Progress So Far (Music Magazine Front Cover) - 27/03/2011

By the end of this 2 hour lesson, I aimed to fully complete the CORE magazine front cover - and I completed this task. Before the lesson, my front cover looked like this:

But after 2 hours, my completed version looked like this:

As you can see, I added on more pugs and a promotion to act as enticing features for the front cover of CORE. Firstly, I used the 'Horizontal Type Tool' and drew text boxes on the right-hand side of the page, writing "GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME/YOU HAVE VOTED, AND NOW WE REVEAL ALL" in the first box, "FOO FIGHTERS/ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS" in the second and "THE PRETTY RECKLESS/ TAYLOR MOMSEN TALKS GUNS, KNIVES AND STRIPPER OUTFITS" into the third. All of this text was in the font Myriad Pro, Bold Condensed, 80pt, Strong and alligned to the left of the text boxes. However, the descriptions underneath the subtubles in each pug was a smaller 65pt and in yellow, to mark a difference between the subtitle and the description. These pugs aim to give an insight into the other articles featured in the magazine, and use emotive language such as "GREATEST" and dangerous/hardcore words such as "GUNS" and "KNIVES" to do so. Next, I decided to use a promotion on the magazine cover to entice the reader into buying CORE for the free gifts it has to offer. I drew a text box using the 'Horizontal Type Tool' and wrote "POSTER SPECIAL/10 POSTERS OF OUR FAVOURITE ROCK BANDS" into it. The main subtitle was in the font Myriad Pro, Bold Condensed, size 100pt, Strong, alligned to the centre of the text box and in the colour green, whilst the description underneath was the same apart from it being in the size 25pt and the colour yellow. Lastly, I used the 'Rectangle Tool' to draw black rectangles and place them behind all of the text I had just created, and make it stand out more from the image of The Blitz.

Progress So Far (Music Magazine Front Cover) - 25/03/2011

I set myself the objective of adding more puffs and a barcode by the end of todays lessons. Before I started editing the front cover, it looked like this:

But by the end of the 2 hour lesson, my front cover of CORE looked like this:

Firstly, I used the 'Ellipse Tool' to draw a circle, and I then clicked on the 'Set Foreground Colour' button to change the colour to yellow (the colour scheme of my text is green, white, yellow and black). I then used the 'Horizontal Type Tool' to draw a text box, and then type "EXCLUSIVE!" into it - I modified the text so it was in the font Myriad Pro, Bold Condensed Italic, size 90 pt, Strong, alligned to the centre of the text box and black in colour. This "EXCLUSIVE!" text acting as a puff shows how the interview with The Blitz is only goign to be seen in my CORE magazine, and therefore entices readers into wanting to read more about this exclusive interview. Next, I again used the 'Horizontal Type Tool' to draw a text box and type "PLUS! BLINK 182, GREEN DAY, EVANESCENCE AND LINKIN PARK" into it. I then editied this text so it was in the font Myriad Pro, Condensed, size 72pt, Strong and white in colour and alligned to the left of the text box. I wanted the "PLUS!" to stand out and attract the eye of the reader, so I used the 'Rectangle Tool' to draw a yellow rectangle and placed it beneath the text. This text acts as a pug, and gives the reader an insight into what other well-known bands will be discussed in my magazine and entice them into reading the whole magazine. Lastly, I went on ww.google.com and found an image of a barcode. I copied this barcode onto my front cover and placed it in the bottom right-hand corner of the page, and used the 'Horizontal Type Tool' to type the magazine price, "£3.99", into it. I then used the 'Rectangle Tool' again to draw a white rectangle, and placed it below the barcode and underneath the price to make it look as though it's attatched to the barcode.  

Progress So Far (Music Magazine Front Cover) - 23/03/2011

Now that I had completed my masthead, I needed to add on the pugs and puffs to entice readers into purchasing my music magazine CORE. Before I started editing the front cover, it looked like this:

After 1 hour, it looked like this:

I've added on text relating to the image, and used language that will entice the reader into purchasing the magazine to read the whole interview. Firstly, I used the 'Horizontal Type Tool' to draw a text box, and I then typed "THE BLITZ" and "THE BLITZ ARE BACK IN ACTION, AND THEY HAVE A CHAT WITH CORE ABOUT THEIR NEW SCREAM-WORTHY ALBUM". This text was in the font Myriad Pro, Bold Condensed, Strong and alligned to the left of the text box. The subtitle was in size 225pt, whilst the description underneath was in size 72pt. I changed the colour of the subtitle "THE BLITZ" by clicking on the 'Set Foreground Colour' button in the left-hand tool bar, and changed it to green. I used the same method for changing the rest of the text white. I decided to then add a shadow onto the subtitle to make it stand out more and give it more depth, so I clicked on the 'FX' tab and added a 'Drop Shadow' to it. I further made the subtitle stand out by using the 'FX' tab and adding a 'Inner Glow', which again gave the text more depth. After editing all this text, I still felt like it didn't really stand out from the image and wouldn't be very noticable to read when sitting on a shelf in a shop, so I clicked on the 'Rectangle Tool' and made black rectangles behind the white text, and white rectangles behind the green text to make it contrast against the image and be more noticable when reading.  





Progress So Far (Music Magazine Front Cover) - 22/03/2011

I had finished editing the image that is going to be used on the front cover of my music magazine in the previous blog post, and now I am ready to start putting together the finished product. Before I started putting it together, my front cover looked like this:

But after 1 hour, my front cover looked like this:

I downloaded the font from http://www.dafont.com/, and then print-screened it onto my front cover. I decided to call the magazine CORE - it is a play on the word 'hardcore' and relates to the hardcore rock/alternative rock/punk genre of my magazine. The heading originially looked like this:

I used the 'Magic Wand Tool' and clicked on the black parts of the heading to get rid of the white background. This gave the heading the impression that it had been graffitied onto the wall of the band image, and adds to this hardcore image. Now that my heading was done, I had to create a dateline underneath it to complete my masthead. I used the 'Horizontal Type Tool' to draw a text box under the magazine heading, and then typed "1ST APRIL 2011" into it. I modified the text so it was in the font Myriad Pro, Bold, size 60pt, Strong, alligned to the left of the text box and black in colour. The masthead to the front cover of my music magazine was then complete.



Progress So Far (Music Magazine Front Cover) - 18/03/2011

I have started photoshopping the image that is going to be used on the front cover of my music magazine. The image originally looked like this:

But by the end of the 2 hour lesson, it looked like this:

I made several changes to this image during my 2 hour lesson. Firstly, I used the 'Burn Tool' around Charlotte Westall's (the blonde girl) eyes to make it look like she was wearing eyeliner, because I felt that the image would relate more to my rock genre if both Emily Oakes and Charlotte were wearing eyeliner. Next, I used the 'Clone Stamp Tool' to cover up any shadow marks on their faces, to create a clear image that can be seen fully on the front cover. In the original image the eyes didn't stand out like I had intended them to, so I used the 'Sharpen Tool' over the eyes to make them have a start contrast against the rest of the image. Lastly, I create a 'Brightness/Contrast' layer, and made the image brighter and more contrasting to make the image seem brigter, yet more eerie to match the genre of my magazine.

Photoshop Practices - 15/03/2011

For this project, I have  to use Photoshop to edit the pictures I have taken previously and create a front cover, contents page and double page spread for my music magazine. I have never used Photoshop before commencing this project, so I first need to practice on it using images of the internet. Theses are the two images I edited:

Before

After

As you can see, I have changed a lot about Angelina Jolie's basic natural-looking picture and made her stand out and look very eccentric. Firstly, I used the 'Clone Stamp Tool' to get rid of any blemishes or beauty spots (such as that above her left eyebrow) to make a skin completley clear. I then went on to using the 'Polygonal Lasso Tool' to outline just her hair, and then created a new layer via copy and changed the hue and saturation of the picture to change the colour of her hair to this vivid green colour. After that, I decided to change the colour of her eyes to, so I again used the 'Polygonal Lasso Tool' to outline both of her eyes and again make a new layer via copy. I changed the gradient of her eyes to give her this peculiar yellow/brown tinged eye colour, which made her striking eyes stand out. Next, I used the 'Eliptical Marquee Tool' to draw a circle aroung the lips and create a new layer via copy, and then turned the lips bright pink by altering the hue and saturation again. After all of this, I decided that I would try changing the colour of Angelina's face too, and subsequently used the 'Dodge Tool' all over her face to give it this strange, snow white glow. I then used the same 'Dodge Tool' on her lips, to give them a glistening white glow and make them look more realistic and shiny. I finished my editing off by using the 'Burn Tool' on her bottom eyelids to give her the effect of having eyeliner on.

Before

After

I do not think that this photoshop practice of Eva Longoria was as successful as my last, but it looks more realisitc than the eccentric Angelina Jolie image. I firstly went over her skin with the tool... I then removed any spots and blemishes with the 'Clone Stamp Tool' to give her a more clear and spot-free skin. After that I used the 'Polygonal Lasso Tool' to outline her lips and create a new layer via copy, and change the colour of them by altering the hue and saturation levels. But after doing this Eva's teeth had turned the same nude colour as her lips, so I clicked on the lips layer and used the 'Erasor Tool' to just rub out the overlapping nude colour and expose the real teeth colour underneath. This made the photoshop picture appear more natural. Next I used the 'Burn Tool' to give her the effect of wearing eyeliner on the top and bottom lids of her eyes, and then followed by using the same tool to darken her eyebrows to make them look thicker and stronger. Lastly I decided that I wanted to try changing the background of the image as it seemed quite boring and plain, so I used the 'Polygonal Lasso Tool' to outline just her body and face and create a new layer via copy. I then found an image on google of the lit up city of New York and copied it onto a new layer, and resized it to fit the overlapping image of Eva and make her look like she's in the fantastic city.

Production Schedule for Research and Planning - 03/03/2011

This is the production schedule for my research and planning. It shows how I have been organising my work in order to hand everything in on time.

Mock Shots - 03/03/2011

These are some of the mock shots that I took during my photoshoot. These pictures did not work out in the way that I had hoped, and I am therefore not going to use them.

This extreme close-up shot of Emily Oakes's eyes was unsuccesful, as it blurred slightly at the edges and pupils and did not look how I had visioned.

I took both medium and long shots of Conor Wynn for my contents page, but I feel that the long shots looked better than the medium shots so I am therefore not using this medium shot photo.

This long shot did not work out in the way I had hoped, as the monkey-frame that Emily Oakes is clinging onto does not fit the overall vibe to my music magazine. Also, half of her face is cast in shadow, which is not what I initially wanted.

This long shot did not work as Emily Oakes is placed too far away from the camera in comparison to Charlotte Westall, and subsequently Emily goes unnoticed in the background.

This long shot of Lucy Rimmer-Hall is unsuccessful since we cannot see the whole of her face - a close-up on her face would be more effective.

Actor, Costume and Venue Lists - 01/03/2011

Actors
The actors (models) of my photoshoot will be as follows:

• Emily Oakes
• Charlotte Westall
• Lucy Rimmer-Hall
• Conor Wynn

Costume
The actors (models) of my photoshoot will wear the following outfits:

• Emily Oakes - a grey t-shirt with a white skull on it and the sleves rolled up, a pair of dark jeans and a pair of navy converse
• Charlotte Westall - a white vest top with black skull and red roses on it, a pair of black skinny jeans, a red tartan blazor,  grey knee high lace-up boots and (for some shots) black gloves 
• Lucy Rimmer-Hall - white patterned t-shirt, black leather jacket, black skinny jeans and black lace-up boots  
• Conor Wynn - a black military-style leather jacket, dark jeans and dark brown lace-up boots 

Venue
The venues for my photoshoot are as follows:

• Glen Park - Maghull
• Outside a garage - Maghull
• Alleyway - Maghull 
• Next to Canal - Maghull