Sixth form magazine front cover photography

This was the original photo that I have chosen to use. I have chosen to use this photo to use for my magazine front cover because I feel once cropped it will correctly represent the sixth form as a hard working, yet relaxed environment. I originally took this photo as I thought it was a nice contrast of personalities of different students on opposite ends of the tree trunk, the person on the right (Josh) being the more ideal SHSG student and therefore the person I would focus in on as I have chosen to use this picture. The reason I wouldn't focus on the person on the left of the photo (Emily) is because the connotation for her talking on her phone is that shes cares little for her school work, and more for her social life - which is not how I would like the school to be represented.

Here, I have cropped the original picture to show only Josh, the harder working student. I chose to use only him in the picture for my front cover because the connotation of a student leaning up against the tree is that the school is a fairly laid back environment and relaxed, and the connotation for him reading through a book/folder is that the students who attend the sixth form are hardworking. When cropping this photo I tried to apply the rule of thirds the best I could, with the focus on Josh - who is slightly towards the left.

This is the photo I have chosen to use for my front cover.

In this version of the cropped image I have chosen to enhance the colour. I did this to make the colours in the image more flattering, and a bit brighter - as the natural lighting on the day of photography was quite dim and cold as it was a cloudy day. I am happy with the appearance of the image now, as I feel the more vivid colours give the photo more life and also make it seem happier and slightly warmer. As this was just a small change, the photo still looks natural and unedited, which I like.  

I then added - colour fade 2, boost colour 1, slight increase saturation, slight increase exposure. After this little session of experimentation with the editing tools on iPhoto, at first glance I felt like it'd improved the image further. But when I compared it to the previous version (where all I had done was enhance the colour slightly) I felt this version looked far too serious and too cold for the cover of a light hearted student magazine. I then decided as I preferred the other edited photo, I would use that one instead for my front cover.

Typography

Here I have created 3 possible mastheads for my SHSG sixth form magazine, 'Emerald City'. In each of my mastheads here I have included the school logo, which I felt was very important, and I have also made a black outline with a green stroke around the edges which follows the schools colour scheme.

The first one I wanted to make quite simple, but bold. I wanted this because I felt that maybe simplicity in the title could reflect the simple purpose of the magazine, to inform and maybe even entertain sixth formers. I didn't really like this masthead, because although it has the green glow around the edges, the white of the text was just too much and resulted a boring appearance, I'm afraid if I use this for my masthead it would connotate that the magazine is boring too.

The second masthead I have created is one with a more playful and eye catching font. After my first attempt which appeared quite plain and boring, I felt it was necessary to experiment with fonts on the other end of the spectrum. Although I like this font, I'm not sure whether I can imagine it in a sixth form magazine. But, saying this, I much prefer it to the first masthead.

The third one I have made is probably my favourite. I say this because after having a very simplistic and serious font, and then having a very complex and playful font I really wanted to find something inbetween. I feel the font I have chosen for my third masthead is the best because the curl in the shape of the letters appears to look like handwriting, which reflects school, and also makes it look more visually appealing and slightly less serious. The very slight italic of the font makes it appear quite sophistated and mature which could also connate that this is what the sixth formers are like.

Sixth form magazine front cover - annotated

SHSG sixth form magazine front cover sketch

On the left is a picture of my original sketch for my version of SHSG sixth form magazine, and on the right is what it now looks like now I have added some colour. 

I chose to call the magazine 'Emerald City' mainly because the schools main colour is green (like an emerald) and it is something that is Southend High is recognised for. I also chose Emerald city as the name for my magazine because its known from a popular childhood film, The Wizard Of Oz. This link gives the magazine a less serious and almost more playful and inviting feel, and it may lead to the people in sixth form reminiscing about their happy childhood (when life  was simpler and more care-free, and not centred around work). Also, in the film The Emerald City is a place where everyone wants to be, this may also give off the message that everyone wants to be at SHSG sixth form. I tried to mimic the font 'MS PGothic', as I personally think it would be a nice font to use. As you can see, I plan to do this title in white with a green glow/stroke around the edges, as I feel this compliments the name of the magazine quite nicely.

For the main image I plan to photograph people (girls and boys as it is a mixed sixth form) on a bench, some of whom will be doing work and smiling - to portray that the people that attend SHSG sixth form are hard working and friendly people, who are enjoying this sixth form. I plan to photograph this on a bench which is on a path of some sort, and then edit the path in photoshop to appear like its glowing yellow (like the yellow brick road in The Wizard Of Oz). If this is not do-able, I will attempt to edit in a yellow path from scratch on photoshop. The yellow brick road idea is not just to include another link to the title, but also is there to symbolise the path that SHSG provides you, and will eventually lead you to your dream destination (like in The Wizard Of Oz when The Emerald City is the destination at the end of the road, and its where supposedly anything is possible). 

I chose to keep the main colours used in this magazine front cover coherent to the colours used in the SHSG logo (red, yellow, and green). I also included the logo, which I felt was extremely important for the magazine, so that it is instantly recognisable as a SHSG magazine. 

Media Literacy AS

Media Language:
Media language refers to written, verbal, visual, and aural communication in a text, and sometimes can involve a combination of these kinds of communication. Media language is how the creators of the media text use: diegetic and non diegetic sound, camera angles, facial expressions and even hand gestures, dialogue, editing, lighting, and miss-en-scene to create a certain scene in a particular way to have the desired effect for the audience. The way media language is used can determine what genre the text fits into, this is because the audience learn to link certain conventions with certain genres. This also means that the audience then expects these conventions when consuming a media text of a particular genre.

Form and Style:
The form of a media text is its structure and the combination of dialogue, sound effects, editing, and atmosphere in the scene ( these elements are called 'micro elements'). The form is what helps make the genre of the text (or sub genre of TV Drama for example) immediately recognisable for the audience.
The style of the media text is how the text uses this form, which can make it more unique.

Convention:
Conventions are the ingredients for a particular genre. This means that each media text must include certain conventions in order to be recognised by the audience as being part of a particular genre.

Signification:
Everything is a sign. The signifier (denotation) is the meaning of the sign that everyone see's and agrees on. The signified (connotation) is the individual meanings that individual people apply to the sign.

Representation:
Representation is the way a media text re-constructs the real world to provide entertainment for the audience but while including mostly factual elements. They do this to represent: people, places, themes, ideas, time periods, and social situations in a media text.

Audiences:
When looking at a target audience for a media text or product, you should also consider the 'secondary audiences' and the ways that the different people can respond to different texts. This response may contrast and challenge your expectations which may mean you having to analyse your audience further.

Narrative and Genre:
Narrative structures are the way a media text is presented to an audience. Fictional media texts (such as TV and Film) tend to abide by the structure of balance, conflict and attempts at resolution. Narrative is the process of balancing what the audience actually witnesses during the text, and what they assume.
When various media texts appear to share similar conventions the audience develops expectations for this type of text - this is a genre. Often two genres can merge to form hybrid genres such as 'comedy horror' or 'rom- com'.

Creativity:
Creative skills necessary are the ability to use digital technology to create a media text that the audience can easily respond to; another skill necessary is the ability to grab the audiences attention with your media text and interest them. Media products are made as a result of a number of creative decisions, when analysing a text I'll need to work out what these decisions were. And when I have created the media produce I will need to evaluate these decisions from my own experience.

Connecting the Micr to the Macro:
The micro elements of a media text are the technical and symbolic features of the text. I will need to recognise these and describe their function. When all the micro elements are together they make up a very believable and realistic representation of the 'world'. This is called the plausible macro sum of the micro parts.

Multimodal Literacy:
Media literacy is continuously changing and allowing us to read and write in new ways. This means that the theories about communication also need to change and adapt.

Edited photos using iPhoto

I chose this picture because I liked the way the tree filters parts of the sunlight onto Emily, Axl, and Katy's faces.

Using iPhoto I have made the photo black and white to make the photo look more classic, and then boosted the colour to give the photo more depth. I also cropped the photo to make the photo apply more to the rule of thirds. I am happy with the finished result of the edited picture, as I feel the changes I've made have improved the appearance. One thing I'm not totally happy with is where I've boosted the colour in black and white, the dark areas look very dark over the peoples faces; but in some ways I like it because it makes the white stand out more which makes the black and white more effective.

I chose to use this picture because I really like the angle of the sunlight. I also really liked how the position of the people in the photo applies to the rule of thirds.

Here, I have edited the photo in iPhoto by using various effects and boosting the colours. I also played about with the 'adjust' options (I can't remember specifically which effects or aspects i adjusted).I also cropped the picture to make the people stand out more in the photo. I really like the more vintage, serious, and colder look the photo has after I'd made these improvements. I personally prefer this version of the photo.

How to take a good photograph

1. Composition- what is included within the frame. Rule of thirds (main focus not directly in the middle 
2. Focus- using the correct depth of field 
3. Lighting - direction of the sun (to one side)
4. Camera angle - experiments 

Depth of field/Rule of thirds - Homework

Homework
Rule of thirds
Depth of field 

'me' collage

This is not yet finished.
The task was to create an A4 collage of pictures that represent me and my life.
To improve I would add more of my own images that relate to me and my life, as at the moment there are only 2 pictures which makes the 'collage' look rather bare and boring. I could also edit some of my pictures using photoshop to make it more visually appealing. To increase my amount of pictures with ease, I could search, find and use various relevant images on google. One problem with this is that i feel it defeats the object the task, to create a collage about me - as although the pictures I could find may relate to me, they are not my personal pictures.
Although, I am happy with: my choice of text style for my name, the images I have included (my favourite pair of converses and one of my new rabbits), and how I have managed to edit and crop them using the magnetic lasso.