Tuesday 29th September

I have started my preliminary exercise. I have decided to create a school contents page. This has been my progress over the last few days. To upload my photos, I have opened the photos up onto photo shop, and dragged the photo onto the contents page. I then held down the shift key and adjusted the photo to the size I want it.

At the moment, I am finding it difficult to create the edges to be the same as the contents page, but with a bit of help I should be able to produce a final contents page like the one I want.

Friday 26th September

Before I start my preliminary exercise, I have seen this content page, and loved the layout because of the style of the pictures. It is simple but works well, and is easy to understand.

I have found this layout, I like the edges of the photos on the page as the corners have been rounded. I think this would be great idea to include in my preliminary  with via photo shop to get used to it more.

Thursday 25th September

My finishing result.



I have created a front cover of a school magazine, but copied the layout of the NME magazine. I have begun to understand the basics of how to use photoshop.
FEEDBACK****???

Wednesday 24th September

I have started experimenting with photoshop, and I have noticed an example of things I need to consider. For example, I upload the following photo.
I wanted to make the background white by using the 'magic wand' tool. But during this, I noticed that it was difficult to create a white background as the background of this photo is very busy with different colours, so the magic wand tool didn't work for the effect I want.

So, I have decided to choose the following photo as I think it will work beacuse the background is one colour and is contrasting to the colours she is wearing. This, making it easy to use the magic wand tool to get the background I wish to create. This has taught me that I need to set up a clear background to make the magic wand tool work effiently if I want to create this effect in future work.

Monday 22nd September

After being intoduced to photoshop today, I have began to experiment witht the tools in includes. I have chosen a front cover of an NME magazine which I like, and for the next couple of lessons I will experiment with photoshop and try to create a copied layout of the cover below. 

                                          

I want my front cover to look similar to this layout, but consited of my own photos I took last lesson and my own text.

Wednesday 17th September

Today, I had an introduction into using the school cameras. I worked in a group of three. We walked around the school taking photos so that next lesson, we can select a picture we want to practice with on photoshop. Here are a few examples of the photos I liked.

Tuesday 16th September

I have looked at the website 'nme'. It is a music website along side a radio, music channel, and magazine. I have chosen to look more at the layouts of this magazine.
Why NME? Here is some background infomation about NME.

New Musical Express (NME) was launched in 195.
• NME or (New Musical Express) is a music magazine catering for the 16-30 age group.
• It is now the longest standing, most famous and biggest selling weekly music publication in the world.
• NME has chronicled and helped to shape the history of music over the last 50 years.
• Today NME remains at the cutting edge of new music.
• NME supports breaking talents as they emerge into the mainstream and gains unique access to the world's superstars

NME was the first to:
• Put Coldplay, Oasis, The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers and Bloc Party on the cover, plus countless other bands which have gone on to great international success.
• In 1952 NME was the first publication to invent and run a weekly music chart based on record sales
• Nine years ago, NME was music publication in Europe to launch a website, which now has 15 million page impressions a month
• NME Brats were the first awards to recognise the talents of Radiohead, Suede, Blur, Oasis and The Libertines
• The first publication in the world to cover punk extensively, with the first reviews ever of the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The Stranglers
.

Whats available:
• Music news - up to the minute news from around the world featuring the biggest and coolest names
• Exclusive features on the biggest names in music from established artists to the future music stars.
• Singles reviews - NME reviews of the UK's essential downloads, single and music video releases • Album reviews - NME offers the most authoritative and influential reviews of albums prior to their release.
• Live reviews of the most exciting performances from around the world.
• Gig guides - the biggest and the best gig guide in the UK covering the smallest to the largest music venues.
• Access to photographs taken by NME's world - renowned music photographers
• Content feeds from the award winning website NME.com including the latest news, features and reviews from the music scene.

Why choose NME content?
• Great track record - 50 years experience of cutting edge journalism for music fans
• Most Up To Date - NME.COM is the first with music news around the world, with real time updates
• Accurate - If you want the truth and confidence in what you publish then choose NME.COM
• Access to the stars - Every day of the week, any where in the world NME is reviewing all the biggest names and the newest bands
• Easy Integration - The content delivered to you whenever and however you want it
• Cost effective - A fraction of the true commission cost, and access to the best writers.





I love the colours in this double page layout because I think that it really draws me to the picture. I like the set up of the photo, the band members are positioned showing character in an unusual way. I like the style of having a big photo spread across both pages with only the title on the left page. I think that the title is still bold and stands out, even with such a great background. I like the article about the band being placed onto the right side of the page. I think it works well really well. I would like to do a double page layout where I have a layout similar to this one as I think it really stands out.



The layout of this double page spread out is more busy. I like the different sizes of the photos taken on the left side of the double page. It made me interested in the band. I like the way a title is used on the top left hand side of the page, if I was to include this in my magazine I would place the name of the band there. I liked the set up of the article; a simple title across the top of the page, and the writing set in columns, including photos next to the text. I also noticed that the page has used the colours pink, white and black, I find this makes the page more creative.

Friday 12th September

I have searched through some music magazines to find some examples of content pages which i like, I have explained the reasons why I like them.


I found this contents page on the internet. I like the simpliscity of the layout. The photos, and the page numbers along side really make the content page easy and clear to understand. I would like to do something along the lines of a content page as so.



I like the layout of the photos on this content page. The structuring of the text looks clear to read and understandable. I think that the laytout of the photos give it an interesting effect, but doesn't take attention of the content of the magazine.

Tuesday 9th/Wednesday 10th September

Today I have searched through a selection of magazines and picked out pictures that I liked. I have chosen photos in which I think will give me good inspiration and are appealing to a reader. I really like the idea of using an isolated place for one of my destinations to shoot photos of a band. Below I have given a few examples of photo's which have inspired me and the reasons why.

This is another example of an inclosed isolated area that I have found on the internet. I had selected this photo beacuse this is the example I wish to create for one of my photo shoots to put as a front cover or double page layout. I like the monochromed images beacuse they are a different approach, and includes an atmosphere of the photo.

This photo inspired me as I really like the effect of isolated places. It creates a simple effect, but is really eye catching and different. The layout is really simple, but it is still obvious and advertising as a good music magazine by the expressions and the layout of the magazine. I would like to include photos of my own like this, as it has inpired me into what I want on one of my double page layouts, possible an interveiw on a band, or the frotn cover.




I chose this picture because I like the way the photographer and actors have included character in the photo. Each person is posed in a different way, but I am not too keen off the surroundings of this photo. I think a magazine front cover needs to show character in some way to make it seem appealing to the reader and make the magazine stand out from the rest of the magazines.

Another idea that I am fond of, is the idea of using close up shoots of faces for a front cover. I think these photos really draw a readers eye to the magazine as it is really interesting to look at. I have a few examples of close up photo's which have worked well that I thought worked well and my reasons for why I chose it.


The editing in this picture caught my eye as I liked the merging process. The contrasting colours are catching, and the image itself is different. I have selected it beacuse I think that this would be a good skill to practice on photoshop.


This is a front page of a music magazine. What I liked about it was mostly the contrasting content of the picture. Because of the costume used - a hat, colourful top, curls ether side of his face, I am drawn into the picture as it looking interesting. I think the colours work well on his face as they stand out, his expression is simple but still shows emotion and he is looking straight into the camera lens too. The background of the photo is fairly simple as it just creates a shadow behind him. For such an eye catching photo, it still brings attention to the magazines title.


I was drawn to this picture because of how simple the photo is. Around him is just a white wall, and no props or costume is used. The photo would work well as a front cover because of the close detail that the picture creates. His face expression really works well as his eyes are looking straight towards the camera lens. This is why I have chosen the picture because I think that the simple photo enhances a really interesting approach to a portrait photo that could work well for a front cover.

Monday 8th September

Today I looked on the internet and selected pictures which appealed to me as a front cover. I have chosen a few here and explained why I like them. I like the idea of using strong contrasting colours and cleverly using juxtaposing places. For example using open spaces and small isolated places to give a different feel/look. I have idea's in mind already for some photo shoots with the help of looking at the internet for inspiration for photo shoot ideas and different effective layouts.
Below are some photos which I have found on the Internet that I like and I have explained why.


I have chosen this one because I like the way all four band members are merged together unusually. By wearing black, it gives the picture more dept into the background as it brings out the background e.g the yellow line on the road stands out. I also like the way that the writing is parallel to the yellow line, I think this is a clever approach to the layout. I thought this is an interesting approach to the angle of the photo.


What I like about this photo is that it is simple, but effective. The band members stand out as they have all have contrasting coloured clothes on against a white background. I think these photos work really well because of the contrast making them automatically drawn to the eye. The casual postures give the photo a more relaxed look, but still gives a sense of a story and expression. I think this would work well as a front cover, but I would like a more appealing and complex surrounding.


I love this front page because I think it has a lot of expression. I like the way the photographer has used black and white because it creates a bold contrast between the black and white and the simple white background. The layout is very simple, but it emphasizes the faces and really makes them stand out. That's why I think it is very eye-catching and interesting to look at.


This is a photo of the band Coldplay. I am drawn to this photo because of the colours. There is a contrast between the colours of the band, all in black, compared to the blues and yellows of the field in the background. I like the way they are postured in such an open space. I think this could work really really well for a front cover.

Friday 5th September

Today we looked at samples of AS work. The work we looked at was ranged from excellent work that was planned carefully, to work in which not much effort was applied. This gave me a good impression of the work I need to create. We also looked at a few openings to thriller films. One of the openings we watched was called seven. It had a clear, yet very clever opening because some of the camera angles used worked really well and even though it was such a simple opening, it had a big effect and was a really interesting to watch. Secondly, we looked at magazines and photos which were eye-catching and appealing to a reader.Given the choice of being able to make an opening to a film, or to create a music magazine which included the front cover, contents, a double page spread and as many pages as I wish to create, I chose the music magazine. The music magazine appealed to me more beacuse I am quite a creative person and I think I will work really well and enjoy the creating and editing of the laytout. This is why I have considered the music magazine.

Tuesday 4th September - Getting started

Today we had an introduction to the course. The introduction covered the main summary of the course. It included the skills in which we will learn and put into practise, and samples of work ranging from A-C grades. This gave me an insight into what the course involves and the amount of work involved.