Portfolio Brief

Main Brief

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

Here are a few examples of what I would like my final products to look like:

Front Cover

Contents Page

Double Page Spread

Finished Products

Finished Products

Here is my finished front cover and mock up contents page; 

Front Cover

Mock Up Contents Page

Evaluation

Evaluation

What have you learnt from completing this task?

While undergoing this task I have learnt about many different conventions and why they are important, I have also learnt what 'LIIAR' means which will be helpful for whenever I am creating a magazine as I will think about all the different meanings. Before this task I only knew a small amount about Photoshop but now I know a lot more and I am able to edit a photograph and also add text to it. I have also learnt that there is a lot of preparation that goes behind a magazine as you have to plan it beforehand. For example, you have to think of a house colour, feature stories and you even have to think about what is going to be in the image, where it is going to be and also how the model should be interacting with the camera. I have also learnt what all the different camera angles mean because before I would have thought there isn't much difference between a Extreme close up and a close up, I would have just thought that one is closer to the face than the other, but now I realize that there is a lot more to it than just that. I have also learnt about the two different fonts, 'Serif' and 'Sam's Serif'.

How have you used technology?

During this task I have used many different pieces of equipment, I have used a camera, a phone and a computer. Without all these pieces of technology I would not have been able to create this magazine cover. Firstly, I used my own phone to take photos of different camera angles so that I was able to explain what each different one meant and why they would be used. Secondly, I used a camera so that I was able to take photographs for my front cover and also I needed some photos that I would be able to analyse and say why they were good and why they weren't. Next, I used a computer so that I was able to edit photos and use Photoshop to add text to my image, a computer was also used so that I was able to get onto my blog and post all the different pieces of work I had done. Using a computer was also useful because I was able to look at different magazines to get ideas to how I should make my magazine look. 

What conventions have you used and why?

I have used a variety of different conventions when making my magazine cover. All of the conventions I have used are; a Mast Head, a Price, a Barcode, Feature Stories, a Skyline, a Footer, a Main Image, a Plug, a Main Feature and I also created a Strapline (including the date, issue number and website address)

I have used a Mast Head because it is what a reader will always be able to relate back to,when someone talks about a magazine they will have to be able to say the name of the magazine otherwise other people won't know what they are talking about. I also had to make the Mast Head bold and I had to make it stand out so that it would attract people. The price and barcode were both used because they would both allow a person to buy the magazine, if there was so price or barcode than the person wouldn't be able to buy it because the person at the counter won't know how much it would be so they wouldn't be able to sell it to them. The features stories have been used because they give the reader of the magazine an in site of what is going to be inside so they will be able to decide if they like the magazine or not. I tried to make the titles of the feature stories short and seem interesting so that people would actually want to buy the magazine.

The main image was one of the most important conventions, this is because it will be the main thing that people look at when they see the magazine and so it has to be big and has to be related to the magazine because if it isn't then people will look at the image and pick it up because it may look interesting and then they read the feature stories and realize that there is nothing related to the image so they don't get the magazine. Another convention I used was a plug, this was good to use because I was able to put a tag in it which would engage readers and so they would look at the magazine, also I used the plug to say that there was free things inside the magazine which means that people may buy it because there is a free revision guide inside. Lastly, I also used a strapline, I used this because it allowed me to show the date and the issue number of the magazine, the strapline shouldn't be used to show lots of information it should only be used to tell the person a little information about the magazine and the gave information about how to contact the magazine agency.

LIIAR Analysis

While doing this task I had to stick to the idea of LIIAR as this would help me figure out what needed to be on my magazine and what didn't. Firstly, the L stands for Media Language, when creating my magazine I had to plan out photos, colours, props, locations and many other things. When deciding what type of photos I wanted I had to look at a variety of different types so I would be able to compare different camera angles so that I would end up with the perfect one. The colours were also important as I had to make sure that the colours I wanted to use would go well with the type of magazine I was creating. 

The next letter stands for Institution, the institution for my magazine is the college that is trying to sell the magazine. I am the producer of the college magazine but the institution is the college. When a magazine is created it should always have a message that needs to be put across, the magazine that I have created should try to make the audience want to come to the college that I have advertised and it should also make them see that the college makes people happy.

The next I in LIIAR stands for Ideology. When planning my magazine cover I wanted it to show that education was good and I wanted other people to believe that too, I do think that I put that message across. This can be seen because again the student is happy and we can see that because the Medium Close Up image allows the reader to see the details on the students face and they can see their expressions. I also wanted the magazine to show that students should be happy when they are working at college because it is a fun and interesting experience. 

The next letter is A which stand for Audience. The target audience for my magazine are students that are hoping to go to college or that are already at college. Different college magazines can be targeted at different people, some are targeted at parents so that they will be able to see if the college would be good for their child and other magazines are targeted at the students. I have made my magazine targeted at the students because I want them to be able to read it and see how good it is themselves without their parents saying what it is like and they should be allowed to make their own decisions to see if they like the college or not, If they do hopefully they would go to that college, if they don't then they wouldn't have to go. 

The last letter is R, this stand for Representation. On my magazine cover I have used an image of a student smiling and holding their folders, this shows that the student enjoys college and their work as they are smiling. Also, they are holding folders which shows that they work hard and are dedicated to their work. I also made the student look directly at the camera which meant that they would engage the audience because they are looking directly at them so they want to get them involved.    

     

What would you change if you were to do this task again?

I think I wouldn't change that much if I did this task again,but I may change a few things. Some of those things may be, getting someone else other than me to model my cover so that I can get the photos the way I want them, I was able to use Photoshop well but I would have liked to have learned a little more about it and how to use all the tools that you may not use, but for this I could have looked on YouTube if there was anything major that I needed to know. Another thing I would probably change would be looking at different colour schemes, I feel as if I didn't spend enough time looking at different colour schemes and that I may have had a better looking end product if I spent more time on that. Overall, I think there wouldn't be much that I would change as I think I have worked well and have done all the things that I have wanted to do.

          

Creating / Designing Product

Creating / Designing Product

When creating my magazine cover I had to make sure that I had as many conventions as possible.I was able to practice on Photoshop before I had to create my real cover which meant that I knew how to use most of the tools and that I was confident to use the software. When creating my final cover I didn't always stick to my plans as it was hard to because sometimes I wanted to change things, so my final cover doesn't look exactly like my plan. However, I still think it looks similar and I think I have stuck to my plan as much as I could. Here is how I had created my final magazine cover;

Firstly, I had to open up 'Adobe Photoshop CS6' and when I had created a new page, I had to open up a photo and to do this I had to click on 'File' then 'Open' and then I had to choose the image I wanted from my documents. When I had found the photo I wanted to use I clicked on it and then this appeared on my screen;  

   

Secondly, when this image appeared I then wanted to crop it as it wasn't really a medium close up but it was close to one. So to do this I had to click on the crop tool on the tool bar on the left hand side and then I was able to get rid of any parts of the photo that I wanted to. Here is what the image looked like when I had cropped it;

Next, when I finally moved my image onto a blank page I then wanted to get rid of the background so that I could put a different background in (the new background I put in was the same as the background from the original photo but I just want to be able to show that I know how to get rid of a background and replace it with a new one). To get rid of the background I had to click on the fourth tool on the tool bar on the left hand side so that I would be able to draw around the part of the image I wanted, I then drew around the part that I wanted and then deleted the background. When doing this I also had to zoom in on my image to make sure that I had got rid of every part of the background on the image. Plus, I made a duplicate of this image when I had finished editing it so that if I made a big mistake I would be able to start from before I made that mistake. This is what my image looked like when I had done that;

Furthermore, when I got the part of the image I wanted on it's own I then needed to add a background to it and to do this I had to click on 'File' then 'Open' and then I had to choose the image I wanted from my documents. Once I clicked on the image I wanted, it then appeared on my screen and I then had to drag it to the document I wanted and when this had happened I then put my background layer behind my main image layer and then this is what appeared on my screen;  

On top of that, I then wanted to add my Mast Head and to do this I had to click on the text tool on the tool bar on the left hand side and I then had to write the Mast Head that I wanted. I was also able to change the font and size of the image so that it would look the way I wanted it to look. Also, to edit the title I clicked on 'Layer' then 'Layer Style' and then I was able to choose different effects, the effects I chose for the Mast Head were 'Contour', 'Inner Glow' and 'Drop Shadow'. Using these made the Mast Head stand out more so people would be able to see it more easily. Here is what it looked like when I had put it on; 

When I had created my Mast Head I then wanted to make my feature stories, again to do this I had to click on the text tool and then I had to draw a box so that I was able to put text in. I made all the titles of the story the same colour, font and also size (except from the quote because I wanted to create a 'Pull Quote' which is an enlarged quote). All of these titles have the same effects which are 'Drop Shadow' and 'Stroke'. I used these so that they would be easier to see on the cover. The stories under each title all are the same colour, size and all have the same font, they also all have the same effects which are 'Drop Shadow', 'Stroke' and 'Inner Glow'. Here is what my cover looked like when I had done this; 

After, I then wanted to create a skyline and again to do this I had to click on the text tool and then draw a text box and then I was able to write the text I wanted into it. I was also able to change the font, colour and size of the text. I only used one effect on this text and that was 'Outer Glow'. I used this effect because it made the text easier to read so that people would be able to see it. This is what my cover looked like when I had done that;

I then wanted to add a strapline that would have the date, issue number and website on. Again, to do this I had to click on the text tool, draw a text box and write in the text I wanted. The effects I used on these pieces of text was 'Gradient Overlay' and 'Outer Glow'. I used these because they made the text stand out and also they changed the colour a bit so it looked different from the other text so that people would see it. Here is what my cover looked like when I had done that; 

After I had created my strapline I then wanted to create a footer and to do this I had to click on the text tool, then I had to draw a text box and write in the text that I wanted. I used two different effects on my footer and they were 'Inner Glow' and 'Outer Glow'. I used these because it made it easier to see the footer because if there were no effects then you wouldn't be able to see the text very well. This is what my cover looked like what I had added my footer;

Now that my cover is actually looking like a magazine cover I needed to add a barcode to it so that people would be able to purchase it. To do this I had to find an image of a barcode online and then I had to save the image. Once I had done that I then had to go back onto Photoshop and click on 'File' then 'Open' and then I had to find the image of the barcode that I got online. Once I had done that I then put the image of the barcode in the bottom right hand corner of the cover. Here is what my cover looked like once I had done that;

After that I then had to add the price of the magazine so that people would know how much it would cost. When doing this I firstly created a rectangular shape, that I was able to get from the tool bar on the left hand side and I made this shape the same colour as my Mast Head, I then moved the shape next to my barcode. Once I had done that, I then wanted to add the price so to do this I had to click on the text tool and then I was able to type out the price that I wanted the magazine to be. I then rotated the text and put it on top of the shape which was next to the barcode. Here is what it looked like when I had done that;

Lastly, I then needed to add my plug and to do this I had to click on the shapes on the tool bar on the left hand side and then I was able to choose from a variety of different shapes. When I had chosen my shape I was then able to change the colour and also the colour of the outer line. I then had to add text to the plug and to do this I had to click on the text tool and then I was able to write the text I wanted. Here is what my cover looked like when I had done this;

When I finished my cover I realized that there were quite a few things that had changed since I did my plan. For example, The plug is in a different place and it is also a different shape, my house colour has changed, originally I was planning to do Black, Blue and Orange but I did Purple, Light Orange and White instead. Overall, I think my cover turned out well and although it isn't exactly like my plan it is very similar to it. 

Photographs For Front Cover

Photographs For Front Cover

When I was taking photographs for my actual front cover I ended up with some photos that would be useful and others that wouldn't. I wanted my main image to be a medium close up so I had to put the camera in different positions to make sure that I had taken the right photo I wanted. Some of the images I took were not medium close up so here I am going to show some examples of the images that I got that i'm not going to use and the also the actual image that I am going to use on my front cover.

Firstly, I am going to show the images that I had taken but they weren't quite right so I had to take more until I got the right one;

Photo's not being used

       

This image is very close to a medium close up but it is just above the chest so it isn't quite medium close up. Other than that this photo is very good because the student is looking directly at the camera and is smiling, they are also holding folders which is related to college and they are also standing in front of a college. 

                                                                                 
                                                                         
This image would not be useful for the front cover of my magazine as it is hard to see the persons face as their folder is in front it. I also originally wanted the student to be smiling at the camera and in this photo you can't see that the student is smiling. Moreover, it also looks like the student wasn't ready for the photo so it doesn't look good or professional.

This image would not be suitable for the front cover of my magazine as it is a long shot and not a medium close up. I mainly want a medium close up because it shows more detail and if someone picked up my magazine with a medium close up on the cover and looked at it, they would be able to see the emotion that the student is feeling. 

This image has quite a few problems with it. Firstly, the camera is not straight which would tell the person who looks at the magazine that the photographer was't good and it doesn't look very professional. Also, the student in the image isn't really looking directly at the camera as they seem to be laughing so their head is slightly tilting upwards. Another problem is also that this is not a medium close up so it would not be useful for my magazine cover. 








                 



This image is very close to a medium close up but it is just shows a little more of the body below the chest. Another problem is that the student in it is not smiling so it looks like they are not enjoying college which means when someone picks up the magazine and looks at the image they will think the magazine will be boring because the main person on it isn't even happy.

This image looks good because it is almost a medium close up and the student again is standing in front of college, they are holding equipment that students would have in college and they are also smiling. The only problem is that the student isn't looking at the camera which means there is no direct mode of address so when someone looks at the image they won't feel engaged as the student is looking in a completely different direction.

This image would be extremely bad for a magazine cover because you can barley see any of the features of the student, all you can see is their head, this could be useful for other things because it shows they are smiling and they are happy, but because this is going on the cover of a magazine it is not good as it is not a medium close up.

This image is similar to the previous one because it only shows one part of the body, this time it only shows the bottom half of the student which means we can't see if the student is smiling or even looking at the camera. Without having the face in the image means that the person looking at the magazine won't know if this magazine will be positive or negative about college.

This image isn't bad because it is a medium close up and the student is looking at the camera and smiling so it engages the audience. The only problem is that the background is not college related and it is hard to see the folders in the image so if this image was put onto a magazine it wouldn't even look like a college magazine.









The main photo I am going to use

This image would be perfect to use as my front cover because the student is smiling, they are holding folders which relates to college and they are also standing in front of a college. The only problem is that you can see more of the body than just the chest upwards but to solve this problem I am going to crop the image so it just shows the chest upwards when I actually create my magazine cover. 






Background Images

This image has been used as my background for all the other photos I have taken, but I think this is a very good background because it is a college and the whole magazine is evolved around college so it fits in well with my magazine.

This image would also be useful as a background as it again is related to a college as it is a photo of a reception in a college. The only thing that could be a problem in this image is the people, this could distract people when they look at the magazine, but it could also make the image look better as it shows that people are always around in college.

This would be a very useful image to use as it is a library in a college so it again is college related. Also, it shows that people are working in the background, so it looks like everyone is very productive which makes the reader of the magazine see that people at college work hard and do what they are supposed to do. 

This image would also be suitable as it is a hallway in a college. The only problem that could be seen with this is that there is no one else in the image so the hallway looks quite dead which may show the reader of the magazine that people are never around at college and it is always really quiet. 

Basics Of Photoshop

Basics Of Photoshop

For this task I will be using Photoshop regularly, so I have had to practice using it and designing a practice magazine cover. To make this cover I used Adobe Photoshop CS6. On this cover I have tried to use as many different conventions as I could. I have also taken some feature story ideas from my actual magazine cover as I ran out of ideas to use. I didn't want to use too many techniques as I didn't want my practice cover to end up looking better than my actual cover.

Firstly, When I opened up Photoshop I had to add an image and to do this I had to click on 'File' then 'Open' and finally 'Image'. This then took me to all my computer documents and I then had to find the image I wanted to put on the cover of the magazine. When I had finished that, this then appeared on my screen;

Secondly, I then wanted to remove the background from the image and to do this I had to select the fourth icon down on the tool bar on the left hand side and then I had to select which parts I wanted to remove. When all the parts were removed I then made a duplicate of the new image just in case I made any mistakes When I had finished that, my image looked like this;

Next, I then wanted to create a background (originally I was going to put an image in the background but then changed my mind and wanted to just put a coloured background) and to put colour on the background, I had to click on the background layer, then click on the colour box on the toolbar on the left hand side and then selected a colour and then click on the background and it turned the  colour I chose. The colour I chose was blue. Here is what it looked like; 

Furthermore, I then wanted to add a mast head that read 'Study World'. To do this I had to click on the text tool on the tool bar on the left hand side and then I had to draw a text box and then I was able to add the text I wanted into it. I was able to change the size of the text and also the font that it was. I also wanted to move the text layer underneath by moving the text layer box underneath the main image layer box on the right hand side. Here is what it looked like when I had added it;

Moreover, I also wanted to add a strapline which I wanted to be the date and an issue number. Again, to do this I had to click on the text tool on the tool bar on the left hand side, I then had to draw a text box and then I was able to write the date and issue number in it. Again, I was able to change the size of the text and the font of the text. Here is what it looked like when I had done that;

After that I then wanted to make a skyline which would say 'THE UK'S NO.1 COLLEGE MAGAZINE'. To do this I had to click on the text tool on the tool bar on the left hand side and draw a text box and again I added the text I wanted into it. This is what my cover looked like after I had done that;

On top of that, I also wanted to add a website address onto the strapline and again to do this I had to go onto the text tool and write out the website address that I wanted and then I was able to change it to be the same size and colour as the date and issue number. This is what it looked like when I had done that;

When most of the top half of the cover had been made I wanted to add some feature stories. Some of the feature stories I used will have the same title as my actual cover because I had ran out of ideas and couldn't think of anymore feature stories. To create feature stories I had to click on the text tool on the tool bar on the left hand side and had to draw a text box and then write the stories. I gave the titles of the stories a different font, size and colour to the rest of the text on the feature story. This because it would allow the reader to see the title as it would stand out and then they would want to read on. Here is what my cover looked like when I had done this;

After that I then wanted to add a footer that would say 'INCLUDES A FREE PENCIL CASE'. To do this I had to click on the text tool on the tool bar on the left hand side and then draw a text box which allowed me to add text to. I was then able to make the colour the same as the text in the skyline and I was able to change the font so that it looked different from all the other pieces of text. Here is what my cover looked like when I had put the footer on; 

Next, to make this magazine actually look like a magazine I had to add a barcode. To do this I had to find an image of a barcode online and I then I had to save it, I then clicked on 'File' then 'Insert' and I was then able to insert an image of a barcode which I could place anywhere. When I had put the barcode on this is what my cover looked like;

As my cover is now beginning to look more like a magazine cover, I wanted to add a plug. To do this I had to click on the shapes on the tool bar on the left hand side and I selected the 'circle' shape and I then drew the circle and made it the size I wanted it to be. I then wanted to add some text into it (I also wanted to involve a tag) and to do this I again clicked on the text tool on the tool bar on the left hand side, then drew a text box and wrote the text I wanted inside of it. I wanted the tag to be in a bigger font than the rest of the text so that it would stand out. Here is what it looked like when I had done that;

I then had to put the price of the magazine onto the cover and again to do this I had to click on the text tool on the tool bar and then I was able to write the text and also change the size, font and colour. I also changed the mast head a bit and I did this by clicking on the 'layers box' then 'layer style' and then I changed the shadow on the mast head by selecting 'Inner Shadow' and 'Inner Glow'. This is what my magazine looked like when I had added the price to it;

Lastly, when I had finished my magazine I then saved it as a JPEG so that I would be able to post it on my blog and here it finally is;

While creating this practice magazine I have learnt how different layers work and how you can change texts to make them have a shadow or to make them fade a bit. This practice has been very helpful and I find that it is going to make it easier for me to create my real magazine front cover.