Week 11

This week, I completed all my draft for my front cover. I started working on my front cover via photoshop. The training prior to this benefited me as it made me work a lot faster. A few changed were made to my front cover such as the positioning of coverlines. I am glad I  made these changes as my front cover now looks better. I also have a few ideas for my contents page which i will also be working on.

Week 10

This week, we analysed two different magazine front covers made by students from Harris Academy Purley. One called 'The Reign' and the other, 'Rap Realism'. We looked at elements such as font, color and images used in detail. Doing this gave me more ideas of what I ashould and should not do with my own magazine cover. I have changed my mind about a few things on my magazine such as color. I only want to stick to a minimum of three colors, the main ones being black and white. This week we also had photoshop training. This helped greatley as I can now do more things with my front cover and double page spread although I want to keep it simple. During my analyis of front covers I noticed that using simple font with a simple setting looks much better than different font styles with a 'messy' background. I plan to use this idea on my magazine.

Mise-en-scene analysis.

'The Reign' is an example of a magazine that uses an image to connote different interpretations. The actor used in this image is female which may instantly direct this magazine at females. However the actors costume could also direct the magazine towards males as her outfit is slightly provocative, showing skin with her shirt knotted, this could possibly connote her lack of innocence and confidence. Although, the actors outfit would not be deemed as inappropriate as most of her body is covered up.  The setting is in a studio against white seamless paper used in the studio. This plain effect benefits the front cover as a whole as it does not draw any attention away from the actor, cover-lines and masthead. Also, the use of a plain background also draws even more attention to the actor and text, making the information stand out and therefore engaging as well as attracting the reader to the text. 

More over, the lighting used in the image is subtle but enough to see the image clearly. This effect again  focuses on the actor, making her the centre of attention. Overall, I do not like the the look of the front cover as it looks too 'busy'. Many different styles of fonts have been used with a total of four different colors. I think that if the font styles and colors were toned down, it would look better. 

During some research on music news, I came across a controversial topic about Miley Cyrus. Whilst accepting her award at the EMA's, Miley smoked weed on the stage. Smoking weed in amsterdam is legal, however many people did not appreciate the idea of her doing that. I found this interesting as I have noticed that news like this really interests people. I am now looking to add elements such as these to my magazine.

During my research, I came across XXL Magazine.  A music magazine that focuses on rap and hip-hop music then, now and up and coming. This is the sort of lane I wish my magazine to go in. This particular magazine is interesting as the front cover only uses a single image unlike many other magazines. The effect is still bold enough to make a statement despite the use of a single image. I have decided to use this as my final layout of my front cover as I keep on changing my idea. Although coming up with different alternatives is positive, i feel like I need to start making important decisions for my magazine at this stage such as this one.

Week 9

This week we have a mock exam coming up based upon our work we have done so far and what we plan to do. I have not really prepared for this exam but i plan to do so in gathering all my ideas for my music magazine. I feel like this mock exam will benefit me as talking about my plans will bring more of them (plans) into mind. AT this stage, I have also gathered all my written work into my folder in order. Doing this will keep me organized and allow me to see my progression over the weeks.

week 8

This week I completed my analysis of contents pages of different magazines into further details. Doing this gave me a better understanding of how I could possibly layout my magazine contents page. Comparing the different types of pages also made me see how the layout of a page can determine the whole look of the magazine and suggest what type of magazine it is. Also during this week, I managed to take some more location shots with my camera. Going to events or even taking pictures of friends widened my ideas of what sort of pictures I want to include in my magazine.

Here is a picture I took at the Frank Ocean concert. I'm thinking of using this picture for my magazine as I think I managed to captured a really good clear shot. As the photo captures only a glimpse of Frank Ocean and focuses on the background, I could talk about the setting of the concert in my article.