My Front Cover, Contents Page, Double Page Spread, School Front Cover and Conclusion

Front Cover

Contents Page

Double Page Spread

Pre-production: Front Cover For School Magazine

Strengths and Weaknesses
I have discussed the strengths of my magazine in each analysis (which can viewed when clicked on) and compared it to different issues of the VIBE magazine.

I have also faced weaknesses throughout this project which include:
*Technical problems; For our editing we were asked to edit using GIMP, a photo editing software. However, I found this software to be very obstructing because I believed it to be too complicated. So I used other softwares to complete my work, which were not as well developed as GIMP, but got the job done.
*After sending out a survey (which can be viewed on the next post) people notified me of what they saw as a roblem. This was the fact that my contents page lacked many photos and they believe photos on a contents page informs the audience about what would be in a magazine and does a better job than words.
*Another big problem was the camera. Initially I used my 8.1mp phone camera, but then substitued this for a 14.1mp camera, which took clearer photos.

Technology
To complete the front cover of the magazine, the contents page and the double page spread I had to use various different resources. I first started my editing with GIMP, an image manipulation program provided free by our school, but then had to use other online photo editors because GIMP proved to be too difficult to use. I then went onto LunaPic, a free online photo editor which was much user friendly. To do my contents page I used Adobe's Photoshop because it allowed me to become as detailed as I wanted, unlike the other softwares. However I could not use it for a double page spread as the image would be too big to upload and edit. So in the end I had to do my double page spread on OpenOffice.org Draw which provided the basics but I independently had to download other features such as font.
I first used a 8.1 mega-pixel camera phone to take my pictures because that was easiest to get hold of. Afterwards I used a 14.1 mega-pixel photo camera that snapped much clearer and brighter pictures that was a massive help. This made me realize that camera is possibly the biggest tool for making magazines and media such as that.
To make my survey I used the assistance of Survey Monkey who gave me a template of a survey and on my behalf sent the survey out to people and collected the results. This was a great help in finalising my target audience because it gave me evidence that the audience I chose was the right one.

Target Audience
The target audience for my magazine has always been the young adults. That would mean anyone from the age of 14 to 27. The reason for them being the target audience is because they are most likely to be influenced by the R&B, Hip-Hop and Pop artists. They would start copying their artists appearance, start talking in the same manner etc. Also they are most likely to be employed and therefore would have the money to by the magazine on a regular basis. The target audience was heavily influenced by VIBE and NME, who both share the same audience. And as their magazines are so successful it would only be logical to have the same audience.

My Survey Results

I made a survey asking various questions on my magazine and sent it to 5 different people who I have never seen before, as it was the website that sent the surveys out to other users. The survey is anonymous but includes details of their age and gender. The survey that I created informed me a lot about my strenths and weaknesses in my magazine:

Analysis Of My Double Page Spread

Below are slides of the analysis that I have done on my double page spread. I have disected my double page spread by justifying why I have included what I have included. I will talk about how this would appeal to my target audience as well as upholding the conventions of my magazine genre:

Adjustments: Before And After

Here are adjustments that I have done to improve my double page spread. They include things such as image manipulation, toning of the picture etc. These adjustments have been made so that I can offer a brilliant double page spread that would ultimately appeal to my target audience as well as upholding the conventions of the R&B, Hip-Hop and Pop genre:

Information On My Double Page Spread

The artist in my double page spread (dps) reflects the R&B genre through his simplicity and uniqueness. Every artist in the R&B, Hip-Hop and Pop genre have there own trademark, their own looks, their own style. And I believe that is what my artist is showing, himself. The artist is exercising a 'cool' pose showing his relaxation and easiness while talking about and posing for a topic he loves. If you look at the dps on many VIBE magazines they all have their own poses and stances because that is the way they want to come across. The artist is grabbing his collar which signifies egotism and that is what a lot of artists in the R&B, Hip-Hop and Pop genre have, big egos with examples being Flo Rida, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Eminem to name a few. So this does reflect the stereotype that artists in that genre are very self-centred. The smaller pictures around the double page spread show different aspects of the artist and may suggest that the artists outside look is possibly only a façade and this may show that the interview is all about getting to really know the artist, which is the major point of an interview for the audience, example being Solange Knowles interview with VIBE (last page).

The shot of the main photo is a long shot and develops from a medium shot, which was used for the contents page. The medium shot was developed from a close-up shot, which was used for the front cover. The long shot would say that the artist has revealed all of himself in this interview which is emphasized by the fact that this is the only coloured picture in the page. In the main picture the artist is looking straight at the camera which indicates that there is nothing to hide in this interview, this is also a massive difference from the front cover where the artist is staring away from the camera and this says that “nothing is being given away” unless you look into the magazine. The background is a clear, grey background which is used so that the writing and the pictures on the page can stand out. Along with the main picture I have also included 5 other smaller pictures, which all were medium shots and in black and white form. All the small pictures are shots of the artist doing different things, different postures. And the effect that this creates on the audience is that there are many different sides to the artist which could be revealed in the double page spread. This in itself is a selling point because it would keep the audience guessing as to how the artist really is.

Structure And Official Double Page Spread

Below are images of the actual structure of my double page spread before I made it, which helped making the double page spread a much easier task. There is also an image of me analysing the double page spread that influenced me the most and shows how my double page spread resembles that one, an edition of VIBE magazine with an exclusive interview of Solange Knowles.

Adjustments: Before And After

Here are images of the adjustments that I made to my contents page and how it was before my adjustments. I had made myriads of adjustments to my contents page, trying out different things, changing colours so that it keeps with the colour scheme that I have created and kept throughout the magazine: