Evaluation: editing

I edited my evaluation video on Premiere Pro doing basic things like adding titles and splitting clips to bring my footage together.

I started by inserting all my clips and any pictures or screenshots I had as well as images of my final magazine. I also added titles for the questions I was going to answer.

I then added all my clips, screenshots, images and titles in the timeline in the order of the questions. I inserted some of the images into the footage so it wasn't just me talking the whole time and to provide some visual aid.

When I was happy with my video I exported it.

Evaluation: filming

I filmed my evaluation on the same Nikon camera I took my magazine photos with.

I also took a lot of screenshots from programs like Photoshop and InDesign to help describe what I'm talking about and to make this video more visual rather than it just be a video of me talking. I also interviewed my friends Derry and Megan for question 5 to get some feedback on my magazine from some people in my target audience.

Evaluation: planning

I decided to do a video for my evaluation. I started the process by planning out my answers to the 6 questions:

• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
  
• How does your media product represent particular social groups?
  
• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
  
• Who would be the audience for your media product?
  
• How did you attract/address your audience?
  
• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
  
• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? 
  

I began by comparing my magazine to my style model, then thinking about who it represents and who its aimed at. I researched distribution companies gathering information on them to help me decide which would be best to distribute my magazine. I then went over everything I have learnt over the past few months doing this coursework and compared my final product to my preliminary task to see how much I have developed.

Double Page Spread FINAL

This is the final cut for my double page spread.

Double Page Spread Progress: step 6

When I got feedback from my rough cut I was advised to retake my photos so I did that in the studio and after they were edited I placed them in my magazine. I also centred the text of my quote in the article and had to change the colour of any white text on the main picture to black so it could be seen over the background. I've kept the layout simple like in my rough cut but have filled the space more so it looks full but it doesn't look like there is too much on the page.

Double Page Spread Progress: step 5

After getting feedback on my rough cuts and redesigning my front cover I needed to add another photo onto my double page spread to meet the requirement of having a total of four images across my 3 pages. I put the image in the space where the introduction to the article was and moved that over onto the picture making the left hand page less plain. I also experimented with fonts for 'Alice' until I found one I liked that fitted well. I also added a quote into the article as that was suggested in my feedback and it was a convention I thought I should follow. I made it so that the text in the article reaches to the sides of the columns to make it look more neat and organised and I redrew the lines to separate the columns as they weren't completely straight before.

Double Page Spread Progress: step 4- ROUGH CUT

This is my rough cut for my magazine double page spread.

Double Page Spread Progress: step 3

I decided to change the text of the artists name as the other was was thin and very basic and made the page appear very empty and plain and although a simplistic layout is preferred by my audience the page didn't seem full enough to interest them and it looked boring and bare. There was still a gap in the top right corner so I added a bar with the name of the magazine and the section the article falls under and the name of the article. This fills the space and if included on every page it will help readers navigate their way through their magazine along with the page numbers.

Double Page Spread Progress: step 2

I then added in my picture and left a white border round it like I had seen in the Topshop look book as it looks more simplistic and is more aesthetically pleasing which is what my target audience want. I also added the name of my artist as the title chafing the text to a more elegant, handwriting styled one. I colour matched the text to the colour of her hair and added a drop capital in the same colour too. I also highlighted some key words in the sub-heading in the feature colour to make them stand out. I added page numbers along with a green P standing for Pick so the theme of the magazine and the brand is represented throughout. I had tried making the background black however it didn't look professional or very attractive and decided white looked better and more simplistic. 

Double Page Spread Progress: step 1

This is my basic template for my double page spread where I will add my picture and text.

The first thing I did was paste in the article I had wrote into the three columns and chose a simple font. I then spend a while altering the size of the text to get it to fill the whole of all three columns. I made the text black to contrast with the white background. I also added the subheading in however didn't do much to that other than change the fond and I made sure the text was bigger than the text for my article. I also thickened the lines separating the three columns.

Contents Page Progress FINAL

This is the final cut for my contents page. 

Contents Page Progress: step 8

First I made it so that the Rolling Stones article didn't go over the picture to make it neater. I also changed the // to separate the text underneath the title contents to dots as it looks cleaner and more professional. I added a news section with a green title with articles and page numbers set out in the same style as the features. Like my style model does, I added a quote above the picture with a description and page number direction you to the related article. I made the speech marks red to add some more colour to the page as it was very plain having such limited colours. I also included a subscribe box like a lot of other magazines do offering a discount on the magazine with the guarantee that they will get a copy every month which secures customers.

Contents Page Progress: step 7

I started to add my articles taking inspiration from my style model by having the artist name in capitals then the description about the article in smaller text. I had the numbers in the feature colour, green, as well as the title 'features' to make them stand out, to add some colour to the page and to follow the colour scheme used on the front cover to keep a consistent theme throughout the magazine. I then added my edited picture which is cut out and it follows the theme of my style model by only having one picture that is cut out to go over the background. The design is simplistic and it means you aren't trying to look at too much at once.

Contents Page Progres: step 6

After getting feedback on my rough cut I decided to redo my whole contents page. I wanted to keep the top part so I removed the rest and extended the black box down the whole page giving the whole page a black background to follow the theme of the front cover.

Contents Page Progress: step 5- ROUGH CUT

This is my rough cut for my magazine contents page.

Contents Page Progress: step 4

I started to add in my articles, which were fairly serious and not very gossipy to suit my target audiences wants, next to the page numbers. I had to make the page numbers smaller than originally planned, and decided the page looked very plain. Although my target audience wanted a simplistic layout this was too bare so I then added black borders to the section headings and added a very light blue box highlighting every other article to add some more colour and detail to the page as well as to separate the articles more. I realized I didn't have room for as many articles as I thought in the space I had however it didn't matter. I altered the text sizes so they all filled the space well and there were no gaps left blank. 

Contents Page Progress: step 3

The next thing I did was insert my pictures. I decided it was too text based and after looking back at my research I remembered my target audience liked simple layouts as they're easy to find what you're looking for so I added a third place for a picture to go as pictures make it easy to see what you're looking for rather than reading a lot og  text to find it.  After I added the pictures the black didn't contrast well with two of the pictures and wasn't very visible so I made them ones white.

Contents Page Progress: step 2

After deciding the page title looked too plain I added a black box around the title and the magazine name, date and issue number and to separate them, added another white one on top of that. I made the colour of the text the opposite of the colour of the box it was on so it would contrast and be more easy to see. I added large blue page numbers under the headings so they would stand out next the the small black text I would have explaining the articles. I also added the black page numbers over where the pictures would be so you can see what page the article relating to that picture was on.

Contents Page Progress: step 1

This is my basic template which I will insert my pictures and text for my contents page on to. 

I started by adding the title of the page, contents, to the top of the page in large bold capital letters. I made it black so it would stand out on the white background. Underneath I added the name of the magazine so people knew what they were reading, the issue number and date. I made them blue, the feature colour for this page. I then added titles for the sections within my contents to organise the articles more and made them blue too. I also slightly thickened the lines separating the three columns so they were more visible. I chose this simple, organised layout as my target audience preferred simplistic layouts as they're easy to find things and the type of article they are looking for is easy to find.

Front Cover FINAL

This is the complete image of the final cut of the front cover for my magazine. 

Front Cover Progress: step 6

I replaced my picture after editing it again because it had gone slightly blurry due to resizing it on photoshop. I then changed the font of the articles on the sides and made all the text on the front cover, apart from the details below the magazine name on the right, to capital letters. I found a font I liked for 'Alice' and resized it so it was bigger than the magazine name to draw attention to it. I also made the text box the the 'win' article wider so it fit in wight he artists name and wasn't in the way of the picture.

Front Cover Progress: step 5

After receiving feedback on my rough cut I began making changes to my magazine. I went and re-took my front cover picture and edited it and replaced the old one. I had to have the magiane name covering her head as when the head was over it you couldn't read it and you wouldn't know what magazine it was. I then had to re arrange the articles around the sides so they fit around the picture and didn't go over it. I also had to change the placement of the article on the right so it didn't go over her face to a more suitable place. I started to experiment with different texts for 'Alice' however I'm still not happy with any I have tried so far.

Front cover progress: step 4- ROUGH CUT

This is my rough cut for the front cover of my magazine.

Front Cover Progress: step 3

I created my bar code using Photoshop and inserted it onto the bottom right corner of my magazine and also added a text box with a white background to add the numbers. I also added a grey bar at the bottom with a list of some other bands that would be featured in my magazine, some of them being in the results of my market research, to appeal to my target audience and to grab the interest of fans of those bands. I also changed the font of the text underneath the main artists name and centered the magazine name.

Front Cover Progress: step 2

I decided my magazine would be called Pluck and inserted the name and changed the font to suit the word better and so it would fit all the way across the top of my magazine. I finished adding in the cover stories and decided to make the descriptions the feature colour as there was very little green on the page so far and I wanted to keep a simple colour scheme. I also added the description of the main article under the artists name in a bold white font and a 'win' section on the right hand side to attract peoples attention with the same colour scheme as the main articles to keep it looking simple and organised as that is what my target audience would want. I made the prize something to do with One Direction as they were a popular band that I found people liked in my research. I made sure none of my articles appeared gossipy as my target audience preferred more real, serious articles over rumours.

Front cover progress: step 1

Over the past couple of weeks I have progressed from my templates creating a complete front cover, contents page and double page spread. I have now handed them in and will talk about my progress and how I made my magazine and why I made the decisions I did.

This is the layout for my front cover which I used as a base for my picture and text.

I started by making the background to my magazine black to create a more mysterious and edgy look. It also fits in with my dark, rock theme and it's the colour scheme that my research said my target audience wanted. I hadn't decided on a name for my magazine however I put the word title where it was supposed to be in a text in the general style I was wanting so I knew where that was going to be and what it would look like. I then inserted the photoshop file of my edited picture of my artist, looking serious like I found my target market preferred over smiling,  so it would be transparent and placed it so her head slightly covered the magazine name like I had seen in almost every magazine I analysed. Next I put my artist's name in very large letters over the picture and chose the feature colour for this issue of my magazine, green, and put the name in that colour. I wasn't too confident about the font however I left it like that for the time being. Next I added the date, issue number and price, £2.99 which is in the range I established in my questionnaire, just below the title in a simple font. I decided it would look a lot cleaner if all my fonts were sans-serif fonts. This would  help with the simplistic layout my target audience like.  The last thing I did was begin to add the cover stories and experiment with fonts and text sizes.

Editing photos

This is the original picture for my front cover. Firstly I removed the background to make it transparent over the black background of my magazine. This took some time due to the fine strands of hair especially at the bottom where I tried several different methods of cutting around it to make it look as natural and realistic as possible. I then airbrushed her skin getting rid of bags under her eyes and some minor blemishes/wrinkles in the skin. I slightly brightened the colour of her hair for a more daring look and also make her lips a more even pink colour. The photo below is the final image.

This is the original picture for my contents page. For this photo I simply removed the background so it will be transparent against the black background of the contents page, I also enhanced some of Pippa's facial features. 

This is the origional picture for my double page spread. I expanded the curtain so that it covered the whole background. I then did some minor arbrushing on Alice's face. The picture below is the final image I will use.

This is the origional secondary picture for my double page spread. All I have done is slightly airbrushed her face to get rid of bags under her eyes and to perfect her features. The picture below is the final image I will use. I didnt remove the backgrounds from these images as it makes them look very plain on a double page spread to have a block colour background. The white sheet helps put accorss the point that she is just a normal girl and she as not at all inot glamour or being perfect.



Picture decisions

I have decided on which pictures I will edit and use for my front cover, contents page and double page spread.

I will use this picture for my front cover.

I will use this picture for my contents page.

I will use these pictures for my double page spread.

Taking Pictures: Alice

As I am still unhappy with my pictures of Alice for the front cover and double page spread, I have retook them. This time I did them in the photo studio on a white background with better lighting.

These pictures are a lot better than the last ones I took of Alice and look a lot more professional. They create a mood but also serious meaning and Alice represents a mature teenager with a career and it goes against stereotypes of teenagers not taking any responsibilities and only thinking of having fun in the present and when teenagers see this they will be inspired and it will be encouraging to see people their own age in a positive light and will appeal to them.