Research and Planning: shot type analysis

I have researched a lot of camera shots to help me create my magazine and also for the question in my exam. Here are 8 of the shots with examples I have created.

Research and Planning: preliminary task

Evaluation of my college magazine.

What worked well?

Whilst planning my college magazine I used photoshop to plan the front cover of the magazine. I used different ways and layouts to see which way works the best. Once I had planned the layout I wanted it was easy to go ahead and make the front cover of the magazine, deciding on the masthead was easy as it was a college magazine the first thing that comes in to your head is students so that was the header I went with. Deciding where to put the pictures and logos etc was also easy once I had my plan because I could go straight into it and know what I expected. The making of my contents page was on indesign. Indesign was more difficult to use than Photoshop but once got used to the tools i could easily create my contents page. Deciding on where to put things was also easy for the contents page as i tried to do a similar layout to the front cover so it had a scheme running through, this makes my magazine look more professional.

What did not work well?



Whilst making my magazine I found that a couple of things didn't work as well I expected them to. I found it difficult to use Indesign as I couldn't get the hang of the tools and the way to use them. Whilst putting my front cover together I found that the fonts I had used were too big and once printed they were cut off the paper so this made me go back and rearrange my front cover. I also found i had this problem with my contents page. Deciding on the stories to put in the magazine was also a hard task for me.

How well it meets its purpose.

My magazine meets its purpose as I have used other magazines to compare it to and see if it has the things needed to be a magazine. For example my magazine has a masthead, subline, a dominant image, small articles around the image etc. It also has a contents page with another dominant image and small images to show you what the stories are about.

What could you improve if you created it again.

If I was to create my magazine again I would use another color scheme throughout as it is a boring color and doesn't really stand out. I would also use a different font as mine is boring. I would use another picture on the front cover to make it look more like a student.

Research and planning: first draft of my magazine.

This is a plan of my first draft of my magazine.

research and Planning: Research into font styles.

These are different types of mastheads for imaginary magazines. 'Death metal' is in blood red were-beast font, the semiotics of this masthead is the blood red font and the drips on the masthead look as though the blood is dripping down. 'Pop world' is in a girly pink colour as the majority of the audience for pop magazines are the female gender. The font is budmo jiggler, which makes the masthead look like a disco ball. The last masthead is Popcorn, which is in a yellow simple font as this would be a film magazine aimed at a both genders. The font style is 'juice bold' which would stand out from background of the magazine. This is also a play on words because edible popcorn is also yellow and applies to everyone.

Research and Planning; semiotics research

Semiotics are the signs you use to study what things are and the category they fit under. For example, if you was to create a pop magazine and a rock magazine, the signs on the front cover will tell you the genre. It is the same for music, TV programs etc. Certain conventions must be used to create semiotics.

 This picture is a good example as it uses semiotics to tell you that each of the symbols have a meaning, it is important for you to look out for the semiotics.

 Another example of the semiotics on the front cover of this magazine are as follows: the model holding a violin tells us that it is a music magazine, also the masthead.  

research and planning : Target audience for my college magazine.

The Target audience for my college magazine are :

• Aged between  16 and 20 years old.
• Any gender.
• Interested in the latest fashion, college life, music, sports, timetable's, activities to attend whilst in college and also after college, places available to spend time when free, (e.g dinner time etc)  and where to buy food / refreshments.
• Either straight from school having just studied their GCSE's, or from another college studying AS levels or any other vocational course.
• Lower class to medium class people are the biggest target for my audience.

Research and planning : examples of medium close-ups

These are examples of medium Close - ups, i understand i have to use one for my magazine.

Research and planning : Analysis of college magazine.

• The masthead of this magazine is in a bold and simple font, also the font style caters to younger people, which connotes it is for people in school / college, also it is a very american font which reminds me of 'High school musical'. 
• The stories on this magazine are also aimed at younger people, as one of them is called the campus food guide which is telling you what sort of food there are in paces like college / school, also the other stories apply to younger people, one of the stories is about style tips and what not to wear. the story called 'student stereotypes' connotes it is aimed at students as underneath is says 'what others are saying about you'.
• The main picture is of 2 teenage student girls, which also catches the readers eye as it is aimed at people of the similar age. They are also wearing student style clothes. 
• There is a slug line on this magazine but we cannot see what it says.
• There is no date on this magazine front cover and also no bar code or price.
• There is also an 'inside this issue' box which catches the readers eye as it is a different colour to the background and catches the readers attention.

Research and planning:indesign and tutorial

This is my first time of using indesign. Whilst using this programme I created this document. I learnt how to:

• Change the background colour by selecting the shape tool and drawing a rectangular box the same size as the page and then selecting a colour. 
• Use the text tool to create a title for my document, and change the size and shape of it. 
• Put my text into columns by creating guides for my text, I then selected my text by clicking 'place' and then going into my folder, it was then on my mouse so all I had to do was draw where i wanted the text (inside the guides I had drawn).
• I then selected my picture by also using the 'place' button.
• Put the number in the bottom corner of my document by using the text tool and then placed a border around that and my whole piece of work by making the boxes thicker.
• Use the gradient effect tool to gradually make the background colour white.

Research and Planning: Introduction to Photoshop (skin correction tutorial)

This is the third one of the documents I created whilst using photoshop for the first time, whilst creating this one I learn how to use the skin correction tool, how to change the colour of the hair using another tool, how to change the colour of the background and also how to apply makeup to the person in the photo.

• I used the brush tool to apply colour to the hair.
• I used the skin correction tool to get rid of the marks on her face.
• I used the brush to make the background blue.

Research and Planning: Introduction to Photoshop (Creating a document)

I did this document on the same day so this was also one of the first times I have used photoshop. Whilst creating this document  I learnt how to change the colour of the back ground, and also change the colour of the hair, however I learnt how to use and easier tool to change hair colour for next time I use photoshop.

• I used the magic wand tool to apply the colour the hair.
• I used the shape tool the cut out the picture if the girls face and apply it to my blue background.
• I used the text tool to apply my text to the document and I used the drop shadow tool to create a drop shadow.

Research and Planning: Introduction to Photoshop (CD cover)

This is the first time I have used photoshop, using this programme I learnt how to cut out pictures from other documents and apply them to the background of the CD cover, I also learnt how to add text and how to do drop shadows on it. I also learnt how to change the colour of everything.

• I used the magic wand tool to cut out the CD, and trumpet from other documents and applied them to my CD background.
• I used the text tool to create my CD title and drop shadow.
• I applied the pictures of the musical notes by adding a picture.

welcome

Welcome to my media blogger where i will be storing all my work for the next few weeks.