Using Adobe Photoshop Elements

At the start of the lesson we were instructed to each sit by our group members at an Apple computer. The induction took around an hour and fifteen minutes. During this time we managed to crop a butterfly and place it into a lightbulb, crop a teachers head and place her on Tower Bridge, gradient different colours to create a background, write a piece of text using different type of fonts and how to erase different parts of an image.

Choosing the images for our front covers.

This session was split into two halves- the first was finishing of our magazine templates
- the second was deciding which images we wanted to use for our magazines.

For the first half we worked independently to complete our magazine templates, when this was finished each group were called into the editing suite to select the images they wanted to keep for their front covers- this was the first time I had ever used an Apple computer. To be honest it was quite confusing choosing images from this computer as the Apple computer has different functions compared to a normal PC. I was quite pleased with the images I had taken but one out of the 10-15 shots stood out the most and was the most appropriate for a magazine front cover.

This is the cover of my final magazine

i think it came out really good but could of been better if i made the writing more visable and put more on the magazine.

Magazine Layout

In this session I created the type of layout I would want for my magazine front cover. I came to the decision that I would have the main image in the centre of the magazine taking up most of the space. The title of the magazine "Nightlife" would be on the right hand side of the page with smaller images on the left hand side, along with an advertised competition on the right hand side. The price of the magazine would be £2.49. The colour scheme for this issue of "Nightlife" will be purple and navy as I think these colours convey a feeling of night time and nightlife.

UPDATE
As I have joined the "Nightlife" group late, and my magazine cover does not relate to their ideas I am now creating my own magazine called "Tempo" which will be an urban music theme magazine as opposed to a clubmix music magazine. My final magazine layout has been inspired by the magazine "Black Beat".

Photoshoot

For the photoshoot lesson each group were given a camera to take photographs for the front cover of their magazine. We were instructed to only use the areas in the college and Owens Field just outside of the college.
I asked my friend Tashan in the A2 group to be my main model for my magazine front cover as I knew he would be dressed in a way that would represent my target audience- and I needed a person that would be attractive to look at. He wore a fuchsia and grey New Era Hat, a black and white Adidas t shirt, a pair of headphones and a gold rope chain.

      To begin with I photographed him near the gates of the college but the light was affecting the images so I photographed him by a tree in Owens Field. I also took a few shots of him with a girl, but the photos didn't come out in the way that I wanted them to so I discarded them. After around 15 shots I got the images that I would later on use for my front cover.

Magazine Evaluation

The magazine cover I have created is a magazine called "Tempo". I chose the name for the fact that different songs have different tempos and my magazine focuses on a range of urban music genres.

The target audience for "Tempo" would be between the ages of 13-20, but mostly for anyone interested in R'n'b, Hip Hop, Funky House, Bassline, Grime, or Garage. The magazine also focuses on portraying UK music in a way in which they are equal to that of the US music scene; both are highlighted on the front cover in order to show that there will be a range of articles on artists from both places. However as it is a UK based magazine the main focus will be on UK artists as I feel that UK artists are not given enough credit for what they do and are constantly compared to US artists. To show that the magazine will cover different types of urban genres I mentioned different artists or articles featured on the front cover which had something to do with the genres mentioned above.

"Tempo" represents urban teenage social groups; this is shown in the choice of colour scheme for this issue, the choice of images and the font. I used a grey and fuchsia colour scheme as grey is considered as a masculine colour whereas fuchsia is more suited for females. This contrast attracts to both male and females, and at the same time makes the front cover eye catching. The colours featured on the model in the main image’s hat inspired the choice of the colour scheme. I used different shades of fuchsia- the more I wanted the text to stand out the brighter I made the shade. To begin with, I wanted the background of the main image to be black but quite many urban style magazines use plain colours for the background so I decided to duplicate the natural background of the actual image, which was a tree. The model I used wore a pair of headphones, a rope chain, a New Era hat and an Adidas t-shirt, which I feel, represents different elements of the urban music scene. At the bottom of the front cover also features other models two of which are females and the main model. I decided to use two female models as opposed to another male as I feel that the main image could have given the impression that the magazine was focused only at males- I wanted to portray the diversity of the magazine. The other models featured are also dressed differently to show that the magazine isn't aimed at people who dress a certain way. On the left hand side of the front cover I mentioned three main things featured inside which each covered a different sector of the urban music scene- I done this to attract people who are interested in the different types of music covered. I also chose to use models between the ages of the target audience in order to appeal more to the age range.

The main programme I used for creating this magazine front cover was Adobe PhotoShop Elements. During the induction we were instructed on how to import files into Photoshop, how to clone certain parts of the image, how to crop the image, how to use the gradient tool etc. I also learnt how to use Firefox and Safari.

"Tempo" uses and challenges forms and conventions of real music magazines. My magazine template was inspired by the magazine Black Beat, which is based in America. This magazine provides in-depth interviews, great details on urban music and of course appeals to teenagers and young adults- which is what I wanted my magazine front cover to achieve. However unlike front covers like Black Beat, the colour scheme of my front cover is consistent opposed to having a mixture of colours which I feel makes the cover look neater and more professional. My front cover also isn't cluttered with images and text- so it only highlights the main features of the magazine.

I think a company similar to Magazine City would distribute my music magazine cover for a number of reasons. Firstly the magazines sold on the website are of different forms, some of which are very similar to my music magazine. The company also offers a substantial amount of advertising of the featured magazines which I think would result in a higher chance of the magazine being a success.

If I were to make another magazine front cover there would be a number of things I would do differently. To begin with I would use more time to plan my magazine cover as opposed to making it based on planning it within one lesson- this was unavoidable however due to the fact that I joined Media AS later than the rest of the group. However, I think more planning would result in a more polished magazine front cover. I would also be sure to photograph models of different ethnicities if given the opportunity to do another magazine front cover- I think this would make the magazine appeal to a wider audience, which of course would result in more sales if it were a real magazine. I would also try to make the word "Tempo" stand out more from the images instead of blocking part of the image. In addition I would revise the choice of the colour scheme and maybe use a darker colour than grey to make it easier for the text to be read. For the next magazine I would do more research to decide what type of articles will feature on the front cover to portray the diversity of the magazine.

Magazine evaluation

This is my evaluation for my music magazine cover. The evaluation will include lots of different areas of my magazine cover. These are, what ways my music magazine relates to real music magazines, how my music magazine cover represents a certain social group, what kind of media institution might distribute my music magazine cover and why, who would be the audience for my music magazine cover, how i attracted or addressed my target audience, what have i learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this magazine front cover and finally it will include what i would do differently next time if i were to make another front cover. 

Before we started to do this construction of a music magazine, we looked at a music magazine as a class. The music magazine we looked at was called 'Hip Hop Connection'. There we looked at some of the techniques they used, so we could get an idea of the components that are required when constructing our own.

My music magazine uses conventions of real music magazines, some of these are, a bold and eye catching heading, this helps the consumers to see from far away and persuade them to buy it. It also contains a photo of a celebrity, which is large and helps to advertises the magazine to the market. It also uses lots of headings that the magazine contains inside to persuade the readers and help them to buy the magazine. It also contains a unforgettable piece of the magazine industry, which is a freebie or a competition to win something, in my case it is a YSL Babydoll perfume. 

My music magazine cover represents a certain social group. This is because, as you can see the heading is '...NightLife...', this suggests to me and certainly to most people that it is aimed for the age group of 17-29. It is aimed at this age group because it is a magazine for the generation that go out clubbing and to the people who have and enjoy a night life. This magazine represents to this social group because it contains tips and advice for the people who go out to clubbing. It also contains a-day-in-a-life of a different celebrity every week.

The media institution that would distribute my music magazine cover i think would be emap. i think this because when i look at their website on the internet, i can see their best magazine cover. When i look at my magazine cover and their best chosen magazine cover i cannot really see a difference apart from that their photo is professionally taken. Also they do not contain any headlines of the articles that are inside their magazine. I personally think that my music magazine cover is better than their one.

As i said before about representing certain social groups. The target audience of my music magazine cover would be the people who go out clubbing, which may be a younger generation of 17-29 years. This is because the genre of my music magazine cover is club mix. And ideally the people who go out clubbing would listen to this type of music in a club.

I have attracted my target audience with my music magazine cover by using a few techniques. These are, my heading, this is big, bold and eye catching this helps the magazine to identify itself in a crowd of all other magazines. Another technique is the photo, the photo helps to attract and address my audience because it is a photo of a singer well known in clubs so my target audience will be familiar with this photo and this will help me to sell my magazine. I think that i have done a good job on attracting my target audience.

While constructing this music magazine cover i have learnt a new technological process. This new technological process for me is the Adobe Photoshop software. It was a challenge for me at the beginning but we had a tutorial of it from Mickey the computer technician. In the software Photoshop the tools that i used were called 'Text' for adding text, 'Move Tool' to get back to neutral and have the cursor and also the 'Magnetic Lasso Tool' for cutting around the photo that i had chosen. When you use it for at least a hour you get the hang of it and it is really easy actually. I have also learnt to use the new Apple computers for the first time.

If i was to do this magazine cover again i definitely would do a few things differently. Firstly i would do the background a different colour, more lively and professionally. Secondly i would use a better photo, something more professional and eye catching and definitely more exciting. I would also change the colours of the font because they are not really exciting or eye catching. 

Overall i think that i have done a great job on constructing a music magazine cover for a first time attempt. In my magazine evaluation i have included a range of information about my magazine cover. I have included the ways that my magazine relates to real life music magazines, i have included how my music magazine cover represents a certain social group, i have included what kind of media institution might distribute my music magazine cover and why, i have included who the target audience for my music magazine cover is, i have included how i have attracted or addressed my audience, i have included what i have learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this magazine cover and finally i have also included what i think i would of done differently if i were to make this magazine front cover again.