Previous Students Work Table/Evaluation

Feedback Sheet – Student Work

Please refer to photography, colour, layout, font style, framing and cropping as well as font style and actual text in your response.

Please remember to be constructive in your criticism as this is work by students – not professionals.

Name of product	What I thought were the strengths	What I thought were the weaknesses
Twenty One	The strengths of this magazine are pieces of the images as on the front cover the pole is in good and you can see the waves in her hair. The 1st and 2nd image on the contents page looks as though it finished to a high quality in comparison to the rest as the 1st image has a studio background quite common in a magazine and the second has a more out door feel and this is another thing that magazines use as they usually capture celebrities in ‘outside world’. The 3rd image of the person is quite good. The photography is really good for the double page spread as the lighting has highlighted all the detailing in the image The image on the double page spread is again finished to a high standard as the lighting captured detailing in the dress and in the floor. The front page has a mid to long shot. The white and yellow on the front page are good colours to use as they stand out against the background and they also attract the reader to actually look at the magazine. The white and pink on the contents page and double page spread stand out well against the grey background. The layout is very good as it looks as though it has been well thought and structured. The writing layout has been done so that if your eye is not drawn to the text something beside it will draw your eye to it for example the writing in the middle (Back with vengeance with her new album) as the lines on her dress draw you into the text and then the big bold text (album) is in another colour from the rest of that text which will also draw the reader eye to the text. On the front cover there has been 5 different types of text and I think they have don this so that it separates the different information. They have used 5 different types of text again for the contents page and it separates the layout of the magazine. The double page spread has 3 different types of text and they have done this to show different features of the magazine for example a quote. The image in the front cover frames her arm point out to the masthead. The framing on the double page spread makes your eyes follow out as she has her hands stretched out. The text itself for the front cover is long enough to entice the reader in seconds however it’s not on enough to bore them (front page & contents page). The text intrigues the reader with what she has done in a short space of time.	The weaknesses of this magazine are the quality of the outline of the person as arms look a little pixelated and bumpy, the makeup on the face is also different from her skin tone. They have also left the red eye colour in the image, which makes this look less professional. The background looks out of place in comparison to the other two (3rd image on contents page). The eyes on the double page spread image are again all red and you can see the shine in the models face. The colours used in the magazine don’t match throughout as in the front cover they have used white and yellow text and then in the contents page and the double page spread they have used white and pink. The layout on the front cover is the only critique for the layout as the writing that is overlapping the person at the bottom (the 201 best songs of 2010). There may be too many different types of text for the reader to deal with. The text doesn’t fit in with what normally happens at the beginning of a magazine, as the journalist would normally talk about what happened before the interview started.
The BOOTH	The photography used in the front page is good as the shot is a medium shot, which gives enough detail to see what the person is wearing.  There has been three colours used in the magazine and this fits in with the conventions, as there isn’t too many colours to overload the reader and enough so that certain features stand out.  The font style that they have used is quite minimal and this fits in with the conventions of the magazine as the text needs to look plain and simple and it’s the content that needs to attract the reader. On the front page they have framed the picture with text around it and they have done this so that the text will lead the reader’s eye to the image and vice versa. For the contents page they have used red lines to frame the sub-headings. The text itself relates well to the images. They have used text elements for example they have used rhetorical questions to question the reader in the contents page (Are Glee really becoming a musical sensation?!?) The colour palette is minimal and all the colours match well together and they have used the same form throughout. They have used a white background so that the image and text stands out more than if it was a coloured background. The main sell-line is located underneath the main image and separate from the other text.	The Photoshop skills are not very good as you can see the edges have a low quality finish on the person on the front cover.  The layout is a bit jumbled up and even though the sell-lines are not touching it is that close that it gives the impression that they are over lapping each other. The font style on the double page spread is too similar as they have only used two types of font and because the only different font was for the title and the rest of the txt was the same text and the only difference was the size and some of the text was in bold. The amount of text was too much for the reader to deal with and even though it is text led I think to make it better they should have either put less text in or space it out a bit more. On the contents page they have numbered the pictures so that they link in with the text beside it however in some of the red writing doesn’t stand out that well for example on the 3rd image on the contents page.  The sell-lines on the front page have different font style and this doesn’t really fir with the conventions and to be honest it doesn’t really look eye catching or professional. The essential information located on the front page underneath the masthead is to big as conventionally it should be smaller.  The main sell-line is overlapping the images and you cannot really read it because it is black.
MASH	The image itself is quite good as it fits in with the normal conventions of the magazine front cover as the shot style was mid shot just like a normal magazine. They have used the same person in the magazine however they have dressed her in different clothes so that the images don’t look too similar. They have sued the same colours palette on the double page spread as the front page. The layout on the front cover is quite good as they have enough space between the sell-lines, main sell-lines and masthead. They have used different styles of font styles on the front cover, contents page and double page spread. They have framed the	The image quality on the front page is not very good as you can see the little lines where they have tried to get rid of the background behind the model. The picture quality is poor again on the contents page as the images are blurry and on the 3rd image you can actually see the white bits of the background and this is because they have used a grey faded background and I think to correct this they should either change the background colour to a more conventional white or they should try again at editing the image on Photoshop. On the double page spread they have got a picture on the right hand side of the screen and the picture quality is really bad as it is out of focus and blurry and they have got rid of the background of the model however when doing so they have not got a clean curved edge. They have used the same person in the magazine 3 times in the magazine. They have used different colours for the contents page in comparison to the double page spread and front cover. The layout of the magazine is good however I would have added more sell-lines so that it fills some of the blank spaces and they should have added a little explanation underneath the main sell-line so the reader will understand more about what to expect inside the magazine. The front cover styles are not very professional on the front cover and contents page.
DYNAMIC	There is a lot of pictures used in the magazine. They have used their own pictures on every page. They have used a lot of colours and this is to help the reader distinguish the different features. The text layout on the magazine is really good as it is the correct size for the things around it. They have used coloured boxes to frame the writing they want the reader to read and I think they have done this well and they have followed this theme throughout the magazine. The sell-lines on the front cover has been placed in a nice layout, they have also used different colours to show different stories and the text is big and they are the same size. The masthead is set out in a conventional layout. The essential information is set out in the conventional layout also and it has smaller writing than the rest of the text on the contents page. They have put the main sell-line right under the main image so that you the reader know that, that image goes with that writing.	The picture quality is not very good because when the person was getting rid of the background around the hair it is all bumpy and the finish is not very high. The pictures on the front cover needs to be toned down as her face is too light. On the contents page they have used internet images except from 1. The images from the internet don't match each other as the shadows differ from each picture and so to improve this I would research the images again and try and find images that have more or less the same shadow effects to make it more professional. The images on the double page spread could be improved by simply changing what the model is wearing just so it looks as though she has spent longer on the photography. They have used 10 different colours of font and I think this would be too much colour for the reader to take in. The layout on the front cover is a bit chaotic as they have added a multi-coloured background which makes it look overcrowded and so I would recommend to get rid of the background, I would also make the other images on the front page smaller so that the reader actually reads the big writing first, the layout or the images on the contents page could have been arranged better and the box on the double page spread could have better positioned as it is overlapping the title and the text beside it. The writing for the main sell-line has been put in nice text format however the colour of it is too dark for the image that is behind it.
QMR	There is a lot of images on the magazine and most of a high quality. They have stuck with the same colour scheme throughout the magazine (black, white and red) and they have stuck to the conventions as normally magazine only use three colours. They have used contrasting colours for the double page spread text as the background is white, the main text is white and they have used a drop cap in a different colour (red).The layout of the magazine is quite good as have an enough text to entice the reader but not too much to put the reader off. They have framed the contents page quite well by using a big bold red line and 2 big pictures. The text fonts they have used are conventional for a magazine as t is quite minimal. The main sell-line is in a bold red colour to attract the reader.	The front cover image is a bit blurry and the same can be said for the two small images on the double page spread on the right hand side. To make this better I would use more types of font styles just to make the front cover more interesting and appealing to look at.

What I have learned from looking at student work:

I have learned from looking at other students work as I have now learned from actually looking at work at what to do and definitely what not to do for when producing my own magazine as there are 5 little things that can either make a break your magazine: photography, layout, colour, framing and cropping.

How I will use this new knowledge to help me create my own product:

I will use this by remembering how others achieved the high standard for example when creating a photograph I should definitely make sure that the standard of the images have been finished to a high standard because if this is not achieved it can make a high quality image look unprofessional and unfinished.  

Photoshop Skills Development 2 – The Simpsons Poster Task

For this task I had to create The Simpson's Movie Poster using images from the internet. I went onto Google images and sifted through the images and tried to find somethings different. I chose this image and then went and opened Photoshop and changed the format so that it was onto International Paper, 300 resolution and A4 size. I added this image onto the blank document. I went back onto the internet and searched for the Simpsons font and then print screen the image and then dragged them onto the photoshop icon. I used the move tool to arrange this into the position I wanted. I then used the magic wand tool to get rid of the white background. Next I used the Rubber to get rid of the writing so it looks as though the text is behind the people. I then again used the Wand tool to highlight the text and used the Bucket tool to change the colour from black to red. Then I went back onto the internet  I finally added text at the bottom right of the screen and changed the colour again from black to red. If I was to do this again or change anything on my poster I would change the image to a portrait image so that I wouldn't have to stretch it. I would also do the text again as you can see the white around the text 'THE SIMPSONS MOVIE'. Finally, I would double check the areas where I used the eraser tool. By doing this task I was able to refresh my memory on the photoshop tools and the search methods on the internet.

Deconstruction of Double Page Spreads

This is 3 deconstruction of a double page spread.

There are four main columns in the whole article however there are 5 actual paragraphs as there is a little paragraph at the beginning which describes on what to expect in the story and this makes it looks as though there isn’t a lot f text as it spread out and I think this makes it look more appealing to the reader.

There is only one image in the double page spread an even though because it is the only image in the double page spread I still feel that the text on the beginning stands out further that the actual main image and I think this because not only do you read from left to right but the text is in bold and the text had different sizes to attract the reader.

The anchor is not placed in the normal conventions as it is under the pull quote.

There is a pull quote used and this is a very significant part to the spread as this is the main part that draws the audience in. The pull quotes is in different sizes, in bold and it is highlighted in black with white text.

There isn’t really an actual article title however they have use a pull quote and I think they have done this to intrigue the reader as this is a quote form the person in the story. They have also tried to intrigue the audience by using visual impact as they have used a block text with black highlight and they have used white on black on white to make it stand out.

They have used a short strap-line under the pull-quote so that it gives some explanation into what to expect to the next story and I think they have done this well as they have used different text for the person’s name in the strap-line and they have done this to entice all the fans in and they have also made the strap-line sound like it is something exclusive as it stated ‘NME dodges the paparazzi and attempts to get behind the headlines’. They have done this to entice the reader as who wouldn’t want to find out the truth behind the headlines?

The kicker has not been used in this double page spread as the title itself is enough to entice the reader.

The introduction to the beginning of the story has a big bold letter I and this is known as the drop caps and this is to not only show the reader where the article starts but to also let your eye be drawn to the bigger and bolder features on the double page spread.

There is a lot of text element as the pull quote is located so that the text is all jilted as the text is not all on the same page and the way it has been put together makes it looks as though it has been cut out of a magazine. There is also some in the little strap-line as Lily Allen’s name has got a different colour to the rest and it is all slanted as if it floating around and this is the same for the bit of text beside the strap-line ‘WORD JAMES McMAHON’. This gives an edge to the magazine and these features entice the reader as they attract the reader to the key features of the magazine. 

The page layout is quite effective as if the reader notices the image your eyes are going to be led back to the text and vice versa. But the readers’ eyes are being led straight to the strap-line but as I said you eyes follow around the page and then back again as your eyes will pick the individual features like the colours used in the strap-line.

The colour palette is limited as they use white, black and grey and they use a bold red for things they want the reader to notice for example the Celebrities name ‘Lilly Allen’. They use this bold red as this links into what the celebrity is wearing in the image that is beside.

The beginning of the article is more descriptive of the singers home and it’s not really anything exciting as it doesn’t give that much in sight of the singer as the title states. The tone is quite informal even though it is descriptive as she is talking about the setting as if as a child walking through a strangers house for the first time and is trying to list as many things that they find interesting.

The text used is quite unusual for a magazine as it looks as though the strap-line has been cut out from a newspaper rather than from that particular magazine.

The background is grey which matches the colour palette used in the rest of the double page spread (image and text).

There are 2 columns on this double page spread and I think they have done minimal columns so it would appeal to the audience as too much writing can make the reader disinterested as too much writing can start to bore the reader. There are 3 main paragraph however there is many little paragraphs in the second columns.

There is only one image used in the double page spread and so this makes this the dominant image. The reason why they have used only one image for this spread is so that it does not distract the eye from the person in the article. The only image in the double page spread does take over most of the spread and this fits in with the normal conventions of a double page spread.

Her clothing is very minimal in colour as I think they want the reader to look more at the person to get the reader interested rather than what she looks like however they have also appealed to both as she is wearing a short black dress and some pointy leather for the curves over some satin material.

The pull quote for the double page spread is the big letters beside the image ‘you got the love’. This does not reveal anything but the is a lyric from a song that might appeal to the reader.

In the article it describes what the singer was doing and saying when she first entered the room and they have done this to make the reader feel more involved with the interview. The article includes past experiences that the reader might not know as she talks about her hectic lifestyle: going to Halloween parties, ghost experiences and television experiences.

 For the text they have used 5 different fonts and they have done this to separate each section of the double page spread and even though five sound a lot for the amount of text fonts they are quite similar except the pull quote.

The strap-line explains what to expect in the article and it also gives a teaser a the end ‘So why is Florence Welch lying on the floor attacking herself’.

There isn’t really a kicker as the usual format for a kicker is to be above the image and the article however this kicker is located behind the image ‘USA’.

They have used a fancy drop-line to not only attracted the reader but also to show the reader where to start reading.

The image has text to the left of the image and I think they have done this so that the reader looks from the left to the right and so is interested in Florence Welch on the left and then wants to read the article on the right. They have also positioned the image in a way so that your eye either follows down and along her body or down along the red and white strip of the material.

The colour palette  is minimal as the colours used: red, black and a dark white and they have done this so that the minimal colour  will not detract from the detailing.

There is 2 columns in this double page spread magazine and in that double page spread there are  3 main paragraphs and inside them paragraphs there are several smaller paragraphs. The reason why the magazine people have done this is to attract the reader to the small amount of text as the layout has been done so that there is a lot more image on the double page spread than actual text and they have done this to entice the reader and this fits in with the conventions of a normal double page spread.

There is only one image which makes it the dominant image of the article however in its own right it is the dominant image as this is the biggest image as it takes up most of the spread.

There is not any pull quotes to entice the reader in however in the first column and paragraph the size of the text is much bigger than the rest of the spread and this is to entice the reader in the beginning of the article and even though the rest is in smaller writing there should have been enough information to entice the reader in that first paragraph.

There is no conventional article title however in the top right hand corner they have cleverly placed the singers name and the reason why they have placed this in the top right hand corner instead of the left is because if the reader didn’t recognise the person in the double page spread by the image their eye might be caught by her name as this would be the normal place where someone would turn the page. They have also made her name look more noticeable by adding two line on the top and the bottom of her name to give boxed effect so that the reader’s eye would look more at the more at her name.

There is not conventional strap-line as usually it is just a small paragraph which  consists of one or at the most 2 sentences about the article to tease the reader however in this spread they have decided not to do this however they have decided to have the whole first paragraph in bigger text as a strap-line to entice the reader.

The introduction starts as many do: a description of the interview and an in sight for the readers that they may not know about.

They have used a massive drop-cap for the beginning of the first paragraph to entice the reader to see what the beginning of the paragraph says and this takes up around a 1/5 of the spread and this will hopefully make them want to read the full article. They have also added another drop-cap at the start of the third paragraph and they have done this so that the reader will read on to see what that drop-cap will continue on to explain. The drop-cap uses different font styles to the rest of the spread and they have done this to not only entice the reader but to also give the reader a change from the same boring plain text.They have haven’t really used any quirky text elements in this double page spread except in the drop-caps and I think they have done this so that the effect of the drop-cap is more noticeable than if the there was some interesting and quirky text elements.

The way the layout has been presented is so that your eyes follow around the drop-cap as if you weren’t interested in the article and then you suddenly notice the singers name you then follow her name to the drop-cap and then around the s shape and to the text and then if you were not that interest in the article you would go back to the same spot where her name was again and your eyes would possibly back down the same route.

I think that the colour palette is quite dark and after reading the paragraphs it seems fitting as the singer even points out that ‘that is my life’ when looking at the picture and so I think they have used dark colour not only to show her life but also to match in with the colour scheme with the magazine as the magazine colour scheme is black, white and red and this is the colours used in the text and in the image.

This double page is quite formal in comparison to many other magazine spread I have seen previously as I feel that the person writing is a lot more serious and formal as she uses words in her career (magazine terminology).

There is minimal text styles used as there is only three and the reason why they have only used three as there is one for the actual text, another for the drop-caps and finally one for the singers name in the right hand corner.

For the background for the magazine they have used a dark white colour to keep in with the colour palette also they have used a light background colour so that all the darker colours stand out on it.

Photoshop skills Development 1 - Jarvis Cocker Task

We were given the image and the bar code and from that we were instructed to create a magazine. In this Photoshop Activity I had to download the images and then open them up onto Photoshop.

Before I changed anything I duplicated the layer just so I could delete that layer if I was to make a big mistake. To make the image look a little better I changed the brightness and contrast of the image by clicking onto Image, Adjustments and then Brightness and Contrast. Next, I changed the hue and saturation by clicking onto Image, adjustments and then hue/saturation to make the colour of the image look a bit more professional. To get rid of the background I used the Magic Wand Tool and selected the entire background colour so that I could at a later stage add a colour that I preferred. After that I added another layer and then changed it to blue by selecting the rectangle tool and making sure the colour of rectangle was to my liking before I had done it. I also added some text on a new layer and made sure that it was positioned partially behind the image and to the side of the image.I went back to the text and changed the size of the writing so that you could differentiate between the differ To add another image I went onto my Documents and then dragged the image onto the Photoshop icon.  I dragged that image onto the image I am working on and positioned it in the bottom right hand corner and to do this I used the move tool. Finally added a new layer and added more text for the sell-lines and main sell-lines and I used the move tool to arrange the layout to my preference. Once I had finished making this image and making a magazine I saved the image in a Photoshop format (psd) and I saved another copy to back it up as a JPEG.

Inspirational Texts - Music Videos

In this blog I will be explaining what I like about the video and that type of music that particular artist has produced and how this type of music links to my mgazine's style.

This first video that I have picked is Beyonce - Love on top. I like this video as it shows off her dance moves and it also shows another side to Beyonce as she looks very laid back in her 'rehearsals' and the things she is wearing is very nice yet not over the top like other videos. I like how relaxed she looks as she deserves to be happy after her years of success with singing and starting a young family with her hubby Jay-Z. The video is very different to what many other videos. Her video is quite minimalist even though it is just in a studio I think that it is very iconic as it is stripped bare from everything and so you get to focus on the little details. This video doesn't look as though there was a high budget spent on this video however there has been money spent to make her and the dancer look nice. The clothing in this video is minimal in style which makes it timeless in fashion. My magazine will be talking about the likes of Beyonce and her success not only in her personal life and in her career.

This is the second video that I have chosen and I have choson this video, as the artist is up and coming as not very many people know of her however she has had some great hits recently and this is the latest of many.  Rita Ora is similar to Beyonce's video as her outfit is quite relaxed however the setting is totally different as in Beyonce's video she is in a studio whereas in Rita Ora's video she is going around in a 'foreign' country whereas in Beyonce's video you can't really see where she is even though there is floor length windos behind her. The choreography is quite intense as she is dancing all the time through the whole video. There is a lot to look at in this video and I think this matches the song choice and her lifestyle. This video looks like the beginning of a astory and then it finnishes looking like a gig. This video doesn't look as though there was a high budget spent on this video however it must have costs a lot to have that type of a setting abroad. The clothing she is wearing is quite strong and the style is quite timeless. Rita Ora is a up and coming artist and this type of musician will entice the reader's and this will hopefully help inspire others.




This is the third and final video that I have choosen and I have choosen this is because in this video the setting is very simplistic however there is a very strong sense of a story in this video as if she is saying them things for a reason. Her clothing is quite vibrant and I think this describes her personality. In this video she is wearning clothes that not everybody will like and in my opinion I think the clothing is timeless. In this video she is shown to be a strong and moral person as she is seen to walk up to men by herself and throw away there cigarette and then you see them guys come together to dance with her. This shows that she is quite strong as she is provoking these 5 men that are hanging out together doing nothing wrong. The setting for this video looks very strange as it is a river tunnel (not very practical as the video shoot could over run and so they could ruin the equipment). The video keeps switching to her by herslef dancing and then back to her dancing with her 5 male dancers. The choreography is quite intense as she is dancing all the time through the whole video. Cheryl Cole is inspiring by all the things that she has been through and she is still standing strong and these are the type of people that will also inspire ohers not only to get into music but to get into dancing.