Production Schedule - December 2015

Equipment List

Double Page Spread Draft 2

Ongoing Production log - Entry 11

 

After finishing my front cover and contents page, I then moved onto my double page spread. I kept the theme of the fire by adding it into the page number box - I wanted to keep it subtle. I also got rid of the polaroid as I felt it was quite awkward and random and used the photo as my overall background on the right page. I faded it so you were still able to see the image over the text but I felt this was a good change because it made the page look a lot more creative and exciting because the colour was more prominent.

I also edited the floating quote and made it bigger within the page so that it stood out more and I also added another quote onto my left page which somewhat summarised my entire article. I also found this was useful and successful because it also linked the images to the text. A challenge I found with this however was the colour of the quote. I experimented with a variety of colours because I wanted to find one which was bold and bright but wasn't too different from the rest of the magazine. I also wanted it to go well with my genre and after many trial and errors, I found a yellowy gold colour which I felt was greatly suitable because it was bold and effective but suited the magazine well. I also added a thin inner glow to make the text stand out more on the page however I think this thin inner glow was too thin therefore I will make the inner glow a lot stronger and harder later on in the process so that it is clearer thus makes the text stand out a lot more.

Another change I made was with my images. I decided to blur them together so it was a blurred collage because this made it look a lot more interesting and exciting. Also, I found that this made the page a lot more appealing because before I blurred them together, it didn't look right and the images looked quite static - they didn't work together in a way I wanted them to. 

Contents Page Draft 2

Ongoing Production log - Entry 10

Like my front cover, I added the fire streaks into both the masthead and the CONTENTS header. At first I tried adding the streaks within the whole of CONTENTS however decided against it because I felt it was again, too much. This is why I decided to just add it into the middle letters because it is subtle but still makes the text bolder and more appealing. I also considered the layout of my text. I wanted to make my contents page a lot neater because I felt this would make the contents page look more professional and tidy. Therefore, I straightened all the text and ensured all the numbers were in line because not only would it be more suitable during production as it would make the process easier, but it makes the contents page look a lot more presentable and formatted. 

Front Cover Draft 2

Ongoing Production log - Entry 9

 

I experimented with my masthead because at first I didn't know whether to put the entire masthead in this fire effect or whether to just add it to the lines. I decided however to only do the lines because it was more subtle and not so full on. I also didn't like the entire masthead in this effect because it was too bright and not very appealing

 

After looking over my first drafts and after peer feedback, I decided to add a little bit more colour and theme to my magazine. Because I chose the name 'EMBER', I thought that a theme and colour of orange and red would be very suitable. Therefore, instead of the white lines I decided to make them orange and red - like a fire. Also, to make the whole page a lot more exciting I decided to include the fire theme within the text and I feel like this has made the entire page look a lot more appealing and exciting thus suitable for my audience because it is eye catching and bold. 

Double Page Spread Draft 1

Ongoing Production log - Entry 8

I dedicated today to my double page spread because I have spent a lot of time on my other two pages but not as much on this one. I added the text and put it into 2 columns as I found this was common in most magazines. I added a floating quote to break the text and I then decided to add the images. I added the polaroid first because it made the page look a lot more creative and interesting and it also suited my genre and audience. I then added my other 3 images. At first, I was only going to use 2 however I decided to use all 3 and do a collage as I felt all the images would look good in my magazine. I then played around with filters etc. however I kept the pictures natural because I wanted some images which were natural as this suited my genre and audience again - all the others in my magazine had been edited and manipulated. I also decided to get rid of the black around the right page because it didn't suit the magazine because it made it look dark and not appealing. 

Contents Page Draft 1

Ongoing Production log - Entry 7

 

Today I finished my contents page. I added all my text and positioned them in a neat yet stylised format. I do feel my contents page has been produced to a high standard however I may have to move the text because in production, it may be easier for the manufacturer if the text was all in one column because right now the text is rather all over then place. Despite this, I think it is quite a good first draft of my magazine contents page. 

Front Cover Draft 1

Ongoing Production log - Entry 6

 

Today I decided to work on and begin to finish my front cover. I decided to change my masthead and instead of the small white lines going through middle of the masthead, I added the white lines into the bottom of it because I liked the use of lines because it kept the masthead bold but made it more individual and creative. I also decided to edit the image and make it black and white because I felt this suited my genre more and it also made the image look more professional and cleaner.

I then added the social media at the bottom because I felt this was necessary and suitable considering todays modern society; social media is the way forward. After this, I added the text on the side of the page because I felt it was rather bare and plain. This is why I added the text because not only does it make the page look more full and interesting but after I analysed existing magazines, most magazines had other stories/artist names on their front cover hence why I added it. 

Ongoing Production log - Entry 5

Today I began adding features to my contents page. I added the header, website and began laying out my text on the page. I also started to consider page numbers because after analysing magazines, I realised that I needed my magazine to have 50+ pages thus I needed a variety of different articles.
I don't know whether I will include any other images on this page but my next step is to add more text on the page and try and make the other features/articles in the magazine a lot more creative and fun because at the moment they are quite bland and boring.

Ongoing Production log - Entry 4

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From looking at my production schedule, I haven't really considered my other subjects and activities that I do throughout the week thus I have fallen slightly behind. However, I decided to stay in at lunch and work on my images thus my time management improved throughout because I caught up.

In today's lesson, I decided to start my contents page and my front cover. I placed my image that I wanted to use on my contents page and decided to edit the background so that the front image stood out more. This is where I used my previous Photoshop skills because I decided to blur the background and this made my artist stand out a lot more. I also decided to make it black and white because this again adds emphasis to the colour which is what I wanted as my front cover is quite plain and simple. In addition, after a bit of research I chose my artist name and main caption. I wanted both to be quite simple yet bold and I feel I have done this successfully by using quite emotive and personal language. At the end of the lesson, I trialled adding in my masthead however I decided I didn't like it so I am now currently trying to create a new one which would suit my magazine more.

Ongoing Production log - Entry 3

 

In today's lesson, I began adding to my article because it wasn't interesting enough; it didn't have enough content in it. I also started to plan my contents page and because I decided to make my double page spread quite simple, I wanted to make my contents page a lot more interesting and colourful.

Also, because I didn't have the images, I found images from google of the location I was going to use for my images and added them to my double page spread so I knew what it would roughly look like. I then decided from this that I would use more than one image on my double page spread because this made my magazine look a lot more interesting. I also began to add my page number box and my masthead. 

Ongoing Production log - Entry 2

In today's lesson I planned my double page spread. I began with writing my interview plan so I was aware of how much space I needed on my double page spread for my text. I also needed to ensure that I didn't write too much nor too little. I then decided to plan my double page spread by using stickers on Photoshop to place things on the page. I feel I have successfully planned my double page spread because I decided where I wanted my images and where I wanted my text on the page so when it came to placing it once I had my images and my full text, I knew where to put everything - I didn't waste time. I also decided to change my left page as instead of the initials of my artist, I wanted to have an image because it would look more interesting and appealing. Despite this, for my final product, I did end up changing my double page spread slightly as I wanted 4 images on my double page spread and not 1.







Double Page Spread Draft

Contents Page Draft

Front Cover Draft

Teacher's Comments No.1

Well done Jamie, this is shaping up to be a very good Research & Planning Blog.  The design work is what is needed next and this will push your blog closer to the upper levels.  

T:  Don’t forget to keep up to date with your Production Log.

T:  Complete your design work and upload it.

5 minute Front Cover Draft

A rough draft of the contents of my double page spread

Singing sensation, Lacey Raye, is becoming one of UK’s most loved and listened to musicians. Coming from a small county, she has rapidly taken over the charts with her latest single “two souls” which has dominated the charts for 3 consecutive weeks. There is nothing she can’t do. She is a hit with her family, her friends and now the world, and with her upcoming album “Dear Lacey” getting ready to hit the stage, for 17 years old, she is sure doing well for herself.

So what on earth does she have to worry about? She speaks to EMBER in an exclusive interview.

“I am a big worrier. A lot has changed these couple of months. Only a few months ago I was performing in local bars and on the streets of my small little town, but now I’m getting ready to release both my album and tickets for my worldwide tour in 2016. It’s all happening so fast and in some ways, I want it slow down. This is a big deal to me, of course, because this has been my dream since I was nine years old. I remember my mum telling me to audition for my schools talent show because she thought I could win. When I won that, I took to talent shows on bigger scales. People really thought I had talent and that was an amazing feeling.”

Lacey Raye’s album “Dear Lacey” is being released May 23^rd 2016. It will also be available on iTunes and Spotify to purchase and it is expected to reach number 1 in the UK Top 20 in less than a week. It has also been heard that Lacey Raye will be attending the BET Awards in LA, where she will receive an award for ‘best new artist.’

She will also be releasing a deluxe album! This will not only feature her own originals, but also the covers of songs from similar artists like Sam Smith and Adele and this will be available to purchase on the 23^rd May 2016 also.

The week after, she will be releasing her own clothing line and her own merchandise and in addition to this, music videos for her songs “two souls” and “over the moon” will be released on YouTube. No wonder Lacey is stressed! 

“I miss home like crazy. Because of my busy schedule, I always seem to be elsewhere; whether that’s in London or at a friend’s. I would like to go back sometime soon. At the beginning of my career, I used to visit every weekend and after schools on weekdays but now I’m having to go straight from school, to the studio and I have to do my school work on the train. I try and prioritise education over everything because I want to achieve a lot in my life; I don’t want to just be known as a singer. It does get hard sometimes but I’m gonna work my butt off and achieve the best I can. Once all of my tour dates are finalised and once everything has been released and set in place, I’m going back home to my family and I’m gonna focus on spending time with them before I leave for my worldwide tour. I’m really excited for my tour but I’m not gonna let my career get in the way of family because without my family, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

You can’t help but love Lacey. For a 17 year old, she seems to have everything going for her. Teens would only dream of being where she is now. The one thing we love about Lacey is that her music is something we can all relate to. It is heartfelt and emotional and it is real.

Lacey is the one of the many artists who writes their own music. We asked her how she came up with her lyrics and this was her response:

“It all comes down to how I feel and my mood. Sometimes I can feel really joyous and happy and so my lyrics are more fun and happy whereas sometimes I feel really emotional and upset and my lyrics reflect this because they’re very emotional and deep. I love writing both because I know that it’s what I want to do. I don’t want to copy someone else and I don’t want to be like everybody else. There isn’t a specific feeling that I have to feel in order to write my lyrics, I just have to wait for that spark moment where I tell myself “You’ve got an idea.” I also have a journal which I write pretty much everything in, including song lyrics and song ideas. I take it everywhere with me because at any moment I can have an idea and sometimes it’s not that good and I don’t look at it again, but other times it ends up becoming one of my major hits. My latest single “two souls” was actually inspired by my older brother and I’s band ‘2 in 1’ because although we’ve both moved to different record labels now, we both still meet up and perform at residential homes and at local gigs together. The lyrics basically talk about how it doesn’t matter where we are in the world, we know where home is and we will always come back together, no matter the distance or time. If I’m perfectly honest, it has to be my favourite song I’ve ever written because it’s so personal to me. It’s just so weird to think that a song I wrote is being played and downloaded by millions across the globe! It’s crazy!”

You can follow Lacey on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Spotify; you can also subscribe to her YouTube channel and make sure to watch out on her social media and her website for tour dates and tickets because starting next week, they will be on sale to everyone! Tickets will go quick so grab one while you can!

A personal thanks to Lacey for coming in and talking to us as it has been an incredible experience to talk to such a different and unique artist and I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that she is going to be a huge success and that this is only the beginning!

Team Lacey all the way!

Next week in our issue of EMBER, we will be interviewing Adele who released her brand new album after 4 years ’25’.  Her album has broken the record for first week album sales in the US, selling 2.4 million copies since Friday. We’re not surprised by its huge success because as soon as she released her plans for her new album, everyone went absolutely crazy. Go Adele! 

Rejected Photos

These are the photos that I decided not to use in my magazine:

 

I decided not to use this image because you can't see my artist very well and this, I felt, wouldn't have given my magazine a very professional and clear look. I wanted my artist to be portrayed clearly on the page however my artist is rather distant from the camera in this image hence I didn't feel it was suitable.

Again, I felt that my artist was too distant from the camera thus my artist wasn't really clear in the picture. However I did quite like this picture because it gave another level as she was sitting on the ground and also, the image looks creative and interesting. Despite this, I didn't choose this image because it wasn't very clear.

I didn't use this image within my magazine because it is not professional thus wouldn't be suitable; it makes my magazine look unprofessional and childish because her position is very casual and not that relaxed. This is why I decided against this photo as it doesn't put the magazine in a positive light.

Although this image looks interesting and creative, I didn't use it in my magazine because the focal point of the picture wasn't my artist - instead it was the trees and the branch. This is why I didn't use this image because I wanted to choose an image that made my artist stand out on the page however this does the opposite and hides her.

Although I really liked the position of my artist because the way she is standing makes her look powerful and strong and this is what I wanted to convey. However I decided to not use this photo because the exposure was much too bright therefore you couldn't really see the artist and made the whole image quite unclear and blurry. Also, she is not central and because I want to make the magazine look professional and neat, I felt that the image was not suitable hence why I decided against it.













I decided not to use this image because it was blurry. Therefore, it wouldn't be suitable or appropriate for my magazine because I want to use images which are clear and stand out on the page thus because it was blurry, I couldn't use it in my magazine. Despite this, it is a very creative and different image and does suit the genre well.

Ongoing Production log - Entry 1

I found this music magazine in WHSmiths and decided to analysis it so that when I came to designing and creating my own magazine, I knew what sort of conventions I should be considering. I annotated on the front cover the different conventions thus has helped me greatly because it has made me think about what I should be making sure I have on my magazine cover, for example: bold colours and minimal text. 

Initial ideas mind map