EVALUATION
In my preliminary work I interpreted many codes and conventions of the example magazines given in the resources folder. These included the bright and bold colours, normally primary and continued through the contents page as well. I also used a bold title at the top of the page with an imposition of the main image over the top covering part of the text. This suggests to the audience that my magazine is established and can afford to not have a clear title showing all parts of the text. The main title Whitley Wave came from the inspiration from the Whitley High logo of the wave crashing underneath the initials with the light blue colour. I continued the theme of the white writing with a fun bubble text of Hobo Std in upper case. I decided to use a medium close up image of a lower school student to highlight the positivity of the smiling face and the school dedication in the Whitley Bay High School sweater. This shot allows us to see the positive expressions whilst leaving enough room on the front cover to fill space with text and other pictures.
I believe I supported most of the codes and conventions of a school magazine by using simple but effective shapes and fonts. I stuck to a total of two fonts for the whole magazine which contrasted but complemented each other. I used extra images on the front cover and the contents which were smaller and less dominant but attracted and encouraged an extra audience.
I also decided to use another feature common in school magazine which is the subheading above the title. I used the phrase ‘The weekly newsletter for Whitley Bay High School’ which like other headings are snappy and informative. It also contrasts from the bright blue to a shocking yellow to lead your eyes onto it. I also used a ‘plus!’ bar on my front cover which is used in one example which gives a splash of colour over the top of the main medium close up image. It is an information bar of what is to come from the magazine and is short sharp and grabs attention with the contrasting colours. I also backed the box in white to match the borders of the other images on the page which makes it easier to read on the eyes.
On the contents page I carried on a similar theme throughout the front cover using the same text and colours as borders on photos then black text as it is more informative. In my own time I have researched other magazine contents pages which show elements of extra photos placed near the topical text. They also show the page numbers which indicate where the story is placed in the magazine. I also featured an ‘On the Cover’ strip on bold red background to interest the audience as to where the lead headlines are composed in the magazine. This has been done in other contents pages which are important to skip to the main story the reader is interested in.
The main conventions that I interpreted in my school magazine were the common colours used as I produced text and background in red, blue and yellow. These are primary colours suggesting a primary view on the school. Another code I used in my front cover was that the image I photographed myself was a medium close up. This allows the audience to see the happy smiley faces of the school and also leaves enough space around the outside to fill with the title and plugs. I imitated plugs from the example school front covers to create a box on the right labelled 'Plus!'. This adds a little extra to the page without overpowering the main image.
In my contents page I supported the conventions used in the example contents page. I backed my sub headings up in black with white writing to stand out from the background. I took the background image of a bookcase but then realised when I placed the image on the background it looked too busy so I produced a fuzzier image on photoshop with the blur tool. This then makes the background less distracting however you can still make out what the image is. I used the SLR camera without a flash and a relatively high aperture. I continued this theme of the camera settings throughout most of my photos.
One of the images used in my contents pages is a photo taken by myself of the Art trip to Edinburgh. This makes the magazine more personal and adds an element of realism as the story is true and potentially interesting. I also made a small caption underneath the image of the page number and a small amount of text to intrigue the reader even more. One last final touch was made with the circular fill of yellow on the page filled with the words ‘Win an Ipad Mini’ in bold red – contrasting from the yellow – in upper case. The different shape compares to the usual rectangular shape. I had the idea of this from looking at other media students preliminary work which have used interesting shape choices to fill their contents page with such as triangles and diamonds. The circle shape acts as an extra to the page and so is attractive to the eye and catches slight attention.
By using the camera I could produce images with interesting effects such as by having it handheld in one of my photos I could create a tilt to fit the subject matter of a girl studying in the frame. This makes the image look like the pupil is studying hard to fit lots of information in. The aperture used was relatively high on most of the photos. The shutter speed was also quite fast as there was no need for a deep or shallow focus.
Overall I would like to believe that I have produced a school magazine front cover and contents page that reflects on the hardworking fun vibes of Whitley Bay High School. I wanted to interpret the comic effect of the bright old coloured borders which add extra colour to the view of the piece. I also tried to produce my own images which were edited in photoshop especially to fit the theme of the magazine. Furthermore I used original ideas as well as sticking to the codes and conventions of the example school magazines.
