Final Magazine

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

Essay form:

Throughout the creation of my product I used a number of different technologies in order to create a professional looking magazine.

Firstly, when doing my inside and outside photo shoot with my model, Bradley Moore, I used a canon 55OD DSLR to take the pictures of Bradley as I felt that I knew how to use the camera rather well as I used it when creating my preliminary task. As the camera is a digital camera it had helped me out magnificently as I was able to take many pictures and during the photo shoot skim through them to check they are coming out well; the ones that weren’t coming out well I could delete with ease. After I finished my photo shoot I could instantly transfer the photos from the memory stick to the computer, and look through the photos I had taken in detail. During the inside photo shoot I had a white back drop behind the model and it was lit up by interfit portrait photography lighting, this helped create the right amount of lighting in the pictures so they appear professional. Another good feature that helped the pictures come out looking professional and crisp was that I had trigger lighting, this means that when ever I took a picture the lighting would flash at the same time; this ensured my photos came out as clear as possible. For the inside shoot the lens I used for the camera was 18-55mm 4.6 aperture which meant I could capture each image at a variety of angles and distances of Bradley.

After uploading the picture on to my computer and choosing the pictures that I wanted to feature in my magazine, I started to edit them using a programme called Adobe Photoshop CS5. This software allowed me to edit, cut, change and modify my images, which helped make the pictures appear much more professional. One of the main reasons why I used Photoshop to edit my images was to cut out the background. There are a various amount of ways that you can do this; one way which is most probably the simplest is to use a tool called the ‘magic wand’, this allowed you to simply click on the background and press delete which would get ride of the background completely. Although this way is quick and simple it cut out my image roughly, so I only used this method for small picture on the contents page. The method I used for my front cover was colour range, this allowed me to click on parts of the image I wished to erase and then edit to perfection using the mask tool.

Another useful piece of technology I used that was Adobe Premier Pro CS5, this is a programme, which allows you to create videos; I used this program to create my ‘behind the scenes’ video. The piece of software allows the user to change the speed of a clip, insert pictures, insert audio etc. I used the program and sped up a clip, which was 10 minutes long to 2 minutes, which showed the viewer that I took all the pictures in my photo shoot. I also added audio which was a song, the song was a very famous R&B song.

The main programme I used was Adobe InDesign, which enabled me to create my magazine. This piece of software is used by professionals to create magazines, which I was fortunate enough to be able to use it. The programme allowed me to create my magazine easier, for instance; when inserting a picture it allows you too use a tool called text wrap, this causes the text to go around the pictures with ease. Another useful tool which InDesign has is that when you insert text and it is more than the page can contain, it gives the user the option to drag the missing text to the next page in seconds. Another useful thing is the swatches, this enables you to save colours which is very useful when you have a theme colour going.

Another piece of technology that most people take for granted that I used was popular websites, such as: Google, YouTube and of course Blogger. Google helped me a tremendous amount when I was researching at the very start of the course as I could gather information about certain magazines such as Vibe, and I could also gather pictures using Google. YouTube also helped me as I have videoed some of the production posts and then uploaded them to YouTube. Finally Blogger has been a huge part of the creation of my magazine, as it allowed me to post every stage of the production process, which showed the different stages that I took when creating my magazine. 

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

Essay form:

When creating my magazine, Slick, I tried to include typical features shown in the music magazines genre Hip-Hop/R&B to make it attract the target audiences. I used the research I had done at the beginning of the course, for instance analyzing magazines, to help gather up enough knowledge on the design of Hip-Hop/R&B magazines and are presented; this helped my magazine to appear as professional as possible and still appeal to the target audience.

I wanted to make my magazine stand out from others in the market, I felt like if I copied the magazine I inspired mine to be like (vibe) then it would not be unique. So firstly I achieved my unique magazine by having a different colour theme than any other music magazine on the shelves (purple). I used these colours as it displays my magazine as something new as the first thing people see is the colours and the pictures of the magazine. I also created the name of my magazine also has many links with the genre of the magazine as it as the same feel as cool or wicked. This is the type of magazine my target audience would like to read as it seems from the very start that it’s a chilled, easy reading magazine; just like the type of music, R&B.

For my main sell line I used a font that is different to all the other sell lines to make it stand out; the font has the same feeling as someone who has handwritten the word ‘Back’ this again relates to the genre of the magazine. I placed a banner at the bottom of the magazine which showed that the magazine has Facebook and Twitter, this appeal to my target audience has part of their social habits is to be on social networking sites. Also my other sell lines contain many well-known artists, which means it will attract a wide variety of audience.

Like many music magazines, especially Vibe magazine, my contents page has a large picture of Bradley (my main model) in it. As during my early stages of researching I gathered that the main feature of any magazine tends to have a very large picture in the contents page. This is another thing that has made my media product to convey a professional look that feels and looks like a real music magazine. There is also a section on the contents page, which has the Facebook and Twitter logo's which appeals to the audience as the target audience are usually active on social networking sites and are quite young.

My double paged spread continue to use the them of white, black and purple, reflecting the mood as chilled, relaxed and originality which plants a seed into the readers mind; whilst reading the article they will then feel laid back. In the first double paged spread I have created a large quote which the reader can read in seconds, this allows the reader to know whether they would be interested in my magazine or in this case my article. I have carefully chosen where my photos have been taken to ensure the target audience is enticed. For instance I took the out side photo shoot of Bradley Moore in London city with buildings and people in the background, which fits in with the article of Bradley being a London city boy. This also links with the target audience as they go up to cities on a regular basis to go to clubs and so on, the target audience also prefer the busy city instead of the quite country side, thus why I did not have the outside photo shoot in the woods. Also the picture on the first double-paged spread will entice the audience and draw them in, as Bradley face is half covered by the shadow which implies the article will be interesting and there is some gossip to know; the target audience like to read about gossip, so this will appeal to them highly.