My Original Photographs

Looking back at your preliminary task (the school magazine task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

On my first college magazine that I produced, I did not really and truly understand the power of photoshop and the great adjustments and effects that could be potentially be used. Also I did not understand the different ways in which you could position text like headings and pull quotes and images like main cover images. This all adds up to the overall look of the magazine and this determines weather people will buy your product or not. I have learnt that audience research plays a very important role in your magazine as it outlines what your target audience want from a magazine.

Here are two magazine covers which I have created. The one on the right is the first one I produced at the start of the year. The one on the left is the second and final cover that I have produced. They are both very different as I feel that I have progressed with the use of Photoshop during the year. For my first cover, I started out with a black background and photographed a fake 'mock up' band which was going to be my main cover image. I used a soft edge brush to mask around the image and then I adjusted the contrast levels to create this effect. I used simple text and basic texts to complete the image.In the latest cover, I have used a number of different settings to create different textures and effects. I have used drop shadows on main headings and titles and I have also learnt how to create an outer glow on an image or a peice of text. I have changed some opacity levels to make more things stand out and I have gone for a more colourful cover as it would stand out more on a shelf full of magazines. I decided to use a close up shot of a band rather than a long shot to give the reader some idea who they are looking at and I have also masked each person so they can move freely around in photoshop.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

          Here I have shot an image and edited it using Adobe Photoshop and next to it is an image from an existing magazine. In my image, I have converted it into black and white and then decided to add a red filter to it. The outcome of the image is that it looks quite cool and is easy to re-create. I have positioned the participant so I could create a side on profile shot and i have added light using studio lighting to brighten up the image. He is wearing a simple shirt with a pair of headphones around his kneck and his hair is all flat and looks quite messy. His facial expressions show that he has a slight pout on his lips and that he is unaware that the camera is taking photos of him. I have composed the image so that it is a medium close up - close up shot enabling the reader/veiwer to see the man more clearly.

          

           The shot next to mine is very similar in many ways but it is also very different. Like my image, it is in black and white and it is a side on profile shot. There is a little bit of lighting in the image, mainly coming from above the participant and infront of him. His facial expression however are different as he has a simple straight face but similarly to the opposite image, he is not looking into the camera. Of what I can see, he is just wearing a simple t-shirt and his hair is in the form of a mullet. The image looks in the 80's style whereas my imge looks like an image from the present day.

         

          In these photos, I am trying to give the reader a certian view on different people. The left image shows a man/boy, pouting. This could show that he is possibly bored or that somethig bad has just happened in his life. The image suggests that he has a nice personality as he looks as if he if hals smiling, he does not look rough and he is generally quite stylish. The image does not connote a sense of vioence which shows us that the man does not have an attitude and all in all, looks to be a nice person. He could catagorise himself as a typical indie scenester and is likely to wear converse and shop in places like Topman and Urban Outfitters. 

          The image on the right, I feel, connotes the complete opposite to whay the left does. For a start, his face is quite straight and serious and he looks as if he is engaged in serious thought. This could show us that he is possibly angry inside or that he is thinking of bad things that have happened. The image tells us that he might have a slightly bad personality as he looks quite firghtening and is wearing very dark clothes. I feel that the image could connote a sense of violence and anger which could show us his attitude towards other people. This image could class the man as an Indie Kid and the places he would shop are very similar to an Indie Scenester eg. Topman and Urban Outfitters.

My Finished Products

Here is my finished cover, contents and double page spread images.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Media College
Originally uploaded by Chris Demetriou

Here are 2 photomontages. The image on the right is from my magazine and the image on the left is from existing magazines. Click each image to see their Flikr analysis.

Media College 2
Originally uploaded by Chris Demetriou

        In the photomontage from an existing magazine, they have explored things like pull quotes. These pull quotes are usually quite big in size and they attract the reader and give an insight into what is going to be inside the magazine. They are "pulling" the reader in. In the photomontage from my music magazine I also have used pull quotes. From researching into exsiting products, I found that pull quotes were very effective and also added some more design ideas into shaping the magazine.

How did you attract/address your audience?

All in all, I feel that my magazine has a very good unique selling point. Not many music magazines out there today come with an array of different colours so I felt that there was a very big gap in the market. I chose to use different colours as it would give it a more 'fun' feeling and would make the magazine feel a bit more informal and 'matey'.  Also, I have used some band names in my articles to link my magazine to exsisting bands who feature in similar styled magazines. Another thing that I have done is to identify the genre of my magazine within the images, colours and text. I have featured clothing, bands and also images of stereotypical images of what the magazine's 'Tribe' look like. All in all i wanted my magazine to be more informal and jokey rather than a very serious and formal magazine as my target audience would simply not buy my product. Also, if the magazine was very distanced, people would not buy it so a more friendly feeling made it easier to control.