Technology

Throughout this process, I have had to learn about a few new pieces of technology, mainly the use of sites and programs on the Apple Macs. 

To edit my images I used picmonkey, an editing site that I have used before to edit pictures but I also learnt how to use pixlr incase I wanted to use any other effects such as layering that picmonkey was unable to offer. I learnt how to layer in class time and an example is shown in my earlier work with my Green Day edit. 

Blogger was also a site that I was unfamiliar with an so I had to learn from the very basics of how to use it... even how to make an account. After making an account I had to figure out how to change my layout which wasn't as hard as I first though, thankfully. 

Pages. Okay, so learning how to use pages does seem like it would be very hard but I was very used to using Publisher or Word on a PC and so thought they would be pretty similar. To be honest, I didn't even know how to open Pages on a Mac the first time I used one let alone know how to put pictures on it. After learning this I then had to change the layout of my page from A4 landscape to A3. I didn't even know where to begin. Now, I know pretty much all the setting and uses of pages and figuring out how to use one was definitely my biggest challenge.

Preliminary task VS Main task

 

As you can see from the two pictures, my preliminary task didn't look much like a magazine. The name of 'Southfield School' doesn't really look like a mast head should as it is quite plain but is fully visible. However, through the process I've learnt that the masthead doesn't need to be seen especially if the magazine is well known. In my preliminary task, the information in the magazine is sometimes unclear and the writing is the same as the masthead. I intentionally made the writing the same as the masthead as I thought it would tie the two together. Looking back on this I see that it just looks very simple and boring which is why I made the font in my main task different for different stories featured. Also, the masthead is the largest and stands out the most with the white against the black. As I thought my school magazine would be free to students, a price or barcode wasn't included on the front, however my music magazine conventionally has barcodes on the cover and so I have included on in the bottom right. 

Looking back, my preliminary task was very basic. The red is very bright and should usually be used to make certain things stand out. However, my main task used the red less and isn't quite as bright. Also, the font for my preliminary task is very basic and plan. Although it's supposed to be a school magazine it doesn't attract the target audiences attention is it supposed to be students. Like the preliminary task, the writing on the contents page of my main task is quite plain but there is the main title of the contents and the font on the black text boxes that make it interesting. The competition on the contents of the main task stands out the most as it is bright and the main thing that is red except the text box for the title. I wanted this to be so as my first contents page had a lot of red which didn't attract the eye to any part of the page whereas the competition bring in the eye. 

Although I didn't so a double page spread for my preliminary task, I feel as though this would've been better than the other as I have learnt more how to structure and what to include in a magazine since the beginning of this process.

Media Institution that might distribute my magazine

A media institution is a non-profit organisation that distributes media for entertainment of the public such as the BBC, Emap and Future PLC. Bauer Media owns 4music, The Box, Heat, Kerrang!, Kiss, Magic and Smash Hits. This media institution distributes Kerrang! magazine and as my magazine is based on Kerrang! this would be an ideal distributer.

Feedback

How my magazine represents social groups

My Target Audience

Magazine Conventions