Evaluation

My media product has similarites to a real media product for example the conventions, I have a large image on the front page aswell as text which is similar to a real media product. My magazine is similiar to a real media product becuase it had specific criteria to meet (as specified in the proposal) and used the similar programs to the industry standard.

The audience for my magazine is college students and I feel my magazine will be appropraite for my target audience because the image is on the front page is neutral and doesnt aim to a specific gender. The image on the front has positive connotations because the model has a smile on his face despite being in a mixed colour background (representing the change of the seasons and also the dull feelings/moods that can be present during the autumn/winter months and the challenges faced with college work), the model gives optimism to the negativity in life. The image is likely to attract the audience well because it is a warm, welcoming image on the front cover.

A college would distribute the magazine because it builds the colleges reputation of having good communication with the student because college news and various other information can be easily acknowledged in a magazine because fun and work are being mixed. Also the college is likely to distribute the magazine because it increases the students college experience and may also generate revenue which could be invested and used to improve college.

In this assignment I am dissapointed in the photography because the original photographs taken were lost due to a fault in the technology so more photographs had to be taken which had to be set in different scenery because of the lack of time. Also, time management was an issue with this assignment beacuse of the lack of knowledge/support because of the teachers absence however, I feel overall I completed the task well and I am pleased with the end result. I particularly like the effect on the image with the gradient because I think it looks nice and gets the desired message across, however I feel it would've worked better with the original photographs because of the brighter colouring.

In the next assignment, I would improve the logo used because in the media industry, the logo would be used for years and I don't believe the logo I desgined would be suitable because it is too plain. In the next assignment, I would rather design the logo in Photoshop so I can add styles and effects so it looks more professional and of a higher standard rather than just a text box in InDesign.

InDesign

This is my final front page for my magazine (created in InDesign)

I have opened a blank document and sized it to A4 and have placed the resized final image from Photoshop and "Placed" it in InDesign and moved it to the position I wanted it in.

I have then added text boxes and, refering to my proposed plans, positioned the text in the right place and changed the font and colour of the text using the colour swatch tool. Next, I created the title "BOOM!" and changed the colour and outline.

This is contents page (created in InDesign):

I added another page the same size as the front cover, I refered to my on paper designs and then created two shapes, one a cirle and one a rectangle, I then positioned a circle shape in the corner of the page for the editors letter and the rectangle along the spine of the book.

I used the color swatch toolbox to change the colours of the shapes and then edited the lines surrounding the circle. Next, I added a textbox and typed in the relevent contents from my proposal along with the page numbers.

Editing my photo...

To edit my photo for the front cover of my magazine I used Adobe Photoshop.



This is my final edited photo:

To edit it I have done the following:

Firstly, I have edited the brightness and contrast to get the optimal ...

Next, I have duplicated the layer so the same picture is on top of the origianl layer.

I have now applioed a layer mask to the layers and linked them using "Alt + click" to link the layers with the layer mask. I have now changed the colour saturation to make the photo black and white.



I have used the "gradient" tool with the black and white colour selection to remove part of the top layer so to reveal the bottom layer to show the transition between colour and black and white across the image.


As criteria of the proposal, Ihave decided to add some leaves into the final image. To do this I have sourced a leaf and cropped it from the original image.



To make the leaf original and "my own"I have applied several effects to the image:

I then deleted the background from the leaf image and inserted the leaf in layers in Photoshop and rotated the photos to look as if leaves were fallin across the page. This is my final image:

My photo for my front cover!

Analysis Of Media Proposal

I have aimed my magazine at both male and female teenagers at Chelmsford College, I am going to make my magazine appealing to my target audience by using contrasting colours to attract attention to the front cover. For the title I am going to use a bright white colour to contrast with the background autumn colours, I have chosen the colour white because it is a neutral colour and doesn’t aim to one sex more than the other. I am going to use an autumn colour scheme because the magazine will be sold in the autumn, I am selling the magazine in the autumn because there will be new students at the college and hopefully they will buy the magazine to get more of an insight into the college and general college life. For the forthcoming magazines I will use a colour scheme related to the current season.

I am going to use an image on the front cover of a male in autumn scenery, by the river to show a relaxed outside of class learning environment, that will hopefully encourage other students to advance their learning by studying in their own time in a quiet, peaceful environment. Generally females are portrayed to be the dominant sex for “getting on with their work and succeeding in education” so I am using a male model to be original and encourage both sexes to further their education.

I am going to use a medium-close up camera shot to give the model an identity and make it more personal to the target audience.

I am going to try to be original with the layout of the front page of the magazine. For the positioning of the title I am going to have it vertically against the spine of the magazine because it is unusual, this reflects the rebellion of teenagers in society and the want to be different to everybody else.

For the pricing of the magazine it will either be free of charge because students are not likely to have money to spare for a college magazine or I am going to sell it for a small amount to avoid the magazine being defaced or thrown around the college.

The frequency of the magazine will be on a two weekly basis because I think there will be enough to publish every two weeks, also it will keep the students informed of any new college news or updates.

My Media Proposal

I am going to call my magazine BOOM! I have decided to call my magazine this because it is the “word of the moment”, thus hopefully making it a successful and appealing magazine to my target audience which is students. My magazine will be free or a small charge to prevent misuse of the magazine (being thrown around college.) The magazine will be issued on a two weekly basis.


What’s in it:
Editor’s letter
The following week’s menu
Sport timetable
Employment tips
Top ten things of the moment… (film, music, fashion)
Horoscopes
Problems pages
Student card deals and shop offers
The next issue…
“Over to you”… Student and teacher stories
General college news – drama plays, auditions…

What will it look like:
For my front cover I am going to have a medium close up shot of a student because this is the desired criteria for the task, I am going to set the photograph in a park with autumn trees in the background because it is going to be sold in the autumn season. Across the front cover and the contents page I am going to have autumn leaves to set a theme for the magazine. I am going to have a white coloured bold title and contrasting colours to draw attention to the front cover. I am going to have the title vertically along the left hand side of the page to be original. I will continue this theme to the contents page and will have the contents title vertically on the left hand side of the page.