Thursday, 31 March 2011

How I Created My Double Page Spread

The first step I took to create my double page spread was to set the page size correct. I chose the international paper size and selected A4. However I needed to swap the height and width of the page to allow the page to be a landscape size.
So for my work the height would be 297 and the width would be 210.

The next step was to include all of the photos in which i want to include on the page. I am creating my double page spread about a young pop star who all the girls are in love with. I have already taken and edited my photos (I did this on a website which includes the tools in which I need to create the photos I want.) All that's left to do is place them onto the page. However, before I do this I need to get rid of the backgrounds of the photos. This is because I wanted it to look as if the artist was at a photoshot. The photos I have taken haven't given this look.

To cut out the background of the pictures I have used the Magnetic Lasso Tool.
This is such a useful and brilliant tool as it allows us to cut around the photo and it would automatically stick to the body.

(Here is a preview of how the tools work)

Once the body is highlighted I copied and pasted the photos into the paper where the interview will be. I did this for all three of the photos going onto the page. I then used the move tool to help move the photos around the page until I got it to the right place where it looked good.


For the next part I wanted to split the three photos down the left hand page up. To do this i decided to create borders. I used the line tool to  create 6 different lines to fit around the photos. I didn't like them thin so I changed the width of them to make them look thicker. I used the colour pink which is used on the front cover. This allows me to keep the colour theme running all the way through the magazine.

I then included the main heading for the article. This will be the artists name 'Josh McCoy'.




I have placed the writing in the middle of the page. This will then allow the page to look a lot different and more interesting to the reader. The interview can then be placed around the writing. I have used the font Cheri. This is the same which is used on the front cover. The font size i have used is 106pt. This allows it to be large enough for the audience to see. I also used the colour pink which has been used for the borders and the front cover.


My next task was to type up the interview for the double page. I needed this to be in the eyes of a teenage boy who has just reached fame. I also needed to come up with questions that the audience for pop magazines would want to know and be interested in finding out about.


I then selected two phrases out of the interview which would attract the audience to read the interview. My favourite one was 'I am not into shy girls. I like them to be a bit cheeky'. I thought that this would be a good one to use as the audience are girls. They want to know who he would like to go out with. I am going to place this phrase at large within the page. The best place for it is underneath the title for the interview.
I have placed it in black so that it is highlighted and attractive towards the audience eyes. It is also written in a fancy font and in italic.


My next step then was to add in the interview. This took me a while to do and fit it all in within the page. I did each question and answer separately. This would allow me to move them around the page to fit them in where I wanted them to go.


I wrote the questions in pink. This linked within the rest of the magazine. The answers were then written in black. This helped because it shows that the boy is speaking. I used the font style of Myriad Pro and the size was 12pt. I am going to place the interview within four different columns.


Once that was all placed in the best placed I am going to highlight another quote which would be used to grab the attention of the audience. This quote is one that I looked at earlier. This one is 'It wouldn't be fair on her. I would be busy and travelling all of the time'.


I placed this quote on the body of the singer. By placing the text in white allowed it to be bold to the readers eyes. To make it look more like a quote I needed to add in speech marks. Because of the text font I have selected, they don't stand out much. So I am going to add in separate ones.
As you can see the speech marks are bigger than the size of the text.


Looking at the page, it looked plain, i needed to add something else. I decided to place writing on the page which will get his female fans going mad. Asking to follow him on a social networking site. To make this bold I drew a shape. I used the shape tool and decided to draw a circle. I am going to use the same colour as his top.


I then added the text on top of the shape. This is going to say "follow Josh McCoy on twitter @officaljoshmccoy". I have written it in white and in a clear plain font style.


The last step I needed to do was to add the last minutes bits to the page. These are the page numbers. I have placed the numbers in the bottom left and right hand corners. The font style is again plain although I have used italic. The main colours were the pink and whites used throughout the magazine.



 

Wednesday, 23 March 2011

Main Image Ideas

My idea for my pop magazine was to have a pop artist who the girls all know and are all in love with. Here are some of the picture I have taken for the magazine.






I have edited and changed some of the pictures. I think it would be best if I changed the background for the photos. I tried to use a white sheet for the background to make it seem as if the artist was in a photo shoot but it didn't turn out that way. So I think the best thing to do is remove the backgrounds from the pictures.

Plans For My Double Page Spread

To the right is my plans for my double page spread. This will be the page where the interview will be from the main artist who is shown on front cover.

The first thing I would like to talk about are the images on the double page spread. On the left hand side will be a large image of the artist. By using this of the teenage boy will allow the girl to feel more closer to the pop star. Also he looks quite sweet and innocent.

On the left hand side of the page I have placed three photos of the main artists in all different poses. This gives the audience more insight into his personality and get to see more of him. The audience will have more photos of the artists. I am going to place a pink border around the images. The colour keeps within the theme of the magazine. The square looks like the photos you would get out of a photoboth. It makes the page more interesting and eye0ctahcing towards the audience.

At the top of the page I am going to place the heading for the page. This will be the artists name "Josh McCoy" This will highlight the idea that the page will be based on this artists. I am going to colour the title in with pink. This will be the same pink used on the front pages and on the border around the three images on the left hand side of the page.

Underneath the title I was going to place a quote from the story within the interview. This quote should be an interesting and attention grabbing quote. As it will be quite large and will be the tool used to encourage the audience to read the interview. Obviously the quote needs to be placed within speech marks. I am going to place this piece of writing in black. This will allow it to stand out for the audience.

Under the title and in between the photos, using columns, will be the interview. By placing the interview in the column makes the interview look more interesting and more professional, just like a magazine article. I am going to use a simple text in the interview so that the readers can actually read the article. I am going to place the question in the pink used through the whole magazine. The answers in which the singer replies will be written in black. Again it allows both of the different sections of the texts to stand out for the audience.

Plans For my Contents Page

Here is the plans for my contents page for my magazine. Please excuse my drawings, they look so stupid. Anyway, I wanted to think of a way in which I could lay out my contents page to fit in with my genre of music magazines.

The first thing which will appear on the page will be the heading 'Contents'. I am trying to keep the flow of the colours used on the front cover. I am going to write the title in the colour of pink, quite a dark pink.

The next thing are the headings to split the contents page up. I am going to have 5 different headings; features, news, reviews, style, competitions. The at the bottom right hand side of the page 'on the cover'. These headings will be written in black. This is to make is stand up and eye-catching towards the audience. I have then placed each of the texts over a pink rectangle. This will be the background for the headings.

Underneath each of the headings will be the stories which fit under these headings. I am going to get the font simple so that it makes them writing a lot easier to read. By sticking to the colour theme I am going to write the text in purple. Plus, it wouldn't clash with the other colours used. At the ends of each of the stories will be the page number to where the stories will appear in the magazine.

On the right hand side of the page will be pictures which would help annotate the stories used within the magazine. This would allow the audience to gain more insight into the magazine, see who is being written into the magazine and hopefully be even more interested and continue reading the magazine. I will try to place the pictures in all different ways to make it more interesting. I will then place a page number onto the photo too.

At the bottom of the page, next to the part where it tells us about whats on the cover, I am going to place a picture of the front cover. I have tilted the page towards the right so that it looks different and more interesting to the audience eyes. To the left of this picture I am going to place piece of writing about subscribing to the magazine. I will place the word 'subscribe' in bold pink writing so that the audience can see. The writing underneath could then say 'subscribe and be in with a chance to win a prize every week' or something like that. I am thinking about having the writing over something different. Using a photoshop tool I could place an area of stars at separate places on the page. This could help add some fun to the contents page.