Constructing my magazine continued

This is how to write text on Photoshop using the toolbar on left,  I selected the Horizontal Type and created a box. The box created would automatically provide me a new layer.  

The font is 93 Pt, this takes up about 10% of my magazine page, as planned before. 

Masthead is an essential for magazines; during my research I found that masthead makes the audience aware of what magazine they are reading. Through the masthead it is clear to see if the magazine is directed at girls or boys, women or men. It distinguishes if its genre, i.e. film magazine, lifestyle magazine, music magazine.  i conducted a survey asking at random 20 people their opinion on what would be the appropriate font for my magazine. 

Figure 12 Font: Arial black

Figure 13: Font: stencil

Figure 14: Algerian

Figure 15: Font: Impact

(insert tally and graph) 

Placing background setting onto the Magazine front cover 

To move an image onto a new document, you left click on the image, making sure that you are on the correct layer then drag it to the document that you wish the image to be placed. This would automatically create a layer on the new document.

My background was perfect in terms of the theories that surrounded it, making the location of the film known, however I felt that it needed to be edited. The original colour (amber) did not give the image a certain appeal- it looked like a cowboy theme as opposed to crime.  I wanted a more darker and intense feel to the background image at the same following a theme of crime and lust. I used the software  

     Editing the colors of the background 

The level adjustor (displayed on the left) allows me to eliminate the primary colors  (Red, Yellow and Blue) or (R, Y, B). Adjusting the level of colors creates different colors that could suit my genre. 

 The exposure tool allows me to dramatize the image. I can stratify all the lighting from the image or over-expose it to light. To create my urban look I withdrew a lot of lighting to create a more surreal and youth- urban feel.  Below, the image has been edited using the exposure tool. The sense of urban lifestyle is beginning to appear.

The brightness/Contrast instrument, allows me to manipulate the level of brightness that is emitted from the image. It deals with the lighting and shading aspect of editing. I intended to make my image dark to represent the darker life that the characters are experiencing. Also it fits with my theme of dark aspects to show the dark figures of crime that circulates society. 

Below is the edited image using the tool 'Brightness/ Contrast' it is noticeable that the contrast is low along with the brightness to create a more darker appearance. 

(cover line screen shots for magazine) 

Review for Magazine 

My first draft for my magazine cover, I asked my peers what they thought about my first attempt and recorded their answers on a sheet.

One of my friend suggested that I change the color of the masthead background to Black so the Title could stand out more. He explained that the brown background did not make the magazine masthead stand out, but using black would bring out the title making it more eye-catching. Below, is the two different masthead, that I created.  

Understanding Bar codes



During my research i found that  magazines use bar codes on the front cover of the magazines. Bar codes is a white-background with black stripes device machine readable data container. It allows distributors to scan, read and retrieve information about the product, however the relexability is limited for consumers because they could only retrieve these information through the distributor or seller using a bar code reader. Barcodes are essential for magazine, during my research i found how it is consistently used, it tracks the magazines, it reads the magazines information and informs the reader about the magazine. Barcodes, were first developed by Bernard Silver, he constructed bar codes for rail ids and then it became commercialized for supermarkets. Barcodes are not only used for labeling foods, tins but are very versatile.
Website accessed: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcode

Enter the 21st century, and we have upgraded the traditional Bar-code usage and image. The QR (quick response) code is a modern and upgraded version of the traditional bar codes as shown in the image (upper left). Mainly used in Korean and a popular feature on smartphones such as, Blackberry, iphones etc... the QR code has taken a leap into the 21st century. 
QR code is a white blank background which is covered in black blocks, the formation of the QR codes are different and unique and are more accessible for consumers.  majority of my target audience hold smart phones, which act as scanners- for instance, Blackberry can scan products which have the Qr codes. The featuring of QR codes on products are not featured on magazines, i found during my research. Reasons for this, i do not know however i find that placing QR codes on magazines is a good marketing strategy. i decided to use it on my magazines as a way of heightening competition with my rivals, challenge existing products by broadening my horizon and setting up a whole new genre of technology.  The reason i used QR code, it because my target audience would be fascinated by the use of a new bar code and it would promote them to use the QR system.

This is my final version, the feedback from my audience prompted me to rectify any mistakes. 
Changing the masthead background to black makes my masthead stand-out. I re-positioned my cover line to the top section of my magazine page, in this position it is more clear to see, the color contrast against the dark background.
The main cover line position was changed to a more visible and neater position as opposed to before, this is so my consumer can identify the main cover line more easily and its stands out more, as opposed to the red background. Although i changed some of the colors i still stuck to my color scheme which was 'red' and 'black' however the oranges and yellow enabled my users to read information. I didn't want too much dark colors and sought to give off a more professional and urban-like image, as researched institutions ensure that their cover lines are visible.

Constructing my Magazine

The images below were the ones that i had selected, The image is in desperate need to cropped, the background is not what I require. So using the software, Photoshop, I am able to edit my pictures.

Photoshop would be the main software I would use to edit my pictures, this is because the software is what I have available and also it’s a software used mainly to manipulate the appearance. 

 

The images are in desperate need of cropping, so I used the software Photoshop to carry out my need to edit my images and constructing my magazine.

At this point I was satisfied because I had now finished the foundation of my image; although a lot of work needed to be done I had rectified the obvious mistakes: cropping the image and blackening the gun.

I then started to think of the magazine conventions, what colours I wanted to use to connote my image, what message I wanted to convey to my audience, the use of colours etc.

I had to think about each of my designs carefully. In my rough sketches, I had not chosen a final design that I was going to stick to, but I had taken in aspects of the arrangements of my magazine. 

I thought that my main focus would be on editing my image, thinking of ways that I can link it with my main task.

I then progressed to editing my image, just like professional maagzines the main image is manipulated to give off a surreal look, every error is rectified.  

How to Sharpen Blurred image.

How to apply Lipstick through Photoshop 

Editing skin tones  

 Skin tones adds a more professional effect on my magazine, it is meant to resemble glossy magazines that professionals usually construct.

How to do skin selection

Skin selection is creating a new layer of skin on the desired section of your image.  It helps adjusting the color and luminosity of the skin. I did this because during my research I found that the front cover image is ‘glossy’ and professional looking.

Editing the photo for the magazine is an essential skill, it gives it the professional edge and lure the consumer more, it is highly likely that females would be photoshopped. Laura Mulvey quoted a famous comment "Men look, women appear, women see themselves being looked at" many may argue that i was proving this message by 'beautifying' my main character Tara, however i wanted to emphasis on the fact that she had chosen a life of lust. 

Ancillary Task 1

Using the old-fashioned technique of planning, I sketched some idea down on paper before scanning them onto my computer. Below are samples of sketches that i did to brainstorm ideas on the layouts of the magazine and the components needed. My ideas were generated from the research that I conducted the previous week. using a guideline to help me with the generic conventions in composing a magazine, the reason for me sketching was because  using technology software such as Microsoft Word Programme, would be  time consuming and I wanted to draw my ideas immediately.

                                                                  Magazine idea 1,
I followed the magazine conventions of the masthead being allocated in a recognisable position, commonly on the top of the magazine. The main image naturally captivates the audience so I ensured that I placed it in the centre of the page. the cover line I discovered usually overlapped the image but did not take over the image, it designed to be distinguishable but not too obvious. At this stage I had many question marks, to decide which should be placed where. 

                                                                    Magazine idea 2
A less detailed plan, at this point i failed to develop my first magazine idea. Reasons being because i couldn't think of any idea to develop from. However, i decided to code my ideas and think about the shapes of my images. The sketch seemed similar to my previous one with little or no change. 

                                                               Magazine idea 3

I made small changes to the locations of my components, I decided where I should insert my bar code, the length ways of my cover lines and puff. I wrote down how many percentages my image should take up, the percentage of the Masthead space etc.... I thought about my target audience and how I can make it appeal to them bearing in my mind my previous research. I also noted the colour scheme and how it could be of use. 

                                            Magazine idea 4
A more developed plan, i challenged existing products by including subordinate cover lines in their magazine, institution's have limited them selves from this role, as found during my research, magazines have become somewhat simpler. I thought more about my colour scheme and decided to start implementing more of my 'red' as it was essential to my theme. Red codes crime and lust it is a colour that is eye-catching and also appealing to my target audience.I brainstormed my font size and what stories I was going to include in my front page. I developed my plan from idea 3- experimenting by sketching various of ideas.


I took some pictures for my magazine's main image, I looked at what would stand as more engaging for my target audience. During my research I found that institutions use images that promotes their products, to promote my target audience to watch my trailer i need to find what draws them towards magazines. I didn't go out my way to ask my target audience questions instead I found through my research that crimes involving youths often had a more urban setting. Me living in an urban environment it was not hard for me to capture shots that represented this image. Magazines such as 'Vibe' often displays images of urban youths, although the magazine is for music- i found that my target audience usually purchases magazine with a similar genre and layout. My conclusion would have been more valid if I had conducted a primary research, asking my target audience questions that would support my findings;



This image is of my main character, Tara, she is holding a gun would represents crime. I like this shot because my main character is almost blurred out- this creates an impact on the gun, it becomes the focus of attention. The shot is also unique because the gun juts out as if it were pointing to the readers.

This image held too much distraction, my peer stated that it did not identify the main character and the focus was too much on the gun that it made it less appealing. I liked this shot at first because it dramatised the film, it made it clear that it was based on crime. My inspiration for this shot was Angelina Jolie in Salt, the shot with her holding a gun displayed power
(image can be seen on http://www.totalfilm.com/features/total-film-magazine-issue-170). The photo of Angelina Jolie in her film Salt was captivating, and i wanted to depcit the same image. During my research i found that intutions established this shot because it appealed to their target audience.

I was told by my peer, Michelle, that the shot was "cute and innocent, however oxymonronic because the ionnocent look is defeated by the gun." I thought about this idea, i realised that it would suit my storyline, a girl who was once innocent is now corrupted by the state of society- however it gives off a sterotypical image of a middle-class girl being innocent in the first place. Futhermore, this type of imagery would not appeal to my target audience it does not really reflect urban lifestyle as i intended.

This is an image for my background, as stated before, my teaser trailer is situated in an urban environment, this picture makes it clear that it represents this location. The colour shows night-time because I wanted to captivate darkness.

However, this is a shot of a more built-up area (Camden Lock) i liked this image but the water created a barrier for me, the setting did not suit my genre instead it represented more of an Victorian era as opposed to a 2st century feel. The shot was interesting but I couldn't use it. 

I lacked constructing a questionnaire and presenting it to my target audience, with their opinion it engages them with my project and also gives me a guideline into what they want. However I did ask my peer and she insisted that the first image of Tara was best suited for my magazine cover.

Ancillary Task 1

What is the purpose of magazines?

How does the industry use magazines to sell their products and media text?

This task reminded me of my AS course whereby we designed and created a music magazine. My ancillary product is somewhat similar to what I had to create in AS. I progressed to research further into the use of magazines especially music magazine, my research from the Internet and media books helps me with the generic conventions of film magazines and the purpose of music magazines.

My research would be based on the cost of a standard film magazine, the target audience, what conventions do film magazine follow and how does this entice the audience to buy the product, I aim to predict how my film magazine cover might challenge the

Magazines are usually financed by advertisement companies and are distributed in a consecutive cycle e.g. every week, every day etc… films magazines are usually distributed monthly due to the fact that films are not produced on a daily bases, so a film magazine being distrusted monthly gives the media institution more time to gather information

 I found that magazines have different use in the media world; it can be used as a form of advertisement for a variety of media products, it promotes a media text and gives the audience an insight into how critics rate the media product.  Large collections of audience often collect magazines in order to be updated in the latest news, events or situation and I found that film magazines often feature actors, directors, editors and other fields in the media industry gives the reader an insight into the production of media text.

Film magazines are not only available in hard copies, they have recently been designed and published via the web, e.g. the well know ‘Empire’ film magazine can also be found on the website www.emipreonline.com, although I am not working on creating an online film magazine, we can notice the progression of technologies and how the distribution of magazines have evolved into becoming more widely accessible to the general public. Online magazines do not follow the generic conventions of hard copy magazines, so to follow their conventions would be wrong as I am planning to design and create a paperback magazine. 

Empire magazine

Publishing Company: Bauer Consumer           Source: Wikipedia

Sell Date: Monthly magazine                           Source: Wikipedia

Price: £3.00                                                   Source: AnswerBag

Target audience: it is hard to distinguish what the target audience is for one of the most popular film magazine in the media industry. Empire is compacted with various contents; however from the front cover the audience can see that Empire magazine has a trend of promoting films. The front cover acts as a form of advertisement and also to lure their target audience. One of the most common target audiences for the magazine is for the YUPPIE groups, ‘Young Urban Professional, because the types of films promoted are mostly adult genre. However there are masses of audience, such as film collectors, or DINKY ‘dual income no kids yet’ a group of people who have a hobby of reading film magazines or establish a career in films.

What conventions do empire magazines follow?

An example of an Empire film magazine, almost instantly the reader consumes the main image that is centred on the magazine. Despite the image being paced behind the text, the image still defines the facial features intended to draw the audience. The props used on the main character, Keria Knightley, informs us that the film is based during the Victorian era, we can argue that it is a stereotypical perspective of upper-class Victorians to be pale, clustered with expensive jewellery, have an up-do hairstyle and fit the ‘British’ features as Kiera Knightley so perfectly portrays.  Empire magazine follows the convention of using a plain background, it seems to follow suite of many other magazines. However I plan to challenge this convention by placing a setting on the background of my magazine. I want to use an image that has not been shown in my film trailer but still follows the storyline.

What conventions does the image follow, how would I challenge it?

The image works well with the masthead, the bold fonts and ‘masculine’ bulkiness can give a description to the main character, her cold-blooded glare into the camera and emotionless feature compliments the red- coded masthead. From here I learnt that the image of the magazine needs to link with the mast head in order to target the audience, the connotations surrounding the colour of font, or the ideas surrounding the image must make the consumer intrigue to know more about the magazine. 

The masthead is bold and distinctive. The consumer doesn’t need to strain their vision to read the masthead. In every magazine, it is a tradition to ensure that the masthead stands out-either through colour, size, font, style or appearance. The Mastheads, like the Empire masthead on the left, must be eye-catching.  The font used for the Empire magazine masthead appeals to their target audience. It does not intimidate some target audience as serious or business-like instead it looks quite comical, it makes the audience aware that the magazine suits people with an interest in films or people who studies films as a hobby. Empire magazine masthead also makes it clear that it is for collection purposes as well.     

A British institution owns total Film magazine, it is distributed once every month. It is targeted at specific audiences who have an interest in the filming world. Most of the films publicised are sourced from Hollywood or A-list directors. The films have the tendency to by high budgeted.  They seek a large number of subscribers and offer deal to win customers over; these are one of the many selling strategies that the magazine does to promote its name to possible consumers. 

Price:   £2.90

Institution: future publishing

Founded 1997

Global: although it is a British magazine, the magazine is distributed globally to other countries, it has an inter-relation with America, India, Germany however unlike ‘Empire’ it does not print in different languages instead it sticks with its English manuscript. The lack of a range of languages such as Chinese, French, and Spanish can contribute to them not reaching their possible percentage of consumers. 

One of Total Film front cover, retrieved from the internet through Google search, web address below: http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://filmonic.com/wp content/uploads/2008/08/max_payne_total_film.jpg&imgrefurl=http://filmonic.com/total-film-max-payne-cover&usg=__xPqiKWX2EO46lwa8b7at08kc8-Q=&h=655&w=500&sz=87&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=HqEl_qoz87hj1M:&tbnh=140&tbnw=107&ei=ttuJTZO2J9SIhQewufHLDQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtotal%2Bfilm%2Bmagazine%2Bcover%2Bmax%2Bpayne%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1419%26bih%3D699%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=122&vpy=47&dur=687&hovh=257&hovw=196&tx=144&ty=109&oei=ttuJTZO2J9SIhQewufHLDQ&page=1&ndsp=36&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0. 

Magazine conventions

The structure of the magazine follows the existing products, it is necessary for film magazine to follow a convention because the consumer can easily identify the product; making it easer for the institution to sell their goods to their target audience. In Total Film magazine, the main picture is centred causing the consumer to be drawn to the image – it even over laps the masthead creating a dramatic impact and domineering feature. The product (main image) is placed in a location, the audience can identify that the location of the film. Most Film magazines do not place the character on a setting instead they place them on a plain background, I planned to challenge this convention by using a background setting in my magazine cover.  

(include more research)