Reader profile

 

A reader profile shows what the reader is interested in. It shows the typical interests of a reader and can also show what people are interested in or what they potentially could be interested in.

Statistics give a rough average of who has stated they do a particular thing ...etc

Good pictures of the instruments and children

I really love pictures like this, even though it doesn't have the child in properly, it looks like a good professional photograph. The colours of the skin and the violin contrast a lot and make both of them stand out. The housestyle would go great with this violin because like the front cover model, he is posing with a violin.

 

- To improve I would cut the girl out the back, and focus the camera more on the front of the violin so the strings would be in focus and the rest blurred. I do like this close up shot. Maybe if I were to concentrate more on the front of the violin I could use a medium close up.

The colour of this violin is bright and I do like it. I would use this on the front cover or in my magazine even though it is a good quality image. This is due to the nail polish she is wearing, its just a nit pick of mine but I would have preferred if no polish was in shot. Also I don't know if its just the way the image has uploaded but it appears that the image seems too sharp and the strings look gritty.

This boy was amazing with the camera, he is really photogenic and he posed and knew exactly what I wanted to take a picture of.

Again, the colours of the violin compliment his pale skin and I do like the stance he is in.

The lighting could have bee better here however I wasn't working with a backdrop and amazing lights like I did for my other photos. This was taken in a corridor of my school with weak lights from above us and a white wall.



This picture is also one of my favourites. He understands how to hold the violin and makes it look authentic. Again, there is the issue with the lighting and everything could have been a lot sharper and more defined with lights.

I adore a lot of these close ups of the violin, I enjoy the detail the camera picks up even with the lack of light and a back drop. I I were to use this everything in the back ground would be cut out or blurred. The colours here are sharp, powerful and it really captures the grain, shape and beauty of the violin head. The angle also works really well, I am really impressed with these images.

The bow angle is nice and looks real. As a musician I can pick out the faults of him holding the violin - his hand should be further up and this is only an issue because if people are buying my classical music magazine, id hope they had knowledge of music so they could also pick this out and see the faults within it and see that this is not an authentic picture.

 

( the story that would go alone with these children 'playing' the instruments - or the headline - would be that they were the new age playing instruments and classical music was not a dead language in the world of arts and music. )

[ On my front cover, I decided to change it around a bit a try and make it look a lot more minimalistic due to how much text and images I had on the front cover. It looked so over crowded.

I asked 4 children from my school - 2 girls and 2 boys if I could take some images of them with some instruments.

These are the good images. Some didn't look particularly nice and some of the poses didn't seem to fit what I wanted for my front cover or for wherever I was going to place it in my magazine. ]

Picutres of children playing instruments (BAD)

- The 3 children are masking each other

- The angle is odd, they aren't positioned correctly

- The lighting is terrible

- Not the correct positioning if I was trying to pass this image off as them playing the instruments correctly

- Lighting is atrocious

- They aren't looking at each other or in the correct direction

- Aren't holding the instruments correctly

- No back drop

- Blurred image

- Not focused

- Incorrect positioning of the hand

 

 

- Lighting

- Position

- Posture

- Handling of the instrument

- No backdrop

- Lighting

- Position

- Posture

- Handling of the instrument

- No backdrop

- Angle

- Lighting

- Position

- Posture

- Handling of the instrument

- No backdrop

- Angle

- Facial expression

- Direction of expression

Screen shots ~ Front cover

 

Why are women used in magazines?

- Women are attractive

- They attract the opposite sex

- A lot of magazines want a mixed gender audience

- Females - according to what I've read on the internet and from personal experience are interested in other females lives in the magazines, and will always - not always always, but sometimes will read articles and short stories on these women.

- Women aspire to be like pretty celebrities in magazines

So Far...

I HAVE....

- Taken more pictures to add to my front cover - the ones that were relevant of course.

- I have uploaded a barcode to make it look like an authentic music magazine.

- I have used 4 colours and 3 fonts in different sizes because too many would be too much on the magazine and it would be too much for the reader,  the magazine is full enough, it has so much on it that it doesn't need anymore distractions.

-  I based this off the 'music' magazine.

- The front of it is more minimalistic compared to mine however you can see the elements shining through like the use of the orangey red box in the corner of their magazine, I did the same however mine is bigger.

- A lot of the text is similar too, I tried to base what I found on their magazine and to use it in my, obviously changing it but I used that as a huge inspirations

- She is also holding a violin however I believe the female model on their magazine would attract more males relating to the Naomi Wolf ideal and how females present a more attractive feel to a magazine.

- If I were to do this magazine again I would possibly use a female because it would bring more men to the magazine due to the fact if I had a female model standing in an attractive pose looking rather beautiful it would definitely lure more people to the magazine.

- The reason I didn't use a female on my magazine front cover is because out of the two models I preferred the look of Josh, he seemed more relaxed around the camera and his shots looked a lot nicer

- I also preferred the violin because it made the photographs look a whole lot more vivid.

New font ideas

I had some ideas further down in my blog of what I want my mast heard and my front cover to have featured on it.

I wanted something that would stand out and that would be recognisable to a wide diverse audience.

I needed something that related with the genre of my magazine: classical. - I was looking through a lot of technical vocab for music and came across things I actually likes; things like 'allegro', 'andante', 'fortissimo', 'piano'. I looked at abbreviations too.

mf = means moderately loud
f = loud
piano = quiet
pp = really quiet
fff = really loud

I tired these out with this red colour and with different fonts. I adored the 'mf' version. It looked sophisticated and sleek and those who are unaware of all these technical words can stay blissfully unaware of what it means as it is just a symbol/ name for the magazine. However I believe it is an added bonus for those who understand music too.

The reason I thought about the masthead/title so much was because I want everything in my magazine to reflect on the actual knowledge I have of music. It also adds authenticity to my facts and the things I say.

Why have i used them?

Why have I used the equipment and programmes?

The reason is because Photoshop is renowned for being amazing when editing photographs. When using many layers and different images and text on something like a magazine, I personally have had no problems with Photoshop itself, it was either the way I had done things or if I lost something within a layer.

I enjoy using it because it is simple and clear.

I used a stills camera from school - this was because my camera is of a terrible quality and I had all the facilities at school. The back drop and lights added a professional finishing touch the images.

Equipment and programmes i have used

Equipment used when taking the pictures:

- Tripod
- Still camera
- Back drop
- Lights

Programmes used when editing or used in the production my magazine:

- Adobe Photoshop - used in the production of my magazine, contents page and double page spread.
- In design to create my article

 

This is an image of my male model Josh Bloomer posing in the character of 'Josh Bloom' the violinist.

I used the software Adobe Photoshop to edit the pictures I took of him. At the start of my blog or somewhere near the beginning I took a lot of pictures of my two models and I made a collage. Some I didn't use because they didn't seem right or just simply because I didn't need that many pictures of them in my magazine.

I used an eraser tool on a spaced out setting so when I was cutting him out of the white background it didn't look so sharp and harsh but more like a gradual cut so he could be placed on the right background on my front cover.

 

I used some of the additional tools to take away his blemishes - blemish eraser - and a burn tool to darker those features on his face. It enhanced his eyebrows, eyelashes and other crevices that were on his face.

 

- The violin and jumper are lovely colours and compliment each other.

- I do like this pose. Out of everyone Josh did I prefer this one. It shows the classical edge, with the violin and the bow positioning however the way he is standing shows how laid back he is and because he isn't in a suit but in smart clothing again it has that younger, relaxed vibe to it.

 

 

To improve

 
To improve I could continue with the continuity  of the house style and mast head.
- I have used the same 'mf' throughout and the house style which is good as I am continuing with it throughout my magazine which you can tell throughout my blog.
- The fonts are rather clear and I am still sticking with the four colour scheme.

I NEED TO:
- Add another two columns or if I add another one and make the last column bigger I could make it into a review section or like an editors section like on other magazines.

Screen shots

 

Some of the text that didn't show up properly:

"These two are when I had my columns in. The 'mf' were from the masthead/title, and I just copied them in the places I wanted to put them. On the spot, i made up something an editor would say and just inserted it onto another layer. I added relevant pictures into a place on the magazine. Like this image"

"These are more basic stages of how i proceeded with completing my contents page:"

Font ideas

For my front cover, i need a title that stands out and that is easily read however, it has to be recognisable.

I would like my title to either have the letter 'A' in it or the actual word 'Allegro. The reason for this is because allegro is a musical term for the speed of which a piece of music is played. Allegro rolls off the tongue and i just like the word.

Here are some screen shots of titles i could potentially use:

I have tried to look for fonts that look rather decorative and unique as well as intricate. If i have a really boring font it could potentially make everything else look plain and boring and since this is aimed at a more mature audience with elegance and class i believe that the font should resemble that.

 

Why are women used in magazines?

New flatplan

 

FRONT COVER FLATPLAN

 

Likes and dislikes of the photographs

These photographs vary from medium long shot all the way up to medium close up. I didn't wasn't just pictures of their faces as adding their body, clothing and the instruments in bring relevance to my actual magazine.

I really love the close up shots of Josh when he is resting the violin under is chin. The colours work really well. The vibrancy of the mustard colour of his jumper contrasting with the vivid colour of the reds on the violin look amazing and make the full picture stand out. I also like how the light bounces off Josh himself, it makes his skin look radiant and really photogenic. Also, as Josh has pale/fair skin the rich colours bring out a tint of pink in his cheeks.

Alex's pictures work really well. I love the medium close ups of her because her bone structure is beautiful. she has a lovely structured jaw line which compliments her short pixie hair cut. I didn't believe that this hair cut would really work with a classical magazine as i thought of elegant long hair, more stereotypical looks for a classical magazine however this hair style makes Alex look less childish and makes every feature stand out. She has really fair skin and with the light reflecting it also contributes to the 'radiant skin' look. The pop the pink/red lipstick was to make her lips stand out and because when i did my research on classical magazines, a lot of the women either pose in aan attractive way or have their best feature emphasised. I believe Alex has many desirable features about her and choosing her lips has connotations of sexuality and will appeal to the male generations. I wanted to present her as a sexy female.

If i were to imrpove, i would have made them bring more clothes so i could have taken a more varied shot with each model. If they had more clothes i could have taken different ones.

 

The lighting on some pictures actually seem to be too bright when relfecting on the models. The lights look good as it lights up every feature but in some cases it has washed the models making them look ghostly pale.

 

 

Photographs

Throughout this week i have been able to take some photographs for my magazine.

I focused on taking pictures which would be ideal for a front cover or a double page spread.

These are some collages of the pictures i took.

 

 

 

 

Before i took the photographs ...

Before i took the pictures for my magazine i had to find suitable models to appear in my double page feature and on the front cover, basically throughout the magazine.

I chose Josh. He looked well on camera and listened to everything i had to say and when i directed him on how to pose for the camera. Josh used a violin to model with as it is more of a manly instrument. They are beautifully made, the body of the violin is strong and still elegant.

For my female model i used Alex. She is an average build, slim and mid height. She has short hair and i thought she would be well suited to model with a flute. It is an elegant instrument and is long, silver and is rather beautiful.

In preparation of taking the pictures, a backdrop set up had to be made.
there was:

- 2 backdrop lights
- 2 face lights
- 1 back light
- A backdrop
- natural light coming from various parts of the set ( Thee were mainly blocked out by the curtain which separated the back of the stage to the open space in the hall, and the lights were also turned off )
- A still lumix Panasonic camera
- A tripod