Preliminary Task Final Product

Improvement/developments

Use of conventions with a Skyline

Bigger headline, actually stands out as a headline

Clearer fonts, easily readable

Stronger colour scheme

Better use of Photoshop to edit models more conventionally

as a magazine would (i.e. making eyes bigger/smaller)

The text fits better around the image

What I have learnt/developed:• Having done more detailed research

for my music magazine, I was able to better understand the conventions of magazines within the institution, e.g. the use of a skyline and mentions of social media within the magazine

• I used my research much better than my college magazine in terms of creating a reaching a target audience, I made sure all of my research reflected my product in my final product, e.g. I did no thorough research into my audience for my college magazine and my colour wheel didn’t reflect my final product as apposed to my music magazine where my content was chosen based on a questionnaire and I tried to base all decisions on previous research

• I have developed my technical skills between the products in terms of Photoshop as well as the type of photos I took e.g. I used a medium close up on my college magazine and took very few photos in one location with one person and didn’t manipulate my chosen image at all, however with my final product I took a minimum of 20 photos with each ‘artist’ in different locations and used mise-en-scene to create an ideal image to suit the conventions of the genre, I also heavily manipulated these photos to remove blemishes and make the models more attractive to be on the front cover

Convention College Magazine Music Magazine/Final Product

Comparison

Masthead Fit the genre of the magazine, but not very inventive. The design of the masthead was very simple with not much thought.

Different names were tried and different designs were looked into before settling on a final one which fit in with the splash of the magazine as well as the genre.

My final product masthead looks more like a logo than my college magazine masthead, making it more suitable to the ‘brand’ ideology of the magazine institution

Main Image

Suitable and matches headline, mise-en-scene appropriate to the headline.

Well suited to the audience by following conventions of the genre with mise-en-scene and their look, matches the headline as it is clear they are the band ‘THE 77”.

Better quality on the Final product, but both equally suited and feature mise-en-scene appropriate for the product.

Headline Relevant to genre and main image, doesn’t stand out as a headline however because of font size and colour.

Fits in with the splash of the magazine, relevant to the main image as the two are clearly connected, the size, colour and font of the headline draws attention and makes it clear that it’s the feature article. Comes with a relevant quote from the article, useful for buyers.

Better by far on the final product where it stands out properly and doesn’t blend into the photo.

Sell Lines Very hard to read due to colour and font size, very little size and look difference between sell lines, headline and masthead making it hard to distinguish.

With a small matching image so readers know instantly the topic of the article in brief, fit in with the style of the front cover and still readable without interfering with the main focus of the front cover – the main image.

Different from the rest of the front cover on my final product unlike the college magazine where everything was the same causing confusion.

Convention College Magazine Music Magazine/Final Product

Comparison

Skyline No Skyline A use of the convention, displays some of the magazines content in keeping with the colour scheme and font of the magazine, doesn’t interfere with other features,

Better use of conventions on the Final product.

Footer No Footer No footer

Splash Very sophisticated theme, shows the type of audience I was aiming for, very formal looking.

A neat, none clustered look, continuous throughout all 3 products. Kept continuity and formality but in a way that reflects the ‘cool’ ideas of the genre.

Good continuity of the splash on both, but a better version in the final product where the splash was made up of different fonts, sizes and colours instead of a very one toned magazine with the college magazine.

Colour Scheme

Not really a colour scheme, white lettering, and only muted colours in the main image.

Red, black and white, a very common theme chosen for magazines, used throughout for continuity, doesn’t distract from main images or those on the contents page.

Much better on the final product, the use of only one colour on the college magazine doesn’t follow any conventions or look attractive. The colours on the final product compliment each other and look attractive as well as become a part of the magazine products as a whole.

College Magazine Music Magazine/Final Product

Comparison

Location Outside a college, relevant to genre as well as headline.

Studio/Green Room, a flyover, and live events I’ve attended.

More locations tried and tested, a bigger variety. Both sets of images were relevant to the genre of the magazine.

Lighting Natural lighting. Studio lighting, imitating a real magazine photo shoot which are conventionally shot in studios.

Both worked well for a high quality photo.

Camera IPhone 5c IPhone 6s and Canon EOS 700D

Higher quality images in final product

Framing Medium Close Up as it was required by the brief.

Medium close up two-shot for my main image, but a variety were taken and a variety were used on my contents page and double page spread.

A bigger variety of shots allowed me to create a better portfolio to choose from, as well as showing off different types of photography.

Editing/Enhancing Very little to none of any actual image manipulation.

Examples of blemish removal, re shaping silhouettes (hair), changing eye shape and colour correction.

An improved knowledge of technology to make the images suitable for a real market and like a real magazine where retouching would be heavily used to sell the product.

Images

College Magazine Music Magazine/Final Product

Comparison

Poses Only the one pose taken, not very much variety.

A variety taken of all artists, and a variety demonstrated in my contents photos of live artists.

More images to choose from with more artistic direction allowed for a better choice and a more specifically designed product.

Costume Model in everyday school wear for him, with a backpack for iconography.

Very of the genre – as shown in my costume post – in both shoots I did, both or the artists I shot followed conventions and ideological fashions of the genre of indie rock.

More detail and specific choices based on research in the final product compared to the college magazine.

Props Holding a ‘results paper’ to relate to the headline.

None in main image photos, but contents photos of artist JXCK have him with headphones around his neck as iconography of music and to relate to the way audiences tend to listen to music on a mobile device.

More thought into final product with regards the the genre and institution as opposed to matching the content, both equally important.

Preliminary Task Final Product

College Magazine Music Magazine/Final Product

Comparison

Layout Very formal and well structured, in numerical order.

All shifted to the left (continuity) evenly spread out, continues the splash of the magazine with colour and layout, integration of social media conventions, an even spread of images and text, in numerical order.

I prefer the layout of the final product as I think its edgier and looks more appealing, whereas the college magazine is too formal, but could suit the audience.

Content ideas Chosen from a list made up with no research into the audience, still relevant ideas.

Based upon audience research, highly relevant to enticing the specific audience shown on the reader profile.

Well researched for the final product making it much more effective, despite both magazines having content relevant to the genres.

Secondary Images None. Good variety of secondary images from events, main shoot and another artist of equal quality photos.