Today I went out and found a student to use on the cover of my college magazine. I got her to hold a book so it looks like quite a conventional image that would be used on the cover of a college magazine. I took it against a white background so that it is suitable for a front cover.

Cover Page XXL

This is the cover of XXL that I am analyzing, It features a close up shot of the artists' (in this case, Future) face.
The color scheme is white, red and black.
The masthead is covering the top of the image of the artist, but this does not distract from the image of the artist himself. The text is white as it is bold and stands out against the red of the image. This was done to catch the eye of the reader. The coverlines are also white, like the title, however these are done in a smaller font so that they do not attract too much attention from the main focus of the cover.
a gutter has been used in order to keep everything in line.
The price is next to the barcode and is in small print so it is not an important factor of the magazine.
The font remains simple and consistent throughout the cover, with coverlines being kept to one side, giving the cover a tidier, neater look.

XXL was first released in 1997, and was published by Harris Publications. It featured Jay Z on the cover. XXL also releases an annual Top 10 Freshman List, which features up and coming rappers.


Future is looking directly into the camera with a fierce and bold expression, perhaps showcasing his stamina and his place in the music industry, perhaps showing that he is confident and that he is here to stay. He has hints of black in his clothing which co-ordinate with the color scheme,
The cover is pretty much very simple, with the image of Future being fairly big, but the rest of the cover being quite simple, perhaps highlighting the fact that he is a very big face in the music industry, and that he is a straightforward person.

From what you can see of his clothing, it resembles that of a stereotypical pimp. It also resembles 1980s hip hop/rap culture and clothing, perhaps symbolising that he aims to be an iconic face in the industry. The genre of the magazine is made clear to be hip hop and rap, as indicated by the coverlines and main image.

photoshop practice

This is the product of my first time using Photoshop. I learned how to use rulers and layers, and also how to erase and layer text. I learned how to place an image and stretch it without it being pixelated. I also learned how to insert and edit the text and its colour.

DPS

This is my DPS. I used a red background so that it would catch the readers eye, and I kept the text black so that it is easy to read. I sorted the text into columns, so that it is organised and set out like a real magazine. Like most magazines, I included and image on one page, accompanied by a bold title. 

we analysed a double page spread and learned conventions of it, such as the layout, etc.

College Magazines

Similarities:
College magazines are similar to music magazines in the sense of things such as the positions of the masthead, cover lines and images.
There tends to be one big image in the middle, as seen with all magazines. The masthead tends to be very big and bold, occasionally with the image covering a small part of the text.
There are usually quite a few coverlines on both music and college magazines, and the magazine/front cover tends to have a colour scheme. as shown in this example, the colour scheme is green, blue, yellow and red.
music magazines also have a colour scheme. the colour scheme depends on the genre of the magazine. for example, if it is a rock magazine, colours that are frequently used include red, maroon, blue, etc..



Differences:
With music magazines, the images tend the be a close up shot, with the artist looking directly into the camera, and are rarely smiling in the photo, whereas with college magazines, the person on the cover tends to be smiling.
Music magazines have better quality photography than college magazines do. Music magazines have better lighting, too, as they tend to be put together by professionals who are skilled in making magazines.
If the star on the cover of the music magazine is photoshopped, it tends to be a very well done job, whereas if college magazines are photoshopped, it tends to show easily, as shown in the picture of the college magazine at the top of the page.
Music magazines are neatly organised, with cover lines placed carefully and the colour scheme is carefully put together.
This music magazine uses quite a few colours, but the cover does not look too 'busy' as most of the background is completely black and white.
The coverlines on music magazines are neatly organised, whereas the coverlines on the college magazine are very disorganised and are not placed in a way that looks good.

Analysing magazines

This is the contents page we analysed on Mondays lesson. We looked at different magazines and their contents pages, and how they were arranged. For example, whether the pictures were layered and not in chronological order, or if they were neatly organised with columns and pages in chronological order.  The magazine we looked at had a rather messy style, with the images layered and not in any particular order. 

Media Blog

Hi and welcome to my media blog where I will be posting my work for you to view.

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