Lesson 22: 27-03-09
This lesson was spent thinking carefully about the evaluation process and how we need to present our blogs to gain the higher levels.
We thought carefully about our target audiences, and how it has affected our decisions when producing our magazines. After this, we were able to spend the lesson on what we needed to work on whether it be the production or taking extra images. This lesson helped us organise what is still needed to be completed and to start thinking about what is required for our evaluation when the product is complete.
Monday, 30 March 2009
Lesson 21
Lesson 21: 26-03-09
This lesson we were able to spend the majority of our time working on our foundation portfolio final production. The front cover needs a little more work, and more text about the promotions, and the double page spread is almost complete. The contents page has been started, and is looking the way I had planned. This lesson was simply spent organising our production and making progress.
The photoshop application is becoming a lot more familiar, and I feel I am constantly learning new tools which is helping the progress of the magazine. From the preliminary task through to this foundation portfolio, I have learnt that everything is possible within photo manipulation when using the right tools to work with. I feel this has been successful in the way that I have learnt new ways of using software and although I have found it a challenge, the commitment and dedication is starting to show with the outcome of my magazine.
This lesson we were able to spend the majority of our time working on our foundation portfolio final production. The front cover needs a little more work, and more text about the promotions, and the double page spread is almost complete. The contents page has been started, and is looking the way I had planned. This lesson was simply spent organising our production and making progress.
The photoshop application is becoming a lot more familiar, and I feel I am constantly learning new tools which is helping the progress of the magazine. From the preliminary task through to this foundation portfolio, I have learnt that everything is possible within photo manipulation when using the right tools to work with. I feel this has been successful in the way that I have learnt new ways of using software and although I have found it a challenge, the commitment and dedication is starting to show with the outcome of my magazine.
This an example of the process in which I am producing my final product. This is the start of my contents page, although there is still alot of editing to be done.
Lesson 20
Lesson 20: 24-03-09
In this lesson we discussed the ways in which different magazine companies produce a wide variety of magazines which will suit the majority of readers. We looked at three main institutions which publish the different magazine's and researched their websites to see which would most suit our product itself.
We looked at Emap, ipc and Bauer. There websites showed a range of magazine styles from boating magazines to the music magazines themselves. IPC is said to reach approximately 70% of women and 50% of men within the UK. This is a great amount of our population and shows how this publisher has become a success by producing the wide range.
The website of IPC, http://www.ipcmedia.com/ shows the way they address their audiences, and the different magazines they produce.
Emap shows a different way to their publications, and doesn't show to be as successful as IPC productions. The website, http://www.emap.com/ also shows the different ways in which emap works, and tells us the different genre's of magazine's they produce.
Bauer was the last magazine publisher that we looked at in detail, and includes a variety of genres within their collection. http://www.bauer.co.uk/ again shows the variety of magazines, from Q and Kerrang! down to the magazine's such as Take a Break and Mother & Baby. This shows that these producers like to widen their audiences and supply the right magazine for the majority of our population. There shows to be magazines specifically aimed at men like FHM and Zoo, and also magazines aimed at only women, such as Heat and Grazia.
After thinking about my magazine product itself, I have decided that if I were to choose an institution in which to publish my magazine, I would most likely use IPC. This is because they show to have a wide collection of magazines with a very popular and high audience rate. There success is reflected through their website, and the collection of magazines show how they can compensate for every type of audience, whether it be from specific sports or TV magazines.
In this lesson we discussed the ways in which different magazine companies produce a wide variety of magazines which will suit the majority of readers. We looked at three main institutions which publish the different magazine's and researched their websites to see which would most suit our product itself.
We looked at Emap, ipc and Bauer. There websites showed a range of magazine styles from boating magazines to the music magazines themselves. IPC is said to reach approximately 70% of women and 50% of men within the UK. This is a great amount of our population and shows how this publisher has become a success by producing the wide range.
The website of IPC, http://www.ipcmedia.com/ shows the way they address their audiences, and the different magazines they produce.
Emap shows a different way to their publications, and doesn't show to be as successful as IPC productions. The website, http://www.emap.com/ also shows the different ways in which emap works, and tells us the different genre's of magazine's they produce.
Bauer was the last magazine publisher that we looked at in detail, and includes a variety of genres within their collection. http://www.bauer.co.uk/ again shows the variety of magazines, from Q and Kerrang! down to the magazine's such as Take a Break and Mother & Baby. This shows that these producers like to widen their audiences and supply the right magazine for the majority of our population. There shows to be magazines specifically aimed at men like FHM and Zoo, and also magazines aimed at only women, such as Heat and Grazia.
After thinking about my magazine product itself, I have decided that if I were to choose an institution in which to publish my magazine, I would most likely use IPC. This is because they show to have a wide collection of magazines with a very popular and high audience rate. There success is reflected through their website, and the collection of magazines show how they can compensate for every type of audience, whether it be from specific sports or TV magazines.
Monday, 23 March 2009
Lesson 19
Lesson 19: 20-03-09
In this lesson, we concentrated on the theory side of our media product and looked at a powerpoint presentation about the assessment criteria so we have an idea of where to aim.
It told us the division of marks and the levels in which we needed in order to gain the highest of our ability.
The Foundation Portfolio consists of three sections, the Research and Planning, the Music Magazine itself and the Evaluation. These are all of great importance towards to development of the product and how much work is involved in order to make it successful.
The pictures that we take to use within the magazine, have to be thought about very carefully including where and what is within the shot itself. I have an understanding that a variety of shots including both long shots and close ups will make the magazine more effective, without just using the same style of image throughout.
In this lesson, we concentrated on the theory side of our media product and looked at a powerpoint presentation about the assessment criteria so we have an idea of where to aim.
It told us the division of marks and the levels in which we needed in order to gain the highest of our ability.
The Foundation Portfolio consists of three sections, the Research and Planning, the Music Magazine itself and the Evaluation. These are all of great importance towards to development of the product and how much work is involved in order to make it successful.
The pictures that we take to use within the magazine, have to be thought about very carefully including where and what is within the shot itself. I have an understanding that a variety of shots including both long shots and close ups will make the magazine more effective, without just using the same style of image throughout.
Lesson 18
Lesson 18: 19-03-09
In this lesson we used the ICT suite to make a start on our media product, the music magazine. I used photoshop to start the front cover of my pop magazine named 'Poporama!' and thought about the type of image I was going to use for the front page. From the plans that I produced during the preparation, I had an idea that I wanted to have a bright and bold front cover, with a bubble writing effect as the title to fit the pop genre. I thought this was appropriate to the style of music that I have chosen to base the magazine around. The use of music notes as imagery and bright colours fulfils the expectations of a pop magazine, and I am currently in the process of producing the front page.
In this lesson we used the ICT suite to make a start on our media product, the music magazine. I used photoshop to start the front cover of my pop magazine named 'Poporama!' and thought about the type of image I was going to use for the front page. From the plans that I produced during the preparation, I had an idea that I wanted to have a bright and bold front cover, with a bubble writing effect as the title to fit the pop genre. I thought this was appropriate to the style of music that I have chosen to base the magazine around. The use of music notes as imagery and bright colours fulfils the expectations of a pop magazine, and I am currently in the process of producing the front page.
This image is the one that I have chosen to use for the front page. I thought it would work well with the genre of Pop, as the participant looks glamorous and fits the style well. The iconic girly features will express the genre clearly, and I am going to cut the body out of the background using photoshop, so the background will not be shown.
This image that was also taken as part of the process, I do not feel works as well as the image above. The positioning of her body doesn't reflect the right message that I need in order to make this magazine production a success. The shot was not taken correctly, and therefore cuts out a part of her left arm. This is a problem when coming to work on the image in photoshop, as it will not look effective as a the image on the front page of the magazine itself.
I have learnt that it is alot more time consuming than what I originally thought. In order for this to be a success, I have to spend a significant amount working on my final product so it is at a professional standard.
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Lesson 17
Lesson 17: 17-03-09
In today's lesson, we focussed on the Uses and Gratifications approach within our media consumption. It made us think carefully about how we can involve these ideas within our magazine production to fulfil our target audience needs. The uses and gratifications is the notion that we choose what we consume as an audience, and ties in four main subjects.
1. Escapism- Where readers have a chance to get away from reality, and become engrosed in what they are involved in.
2. Personal Relationships- Where the audience feel they have a significant relationship with the celebrity they are reading or looking at.
3. Personal Identity- Where the trends and ways of living become shown through the particular media product, which consequently makes people make a statement about themselves and discover their own identities.
4. Surveillance- Where the readers and audiences learn about the world around them, whether it be about music itself or a particular news topic.
I have an understanding that all of these points that come under the uses and gratifications, have dangers and can often make people believe lies about certain issues and take things too far when consuming their own media. We also discovered that there are certain ways in which our media product the music magazine, can include these aspects which will fulfill their needs to full effect.
In today's lesson, we focussed on the Uses and Gratifications approach within our media consumption. It made us think carefully about how we can involve these ideas within our magazine production to fulfil our target audience needs. The uses and gratifications is the notion that we choose what we consume as an audience, and ties in four main subjects.
1. Escapism- Where readers have a chance to get away from reality, and become engrosed in what they are involved in.
2. Personal Relationships- Where the audience feel they have a significant relationship with the celebrity they are reading or looking at.
3. Personal Identity- Where the trends and ways of living become shown through the particular media product, which consequently makes people make a statement about themselves and discover their own identities.
4. Surveillance- Where the readers and audiences learn about the world around them, whether it be about music itself or a particular news topic.
I have an understanding that all of these points that come under the uses and gratifications, have dangers and can often make people believe lies about certain issues and take things too far when consuming their own media. We also discovered that there are certain ways in which our media product the music magazine, can include these aspects which will fulfill their needs to full effect.
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Lesson 16
Lesson 16: 12-03-09
In todays lesson we had access to the computers within the ICT suite, to make a start on a final product. I looked at my previous plans for the pop music magazine that I am going to produce, and started to think carefully about the practical side and how the layout is going to fit within the Photoshop element.
I started the middle page spread and started to add in the text that will be the information on photoshop. I have left spaces for the images that will be used on this page, and worked around what I need to add. I found the text needs to be thought about carefully, and quantity that is going to be on the page as there needs to be room on both sides for the logo, title, and captions aswell as the images themselves.
This is the first part of our practical task that I have started, and it has given me an understanding of how the planning needs to be precise and clear before starting.
In todays lesson we had access to the computers within the ICT suite, to make a start on a final product. I looked at my previous plans for the pop music magazine that I am going to produce, and started to think carefully about the practical side and how the layout is going to fit within the Photoshop element.
I started the middle page spread and started to add in the text that will be the information on photoshop. I have left spaces for the images that will be used on this page, and worked around what I need to add. I found the text needs to be thought about carefully, and quantity that is going to be on the page as there needs to be room on both sides for the logo, title, and captions aswell as the images themselves.
This is the first part of our practical task that I have started, and it has given me an understanding of how the planning needs to be precise and clear before starting.
Lesson 15
Lesson 15: 10-03-09
In this lesson, we looked at our plans of the magazines and produced them in greater detail. We considered the images, text, contents and articles that we were going to put into our magazine.
I produced a storyboard of the images that I am going to include within the magazine. Every page that I am going to produce will be thought about carefully and I have an understanding that the pages will need more than one image each. I found that it will be better if I take more than the amount of images needed and choose from then, rather than being limited to what I am able to use.
After the images were roughly drawn, I used the time to think about the article that will produced for the double page centre spread. I have chosen to keep to the genre of the magazine, by having a pop icon and idol being the centre of attention with an interview style spread. It will consist of questions and answers from the personal response of the chosen pop star, so the younger readers within my target audience will be inspired to achieve.
This lesson made me think carefully about the planning required before setting out to physically take the images. The storyboard of ideas will be helpful when taking the images, as I will know what images I need for the production of my magazine.
In this lesson, we looked at our plans of the magazines and produced them in greater detail. We considered the images, text, contents and articles that we were going to put into our magazine.
I produced a storyboard of the images that I am going to include within the magazine. Every page that I am going to produce will be thought about carefully and I have an understanding that the pages will need more than one image each. I found that it will be better if I take more than the amount of images needed and choose from then, rather than being limited to what I am able to use.
After the images were roughly drawn, I used the time to think about the article that will produced for the double page centre spread. I have chosen to keep to the genre of the magazine, by having a pop icon and idol being the centre of attention with an interview style spread. It will consist of questions and answers from the personal response of the chosen pop star, so the younger readers within my target audience will be inspired to achieve.
This lesson made me think carefully about the planning required before setting out to physically take the images. The storyboard of ideas will be helpful when taking the images, as I will know what images I need for the production of my magazine.
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
Lesson 14
Lesson 14: 7-3-09
In this lesson we started to think about the content and layouts of our magazine, brainstorming anf noting down different ideas. This was quite challenging, as we had to think about the genre, title, captions and images that will need to be taken in order to make the magazine a success.
Images, content, layout, font, style and colours are all needed to make a music magazine, and how we portray these is key to making an interaction with our audiences.
There has to be a house style, in order to keep the readers attracted and in line with the magazine and how it is presenting its information. The magazine's have to be thought about with great detail, before the producing of the final product starts to take place.
Here, we have learnt how important it is to think about every aspect in detail in order to produce a magazine which has a significant impact on its readers and will make them want to read it again.
In this lesson we started to think about the content and layouts of our magazine, brainstorming anf noting down different ideas. This was quite challenging, as we had to think about the genre, title, captions and images that will need to be taken in order to make the magazine a success.
Images, content, layout, font, style and colours are all needed to make a music magazine, and how we portray these is key to making an interaction with our audiences.
There has to be a house style, in order to keep the readers attracted and in line with the magazine and how it is presenting its information. The magazine's have to be thought about with great detail, before the producing of the final product starts to take place.
Here, we have learnt how important it is to think about every aspect in detail in order to produce a magazine which has a significant impact on its readers and will make them want to read it again.
Lesson 13
Lesson 13: 5-3-09
In this lesson, we had access to the computer room and ability to produce a powerpoint presentation on a music magazine of our choice.
The magazine which I focussed on, was Kerrang!. This gave me an insight into how the heavy rock genre was portrayed to it's audience and how they present the specific styled bands in a variety of ways. Within the presentation, we had to show the success of the magazine through circulation and readership figures, how it was first produced and made a high valued magazine, and the ways it attracts it's target audience.
It was an insightful lesson, that made us think carefully about the magazine's and how the different music genres had various ways of representing the different aspects within the read.
In this lesson, we had access to the computer room and ability to produce a powerpoint presentation on a music magazine of our choice.
The magazine which I focussed on, was Kerrang!. This gave me an insight into how the heavy rock genre was portrayed to it's audience and how they present the specific styled bands in a variety of ways. Within the presentation, we had to show the success of the magazine through circulation and readership figures, how it was first produced and made a high valued magazine, and the ways it attracts it's target audience.
It was an insightful lesson, that made us think carefully about the magazine's and how the different music genres had various ways of representing the different aspects within the read.
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Lesson 12
Lesson 12: 03-03-09
In todays lesson we had to write an exam style essay under timed conditions, about the magazines print and online versions and how they target their specific audiences.
This enabled us to think carefully about how the online versions of the music magazines offer many other aspects than what is avaliable in the printed versions. I found that the music magazine of NME- New Musical Express, had a lot more video footage of the music agenda and had a lot more interactivity than the printed version. The printed versions of all magazines are going to be limited in what they can offer as many of them are only weekly, if not monthly issues. Therefore, the most up to date news about music is going to be shown on the online versions and through E-Mail newsletters where avaliable.
This task helped me to think about how the different magazines portray different aspects in each version of their music news. It enables me to think how many magazines keep the same style on the online version, and how different the information can be in both the printed and online versions.
In todays lesson we had to write an exam style essay under timed conditions, about the magazines print and online versions and how they target their specific audiences.
This enabled us to think carefully about how the online versions of the music magazines offer many other aspects than what is avaliable in the printed versions. I found that the music magazine of NME- New Musical Express, had a lot more video footage of the music agenda and had a lot more interactivity than the printed version. The printed versions of all magazines are going to be limited in what they can offer as many of them are only weekly, if not monthly issues. Therefore, the most up to date news about music is going to be shown on the online versions and through E-Mail newsletters where avaliable.
This task helped me to think about how the different magazines portray different aspects in each version of their music news. It enables me to think how many magazines keep the same style on the online version, and how different the information can be in both the printed and online versions.
Monday, 2 March 2009
Lesson 11
Lesson 11: 27-02-09
In this lesson we focussed on a specific magazine genre in pairs, and how they use different symbols to represent the genre itself. The magazine that I looked at was NME which is New Musical Express. I come to the conclusion that this fell under the category of Rock, as within the magazine there were many references to rock itself whether it be certain bands or the colour connotations and imagery. There were a lot of use of the colours black and red which symbolise a depressing and low tone. This was also expressed within the content of the magazine in specific stories, including one from the band 'White Lies' who portrayed themselves as being very unhappy and are only within their band because it is a ''necessity''. There were many references to the fact that it is targeted at older teens and people in their 20's who enjoy the music of rock, as there is certain language that is used with 'rock' terms which I think if you weren't a regular reader, it would become harder to understand.
This lesson helped me gain an indepth understanding into how each different genre of music can have a great impact on the type of magazine that is produced. Whether it be from the colour and imagery used, to the type of stories and general tone of the magazine, they are carefully thought about to target the right audience.
In this lesson we focussed on a specific magazine genre in pairs, and how they use different symbols to represent the genre itself. The magazine that I looked at was NME which is New Musical Express. I come to the conclusion that this fell under the category of Rock, as within the magazine there were many references to rock itself whether it be certain bands or the colour connotations and imagery. There were a lot of use of the colours black and red which symbolise a depressing and low tone. This was also expressed within the content of the magazine in specific stories, including one from the band 'White Lies' who portrayed themselves as being very unhappy and are only within their band because it is a ''necessity''. There were many references to the fact that it is targeted at older teens and people in their 20's who enjoy the music of rock, as there is certain language that is used with 'rock' terms which I think if you weren't a regular reader, it would become harder to understand.
This lesson helped me gain an indepth understanding into how each different genre of music can have a great impact on the type of magazine that is produced. Whether it be from the colour and imagery used, to the type of stories and general tone of the magazine, they are carefully thought about to target the right audience.
Lesson 10
Lesson 10: 26-02-09
In our double lesson today, we used the computer room to finish any left over work from our preliminary task, so we have a clear understanding of how to produce our music magazine main task. We needed time to be completely comfortable with photoshop so we can produce the magazine to the highest possible standard with every element taken into account.
I managed to complete the task, along with the contents page. This helped me to understand how the contents page and front cover had to have a specific connection. This is to make the magazine recognisable with it's own personal feel, with colour connotations that will reflect and symbolise the producers and magazine itself. I used the same font and colour scheme for the front cover and contents page to make this connection, and it taught me how important this is for a professional magazine standard.
In our double lesson today, we used the computer room to finish any left over work from our preliminary task, so we have a clear understanding of how to produce our music magazine main task. We needed time to be completely comfortable with photoshop so we can produce the magazine to the highest possible standard with every element taken into account.
I managed to complete the task, along with the contents page. This helped me to understand how the contents page and front cover had to have a specific connection. This is to make the magazine recognisable with it's own personal feel, with colour connotations that will reflect and symbolise the producers and magazine itself. I used the same font and colour scheme for the front cover and contents page to make this connection, and it taught me how important this is for a professional magazine standard.
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