Prelim exercise

Using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazing, featuring a photograph of a student in a medium close-up  plus some appropriately laid out text and a masthead.

This is my prelim tast. My magazine is called Student Life and focuses on the Sixth form centre here at King's. I chose to have 2 people in the shot to show the socialising side and to have one of the girls holding a mug of tea as it's a common thing for sixth formers to have.

I used the rule of thirds to make their eyes and mug stand out. I also laid everything out in a Z formation; you read across the title and find out it's a student magazine; then down across to see smiling people and the subtitles on the left; then look across the bottom to see the pictures of the new facilities. I took the photo at eye level so it feels more personal, like the girls are looking at you specifically.

The title is blue, to match the colour of one of the girl's jeans, while the subtitles are red, to tie in with the second girl's t-shirt. However, I also used red and blue because they are very contrasting and stand out well, which will draw the attention of the target audience to it. I used a large masthead to catch peoples' eyes and make them notice my front cover. For this, I used a font that is quite arty so it would appeal to creative people. I composed this page so the main focus is in the middle and the text runs down the left hand side.

Choosing which photograph to use

Editing the colours

Adding titles

Saving!

Advert analysis

In this advert we can see an outstretched arm being held up by metal brackets, holding a camera. There is a small logo in the top left hand corner, and underneath the camera it says “introducing the anti-handshake E-620”.

Who the arm belongs to is quite enigmatic; you can’t tell how old the person is, only that it is not a child or elderly person’s arm so the advert is probably appealing to middle/youngish aged people. The gender of the person is not specified; as although it looks like a woman’s arm as it’s quite dainty and small, if the advert creators wanted it to be known that it was a woman they could have had nail polish on the nails or even had the nails cut into less of a generalised shape. Rather than appealing to one gender they’re saying that both men and women can use this camera. The skin colour of the person is white, and I don’t think there’s a deep meaning in this, just that this is the colour of the majority of the population. Most people see someone with black skin as someone who stands out and is different, even if they’re not discriminating against them they will still notice them; so rather than having a dark skinned arm which will stand out and maybe make people question why about it, they have used a general skin colour. 

There is no indication of the social class, except maybe someone who can afford cameras like these. There is no clothing shown which ties in with that fact that we can’t tell what social class the person belongs in. We can’t even see what facial expression the person has; usually advert creators will make people look very happy and pleased with whatever they’re doing which makes you feel like if you buy the product you will feel the same. However, the camera lens reminds me of an eye, and as it’s looking directly at us it makes it feel more targeted and personal, even though it’s just a camera looking at us. 

The posture of the arm is rigid and stretched. It is being held in this position by thick, metal brackets stretching around the arm, which are restraining it and keeping it in this position, to signify the anti-handshake effect to stop pictures blurring that this camera has. The hand is grasping a camera and has a finger on the shutter, as if it is ready to take a picture. The camera looks unbalanced and uneven, as though you wouldn’t be able to hold it like that and take a photo, but the metal brackets are completely supporting the arm. 

The advert could have included other people, maybe showing their arms too or lots of people using the camera, but I think the simple image works well at getting the message across. In my opinion, it connotes that you don’t need a team of professionals to take a good picture, you don’t even need more than one arm; with this camera you can easily take one.

This advert just uses a simple camera shot, normal lighting and a plain background. The light source is obviously coming from in front and slightly to the left as we can see the shadows behind the arm and camera, and all of it is in focus and clear, down to the detailed writing on the camera lens. I think this advert is quite open and simple, there isn’t necessarily a denotative meaning to it or many semiotics, it’s just clear and simple; much like taking a clear, focused picture with this camera. 

The logo is in the top left hand corner, and if you read this text using the Z theory you will first of all see the logo, then the camera, then the restrained or supported arm, depending how you see it. The background is a bluey grey colour which is very neutral and calming, yet also ties in with the colour of the brackets. 

There isn’t a narrative or even a title. The only indication of what type the camera is comes from the brand on the camera and the tiny writing underneath which tells us the model. The camera is promising clear, focused images, which we know because it says “anti-handshake”, yet even if that wasn’t there you would probably jump to that conclusion because there is no other reason for a hand to be held in tightly by these metal bars. So seeing as it can make us realise what it’s advertising, it gets the message across well.

http://www.adsora.com/files/media/olympus-digital-camera.jpg

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HELLO.

My name's Amber and I'm an AS media student.

I chose to study media because for most of my life, I've wanted to be involved in films. Not infront of the camera, but behind the scenes making everything come to life. I've always loved watching different films and tv programmes, looking out for the subtle hints and meanings behind different things, and I thought media studies would be useful for my future - I'm working towards Bournemouth University. I'm also studying English language, photography and psychology, which I think are all linked in some way.

I have too many favourite bands. My absolute favourites are: Queen, Paramore, All Time Low, Panic! At The Disco, We Are The In Crowd, Deaf Havana, The Midnight Beast, fun. and You Me At Six. I also love The Cab, Cobra Starship, Fall Out Boy, Kids In Glass Houses, Mayday Parade and 30 Seconds To Mars. Music seems to be a big part of my life. (Punk rock type stuff - I stay well away from the pop charts and the boy bands and the over auto-tuned groups) It's like having lots of families of fans who will cry over new albums and fangirl over band members with me all the time. If there was an AS exam about when this guy's birthday is or when these guys released their second album, I would pass for sure.

This will always be my favourite music video.

Queen - I Want To Break Free (1984)

And concerts. I love everything about concerts; driving hours to get to the city they're playing in, (the furthest I've been is Manchester) queuing all day just to make sure we're at the front of the crowd, (the longest I've queued is 8 hours) the exhilaration and excitement and exhaustion of watching the band, the hopefulness of meeting them afterwards.

All Time Low frontman Alex Gaskarth

I also have a lot of tv programmes I follow. Most of them are on e4 - comedy/drama type things that are easy to understand and don't need you to think about them. I like the classics, like Friends and the new attempts, like How I Met Your Mother, as well as enjoying a bit of New Girl (Well it's got Zooey Deschanel in - who wouldn't enjoy it?). Oh, and the BBC version of Sherlock. Amazing.



Films. I love films. I love how they can change your mood and make you think and take you out of real life and distract you from everything else for 90 minutes. I'll watch pretty much any type of film - I love comedies, horrors, dramas, mysteries, love stories. Some of my favourite films would have to be Chicago, Black Swan, Edward Scissorhands, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Breakfast At Tiffany's, The Shining, Frozen, Friends With Benefits and Legally Blonde.

Chicago (2002) movie poster

I have many favourite actors, actresses, directors and producers. First of all, anything that Tim Burton directs/produces/writes, I will love it. Similarly, anything Helena Bonham Carter is in. Emma Stone, Mila Kunis and Anna Faris are my all time favourite actresses. Jason Segel and Neil Patrick-Harris are my favourite actors. I also like Russell Brand (not just as an actor, I love him in general) and Johnny Depp. Favourite directors include Woody Allen, Gore Verbinski, Steven Spielberg (of course, who doesn't love or at least admire him?) James Cameron (only for Titanic - I hated Avatar. Waste of 3 hours.) and Peter Jackson.

Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter

I read quite a bit. I love Darren Shan, Lemony Snicket, Calvin & Hobbes comics and the Noughts and Crosses series by Malorie Blackman. I read magazines like Rocksound, NME and Kerrang! when they feature the bands I like.
I seem to spend most of my life on the internet. Mainly on Twitter or YouTube, following people's lives and interests. I also enjoy websites that you can waste hours on such as Taste Of Awesome and Unfriendable. I love Pinterest because everything's so much prettier on there and it gives me inspiration for fancy dinner parties my friends and I like to have every now and again to pretend we're sophisticated. Ditto with StumbleUpon. 

Well, that's me. Sorry if I've bored you.

Goodbye.