2. Contents
Final Front cover Annotated=Slide 3
Final Double Page Spread Annotated= Slide 4
Deadlines: Slide 5
Post Production Skills/ The software and tools I used and why? Slide 6-7
Safe Working Practices: Slide 8-9
Colours: Slide 10
Fonts: Slide 11
Pitch feedback witness statement: Slide 12-13
Changes to front cover and DPS: Slide 14-15
Unit 14 Witness Statement: Slide 16
Conclusion: Slide 17
3. Final Front CoverMasthead: Beats. Checkout
the reasons behind the
chosen magazine name in
Unit 13/ LO3
Date of issue: January 2015
Strapline: “Discover Your BEAT!” Check
out the full connotations behind the
strapline in the Unit 13/LO2.
Cover Lines: They are used to tell
the reader what’s inside the
magazine i.e. Content/information
about artists or bands for example
in my magazine front cover I have
“Kings Of Leon Reveal ALL!”,
“Check out Royal Bloods New
Album!”, “Ben Howard on Tour
April 2015” and “4 free posters
from George Ezra, Artic Monkeys,
Kings Of Leon and Jake Bugg”.
Puff Promotion = They are techniques that
magazines use to increase their target
audience and magazine sales/circulation.
They can be features like free
gifts/merchandise/posters or competitions
to win prizes like mobile phones or
tablets/ holidays/cash prize. For the first
issue of BEATS, I have decided to include a
competition to “Win 2 free tickets to V
Fest 2015”.
Main Image: George Ezra
Price: £2.50
Main Headline: To make the reader
aware of the most popular/important
article/interview/story within that issue.
I have included the word “EXCLUSIVE” to
make the reader automatically check out
and read that particular interview that
they are raving about!
Barcode= They are a legal requirements
and they are for retailers use only.
Social Media and publisher logo’s = to let readers aware
that they can follow the magazine on magazine platforms.
4. Final Double Page Spread
Main Heading: George Ezra@ BEATS Music Magazine
Brand
Logo/Masthead =
It is presented on
the top left corner
of the DPS.
Names of people
involved =
Editor
Photographer
Stylist
Stand first and drop
capital
Main body of
interview
Pull Quote = To zoom
in on an important part
of the interview.
Main image = to add
some visual effects,
to make the
interview more
exciting and easy to
read as it has been
broken up with
images.
Image and
description
Page numbers =
To give the magazine order and
professional looks. This would link
to the contents page of the mag.
Social media links: So
that readers are able to
follow George Ezra
footsteps through
online platforms.
Key facts about George box
To make it more interesting
for the reader and to use up
to empty space that would
have been there if I didn’t
put some content there.
5. Deadlines
During the whole production process of BEATS! Magazine, it has been a very successful journey. Although in
some parts it has been very stressful for example trying to get in touch with people to organise to take the
photographs, the whole post production stage of trying to get the magazine pages above all perfect and
professional.
In this section I will be discussing what software I used to create the pages and why and also the tools
within the software I used an why.
6. Post-Production skills
What software have you used and Why?
To be able to produce my magazine pages in a professional and structured way , I used Adobe Photoshop CS5.
Photoshop has many different tools and features, which will allow me to create my pages to look exactly or
even better than my hand drawn drafts. I have also decided to use Photoshop due to the fact that I am familiar
with it when editing photographs with it.
What tools/features were used in the production of EACH Page? WHY? WHERE exactly? WHAT value has it
added to the overall quality of the page(s)?
Free Transform tool: I have used the free transform tool to adjust the size of any shape or object on my front
cover and DPS for example the black shape behind my masthead, black shape behind the puff promotion. This
tool has also allowed me to rotate shapes and other objects on my front cover and DPS.
Pen Tool: I used the pen tool to create the text columns on my DPS, which wrapped around text such as the
drop capital, stand first, pull quote and images on my DPS. The pen tool has also allowed me to create columns
the same size and equal length and distance apart. Overall the pen tool has been a great tool to use to make
my DPS look professional on the page.
Refine Edge: I used the refine edge tool to pick up on any sections of the main image, which I had missed out
for example smaller strands of hair. By using the refine edge I was able to make a much neater selection of the
image.
7. Post-Production skills (Continued)
Spot Healing tool: I used the spot healing tool for when I wanted to
erase any facial hair and spots on the face that was not necessary
needed for the George Ezra look alike.
Eye Dropper: I used the eye dropper tool to select the colors for
different parts of my masthead and other areas of the front cover. By
using the eye dropper tool I was able to select the desired colors
from the color pallet or another feature with the same colour. This
tool also allowed me to keep the colour scheme the same
throughout.
Swatches Panel: I used the swatches panel to save the colours at the
beginning of the production stage to use at a later stage of when I
was producing the actual magazine page, so I could quickly and
effectively select the colour needed for that feature. Overall the
swatches panel has allowed me to keep my colour consistent
throughout the magazine editing stage.
8. Safe working practices
Why it was important to crop and
remove unwanted areas from the
image?
It is extremely important that I crop my
images before I placed them onto my
front cover and DPS. This is because
there was parts of the images that
were very irrelevant to the kind of
images I wanted to present on my front
cover and DPS. There was also very
limited space within the required front
cover and DPS, so if I didn’t crop my
images then they would be too large
for the desired space.
Why is it important to use the pen tool?
It was extremely important when using the
pen tool when I was creating my text columns
so that I could wrap the text columns around
features like the drop capital, stand first, pull
quote, which you can see in the screen shot
below.
Why is it important to change the brightness and
contrast and also bringing out the details?
It is important that I changed the brightness and
contrast of the images used in my front cover and DPS
because the original images I had taken were quite
plain and sutle and they needed to be more visible,
sharper, clearer and more detailed to give the
impression that it was more professional.
9. Safe working practices (Continued)
Grouping the Layers
It is extremely important to group my layers to keep the structure and order of all the different features
in their own separate folders. This is also means that when someone else in the editing team comes to
continue working on it they can easily find what they are looking for more efficiently.
Proof reading (hyphenated text)
Its important to always proof read the text which I have written myself to make sure that it is appropriate to
publish and concise and not breaking the editors code of practice. Proof reading the text will ensure that the
journalism I publish is appropriate to the reader and also to the main bands and artist that I write about. If I did
not proof read my work, there would be a big possibility that I would be discriminating or giving false information
about the reader or artists/bands involved.
Ruler tool
It is extremely important that I use the ruler tool to create the structure for both my front
cover and DPS. The ruler tool allows me to set the correct dimensions for features within
the front cover and DPS such as the Masthead, main image, text columns and quotes. The
ruler tool also allows you accurately set the gaps between each feature. If I did not use
the ruler tool the pages would look unprofessional and messy as the features would be of
different sizes and not in line.
10. Colours
To maintain a continuous colour scheme I saved each colour I planned to used in my magazine pages in the
swatches panel by using the eye dropper tool to select the colour, which meant that when I selected the eye
dropper tool I was able to select the colour that I had previously saved in the panel. This also meant I didn’t have
to search for the colour every time I needed a new one and helped to maintain my house style.
How to create a swatch
1.Select the layer you wish to change the colour of in the
example I had chosen a cover line.
2.I highlighted the text and presented the text
option.
3. Open the colour pallet
and click to add to
swatches.
4. Next rename the swatch for example I
called my Cover Line 1
11. Font(s)
What was the website used to gather the font
needed?
To be able to create my masthead font style, I used a website called
dafont.com to gather ideas and also download fonts to see which one I
preferred for my final masthead idea.
Were you inspired to use this from other magazines?
I was inspired by NME’s masthead Sans serif font style because they
seem to portray a very strong , professional , structured and indie rock
feel through their masthead even through they use a very basic and
bold font style
12. Pitch Feedback- Witness Statement
Above is my witness statement, which the document used by the publisher “Mr. Crafts”, to assess my
performance on the day of my pitch. There is an opportunity where he has to tick off the checklist to see if I
have met the criteria and to write down what went well and what would be even better if?
13. Pitch Feedback- Witness Statement
From the witness statement. He has told that my Facebook page I created for
BEATS magazine was the most strongest are of production that he thought
was a really great aspect of the whole production.
However he told me that I needed to relax and be confident, avoid using the
word “Stuff” and instead use more professional media language. I also need
to amend the marketing costs on my budget plan and also when talking
about socio economic needs, I need to use terminology like “the
stereotypes”.
On my front cover, I need to reduce the stoke effect around the barcode,
make the promotion smaller so that it is not clashing with the Guitar and
finally I need to change the font styles for the cover lines and main headline
as they are not suitable
On my Double Page Spread, I need have more key facts, make my columns
more in line and straight using the pen tool and finally change the colour of
the blue line stoke effect around the pull quote to more respectable and
relatable colour i.e. black, red and white (Brand identity).
14. Changes made to the post- production work
I have made lots changes to my first draft of my front cover to make it more realistic and like a real magazine that
you buy from a retailer such as WH Smith. I have changed the puff promotion in the corner to a round circle
instead of a rectangle squashed right into the corner, I have also changed the font style and colours of the cover
lines and main headlines
First Second Final Version
15. I have made changes to the double page spread interview because it was looking abit plain and ordinary. I needed
to add some well known magazine denotations such as Drop capital, stand first, image descriptions, page
numbers, social media links, pull quote, bigger main heading, people names that were involved and Key facts box.
16. Witness Statement
This is the witness statement that in order for me to complete this Unit, I have to sign my name to declare that it was all
my own work. To see the witness statement enlarged, then please check out Unit 14 LO4 on my blog page.
17. Conclusion
In this section, I have been able to show and give evidence of how to edit a final print based media product for
instance my new music magazine called BEATS.
I have included my final versions of my front cover and DPS for BEATS first issue, whether or not I met all
planned deadlines, post production skills, safe working practices, fonts, colours and a step by step guide on
how I created the pages including the tools that I have used and the changes I have made according to
feedback given.
