THE PRELIMINARY OVERVIEW

Rhys Nelson – 12EMr Parsons

TASK

We were informed by our teacher (Mr Parsons) to conduct a preliminary task, in order to get familiar with the program: Adobe Photoshop CS6 which will be vital in the process of creating our music magazine for our coursework portfolio. This will minimise any confusion with tools, when constructing our music magazine.

We had to follow strict instructions, to ensure we were supplied with the correct ingredients for a school magazine which will correspond to a music magazine. We as a class, formed groups of 2 and one group of 3. I was included in the group of 3 students, we used a Canon camera to capture pictures in every frame size from a ECU (Extreme Close-Up) to a Tilted Frame. However we were instructed to specifically take a minimum of 3 Medium Close-Ups, as it will ensure we end up with a decent photo for our front cover. The remaining MCUs can be used to state why they were not suitable for the front cover.

RESEARCHTo gain a better overview of how a school magazine should look, I did some research to provide me with techniques I should utilise to create a successful magazine.

I made annotations to display my understanding of the techniques made use of, as well as stating my comprehension of the technical terms used to describe the ingredients of a front cover for a magazine. The notes around the magazine include the denotation along with the connotations.

AUDIENCE RESEARCHQUESTIONS Yes No

Is big pictures more appealing, rather than a lot of information on the cover of the magazine?

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Are bright coloured fonts better on the front of a magazine?

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Is a splash useful? llll llll ll lll ll

Is an incentive (a free gift etc.) a good tactic for a magazine to posess?

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Should the colour scheme be fluent no the cover and contents page?

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Do you think it would look good, to include a variety of sized images on the cover of the magazine?

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Do you think a model is needed? llll llll llll llll l

Is a big masthead useful? llll llll llll llll

Are strap line's a good tool to use? llll llll llll lll ll

Does having the masthead behind the model make it hard to read?

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KEY:• llll = 4• llll = 5

ROUGH DRAFTS

The background appears too artificial, in comparison to the model. Also has connotations of success not being realistic.

The closed book has lazy connotations, in addition the sharp cut doesn’t look well/visually appetising. The white background also appears too harsh on the page.

FRONT COVER & CONTENTS PAGE

OVERVIEW THE CREATION PROCESS

The process of creating this magazine proved to be quite stressful. This was because every ingredient is vital and caters for a specific purpose. Everything must be placed carefully, for instance I gathered many backgrounds but some did not appear realistic due to the model looking as if she was either floating in mid-air or the background looked too artificial.

Another crucial aspect was making sure the colours did not clash, or have negative connotations especially as this magazine is for a young audience and about maximising success. As expected, a lot of time was invested to tweak the preliminary task up to a customary and visually pleasing standard.