Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Friday, 8 April 2011
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
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?
My knowledge while completing the first task was very limited. I didn't think it through and after studying the industry, I now see how much more there really is to magazines then first meets the eye. Looking back at my preliminary tasks, I can see how much more I could have done to it to make it much more higher quality and to suit the target audience so much more. I think one of the main changes from my preliminary task to my music magazine cover, is how much I have considered the audience and the thought put behind every little detail. Another aspect which I think the task has enlightened is my skills on photoshop. Before I felt very uneasy and not confident using photoshop, therefore I didn't use it to its full advantage, but now I think very differently when using it. For my main task, Photoshop played the biggest role because of what I have learnt in the previous months while completing my blog, when it came to the magazine, I feel I relied heavily on the program to complete the cover, contents and article.
When using photoshop, I used several techniques to help the image. I used the 'Spot Healing Brush Tool', this was to help the skins of my models to keep in running with luxury, sophisticated feel of my magazine. I felt this now focused the reader much more on the gaze of the models rather then being distracted by blemishes. Another tool which I used was the clone tool, I used this because on one of the models tops, there was several creases which I found really off-putting and may of distracted the readers eyes, by using the clone tool I managed to gain the similar texture on the rest of the top and replaced the creases so there were no longer anything to catch the readers eye, other then full mid-shot. I didn't want the reader of the magazine to focus on the small things and I wanted them to pay much more attention to the bigger picture so I felt the need to make sure all the small things which caught my eye were reduced as much as possible, so even I could concentrate on the bigger picture. Text alignment was also another huge thing which I used on all the text in the cover. This is because I felt the text had to be aligned therefore it did not look messy, which is the complete opposite image that I wanted to give to my audience. Although sticking to mainly black and white colours on the images, I used colour spotting on Photoshop which allowed me to add red text. This colour red matched the colour of the models top. I thought this would be a really clever feature to make sure all the colours were still matching and to keep this simply sophisticated feel. This is yet again why Adobe Photoshop CS5 came in such handy throughout this task and why I felt it helped me tremendously.
The attention to detail which I found I needed to have through out this task was enormously important. I felt I had to analysis every single tiny actor which effected my magazine and how the audience would interpret that. But even though a tedious task, this would be absolutely necessary so that my audience was reached as much as possible and to make sure i fitted the needs to my highest ability possible. While not only gaining knowledge about programs and my specific target audience, I also learnt a lot about the existing magazine industry. Before, I never really put much thought into it and I now realise how much more there is then I first thought. I have found it so interesting discovering for myself how publishing houses, such as IPC Media, control the UK's magazine obsession. I didn't quite realise how many magazine were available, especially when it came to the niche market section. There must be a lot of work which goes into creating the perfect magazine, which became apparent when looking at NME magazine, and I saw the amount of information which they had to tell about there target audience and it really pressured me to seek feedback and advice when creating my own magazine. This is another factor which I found really important. The target audience are probably the most important thing to consider when wanting to create a magazine, and I understood that definitely when looking at creating my own one. The need for feedback and creative ideas are endless, although this is something which I struggled to take in at first, I now realise how much you should appreciate your target audience.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
The programs which have helped me in this process of the production of my magazine is Adobe Photoshop CS5, Flickr and Blogger. I used Adobe Photoshop CS5 to edit the photos which I took and to compose the layout and features throughout my articles. I really enjoyed using Photoshop and learnt a lot about it while using it these past few weeks. It gave me great control when trying to edit the photo's and gives you much more freedom then I originally thought. I think that is definitely one of the advantages of using Adobe, the Photoshop program allowed me to do the things I wanted to do so that I could produce the product to the best of my ability. One of the disadvantages which I found was it was hard to get use to, and because of the amount of control you have on Adobe Photoshop CS5, the option that you have to choose from a huge, therefore trying to find the right option for the method you want to do, I found quite difficult and even found myself researching many directions which I needed. Although struggling to use the program at first, once you get use to it, you have a lot of freedom and I found movements flowed and I gained the confidence to use Photoshop effectively. Flickr is the program that we used to upload our images onto so we could make annotations. I thought this was a really clever way to annate over the internet, I found it really easy to use and it was not complicated at all. Flickr allows you to do many things with images that you can upload to your personal account, one is to also link them to your blogger. I found this really useful as it saved so much time and effort by having this simple option of sharing. Blogger is another website which we used. Blogger is a website which allows you to have a blog, this means you can post text and images of what you like. In this case, we have been posting the work we have been doing in out media lessons. One of the benefits of doing this on this website is Blogger allows you to save the work you have done and you also can link posts to other posts, as well as even editing the text's font, colour and size. Although what I found with Flickr and Blogger is because it is based on personal account which are on the internet, one of the disadvantage I came across was the privacy which we had sometimes disabled me to fully complete the actions which I tried to achieve, and also the internet connections aren't always reliable so a lot of chance was taken on that. Another factor which effected me during this process was forgetting my password and username. After a week or so, I managed to sort this out, but this effected the level which I was able to work at as the blog on Blogger was the only way I could be getting work done.
As well as using programs, we have learnt a lot as well about how to take the photos and settings we could consider. For example, I choose a mid-shot image. I chose a mid-shot/two-shot image because I wanted the models bodies to be included as their clothing related a lot to my audience and I found it to be very important that I included this. I had to include several other things whilst having the photoshot done like the background, composition, body language and distance. In the end I chose a white background because I felt it was most appropriate for my genre of magazine, and the composition I felt I messed up on a little, as when it came to adding the image onto the cover, the models were too far away from each other and I then had to use photoshop to correct my mistake and bring them closer together. I feel like I still would have a lot to learn when it comes to taking photographs, but am thankful for what I have learnt in technology and how much it helps the magazine industry to create the covers we see daily.
How did you attract/address your audience?
My magazine speaks to my target audience which I have explained in my previous evalutions in several ways. I think my magazine would greatly attract its desired audience because of the simple colours which I used, I mainly kept it in black and white. It has a clean white background and crispy black text. I think this would appeal to my target audience as it is simple yet sophisticated. The only main colours I have used on my images are in the clothes which the models have worn. I did this because I think the simple black and white colours allow my magazine to be taken seriously, and then when the colours are splashed on by the outfits of the models, it shows a playful, fun, less serious side of my magazine. This is really the image I wanted my magazine to have, I want it to be a trendsetting magazine, which knows when and when not to be serious. I think my product speaks the language of my target audience very much so in that point - 'Serious, with a playful side'. I think people would like to be associated with my magazine because of the reputation I would try to gain as trendsetting, being one step ahead of the crowd. This is shown on my front covering by having my cover line as 'They're Back' and advertising a new exclusive interview shows how my magazine is one step ahead of the rest of the world and we have the news first. I think my readers would be proud to be associated with it.
Through out the production process of my magazine, I have constantly been looking at my target audience and what I think would be best suited to them. In places, I have found it hard to choose certain aspects of my magazine and I have felt unable to complete it. I think the USP (Unique Selling Point) of my magazine is very much the fact that it is the trendsetting magazine which is one step ahead of everybody else, always with the first news, first stories and first trends. This would be appealing to many teenagers who are trying to find their way in life and always want to have the new thing to be different. The gaze from both of the females on my cover, although one is wearing sunglasses, you can connect with them and still get the 'cool' emotion through their eyes and body language. This would inspire much of my audience to get this style.
When speaking to people about my magazine, I specifically choose people who would fit into the category of my target magazine. A lot of the responses which I got were positive reaction and they really liked my whole idea of the magazine, and thought the image which I choose to go on the front definitely drew them in. From the feedback which my audience gave to me, I knew there were several points which could be improved on. I think one in particular was the text which I had chosen to use, I think I should have picked a much bolder and confident font which stood out more, rather then sticking with a simple one. Overall, I think I reached my target audience's views on what kind of magazine I should produce and suited their needs well.
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