Evaluation Essay

Before I started the media course in 2011 I didn’t know how to use Photoshop to edit photos that could be used on a magazine cover. The photos have to be airbrushed to make the subject look flawless as people aspire to be them as they’re famous or successful hence been on a magazine cover. By the end of the course I had developed the required skills to Photoshop a  photograph to look old as well as the girl look like she has an even and desired skin tone. The photo needed to have an ‘old’ effect placed on it as the magazine was about icons and inspirations and therefore I wanted it to look like the girl on the cover was from the 60’s or 90’s for a grunge/rock effect.  Another digital skill I acquired through the course was how to create and design a digital contents, cover and double page spread worthy of a music magazine such as NME. Using publisher and Photoshop I played around with different effects, fonts and colours to try and make a realistic NME-esque magazine. Using Photoshop I edited the picture for my final front cover. Using the blur tool I blurred the edges around the girl so that she stood out against the background and used levels to create a glow around her, this connotes that she's an Icon and all the focus is on her literally as this edition is about her. Using Photoshop I turned the image 'black and white' this gives the image more of a look of importance.

In order to fully engage with the coursework I had to learn to be creative, this was mainly done through use of colour schemes and layout. Through my research of existing magazines I discovered that they mainly use a colour schemes; such as NME who primarily use black, white and red on their covers. I opted to choose a colour scheme of black and white with lashings of colour from the photos and thumbnails. The reason behind this was to give it a rock ‘n’ roll and grunge appeal to it. I developed the skill of choosing appropriate colour schemes throughout the media course as I realised they needed more thought behind them. The media course also meant that I had to be in tact with my creative side for taking photographs that coincide with the ideology of the magazine. I therefore featured a girl smoking on the front cover as the connotation of smoking is ‘cool’.

To better get an idea of how music magazines operate, and to gain some inspiration, I had to research. I started off by researching NME as I wanted my magazine to be similar to this as I knew I wanted the same sort of audience and artists. Through this I recognised that NME have all the features from the issue listed along the side of the cover however they use one main image for the biggest feature of the issue. Therefore I decided to use the same layout for my front cover. I used one large image of a girl and then down the side I used a few thumbnail images and then had a list of the ‘plus’s’ of the magazine. I also took inspiration from NME’s contents page using the same layout with thumbnail images. Prior to making the contents page and cover I had to plan, therefore I made digital drafts using Publisher. When I eventually made the contents page I just deleted the photos and added mine that I had taken previously. Before I started the music magazine part of the coursework I had to draft a college magazine, it is very different from my final music magazine product as I yet hadn’t developed the skills to make a realistic one. However on the college magazine I still used a similar layout of having all the articles featured listed along the bottom, I think this is because it’s a typical magazine layout and it’s a convention of the music genre. Use of researching helped this though. My college magazine used the colours purple and white as they’re neutral and therefore can be used by both male and female that attends the college.