My coursework progress update

So far I feel that I have been keeping on top of all my coursework and trying to get it all finished to a good quality before the deadline. I feel that by doing this I am becoming well prepared for when we have to create a four page magazine including a front cover. I have done this by experimenting with Photoshop and getting used to the tools again. I also feel that I am staying on top of other coursework tasks I have been set, allowing me to expand my knowledge on media and music magazines. I also now know what is expected from my magazine, I also have a clear understanding as I had created a 4 page magazine last year. The media terminology and language I have learned has also showed me what is expected when it comes to my magazines contents. Also after analysis many magazine covers I am aware of what I should take into consideration, especially when it comes to the importance of simple things such as the house style and other techniques. Analysing many covers has also shown me the differences throughout other genres and shows the differences between them to make it appeal to a specific target audience. I have also learned new theory's such as the semiotic theory and the male gaze giving me even more things to take into consideration and to incorporate in my magazine.

Photoshop manipulation Experiments

This was an experiment of my Photoshop manipulation skills as i wnated to test them out, also i chose to swap famous peoples bodies with random heads to make it funny. I thin by doing this it has reminded me of my photoshop skills and how to use some simple tools to manipulate. Also by doing this i feel my skills have improved by making certain things neater. Also i wanted to do this before we began to make our photoshoped magazine for our coursework.

my college magazine cover

I decided to create a college magazine cover to give me a good idea of what I am going to do when it comes to creating my very own magazine cover  for my coursework. Making this cover has allowed me to recover my Photoshop skills from last year as I forgot some of them. Also this has given me an idea about what I am going to do for my magazine cover when it comes the colours and topic as you see here I used light colours as it is Christmas time. I also tried to keep the cover simple as it is aimed towards students and they wouldn't want to read a lot. The cover is quite plain for this reason. I wanted to show students working as my magazine this term is going to advertise cardinal heenans sixth form. I feel that I could have made it a bit more elaborate if I knew how to use other tools and techniques. If I used other tools and techniques I feel as though I could make my cover look a lot more professional and stand out to other covers. The cover also looks quite bland and boring so on my music magazine cover I will have to make sure its more unique and interesting. I also used two different images and merged them to give an impression that everyone works as a team and together, it also shows a friendly environment.I also used a blue and white colour scheme and house style to promote christmas and show that it is the winter term issue.

Effects of photoshop

Photoshop has its good and bads, these both affect everyone involved. These problems are mainly seen through manipulation as it seriously affects someone. If a celebrity tries hard to be pretty and attractive they might be depressed knowing they still have to be photoshopped on a magazine cover. this also affects the viewer as they are looking a basically a copy of the person as it isn't what they really look like. People may also inspire to look like this person but then find out that this isn't even what they look like. Although the positives allow people to look completely to what they actually look like. Also this could boost someones morale as they could think they look attractive when actually there not. Photoshop is also very useful to make money as people see an attractive person on a cover when there actually not that attractive.

Popular music

After looking at the music industry i have decided to look at what is popular. I thought that the best way to do this is to look at the official UK charts to see what is actually the most popular at the moment. After researching i have found that Martin Garrixs "Animals" is currently top of the charts at No 1 which is an electronic dance genre.
 At no 2 is "somewhere only we know" by lily allen which is pop music. At no 3 is "of the night" by bastille which is alternative music , so far we see how no particular genre of music dominates the top of the charts, in uk anyway.  Then we have "story of my life" by one direction at no 4 that is pop music. Finally at no 5 is Ellie Gouldings "how long will i love you" which again is pop music showing a popularity in pop music through the charts which is typical as it is 'pop' music. This shows how pop music mainly leads the official top 5 in the charts but allowing some exceptions to squeeze in now and then.
I think the popularity in pop music is due to the amount of music that fits into the pop genre also there is a large amount of pop artists compared to other genres.

My knowledge of Photoshop

I feel that my knowledge of Photoshop I quite well as I have used it for the last 2 year as I studied GCSE media studies. In the two years I got familiar with the basic tools of Photoshop and some advanced tools. In the two years I used these tools to construct a 4 page magazine containing a front cover contents and a double page review.
 My Photoshop skills where really tested when I had to create a front cover as at this point I was still new to Photoshop. Overtime I began to learn how to manipulate images and realise how much you can actually do with Photoshop. After I finished my 4 page magazine I was happy with how it all came together as I got a B.
 I feel that the two years really gave me an understanding to what Photoshop is used for and how much you can actually do with it. As well as using some old skills on Photoshop this year I am hoping to recover some of these skills and learn some new more advanced and complicated skills and tools of Photoshop.

Susan Boyle 50 cent Manipulation

To develop and refresh my Photoshop skills I have created a manipulation of Susan boyle/50 cent. The positives of doing this is that it may show two personality's in one image, it also allowed me to experiment with new methods.
 This type of image may be used in a magazine to show how 2 completely different genres and characteristics can be show as one image. The negatives of doing this sort of manipulation is that it may go against one specific audience and could be seen as disrespectful to the fans.
 Also the artists may find this uncomfortable. It can also been seen as stupid and unrealistic that these two artists would do a collaboration together. With this manipulation I wanted to work quick as I wanted to see what I knew from last year without asking for help or researching.
 From this I feel that I can use simple tools in Photoshop pretty well to create small manipulations.

Magazine Terminology

Magazine Terminology

Pugs: Pugs are placed at the top left and right hand corners of the paper. Usually consist of logos or promotional offers.

Banner: Text that stands out because of the background, used for advertisements and key statements within the magazine

Copy: Main Text, usually stands out because of its position on the page and font size.

Strap line: Memorable phrase to a specific brand, used to make a specific brand or franchise stand out to the audience.

Lead: The intro paragraph of an article. This is usually interesting and unique to grab the readers attention and want them to continue reading.

Buzz words: Words such as "wow" "exclusive" and "free"

House style: A specific style or design given to a magazine, again makes the magazine more unique and stand out to other companys

Puffs: Colourful promoting boxing, makes advertisements stand out

Masthead: The name of a magazine, usually at the very top of a magazine cover and is the biggest writing on the page

Slogan: Motto, catchy and memorable phrase that either is for entertainment purposes such as a strap line or to make relevance to the product.

Drop capitals: Really big letter which starts of an article

Caption: Description of an image, used to explain an image

Anchorage Text: When a text pins down the meaning of a picture, very important for someone unfamiliar with the magazine

Headline: Main story in the magazine, stands out to the reader as its the key story in the magazine

Sell Lines: Text on the cover that helps to sell the magazine