The sound is not very clear on the screencastify therefore I have shown the script below:

During the process of creating my magazine and learning about to effectively portray my intended narrative through media I have learnt many new transferable skills. A transferrable skill is a skill or ability that can be applied to a wide range of jobs and activities. These include:

• Cooperation – While creating my magazine I have had to cooperate effectively with my peers to gain feedback on my work while also peer assessing their own work.
• Time Management – To make sure I stayed on track within the process of creating my magazine I learnt to prioritise certain tasks that could only be done in school to make sure I kept to deadlines.
• Creativity – To make my magazine pages interesting and engaging for my reader I had to think creatively and imaginativly which helped develop my artistic and visionary skills.
• Critical Analysis – As well as peer assesments we have also had to critically evaluate our own work which has made me more able to pick up on flaws and improvements to be made in my own work.

Within the process of making my contents page and improving my DPS and front cover I have learnt more design skills to help portray the indie genre more effectively. Skills in InDesign that I have learnt include:

• Changing the opacity of colours to let colours merge together. This creates an interesting page as it adds dimension and the illusion of many layers. This helps to portray the indie genre as it creates a unique and quirky vibe which is conventional of the indie genre.

• Changing the shape of the elliptical tool to create interesting text boxes. In my contents page I created two boxes out of the elliptical tool and distorted the shape to create an individual and unrepeatable box shape for my contents page captions to go in.This created an appealing page layout for my target audience as the uniqueness fit with the indie genre while making the page aesthetically pleasing.

• Using the drop shadow tool on the images on my contents page to make them stand out. This helps the stars to appear like they are coming out of the page and gives them an illusion of a heightened status. This makes them seen spectacular and extraordinary which fits into Richard Dyer’s paradox of the star.

I have also learned more skills on Photoshop. Specific skills include:

• Using the brightener tool to make my stars appear more lively. I specifically used this tool on the star’s eyes to brighten them so that the stars look more animated and real so that the audience feel connected to them. This connection makes the star seem friendly and laidback which is a convention of the indie genre.

• To cut images out I learnt to use the quick selection tool. I used this to cut an individual flower out of one of my images creating an interesting headline layout for my double page spread. The unique and distinctive vibe that the flower gave the headline fitted in with the conventions of the indie genre.

Completing my front cover and beginning my double page spread for my own music magazine has taught me a lot about design and production. These skills have helped the indie genre to effectively come through in what I currently have of my magazine. New skills that I have learnt in Photoshop to make my images look better and more suit the indie genre include:

• Using the clone tool to erase imperfections in my image for example I erased spots on my cover star to make the star appear more spectacular and without flaws to add to his meta-narrative as a star.

• Using levels to change the saturation and hue of my image for example I changed the saturation of the image of my cover star to add a retro and vintage feel which is a convention of the indie genre.

• Using sharpen/blur tool to make the main focus of my image stand out for example I sharpened my cover star so that he stood out from his background to make him appear more lively and real and present for his audience.

• Using crop to get rid of distractions on the edge of the image for example I cropped the image of my cover star so that the image was mainly my cover star and not the pink background making him seem important and worth of taking up space on the cover. This adds to his meta-narrative and makes him seem special and spectacular.                                            

I have also learnt how to use InDesign in order to make my magazine. Specific skills that I have used include:

• Creating boxes of different shapes and sizes for example in my double page spread I created a unique box shape for a quote to go in to make my dps unique and funky which is a convention of the indie genre. Also I have used boxes when placing my images so that my images are the correct size on the page.

• Adding text and changing typefaces, size, stroke and colour for example for my masthead I chose the font Orator standard to fit with the indie genre as it is bold and used a black font. However to contrast my cover star’s name is white with a black stroke to give a retro feel

 

My Mission Statement: Aware is one of the top indie music magazines covering upcoming indie artists as well as your long time favourites. The passion for the new-age of indie drives the magazine forward and makes it an inspiring and defining magazine that audiences feel that they can connect with.

Brand Values: Aware aims to create a sense of community and interaction between the fans and the magazine. Aware believes in giving the readers current and relevant information all about the indie genre while entertaining the reader.

I have learnt a lot about camera and I will need to put everything I know into practice when photographing my cover stars. These aspects to think about are:

• Camera angles e.g low angle
• Camera distance e.g close up
• Framing
• Shutter speed
• ISO
• Aperture
• Flash

I also need to think about all the aspects of mise en scene which include:

• Costume
• Lighting
• Acting
• Make up and hair
• Props
• Setting

I have planned my costume, makeup and props fit the indie genre and I will get my models to have a neutral facial expression to portray the relaxed vibe of the genre. For lighting I will use the flash photography equipment so that my photos come out clear and my setting is the black photography studio so that I can easily cut out my images on Photoshop.

With the use of all of these aspects my target audience should have a preferred reading of my cover stars and they will therefore want to read my magazine

I am now at a stage where I am ready to make my own magazine cover. To make my magazine a success I will have to use all of the knowledge that I have gained over the past weeks and consider many aspects that I have listed below.

Blumler and Katz: Blumler and Katz’s uses and gratifications theory will be highly useful when I make my own magazine cover as I will try to fit into as many uses as possible in order to appeal to the largest audience possible and get the largest amount of sales that I can. The main purpose of a magazine is to inform the reader however I also want my audience to be entertained and enjoy reading the magazine while also feel like their sense of identity is being strengthened.

Camera Use: I will use specific camera angles and distances when photographing my cover star in order to convey my intended narrative. For a magazine cover I would most likely use a mid-shot or a close up in order to see the cover star’s emotion so that the audience feels connected to the star. The angle that the camera is at is also important as a low angle shot suggests that the star is superior and has a lot of power, which would potentially be used in a rap magazine, however a high angle is used to portray vulnerability and fear.

Mise en scene: I will need to consider every aspect of mise en scene when creating my magazine in order to portray my intended narrative.

• Costume – The costume that my cover star is wearing is highly important when trying to convey a specific music genre for example a RnB star will typically wear chains but a female folk artist will most likely be wearing a long flowy dress to convey that she is free spirited.
• Lighting – High level lighting would be most useful when photographing my cover star so that you can clearly see the cover star’s emotion however lower level lighting could be used to convey a certain idea for example mystery.
• Acting – The facial expression of the cover star is very important in conveying a certain genre for example a punk artist would typically have an angry or aggressive facial expression.
• Make up and hair – For some genres of music hair and make up helps massively to convey the chosen genre for example a female folk or indie folk artist would typically have long, wavy hair and minimal makeup to portray that they are care-free.
• Props – Some genres of music have specific prop associations which would be useful to have on the cover for example in a country and western magazine the cover star would most likely be holding an acoustic guitar as that is a convention of the genre.
• Setting – If the cover star is going to be photographed in a specific location, the setting has to be appropriate for the genre of music for example a folk artist would most likely be photographed in nature to convey that they’re free spirited.

Layout: When I create my magazine cover I will need to include all the conventions of a magazine cover like a masthead, plugs and cover lines.

Typography: Different fonts help to portray different narratives so it is important to choose them correctly including what family of typeface to use e.g sans serif.

Colour Palate: Different music genres have different typical colour palates for example indie folk generally has a pastel colour palate.

AIDA: AIDA stands for attention, interest, desire and action. All these need to be thought about when I am creating my magazine as in order to get good sales my magazine needs to create all of these aspects for the audience.

Target Audience: Audience psychographics and demographics need to be thought about when I am creating my music magazine so that I am targeting my magazine to the right audience. If I attract the intended target audience my music magazine should be a success.

 

 

I have learnt of many features that help to communicate meaning in media including the aspects of mise en scene. The aspects of mise en scene are:

• Costume
• Lighting
• Acting
• Make up and hair
• Props
• Setting

All of these aspects work together to portray the intended narrative, for example if the lighting is dark there are connotations of fear and danger.

Another important aspect in conveying an intended narrative is by the use of the camera. Angle and distance play important roles in portraying an idea. Examples of distances and their uses are:

• Close up to show emotion and feel connected to the character
• Mid shot is used to see more of the character and what their body language is like while also being able to see some emotion in the characters face
• Longshot is used to show the character in relation to its surroundings
• Extreme long shot is also used to show a character in relation to its surroundings but can also be used to show vulnerability and isolation if the character is alone in vast, bare surroundings

The angle at which the photo is taken also helps in portraying an intended narrative for example:

• A low angle is generally used to show superiority and power
• A high angle is typically used to show inferiority, fear and vulnerability

Knowing this will be very useful when I am creating my own music magazine as I now know how I can best get across the intended narrative which in turn will increase my sales.