Time Management- 20/12/12

I have had a chance to experiment a lot more with the use of Photoshop whereas before i only knew how to do the basics of adding in images and then adding in text. Now i have a better understanding and i can now use masking, altering the colours and tools such as the magic wand and things like that, this was all due to me creating a Simpson's poster and re designing an image of Jarvis Cocker from Pulp.

I created a very simple mood board for my work as well which gives you a better understanding of what i want to do and what themes i want to convey in my work. I am also now in the pre production process of my final pieces of work, i am now gathering consent forms and going through potential problems of my photo-shoot which should be quite soon as im hoping to get my work completely finished for the start of the new year.

I also had a chance to look at some of the institutes that publish magazines on a daily basis and got a feel of who they are and what kind of genre of magazines they publish, Bauer Media would seem to be the company that my magazine would be catered towards as they seem to publish a lot of magazines that im hoping my magazine will be like once it is all completely finished.

Consent Form

Dear Parent/Guardian

Your son/daughter has been selected to participate in my AS Photo Shoot  “TE” a student music magazine for my coursework. The participation of your son/daughter is crucial to the creation of the product. Shooting  will start at the beginning of November 2012. Please fill in the details below to give permission to your son/daughter to take part in the photos.

From Kristopher Cook AS Media Student

Media Studies Film Consent Form

I parent/guardian of __________________ hereby permit/ do not permit my son/daughter to be part of the AS photo-shoot.

Signed:___________________________ Date:_______________________

Proposal Form Advanced

Proposal Form Describe your idea for the brief: My magazine will be music orientated with a highlight on electronic and house  music as i personally like it and it is becoming very popular within mainstream music. The main article will feature an interview with the person involved in my photo-shoot , this interview will be included in my double page spread along with an image that goes along beside it. Genre/ sub genre: list similar texts which have inspired your thoughts:  My main inspiration for my magazine is a mix between Q and NME with the presentation of the magazine also being inspired by GQ.  Target audience: gender/ age/ characteristics/ behaviour: My target audience will be a mix of male and female  as everyone likes electronic music it doesn't really have a specific preference. The target audience will be teenagers up to about the age of 30 as most people listen to electronic music when they go to specific night clubs that you see. The characteristics of my magazine will include informative yet cheeky just like Q does their articles with a slight bit of humour and slang. Major conventions I will use:  I will use is the the traditional placement of the masthead located at the top left of the page as, this is where most people would see it first. I am also thinking about placing the masthead behind the main image through layering. The main image will be a mid shot as it will show the audience his body language better to give you an idea on the artist himself. The contents page on my magazine shall be more text based meaning there will be only a handful of images scattered across the page, and those images will only be used to highlight the important articles in the magazine. I will also include a editorial note for the reader to read on the contents page. I will also use a masthead for my contents page rather than a title. For my double page spread, I will have a full body shot of the person that features as my main image, opposed to a facial shot. This image will also spread across the double page. There will be 4 columns of text on the double page spread and it will be an interview of the person that features on the main image. Conventions I may subvert/ change/ not use:  I was going to place the barcode in my masthead but changed my mind as it wouldn't look very good and might confuse the reader. I was even considering doing my entire magazine the opposite way around similar to a manga book where you have to read it backwards so my masthead would be on the left side etc. The masthead will be featured in the top right hand corner with an emphasis on the main image and its content. Original images: what/ where/ what:  The images that I will feature in my magazine will be taken  via my photo-shoot or other images that i have personally saved that belong to me. Potential difficulties/ Plan B:  My cover could be considered not interesting or some people may not understand what my main image is and who it is related to. My image may be faded or pixelated making it look not very professional. The camera may not take a higher resolution photograph that i want and will make it look terrible.

Potential Problems

Potential Problems with My Coursework

Potential area where there might be a problem	How I will deal with this problem
Front cover images: The image may be overexposed The image may have some minor motion blur Wrong type of shot	Take more than one photo so I have a backup. Keep the camera as still as possible and take more than one photo Take more than one photo from different angles/directions etc.
Article Inside Magazine: Text may blend with the background too well Text may be in the way of image Grammar or Spelling may be incorrect	Use contrasting colours so that the text can stand out/be easily read Change font size and find a space on the image where the text can fit, or include less text Always spell check and re read my article after every paragraph
Images to accompany article: Image is not big enough for 2 pages Image might distract the reader from the article contents	Use more smaller images to go alongisde my articles Be sure to not go over the top when it comes to placing images around my articles

Institutional Research

Institutional Research

Institution	Details	Publications
Emap	Emap International Limited is a British media company, specialising in the production of business to business magazines, and the organisation of business events and conferences. The company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but is now owned by Apax and Guardian Media Group. "EMAP" is an acronym, standing for East Midland Allied Press.	Architects Journal Architectural Review Broadcast Construction News Drapers Health Service Journal Local Government Chronicle Materials Recycling Week Nursing Times Retail Week Recycling & Waste Management Screen International
Conde Nast	Condé Nast, a division of Advance Publications, is a magazine publisher. In the U.S., it produces 18 consumer magazines, including Architectural Digest,Bon Appétit, GQ, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Vogue, as well as four business-to-business publications, 27 websites, and more than 50 apps for mobile and tablet devices. The company's headquarters is  in New York City and was founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast and has been owned by the Newhouse family since 1959. S.I. “Si” Newhouse Jr. is the chairman and CEO of Advance Publications, Charles H. Townsend is Condé Nast’s chief executive officer and Robert A. Sauerberg is Condé Nast’s president.	Vogue W Glamour Allure Self Teen Vogue GQ Details Lucky Style.com/Print Style.com
Natmags	Nat Mags (short for National Magazine Company) was a British magazine publisher based in London. It was established in 1910 by William Randolph Hearst. Arnaud de Puyfontaine became chief executive of Nat Mags in 2009. His predecessor Duncan Edwards had been at the company since around 1990 and was previously managing director. In 2008 The Guardian newspaper named Duncan Edwards the 75th most important person in the British media.	Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan Bride Esquire Good  Housekeeping Country Living Harper's Bazaar   Men’s Health (UK only) Coast Company She Zest magazine House Beautiful
IPC Media	IPC Media (formerly International Publishing Corporation), a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Inc., is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year.	Loaded The Sun People
Future Publishing	Future plc is a media company; in 2006, it was the sixth-largest in the United Kingdom. It publishes more than 150 magazines in fields such as video games, technology, automotive, cycling, films and photography. Future is the official magazine company of all three major games console manufacturers.	Total Film Classic Rock Digital Camera
Bauer Media	Bauer Media Group is a multinational media company headquartered in Hamburg, Germany which operates in 15 countries worldwide. Since the company was founded in 1875, it has been privately owned and under management by the Bauer family.	Q Kerrang

Magazine Survey

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Mood Board

Photoshop Skills Development 2 - The Simpsons Poster

Here I have created a poster for The Simpsons movie. The first thing I did was find two images that I could place on top of each other, The Simpsons movie logo was originally part of another image but I cut it out which I then cropped and shrunk it to size. I created 2 layers one with the films logo then I cropped cut and placed the image over the logo and then corrected it to the appropriate size and got rid of any thing that didn't fit the image like the background of the front image, as I used the magic wand tool to erase the background so you can see the logo behind it. The settings for the poster I used was International Paper, A4 Size and 300 Resolution. I wanted to make something impactful that would make it stand out which is why i have Homer bursting through the film title.

Photoshop Skills Development 1 - Jarvis Cocker

I wanted to try and make a cover that is related to Pulp, so i went for a very bright yet dirty colour scheme, i did this by adjusting the contrast and brightness of the original image which you see on the left. After that I  duplicated a layer i created around my image so the masthead would go behind my main image. I finally added a sell line and a main sell line, i just chose basic statements as this is just a test using Photoshop, i then  incorporated a barcode in a new layer. I could have improved this by adding more detail and make the main image less blurry and the bakground could have been more clearer, not to mention the size of the barcode and the text but as I've said this is just to get a feel of using Photoshop as me personally i have never touched Photoshop before so this is a completely new experience for me.

Time Management- 15/11/12

Since my last time management update i have a greater understanding of what i want to do for my actual work. I want to create an electronic music magazine that is catered towards everyone's love for the genre, me personally i love the genre so it shouldn't be hard for me to actually create a magazine that caters to the fans of electronic music.

I have looked at other students work that has been created in the past to get a feel of what other students in my situation have been creating and they all seem to be of a certain standard, the same standard that im hoping that i can re create with my work. I have seen some mistakes that these students have made and hopefully i wont repeat what they have done and try not to fall for the same silly mistakes that they have made.

I have created a series of different blog posts going over my inspirations for the entire main products that im going to create and the theme itself, i have looked at all of the different types of conventions used in the process of a magazine and the ones that i personally enjoy and would like to implement into my own work. I have also gone over a couple of different inspirations of mine in terms of musicians who have some sort of gimmick or trait that makes them unique as i am hoping to do the same with my musician who is the main focus of my work.

Previous Students Work Table/ Evaluation

Feedback Sheet – Student Work

Please refer to photography, colour, layout, font style, framing and cropping as well as font style and actual text in your response.

Please remember to be constructive in your criticism as this is work by students – not professional

Name of product	What I thought were the strengths	What I thought were the weaknesses
Audio	The main sell line on the front cover is really well put together with the colour in the letters that have spaces. Also the small details that are included are good. The list of contents going up the side of the page are a good something that has never been done that I’ve seen. The double page spreads text is good in places and the photos they chose are also a positive.	The main image is blurry it could have been more clear. The masthead could have been more imaginative. Other than the text going up the side the contents page is far to basic. The double page spread is good its only bad point is some of its text it makes no sense why it would be there also the random orange interview box is a distraction.
DYNAMIC	The cover is very eye catching with the colour scheme, also the masthead is very good and very well thought of. The contents pages colour scheme like the cover is good and the page numbers over the images is a good idea. On the double page spread the quotes scattered around the page from the article is good. The masthead for the double page spread is also very well thought of.	The cover is a little basic with the chosen text and photos look like they have just been copied and pasted in from an internet site. The contents page could be better its far to basic and the photos don’t make sense the position they are in. The double page spread once again is far to basic mostly just black and white with random orange and green text appearing, the image as well you can se where it has been edited in paint as there are patches of white and random black lines appearing from her arms and legs.
NEM	A good point on the cover is the name Never Ending Music that is underneath a big NEM. The chosen font for the contents page is very good. For the double page spread the font for her text at the top is very good.	The cover is not very well thought about it look like it took about 5 minutes to make, the colour scheme doesn’t fi the main image either. The contents page is far to basic and once again probably took not long to make. The double page spread is just text and an image over a plain white background it could be improved upon and the images are all blurry.
INDIEPENDANT	The cover is very good the colour scheme matches the main image and the way the main image goes over the masthead is very good. The images on the bottom of the contents page are very good very well set out and easy to understand also the page numbers on the images are a bonus. The double page spread is also very good very well put together once again the images are is what draws you in.	There isn’t really anything wrong with the cover you could argue that the text size is a little small. As far as the contents page goes it could be a little more thought of its pretty basic. Finally the double page spread you can’t really say anything bad about it apart from maybe the masthead on it, which could be bigger.
ROCK N ROLL	The main image is good. The font on the contents page in places is also okay. For the double page spread the only good thing is the quote in the black box in the bottom corner.	The cover could be better a lot better a plain white background with some text and an image, could have put more thought into it. Once again for the contents page far to basic probably didn’t take long to make. The double page spread is even worse the random brow text makes no sense as to why it is there when everything else is in black and white.

What I have learned from looking at student work : 

I have learned that some people put a lot of effort into there covers, contents and double page spreads using very clever slogans and catchphrases. On the other hand though you have the people who it looks like took 5 minutes to make theres, an ordinary plain white background with some copied Google images pasted on and a terrible slogans and images that are mostly blurry. 

What I will do in my magazine :

In my own magazine i will try to not follow the conventions of an ordinary magazine i will try go away from the grain on my cover, contents and double page spread. I will also try to create slogans and catchphrases that are relevant and are funny. Not only that but create a colour scheme that matches my main image and theme of the magazine.

Inspirational Texts- My Idea

My idea of doing my main article to be about a particular electronic music artist who hides part of his face or has something unique about him is inspired by a couple of different things from not just electronic music but other sources as well. Many different electronic or dance artists like to keep a certain gimmick to keep them unique from other musicians it also gives you an idea of their personalities.

Deadmau5
Joel Thomas Zimmerman better known by his stage name deadmau5 (pronounced "dead mouse"), is a Canadian  electronic and house music producer and performer from Toronto, Ontario. Joel created the original logo called "mau5head" while learning how to use some 3D modelling software. The logo appears in many different colors and designs, and has been shown on the cover of most of Zimmerman's albums. He was given the idea to wear a headdress based on the logo by one of his friends, Jay Gordon of the industrial metal band Orgy. In an interview with CBC Television, Zimmerman said that he wants his logo to be an "icon". Fans often attend Deadmau5 concerts sporting their own copy of the mau5head.

Daft Punk
Daft Punk is a French electronic music duo consisting of musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. Daft Punk's main gimmick is that they wear these really big space helmets and never really show their faces when they are promoting their album or are doing interviews which are mostly written based as they rarely do spoken interviews.

SBTRKT

SBTRKT (pronounced "subtract") is the musical project led by Aaron Jerome. He is very known for his songs being really euphoric and stretched out with very lyrical and known songs such as 'Pharaohs' and 'Wildfire'. His main gimmick is that he wears a variety of different tribal masks even when he is being interviewed he is not as secretive as Daft Punk as he acknowledges that he wears the mask because he really likes the artistic style of them ad felt like it would be something a little different to wear the masks.

 

"I'd rather not talk about myself as a person, and let the music speak for itself. The name SBTRKT is me taking myself away from that whole process. I'm not a social person, so having to talk to DJs to make them play a record is not something I want to do. It's more about giving them a record as an anonymous person and seeing whether they like it or not. If they play it, they play it."

Gorillaz

Gorillaz is an English musical and visual project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. The project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters.The idea to create Gorillaz came about when the two were watching MTV: "If you watch MTV for too long, it's a bit like hell – there's nothing of substance there. So we got this idea for a cartoon band, something that would be a comment on that," Hewlett has said.

 

 

Totally Enormous Extinct  Dinosaurs

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (born Orlando Tobias Edward Higginbottom) is a British electronic music producer, DJ and singer based in London. Orlando commented to Spin Magazine that he was looking for a name that "couldn't be cool, couldn't be put into some kind of scene that gets hip for six months and then falls out of fashion." In tandem with the name he conceived a stage show which involved dressing up as a dinosaur himself flanked by similarly dressed dancers.