Final Post To Examiner

I hope you enjoy reading through my blog. During the process of this course I have learnt a lot about media and my overall creativity has dramatically improved. The subject has been extremely interesting and the coursework been entertaining to create. Thank you. 

Final Front Cover

Final Contents

Final Double Page Spread

Preliminary Cover

Preliminary Work Contents Page

Final Evaluation 7

Final evluation 7 from _sambaxter

Final Evaluation 6

Final Evaluation 5

Final Evaluation 5

Final Evaluation 4

Final Evaluation 3

Final Evaluation 2

Final Evaluation 2

Final Evaluation 1

Final Evaluation 1

Evaluation Draft 7

Evaluation Draft 6

Evaluation Draft 6

Evaluation Draft 5

Evaluation Draft 4

Evaluation Draft 4

Evaluation Draft 3

Evaluation Draft 3

Evaluation Draft 2

Evaluation Draft 2

Evaluation Draft 1

Evaluation 1 Draft

_sambaxter's photostream

_sambaxter's photostream on Flickr.

Update: Models

I will be changing one of my models from my original three draft models. I am doing this because my new model is more suitable for the genre itself which is ideal for me when taking my final photos next week. 

Dazed And Confused Cover Examples

Update Post

Since recieving feedback from Mr Ford and Ms Sizer on my first draft I have progressed a lot, during this time I have

• Made a media playlist.
• Created an audience feedback questionnaire and got answers.
• Done peer audience feedback from comments on my blog including positives/negatives.
• Done 1st Draft teacher feedback and stated what i will be changing and what went well.
• Created updated drafts on the improvements i received from teachers and what i think.
• Created a second updated draft with further tweaks and improvements/changes.

From now i will be:

• Getting new and improved photos of my models in various amounts of different settings and different shots to find perfect photos for my magazine.
• Improve my drafts to create my final pieces, most tweaks will be making sure everything is in line perfectly.
• Look at more magazine inspirations for my final piece to find out an overall look i could use.
• Completely finishing my final piece.

2nd Updated Draft (Further Feedback)

These are further improvements for a second updated draft. I decided to do a second to use a range of different ideas and see how they work. For example on the contents page i have made it look more professional by ending the page level with a plain black line, i believe it also looks more simplstic and conventional. Along with this i have also took away the sub paragraph on my double page spread and included it at the beginning of my article, I'm unsure wether this looks better, however it does make my article look longer which is what was intended. Also i need to add paragraphs into my article.

Updated Drafts

Updated Draft: Cover

In my front cover I have made a few tweaks and adjustments to make my page more professional and conventional. I have made the font for 'The Everything' bigger, this was a suggested improvement and I believe it looks more professional and eye catching. Along with this I have also adjusted positioning of my barcode and issue texts; I have put them all together which is commonly seen on most covers, this adds to the conventional look. For my text box on the left I have adjusted the cover lines, I have done this to give more of an inside to the magazine, this will attract more people into buying as there is more to tempt them.

Updated Draft: Contents

The updated contents page draft hasn't changed much, it was only really a case of correcting spelling errors and false information under the regulars heading. Along with this I have added web addresses at the top of the magazine, this is common on a lot of professional magazine contents pages so I thought it would be beneficial to use it and keep the magazine conventional. In addition I have also made the word 'contents' bigger, and tweaked the text box underneath, including the magazine name. I am happy with the overall look of my draft contents page and aim to keep this for my final version, with tweaks in the images used and texts.

Updated Draft: Double Page Spread

I feel i have made a lot of improvements in my double page spread, all from my feedback from peers and mainly my teacher's. I have made my article longer including more interesting information in their which still suits the language register. Along with this i have used a bigger drop letter, this gives more of a magazine feel. The overall look of the page is still conventional and simplistic which is my overall aim. I have adjusted columns so they are the same width and cut down to one pull quote which gains a lot of attention. In addition i have also added a different picture, i used a portrait photo that i had perviously taken of my models, this is because i feel it fits better with the page and the layout i want to portray compared to the landscape image. However i like the overall look of my previous image so i will aim to get that similar shot but in a portrait frame. I have also added other little elements to improve the overall look of the pages, for example a bold line under my article, this looks minimalistic and takes up space so it doesn't look too plain. Furthermore i have added a twitter and website address for the band; this is something which is common in real published magazines so i believed it would be a good idea to use.

1st Draft Teacher Feedback

These are four photos showing all of my teacher feedback, I received a Level 4- but when looked at into more depth overall it was a level 3. I am extremely pleased with this because it was a rushed draft and I have a lot of feedback in order to make adjustments in order to get into the top grade boundary. To improve I need to make little changes, a main problem was spelling errors and punctuation, and this made the magazine lack professionalism. All of my improvements needed and feedback can be seen on the four photos I have included with this post.

Peer Audience Feedback

COVER

For my cover I have received a lot of positive feedback, which I will take into account when designing my final piece. Firstly I have been praised a lot for my successful use of colour palette. The blue/back/white ‘draw attention’ immediately and the boldness of the masthead has the same effect as well which is something I should definitely take into account when designing my final piece. On the other hand there are aspects that I can improve on my cover. For example I should ‘consider moving the text body’ and also make the image fit better so it is a higher resolution. Doing this would insure the magazine has a more professional, sharp look which is important.

CONTENTS

My contents page was what I was most happy with in my draft; I put the most detail into the layout in this page to make a conventional complete look. I received a lot of positive feedback about the ‘style and layout’ of the page, looking ‘very professional’ and a lot of text. However I was advised to use a web address to make the magazine appear more authentic, this is good feedback because a lot of magazine use this feature to attract a bigger online following as well. Along with this I was advised to change information in the text, some of it was false information, which isn’t useful.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

I feel there is room for a lot of improvement on my double page spread so I was intrigued to see the improvements I was suggested along with the positives. A positive of the pages where that the image looks good with the blue/white/black colour palette again and it ‘creates continuity’ along with this the bold lines I have used under the title ‘The Everything’ is good because it grabs the readers attention well. Some negatives in my double page spread where that the article and text was crammed in because of the sizing of my picture, this has made me think that I need to use a portrait image so it fits better and allows more room for text to look professional. Along with this I have left a lot of free space on the magazine that could be filled with useful information, however I want to keep the page looking minimalistic.

Overall I am happy with my feedback I have received for both positives and improvements which is important for me to take into account.