I managed to upload it to YouTube in the end, so here it is! :)
Media Coursework
Melanie Oulds Media AS Coursework, Magazines.
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Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Finals.
I have now completed my evaluation, but am having technical difficulties in uploading my finished evaluation onto YouTube because of the length. Due to this I am intending on copying it onto a disk and presenting it that way.
Also, I have a couple of little bits of editing to do, I am about to add an opening post or two into the beginning of my blog to give a good introduction into what I am doing and why. This can help give some background information on myself, and also to introduce the task.
I also have to edit a couple of spelling mistakes throughout my product. However, in great timing, my laptop has just been taken into PC World with a faulty hard drive. This means that for the next 48 hours all of my work and documents on my laptop is currently inaccessible, as it has been for the previous few days, meaning I can't do that right now. However, as soon as it is returned to me on Wednesday I will endeavor to make these adjustments. I am very sorry for this delay. :(
As well as doing this I have also changed some options on the presentation of my blog.
1. I have changed the layout so it appears more professional as was suggested by my subject teacher. I have added in a search box, which allows anyone to search my blog for any particular detail they want.
2. I am in the process of adding 'hashtags' to all of my posts, so these will show up on the side of the blog. For example, I can tag some posts with 'double page spread' and then a link to this will show up on the side of the blog, and if that is clicked then only posts which are tagged with this will appear. This will help make my blog more accesible and easy to use.
3. I have added a poll onto my blog, which asks my audience whether they found my blog easy to read, and then results will be fed back to me. I thought that this would be a good idea as it could help me to make a more interactive and easy to read blog in the future.
4. I have also made more posts per page viewable, which saves you from having to click older posts all of the time. I have also changed some little things such as my description, and the way posts are presented.
Also, I have a couple of little bits of editing to do, I am about to add an opening post or two into the beginning of my blog to give a good introduction into what I am doing and why. This can help give some background information on myself, and also to introduce the task.
I also have to edit a couple of spelling mistakes throughout my product. However, in great timing, my laptop has just been taken into PC World with a faulty hard drive. This means that for the next 48 hours all of my work and documents on my laptop is currently inaccessible, as it has been for the previous few days, meaning I can't do that right now. However, as soon as it is returned to me on Wednesday I will endeavor to make these adjustments. I am very sorry for this delay. :(
As well as doing this I have also changed some options on the presentation of my blog.
1. I have changed the layout so it appears more professional as was suggested by my subject teacher. I have added in a search box, which allows anyone to search my blog for any particular detail they want.
2. I am in the process of adding 'hashtags' to all of my posts, so these will show up on the side of the blog. For example, I can tag some posts with 'double page spread' and then a link to this will show up on the side of the blog, and if that is clicked then only posts which are tagged with this will appear. This will help make my blog more accesible and easy to use.
3. I have added a poll onto my blog, which asks my audience whether they found my blog easy to read, and then results will be fed back to me. I thought that this would be a good idea as it could help me to make a more interactive and easy to read blog in the future.
4. I have also made more posts per page viewable, which saves you from having to click older posts all of the time. I have also changed some little things such as my description, and the way posts are presented.
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Evaluation.
This is the first half of my evaluation.
I have since completed it up to the 6th question, but youtube is blocked in school computers I can't upload the rest of it until I get back home again. Also, I had some issues with the last question, because I have lost the preliminary task on a misplaced memory stick, however, I will scan it onto my computer and then complete the last question.
I still have quite a few bits of small tweaking to do, because I feel that I should make it flow better by using some of the effects that I have used earlier in the video consistently throughout the video. However, this will not take at all long to do and I'm still on track to make the deadline for tomorrow despite these obstacles.
I have since completed it up to the 6th question, but youtube is blocked in school computers I can't upload the rest of it until I get back home again. Also, I had some issues with the last question, because I have lost the preliminary task on a misplaced memory stick, however, I will scan it onto my computer and then complete the last question.
I still have quite a few bits of small tweaking to do, because I feel that I should make it flow better by using some of the effects that I have used earlier in the video consistently throughout the video. However, this will not take at all long to do and I'm still on track to make the deadline for tomorrow despite these obstacles.
Final Copies of Everything.
These are my final products.
I double checked everything with my subject teachers, and she said that everything was fine apart from a few things which I have tweaked.
Date: I had originally left the date off of my magazine front cover, but I had mentioned it on the contents page. This was unintentional but I have now added it in the lower right corner next to the barcode.
Spelling: I had mispelt a couple of words such as 'constrato' instead of 'constralto', which I have now rectified.
The Editors Letter: My subject teacher gave me advice on the positioning of my editors letter. I have now rearranged it, and I think it looks a whole lot better.
Monday, April 04, 2011
Contents Page
I have now mostly completed my contents page.
This isn't finished, and there is quite a lot of spaces which I need to fill on them but I am unsure as of what to fill them in with. As my deadline is on Friday, today being Monday, I am going to show it to my subject teacher as soon as possible so she can give me her opinion on it. I think that my contents still needs quite a lot of work on it, because I think the bottom looks quite messy still, however I quite like the top half.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Double Page Spread.
I have also gone through many different ideas with my double page. This was my first idea, along with my other flat plans. Once I got to the stage of creating my double page spread I decided that this wouldn't be logical, and it wouldn't follow the conventions of the other classical music magazines. I found this double page spread, while I was looking for inspiration on Google:
I really like how the pictures are cut, and all placed in the same area, so this is shown in my double page spread design. I also like how there is a quote included in the pictures, so it sort of goes around the outline of them and in the gaps. I transferred these features and included them in my double page spread:
This is my first draft of my double page spread. I quite like it, although I'm not very sure about the title of the page. I also need to sort out the quote and the picture in the far right, because the editing with it isn't very good, and I want the quote to go around the picture more.
I really like how the pictures are cut, and all placed in the same area, so this is shown in my double page spread design. I also like how there is a quote included in the pictures, so it sort of goes around the outline of them and in the gaps. I transferred these features and included them in my double page spread:
This is my first draft of my double page spread. I quite like it, although I'm not very sure about the title of the page. I also need to sort out the quote and the picture in the far right, because the editing with it isn't very good, and I want the quote to go around the picture more.
Contents Page.
I have gone through many different ideas in reference to my contents page. My first idea for a flat plan is included here. Which included listing the items on the left side of the page, as this is where the eye first looks, and also a logo of my magazine in the top left corner of the page. Then I found this contents online, and really liked the layout of it, which was this picture in this post. I built two different versions of the contents page, based on that picture, which looked like this:
Obviously neither of these are finished, because before I completed them I decided that I wanted to try a different layout. I was a bit stuck after this and unsure what layout to use, so I consulted my copy of Classic FM. The magazine that I had uses two contents pages, and here they are:
Obviously I cannot do two pages for my contents, and I don't think I need all of the information that is on these pages anyway.I decided to go with the layout of the second page, because I think that it is very neatly laid out. However, after my consultation with my subject teachers, they said that it would be a good idea to include an editors letter. So in light of this, I have decided that I will place an editors letter in the column which is in the most right hand column, as well as some publishing information. Here is my first stage of my contents page:
I think that I copied the layout of the previous contents page fairly well. I now need to add in the stories in the space along the bottom right, and also some production details in the bottom right.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Consultation for the front cover.
I had a meeting with my two Media subject teachers to discuss how I could improve my magazine so far. They gave me various pointers in directions that I could take my magazine, so I will use these and try out the different ideas. I'm firstly going to transfer them to the front cover, and then I will move them onto the contents a The main pointers where:
- Try out different background colour.
I have tried this out on my contents page. I changed the colour to a golden brown colour first. When I added the picture of Eloise on top of the brown background, the brown shone through, like this:
To get around this problem, I erased the background that is behind the Picture of Eloise. I had to do this very delicately, so as not to leave any white marks around Eloise, or to leave any of her body still stained red. I did this by simply selecting the background layer, while the picture was still showing, and then used the erase tool to get rid of the red. Without the picture it looked like this:
Then I just put the picture back over the top and everything worked out fine. I also changed the colour of the title because obviously red wouldn't show up on red. I changed it to white so that it would still tie in with my colour scheme of red and white, and also I think white would probably show up best on a red background out of all the colours. The final result ended up looking like this:
I also tried it out in a warm golden brown colour as well, as shown below. However, I do prefer having the background as a more pale grey, I think it's more like the other magazines that I have looked at. However, I may have to finetune my target audience into a specific gender as after I have asked a few people, the light grey colour seems to appeal more to females.
- Fill out the space more
They said that my front cover page was looking a little bare, and that I should try and add some more images and information into it so that it was more filled out. I once again looked at my copy of classic FM, as well as other front covers of classical music magazines on the web, and saw how they filled up their room. I added another image which I took at the Bestival of a lady performing on stage. I cut it out and placed it in the top right corner, just alongside Eloise's head. I put it here because it was a large space which was pointed out to me as it needed filling. I also put a caption underneath so that it can entice the readers. I have also swapped round the plug which is in the blue circle, and the image of 'Graeme Jones' along with the caption. I did this because it was suggested to me that having the big ball plug near the head of my main subject may not be the best idea. I like it better this way because I feel that it makes it appear more full and interesting. Lastly, I changed the wording of the cover line, and also the positioning slightly. I changed it to include the word 'exclusive' because I think that that makes it sound like it's the only interview with this star that anyone is going to find. I also made the word 'exclusive' a electric blue, not unlike the plug, because I feel this way that the audience's eye will be directly drawn to both of these features, as they both have a large chance of being the main reason that they would buy my magazine.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
The Article
I have started to write my article, and this is my first draft on it:
_______________________________________________________________________________
I was lucky enough to meet the lady that made Classical Music a worldwide sensation, Eloise de Campo. When she walked into the coffee shop where we had arranged to meet, I could tell that this would be an interesting interview like no other! She walked in with her beautiful blonde hair loose around her shoulders, an over the shoulder teeshirt which she'd styled herself, and her face was alive with her smile! I was very excited about this and I could tell that it would live up to my expectations!
Morning Eloise! I've been really looking forward to this!
Me too! I love being interviewed, I find it good fun! It makes my incredibly busy life more interesting!
So you're very busy at the moment?
Yes, very much so! I'm currently writing a new album, and the first song will be released next month. I'm also on tour in England at the moment, going all over the place, it is amazing but sometimes I just want some time to sit down and relax! It's a good job I enjoy my work though, it feels more like a hobby that I get paid for than a job!
I imagine that it is very hard work! How do you relax with such a busy lifestyle?
Well normally I have Sunday evenings off, so I draw myself a nice bath, with lots of aromatherapy oils and play some of my favourite songs, and then when I get in I order an Indian take away and spend the night in front of the TV. It sounds like quite a lot to do once a week, but it's the only time I ever get to spend some time doing nothing, so I really enjoy it.
That sounds wonderful!
It really is!
What sort of music is on your iPod then?
Well, I have a large mix of artists that have inspired me such as Katherine Jenkins and Meret Becker. I also have some artists who people wouldn't expect me to like, such as ABBA and also the wonderful Simon and Garfunkel as well as more recent artists, like Ellie Goulding, I am a big fan of hers.
What about your music? Is there any of that on your iPod?
[laughs] Yes, I'm not ashamed to say that I do have some of my music on my iPod! I have an awful memory so I do listen to it from time to time when I'm on tour to help me to remember my lyrics!
Do you write your own songs?
Yes, I write all of my songs, I write most of the lyrics myself and my assistant songwriter Dom helps me put them all together. I don't understand how people can sing songs that haven't been written by them, I write and sing them from my heart, it means that they mean something to me, and that can be conveyed to my fans.
Are all of your songs about things that have happened to you personally then?
Yes, every single one of them!
You sing a lot of love songs [laughs] is there someone special in your life then?
[laughs] Not at the moment no. I love writing about love though, most of it is about things that happened when I was younger, I had a lot of adventures.
Were you a bit of a livewire in your youth then?
Not really, I did get up to quite a lot though. Where I lived in London there was always something going on but I was one of the girls who was always to scared to go to the parties. I didn't get drunk until I was 19, because I was always too scared of what might happen. I grew a very sheltered life, but I was always busy with schoolwork and extra curriculum activites.
What sort of activites did you get up to then?
I used to do tap and ballet dancing, up until I was 18, and I had singing lessons. I also used to be quite interested in music, so I took up extra Music lessons which I had to plan compositions for. As well as this I had to work around 20 hours a week at a little cafe down the road from my house, I loved it there, but it wore me out even more than school did!
Sounds like you were just as busy then as you are now!
Yeah I was, it's set me up for this I guess!
What persuaded you to start singing in the contralto tone?
I always used to practice singing along with my teachers saxophone, and I practiced on my tone so that it would go along with that well. I found that it was my strongest point, and she helped me to build up on that.
Do you ever think that you would of been better off in the higher range of the spectrum, say Soprano, if you could of practiced that more?
I'm not really too sure, when you're younger you have more flexibiltiy with your voice, so maybe if I had started straight away at a higher pitch I could've been better at that. I'm quite comfortable singing in contralto though.
Any plans for the near future?
Well I'm hoping that my new album, 'The Stars' has a good reception, and first off my newest thing, which I'm just writing now will be exciting! I'm also hoping that everything goes well on the tour, and after that who knows? I'm all for living life in the moment, I don't make plans or list, if something happens, then it happens, if it doesn't I move on. I'm 20 now so I'd like to think about settling down and seeing how everything goes!
_______________________________________________________________________________
I was lucky enough to meet the lady that made Classical Music a worldwide sensation, Eloise de Campo. When she walked into the coffee shop where we had arranged to meet, I could tell that this would be an interesting interview like no other! She walked in with her beautiful blonde hair loose around her shoulders, an over the shoulder teeshirt which she'd styled herself, and her face was alive with her smile! I was very excited about this and I could tell that it would live up to my expectations!
Morning Eloise! I've been really looking forward to this!
Me too! I love being interviewed, I find it good fun! It makes my incredibly busy life more interesting!
So you're very busy at the moment?
Yes, very much so! I'm currently writing a new album, and the first song will be released next month. I'm also on tour in England at the moment, going all over the place, it is amazing but sometimes I just want some time to sit down and relax! It's a good job I enjoy my work though, it feels more like a hobby that I get paid for than a job!
I imagine that it is very hard work! How do you relax with such a busy lifestyle?
Well normally I have Sunday evenings off, so I draw myself a nice bath, with lots of aromatherapy oils and play some of my favourite songs, and then when I get in I order an Indian take away and spend the night in front of the TV. It sounds like quite a lot to do once a week, but it's the only time I ever get to spend some time doing nothing, so I really enjoy it.
That sounds wonderful!
It really is!
What sort of music is on your iPod then?
Well, I have a large mix of artists that have inspired me such as Katherine Jenkins and Meret Becker. I also have some artists who people wouldn't expect me to like, such as ABBA and also the wonderful Simon and Garfunkel as well as more recent artists, like Ellie Goulding, I am a big fan of hers.
What about your music? Is there any of that on your iPod?
[laughs] Yes, I'm not ashamed to say that I do have some of my music on my iPod! I have an awful memory so I do listen to it from time to time when I'm on tour to help me to remember my lyrics!
Do you write your own songs?
Yes, I write all of my songs, I write most of the lyrics myself and my assistant songwriter Dom helps me put them all together. I don't understand how people can sing songs that haven't been written by them, I write and sing them from my heart, it means that they mean something to me, and that can be conveyed to my fans.
Are all of your songs about things that have happened to you personally then?
Yes, every single one of them!
You sing a lot of love songs [laughs] is there someone special in your life then?
[laughs] Not at the moment no. I love writing about love though, most of it is about things that happened when I was younger, I had a lot of adventures.
Were you a bit of a livewire in your youth then?
Not really, I did get up to quite a lot though. Where I lived in London there was always something going on but I was one of the girls who was always to scared to go to the parties. I didn't get drunk until I was 19, because I was always too scared of what might happen. I grew a very sheltered life, but I was always busy with schoolwork and extra curriculum activites.
What sort of activites did you get up to then?
I used to do tap and ballet dancing, up until I was 18, and I had singing lessons. I also used to be quite interested in music, so I took up extra Music lessons which I had to plan compositions for. As well as this I had to work around 20 hours a week at a little cafe down the road from my house, I loved it there, but it wore me out even more than school did!
Sounds like you were just as busy then as you are now!
Yeah I was, it's set me up for this I guess!
What persuaded you to start singing in the contralto tone?
I always used to practice singing along with my teachers saxophone, and I practiced on my tone so that it would go along with that well. I found that it was my strongest point, and she helped me to build up on that.
Do you ever think that you would of been better off in the higher range of the spectrum, say Soprano, if you could of practiced that more?
I'm not really too sure, when you're younger you have more flexibiltiy with your voice, so maybe if I had started straight away at a higher pitch I could've been better at that. I'm quite comfortable singing in contralto though.
Any plans for the near future?
Well I'm hoping that my new album, 'The Stars' has a good reception, and first off my newest thing, which I'm just writing now will be exciting! I'm also hoping that everything goes well on the tour, and after that who knows? I'm all for living life in the moment, I don't make plans or list, if something happens, then it happens, if it doesn't I move on. I'm 20 now so I'd like to think about settling down and seeing how everything goes!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Last editing.
As you can see I have added the Facebook and Twitter logo to the bottom right corner of my magazine cover. I felt that this was an important addition, as it increases the interactivity between the audience and the magazine.
Facebook:
These bar and pie charts show that a large proportion of people who use 'Facebook' are in the age range of 20-29. As my target audience is of people 17-29 I felt that it would be a good idea to include the Facebook interactivity. Also, the age range of 13-19, which includes the other ages not included in the most popular age range, is the second most important age range out of all of the rest.
Twitter:
These graphs also show that the people who tweet on a regular basis in the UK (where my magazine would be distributed) are in the age range of around18-34, which all of my target audience sit in.
I think that by adding this extra interactivity, it could gain me a wider audience. This is because I think that if someone were to post a status, or tweet about my magazine, anyone who would see this on the internet could go back and have a look at my magazines website, and maybe get convinced to buy the print version of the magazine. I think that it is important to think how the audience likes to socialize, as when they socialize they can also publicize my magazine without realizing it, and can therefore help to me to get a larger audience.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Front Cover Deconstruction
Masthead: I chose against putting a masthead on my front cover. This is quite an usual decision to of made with music magazines, as many of them have mastheads. However, the classical music magazines that I looked at didn't have one, so I decided to follow this trait. In the space where the masthead would normally go I have put little details, like the website and the issue date and number. I have also included a puff, which states that the magazine is the biggest in the UK. I quite like the effect of all of this, without the big block of masthead. I think that it makes it appeal more to the older realm of target audience.
Font for Title: This is a font which I downloaded off of http://www.dafont.com/ under the Calligraphy section. I really like this font. I personally think that the style of the writing shows immediatly that it is a more sophisticated magazine, and therefore of the Classical Music genre. I was originally planning on carrying this font throughout the front cover, but I decided that it looked to crowded and difficult to read. I then decided to choose a classic font for the rest of the front page.
The freebie Badge: I decided that I would add a badge to place the freebie/competition in, so that it would stand out more. I chose the colour blue to make the sphere as it is completly different from the rest of the colours on the page. This way it will be one of the first things that people look at when they see my magazine. This is magnified by the fact that is placed in the area of the magazine which instantly draws the attention from the eye of the reader.
Background Colour: I chose to use light grey as the background for my magazine for many reasons. I like that it is quite pale, which also follows in the line with the other classical music magazines I analysed. I think that it means that it doesn't wash out the rest of the colours on the magazine. I also didn't want to choose a white background like many other magazines of the same genre, because it makes the whole magazine appear very empty and spacious.
Other Typefaces: For the rest of the fonts on the front cover I have chosen to use the font Verdana. This was already downloaded onto Gimp as a default font. I liked this font because it is very basic, which balances out the complicated font that I used in the main title. I chose to place the title of the article alongside the picture, unlike in my designs. This was because when I placed it above the picture, it didn't show up as well as it did beside it. I also made the main part of the article title in Verdana Bold and the rest in plain Verdana.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Starting To Construct The Front Cover
I have begun to construct the front cover of my magazine. I have decided on a light grey background as all of the classical magazines I looked at had a light background, but I didn't want to use white. I also have used a red font, as this also fitted in with the style of other magazines in the same genre.
these are my two different variations of my front cover so far. As you can see, one of them has another story placed next to the one in the bottom left corner, and the other doesn't. I think that I will change my plans to put three stories along the bottom, as I prefer the front cover on the right.
these are my two different variations of my front cover so far. As you can see, one of them has another story placed next to the one in the bottom left corner, and the other doesn't. I think that I will change my plans to put three stories along the bottom, as I prefer the front cover on the right.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Choosing the photos of my Main Star
Why did I chose the pictures?
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Editing Pictures.
From the pictures of my photoshoot I decided that I would edit the background out of the pictures, so that it would just be a picture of my model, Eloise, on a blank canvas.
Here is a rough demonstration of how I did this:
First of all I draw round Eloise with the Eraser tool, while I am zoomed in very close. I do this very close to the outline of Eloise so as to create a neater finish. I quite like the effect of the white lines around the image, I think it creates a sort of comic like effect.
Then I just erase around the rest of it, so that the background is white.
Presentation1
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Friday, March 11, 2011
Second Photoshoot
Second photoshoot
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Main Star Photoshoot
Photoshoot
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Thursday, March 10, 2011
Further Drawn Plans
This is my hand drawn interpretation of my final front cover. It is a very rough drawn imitation, but I have developed from my earlier flat plans. I have come up with some ideas for the stories that will be on my front cover. I have also decided more details on the layout of the magazine. I have decided that to conform with the regularities of the other classical music magazines I analysed and will not have a masthead in the top area of the front cover, but I will in it's place have a puff (probably in a red font) and also the issue date and price. Also, to confirm with other classical magazines I will have the bar code in the bottom right corner. I have chose to display the images to illustrate the other stories in boxes along the bottom of the front cover. I think that placing this here will optimize the most of my space. In addition, somewhere on the left of the page I have inserted a puff which contains a freebie, which is contained inside the magazine. I chose the freebie that I did because I think that it will attract a broader audience as it is quite interactive.
This is my very rough interpretation of my final contents page. I have been influenced highly by the contents page which I showed on the previous page. I decided that my editors letter will go in the top right corner, as well of a picture of me so that the audience would know who I am. The features will be along the left side of the page, as this is where the eye first looks. I will put the stories in a bold red font, and they will link in with the pictures of stories on the right. Down the bottom will be an advertisement for regular readers to subscribe to 'Crescendo' which is contained in a lot of music magazines.
Monday, March 07, 2011
Contents Page Ideas.
I have decided that in my contents page I would like to include a letter from the editor. This is a popular feature in all magazines, and I think it would be a good idea to include one.
For example I quite like the layout of this magazine on the right. I like how the features inside the magazine are all nicely laid out in the right hand column. I think that I may choose to use a similar style layout in my magazine contents page. However, I would probably switch the sides over and put the features on the left hand of the page. This is because when a person looks at a contents page, their eye automatically reads it from left to right, and therefore they would read the features first.
For example I quite like the layout of this magazine on the right. I like how the features inside the magazine are all nicely laid out in the right hand column. I think that I may choose to use a similar style layout in my magazine contents page. However, I would probably switch the sides over and put the features on the left hand of the page. This is because when a person looks at a contents page, their eye automatically reads it from left to right, and therefore they would read the features first.
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