23/10/08

Today we had 5 different columns and in each column was a colour. Red, blue, white and black and in each column we were told to write what each of these colours connote.

This task shows us the connotations of colours and if we were to do something like a 'Goth' magazine, the main colour theme would be black and purple as they are dark colours and 'Goth' music is very dark and sinister.

22/10/08

This lesson, a picture of an elderly lady was put on the board with a bowl of porridge in front of her. Firstly we were told this was the picture used for the front cover of a national tabloid newspaper about the care taken in care homes and we had to come up with a caption. Mine was “elderly lady forced to fend for herself”. Secondly we were told it was a picture used to advertise porridge – the answers people came up were completely different e.g. “if only she had Quaker Oats!” this task proved how much power the media have and that a picture has no value until a caption is put with it.

20/10/08

This Lesson the class was told the kind of things that should be included in the evaluation of the preliminary task.

I then set off to begin writing the evaluation, inserting the JPEG image of my front cover and contents page as proof.

Evaluation of the Preliminary Task

The media product I produced uses forms and conventions of real media products because it contains a title (which is the largest text on the page). I have faded the background of the magazine – this shows that the main focus is purely on the main image. The main coverline is the second to largest text on the page and matches the main image e.g. “stressed with exams” – the image is of a student gritting her teeth to show connotations of stress, this anchors the meaning. There are other coverlines which are only a few words long, some of these contain alliteration or rhyme. I have included a positioning statement to position the magazine. The font of the title is different to the coverlines (this is to represent the magazine’s uniqueness and the title is the trademark of the magazine). A barcode, date, issue number and price of the magazine are all included.

I have followed the codes and conventions of a contents page because the multiple images take up 2/3 of the page. I have included page numbers on the images and put these in a large yellow font to make it easier for the reader to access the page related to the image as well as this the images vary in shape an size. My articles fall into certain categories to make the magazine look more organised. The font of the articles is size 10/11 and there is a clear style in the use of fonts.

The programme I used to produce the front cover for my school magazine was Photoshop and for my contents page I used Quark Express, a professional programme used by real journalists.

From this exercise I have learned that meeting deadlines is crucial. E.g. when taking my photos, I was a day behind as I couldn't get the images I wanted, therefore I wasn't as organised as I planned and had to work outside of the lesson to catch up. Organisation is very important also, and I realised that meeting with a teacher prior to taking images of a class is essential . As well as this, I have realised that looking back at my notes when creating the product is vital, this helps and guides me of what and what not to include certain codes and conventions. Overall I am very pleased with the front cover and contents I have produced.

17/10/08

This lesson i worked on Quark Express producing my contents page. I looked through my notes to follow the codes and conventions. I found using this package was quite easy to use after i had been told what to do. I decided to stick with the colour scheme that i used on the front cover; red and yellow.



After finishing my contents and front cover, i was able to print them out and prepare for the evaluation.

16/10/08

This lesson we continued with our magazine front covers – finishing them off. I then created the text in Microsoft Word that will be included in the contents page which will later be imported into Quark Express.

15/10/08

This lesson we uploaded our pictures on the computer and began to edit the pictures we took and put them into Photoshop and began to create our front covers.

14/10/08

This lesson our teacher demonstrated how to use Quark Express, a professional programme used by real journalists for contents pages and articles.

13/10/08

Today we set out to take the pictures for the magazine front cover and contents page. I took numerous pictures of a medium close up of a student showing connotations of stress, I also took a picture of a class, I would later combine these two pictures for the front cover of my magazine, using the picture of the class as the background. I took pictures of many objects e.g. a watch which will represent keeping time of certain things (e.g. essays, timed questions)

8/10/08

This lesson we reviewed the whole class's pictures and gave out constructive criticism if needs be. We looked at the different ways in which different angles could be interpreted.


After this we were told our preliminary task: we have to produce a front cover and contents page for a school magazine using DTP. The class then began the planning programme on the task – coming up with different names for the magazine, coverlines and designing a rough sketch of the front cover contents page.


Continued through to Friday.

7/10/08

We uploaded our pictures from the camera onto the computer and placed them into the user shared area.

6/10/08

This lesson we set off to take our photos, taking it in turns in who would be taking the photos and who would be in them. We would review our pictures on the camera and do them again if we weren't completely happy with them.

3/10/08

Today we were split into several different groups and were told to follow a task sheet were we had to follow certain instructions. E.g. taking a picture of “A big close up of someone using a mobile phone” - we would have to be as creative as we could when taking the pictures.




We just who would be taking the photos and who would be in them and also discussed certain places these pictures would be set.

2/10/08

Today we were told our coursework task which is to create a music magazine.





We were given three pieces of A4 paper with different magazine front covers on them. We were asked to discuss what they all had in common (the codes and conventions).



The magazine front covers we were given were Hello! magazine, Good Housekeeping and Mixmag. These are the points we came up with:

• The largest text on the page is the title



• The title is always placed in the top left



• The title is one/two words long



• Unique font for the title which is the magazine's trademark



• Celebrity



• The persons appearing on the page are smiling which shows a positive representation



• The persons appearing on the page are all looking straight at the cameraArticles are placed around the edges of the magazine



• Articles contain alliteration



• Positioning statement - a statement a magazine makes about itself to position itself.



• Coverlines - main article is biggest, links to main image and anchors meaning, larger type size than sublines



• Other coverlines are one or two words long (capitals/bold/colourful)



• Sublines explain the story more



• Some are intriguely teasing the reader



• Puffs often used - give the reader something more than the magazine



• Buzz words e.g. "exclusive"



• Main image - medium close up, close up, mid shot



• Barcode



• Issue number



• Price

We then analysed the codes and conventions of magazine contents pages. Here are the results:

• Often a double page spread



• Lots of images of featured articles



• Layout is usually dominated by pictures (they usually take up 2/3 of page)



• Numbers in large colourful font on pictures - anchor picture to written contents.



• All articles fall into certain catogries



• Some include an editorial



• Pictures vary in size (collage)



• Structure: page number, key words (either in capitals, bold or coloured or a combination!) bigger size than the sublines which explain the story (10/11 pt size)



• Column layout - most are 3/4 columns



• Divided into catogries - often have headings



• Website address and contact details (email address, snail mail address)



• Some include a still of the front cover



• Contents and title appear at the top of the page.



• Clear style in the use of fonts (to look stylish)