LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?

FRONT COVER

CONTENTS PAGE

WHAT I LEARNT FROM THE FINAL PRODUCTION

By looking back at my front covers, I feel that I have significantly improved upon editing and enhancing skills in editing software programs including Adobe Photoshop and Photos (iPhoto). In both recent works I have used Photos to enhance the brightness and contrast of both cover models. I learned how to add text and a simple front cover layout in my preliminary task. During the main process of creating a front cover for Insurgence magazine, I found out that I can manipulate the colours of fonts and even download new fonts from dafont.com to make the cover look more professional. This would conform to the codes and conventions of a typical music magazine.

• Since using my iPhone 6 to capture the main image of my music magazine front cover, no extra edits were necessary to dramatically enhance the cover model. The original photo was left just the way it was because it already looked professional judging by the brick wall background - a suitable fit for the alternative rock theme. In my sixth form magazine I brightened the picture for heightened posterity.

• During the course of the year, I feel that my photography skills have greatly improved; the camera modes on the DSLR camera were a necessity for me to create the images that I wanted for my final compositions. Apart from taking many shots to ensure that I retrieved the right photos, I carefully chose the cover photo that would surely fit into the criteria for a professional front cover.

For my sixth form magazine I included a large main headline, transparent banners to make the cover stand out better, the school logo, and eye-catching cover lines.

However, upon production of my music magazine front cover, micro elements were added including a barcode complete with issue edition, price and date which would make the production look more professional to readers.

The micro elements as well as the cover lines and main headline are really important to increase reader circulation and readership, and attract audiences in tandem with the popularity of the issue.

For a more sophisticated style of cover I distanced the cover lines away from the model. Therefore, it would look less amateur compared to my sixth form magazine front cover.

MUSIC MAGAZINE CONTENTS PAGE

However, as I produced the Insurgence contents page, many professional features of a typical magazine were incorporated to give it a sense of ambition and professionalism. Subheadings were utilised to categorise music-based articles into their own groups, which evoked different themes in relation to the tone of articles.

This allows readers to easily identify what articles they are looking for. Incentives such as a subscription offer to Insurgence magazine and a chance to win gig tickets were a beneficial fit for the contents page as they would catch the attention of niche audiences.

They would feel that what has enticed them into purchasing the magazine issue would greatly benefit them for their own money. By making sure that these features are prominent, a professional magazine contents page was created.

CONTENTS PAGE DETAILSWhen composing my sixth form contents page, I cobbled together several beautifully crafted photos into a single collage for reader interest.

The contact details (telephone number, postcode, etc.) were added to simulate a mutual connection with the reader, as if they are willing to contact the school for more information in the future.

The rest all relied on headlines that would describe what is happening in the magazine, all in chronological order by page number. Overall, the contents page for the sixth form magazine was decently composed with smoothness.

The usage of downloaded fonts instead of the default fonts found in Photoshop itself give the magazine a sense of sophistication and complexity, and some of the chosen fonts were befitting to the main focus of the genre, which was alternative and indie rock.

Deviating from the amateurish style of the sixth form magazine, the subsections I used in the music magazine contents page conform to the codes and conventions found in other music magazines such as Q and NME.

In turn, the subsections make the content clear, concise and detailed for the reader to find out what they want.

Throughout the design process of Insurgence magazine, I found that language was detrimental in addressing and

informing a niche audience effectively. Unlike the sixth form magazine, which had very little to do with this, the use of

puns and context-befitting language increased my appeal to audiences interested in rock music.

MY FINAL VERDICTAbove all, I feel very satisfied with my final products conceived and the progress made working on them during the initial preliminary task.

The inclusion of youth subcultures and other further research into the music industry really benefited me in finding out background information about my chosen music genres, which were alternative and indie rock, and correctly informing the right niche demographic about what information is to be expected in the magazine. This process was demonstrated whilst conforming to the codes and conventions of the rock music press.

However, by challenging certain codes and conventions, I have formed my own pathway to making a successful and unique rock music product by not following the stereotypical ideologies of the music press.