Note to Moderator

Dear Moderator,




My brief for my AS Media was to create a Front Cover, Contents and Double Page Spread for a new music magazine. I chose to do my music magazine in an R&B/Rap based genre due to recent trends causing a higher demand for this genre of music magazine, therefore, in order to supply to an even demanding audience, I wanted to give the preferred audience of males ageing between late teens to mid twenties, a new and up to date magazine in which they can effectively be apart of  and voice their views on what the magazine will contain.


I have used labels on my blog to make it easily navigable in order to find what you are looking for.


Yours Sincerely,
Toby Lord, Edgbarrow School.


Candidate Number: 0166
Centre Number: 51111

Preliminary Task Evaluation

Preliminary Task Evaluation Questions

Did you plan your magazine? If not, what have you learnt about the importance of research and planning?

For the prelim task I did not make any planning for my front cover and contents page, however I do see the importance of doing enough planning as I then would have had a better understanding of the layout on each page, colour schemes, pictures and title placements. If I did research on existing magazines similar to my one then I would have understood what codes and conventions to use when making the layout of the two pages. Also when trying to decide what to put on each page which includes writing content, pictures and the background, I would have wasted less time trying to decide than if I used existing examples for guidance on what the two pages should look like.

What technology did you use to complete this task, and how did you use it?

To create both my front cover and contents page I used Serif Page Plus. This was an important software to use as it helped me to layout each page, choose colour schemes and move items on the page easily. Page Plus is also easy to use when trying to insert your own pictures which is what I did for both my front cover and contents page. Once taken the pictures on a digital camera, it was simple to plug the camera into the computer, download the images and then once on Page Plus, using Cut Out Studio I managed to edit my images by removing the backgrounds.

Did you encounter any Difficulties and what were they? 

Throughout the process of creating both pages, I came across a few difficulties in which I struggled to overcome at first but with some practice I managed to correct these mistakes. First of all this was a new software for me and the first time that I had used Page Plus so having a little understanding of what all the tools did was a struggle when trying to make my magazine. I was unsure of how to remove the background on one of my images but by speaking to classmates who had already managed to do this, helped me to do it myself. Also I was struggling to change colours of the background, titles and how to change the shape of the titles angle. I managed to overcome this by getting advice from my teacher who then showed me how to do all of these different skills and the processes used.

How successful was your magazine, what worked well but also what would you do to improve?

I believe that my magazine was for the majority was successful, I think that understanding the layout of the front cover would have helped me to make my magazine look more professional but by doing this, it would have taken longer to design. I think I could have improved on filling up the pages more, especially my contents page as it looked fairly empty. Also my titles could have had more of a think in order to make them sound exiting to make the audience more likely to read the magazine.

What have you learnt from completing this task, how will this effect the rest of your coursework in the future?

I think that by completing this piece of work I have learnt new skills when using Page Plus that will help me to create a more professional looking front cover and contents page in the future. I have learnt that the placement of features is also important because it will make the magazine more eye catching if they are placed in the correct area. By doing more planning I believe that I could have focused more on the ascetics of the magazine such as images and colour schemes used as this will be what draws the suitable audience in to read it.

Evaluation Questions 4/5

Created with Padlet

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 7

Evaluation Question 6

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 1

Magazine 2nd Draft

Ongoing Progress 8

In today's lesson I have been working on my second draft and the layout of the new pictures and their position on the respective pages. I have also been adjusting sizes of features to make them stand out more. On the double page spread I have been adding more content to 'Drake's life story' and brainstorming a new title name.

Ongoing Progress 7

Recently I have been working on improving my first draft so it is ready for my second one. I have been given some feedback and improvements that I can make in order for my magazine to relate to rap but also still appeal to the audience and adjust the layout/positioning of the features.

Magazine 1st Draft

Ongoing Progress 6

I have been finishing all of my planning, I now need to take photo's and carry on with my front cover draft and then go onto my contents and double page spread.

Ongoing Progress 5

I have been updating and adding to my planning section. This included creating layout plans for my contents page and my double page spread. I also wrote about why I have chosen these particular layouts and what I thought looked the best.

Ongoing Progress 4

In todays lesson I was starting my first draft of the front cover from my research of the layout but also results from my  questionnaire and analyzing existing front covers. I have started to create the background and title colours and positing on the page also.

Fonts, Colours and Layout

 

 

 

Ongoing Progress 3

Today I have figured out the layout for the planning section and have finished my panning of the colour schemes that also will be used in my final magazine work.

Ongoing Progress 2

I have been working on my planning section and making everything much more clean and precise on my other posts, making them look good. The planning section I have been working on in todays lesson is colour scheme's and fonts from the feedback I have been given from my questionnaire results.

Magazine Portfolio Research

Planning Section

Ongoing Progress 1

In the past couple of days and todays lesson I have been working on my colours and layouts for my magazine design, I have also been working on my research and planning sections, looking at existing magazines and retrieving new ideas and layouts.

Music Magazine Research - Questionnaire

School Magazine