Skills Undertaken This Term

• Digital Camera Basics
  Framing - Knowing what you want to take and how you move and position the camera, to get what you want in the picture. Such as long shot, mid shot and close up. The images for my front cover and contents page are mid-shots. I chose these images because they get the person in as well as some of the background.
  Rule of thirds - I used the rule of thirds when taking my photos for my front cover, i placed the model at the right hand side in the powerpoints and had her facing the left so it looked like she was looking in that direction.
• Image manipulation
  Layers - You have to layer the image first so it is easier to edit.
  Cropping - So you can get rid of parts of the picture you would not wish poeple to see on your magazine.
  Backgrounds - Can change the background, so it is brighter, darker ect.
  Adjusting colours - I had to adjust the colours on my main image because the model was really pale against the background. Also the lioghting on the picture was too bright. So i first had to make the image
  Bluring - So you can blur the background, to make the main picture more accented and standout on the page.
  Clone stamp - I used a clone stamp on my cover image, because there is curtains in the image which i used as my background. The whole image did not have a background though, so i used the clone stamp to get a full background that was the same colour.
• Placing a productYou have to be careful as to where you place things on your magazine. You have to remember to place the mast head at the top of the page so it is clearly seen by the reader. You also have to place the cover image very carefully, because you have to know if there will be plugs and other headlines going around the picture and placing the main cover line over the image but not covering too much of it.
• Forms and conventions of magazines
  Mast head - The title of the magazine, placed at the top of the page. In bold fonts, bright colours.
  Cover image - Has to stand out on the page, using bright colours.
  Main cover line - Relates to the cover image.
  Puffs - Telling the reader whats free, exclusive ect in your magazine
  Plugs - Giving the reader an insite to whats inside your magazine.
• Gettings to grips with DTP and layoutThis is getting use to using desk top publishers such as photo shop and serif page plus. Photo shop is used for editing pictures, you can crop, blur, layer, clone and many more. Whereas serif page plus is used for putting together the magazine, so placing the picture on the page and the other text that is needed such as the mast head and cover line around it.
• Font and colourFont and colour is very important for a magazine bcause it catches the readers attention, from distances.
  I used the school colours for my magazine that are blue, white and black.
• Understanding of genre and target audienceThe genre of a magazine is what your magazine is about, whether it is music or film. The genre of my magazine was the school, once the genre is decided you choose what target audience you will aim your magazine at. Some magazines like smash hits are aimed at younger children and teenagers. I decided the target audience for my magazine would be, the pupils of the school because it is giving them a lot of information about what is going on within the school.