Category: Component 1

Below is my second draft of my contents page. I have improved on my targets and changed important things so my contents page fits and works better with the rest of my magazine. By editing parts of my contents page I’m seeing more improvement each time and the feedback I’m given I take into consideration to change things and make sure everything works well to create a good Mise En Scene.

Whats new?

I really like how my contents page has turned out, I feel its unique and different to a lot of magazine contents pages however I also feel its easy to read and tells my audience what they need to know. Below are things I added to include different features and certain things I had forgotten in my first draft:

• First I moved the title of ‘contents’ from in a white box to the left of my page. I changed the font to make it look more modern and gave it a blue outline.
• I then added a stand first in the top right corner to briefly talk about who the photo is in the background of the contents page and what they are going to be talking about further on in the magazine.
• I changed the numbers of each article to have an outline of red instead of blue so it matches the red on my front cover and shows the link they have.
• I also changed the font of what each page is about to match the title of the contents page and added a blue border around key parts of each page. I also altered some wording so it made more sense and was slightly shorter.
• I added a page number at the bottom right as I had previously forgotten to do this in my first draft.

Whats next?

Next I plan on adding minor things to my contents page to make final touches. I feel my contents page is conventional and my making these last changes I will be able to target the audience I want. Below are little things I would like to add onto my contents page:

• Change the page number so it doesn’t have the blue border around it as I feel it stands out to much.
• Play with the strike colours to see if there is an alternative.
• Could make the numbers bigger than the box.
• Billie Eilish spelt wrong so change.
• Can add some copy in to the shorter coverlines so that there is not so much of a white empty band on some of them.

This is my second draft for my front cover. Given feedback from my teacher I have looked at this and changed certain aspects to allow my front cover to work better and look more conventional. I feel it already looks better than my first draft however there are still things I would like to change in the future.

Whats new?

I changed quite a lot for my front cover second draft as I felt certain things weren’t working well and I could change parts to allow my target audience be more attracted to my magazine from when they first see it.  Below are different features I added or changed to make my magazine more conventional:

• I changed the font from a boring san serf to a more exiting font which would draw my target audience in, I also changed the wording and colours of this so certain parts where short and sweet and where easy to read quickly and my audience where able to see what the magazine is all about.
• I moved ‘pop summer 2021’ to the top right of the magazine, I did this because I felt it was easier for people to see which magazine issue it is and what genre they are about to read.
• The photo for the front cover I enhanced by making it bigger so its bold and adds more character to the magazine.
• I moved ‘Chloe’ over to the left of the page a bit more than it already was so it wasn’t covering the background photo. I also moved the box below this, changed the colour of it so it stood out and matched it to the red line in between the name of the magazine and changed the font to match the writing on the left, by doing this I felt it pulled the magazine together more.
• I then added the headline ‘New Music Season Updates’ as I felt there was a bit of empty space that needed to be filled and it add more to the magazine.
• The two circles on the bottom right I changed the writing within one of them so it was shorter and more to the point as previously it was to long. I also changed the font of this to a more exiting one and put ‘No 1’ in bold.

What’s next?

I still feel there are things I can do to make sure my front cover is exactly how I want it and creates the Mise En Scene I need. Below are some points on how I am going to go around finalising and creating my final draft of my front cover:

• The writing in the blue circle on the bottom right doesn’t stand out as much as I would like therefore I am going to enhance it by making it a bolder black.
• I am still not sure if I like the red box underneath ‘Chloe’ so I am going to play with other options to see if I can find anything else that I think would fit nicely.
• If I keep the red box I want to add strike around the blue writing in the red box.
• Add a banner across the bottom with some band artists’ names in it.
• Make the Masthead bigger, Particularly the Up and make it whiter.
• Change New Season – not really a music term.
• Different background Slightly less dark grey.
• Add a price onto it.

 

 

This is my first draft article of my double page spread. For my first draft I think it is conventional with the photo on the left, however I feel there is a lot to improve on. The image and the title grabs the readers attention and there is a color palette to it.

Targets for my second draft of double page spread:

• Caption the inset
• Stand first needs to be bigger and bolder than the article copy
• Left column needs wider gutter
• Yellow box for the headline needs shadow, or bevel
• Font is sans serfia dn that is hard to read
• Font for headline is not exciting enough
• ‘Be bold’ in bold?
• Not sure about the photo…make them bigger and zing it

 

Above are my photos from my location shoot in town. I have various locations around town that worked well with my genre of pop and helped me to create good photos that will work very well for my article page in my magazine and help me with targeting the correct audience. The costumes and props like the bag and sunglasses convey my genre well and I feel majority of the photos came out well.  I mainly used backgrounds around the market and the stairs so my models where able to pose easily and to give it an effective background for my magazine. I feel the outfits worked really well, however next time I would work on the focus and lighting and adding more eyeshadow to my models makeup.

Above are 4 of my favourites from the whole of the photoshoot I feel the lighting and focus works well and the exposure isn’t to high, I also really like the background and the theme of them. The way my models are dressed shows the genre of pop and the facial expressions they are making shows confidents and that they are laid back and chilled.

Before writing a draft article I needed to make sure I understood what I needed to entice my reader and make sure they are interested in my magazine article. I have made a plan to make sure I can hook my readers in, add some background content, write the main interview and leave the reader entertained and informed.

The Hook

‘A hook’ is a treatment for an article. It usually is part of the pitch that a writer or journalist will make to their editor before they are given permission to spend time writing the article. It gives the editor an idea of what your article is all about and what kind of journalist you are. Here I have written my own hook to help the editor understand what my articles about and persuade them to publish it.

Draft article

Below I have written a draft article using my plan and my hook. I have gone through my plan and made sure I included all my main ideas as well as keeping it informal and entertaining. I have also made sure my article is still related to my theme of pop and targeting my audience.

Voice recording of draft article 

Here is my voice recording of my draft article above. It allows me to here mistakes in language and to make sure it all sounds correct.

 

 

 

Below is my shoot plan for my 2nd shoot for my article page that we will be going to town and Castle Cornet to complete. I feel by making a production meeting agenda it will allow me and my models to be well organized and know exactly what everyone needs to bring and where to be at what time.

 

 

The article that I have decided to analysis is ‘Billboard (June 20), dance power players’ It is a new band article however it is hard to tell who the author is. By analyzing a magazine article I will be able to understand the placing of technical conventions like headlines and stand first and find out how to draw in my target audience correctly. There is evidence of the journalists technique therefore they make it clear of who the journalist is interviewing as they clearly states their names before starting the interview.

The journalist also says where the interview is held within the first couple of lines telling us it’s ‘This sunny memorial day afternoon on a patio in Los Angeles’ which helps with understanding what the artists are about. The journalist also gives a brief to what each individual of the band is all about to let people know their backstory before getting into how they got to the point of how they released a new band.  

This is a new band interview and I can tell this straight away by the way the journalist starts to talk about each of the men however some could think it was a biography too. It is laid out conventionally with a headline and stand first at the side of the page, a large photo of the three men who are part of the band and finally the paragraph of what the new bands all about on the bottom right. I feel it works will as there’s lots of good colors to draw the audience in and its different in the way they have inverted some color.  

Within this article it is not obvious of the presents of the journalists, the journalist never states their name therefore it almost give the impact of the readers not feeling so connected as they feel it may be fake or written by someone different to whoever actually took the interview, it’s a lot more disconnected for people.  It is also written in 3rd person which makes the readers feel they can’t completely connect with the band and find out what they are all about because there’s not that intensity of the 1st person. However the artist have the own little parts of speech within the article. There is a clear introduction however there is not a clear conclusion which makes the article harder to know when its ending. 

The words used in the article make the readers feel like they know a lot about the bands identity and make them feel like they are social interacting with them, however I feel they could of done this better by writing the article in first person. This article fits the genre well because of how it’s laid out and the way the the bands talked about, for the offset you can tell they are interested in becoming a big pop band. It also stands some of the famous artists one of the men in the band have worked with and these are big pop artists.  There are not many similes or quotes used in this magazine article but i feel this gives it a more serious feel and not as if it’s all just scripted for the magazine. As a result of reading this article the audience will feel more included with this new band and know what their all about. I feel it will make the audience be excited for what this bands going to create and show they are enthusiastic in what they’d like to create. 

As a result of all of this I think the journalist has portrayed this new band well. They have made sure the target audience understand its a new band from the beginning of the article and know there location and what their all about. The lay out and the technique terms of the writing are written well to lets the audience know that their the genre of pop and show they are serious with what they’d like to create for peoples enjoyment.

Peer assessment on the contents page 

What type of shots have been used to create a variety of shot distances and how has the camera been used to communicate meaning?  At the moment it is a mid shot the same as the cover page so in order to satisfy this criteria you will need more close ups or long shots.  It is a good shot but very similar to the front cover. Comes across very satisfactory to the audience. 

What choice of Mise en scene is appropriate for the star image and genre? Quiet office and smart…not sure this really does convey the pop image. It is refreshing to see a progressive representation of women – she appears like a professional academic with glasses and a suit. But does this work for the genre?    

How far is the font used readable and reflects the genre? It is very readable as it is a serif font….but you could argue this is a bit retro and old fashioned and perhaps the font should be a sans serif that is a bit more bold and contemporary? However, it is easy to read and very clear. 

What technical conventions of a Contents page are present and used effectively?  There are cover lines, page numbers and information on the features and articles so this is conventional. Need a page number for the actual page. 

How has InDesign been used to layout the page to convey a brand? The cut out strips work well and are modern and shows InDesign has been well applied however intriguing but as said before, perhaps the image should be more vibrant to convey the genre and star image?

How well have the text and visuals been integrated together? The text in the cut outs works well but I think the font needs attention.

Where has Photoshop been used to manipulate the photos to enhance the star image or genre?  The image is a clear and well focused portrait but perhaps it could be manipulated in Photoshop with some filters or lens flare or play with the saturation. She is also very beautiful but could do with brightening slightly to convey that young, youthful image.

How is the language used appropriate for the genre and target audience? A young predominantly female audience and comes across conventional but perhaps needs some more focused, street language. More conversational and colloquial – like text language.

5 targets for next draft-

• Different font needs to be more contemporary
• Background photo could have filters or lens flares
• more focused street language
• Contents page number
• Close up or long shot

 

The main focus of a contents page is to inform the reader of what the magazine includes and the main features of the genre. All of these contents pages are very similar in the way that there very colorful and different to what you’d see in a lot of magazines, they also include the important information like ;

• Editors hello
• Page numbers
• Hyperbole and superlatives in headlines
• Images and word clues
• Graphic illustrations and designs
• Reminder of the magazine’s name and mission statement

However I want my magazine to include these but be different and I feel these contents pages attract attention and create the desire I want. They are different from one another and the ones that do not have a lot of color I would add bits of detail to create the AIDA.

I would like my contents page to be the first page inside my magazine as I feel its important to let my target audience know what’s going on inside and I think if its a couple of pages along my audience will get lost with what’s going on. These contents pages are quirky and create entertainment within themselves.  I’m adding the coverlines in 3 different paragraphs and making sure I include the entertainment, information and interviews included within my magazine.

Above are my three draw ups of how I wan my own contents page to look. I think my favourite is the second one as its different and allows me to be creative with the colours I can use and how I display the important information ect. I have also come up with my own cover lines which I feel are unique and suit my magazine genre perfectly:

• Top 10 latest hits
• Juice gossip from our latest stars
• The newest queen of pop
• Artists of the year
• Artists taking control