AS Media Studies: October 2013

College Magazine Evaluation

I aimed to make my magazine cover seem as realistic as possible while at the same time looking attractive to my target audience of primarily students, but also parents and outsiders to the school. I used a number of methods to try and achieve this aim. First of all was the way in which I tried to make my product look as real as possible. The main way I did this was to use common conventions of magazine covers. The features I used were a header, a masthead, a pull quote, a main feature, a main image, a plug and footer. These are conventions commonly found on all types of magazine, so I used them to create the most realistic look possible. I created these features, excluding the main image, by putting either Photoshop or imported external font on top of a drawn shape created with the shape tool. I also used the opacity setting to create the faded effect on the shape under the pull quote.

To create the main image I used my favourite picture from a selection of shots, a medium close up from behind the model, who is using a mixing desk in the music studio. I then put the image into Photoshop and desaturated it. I then used the levels tool to create my desired black and white, high contrast effect; however the result was darker than hope. However I resolved this situation by using the exposure toll to raise the exposure, giving the photo a brighter look while still keeping the effect I created using the levels tool.

The other main way I really replicated genuine magazine covers was the use of my plug. The plug has information about a competition to win £50 in Amazon vouchers, however rather than simply typing “Amazon” I used the actual Amazon logo, which I pasted from an image on the internet. I used the magic eraser tool to delete the white background and the use the paint bucket tool to re-colour the font. I believe this use of genuine logo provides a better sense of realism in product.

While there is not much focus on particular social groups in my product it does promote music within the college and therefore the type of people who play music, such as the model in the image. So in could be inferred that musical type people are being represented as ‘cool` or good, while there is no other way to infer any representation of social groups.

My main target audience for this product is students of the college. I tried to aim for this target audience by using a design that would appeal to young people with its vintage looking photo and simple but effective colour scheme, which together I believe provide an aesthetically pleasing look. I also tried to use features that would appeal more to the student audience such as competitions, sport and a fresher’s guide. The competition in particular is an effective tool in attracting my target audience as it may attract people who may not be interested at all in the other features however the chance of winning will make them take interest. However I also tried to aim to create a product that may be slightly interesting to parents and outsiders to the college, so I used a pull quote from the main feature “Some of the best facilities in the country” Which advertises the college’s music facilities, which would please parents and attract outsiders.

The main feature I have really learnt about in the construction of this product is the use of external fonts in Photoshop. I used external fonts on most of the text. I did this by using a font website such as www.dafont.com and print screening an example of a font and then pasting this into Photoshop. I then used the magic eraser tool to delete any unwanted areas of the print screen and then moved and recoloured the text as desired. This was particularly useful with conventions such as the mast head and the main feature title. Another tool which I learnt to use during this project was the exposure tool. This let me brighten up my main image without damaging the effect I created when using the levels tool. It also creates a unique faded effect in itself which I am fond of.

I think the biggest improvement I have made in this work compared to my fragrance advert is my use of fonts in Photoshop. The skills I have learnt in importing external fonts from other websites provide a much greater variety and more appropriate fonts than those offered with the Photoshop text tool. This allows me to create a much better looking and more realistic product than my fragrance advert in terms of font, giving me more creative freedom.

Finally, there is anything in particular I could change about my product it would be either my use of font or my main image itself. Despite me having a lot more freedom with fonts now I know how to use external fonts from the internet, I feel like I may have used too many different fonts, which may give a less realistic look to the product. So I wish I had used one universal font with maybe just one separate one for titles. The other change I might make would be to use a different main image that is more zoomed out, so that less is cut out by the text. Apart from these minor details, over all I am happy with my product and believe I have reached my aims I set out to fulfil.