Draft of Contents Page and Peer Assessment:

My Contents Page Draft 1:

Part of the production process of making my media magazine includes creating a content page. So once I completed this, I uploaded it for one of my peers to give me feedback. This different, fresh perspective will help me whilst I’m making improvements to my magazine going forwards.

My Contents Page Peer Assessment Feedback:

What type of shots have been used to create a variety of shot distances and how has the camera been used to communicate meaning?

• A medium long shot at a low angle is used to display the image of the star, this makes them look powerful. The top image needs more lighting though. There is also a close up shot of the star in high key lighting with our attention being drawn to the lollipop they are eating.   

What choice of Mise en scene is appropriate for the star image and genre?

• The blue dots on their face makes it more soft and not as strong and loud as punk should be. The ripped tights are good, these show weathering and the ripped and raw style of punk.  The lollipop looks more pop than punk.

How far is the font used readable and reflects the genre?

• The bold numbering and headlines are good but the text is quite basic with a serif font and kind of boring, it needs to be more bold and bigger. 

What technical conventions of a Contents page are present and used effectively?  

• The borders of the pictures are nice and the color palette lines. The outfit has the same color palette as the grey background.

How has Indesign been used to layout the page to convey a brand

• The layout in my opinion has a pop style to it but the lines at the top of the page are good  and the word contents going down the side. The star with the information on it is good and gets the attention but experiments with different shapes. Punk has quite a dirty and raw sound. Maybe make it more jagged and uneven.  

How well have the text and visuals been integrated together?

• The outfit color suits the grey background.

Where has photoshop been used to manipulate the photos to enhance the star image or genre? 

• I think that photoshop needs to be used to make the top image brighter like the bottom image. 

How is the language used appropriate for the genre and target audience?

• I don’t think p5 and p9 relate to the genre of punk that much, in my opinion i think it needs to be a more basic language.  

(Low B Grade)

5 Targets to Improve my Draft:

• Use photoshop to make the top image brighter, like the bottom image.
• Change the page number titles from P5, P9 ect… to Page 5, Page 9 ect… (or something more fitting).
• Change 1 or 2 of the typefaces, for something more bold and astonishing (less simple).
• Add in or replace the plain, simple shapes and lines for something more jagged and hectic (punky).
• Try and keep the amount of yellow to a minimum, so that It’s more effective as a feature colour (less tacky looking).

Focus Forward:

This peer feedback has helped me identify what the negatives and positives are in my contents page. It has also given me a different person’s set of opinions/ views on how they see punk. Which is really important because I need to produce a magazine that attracts my target audience– and not just something only I like. So now that I have this feedback/ targets, I can use it to improve my contents page, once I redraft it. Hopefully, once I’ve done all my targets, it should make my product of the highest quality it can be.

What is a Contents Page:

This is a Google slide with 10 inspirational content pages for my music magazine. I went for a big range of details, colours, complexities/ simplicities, and genres by searching “graphic design layouts for contents pages’. Currently, based on my research above, I like the simple contents pages. Similarly, these magazines all have clear layouts, that particularly feature the page numbers and titles.

This image above is of 4 hand-drawn contents pages, that I have created for inspiration and to help me make a decision on what layout my magazines contents page will have. The box labeled “contents” is where my page title will go, the small lines are for where my text will go, the white boxes with a cross in are for the adverts, and then the green boxes with crosses in/ green shapes show where my pugs and plugs will be.

A contents page is the menu for what appears in the rest of the magazine. A typical magazine contents page would include; an editor’s hello, page numbers, catchy headlines using hyperbole and superlatives, images and word clues, graphic illustrations, listed articles/features, and the magazines names/ mission statement. Quotes are also useful in contents pages to intrigue the audience with something engaging- that comes directly from the stars/ celebrities. A contents page is used to help the readers navigate through the magazine easily.

Out of the 4 contents pages I created, my favorite is the third and my least favorite is the first. I like the third the most because it’s not to over-crowded with information or images. This means that the contents page will be easy to read. This will also focus my audience in on my individual photos and plugs. The first sketch was my least favorite because it has more details that overpower the pages layout. Overall, I think my third contents page would be more interesting and entertaining for the reader.

5 catchy headlines:

• The New, Exclusive, Ultimate Guide to Self-Confidence!
• You’re Running Out of Time! Here’s How to Avoid Missing Out!
• We Need to Talk About Originality. It’s a Game Changer!
• Are You Still Trying to Blend In? You Might Regret It…
• Read This Exclusive to Find Out What Rachael Can Teach You About Individuality.

In order to create a good front cover, contents page and magazine article in general, it needs to include catchy headlines. These will attract my audience and persuade them to want to read on. I came up with these five examples above by researching what makes an interesting headline. Whilst researching I’ve learnt that headlines/ cover lines typically include one of these techniques; hyperbole, alliteration, colloquial language, semantic field, or imperatives. Now that I know what makes a good contents page and catchy headline, I will be able to produce a more suitable, desirable punk magazine.

Draft of Front Page and Self Assessment:

This is the first draft for my punk music magazines front cover. I wanted this front cover to represent imagination, brilliance, and individuality. It’s made to support others and convey a message of self-confidence. This magazine informs the target audience about upcoming punk updates and alerts, whilst also entertaining them with juicy gossip.

After, I finished my first draft I self assessed myself on multiple questions regarding the production process. Then I made parts of the text bold for any technical terms or descriptive words used.

First Shoot Contact Sheets:

Firstly, in order to make a magazine, I needed some images of my main cover star. I photographed my model in the white studio- finishing the photoshoot with approximately 215 photos.

To summarize, I’m really happy with how my photos turned out. We took time setting up the technical aspects such as the; camera, lights, flash, and props. Then we also made sure the make-up/ outfits fit the theme and would match our aesthetic effectively. The photos were taken from various angles to ensure I captured each type of shot I might want. Even though, I like the raw unedited images, I will also be able to edit my photos via photoshop- so that they will look the best they possibly can.

I am going to use a medium/ medium long shot photo for my front cover. I chose this image because the model portrayed strength, confidence and power in it. Which is good since I want my magazine to support self-love and reassurance. In particular, her crossed arms and deep eye contact is what drawed me to the photo the most. I will have the image take up almost half the page, mainly from the bottom right-hand corner. So that my masthead can still be big and stand out in the top left-hand corner. Then in the gaps left around the image, I will put my plugs, pugs, prices, captions, decorations, and a barcode. The decorations I add will be inspired by the punk genre magazines/ brands I’ve already saved.

I think the costume that my model is wearing is really effective. It’s simple, but makes a statement. It also fits my genre and completes my star image. I think that the whole costume together (mise-en-scene) will intrigue my target audience. My favorite part of the costume was the bright blue face gems, and the bracelets. The gems in particular made my model look different from other models, therefore catching the media consumers/ audiences eyes. Another part of the costume I liked is the black lace boots with the black nail polish. I liked how it brought out the punky, rebellious side to her. I’m so glad I included the prop (lollipop) because it meant that I could try different poses and have more interesting images/ angles.

In this photoshoot, I learnt about the different studio lightings, equipments and camera settings. I also learnt how to attach my own camera to the studio’s flash lights. This will be really useful for any upcoming photo shoots because my photos will be of a better quality, and have improved lighting. During this task, I learnt how to manage my model and I’s time effectively, whilst also coming up with a whole look/outfit that fits a certain genre. Once, I finished the shoot, I found out how to make contact sheets on Adobe Bridge. Each one of these skills will help me throughout my coursework/ the process.

Masthead Designs:

In order to find out which typeface I want my masthead in my magazine to be, I put all my favourites together on a document. One of the most important components of a magazine is the masthead because its what introduces the products brand/ title/ issue. A good masthead has a distinctive, but not too complex, typeface. When producing a product you want to use an simple font, that still manages to attract the target audience.

Since I can only have 1 masthead, I needed to make a decision on which typeface I liked the most. My 3 favorite fonts were the 1st, 6th, and 7th because I found they were the most suitable for my genre. However, I have chosen to use the 6th typeface as my masthead. I think it’s the boldest, clearest, coolest font that truly represents punk. My brand is all about orginitality and setting new trends/ breaking rules, so this font will help my magazine portray this to the audience. I found all of these fonts from DaFont. Overall, the masthead sets the tone for the magazine, which means it has to represent the conventions of my magazine successfully to attract my target audience. This font is a chunky, Sans-Serif typeface– that would most likely be used on magazines, comic books/strips, or cartoons.

Front Page Layouts:

This task was to collect 10 different magazine front covers that I liked from Google and put them together on a slide. I chose them based on their exciting fonts, graphics, layouts and photo manipulations. So they don’t all fit in with my punk genre, but they do all have elements that appeal to me and that I could use in my own front cover design.

One thing that stands out to me is the layered, faded, shadowed images in different colours. I think this gives the main cover star a cool, unique vibe- that stands out amongst the millions of other front cover stars. Another thing that stands out to me is the contrast in shapes and lines of bright colours. Some of these shapes even have cover lines/ plugs inside them which direct the reader’s attention to the individual pieces of text (like prices, deals, and extra gifts/ information).

Production Meeting Agenda for 1st Photo Shoot:

In order to create a successful final product/ magazine, I need to make sure my photoshoot is productive and well organized. In order to do this, I created a google doc called my Production Meeting Agenda.

The attached document above is my production meeting agenda. By organizing and planning out each minor detail I was able to think about everything I needed- without forgetting anything. In particular, this preparation has helped me increase my time in the studio by preparing efficiently. This google docs also helped my model understand what visions I had for her outfit, and what she needed to bring/ wear.

Star Image Research and Planning:

For the first task, I had to find an artist that fit my genre and then find out how they use the media/ how the media portrays them. I chose to make my Star Image slide about Willow Smith. Doing this research has helped me gain a deeper understanding of what key features are used in media promotion. In order to produce a successful magazine that fits my target audience, I needed to consider my stars online reputation and work. For example, her work included in my first slide is her; CD Album cover, Music videos/ Live concerts, Social media updates and tweets, Song lyrics, Magazine images articles.

The metanarrative is what the audience perceive the star as, and how the producers portray them. Therefore, it is what constructs and represents the star- allowing us to understand them. During this task, I learnt that based on Richard Dyer’s theory, Willow Smith is both ordinary and extraordinary. This means that even though she’s both talented and famous, her actions/ daily activities are also normal, predictable, and realistic- like failing a test. Willow is also both present and absent in our lives (we can interact with her through the internet, but not in real life face-to-face). As fans we aspire to meet our idols, so when we can’t it keeps our obsession and support for them growing stronger. This task has broken down the unspoken “rules” (do’s and don’ts) that I will be following for the good of my own cover stars image. Ultimately, I now have a better insight into what my artists genre is really like/ what opportunities they can get.

The second slide is a moodboard of images that represent my shoot plan ideas. They are the basics of punk and its aesthetic. The photos mainly focus on what colours, accessories, poses, clothing, and makeup I should use. Now that I have planned my shoot out beforehand, my final images will be more controlled and thought-out. Whilst taking my final cover star images, I will refer back to this slideshow for help.

My Audience Profile:

I created a dating profile of an individual that I think would be my perfect audience member for my Punk-Rock magazine. Therefore, this helped me to fully understand my target audience.

Reflection:

I gathered the statistics and marketing information, that helped me develop an understanding of my target audience, from a website called “YouGov”. Then I put it all together on a slide (slide 2 of the attached PowerPoint) and highlighted the main information/ parts. This website was really helpful as it gives you a deeper understanding of your audience based on the broad range of artists they offer details on. In particular, this website helped me base my persons age, gender and likes/ dislikes.

This dating profile I made clearly refined the demographics/ psychographics of the perfect audience member. It’s the perfect way to help me expand on my ideas for my own magazine. I have learnt how important this marketing data can be, and how valued it is for workers accessing it. This background data can be the make or break to the sales of a piece of media. So now that I have all this information I can use it create a good, thoughtful magazine that fits my target audiences requirements.

So What am I up Against – The Competition:

This is my own piktochart analysis of the competition that my magazine would face- blogs, vlogs, online articles, and print versions of punk magazines. In my pictogram, I’ve explained and thought about what features, audiences, interactions, and communities that will correspond with/ represent my magazine. I’ve also included 3 photo examples of punk magazines, that are similar to my own ideas. The Q magazine cover is my favorite because it takes the photos, fonts, and graphics and combines them all into the same pop-art grunge style. The colour schemes are all bold and brash. This task will help me make my magazines contents page and designs easier.