Evaluation Question 5

Evaluation Question 5 

^^ The video above is the Feedback video in case it does not work on the prezi ^^

Project Production Schedule

Production Schedule 

Below is my production schedule for the duration of this whole project from the start of the Preliminary Task to the end of the Main Task

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 4

What is being said:
Throughout the project my understanding of the hardware that I had to use to produce my magazine has become greater. To begin with, in my preliminary task I struggled to set the camera to the correct settings but found that the AUTO setting was very helpful. As I progressed from my preliminary task photos to my main task photos I came to understand how certain settings on the camera can change the quality of a picture. There are different settings on a DSLR camera depending on the photograph you want to take. For photographs which capture movement, there is a SPORTS mode, or photoghraphs that have limited light there is a NIGHT mode.  I used PORTRAIT setting on the camera to get the right image, this helped me to  use light effectively to create clear and bright images. Through practice I found that the right location and angle could help to create more dramatic and meaningful images. I used two types of camera in the course of the project, starting with a Cannon 50D DSLR and then moved onto a Cannon EOS 500DSLR. This change in camera was due to the limited memory available on the Cannon 50DSLR and this allowed me to develop my skills to produce a clearer photo for my final pages.  

My main purpose was to take pictures that were editable in Adobe Photoshop. A larger camera memory meant that I could produce images as RAW files. RAW files are a much larger file than a JPEG because they do not deteriorate when edited, they have a greater dynamic range of tones and a larger colour space than JPEGS and they also maintain all the information captured by the camera sensor. However RAW files are very large and take up a lot of memory. In their uncompressed format they may look flatter and less vibrant than a JPEG and always need editing software to convert them into other file formats (like JPEGs). The original RAW file I used produced a good quality JPEG image for my magazine. Whilst I still have the original RAW file under the edits that I made.

Also during this project my understanding of software has improved.  Adobe Photpshop is the leading choice for editing photographs.  It has many functions and special effects which allowed me to achieve results other software cannot achieve. It can also rescue a poorly taken photograph, if the lighting is wrong, or there are unexpected items in the image.  As I followed a brief for my photo-shoot I was able to control the elements of my image and ensure I captured a suitable photograph.  I was then able to use photoshop as an editing tool rather than a rescue tool. 

I plugged the camera  into my computer and my image uploaded onto my Creative Cloud Photoshop folder. Uploading my images to the creative cloud meant that i didnt have to carry it around on a pendrive and risk losing it and allowed me easy access to my images on multiple computers   

Photoshop allows the user to edit through layers.  Layers can be arranged into different orders to edit thew arrangement of items on your workspace so you could hide one behine another, or bringing them to the front to emphasize them.  To place an object so it hides partially behind your model you would use the 'Quick Selection' tool.  This works by highlighting the outline of your model, followed by the use of copy and paste to create a new layer with just the model and no background.  The model layer is brought to the front and a new layer with the new object is created between the background and the new model layer, placing the new object behind the model.


I made use of the editing functions such as the 'levels curve' to change the lighting of my background. Applying this as a layer mask allowed me to remove the effect off the model by using the eraser tool to bring her image forward and make her stand out form the background. 

In terms of Online Software/Tools I used things such as Google Chrome, Blogger and E-mail 
In cases where I was not sure how to do things I used Google Chrome as a search engine to find tutorials for Photoshop to teach me how to create effects that I wanted for my images.
I used Blogger to record my progress and keep my tasks in a logical order for my final evaluation.
I also utilized resources available in my fathers company to help with photoshop queries, this waas done through the use of E-mail and talking to some of the people I know in the Media department. 

Finally there were two other bits of software I used in making this and they are as follows...
 I used a screen recording software named 'Fraps' to record my screen in this video and Adobe Premier to put it together together  

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 3

   

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 1

Evaluation Question 1

Main: Final Contents Page

Main: Contents Page

Main: Final Cover Page

Main: Final Cover Page

Main: Final 2 Page Spread

Final 2 Page spread

Main: Photos Taken

Main: Photos Taken

Main: Image Creation

Main: Image Creation

To make the pixel fade effect on the image of my 2 page I used the following tutorial 

Main: 2Page-Spread Image Inspiration

Main: 2Page-Spread Image Inspiration

Images like the ones above are where I got my inspiration from for my 2 page spread from as I thought this adds a futuristic digital sort of feel to it which I feel relates to EDM.

Main: 1st Draft Evaluation and targets

Main: 1st Draft Evaluation and Targets 

After looking back on my first drafts for my pages I have noticed there are a few areas on each page that could be improved:

Cover page:

The headlines are far to big therefore taking up too much space and there are far to little of them, they also don't stand out well, the box in the top right corner is bulky and gets in the way of the main image so I feel i need to get rid of that and make the headlines used in them stand out in a better way. The lighting on the artist is too high so the background and some of the artist look likes they are together and finally there is a bit of black space that could be filled up 

Targets:

1. Include more headlines and make them stand out clearly 

2. fill up the empty space with little bits and bobs

3. Get rid of the big purple box 

4. Bring the artist forward by editing the background of the lighting

5. Add a bar-code...




Although there are a few areas that need improving there are a few thing that I like on my Cover page. These are the image that I have used I feel this image represents my artist well it shows of her electronic side and her 80's side and I also like the way that I have my Masthead doesnt take up a large amount of room so it allows me to increase the size of the photo of my artist. 

Contents page:

I feel that out of my first drafts my contents page was the weakest and needs the most improvement out of my three pages, there is only one colour used which is black so the page looks very plain and boring, there are very little headlines in the 'top articles' section which makes the magazine look empty, there are only two images used and they aren't the best images, there are no little effects/objects that catch the eye and make the page look nicer

Targets:

1. Use my colour scheme to make the page more attractive 

2. Fill the page more effectively try to leave little white space

3. Use images that represent the artist/article

4. Place more headlines 

5. Add some effects/objects that make the page more ascetically pleasing

6. Improve the layout

For my contents page I don't feel like there is anything that I like I feel I need to improve everything on my contents page

2 Page Spread:  

For my 2 Page Spread I think that the stripes that alternate giving the image colour I think that the hue and saturation are too high and the image that I have used, I feel doesn't give of the attitude that I feel that my artist would have and the effect of the alternating colour black and white then full colour isnt really a good effect 

Targets:

1. Use a better image of my artist that shows her attitude
2. Use a better effect 
3. Get the correct hue and saturation balance

For my 2 Page Spread page I feel that the only thing that I like and will keep is the title of the page the rest I am going to change and improve.

Main: Cover Page 1st Draft

Main: Cover Page 1st Draft

Main: Article for 2 Page-Spread

2 Page Spread Article

   After a slow start at the back end of last year, Skyla has kicked off this year with a bang. Releasing her new album at the beginning of the year ‘At One With Music’ which shows her joint, unmatched passion for Electro/Trance and 80’s pop. Experimenting with EDM is what alot of people do but the golden age of 80’s pop is rarely toyed with, as when it is classic pop songs get butchered. thankfully for the blessed music lovers of this generation that missed such incredible music, Skyla -an EDM prodigy- has stepped out onto the scene. Its rare for a new artist to gain such a huge hype behind them so quickly, her fan base just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Believed to be  one of the reasons why EDM is still a genre that has not just dissipated into screams, same old chords and incredibly similar lyrics.
    Releasing decent songs with only a week or two in-between them is difficult for most artists is next to an impossible task. However, Skyla has gone beyond this not only by sticking to the task that seemed impossible but producing songs that contend for number one spot on top of the charts, currently having the top five positions taken by her songs and the number one only moves down because the next song released somehow tops a perfect EDM track. How long is this going to last? At the current rate with this mad frenzy of songs she'll have the top twenty tracks not just in the UK... but around the world! Pulling of a task that even Mr. Worldwide found impossible, she's took the world by awe considering that only a few month ago she was a DJ in a nightclub in Manchester. 

    She has recently announced that she will be appearing at Electra Festival in March this year. As well as making her appearence at Electra, Skyla has also announced that she will be going on a solo tour (EDM or Nothing) throughout Europe; starting in Manchester England on February 28th, until March 16th where she will finish back in England in London for her grand-finale, some of the other countries she will be preforming in include: Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden and Portugal.
    As a little teaser for those who love Skyla but can’t quite decide wether or not to buy tickets to go see her live, since she loves her fans so much she has informed us that not only will she be preforming all the songs from her album ‘At One With Music’ as well as a few of the remixes she has done of popular songs that have been floating round over the past year but she will be playing bits of the next fourteen songs that will be on her next album ‘Status = Trance’ such as 'Tranquility', Cloud9', 'Electronic-Satisfaction' and 'Hypnotic' just to name some, which is to be released late April of this year, so don't get left behind by the Skyla Hype Express. Buy your ticket quick before they sell out.
    

Main: 2 Page Spread 1st Draft

Main: Two Page Spread 1st Draft

Main: Contents Page 1st Draft

Main: Contents Page 1st Draft

Main: Cover Page Practice

Main: Cover Page Drafts

Over the course of making my front cover I took my photos three times to get them right, having originally decided on using a female artist then changing my mind and using a male artist as EDM artists and DJ's are mainly male, the first time round I ended up with photos like the following:

           

Trying to use these photos was pretty difficult as they were all so similar to each other, clothe and pose wise, so shortly after beginning to make my front cover seen on 

the right I decided that I needed to retake my photos. not only was it the photos that i decided to redo but the magazine name at the top I felt didn't really fit in or look to pleasing so after looking at some more magazine covers again I saw that they mainly had a logo that was placed in the top left corner, so this is the point that I decided that I would make a logo to put in the top corner. 

To make things a little different I had my model wear two separate costumes in my second set of photos so there was a bigger variety of photos to use, they would be in one costume on the front cover and another on the two page spread,

but again while putting it together, for the front cover I noticed that there was clash in colours that I wanted to 

use for the front cover, since the top he was wearing was orange and blue, there wasn't a large amount of colours that stood out on both of them 

Finally for my final set of photos I decided to go back to my original idea of having a female model for my artist, this time instead of taking my photos as a JPEG i took them as a RAW so when i edited them the quality of the photos didn't deteriorate, using a female model allowed me to play around with make-up a lot more than a male did which allowed me to incorporate the 80's element that I wanted my artist to have:

With these photos I was able to get a very similar look to what I originally wanted:

Main: Model Choices

Main: Model Choices

For my photos I originally wanted a male artist with preferably long hair.  More specifically, a short back and side hair cut with a long top to get the 80's inspired hair style that I wanted.  I was also looking for a build that was healthy and sporty as most of the artist in Electro music production are of a similar build. The model had to be at the younger end of my target age group (15-25 years old) because this also represents most of the artists in EDM genre. Being 17 myself, I looked for someone within my own year that fitted my needs. Unfortunately, there was one characteristic I couldn't find which was the hair cut. Although there were people with the correct hair cut their build was far too different from the one I wanted. I decided to change my model specification and sacrifice the hair cut.  I decided my model choice could also represent EDM artists who have a fairly short top. 

The first  model that I ended up using was a lad in my year named Alex Rowe, I felt that he was the best suited model for the characteristics that I was after.  He is 17, has a sporty build with good physique. This build represents the youthful majority who are involved in many activities and he had the closest haircut as to what I originally wanted. Also the way that he dresses is very similar to the clothing that you see EDM artist wearing. 

After taking my photos of Alex I began to put my pages together. However, a couple of days later, while I was listening to the radio on the way home, a recent EDM artists by the name of 'NERVO', who are a female duet, came on. Then the idea of using a female model hit me.  By using a female model I could get the slim build I was wanting and would be able to get a very similar hair style to the one I originally wanted if I found someone with long hair. 

After thinking it over for a bit I decided that the best decision was to switch my model to a female. Female artists may be uncommon in EDM but in recent years a lot of good DJ's and artists that are female have been making a name for themselves. Contradicting the stereotypical representation of females in EDM as sexually appealing objects. To push the reality out there I thought that the use of a female model would benefit me and be a new move towards promoting EDM across genders. Using an photo of a female model as the main image on my Cover page would be my own contribution to promoting female EDM artists.

The female model I ended up settling for in the end was my younger sister Taryn Dawson. I picked her as my model because she met all the requirements from my original model specification. She is 16 so is still at the younger end of my target audiences age group and hes a sporty buils also. Although she did not have a short back and sides hair cut, by brushing all her hair to one side a very similar style could be replicated. Her fashion sense is also very similar to most of the new female EDM artists. The switch to the female model also allowed me to create a EDM/80's styled make over using bright colours of blusher and eye shadow, which was restricted by with the use of a male model.    

   

Main: Slight Changes Made

Main: Slight Changes Made

When I had originally started, I had to decide whether my model was to be a male or a female. I originally I decided i was going to use a female so for my sketch drawing of my cover page I drew a female:


                              

 but after reassessing the situation and genre I was working under and since I was trying to show off an EDM side to the artist - and in EDM there are very few female DJ's - I decided to switch my model to a male as a more common convention of EDM is a male DJ/artist.


                             

However after playing around with the photos for a while, I felt that I had hit a brick wall with the possibilities that I had and I also felt that there was a lack of the 80's element that I wanted to get across in the photos, although I decided to change my photos I had, I wanted to keep the idea that I had decided to use for my two page spread, which was the artist breaking up into particles. With this idea I feel that it gets across a Electro/Trance/Techno kind of feel and with my new photos of my new model, who is a female as I decided since I want an 80's feel to my artist many big POP bands in the 80's had a female singer and this allowed me to play around with makeup more than having a male model did, this then allowed me to get an real 80's vibe into my photos as females make and hair stood out a lot more then than it does now. With the change in model I didn't feel that the name 'Night Lucid' suited the new model so I also changed that to a more suited name of 'Skyla'