1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of music magazines)

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

3 What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

4 Who would be the audience for your media product?

5 How did you attract/address your audience?

6 What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

7 Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

After conducting research into designing and creating a magazine I have learnt a variety of ways in which they are made. This includes using the F/E or Z layout to make the magazine comfortable for the audience to read and look at. I also found out that the most common colour scheme for magazines it red, white and black. I also found out in my research that masthead's are large, bold and also represent the genre of the magazine; Kerrang! has a cracked masthead which represents the iconology of it being messy. I also discovered that the register of magazine's are very low depending on their audience, they usually contain layers of taboo and colloquilisms.

When photographing my magazine, I tested camera angles with my test models who were the same height as my real models which meant I could get the right angle with ease. I experimented by using steps to but the taller model at the bottom of the steps, the shorter model halfway up the steps and then I'd stand at the top to get my desired high angle shot. However I did experiment with chairs and tables to get height but they weren't as accurate as using steps. I also learnt how to set up the Canon EOS 40D's exposure settings. I already had a good knowledge of shutterspeed, aperture, ISO, lighting and exposure however I had never operated a Canon before there I learnt how to set that up. The problem I had is I set the ISO so it wasn't very sensitive to light which resulted in 'noise' to be shown on parts of the picture which meant I had to sort that out on Photoshop.

When using Adobe Photoshop Elements I learnt that it is not the best version of Photoshop to use when creating a magazine. This is mainly due to the fact that it does not have a 'justify' option which puts the text into columns. Alternativly, I had Adobe Photoshop CS2 at my house which offered all of the features I needed to make my magazine. When using Photoshop, I learnt that it is hard to adjust the composition of the models to make the magazine look proffesional. I struggled trying to adjust the mise-en-scene. This is due to my drawings which weren't drawn well enough to show how large the models should be. I learnt that the best shot to use on models for the front cover is midshot however mine was slightly longer than that so I could fit my props in the picture. However this resulted in there being a gap in the middle of the page which was evident in my draft front cover. To fix this problem I inserted text to fill the gap and make the magazine seem more appealing to the audience. I also struggled to correct the proportions of the photograph in my double page spread. This is because I took the shot as a landscape shot however I had to fit it on one portrait A4 page.

      

This is the draft front cover (left) and shows the gap inbetween the models. 

(below) is the final cover and shows how I filled in the gap.

Double Page Spread - Finished

Contents - Final

Final Cover

Contents Page - Almost finished

Double Page Spread - Almost Finished

Cover- Almost Finished

Official Photo Shoot - 7th March 2012 - 15:20

I have arranged to photograph my models on the 7th March at 15:20. This is convenient because it is after college hours so there would not be any time limitations, apart from the college's closure but it gives us plenty of time to do the shoot. I will do the shoot in college in the same place I did my test shots. This is because the steps allow me to balance the model's height difference and get my desired high angle shot. The problem with this setting is the background is not one colour however I can remove the background using Adobe Photoshop Cs2.

I will also use the white pull-down screen for the projector in my media room as it acts as a good white background for the close up shots.

I have brought in my desired props for the shoot. This includes my red and white electric guitar, top hat, microphone (which would be borrowed from the music department) and a tray for the microphone. The use of these props are shown in my original drawings. [Click here]

Further Improvements

Double Page Spread

• Change page numbers to 44-45 ensuring odd number is on the right hand side page
• Make text smaller 
• Insert new lines after each quote 
• Change picture to proper picture with models  

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Front Cover

• Make background pathway seem more like a pathway
• "ELECTRIFF" needs to be bigger (cover the majority of the page) and lowered slightly
• "The journey continues" slightly smaller underneith "ELECTRIFF"
• Bottom information needs to be smaller OR displayed down right hand side + repetition of ELECTRIFF is unneccessary.
• Change picture to proper picture with models

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Contents

• Change picture to proper picture with models

Draft Contents 3

Double Page Spread - Almost Finished

New Double Page Spread Photo Test

This is the re-creation of The White Stripes photograph that I designed in my drawn mock DPS. This is just a test shot, I will use the proper models for the final DPS. I used a VGA cable to connect the camera to the television so I could see the camera picture live on the television screen which was positioned directly infront of me.
Inspired by...

Cover - Almost Finished