27th September 2011
So far AS Media Studies has been pretty much what I had expected it to be. We began by creating our preliminary task to help us with our Photoshop skills, i found this pretty easy as it was similar to our magazine task from year 11. I decided to create a school based magazine called the Haydon Times, and included photos of students celebrating their GCSE results. I have just finished my similar product research in which I looked at several different music magazines to work out the typical codes and conventions of them. I looked at front covers, contents pages and double page spreads from music magazines such as NME, Mojo, Q, Vibe and Kerrang! which have given me an idea of the typical codes and conventions as well as giving me inspiration on what to include in my own magazine.
8th October 2011
I have just finished my key concepts task on Prezi. I found this a task fairly easy as it was very similar to what we had to create for our GCSE magazine last year; the only difference was that this year i created it in Prezi rather than PowerPoint. Key concepts are split into 4 parts: Codes and conventions, Audience, Institution and Representation. I found the representation section most difficult as each magazine represented its artists differently, so I decided to analyse two different magazines from different genres and them compare to each other. This week i have also started to think about my photo shoot. I have decided on the genre of music magazine i wish to create and have got two models to be in my photo shoot. I need to begin to think about the types of photos i would like to take and book my photo shoot.
15th October 2011
This week i created my proposal for my magazine, which is basically filled with my ideas for the magazine. I talk about the type of magazine that i plan on creating, which is a Indie magazine. I also talk about the target audience, the competition to my magazine which is NME and Mojo, the typical business features and why you feel it will succeed. I enjoyed doing the proposal as i felt it helped me to gather my ideas together for the type of magazine I want to create. I have also started looking for inspiration for my magazine on Google images and in magazines; I have focused on artists such as Hayley Williams, Taylor Momsem, Florence Welch and Lady Gaga because i feel they are quirky and have poses that can be easily recreated by my model. I have decided to only use one model rather than two because an artist will work better on my magazine than a band. I posted some inspirational shots that i found on the internet, and have begun sorting out the props i will want to include in the shoot.
24th October 2011
This past week I have been focusing on my target audience and my mood board, I also finished off my proposal. I wrote about my target audience on a Prezi Presentation, including information about the Indie/Rock genre, a typical indie person and my results from the poll. The poll was useful as it helped me to see what my target audience would like to see in a magazine of mine. All my target audience research has helped me to see the types of music i should include in my magazine, and the typical people that would read my magazine and why. I have also created a mood board, filled with pictures videos and words that I felt related to the Indie/Rock. I included videos from artists such as Ed Sheeran, The Kooks and Mumford and sons as i personally feel they relate to the Indie/Rock genre. I then researched into British Rock Bands such as; The Beatles, The Clash, The Rolling Stones. Over the weekend I went into Camden and brought the fake eyelashes and a Russian style hat that i plan for my model to use during the photo shoot.
30th October 2011
All week I have been trying to come up with a name for my magazine, I have created a brainstorm on Prezi which has all my ideas about the names for my magazine. I also researched previous magazines from both the Indie/Rock genre and other genres such as R&B. I made a Photo bucket presentation of photos which I see as inspiration for my photo shoot. I used photos from artists such as Jessie J, Florence Welch and Taylor Momsem as I feel they fit into the genre, but they are also quite quirky and unique.
1st November 2011
Today I came up with the name for my magazine: Indiependence. Since the genre of music Indie, is shortened from Independent Music, I mixed the two words together to make a play on words that represented both the magazine and the genre of music. Whilst searching the Indie genre on the internet I came across the urban dictionary definition; an obscure form of rock which you can only learn from someone slightly more hip than yourself. I had an idea that I could include this definition in my masthead, so I put it underneath the words 'Indiependence' so it’s like a strap line. I thought this was an original idea, as I haven’t even seen this on an actual magazine.
4th November 2011
Today I created one of my masthead designs, but decided to make it rather than creating it on Photoshop. I cut out the letters from newspaper headlines and stuck them all together on an A3 paper. I recorded myself doing this, put it on the computer and then shortened the length to 16 seconds. I thought that this was a more unique way of creating my masthead as I felt that 5 or 6 designs all created on Photoshop would be very similar, especially as I am not good with that programme.
7th November 2011
I am preparing for my photo shoot tomorrow, over the weekend I collected up any props that I felt I could use during the shoot. I have also created a slideshow on photo bucket that shows all the ideas for the way I want my model to be positioned. I also know what I want my model to be wearing. Today I’m also finishing my names designs, although I already have the design I wish to use, I think it would be beneficial to create other designs and see what they look like, in case I change my mind and to also help me gain more experience of how to use Photoshop.
8th November 2011
Today i had my photo shoot, which i think went quite well in the end. I had my model Bethany George dress in 3 different outfits, and brought along several different props with me as well as using some from the music department. I tried to follow the indie genre, but since my model didn’t own clothes from that genre we had to make do with what we had. The props i brought along were bubbles, masks, a purple flower, glitter, a flower windmill and a collection of necklaces. From the music department I used a guitar, an amp and a microphone. I used my photos from my inspiration on the blog for ideas of how to make my model stand. Overall i think the shoot was a complete success because I enjoyed it and feel I have taken a lot of interesting photos that I can use in my magazine. I still have another 2 photo shoots to do, one next week that uses a green guitar with a circle pattern on it as I think that is very unique, and another one which will be shot in a location like the woods.
14th November 2011
Over the weekend I borrowed a video camera, and asked my friends to evaluate my masthead. I got a variety of feedback and the overall outcome was that my masthead was very good and fit in with my genre. I think that getting feedback has helped me feel more confident about my masthead.
16th November 2011
I have started working on my drafts for my front cover, contents page and double page spreads. I had created a folder that included all of my favourite photos from my photo shoot in it; I have begun to decide which photos I will include in the magazine. I have picked two possible photos for my front cover, to see how they look I will create two front covers, and compare the effectiveness of the photos. I hope that making these draft copies will make me more confident using Photoshop.
18th November 2011
I had my second photo shoot today, on an outside location with a camera, I used this camera as it has a lens which blurs out everything that isn’t in focus. Although the photo shoot didn’t turn out to be a huge success as I wasn’t happy with my models outfit choice, and the weather was too cold outside, I have gained experience at how to use this camera, which will be useful for future references.
So far AS Media Studies has been pretty much what I had expected it to be. We began by creating our preliminary task to help us with our Photoshop skills, i found this pretty easy as it was similar to our magazine task from year 11. I decided to create a school based magazine called the Haydon Times, and included photos of students celebrating their GCSE results. I have just finished my similar product research in which I looked at several different music magazines to work out the typical codes and conventions of them. I looked at front covers, contents pages and double page spreads from music magazines such as NME, Mojo, Q, Vibe and Kerrang! which have given me an idea of the typical codes and conventions as well as giving me inspiration on what to include in my own magazine.
8th October 2011
I have just finished my key concepts task on Prezi. I found this a task fairly easy as it was very similar to what we had to create for our GCSE magazine last year; the only difference was that this year i created it in Prezi rather than PowerPoint. Key concepts are split into 4 parts: Codes and conventions, Audience, Institution and Representation. I found the representation section most difficult as each magazine represented its artists differently, so I decided to analyse two different magazines from different genres and them compare to each other. This week i have also started to think about my photo shoot. I have decided on the genre of music magazine i wish to create and have got two models to be in my photo shoot. I need to begin to think about the types of photos i would like to take and book my photo shoot.
15th October 2011
This week i created my proposal for my magazine, which is basically filled with my ideas for the magazine. I talk about the type of magazine that i plan on creating, which is a Indie magazine. I also talk about the target audience, the competition to my magazine which is NME and Mojo, the typical business features and why you feel it will succeed. I enjoyed doing the proposal as i felt it helped me to gather my ideas together for the type of magazine I want to create. I have also started looking for inspiration for my magazine on Google images and in magazines; I have focused on artists such as Hayley Williams, Taylor Momsem, Florence Welch and Lady Gaga because i feel they are quirky and have poses that can be easily recreated by my model. I have decided to only use one model rather than two because an artist will work better on my magazine than a band. I posted some inspirational shots that i found on the internet, and have begun sorting out the props i will want to include in the shoot.
24th October 2011
This past week I have been focusing on my target audience and my mood board, I also finished off my proposal. I wrote about my target audience on a Prezi Presentation, including information about the Indie/Rock genre, a typical indie person and my results from the poll. The poll was useful as it helped me to see what my target audience would like to see in a magazine of mine. All my target audience research has helped me to see the types of music i should include in my magazine, and the typical people that would read my magazine and why. I have also created a mood board, filled with pictures videos and words that I felt related to the Indie/Rock. I included videos from artists such as Ed Sheeran, The Kooks and Mumford and sons as i personally feel they relate to the Indie/Rock genre. I then researched into British Rock Bands such as; The Beatles, The Clash, The Rolling Stones. Over the weekend I went into Camden and brought the fake eyelashes and a Russian style hat that i plan for my model to use during the photo shoot.
30th October 2011
All week I have been trying to come up with a name for my magazine, I have created a brainstorm on Prezi which has all my ideas about the names for my magazine. I also researched previous magazines from both the Indie/Rock genre and other genres such as R&B. I made a Photo bucket presentation of photos which I see as inspiration for my photo shoot. I used photos from artists such as Jessie J, Florence Welch and Taylor Momsem as I feel they fit into the genre, but they are also quite quirky and unique.
1st November 2011
Today I came up with the name for my magazine: Indiependence. Since the genre of music Indie, is shortened from Independent Music, I mixed the two words together to make a play on words that represented both the magazine and the genre of music. Whilst searching the Indie genre on the internet I came across the urban dictionary definition; an obscure form of rock which you can only learn from someone slightly more hip than yourself. I had an idea that I could include this definition in my masthead, so I put it underneath the words 'Indiependence' so it’s like a strap line. I thought this was an original idea, as I haven’t even seen this on an actual magazine.
4th November 2011
Today I created one of my masthead designs, but decided to make it rather than creating it on Photoshop. I cut out the letters from newspaper headlines and stuck them all together on an A3 paper. I recorded myself doing this, put it on the computer and then shortened the length to 16 seconds. I thought that this was a more unique way of creating my masthead as I felt that 5 or 6 designs all created on Photoshop would be very similar, especially as I am not good with that programme.
7th November 2011
I am preparing for my photo shoot tomorrow, over the weekend I collected up any props that I felt I could use during the shoot. I have also created a slideshow on photo bucket that shows all the ideas for the way I want my model to be positioned. I also know what I want my model to be wearing. Today I’m also finishing my names designs, although I already have the design I wish to use, I think it would be beneficial to create other designs and see what they look like, in case I change my mind and to also help me gain more experience of how to use Photoshop.
8th November 2011
Today i had my photo shoot, which i think went quite well in the end. I had my model Bethany George dress in 3 different outfits, and brought along several different props with me as well as using some from the music department. I tried to follow the indie genre, but since my model didn’t own clothes from that genre we had to make do with what we had. The props i brought along were bubbles, masks, a purple flower, glitter, a flower windmill and a collection of necklaces. From the music department I used a guitar, an amp and a microphone. I used my photos from my inspiration on the blog for ideas of how to make my model stand. Overall i think the shoot was a complete success because I enjoyed it and feel I have taken a lot of interesting photos that I can use in my magazine. I still have another 2 photo shoots to do, one next week that uses a green guitar with a circle pattern on it as I think that is very unique, and another one which will be shot in a location like the woods.
14th November 2011
Over the weekend I borrowed a video camera, and asked my friends to evaluate my masthead. I got a variety of feedback and the overall outcome was that my masthead was very good and fit in with my genre. I think that getting feedback has helped me feel more confident about my masthead.
16th November 2011
I have started working on my drafts for my front cover, contents page and double page spreads. I had created a folder that included all of my favourite photos from my photo shoot in it; I have begun to decide which photos I will include in the magazine. I have picked two possible photos for my front cover, to see how they look I will create two front covers, and compare the effectiveness of the photos. I hope that making these draft copies will make me more confident using Photoshop.
18th November 2011
I had my second photo shoot today, on an outside location with a camera, I used this camera as it has a lens which blurs out everything that isn’t in focus. Although the photo shoot didn’t turn out to be a huge success as I wasn’t happy with my models outfit choice, and the weather was too cold outside, I have gained experience at how to use this camera, which will be useful for future references.
24th November 2011
I continued with my drafts, I am having a hard time deciding on the photo's to use so I think it will be better to create the entire pages first without pictures and then add them in at the end.
28th November 2011
I have chosen the photos i want to use on my contents page, i used a photo of bethany in the woods and didnt remove the background. I chose this photo because i thought it was appropriate for a contents page. I have picked out my favourite photos from each shoot and put them into a folder, this way i can refer to the folder when looking for photos to use.
1st December 2011
I have started my front cover, i chose a close up of bethany holding a microphone from my first shoot, i think this is perfect for the front cover because it highlights that it is a music magazine as well as being interesting. I have researched some more music magazines on the internet to try and get a better idea of what to put on my front cover, i found this helpful as it gave me plenty more inspiration.
4th December 2011
Today I continued with my front cover, i have pretty much finished it now. I added a band index, however im not sure that it fits in with the rest of the page.I am happy with my sell lines, i feel they include artists that are typical of the indie genre which is of course ideal for my magazine. I have also changed the photo due to it being to highly edited and making the image appear fake.
6th December 2011
I have now completed my first double page spread, i chose one of my favourite photos from my first photo shoot to put on the page. I chose a photo of Bethany wearing a mask, with bubbles in the photo. I initially thought that the bubbles would be hard to cut out and wouldnt look right, but it turns out that the photo is very effective. I added a pull quote onto tha page 'I've always wanted to save the world', this adds a 'superhero' theme to my page which is emphasises by her wearing a superhero like mask.
8th December 2011
I have added 'Exclusive' to the top of the page so the audience reading my magazine are aware this is an exclusive interview. I have made the word 'save' in my pull quote bigger to further highlight the superhero theme on the page.
9th December 2011
I have began work on my second double page spread, by cutting out 7 photos to place on the top of the page. Each photo is basically the same, she is sat on the amp wearing a jumper and shorts, however each photo she pulls a different face. I like this double page spread so far, It follows a different theme to the first page, giving a more 'rocky' or 'edgy' feel instead. I think this adds interest as the article wont become boring for the readers.
15th December 2011
I have completed the first drafts of my front cover, contents page and double page spread; I have uploaded them for feedback. I will need to improve my magazine when we return after the Christmas holidays; I already have an idea of some improvements I need to make. I need to add writing underneath the headings on my contents, to make it look more like a magazine than a poster. I also want to receive feedback from my target audience, to make sure my magazine appeals to them.
I continued with my drafts, I am having a hard time deciding on the photo's to use so I think it will be better to create the entire pages first without pictures and then add them in at the end.
28th November 2011
I have chosen the photos i want to use on my contents page, i used a photo of bethany in the woods and didnt remove the background. I chose this photo because i thought it was appropriate for a contents page. I have picked out my favourite photos from each shoot and put them into a folder, this way i can refer to the folder when looking for photos to use.
1st December 2011
I have started my front cover, i chose a close up of bethany holding a microphone from my first shoot, i think this is perfect for the front cover because it highlights that it is a music magazine as well as being interesting. I have researched some more music magazines on the internet to try and get a better idea of what to put on my front cover, i found this helpful as it gave me plenty more inspiration.
4th December 2011
Today I continued with my front cover, i have pretty much finished it now. I added a band index, however im not sure that it fits in with the rest of the page.I am happy with my sell lines, i feel they include artists that are typical of the indie genre which is of course ideal for my magazine. I have also changed the photo due to it being to highly edited and making the image appear fake.
6th December 2011
I have now completed my first double page spread, i chose one of my favourite photos from my first photo shoot to put on the page. I chose a photo of Bethany wearing a mask, with bubbles in the photo. I initially thought that the bubbles would be hard to cut out and wouldnt look right, but it turns out that the photo is very effective. I added a pull quote onto tha page 'I've always wanted to save the world', this adds a 'superhero' theme to my page which is emphasises by her wearing a superhero like mask.
8th December 2011
I have added 'Exclusive' to the top of the page so the audience reading my magazine are aware this is an exclusive interview. I have made the word 'save' in my pull quote bigger to further highlight the superhero theme on the page.
9th December 2011
I have began work on my second double page spread, by cutting out 7 photos to place on the top of the page. Each photo is basically the same, she is sat on the amp wearing a jumper and shorts, however each photo she pulls a different face. I like this double page spread so far, It follows a different theme to the first page, giving a more 'rocky' or 'edgy' feel instead. I think this adds interest as the article wont become boring for the readers.
15th December 2011
I have completed the first drafts of my front cover, contents page and double page spread; I have uploaded them for feedback. I will need to improve my magazine when we return after the Christmas holidays; I already have an idea of some improvements I need to make. I need to add writing underneath the headings on my contents, to make it look more like a magazine than a poster. I also want to receive feedback from my target audience, to make sure my magazine appeals to them.
15th January 2012
I have started my magazine evaluation, so that I can improve on both my magazine and the evaluation as I go along. The first evaluation question is about how my magazine develops or challenges forms and conventions of real magazines. The evaluation has also helped me to find parts of my magazine that I really like, and parts of my magazine that I don’t like so much.
22nd January 2012Today I answered the second question of my evaluation, which asked about how my magazine represented a particular social group, which in my magazines case is ‘Indie’. I also used this an as opportunity to get feedback from my target audience, which was helpful as they noticed problems with my magazine that I had failed to see, this helped me to make changes that would make my magazine more effective and appeal to my audience well.
23rd January 2012After receiving feedback from my target audience, I took screen shots and uploaded them to blogger. I also made the improvements to my magazine, and then asked for two of them to give me feedback again- both were happy with the changes I had made. Having feedback has helped me to look at my magazine from a different person’s point of view and has helped me to evaluate it more effectively. I have also started working on a third double page spread, including the remainder of my article and a few more pictures that I really like. I decided to include information about her album, alongside a review to make it more like a music magazine. I created the CD cover in Photoshop, taking inspiration from other artists CD’s such as Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson and Mumford and Sons. I looked online to find reviews of albums so I had a better idea of what to write in my own review.
2nd February 2012
7th February 2012
I made some final improvements to my magazine before adding them onto the blog. Now that my magazine is finished I can leave all my attention to the evaluations and editing my blog. Making the magazine given me skills that I didn’t think I would be capable of having, I can now use Photoshop to a high standard which is something that I couldn’t do last year. Overall I am pleased with the work which I have produced.
10th February 2012
I have begun preparing to get feedback from my target audience about their opinions of my magazine; I decided I will conduct this feedback session as a form of an open interview and viewing session. My target audience will firstly be given an opportunity to look over my magazine and give their opinions on what they think is good and what could be improved. I will then ask them some questions about my magazine to gather the information that I want, such as- would you buy my magazine if you saw it on a shelf in a shop?
19thFebruary 2012
2nd February 2012
I have been working on the third and fourth questions in my evaluation in the last few days. I did some extensive research into the oligopoly of different companies that could distribute my magazine, and after this research I weighed up the pros and cons of each distributor and eventually decided on one: The National Magazine Company. I then created a Prezi that gives more detail of the selection process of choosing the relevant distributor for my magazine. I then worked on my fourth evaluation about who the audience for my magazine would be. This involved looking over my target audience research. I think this has been helpful as I have been able to see all the different aspects that go into making a magazine.
6th February 2012On my final double page I included an album review, I looked over some other artist’s album reviews from various websites and magazine, and this gave me an insight on how I should be writing my own album review. Secondly when researching into contents pages I realised many of them includes an editor’s note so I decided to include one myself. I included this to be sure I followed the codes and conventions of music magazines, and also to appeal to my target audience.
I made some final improvements to my magazine before adding them onto the blog. Now that my magazine is finished I can leave all my attention to the evaluations and editing my blog. Making the magazine given me skills that I didn’t think I would be capable of having, I can now use Photoshop to a high standard which is something that I couldn’t do last year. Overall I am pleased with the work which I have produced.
10th February 2012
I have begun preparing to get feedback from my target audience about their opinions of my magazine; I decided I will conduct this feedback session as a form of an open interview and viewing session. My target audience will firstly be given an opportunity to look over my magazine and give their opinions on what they think is good and what could be improved. I will then ask them some questions about my magazine to gather the information that I want, such as- would you buy my magazine if you saw it on a shelf in a shop?
19thFebruary 2012
Previously I created a PowerPoint to show the Mise en scene and props incorporated in my first shoot; I have also created this for my third shoot to show what I used. This allowed me to evaluate how well different aspects of the shoot worked and the effect of each of the props I used. I preferred the photo shoot on location rather than the studio shot one because the lighting and the setting was much more natural, allowing my model to fit in with the genre more.
23rd February 2012 Today I filmed my audience feedback, I decided on 8 members of my target audience to join in the interview and open discussion. Each member of my target audience gave their opinion on each different page of my magazine. I received both positive and constructive feedback which allowed me to make a few improvements to my magazine, although overall I received very positive feedback.
3rd March2012I have continued to work on my evaluation, completing question four five and six. I am using all of my initial research as well as my magazine to help me to write it. I could improve my evaluations by adding more detail into them, however since I shall be creating videos, prezi’s and PowerPoint’s I can add all of the extra information then.
