Development of my magazine cover

Dev from Emma Marsden-Hill

"Rejected" Products

These two were 'rejected' as during peer assessment it was determined that the colours looked too brown and mundane and therefore was developed into a lighter, more feminine pink

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Who would be the audience for your media product?

How did you attract/address your audience?

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

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

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

Throughout the project I have used a variety of equipment and programs in order to create my magazine cover, above is a variety of tools that enabled me to create my product.

1. This is my camera (Sony a330), which was used to capture all of the images for each product. I used a portrait lens to create crisp photographs and to heighten the quality. From using a DSLR, as opposed to a point and shoot, I have learnt that increased quality can be attained via the use of a DSLR; this was further implied via the use of the portrait lens.

2a. This is the tripod I used for some of my photographs; this was used in order to prevent blur of the photograph whilst it was being taken. I wanted my photographs to possess the highest quality, as in the industry the slightest flaw could be detrimental to the overall feel of the magazine. Using the tripod made me come to a realisation of its importance- how definite rising of quality can be possessed simply by the use of a stabiliser (the tripod). 

2b. This was one of three of my own light-heads I used in order to create 3 point lighting. They all used tripods to stablise them; I used a wireless sync in order for the light-heads to expose at the same time as the shutter. In order to attain good quality, I had to set my camera to complete manual mode and constantly adjust both the shutter speed and aperture in order for the exact amount of light to enter the camera to create a perfectly lit photograph. Using light-heads, especially in the 3-point layout has taught me the importance of lighting, and how different uses can lead to different moods/visuals.

2c. This was one of many light adjustments to create different moods for the photograph. In the image above it denotes a silver umbrella in which softens the light as opposed to direct use of the light head, yet still creates a slightly harsher light. However, within my photoshoot I also experimented with soft boxes, honeycomb covers as well as coloured gels. I have learnt that the use of light attachment can deeply reform a photograph, an example is in the double-page spread images, where harsh shadowing can be denoted; this was created using a silver umbrella in close proximity to the subject.

3a. My laptop, as well as the computers on offer at college were the most important contributor to my product. It allowed research to be produced, photographs to be edited and most obviously my product to be produced. I used Photoshop mainly and over the course of the project I have learnt many elements to do with Photoshop. I have gained the skills of creating interesting type faces, as well as enhancing my photographs.

3c. This is my Wacom graphics tablet; this allowed precision when editing my photographs as well as accurate placement of each element within my products. I have learnt that attention to detail is important when creating a magazine as upper-class as my own product, therefore using tools such as a tablet could only heighten the quality attained.

Photoshop techniques

The gradient effect

During the creation of my products I had came across a variety of problematic circumstances. However, I overcame them via teaching myself techniques in Photoshop in order to no longer have an issue. In the above image it shows the steps of how I made my text more visible due to the close resemblance of colour:

1. I made a selection box using the 'Rectangular Marquee Tool'.

2. With the selection still selected I created a navy gradient, ensuring that I had 'colour to transparent' option selected.

3. I then simply added my text

Final. This is how it actually appeared on my cover, showing the toning down the the light skin in a subtle manner.

Disadvantages of this technique would be a slightly tacky feel if not done in a very subtle manner; however, I believe on my cover it was done in a way that improved the quality of the overall cover.

Text wrap

For this technique, I learnt how to wrap text on Photoshop:

1. First I created two identical boxes that act as columns for my text. I used the rectangle tool and set it to the 'path' option and then drew the two boxes.

2. I then added the text by selecting the type tool and simply clicked within the paths.

3. I reselected the rectangle tool, making sure it was set to path but also 'subtract front shape', I then made sure I selected the path I wanted to subtract in the path panel and then drew the area I wanted to 'delete'

4. I did this to the opposite column then simply added my pull quote.

Final. Here is how this technique was addressed in my actual product; I didn't use this method just for pull quotes, I also used it for images and the drop capital.

With this technique there are some downsides; this would include the fact that re-editing the text could be time consuming, as all the subtracted areas would have to be filled again then added after the text adjustment. However, I believe this is better than using the 'spacing' technique (simply using the space bar to create space) as it comes with more complications; for example, when re-editing the text you have to delete all the spaces and before rewriting the text. This could be considered as even more time consuming.

Web spaces

In regards to web spaces, they played a major role during this project. To begin with, Blogger was used to host all my work. However, during the time my project was being formed Copyright infringement was being heavily investigated amongst the internet, therefore the blog had to be turned to private; this is due to the multiple use of images for analysis, research etc. This could be defined as a supposed disadvantage using an online database to store my work, as it comes with all types of legal complications as opposed to paper based working. However in saying that, using an online database restricted time consumption heavily and could also be deemed as eco-friendly, as not masses of paper or materialistic resources had to be used.

I also used flickr to upload analyses, it allowed quick and direct annotation to be attained, preventing nasty use of arrows and messy presentation to be possessed. Again, a disadvantage of Flickr is its legal obligations however, also the prevention of long/detailed analysis due to the constriction of space.

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?

Unedited photographs

Finished Magazine Front Cover

For all my main products I last minute changed the colour to a more intense pink, in order to further represent the femininity within my magazine.

Contact sheet for my photoshoot

 

The Music Industry

There are a number of magazine publishers in the UK, mainly organisations such as: Bauer, IPC etc. In regards to the magazine industry as a whole there is an oligopoly in which Bauer, IPC, BBC Magazines and National Magazines dominate a massive 60% of the industry. In closer detail, the major magazine publisher would be Bauer creating 25% of the sale revenue in England for magazines, followed by IPC which is 20%, BBC that is 7.8% and BBC Magazines which is 7.3%. This demonstrates the high degree of concentration of ownership within the magazine industry and intensifies the idea that this is how the world of commercial media is categorised.

Brands that are published by the largest publishers include: 

Bauer- Grazia, FHM, heat, Q 

IPC- NME, CHAT, Nuts, Country Life

Due to the development of new technology, digital convergence can now be seized and in this instance, magazines can be bought at home with a click of a finger. Synergy is now emerging and therefore opens up a new door to magazine publishers, allowing them to advertise their products not just in reality, but virtually also; however, with this comes issues and these issues include the downfall of paper based media. Including newspapers, magazines etc; people won’t want to have to go out their way to by a magazine that can be quickly snapped up on places like Apple App Store.

Contents page draft

Media Kit

Font And Colour Moodboard

Here is my font and colour moodboard, I will experiment with colours and fonts whilst creating my moodboard etc, however at this current point of time I have a preference for the pinks/red hues contrasted with the blues as it will create a sense of contrast being they are closely opposed on the colour wheel. They also compliment one another in a visually appealing manner and would further the aesthetics of my products.

In regards to fonts, I'm leaning towards serif fonts being that they are commonly used in the genre of fashion magazine, but I think the use of sans-serif would break up the formality implied by the serif fonts and therefore give the impression of a younger audience. 

Double Page Spread

Double Page Spread Paper Draft

Double Page Analysis (2)

Click the image to view the analysis.

Locations, props, models

Location 

I've decided to do my photoshoot in a studio environment; this is due to the fact I don't want the background to deter from the model in view and I want emphasis on the subject. In addition, it gives the impression of higher quality and a more prestigious implication

Props

Props will include stylistic clothing, including a fur coat, interesting jewellery and a bowler hat. These choice of prop will intensify the fashion implication within my products as well as allow the audience to retrieve the implication of upper-class. In my second photo-shoot I will be using items of which connote a vintage implication, this will link in with the genre of my product; my products are trying to represent pre-21st century clothing, therefore the use of a jewel-encrusted dress, along with a simple head band will encapsulate this portrayal.

Model(s)

For my model, I will only be using one throughout all of my products. She will be the representation of the main coverline on my cover and will further be the interviewee of the interview on my double page spread. I decided to only use one to intensify her importance and her role within the magazine. 

Contents page analysis

Click the image to view the analysis

Double Page Analysis (1)

Contents Page Analysis

Click to view the flickr analysis

Photographs For My Double Page Spread

Target Audience Research

Double Page Spread Draft Article

Libby Mawford, porcelain complexion, slender and shockingly gorgeous eyes, is dressed in a casual studded denim jacket, Nastygal.com lace up booties, tights and a simple white dress. “If I wasn’t a performer, I’d definitely go into fashion- it’s so artistically demanding- definitely my forte!” she exclaims whilst fixing a wondering wisp of fair hair. Mawford begins to giggle as she says, “This is the only thing on my agenda today, I’ve basically only just got up!”

We all expected Mawford to be a sweet soulful lady, even with her multiple award winning albums and rocketing success. But did we expect such purity, such unpretentiousness from a beautiful vintage inspired indie singer? Well yes, I think we did! Her music leaks with intense references to her family life portrayed in a classic, sophisticated manner; entwined with the deliciousness of modern-day acoustic guitar. Her music is merely a reflection of her own persona- a sweet symphony of delight.

But not all is pitch-perfect for Mawford, just like you and me she has had her highs and lows, even at her tender age of seventeen. She reveals all, exclusively to us at Triangle “I had a hard childhood; my mother was absent most of the time,” Mawford takes a sip of water before continuing “Consumed by the devastations of alcoholism. “ Simply enthused in her pure British accent and elocution, it is a delight to be sat here listening to the unfolding of Mawford. “I realised she was no longer present at the age of 8, and that’s when I began busking” she opens her charity shoulder bag and reaches for a photograph “This is a newspaper clipping of me- on the streets- with my guitar!” It’s truly impressive how such a young girl had the incentive to strive towards a better future- an incentive that lead to the birth of one of Indie’s greatest stars- we at Triangle are definitely not complaining!

Mawford’s Grammy-award winning EP The emptier the bottle, the drier the mouth includes explicit detail of the terrors of her childhood through cunning metaphor and analogies. “I didn’t want the contexts of my songs to be too obvious; I just wanted to turn the ugly into the beautiful and for those to enjoy my music” One particular song that grabbed my attention of the Triangle office is Lullaby. Leaking with irony and contradiction, the song begins with a gentle beat and interesting melody. Mawford uses a falsetto to depict the pains of her past; heavily describing the times she was constantly beaten, metaphorically described as a Lullaby. “I like the use of irony” she begins “It’s a good way of portraying a negative in a positive light, with a slight dry humour to its connotation” even with the pessimism in her life, Mawford is able to steer her downfalls into something of beauty.

Mawford is heading towards better things; being the cover of Triangle is just one (it had to be put in there somewhere). A world tour including America, Australia and Japan is just the smallest of her successes. “I reformed my bad past into a good future” she says before the end of the interview. And I must say, what a way to end it. We all love Mawford, and we all adore her music.  – Emma Marsden-Hill

Finished Magazine Front Cover

Photo Ideas

Masthead Experiment

Here I have experimented with text tutorials on the internet to form this potential idea for my masthead; it signifies the clothing aspect of my magazine.

Front Cover Paper Draft

Initial Ideas For My Music Magazine

Working title of my magazine: Tri △ngle - triangles are commonly associated with the stylistic ideal of 'Hipster', therefore would suit the target audience I am trying to making my magazine appeal for.

 

Target audience...

 >Demographic: A unisex magazine but slightly edged towards females; for teenagers between the ages of 16-19

>Psychographic: ABC1 category; teenagers interested in Indie/acoustic based music and those who follow the Indie style, better known as the 'Hipster' market. Attracted by upper-class brands such as starbucks and vitamin water- commonly associated with the 'Hipster' market.

 

Price point: Ideally, around the £3-£4 mark, being that it will be slightly upper-market and for those who have a genuine interest in both indie fashion and music, and therefore are willing to pay the extra. However, this will be finalised after in depth audience research has been produced.

 

Weekly or monthly? Monthly, as the desired price point of my magazine is conventionally used when selling the magazine every month, rather than weekly. This would be due to the idea that having an expenditure of £3-£4 a week would be unaffordable by most, unless they are part of the upper sub-division of ABC1 readers.


After thinking about my magazine I have made some changes to what my magazine would consist of...

Working title of my magazine: Tri △ngle - triangles are commonly associated with the stylistic ideal of 'Hipster', therefore would suit the target audience I am trying to making my magazine appeal for. In addition, triangles have and always will be a stylistic shape, therefore would fit well with the fashion aspect of the magazine.

>Demographic: A magazine edged towards females; for teenagers between the ages of 16-19

>Psychographic: ABC1 category; female teenagers interested in Indie/acoustic based music and those who follow the Indie style, better known as the 'Hipster' market. Also for females that like vintage fashion and interested in fashion in general. Attracted by upper-class brands such as starbucks and vitamin water- commonly associated with the 'Hipster' market.

(no other changes)

 

Moodboard

This is a moodboard for my music magazine, indicating elements of preference and aspects that will appeal to my target audience; this includes: music, clothing, food and websites of interest. My magazine is predominantly targeting teenagers of both sexs that have an interest for the indie style in general.


After much contemplation, I have decided to edge my target audience towards the female audience and adding a more vintage fashion element to its contents. Therefore I have created a new moodboard to illustrate what type of qualities my magazine should behold.



Music Magazine Cover Analysis (3)

Music Magazine Cover Analysis (2)

Music Magazine Cover Analysis (1)

Music Magazine Analysis (1), a photo by emarsdenhill on Flickr.

Click to view the analysis

Finished college magazine contents page

My finished college magazine cover

Magazine cover image

 

This is the photo which will be featured as my main cover image on my magazine cover.

Audience Research for college magazine cover

 

I conducted an interview with 16 participants around the college in order to come to an understanding of what content and information my college magazine should contain. I asked them 10 questions regarding age, gender, content preference and so on.

  

This chart shows that the prefered content is band interviews, whilst the least desire is film reviews. Being it is a college magazine, it's suprising that only 11.43% want to be informed about the college.

 

The age range of students asked was between 16-18, the majority being 16.

 

In regards to gender, males stood prominent with a ratio of 9:7; even though the males have a higher proportion, the ratio is near enough half and half, indicating the the magazine should be unisex.

 

The mass majority would prefer to be both informed and entertained, and would like the language within the magazine to be more informal.

 

In regards to money, most are willing to pay between £1.51-£2.00, whilst the minority would pay £2.01 or more. In addition, its a half and half proportion in context to whether or not a student has a job or not. Furthermore, the spending habits of the students consist of: food, alcohol, cigarettes, clothes, games and taxi. The majority of students spend their money on food and clothes, followed by alcohol and cigarettes. This suggests that some form of 'stop smoking' campaign could be intergrated into the magazine, as well as information on clothes and advertisements involving food.

 

The genre that interests the participants the most is indefinitely music, whilst the least prefered is gaming.

 

I believe the questionnaire conducted is fairly vague, although it does indicate indefinite preferences; however to ensure that the results are of value, I would have asked a larger audience. Also, I would have used precise categories and a wider variation of questions. The questions mainly revolve round content preference and questions regarding money, I would have expanded this by asking more questions about personal preference etc.

College Magazine Analysis - The Orbital

Magazine Analysis - The Orbital, a photo by emarsdenhill on Flickr.

Click the the image to read my analysis on flickr

Magazine analysis - Soup

Magazine analysis - soup, a photo by emarsdenhill on Flickr.

Click the image to see my analysis