General Comments for front cover, contents page and double page spread.

I believe my front cover is the highlight of my magazine, through the use of the colours and the cover girl, I think I managed to get the country theme across to the readers. The logo which I have created from scratch also reflects the country theme. After looking at my magazine I think I made a good choice with the fonts which I chose, they are not to formal looking but they are not too informal that they spoil the magazine.

The contents page is quite different compared to the contents page, but I think it stills gets the country theme across, through the background design - which is white fluffy clouds, a deep blue sky and a grass blowing in the wind. I think the background is a typical country setting, for example the Mississippi plains in the US.

Finally there is my double page spread. I am extremely pleased with how this has turned out. I think the image used get the country theme across and the effect I used - black and white effect on the image, makes the image look even better. Another thing a like about my double page spread is my the big huge 'A' behind the bulk of my text. First of all I am ecstatic that the black writing goes well with the red letter and that it doesn't make the article look awful. Secondly, few magazines do this, and when one particular magazine does I think it really improves thew article and draws people attention to it.

If i was to repeat the task again I think I would perhaps change the contents page, even though I really like it, I think I could of improved it a lot more through the background colour and the text. However, I do not think it is a disappointment and I still like it very much.

Double page spread.

A double page spread is an article which covers two pages. Normally a double page spread focuses on the main article in the magazine. Within my magazine the pages focus on 'Alex Bloor' a new and upcoming teen country singer.

I used Microsoft Publisher to use the double page spread template. For one of the pages I thought have a large image of Alex which would dominant the left hand page. After searching through the pictures which I had took earlier in the month I chose one which I thought would be the most appropriate. I first cropped the image to suitable size and added a 'black and white' effect to the image. To finish editing the image I put a mirror translation on it.


The image after the changes i made:



After creating the image I inserted into the publication, where I would create the double page spread.

The image within the publication:












The next step was adding text to my double page spread. I decided to write an article on how 'Alex Bloor' rose to fame and the difficult situations she encountered.

The article which I created:

After winning her first singing competition at the age of 5, Alex Bloor knew singing was her ultimate passion.

Her dream became a reality in 2009 when she released her debut single 'Holding on to a dream', topped the charts at number one in several countries. Her life since then has been turned upside down; 6 months ago she was performing in a small bar in Nashville, Tennessee to a crowd of about 80 people. Now she is on the MTV music awards performing to crowds of thousands, while millions of people
are tuning in from all over the world.

Growing up in a small town in Southern Tennessee had its difficulties for Alex trying to achieve her dream. Apart from the local talent competition which took place every year there was no hope that she would turn into a worldwide phenomenon. "For a long time, I thought my dreams would never come true" says Alex. "The local talent show wasn’t enough for me, I knew I had the potential, but achieving it was another thing".

At the age of 16, Alex feared that if she didn’t do something soon that her chance of fame would be over before it had begun. She made a drastic decision to leave her family and friends, and go to her uncle’s in Nashville; "It was the hardest thing I done so far, to leave my mum, my dad and my friends behind – it was just heart breaking" she added, her face slightly losing color as if the memory pained her. As the gears of her career slowly start moving, Alex ended up getting a part time job as a pub singer in the heart of the City. "It was hardly the country start I was hoping to get, but I believed this would be the start of my singing career" says Alex.

"I was singing several times a week and earning the basic wage, but I could have been in a worse position".

Finally her first big break came when a customer, who turned out to be a manger at a local festival, asked her to perform at the annual barn dance competition, “I was so shocked at first, I just couldn’t believe it". Thinking that things couldn’t get much better, on the day of the barn dance she won the award for the best newcomer.

Her happiness was short-lived however, after her dad was taken into hospital after having a major heart attack; "When I heard

the news, I went straight to the hospital, I was so worried”. “I had spoken to him the night

before and he seemed ecstatic about me winning". After intensive heart surgery, Alex's dad was in a critical state for over 22 hours. "I thought he wouldn't last the night, it was such a hard time for me and my family".

Three weeks of upset and trauma had past and her dad was finally allowed to go home. Meanwhile Alex headed back to Nashville to try and resume her dream. "It had been several weeks now with no major work; all I could do was perform in the pub hoping someone would notice my talent".

Finally six months later Alex was asked if she wanted to perform at the county fair. Without an hesitation she agreed. This might be a new chance. "It would be the biggest performance I had played at so far, I was really looking forward to this".

This was the night everything changed.

After performing a cover version of the hit single of “Can't Fight The Moonlight” by LeAnn Rimes, she was approached by a man named Scott Borchetta, who wished to sign her with his record label “Big Machine Records”, an independent record label which specialised in Country music, and had artists such as Taylor Swift and Melissa Peterman. "After he said he would like to sign me, I just stood there and couldn’t say anything I was just so shocked, I knew once I said “yes” my life would change forever", but did I want that change?

Since that night, Alex has had a life changing experience, "I’ve been around the world promoting my single, worked with stars such as Taylor Swift and The Rascal Flats, which has been amazing". Her first single debuted at number one in several countries and her much awaited album is out next month, so make sure you check her out.

Tour Dates have been unveiled for her first tour promoting her new album, dates are as follows:

• 15th May 2010 – Nashville – Nashville Arena
• 16th May 2010 – Nashville – Nashville Arena
• 18th May 2010 – Nashville – Nashville Arena
• 20th May 2010 – Los Angeles – Nokia Theatre
• 29th May 2010 – Phoenix – Univ. Of Phoenix Stadium
• 31st May 2010 – Houston –
• Reliant Park
• 3rd June 2010 – Salt Lake City – Rice Eccles Stadium
• 5th June 2010 – Denver – Invesco Field
• 8th June – Seattle – Qwest Field
• 10th June – Chicago – Soldier Field
• 13th June – Miami – Land Shark Stadium

After writing up the text which I was going to use in my article, I inserted it in to my double page spread within Publisher, I then inserted 'drop caps' into my text, as this is very common within music magazine articles. I put a large letter of an 'A' behind my text to liven up the article and make it drawn people's attention. I made important quotes stand out by putting a border around my text and making it larger than the other text on my page.

My double page spread after I had finished it:

Stages of the contents page.

When starting my contents page, the first thing I decided to do was create a background. I first filled the background in a sky blue colour. I then downloaded some addition brushes which I could use in Photoshop, these brushes were of different clouds. I used this brushes on the blue background, this made the background look really realistic and gives a sense of summer. Finally I used another brush on the bottom of the background, the brush used was meant to represent grass.

After finishing the background I feel that I have achieved a professional result from the different the tools which i have used. I think the background represents summer through the use of the white fluffy clouds, blue sky and the grass.

The background:

After creating the background I decided I would need to make a plan of where I wanted everything to be within the contents page. By having a plan it will help me to a follow the design of the page. The plan:

After creating a plan for my contents page. I decided to put some of the basic features into it, such as the logo and text. I did this to see if the layout of the page looked realistic and to see what sizes I would need parts of the text to be. I also included page numbers, issue number and date. By slanting a piece of text I felt that this made it stand out from the rest of the page because it looks different to the other text. After editing the size of the text and moving text boxes into different positions I then decided to develop the contents page more:

Once I had inserted the bulk of the text onto the page, I developed it by changing the font to a more appropriate style which would suit the magazine. The main titles within the page where made blue and a blue faded auto shape was put underneath to make it stand out. The blue text contrasts with the background, this makes it stand out to the reader.

Finally after making the text suitable for my contents page, I then was able to insert my pictures into page. The pictures on the contents page show what is going to be in the leaflet and I think they get across the variety of what is offered to readers. The final contents page:

Stages of the cover.

After selecting the image which I wanted to use on the front cover and imported into PhotoShop so I could edit the image. The first thing I did was cropped the image to a suitable size which showed the person the guitar and the background. The image can be seen below:

After cropping the Image I made a design of where I wanted every think to be on the front cover, by following this design I will create the magazine cover. The plan design of the cover:

After creating a plan for the front cover, I did the first thing by editing the background by making it slightly defocused; I cut out the model and placed it over the top on a new layer before the image was defocused so that two wasn’t blurred. Thus the model stands out on the background; this makes the readers draw their attention to the person on the front of the magazine. I also slightly edited the lips and eyes and enhanced the colour of them, this making the smallest of detail stand out.

Next I typed text to see what it would look like on the front cover, I added basic effects on the text, such as bold and underlined text. Also I added a basic version of the logo on to it, to see if it looked good and was the right size. Text plan on cover:

The next thing I did was add colour to the text and select a suitable fonts. The colour scheme of the magazine I chose was made up of red’s oranges, browns and black, the colours match the guitar and person. Font wise I only used one or two different fonts to keep it with the house style of the magazine and if I used too many different fonts it would make the magazine look unprofessional. I think the colours and the fonts look really good and effective on the magazine.

Finally the last thing I had to do was add smaller images such as a bar code and shapes. I used a circle because they were simple but effective and made the text stand out; once again I used the house style colours to premote the magazine. I put the bar code at the bottom of the magazine; this was done as most magazines do this. The final version:

I am very happy with how my front cover has turned out because I think when looking at it, people will know that it is a country magazine through the colours used the person and the location. Overall I am please with how everything had turned out; my favourite part about the front cover is this how the person stands out from the background as I think it is a really good effect.

PhotoShop

To create my front cover I will use a piece of software called Adobe PhotoShop.


Firstly I will use PhotoShop to edit the photo. PhotoShop is a piece of software by Adobe used to color correction of images and "clean-up" of photos and artwork. PhotoShop will allow me to insert objects and text into the image, resize the image make the image lighter or darker and lots more.
After editing the photo I will insert other objects into it for example the logo.

Photo shoot

I decided to do a photo shoot to find an image which I could use for the front cover of my magazine; since it was a country magazine I decided that I would use an acoustic guitar as a prop within the image. Also I thought some of the photo locations which I took pictures off before, would be really good locations to take photos.

After finding a suitable person who would model for my front cover, I arranged a date for when the photos will be took. When the day finally arrived the weather was sunny and bright, this was really good as I wanted to give the magazine a ‘sense of summer. The photos which I took were really good and I thought that they had turned out better than I had expected.

Here are few photos which I took:



I then needed to decide which of the photo’s was the most suitable for the front cover. After narrowing down the images to three, I then picked the winning image (seen below). I picked this image because I think it best symbolised the country theme, I felt the location and position of the person really would suit the magazine cover.

Development of the logo

After now having a font for the logo and then decided to use photoshop to develop the logo and create the final version of the logo, my first step was adding the subtitle of the logo below it, this can be seen in the image below:







I then added colour to logo and made it various shades of orange and gave it a outer glow, overall I was pleased with the logo because I think it represented country music and it would look good with the image I have chosen for the front cover.

The finished logo:

Questionnaire Results

I created 20 questionnaires and gave them to people and asked them to pick the most suitable font for a country styled magazine. After getting all 20 questionnaires back, the winning font was the first one, which was the Reboard font which scored 13, the next best scoring font was seventh font, Harabara which scored 5.

The winning font, 'Reboard', with the title 'DCM'.

Questionnaire

To decided which title appealed the most for a country magazine I created a questionnaire, which I would give to people and for them to select which title was the best appropriate for my magazine. My questionnaire below:

Font Choices

After deciding to call the magazine DCM, I then chose a few various fonts which I liked and thought would appeal the most on the magazine. The image below shows the fonts with the title ‘DCM'.

Magazine Name

I have decided to call my magazine DCM. DCM meaning Diverse Country Music this will be placed below the name of the mangazine.
I choose this because its sounds modern and new. I think my magazine will be based around either a indie/pop/country theme, these are only some ideas though, so i may change my mind.

Suggestions for names.

I have come up with a few names for my magazines. I like DCM, because it sounds catchy and i think it would be good as the name of the magazine.

Photo locations.

I have taken a few photos of various locations, where i may want to have my front cover shot.

I particular like photo 1 and photo 3, as they would look good as a background.

Comparisons and features of different magazines

In this particular post I am showing the comparisons between different issues of particular magazines.


Billboard magazine, is an American based magazine. It provides all the latest news and information of the music industry and is based on the ‘Billboard chart’. The magazine is well known throughout the world, attracting million of readers every week.



• Each of the people who are on the front of the magazine are placed in front of the logo/title of the magazine
• The name of the magazine is normally black or white depending on the background.
• Certain letters in the title are coloured in to give effect and make the title stand out
• Important headings on the cover are normally in a distinct colour and font which stands out from the background, while other information is normally the same colour
• Certain artists are pictured in a background which best suits their music, for example Florida is known for his urban style of music, and the background creates an atmosphere of urban and industry.


Blender is another American magazine which published their last issue in April 2009. This magazine usually focuses on pop, Rnb and rock. Normally the covers of these magazines had pictures of picturesque women on the front.



• Like billboard magazine, most of the models on the cover are at the front of the magazine title. The title font often changes colour and the style of changes depending on the magazine.
• The colour of the text usually depends on what the models are wearing, Katy Perry is wearing pinks and black and this is shown in the text around her.
• The background is normally a light colour , eg. White
• The faces of the artists normally have some kind of expression on them.


NME or New Musical Express is a A music magazine which is produced weekly in the United Kingdom, the magazine usually associates it self with rock, punk and indie music.

• When first looking at the various covers one of the main things that stand out on all of them is the large image of an artist or band which dominates the cover of the magazine.
• The font used on the logo is kept the same through out the different issues and the font style or colour doesn't change.
• The background of the magazine is normally plain and like blender uses a shades of white as the background
• Other text on all of the other magazines is in the same font
• Shapes are also used in the different covers such as circles and rectangles

The ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine is also an American based magazine which is released ever two weeks, the main topics of the magazine are music, politics, and popular culture.

• Like the billboard magazine the people on the front are placed in front of the text.
• The title of the magazine usually has the same font throughout every issue, however the colour used sometimes change from the traditional colour red which mostly commonly used for the cover, if the red isn't used normally light colours are used instead.
• Large image dominate the cover of the magazine.
• The font around the image on the cover is usually determined depending on the image. For example, the hills cover uses a posh style of writing, as the people in the image are rich glamorous etc..
• Plain background is also used on the covers of the magazine.

Analysis of different magazine covers.

Here are a few magazine covers which have been analysed:

Music (BBC)

• Plain background used
• Red title is shaded and large font is used for the title, the font is distinctive
• You notice the woman more because of the contrast of the white background and her red dress
• They only used a few colours, red black, white and orange
• The use of the orange circle, with bold letters attracts the reader
• ‘Sarah Chang’ is in bold and capital letters, this add effect
• Pictures they use look sophiscated and overall we get quite a formal impression for it.

Vibe

• This magazine has used a few more colours compared to other magazines, red, white , blue and yellow are all used.
• The image on the front of the magazine is the first thing you notice
• It suggests that it is a urban magazine from the use of bling on his hand and the word ‘swagger’ located below it.
• ‘15’ , stands out because of the use of the yellow and contrasts with the dark background.
• Two fonts mainly used

Billboard

• First of all we notice that the magazine is a pop magazine due to the wide range of bright colours.
• The girl used on the front cover, may suggests that it also for a pop audience, because she is young and probably appeals to a younger audience.
• Bright used include, yellow, red, blue, white and orange – all of these are bright and dominant colours.
• The model, stands out from background because of the darker colours of her clothes and guitar, while the background uses bright colours. These darker colours allow the person to stand out more.

Blender

• The model is the first we thing we notice as it stands out from the background and dominates most of the cover.
• The use of pink gives a feminine, and girly feel towards the magazine and this gives a sense that it maybe for a woman’s audience.
• Only two colours are used, only black and pink. The use of two colours makes the magazine look professional and modern.
• This modern feel is also been giving off by the style of font used, the font is used throughout the cover using various sizes and boldness.
• The bold effect is used for the name of the magazine as it makes it stick out from the rest, and we are likely to remember the name of it more due to the fact it’s the first thing we read.

NME

• The bold, capital letters of ‘Blur’ are the first things you notice when looking at this magazine.
• We can tell this magazine is for a indie audience, because of the way the band dress for the front cover image, the use of indie stereotype is enforced by the hats they wear, glasses and t-shirts. Also we gather that it’s for the indie audience by the use of ‘Glastonbury’ and all the other bands which are advertised on the cover.
• The make important information stand out ‘Glastonbury Preview’ in black bold, and ‘special issue’ by the use of a different text and a line above and below it.
• Logo of the magazine located on the top left of the cover.
• Auto shapes (circles) used to highlight other important information and to attract the reader to them.

Preliminaries.

Magazine:
For our first prelim task we asked to create a front cover and contents magazine for winstanley collage. Our group chose to base our magazine on the effects of drinking, drugs and smoking within the college. To do this task we used digital cameras and software such as Photoshop. After taking various photos we decided to use a photo which best showed the consequences of drinking.
We decided to call the magazine ‘College Intoxicated’, as the consequences of the drugs and drinking leave people feeling rather intoxicated. We showed this by editing the picture in Photoshop. In Photoshop we changed the contrast of the image and made all the colours bright and luminous. The finished front cover looks like you are looking through the eyes of someone who has been under the influence of drugs or drinking, and this gets the message across that drinking, drugs and smoking are bad.










Front cover (Above), Contents Page (above)

Film
Our second task was to create a 2minute long video which made use of ‘Match on action’ and had to be continuous. Our group decided to make a prequel of a film which we made earlier in the year called Mafia. Our new film was called Mafia II, the plot line was about two gangsters who get involved in a game of poker, unfortunately things get out of hand and a innocent poker dealer gets mistakenly shot instead; this leads one of the gangsters to steal the money and run into the sunset. We edited the film and changed it into a black and white film, this was done to add effect and make it seem it happened a long time ago.

Decision

After doing both of these tasks I decided to do ‘print’ for my coursework because I felt that my skills would be suited for it. Also I thought that print would be a lot more interesting to do and that I would enjoy it a lot more compared to the other tasks.

AS Group 23

AS Group 23