Production Diary 23 - Updates to posts and uploading final magazine and evaluation

3rd March 2014
I updated some posts which I had improved or made changes to after I published it originally. These were mainly Scribd documents as Scribd does not automatically update itself like Prezi which means when I make changes I have to re-upload it to ensure that it is all up to date.
I published my magazine and evaluation to a PDF and then uploaded it onto Issuu as this displays it in an online magazine style which is interesting. Finally I embedded this to my blog.

Production Diary 22 - Changing evaluation to magazine style format

24th February 2014

Since I had written my evaluations in draft form before, I made slight changes where necessary and then made them into a more interesting format rather than just text. I had transformed my evaluation answers into a magazine style format. I used the template of my magazine a sort of guideline to create this magazine style evaluation. I put all the evaluation questions on the front cover as sell lines and used an outdoor image of my model to make a full bleed image for the cover. 

I put the questions at the top of each page with a teal coloured background box and the question on white. I added in several images onto each of the pages including images of my magazine, props and logos such as Facebook, Twitter as well as Photoshop and Prezi. I applied text wrap to the images so that it looked like a real magazine. I also added in page numbers to make it more like a magazine.

Production Diary 21 - Improving double page spread with extra information

11th February 2014

This week I made a lot of changes to my magazine after I had received feedback from my teacher.

I made various changes throughout my magazine. I added in hashtag tweets at the bottom of the page. I also added in a box which says ‘Interview with…’ at the top left corner of the double page spreads.

Front cover: I made some changes to the positioning of the sell lines as I made the plug go under the sell line that was below it before. This is because I found that it enhances the boldness of both of these sell lines. I also used the idea from an existing magazine to create this.

Double page spread 3: I extended my article by adding an extra double page spread so that it is more spaced out. I also added in a bit more text to fill up some extra space on the second double page spread. I made loads of changes to this double page spread after I got feedback from my teacher. I used an existing magazine and borrowed ideas from it to recreate mine.

Firstly I made the image only half way up the page. Then I changed the pull quote by adding a white background box to it and positioning it on the left side of the image. Afterwards, I added in the tour dates box on the left page as well. Overall I made the double page spread have a more interesting layout that I did before.

Contents page: I also changed the border of the images on the contents page so that it is rounded. I also made the caption in a box in the corner of the image. I then changed the artist index so that it is in two columns.



 

 

After feedback:

 

Production Diary 20 - Making changes to magazine

4th February 2014

This week I made several changes to my magazine. FirstIy, I took photos outside for the double page spread and contents page. I chose a couple of images for the double page spread as a background and for smaller images on the page. I also chose one image for the contents page. I edited some of the photos, changing the brightness and contrast on Photoshop before putting it in InDesign. I also added in captions for the images in my magazine.

Production Log 19 - Improving double page spread

28th January 2014

This week I carried on improving my double page spread.

I firstly finished off editing the extra images I wanted to put on my double page spread. I edited them on Photoshop by removing the background and changing the brightness and contrast of it so it looks slightly brighter than the original photo.

I decided to extend my article so that it is on two double page spreads, this is because I am going to add in more images so it will take up more than one double page spread. I decided to put the new image on the next double page spread. When I placed the image onto the second double page spread I made the text wrap around the image.

31st January 2013

I decided to add change the pull quote and make it bigger in a box so that it fills up more space on my double page spread. I made the box the colour teal and changed the opacity so that it is slightly opaque. I then added in speech marks using a different font from the quote and made it white so that it looks like it has been cut out from the box. I also made the image slightly bigger.

For the contents page I decided to change the font of the captions o the image to the same font as the subtitle so that it is more consistent but instead made it in capitals so that it is different.

Production Diary 18 - Start to make changes to magazine and sorting out blog

21st January 2014

This week I made some changes to my magazine according to some of the feedback I received.

I changed some fonts on the front cover using new fonts I downloaded from on Dafont.com.

For the masthead I chose a more suitable font as the previous one I had was very plain and simple which did not suggest the genre of my music magazine. I also changed some of the fonts for the sell lines so that they were more eye-catching and interesting.

Double page spread:

-I added in the page numbers for the double page spreads as I had forgotten to do so before.

-From some of the feedback I received, I acknowledge that in order to improve my double page spread I need to have a few more images. Therefore I started to edit a photo which I want to use on my double page spread by removing the background on Photoshop.

Also, for my blog I sorted out the production diary posts on my blog by mentioning briefly about each production diary by adding ‘proposal’ for example, so the examiner can see what each production diary is about before they read it.

Production Diary 17 - Sorting out blog labels and audience feedback results

7th January 2014

In this week’s lesson we managed our blogs by making sure we have the correct labels and labelled each of our posts with the correct labels. I added in a ‘audience’, ‘production diary’ and ‘drafting’ label as I didn’t have them before. For some of the posts where they could fit in more than one category I put the different labels for which they go under. I made separate posts for each production diary as previously I had a separate tab but instead I now changed it so that it is sorted by labels.

I also did the audience feedback results which I had collected over the week. I made a Prezi to show the results I got. I firstly briefly talked about how I designed the survey. Then I interpreted the responses I got and also mentioned at the end how I had acted on the feedback I got. I print-screened the graphs from SurveyMonkey and also copied the written responses onto Prezi.

Production Diary 16 - Evaluation, audience feedback survey and processes

24th December 2013

In the Christmas holidays I finished the rest of the evaluation I draft form. I did questions 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 as I did questions 3 and 4 already for homework before. In order to answer these questions I had to constantly refer to my magazine and also look back at some of my work on my blog about the audience.

I also created a survey on SurveyMonkey to get feedback from my audience for my magazine. I created a variety of questions, some with options for the respondents to choose from and some where they had to type in their own answer. This made sure that I had both quantitative and qualitative data.

Another thing I did was the processes; this is where we had to show what we did before and after as well as showing how we did certain things. For example I showed the different stages of my work from the sketches to the actual product on In Design. I also created short videos which demonstrated how I did certain things for my magazine such as the drop cap and paragraph rule.

Production Diary 15 - Finishing front cover for final draft

16th and 17th December 2013

 

I made several changes to my front cover. Firstly the biggest change I made was I added in the front cover image which fills the background. I then changed the style of the 'top 20 downloads of the month' sell line and also changed the one in the banner. I also added in the name of my magazine and changed it to the colour teal to match the rest of the magazine. I also changed the echo awards sell line so that it was all in black as I though it would look better for my magazine.

                                 

Production Diary 14 - Continuing to work on front cover and chosen images

10th December 2013
 

After doing the photoshoot, I had several images that I had taken. I started selecting the images I like and perhaps would use in my magazine. I made a folder to keep all these images together so I could make a contact sheet. After I had chosen all the images, I made a contact sheet on Photoshop. I divided it up so I had two 36-image sheets.

I continued to work on my front cover. I started to change the colours of it with the colour teal I decided to have as my main colour. I made the circle of the plug, the quote for the main sell line and some words of other sell lines the colour teal. This made a consistent colour scheme of teal and black. I also added other details such as the barcode, date and issue number.

Next week I will carry on doing my front cover and put in the images I had taken to test out which ones look good for my front cover.

Production Diary 13 - Creating the front cover, photoshoot and behind the scenes and starting evaluation

3rd December 2013
 

This week I started creating the front cover of my magazine.

I first put in all the sell lines I had come up with before. I altered the size, font and colour for some of them. I chose to use different two fonts for the sell lines so that it doesn’t seem too diverse. I used a different font for the main sell line so that it is clear that it’s the main article. I also added in the name of the artist that is on the front cover which is Ava. I made the size of this text relatively large so that the readers know the name of the artist is Ava. I downloaded some new fonts and added it into the set of fonts in NexuxFont. I made the font of ‘Ava’ a handwriting type of font and also added in a star next to it which indicates that her music is pop related.

For homework I started to work on the evaluation. I first off wrote about the distribution of my magazine. I talked about the institution which may distribute my magazine (IPC Media) and why I think it is suitable as well as why they may choose to distribute my magazine.
 

I also did the photoshoot on Friday 6^th December. I took 465 photos in total with two models –one for the front cover and another for the contents page. I took a variety of shots mainly including close ups and mid shots so I can use it for the main image on the front cover. I also used different props such as a microphone and bubbles to demonstrate the music genre of the artist.

In addition to the photos I took for my magazine I also took some photos and short videos on my phone for behind the scenes.
 

Next week I will select the photos I want to use for my magazine. I will make a contact sheet to display all the photos I took. I will also start to create and edit the behind the scenes video.

Production Diary 12 - Creating the contents page and equipment task

25th and 26th November 2013

(25th)

(26th)

This week I started actually putting in the information in my contents page. I first typed in the different subheadings of on the cover, features and regulars. I then pasted in the contents list I had made previously. I changed the size of it and adjusted the line spacing to a suitable number so that it was organised. I also changed the colour of the numbers to teal which I decided to use as the main colour for the colour scheme of my magazine.

I also pasted in the artist index and subscription box text. I changed some of the positions of the boxes around so that things fitted nicely on the page. I put the social media box on the left page and moved the subscription box to the left side of the right page so I could put the artist index on the right side of the right page. I placed in images of the Facebook, Twitter and YouTube logo in the social media box. I resized them so that they were all the same size and then positioned them in line with each other.

I decided some of the things I wanted to be shown with an image. I altered the position of the numbers on the images and added in a short description of the image.

I also added in paragraph rules to the subheading to make it look more interesting. I chose to have one line under the text which is teal (the main colour of my colour scheme).

For homework I did the task on equipment. For this task we had to write about the equipment we will use to create out magazine which include both software and hardware. For software, I wrote about using Adobe In Design and Photoshop and for hardware, I mentioned camera, lights and tripod. I presented this information on Prezi.

Production Diary 11 - Creating the layout of the front cover

19th November 2013

As I planned, this week I did the front cover layout. I first did the masthead, then banner and finally the sell lines and other features.

I drew a long thing black box for the banner which I placed at the bottom of the page. I then added in white text over it. This would be an interesting feature which readers would be attracted by.

I then added in the sell lines. I made a variation sell lines; I changed the look of each sell line with different sizes and fonts that I thought would be suitable. For one I had a black box behind the white text to make it stand out from the other sell lines. For another one, I made the number in the sell line much bigger than the text which was also for emphasis. For the main sell line I made it much bigger in size and also a different style of the font I used for other sell lines so that it is bolder and eye-catching.

Another thing I added was a plug. I drew a black circle and then put white text over it. I placed this on the right side which is opposite the sell line with the black box behind it as I want to make a balance of different sell lines on the front cover. This would have competitions or freebies information on it.

I also added in other features such as the barcode, price, issue number and date. I represented these with a black outlined box.

Production Diary 10 - Creating the layout of the double page spread and article text

12th November 2013
 

I finished doing the contents page layout and started on the double page spread layout this week.

I first drew in the black boxes to represent the images like I did for the contents page.
I then added in text for the heading, subheading and the article text I changed the font for the heading and subheading which were different but similar fonts so that they linked but puts emphasis on the heading because it is more bold and eye-catching.
For the article font I made it a different font so that it was more suitable to read as it is much clearer than the font I used for the heading for example as it is slightly disorientated which would make it hard to read.
I also then added in a pull quote in the same font as the heading and subheading so that it stood out but also followed the general style of the article. I made the font size much bigger than the rest of the article text as it needed to stand out to get the reader’s attention. To make it more interesting, I added in paragraph rules which I had been taught. This created two lines above and below the pull quote which makes it look quite impressive compared to just having enlarged text in a different font.

For homework, I did the article text. I first looked at existing articles and got inspiration from it to write my own. I wrote about 1,500 words for the article. I made my article quite informative as my front cover artist is new and so the readers are unlikely to know much about her.

I plan to do the final layout of the front cover next week.

Production Diary 9 - Creating the layout of the contents page and contents text

5th November 2013

This week we started to create the layout of the contents page, double page spread and front cover of our magazine. We did some sketches of the layouts on paper first so we had an idea of what to do when we do it on In Design.

Before we started the task we were given a brief demonstration of how to create it by our teacher. We learnt some shortcuts which would be useful for us to know and these included changing size of things (Ctrl+Shift+>or<), copying something (Alt+drag), toggling layout (w) and selecting everything (Ctrl+A). We also got taught how to make fixed styles for certain text (e.g. title, subheading etc.) by using the paragraph styles section.

We first set up the page and set the settings to 7 pages and 3 columns. After that we started to create the layout of the pages by using text boxes and black boxes. The black boxes we drew represented the images we plan to put in later on. As for the text, we put in place holder text -which was random text that helps you get an idea of what it would look like when you put your actual text in -as we haven’t written the article or contents list yet.

To make the layout of my contents page I found a very good example from Total Film magazine. Although it is not a music magazine but the layout of the contents page is very good and so I decided to make mine similar to that because I believe it is quite successful. I did a similar layout by having images and text in a similar position.

We used the fonts we downloaded before to experiment with, for the masthead, headings subheadings and text. This would help us in making the real magazine as we can experiment with the different fonts for each thing and choose the most suitable one. I decided to have only a couple of different fonts so that there is consistency within my magazine to make it look professional.

For homework, I did the contents text which was the list of contents for the contents page. I made 2 different sections for it: on the cover, features and regulars. For each of these categories I wrote about 6-8 different ideas. I also included an artist index which had the names of different artists and the page number they are featured on. Finally I wrote a couple of lines in a subscription box I made.

 

Production Diary 8 - Colour ideas and props and costumes

29th October 2013

As I planned, I did the colour ideas and props and costumes this week.

I did the colour ideas on Adobe InDesign. I created many square boxes with a black border and a fill colour of black, white, grey and one other main colour for each set which were pink/red, teal, sea green and light blue. All of the set of colours I chose had black, white and grey to accompany the main colour because these are the separate colours which will not affect the main colour so that it looks messy and unprofessional.
 

For the props and costumes ideas I found some images of clothing, accessories and props which I would use in the photoshoot for my magazine. I found some images from websites of the typical clothing brand my target audience like, as the clothes on there are suitable for the type of image I want to create. I thought about the items of clothing I picked carefully as I want it to demonstrate pop as well as rock. I picked a couple of brightly colour items to represent pop but most of them were black as this represents the rock genre well.

Production Diary 7 - Moodboard, promotional methods and new media.

22nd October 2013

This week I did the moodboard, promotional methods and new media.

Firstly for the moodboard, I collected a range of images from Google images which were related to the audience and also some images of the popular artists in the pop/rock music genre. I found images of social networking site logos, musical instruments, musical devices and clothing brand logos which were likely to be used by my target audience. I arranged all the images neatly in bubbles on PowerPoint and wrote a few sentences about the images.

Then I did the promotional methods and new media on another PowerPoint. For the promotional methods I wrote about competitions, freebies and giveaways as I believe that these are the most effective ways in promoting my magazine. For new media, I wrote about the social networking sites which were popular amongst the participants of the survey I conducted. I also wrote about a phone app which I think would be good because many people nowadays have smart phones and are constantly using them. I also decided to have a phone app because I found from my survey that people are likely to use an app which updates them on a music magazine.
 

I plan to do the colour ideas and props costumes next week.

Production Diary 6 - Names and masthead ideas and image ideas

15th October 2013

In this week’s lesson we did the names and masthead ideas. I first created a spider diagram on PowerPoint. I started off with a word which I would associate with pop/rock and then wrote something related to that and so on. I did a total of 25 name ideas.

For the masthead ideas, I went to Dafont and found some fonts which I liked and thought would be good for my magazine. I then downloaded them and opened them up in NexusFont (a program which puts all the fonts together in one place rather than opening individual fonts like we used to do). When I went opened up In Design, all the fonts were on the list because I had opened them up on NexusFont. I typed ‘masthead’ in the different fonts I chose, since I have not decided on a name yet. I did a total of 10 different masthead ideas.

I also did the image ideas this week. This was the task of collecting several images which we thought were good and something we aim to achieve for our own photoshoot. These images included different ideas for poses, hairstyles, make-up, costumes, settings etc. Most of the images I chose had a bright setting but the costumes were dark which complemented well to convey a rock/pop image.

Production Diary 5 - Magazine key concepts, existing names and mastheads research and preliminary task video

8th October 2013

The first thing I did this week was the preliminary task video which demonstrated how I created the front cover and contents page of the school magazine. I used a program called ‘CamStudio’ which records the movement of the computer screen.

Secondly, I did the key concepts of music magazines which included: audience, representation, institution and conventions. To do this task I did some research as well as using the knowledge I already had. I also found some images to accompany the information I wrote so that it is clear what I’m talking about as you are able to see some of the ideas visually.

I also did the research task of existing names and mastheads. For the names there were a few different types which were: connotative, phrase, acronym and compound. For each of the examples I found I explained what I thought the effect of it was e.g. acronyms are memorable to the readers. I did this on Prezi as it is a high quality and professional way to present information.

Next week, I’ll be doing the name and masthead ideas.

Production Diary 4 - Survey results, proposal feedback and preliminary task video

1st October 2013

This week we spent some time updating everything on our blogs and making sure that we have done all the things before we move on. Some things which I had to do included: analysing the survey results and improvements on proposal.

I analysed my survey results on Prezi as I think it is a good way to present the data because it is quite professional. Also, since it saves automatically and it updates in the places where you put the embedded code as well, it is a good way to do this work because I had to spend a couple of sessions to finish doing it.

I first put in the questions and then inserted an image of the graph which I print screened from SurveyMonkey. I then wrote about the results I got saying how it helped me to decide on what to do for my magazine. Also for some of them I mentioned what my idea was and then said whether my results corresponded or contradicted with my idea.

I got feedback for my proposal and then improved it according to the feedback I received. The feedback I got really helped me as there were some thing which I had missed out and the feedbacker had pointed it out for me so I could make improvements on it.I posted my feedback as a Voki as I believe it is a much more interesting way to present this information than just having text. I put made two separates ones, one with the good point and one with the improvements.

Towards the end of the lesson, I started to do the preliminary task video. I first sorted out the layers of my front cover and contents page on the Adobe In Design so that it would be easier when I come to do the video. Next week I will complete making the two videos.