The document provides information about creating a magazine cover and contents page for a college magazine using Adobe Photoshop and InDesign. It discusses using various tools in Photoshop like brightness/contrast, spot healing tool, and drop shadow to manipulate images and create the magazine cover design. It also discusses placing the cover and images in InDesign and using tools like drop shadow and shape tools to lay out the contents page. The document outlines the key design elements used on the cover and contents page and how the software programs were utilized to construct the media product.

1. AS Media Preliminary Task
Create a Front Cover and
Contents page for a College
magazine.
Evaluation

2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Flash
Masthead
Date Line
Cover Lines
Main Image, following
rule of thirds
Main Cover Line
Footer
Insert

3. How is your media product different to real media
products?
On my magazine cover, I used drop
shadow on all the text to make it
stand out from the main image.
This is an effect that is not seen on
real magazines. I have also used a
broader colour scheme and than
what is normally used on real
covers. The use of orange and
yellow is for enticing the audience
to look at these features on the
cover. However the white, purple
and green are the initial colour
scheme.

4. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Title, matching the
masthead on the
cover.
Date/Issue
Main Image
Description for
Main Image
Sub-headings for
contents
Contents list
Features in this
Features magazine are
indicated by a
heart.

5. How is your media product different to real media
products?
My contents page has two
images on it as I added an
insert to emphasise the
‘Student Council’ page. My
contents are also separated
into 2 categories: ‘Main
Features’ and ‘Every Month’.
This is not a very popular
layout amongst real
magazines but I used it
because it makes the main
stories/features look more
important and worth reading.

6. What have you learnt about the technologies from the
process of constructing this product?
I used a digital camera to take my photos for my magazine. When using the camera, I
experimented with angles and backgrounds to produce an interesting set of photos. I
kept in mind the rule of thirds to make my photos look professional.
To manipulate images and create my magazine cover, I used Adobe Photoshop. I learnt
how to use the different tools to make the images look professional, neat and
appealing to the audience. I then used the text tool, auto shapes and blending options
to create the features on the cover.
Then, to create my contents page, I used the desktop publishing programme, Adobe
InDesign. I placed my cover onto one page and completed my contents on the other
by placing in my manipulated images and using the tools available on the programme.
Finally I uploaded my work onto this blog. I learnt how to create posts on an account
on blogger.com and I created an account on slideshare.net to upload my PowerPoints.
To upload my drafts completed on Word, I converted the documents into PDFs and
then into JPEGs.
I used a scanner to upload my hand-drawn draft of my magazine cover. This was then
manipulated to make the pencil lines more clear. I did this by uploading the scan of my
draft onto Photoshop and altering brightness and contrast. It was then uploaded to
the blog.

7. How I used Adobe Photoshop to create my magazine
cover
Firstly I manipulated my original
image using tools such as brightness
and contrast, spot healing tool, burn
and dodge tool and blur tool. I then
created the masthead using auto
shapes and the text tool. To make the
text in the masthead more eye-
catching, I added a drop shadow to
make it stand out against the purple
and green and to make it look less
flat. I also added drop shadow to the
rest of the text on the cover except
for the flash to make it clear to read
against the main image. The insert
was also manipulated in Photoshop
and is used to emphasise the article
on University.

8. How I used Adobe InDesign to create my contents page.
Before using InDesign, I manipulated
the photos on Photoshop so that they
looked bright and professional. Then, I
placed my completed front cover onto
page 1 and started creating my
contents on page 2. I used the shape
tools to add the banner for the title
and for the boxes behind the contents.
I used drop shadow effect on the word
‘Contents’ to make it bolder and less
flat. I cropped and resized the images
to make them fit so that all the boxes
and images were in line with equal
spaces.