Original Photos for Magazine

My Finished Magazine Pages

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

When i began using Adobe Photo shop i really struggled with the pleminary task and i felt i always needed my tutors help or other students help just for the simplest things such as croping and resizing and moving an image around the page. i feel that from my pelminary task to my main task my skills have improved quite a lot.

For instance i have learnt how to feather the sides of images, this made all my images seem like they fit onto the page and not so harsh against the backgrounds of my front covers especially.

Aswell as feathering i learnt how to use effects such as a blending options, especially with my text and font of my front cover, contents and double page spread. i used a drop shadow mainly for my masthead and my contents page masthead also. they made them stand out more especially against the white background again.

I also learnt how resize images and change the contrast and tones of images using blending options and also using CTRL T for short cut in resizing my image to make it fit right on the pages.

I found out how to use Text wrapping when writing my article for my double page spread made life much easier when insterting pull quotes and making the page neat and organised.

Photo shop made it easier to find the correct type of font to use for my masthead. SCRATCHPUNK was perfect for the effect i was hoping for with my masthead. The layout i found to be alot like other magazines on the same genre so the use of rulers and shapes made this possible.

I used Blogger Google and Flikr to research and annotate many different magazine covers contents pages and DPS.

I used Survey Monkey to help gain my feedback from my audience what should and shouldnt be in my magazine

I had to be attentive to detail so the use of photoshop and its navigator proved most usufull in making sure the tiny details where correct.

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

The programs i used to create my magazine are.
Adobe Photo shop CS4
Flikr
Blogger
A Nikon 8 mega pixel digital camera
a Fuji Film 12 mega pixel camera
and numerous websites to gain information
The technology i used never failed me and the cameras i used really helped capture the grittiness i wished to gain with Joe's photographs, how ever i wished i used an SLR Digital camera because the picture may have came out more sharper and finer, but the use of photo shop help create the perfect amount of contrast and colors. lighting my photos also made the pictures stand out much better against the plain backgrounds also.
However Flikr and Blogger seemed to be temperamental on the college intranet and network i had to use Mozilla Firefox in order to make post and post photos to annotate, but everything was done in sufficient time.
The biggest lessons for me where using photo shop. previously i had no experience, at all. Now i know how to change compositions, edit the photos contrasts colors sizes. the effects of a photo, i know how to manipulate images and layers and create text and how to layout a magazine article using rulers and spacers. using photo shop has mainly been my main struggle in this project but now i know a lot more than i did before.

5.How did you attract/address your audience?

My target audience will be able to relate to the language in my magazine. I feel the use of relaxed swearing, non-standerd and informal english i think someone who enjoys this kind of music(which contains alot of swearing in it anyway) will be able to enjoy the relaxed way how ive written my main story. Joe's interview is a relaxed question and answer way and does contain alot of slang and swearing with it.
I was showing people who would buy this genre of music and they agreed the way my magazine comes across as something they would buy is by my use of relaxed language, graphics, the layout, choice of bands and music and all sort of other things they could relate to. They wanted to read something fun and enjoyable not something that's too uptight and something with too much text. I used pull quotes and a large font to help make it more enjoyable to read.

4.Who would be the audience for your media product?

The woman in the photo above would represent my target audience well. For a start her red and black hair, her choice of clothing and her piercings and tattoo all represent what music taste she has, what movies she likes, what her hobbies are etc.
Shes Female,
Around 18-24 years old
White(American)
She has lifestyle choices which intertwine with her music and hobbies in life.
She is most likely a blue collar worker, so she would be in the grouping of a C1 or D. Maybe a student perhaps.
She would buy her clothes at Band merchandise websites, alternative clothing stores online or a branch in her local area.
She would watch gory horror movies or actions movies
read comic books
go to gigs
buy CD's
have some form of music player, (ipod mp3)
Her music taste includes, heavy metal, Rock n Roll, Punk rock, Death metal anything with a heavy guitar in it.

From the magazine she would most likely purchase clothing and gig tickets. She would read the magazine more for pleasure.

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

For my magazine i would suggest the publishing company IPC.

I feel like NME and other music magazine my product can benefit from having a large company to publish it. for example i would like my magazine to be a nation wide printed magazine i feel there is a large request for a magazine like mine nationwide and as it distributes with W H smith i feel it would be bought more often as well.
However i feel my magazine is quite a rebellious magazine and with a big company i could lose editorial power and feel that the publishing company could take over all of it.
As well as that IPC's rivals Bauer publish Kerrang, a magazine similar to mine so it would be healthy for my magazine to have a competing publication.
IPC can also provide an Internet based magazine to create synergy, this will boost revenue and could also hold more potential advertisement as well.