Front Cover Evaluation

Evaluation Questions:

1)     How does your school/college magazine relate to existing examples of these media forms?

My magazine cover is similar to other magazines as I have used similar techniques, for example large font and bright contrasting images in order to catch the viewer’s attention. The structure of my front cover is so that an image of a happy student is centered in the magazine, being the main focus point. In the background is an image of the school, this highly relating to the topic of school. The choice of images in my cover are similar to the type of images that would be seen in magazines, large bright images that take up most of the cover I personally think are very appropriate, as long as when the anchorage is added to the front cover ,that the structure does not seem to crowded. This would distract the reader from the main aim of the magazine, to illustrate the articles inside and still connote the message about school.

2)     What conventions have you used in terms of the following:

Design

Mode of Address

Use of imagery

I have used Design as I have specifically chosen a structure for my cover, and produced a variety of images that could be used in order to catch the eye of the reader. The photos I used in my college magazine front cover were two main images, these being one of a smiling student wearing the school uniform, and a low angle background image of the school building. I think that the images I used are interesting, and are relative to the main topic of the magazine.

The mode of address I used in the college magazine front cover is both casual but informative, I have used font and text that aim to attract the reader, but inform the reader in detail of the stories inside of the magazine. I think that the language I used in the anchorage for my cover was suitable for Parents/Students as it is not too technical but it is informative. I used anchorage such as "Rego International School Presents: The Sound Of Music Production", and "IB Ready or not?". This language can be easily understood by any age, attracting a wider target audience.

I used bright images as I thought that images with a lot of colour will have more of an impact as they are more easily noticed, therefore I brightened the selected images in my front cover so they stand out. I used Brightening tools, and i edited the saturation level within the picture. The picture looked more effective after i used the sharpen tool on Photoshop.

Working in Media Production

Professional Practice

1. How did you approach the tasks as an individual and how did you manage using the equipment and resources?

I approached this task by using a variety of media editing programs in order to create a front cover for a college magazine. I used programs such as Photoshop, Xara, Publisher and Pixelmator to select and edit several images that could be used for my front cover. As I enjoy editing images on programs similar to the ones listed, I found that editing images as a whole was quite simple, although combining images, and adding several layers to one image can become very difficult and time-consuming.

 

2. Can you provide any examples of creative problem solving decisions you have had to make in relation to the development of ideas/still photography/image editing/desk top publishing and trialing work?

When I was creating and editing the images for my front cover, I noticed that the image taken of the smiling student had a problem that would have looked better if it was fixed. This problem was that the student smiling within the image had opened his mouth slightly, this making the image seem un-proportional. I think that this could have been a distraction from the main image that I was hoping to get across to the viewer; therefore I used Photoshop to edit the section of the image, and enhance it in order to make it look like the student’s mouth is closed. I think that this was beneficial as it removes distractions from the main focus influencing the reader to view the anchorage and make them want to read the magazine.

When I attempted to create a title for the magazine, I made a rough draft on paper, but when it came to creating the image on Photoshop or Xara, it was a lot more complicated than planned; therefore I experimented with different fonts in Xara and created a Magazine title.

 

3)     How did you organize your human resources; ie. The people in your production?

My human Resources were organized by choosing a particularly pretty-faced student (This showing Representation of Gender, as i chose to use an attractive image of a person on the cover) with an innocent smile, in order to attract the viewer, and the school building. Only one person was required in order to capture an image of a student. The image of the student was taken in a quiet location that was not busy, with a white wall (This making the image simpler to Lasso in Photoshop).  This helps represent a school magazine as a student seems to be the most appropriate face to be on a school magazine. By using an image of the school building, it immediately connotes to the reader that the magazine is about school, and the students within the school.

 

4)     How did you manage locations for photographs and any costumes or props?

No props were required within my photographs, however the school uniform was required to be worn by the student, and as the photograph was taken during a school day, the student was originally wearing the school uniform (I found this very beneficial).

The location for the school building photograph was obviously shot on the school campus, however the angle of the shot was important as I aimed to get the images taken from specific angles, therefore I used a low angle shot of the school building.

 

5)     Reflect on the importance of design and drafting and how the final outcome related to the draft layout in each case.

The final outcome was actually very similar to the draft I created before creating the magazine. One section of the magazine making process that did differ from planned would be the title of the magazine. I drafted a title for the college magazine but later changed the plan and created a completely new title.

The layout of the anchorage used on my magazine cover differed slightly from the draft, although the text and information used on the cover was the same information I had planned in my draft.

 

6)     How did you manage your time? This is important when creating a media text.

I think my time could have been managed more effectively, although I downloaded picture editing software at home in order to continue the editing of my images outside of school. I think if I did not download the required software, I would have struggled with my time a lot worse than I did. I think for the music magazine cover, I should spend more time creating ideas for the anchorage, rather than the imagery.

I had training in Xara and Photoshop, which was very helpful as I learned the main tools used in both programs. The training allowed me to edit the images productively, and enabled me to structure my front cover the way I planned.

 

Using Technology

 

1)     Can you provide examples of the DTP Technology allowing you to do things that extended your creative control?

I experimented with fonts and imagery in aim to create a contrasting image that the viewer would enjoy.

 

2)     Are there examples of the technology obstructing or limiting the creative process?

Whilst creating my front cover, the computer programs I required were not accessible for a short period of time; this affected the creative process, although I believe that the time I lost was added up for as I worked at home.

As the technology programs that I used are quite sophisticated, the tools accessible are slightly confusing, therefore although I had the opportunity to use the specific tools, I had little or no knowledge of how to use them.

 

Thinking about the audience

 

1)     Throughout the two activities you have been making, creative decisions based on ideas you were developing about your readers. Where did those ideas come from and how did they influence the ‘micro’ detail of shot composition/framing/anchorage/text layout/mode of address and register?

My ideas were created as I researched previous front covers, and caught onto the particular style and structure that the audience would prefer to read or to look at; therefore I collected these ideas, and expressed them into my draft. Anchorage text was quite simple as school events can be used as anchorage and interviews with either head teachers or students etc.

The text layout used in my front cover is similar to the layout used in a variety of other front covers; I just changed the idea of the layout of several front covers, and combined them in order to have the layout that my final front cover has.

 

Representing-constructing the ‘real’

 

1)     How did your ideas and their execution amount to specific representations of school life?

My ideas represent school life highly as both the imagery and fonts used within the design of my front cover connote college or school as a whole, For example the background image used in my front cover is of the particular school/college building, and in the foreground is a contrasting image of a smiling student wearing the school/college uniform. This shows the reader immediately that the magazine is about school/college.

The ideas for anchorage seem to be very appropriate as they language used is not too formal, it is quite casual, but also is very informative, therefore giving the reader an insight on what is inside the magazine.

 

2)     What sense of reality have you constructed in each case and who is included and excluded as a result?

 I have constructed a sense of reality in which age groups are an important matter of this particular cover, as it does not state which particular age group the magazine is aimed at, but it does have an image of a younger student, therefore the reader notices that the magazine is for all ages within the school. The image of the younger boy gives the reader the knowledge that it is about students and about a school.

Examples Of Contents Pages

This contents page contains too much White space. The font seems to be very plain and boring, does not look the slightest bit interesting. The imagery used on this contents page is very simple, no editing techniques are used, they are simply just images sectioned onto the contents page. The pictures need to be alot brighter, and the background maybe should not be white as it is far to plain for a contents page that is supposed to be interesting.

The contents page below seems to be interesting as the contents page title is largely placed onto the page, aswell as an attractive image of a female, accompanied by the information about the articles inside.
I think that this contents page is affective because the fonts used are large and bright, and colours are used in order to highlight the page numbers and the most important information from the page. Imagery effects are used to blur the image slightly, so the focus is spread between the variety of sections within the contents page.

The contents page below has a variety of text and imagery. I think the imagery used in this contents page is very effective as is is organised in a way that grabs the viewers attention. Two different colours are used in this contents page in order to seperate the information from the images. The features of this particular magazine are listed on the right, whereas there is still different information listed on the left. It gives the reader a variety of text and imagery to view when looking at the contents page.

The contents page below uses a large image for the background, in order to grab the audience's attention. The text one this contents page overlaps the image to make it more affective. The colours of text used on this image is white red and black, colours that contrast. Smaller seperate images are used on this contents to gain more interest from the viewer.

The contents page below is my favourite out of all, as it is simple but effective. The object that seems to be a Yo-yo is shown on the left hand side of the page, accompanied by the information on the right side of the page. The background to this page is white, enabling the editors to use particular techniques to contrast the colours of the font and imagery to the background colour.

Glossary of Key Terms for Magazine Analysis

Glossary of Key Terms for Magazine Analysis

Masthead – The name and logo of the magazine.
The Lead – the introductory paragraph of an article. Usually written in bold or capitals.
Body copy refers to the text of your written articles, which should be produced as a printed presentation to accepted industry standards, e.g. correct use of language, font size, word limits etc. Usually written in columns.
Serif font – fonts like Times New Roman, or Baskerville Old Face, which have little bars (serifs) on the end of the letters.
Sans serif font – fonts like Impact, or Agency FB, which do not have little bars (serifs) on the end of the letters.
Drop Capitals – Really big letter, which start off an article.
Cross Head – Small sub-heading used to split up a large block of text.
White Space – white parts of a page other than text or pictures.
Mode Of Address – How the magazine talks to the audience.
Sell Lines – Text on the cover that helps to sell the magazine to the audience. Kerrang!’s sell line is “life is loud”.
Banners – text, which stands out because its on a coloured background.
House Style – a magazines distinctive design that distinguishes it from its competitors.
Borders – the gaps at the edges of the page.
Gutters – the gaps between the columns of text.
Leading - the space between lines of text.
Kerning - the space between letters.
Strap Lines – a smaller headline, printed above the main headline.
By-lines - name of the person who wrote the article.
Picture Credits - where did the photos come from, or who took them.
Anchorage – The way in which text helps to pin down the meaning of a picture and visa versa.

Progress with final idea

Above is my finished design of the school magazine. As you can see by the image, the main focuses of my cover are the school in the background, the happy student, and the text on the cover influencing readers to view the magazine.

I decided to add more structure to the cover of my school magazine, so i added thin rectangular layers overlapping the image of the student, mildly seperating the subheadings on my cover.

I created a section at the bottom of the page entailing the reader that there is a production at the school. I think that separating this information from the rest made the information easier to read and also meant that it had more of an impact on the viewer, as they may have more of an interest.
I continued to use the similar colour scheme throughout adding the different subheadings to the page.

This is my cover after i have begun adding the anchorage to the background. I think the colour of the font i used is very appropriate as it still mainly involves the school colours, and the different tones that i used within the fonts make the text effective.

I used different sized font for different sections of anchorage. On this image are two sub-heaings, being "Interview with Mr Naylor" and "Rego international school presents: The Sound of Music".

I have structured the text on the cover to overlap the image on the lower section of the body, but have ensured that it does not cover the face of the student as this is one of the main focus points that the viewer will immediately notice.

This is the image after i had edited it on photoshop and added the title of the magazine which was created on Xara. I added the school logo to the magazine title, highlighting the school within the magazine. The title colours are bright and effective.

Draft for Preliminary Task

Images for Preliminary Task - After Editing

This is the image i created when i added both the image of the student and the school building together. i think the difference in contrasting colours makes the image alot more affective. It makes the school look very vibrant and the students in the school look happy. This image is calming to the viewers eye, and also looks interesting.

This above is the original image of the student that i taken. I think that a mid-shot picture of a happy student is more affective than a full length image because it crops away all the unnecessary attention to aspects of the image that the viewer doesn't need to focus on, therefore the focus mainly goes to the face of the student. As you can see from the image below i have edited the colours from the original and made them brighter. I have sharpened the image to put more focus onto detail.

This is a copy of one of my layers in photoshop. This is the image of the happy student that i am going to use for the cover of my preliminary task. this layer, after being more edited will be added into the image of the school and brought forward to grab the viewers attention. 

I think that with the image being brightened, it grabs the attention of the viewer alot more, as they would prefer to be looking at a bright fluorescent image of a school, compared to a duller darker image of a school.

I have removed the sky from this image and replaced it with a bright colour, in this case a darker blue, connoting a sunny sky.  The school looks alot more adventurous and fun compared to the original image.

As this image is low angle, and it is slightly zoomed in, there is no need for more cropping nor special effects, i experimented with different contrasts and colours on photoshop in order to get the image looking like this.

Images for Preliminary task

Below, are two of the original images i have taken for the preliminary task before they have been edited.

I have taken an image of the school building as i think that with this image in the background, it doesnt go off what the original message from the magazine is (that it is about school), therefore if i use an image of the school building, and used photoshop or Xara in order to combine two images after i have edited them. The image i am hoping to get is of a full page of the school brightly glowing, and an image of a happy student wearing the school uniform.

i think if i am to brighten the contrast of the school, make it seem more vibrant and active, and also make the image of the student more contrasting. I aim to have the student be the main focus of the screen, therefore the image of the student needs to be sharp.

Anchorage Ideas for Front Cover

On the front cover of my magazine, i want to highlight events that are taking place in the school, have already taken place or are due to happen. I aim to include anchorage on the cover about a variety of events or topics, for example i have had an idea about using subheadings about sports events, for example "Rego Rugby heads to Cambodia" or something giving information about sporting events taking place in the school. I think that using information on sports will attract both female and male readers, widening the target audience for the college magazine.

As the International Baccalaureate will soon be begun, i think that manipulating this into a subheading maybe using a rhetorical question, questionning whether or not the readers of the magazine are ready for IB. An example of subheadings i could use about this topic could be "Ready for IB?".

As the target audience for this magazine would be students/parents, the language has to fit to both audiences, both elderly and young. I aim to use catchy quotations for the subheadings on the cover; I want the viewer to immediately have interest in the articles.

On the front cover, i aim to satisfy the viewer with information based around different interests and events, therefore increasing the chances of the viewer seeing something they are interested in. I am trying to include information about interviews that have taken place with either students/the head-teacher etc. I want to include factual events that are taking place over this school period, for example the production called the sound of music. This production can allow me to put catchy phrases about the events and highlight them on the front cover.

I could use events such as the International Baccalaureate joining the school, I had an example of a subheading that could be placed on the front cover, this is that "Ready for IB?" could be a section of the anchorage; this would be put in Large possibly white font that is noticeable and attractive.

I have also thought of the idea of mentioning Valentines Day within the front cover, for example i could use anchorage such as "Love is in the air at rego" and support an upcoming event in the school.

Analyzing contents Pages

Contents pages come in all different structures, and the use of graphics on different contents pages varies. Below are some examples of contents pages i have been analyzing. All three contents pages have used images, either these being large images taking up the majority of the page (like in example 1) or smaller images that are sectioned off next to the appropriate information. Personally i prefer the method where smaller images are used next to information about the features inside of the magazine, therefore for my contents page, i think i will use a similar structure.





I like this particular contents page because the separation between text and images is large, therefore i am tempted to look at it, recognizing the people within the images provided, and later reading the text surrounding the images. This particular contents page is separated so that the left section of the page is mainly images, and the right section of the page provides all the information required.

This particular contents page seems to simple, it includes images and text which is beneficial for the reader, but the background image is constant, and the images are too dull. The contents on this page seem too little, there is not much information used on this page, therefore the magazine as a whole seems less interesting to the reader. With bright images and decent sized quotations from text, the reader feels motivated to read the magazine.

Does the magazine use images?

These particular contents pages use alot of images in order to catch the readers attention. Each contents page uses a particular structure in order to use the imagery. Some contents pages prefer to use larger images or a large image and use as little text as possible. Imagery makes the contents pages seem much more vibrant, rather than crowding a page with text.

How have these images been constructed?

These images have been constructed by organising them in a particular order or pattern, and arranging them to merge with the text. One technique that is used within these contents that i think is very effective would be to use different size images, and different shaped images around the text.

How do they support your initial findings about the style of the magazine and its intended audience?

The images support my initial findings about the magazine style as the images give an insight for the reader about whats in the magazine. Imagery is much more affective than text, to use both is beneficial as the reader gets more information immediately. The pictures grab more interest from the reader.

What colours and fonts are used?

Bright colours are mainly used in the imagery, although most text in the contents pages i have analysed have been black or white. The technique that makes the text satisfactory would be how magazine editors place the text on a contents page over a darkened colour or a box to highlight the text to the reader.

Does this support the style of the front cover?

This supports the style of the front cover as the text is then immediately noticeable, and it adds design onto the page. The boxes used in this way add more to the page making it seem more interesting for the reader. Readers will not be influenced to read a contents page this is overcrowded with text that looks boring and the least bit interesting.

How is the information organised so that it is accessible to the audience?

The information is organised in these examples of contents pages by seperating imagery from text, but arranging them so that they can combine together having a large impact on the reader. I have noticed that a common technique used in the creation of contents pages is that the contents page is usually split in two, imagery on one side and text on the other, or imagery taking up the majority of the top of the contents page, whereas text is on the bottom.

What are the different sections?

The different sections of a contents page are "features" which gives the reader a cropped amount of detail about the articles within the magazine, aswell as "Departments" which mainly obtain notes from the editor of the magazine.

What does this tell you about the magazine?

This tells the reader that as there is alot of information within the magazine, it needs to be arranged so information is easily accessable or easily discovered.

Are there any promotional features?

There are not really many promotional features on the contents pages i have analysed, although there are some sections on the contents page that have events listings.

Is the magazine logo placed anywhere on the page?

The contents pages that i analysed did not have the magazine logo, but i do think putting the magazine logo onto the contents page would be effective too.

How dominant is it?

The contents pages seem very dominant. They have given the reader options, whether they wish to read the text and discover what they wish to read, or by viewing the imagery they are able to see the page numbers within the magazine.

Does the brand have any other franchises?

The brand of these particular contents pages do not seem to have any visible franchises.

Are these promoted on the contents page?

No promotions are used on the analysed contents pages.

How does this magazine, aimed at a different audience compare with Kerrang or NME?!

These magazines dont seem to be as highly known, as some of the contents pages contain information of topics that are not too well known. Kerrang or NME contents pages are alot more technical and informative, and the imagery used catches the viewers eye immediately.

How would you describe the layout of its contents page?

The layout of the contents pages i am analysing are very organised, nicely set up so that they are attractive to the viewer. The sections in each contents page vary, although the type of information given to the reader in the examples above is different to the information you would see in a music magazine.

Does it remind you of anything?

These magazine contents page examples are not all based around the topic of music, however they remind me of sports or entertainment within media.

What does this say about the audience?

This says that the audience of these magazines, possibly have an interest in sports or particular areas of entertainment, for example images of gambling stations are used in one contents page to catch the eye of the reader.

How is this different to NME/Kerrang?

These particular contents pages do not seem to be as sophisticated as the contents pages produced by higly known magazines such as NME or Kerrang.

Final ideas for Magazine cover

For my final idea for my magazine cover, i have decided that if an image of the school building is faded in the background, with a shot of a smiling happy student put in the foreground it will connote to the reader that Rego has happy students. The text will surround the image of the student in different fonts and colours. An image of a happy student may influence a viewer to read the magazine.

As i decided that the main two colours i am going to use in the front cover of this magazine were blue and yellow, if i use an image of the school building from a low angle, it would portray the schools colours better. I edited the original image of Rego international school off the school website, and changed the use of colour from the image.

Colours - Preliminary Task

I decided that the magazine would probably have a better effect if it was the college colours, therefore Blue and Yellow will be the main colours used on the front cover. Fonts will be in different colours, ensuring that they contrast with both the background image and any other detail on the page. 

The picture in the background has not yet been decided but i think a good idea would be to take an enlarged image of the school building, as a watermark, along with the schools logo, and photoshop an image of a smiling schoolgirl wearing the school uniform in front of the building as the main focus. I think this idea really portrays the relativeness to it being a school magazine, and it also shows my use of media technical skills.

I am aiming to create a Logo for the college magazine, but these colours should still be related to the school colours, possibly more likely to be dark blue as it will stand out from the variety of colours used on the cover.

Title for School Magazine

I struggled coming up with a title for the school magazine, but i later discovered a title labeling the magazine as "Rego-Read". I thought this name is ironic as the magazine is based on information about Rego, and the viewers are going to read it. Therefore i think that it is a suitable title for a college magazine, it includes the name and highlights to the viewer what the products aim is, to get the viewer to read it.

Double Page Spread - Analysis

1) How does the choice of band featured in the article suggest who the target audience will be?
The choice of band in this article suggests that the article is about an Indie group of 5 people, they seem to be slightly emotionless because of the postures in the images, They look serious and slightly agressive.

2) What type of language isused in the article? Give examples of words or phrases which are specific to the style of the magazine
The type of language issued in this article is casual more informal language, i think this is because they aim to have a close relationship with the reader. This magazine article seems to be very unorganized and messy. Bright colours are good to contrast, but the page requires a structure, this one has none.

3) How is colour used?
Bright colours are mainly used in this article, for example the font colour in the article is slightly power pink, and the article text is in bright white boxes making it simple for the reader to read the text. The colours used in the artist's costumes really contrast togheter, therefore the image is effective.

4) What style of text is used? Is it similar to any other pages? What does it say about the image of the magazine and the audience?
The style of text used is causal informal text and it tells us the viewers that the front cover of this magazine says that they are messy, but informative.

5) How is the double page spread laid out? How much of the pages are taken up by images and how much by text? How does this reflect the audience? What do they value?
The double page spread is laid out very messily, and it seems to be unorganized. The text seems to be quite large, scattered around the pages of the double spread. As the images are effective, they look good contrasting against text, but when text is everywhere and there is too much of it, readers lose interest and will not want to read the article.

6) What tone is the magazine using when addressing the reader (as a close friend, a member of an 'in' crowd or an informed intelligent fan?) - provide evidence
The tone the magazine is adressing the audience to, is a equally balanced person, as if the writer is speaking directly telling them a story.

7) How is the artist/band presented to the audience through the images? You may wish to carry out a textual analysis.
The artist/band are presented to the audience as a laid back indie group who like to get pictures taken next to unusual places. The band look very down to earth, they look slightly hippy, attracting laid back viewers.

8) Does the article demand any prior knowledge? Give examples.

The article does not demand any prior knowledge as it is just messy and informative.

School Magazine Ideas

I have created a rough draft of the layout of my Front cover for the school magazine. I have decided on several different images that i can use on the front cover. Although i havent taken the pictures yet, i have some images that will be used within the front cover. I have also decided on a few anchorage quotes to grab the readers attention.

I have chosen this image of a school logo as i wish to place this in the background as a watermark within my front cover of the school magazine. In front of this logo, i want a faded image of a smiling student wearing the school uniform. I hope to take this picture as a low angle shot of a smiling student in front of the school. These images will be subtly accompanied by the anchorage around the edges of the front cover.

Examples of Double Page Spreads

This is a double page spread found on the internet that has been taken of a magazine double page spread. I like this double page spread as it looks busy but interesting. The anchorage in the middle of this article really catches the viewers attention, This is beneficial as the reader is then influenced to read the article. The imagery used is covering most of the first page, accompanied by a little text, and in small boxes on the second page. The large fonts used in the anchorage look casual and calm, therefore the viewers is influenced to read. The pictures used in double page spreads increase the readers interest, and large bold anchorage makes the page far more noticeable.

This is a double spread taken from a music magazine found on the internet. This double page spread is attractive because it is not crowded with information and text. The text has been made slightly more briefer, and large imagery takes over most of the page. The use of text overlapping the imagery is very effective as it gives the reader shorter peices of information on the page. The article text is short and structured neatly, therefore the reader sees it and they are influenced to read it as it is not too long or messy.

Examples of Front Covers

I think this cover has a good structure, for example the image in the background is not fully taking control of the page, there is a box structure for anchorage. I think this stops the page looking too crowded and balances out the imagery from the text. I like the Font used for the magazine name, the text font and colour is both effective and noticeable immediately.

This cover is from a Q magazine. This front cover has an image of Madonna sitting against a dull background, in a bright contrasting outfit. This really catches the readers attention. The colours used in this front cover are both neutral and extreme, but both effective. The structure of the anchorage in this front cover seems too crowded together. The reader will have no interest in reading through a long list of peoples names. The font used is white, therefore this stands out to the readers eye.


The colours mainly used in this front cover are Black, red, gold and white. These colours work well together as it is a variety of tones, using colours that are calming to the eye. The pictures used in the background is of a male band, mainly dressed in dark colours holding an electric guitar. This image is effective as it connotes what the magazine is about also. The font used in this front cover varies in size and colour. There is large anchorage in the middle of the page that is clear to the viewers eye, hopefully catching attention. Again, the background of this cover is white therefore giving the opportunity to use bright colours and a variety of shades.

The colours used in this cover are mainly white, black and different shades of blue. These colours combined work well together as they are contrasting darks against lights, clearly seperating the anchorage on the cover. The image used is a celebrity named Jessica Alba, she is also dressed in the background colours, white and blue, this suiting the colours used on the cover. The anchorage on this cover is also sometimes overlapping the image slightly, giving a good effect, and some boxes are used in the corner of the cover to add extra anchorage.

Evolution of Britney Spears - Part Three

1) Why has this image been chosen? Is the use of black and white significant?

This image of Britney has been chosen because it shows her emotions to the reader, making them sympathise for her. The use of Black and white is very significant as it portrays the dullness in how she feels at this particular time.  This image shows Britney's sadness that is listed within the magazine, this influences the viewer to buy the magazine.

2) How has the image been cropped?

The image has been cropped into a close up of Britney Spears' face. It ignores all else in the background and fully focuses on Britney's face.

3) What type of relationship does Britney want with the audience? Is this supported by the anchorage text?

By looking at this front cover it is immediately obvious that Britney wants a sympathetic relationship with the audience. She is in the media obviously about drama that is shown within the emotion shown in her imagery, therefore the readers are likely to sympathize for her.

Evolution of Britney Spears - Part Two

1) How has the image been framed/cropped? What type of shot has been used and why?
The image used in the background of this front cover is a mid-shot image of Britney Spears, it is close up and the shot is in focus with her with the background a blur.
2) Describe Britney’s costume and pose. What type of relationship does she want with the reader?

In this image, Britney's costume is very limited, she is posing toplessly in nothing but underwear. This image is trying to make Britney look seductive or attractive for the reader.

3) What setting is used and what are the connotations of this?

There is not much setting to the image, the page is structured in paragraphs around the outline of Britney, sometimes overlapping the image slightly. 

4) How is lighting used?
There is alot of bright light used in this front cover, the image of Britney Spears in the background is very light, as alot of white colour is used. The white background colour enabled the usage of Font colour to vary alot wider as they could use any bright colours to attract the viewers attention with the anchorage.

5) What colours are used and why?

The colours used in this front cover are mainly white, blue, black and red. These colours are a good choice as they contrast with each other so they stand out more to the viewers eye. The colours used in this front cover are very neutral, but are attractive to the reader.

Evolution of Britney Spears - Part One

1) How has the image been framed/cropped? What type of shot has been used and why? What type of magazine is this typical of (refer back to the readership statistics)

This image has been cropped so that the full focus of the background image is Britney Spears, not what is surrounding her. The shot used is a midshot close up of Britney Spears, a famous idolized pop star. The type of magazine that this is typical to would be alot of music magazines as she is idolized within the music industry. 
2) Describe Britney’s costume. What does it suggest about her image? Who is this appealing to?
Britneys costume is quite revealing and it is aimed to make britney look like she's in pyjamas with a teddy bear, possibly trying to portray the innocence of Britney at this stage.
3) Have any props been used? What messages are they conveying to the audience?
Two props are used within the image, these being a telephone and a teddy. I think that the teddy is attempting to portray innocence, but the telephone can simply just to portray communication.
4) What setting is used and what are the connotations of this?
The setting being used in this picture is a dull comfortable lazy area. The connotations could be that Britney at that time was relaxed and comfortable.
5) Are any intertextual references being made? What are the connotations of this?

6) What colours are used and why?

The colours used this front cover vary depending on the anchorage and the imagery. The image in the background is mainly purple covering most of the page, whereas anchorage differs from contrasting colours such as black and white. The black and white anchorage is used as it stands out from the colour in the background, and it is easily read. The colour purple used in the background is neutral, therefore not being too in the readers face but it is attractive and eyecatching.

Deadlines

Week One: Feb 13th 2009
Preliminary task draft ideas completed and uploaded onto your blog.


Week Two: Feb 20th 2009
Final draft of preliminary task completed and uploaded to blog.
Evaluation of preliminary task completed in writing in books. 
Audience research questionnaire to be created. 

Week 3: Feb 27th 2009
Results of questionnaire posted onto your blog.
First draft ideas for front page/contents page completed and uploaded to your blog.


Week 4: March 6th 2009
Final drafts of front page/contents page to be completed and on blogs.
First draft evaluations of front page/contents page to be written in exercisie books.

Week 5: March 13th 2009
Drafts of double page spread to be completed.
Draft Evaluation of double page spread to be written in exercise books.

Week 6: March 20th 2009
Final drafts of double page spread to be completed and uploaded to blog.

I thought that i would practice my Xara skills on photos that could be used for a front cover of a school magazine. I edited colours and made the image larger and more focused than the original to grab the viewers attention more.