Constructing my Double Page Spread - Part 2

I was overwhelmed at how a minority of my time had been consumed creating this double page spread as opposed to the one present for my main ancilary task for the A2 brief I completed over the course of this year, I feel this is due to the notion that my construction and editing skills have improved dramatically since I first started the media subject and with a deep insight into what the best conventions, editing, and strategies to employ to make it an efficient process. In these stages my main concern was to include the remainder of the text body for my centre article and to adjust the position of particular areas (such as the celebrity question box that was to be included) so that the feature flowed smoothly without any overlap or disjointness in the positioning of each component of text.

During my peer feedback, it was brought to attention and identified that my headline for the feature itself lacked emphasis due to its sizing which overall effected its appearance on the page. My lecturer had commented that unless it was enlarged further then it would lack specifically in gauging the audience's immediate line of interest, it needed to have an instant impact, to grip and excite them so they can visualise anticipating something amazing from the content of my article. To derive this incentive, I highlighted the headline with the cursor tool and selected the sizing option from the text toolbar on the upper left hand corner of the Photoshop software. Once the drop down menu was offered to me I manually typed in 170pt, to which the letters sizes were increased instantly to. In contrast to how they had been personified before I noticed an new, different impact to the words on the spread, from a distance I referred to how my line of sight was critically gauged with the headline, due to the bold, bright use of the colour blue and the position it occupied on the page at the centre, it was hard not to be directed towards it. Furthermore now it had been enhanced to a larger capacity, all of these positives I described before hand were emphasised as it now held dominance over all other conventions on the document.

The key issue my lecturer had identified to me personally during the feedback of the proposed improvements to my existing spread concerned the employment of the 'King of the Hill 2' text style as the main title for the article. She regarded it came across to her as 'childish' in personification and that it was more suited to appear in a children's publication or a music magazine for younger audiences (11-16)  due to its vibrant, bubbly and jokey exterior which is associated more with the upbeat 'skater' culture of todays youth. With my rationale detailing how I intend to attract readers from the age of 18-25, this would not comply efficiently with the mature theme running through the pages, where I had planned on using sleek, bold, almost elegant font to reflect this developed sense of cognitive functioning of the older audience's. Instead she considered altering it so it had a sophisticated yet classy look about it which would be deemed as more appropriate for an adult written publication. I took her advice in my stride and began looking through the website 'Dafont' again to see if I could gain any inspiration over a new style I could potentially incorporate as a replacement for my previous choice. Whilst causally browsing I came across an older Serif Sans font that was in the same style as the typical 'Q' magazine text mode of operation - the letters themselves came across as bold yet simplistic in the fashion they came across as, almost to the liking of a basic 'Times New Roman'. I had my concerns that it would personify as 'boring' and lacking in any dramatic emphasis that would generally attract a reader to a product, to overcome this fear I swapped the primary 'King of The Hill 2' with the Serif Sans to see how they compared. With me now having stated my lecturers idea, I was impressed with how the text now came across to me visually as in contrast to previously with this new style incorporated. It had just as much of an emphatic quality as the 'King Of the Hill 2' in relation to how bold and noticeable it was on the page, it was hard to easily overlook nd I held no concerns for its impact towards the audience. However the most main difference was the sophistication and elegance of the wording itself, as they clearly demonstrated to me a more adult intended reading audience in regards to the 'King of the Kill 2' which bold and brassy composure came across as more of a children to teenager readers then older. I'm pleased I took on board the advice given to me over this foundation as it has allowed me to improve the appearance of my double page spread, to me it now looks to engage my desired target audience (18-25) rather then the total opposite of what I had designated.

During this time frame I managed to complete the finished draft of my article, so I now had the option to copy and paste it into the Indesign programme to correctly position it on my spread. I realised instantly that in order for me to occupy the full two pages, the text would need to be contorted and reduced in size as otherwise it would simply flow off the document which would render the feature useless if some of the vital information had been bypased. I dealt with this error by manipulating the sizing of the font so it was altered to a smaller but more suitable 9pt, using this method allowed me to include all of the article over the course of the spread with no overlap. I perfected the structure by separating the paragraphs containing each question and response from the following quieries as I wanted a neat and fluid presentation of the words, without this the spread would be less concise as all of the interview would be squashed together, making individual questions hard to distinguish and alluding a messy feel which could potentially deter the reader from engaging with the feature. The main questions were reinforced with a jet black bold overtone I accessed from the text styles as this further acted as a mode to illustrate that the questions and answers are not to be confused with one another as they are directly from two unique perceptions of people, however were still connected as they were placed underneath/above each other so that continuity can be identified.  On a final note I began to add in the celebrity viewpoints where they would be questioning the male artist about a topi of their choice, this was kept to the same 'Time New Romans' font for conventionilism in the publication. Once added I realised I would have to play around with the location of the celebrity images and their accompanying speech as it was too close to the feature article which I assumed may establish conflict over which is the most critical piece to read.

My only alteration allocated here concerned the alignment of the text bodies on either side of the page, for them to co--operate effectively and to not appear disjointed in that respect (if one finished earlier then the other so as the main body of words on a single page was longer then the other etc), this required for me to tweak the feature itself by removing unecessary language, words and limiting the length of responses so in the end result the text was in equal perspective of one another. The use of the ruler tool from the view finder aided me in achieving this particular line up, by drawing illuminous green line across the bottom of the page so as to give me a visual vantage point as to where to correctly allocate the text so they were parallel with one another.

After printing out a preliminary copy of what my double page appeared like in a authentic A4 fashion, I realised there was many spelling, grammatical and editing imperfections present on the document that I had previously overlooked before. This is not as much of a human error but more a technological as the programme 'Indesgin' does not automatically notify you of literature mistakes when they are placed onto the spread in use. These criteria of issues could be fatal if left undetected as a written media products professionalism can be undermined as it is a common notion to think of how exactly these inconsistencies could slip through the net. The audience then may regard the production as naive with the thought the editors are truly not concerned with how their products are displayed across to their audiences, in that respect the readers may treat this rather superficially regarding that they shouldn't make any effort with buying the magazine if no consideration has been made to entice or excite them. With this a detrimental problem I certainitly didn't want to arise I spent then proceeding half an hour correcting these errors before they could have an overwhelmingly negative impact on the emotive response to my feature itself.

Now that I am coming to the conclusion of the development of my double page spread, it was necessary for me to now correct the final issues arising on the document in hopes to improve the overall portrayal of my article. I stated a few steps back that I was involved in an inconsistency revolving around the positioning of the celebrity photographs and their accompanying questions for my artist. before they were in too close of a proximity to the main body of text detailing information from my male musician, this was catastrophic as they were on the verge of overlapping each other which I could not have as the audience critically had to differentiate that they were two unique pieces of the feature, that yes were in continuity to one another but didn't match up to exactly the dame topic (i.e they weren't about my writer interviewing the artists, instead a famous composer was). I used the ruler tool once more to include a vertical line down the right hand page where the celebrity pieces were displayed, this would allow me to note how far away they had to be from the crease line of the page so they did not conflict with it but also to present me with their original location, so I could move them down in their original positions, as if I altered the placement entirely it could cause a discontinuous prose on the placement of the text as they may not be vertically consistent with another another, hopefully the ruler tool would help prevent this. I began by highlighting both of the text layers in the 'layers' tool bar which is situated in a drop down box on the top right hand side of the page, then using the arrow keys proceeded to move them downwards so there was a small but reasonable gap between them and the text of the feature piece. I was enthusiastic with how it now displayed as I myself could identify the words were not part of the same article but were related in discussion as with how tiny the spacementt was. However I was now left with the issue that there was a large gap at the bottom of the document, this would have caused me distress if I had no planned ahead, to which I had already concluded I would be employing the use of a sell line that would promote the artists career further. Underneath the last celebrity question and answer styled interview, I inserted a two line piece of text that gave details of the artists latest festival appearances and the release of his new album, this would aid in promoting him as an upcoming sensation to the audience, with this information in their domain I hope it would persuade them to purchase 'his music' and continue the success of my magazine, as if he knows he is getting sales from being interviewed by me then its more then likely I could request him on multiple occassions for an interview.

Constructing my Contents Page - Part 5

As the development of my contents page was now nearing its end, it became officially vital that I needed to correct any minor flaws in the product and adjust some of the conventions slightly so they perfectly performed on the document. What I mean by this is that I had to tweak existing imperfections (such as positioning of text, size of images) and include some of the suggestions I was given by my peers and college lecturer in the most recent review I conducted. These applications are necessary as essentially it is my peers who are acting as the target audience, therefore if they notice something incorrect or aren't pleased by the presence of a specific element (maybe for example there is not enough features scatter around) then it will be my duty to adhere to their advice to improve the quality of the contents.

With my second peer review now having took place, it had been made blantly obvious to me that it was going to be extremely necessary to increase the size of the main female models photograph, this was due to my lecturers desire to hide the white vacant space above the image as she found this an unsettling aspect to my document, with the notion it appeared too empty and therefore not appealing enough to her as a reader. With this in mind I selected the targeted photo with the cursor tool and by using the directional arrows provided, I stretched it out in a diagonal fashion to avoid incurring any unwanted pixillation defects. It wasn't overly enhanced so that it displayed as vastly large, however it had been improved in the sense that most of that white backdrop had been covered. Now that this action had been completed, I can see where my lecturer was coming from as the page now looks more attractive and informative then what it previously had been stated, there seems to be more going on in the document and it appears more tightly compacted with appealing features then before when it seemed there was a hugely avant area. With one issue now firmly dealt with I began including additional conventions to the page to increase its appeal further, one technique was adding a second red rectangle box besides the page number for the female artists interview that contained her name and a byline to provide details surrounding her story. A red background and white font was employed respetively onto the shape and text to reinforce the contuity displayed between all of the elements as I was determined to make my readers recgonise all correlated effectively together and were uniform to the same product The name of the artist was chosen at random out of a 'fake' list I had composed, most importantly I spaced the individual letters of the byline out via the kerning tool as to the idea most of the red space would have to be occupied, if no it would cause the same empty feeling I have previously described which undermines the intriguing nature of the feature.

My next stage required me to fulfil the final suggestion obtained from my peers in the review that revolved around their desire for an extra article included in the small gap between the feature stories, this was to remove the blank area on display and to cram as much information as possible into a contorted space to create the illusion my product is bursting with information which will visually entrance and excite my audience members. As I had already detailed information about the band "Fleet Foxes' on the cover, to me this was an excellent method of recycling as the readers could make the link between the cover and contents in providing information, this way it wouldn't be disheartening to them for instance if I didn't include this story as this would be advertising false information which could potentially cause the buyers to put the publication back if there was some deceit in the content. As seen in the entire of the features panel, I re-incorporated the same shape and colour scheme to detail the fleet foxes piece with the 'Bebas Nevau' and 'Time New Roman' styles used for the texts to ultimately reinforce the continuity even further in the document.

Referring back to a concept I witnessed in the Q magazine, I noticed in a specific product that on their contents page they had drawn lines via a shape tool out of the sides of their contents title, this was a very unusual, unconventional editorial technique I had not seen in any other publications before. Yet I was immeditelly captivated by it due to that uniqueness, because I haven't had any previous knowledge of it, the use of the lines created a mysterious edge as I wanted to know what they were essentially being used for an why the editors had chosen to place them there. The enigma that personified itself here was something I aimed to replicate in 'Void', I feel if I can create enough provoked appeal and curiosity out of my magazine then hopefully this would be a major selling point for it as it would engage with the primeval knowing nature we all feel as humans. So in context I decided to  include what I saw, by drawing in two lines on each side of the title respecively. I used the duplicate option, provided when I right clicked the shape layer, to make copies of the individual lines, this way I knew they were of the same width and consistency so as not to look out of place if I draw them again as its plausible they would all be varying lengths.

The positioning of the lines besides the contents title were perfected through the use of the ruler tool which I engaged the use of through the view finder on the main tool bar at the top of the Photoshop document. This allowed me ti draw see-through green lines across the page so I could accurately detail where an individual line started and ended, giving me the advantage to place them in equal distance and proportion from one another. I was disheartened with the setting my female artists text was situated at, I felt it lacked emphasis, didn't appear concise with the other headings and most of all didn't sit right - it had an uncanny, disjointed feel in my own personal perception. To combat this I experimented with the layout slightly so the words were moved entirely to the left of the box, hereby doing this it came across to me as if the text was flowing across the shape which illustrated the concept that the artist herself is on the 'edge' with the placement of her feature being quirky in nature, it highlighted this struggle within her personality most efficiently.

Including a bar code onto the front cover of my magazine

Probably the most simple yet effective convention of any music magazine, or in fact any written media product in the retail environment is the presence of the barcode on the front cover of that said publication. Not only is it an necessary aspect that needs to be included for the publication to be distributed nationally due to legality and selling issues, but it also forms the foundations of allowing the audience to easily identify where the price and essential information (such as the issue number) are included. In terms of the 'Semiotics' theory, bar codes act as a symbol with a decoded meaning that must be deciphered by us indivudals if we are to fully understand its intentions, in this scenario this sign comes across almost as a locator point to give us the access to pinpoint exactly where we will find particular facts about pricing etc. As audience members we have learned to associate this sigma with the thought of money, so in order to successfully sell my product, the bar code must critically be inserted to provide the readers with the details they desire.

Taking what I said into context, you can efficiently locate the barcode on this issue of Q magazine, it is displayed in the bottom left hand corner and as predicted all the essential information is included above the code itself. It can also be noted that the sign is surrounded in a white background, this makes it easily noticeable against the other conventions present and the bright backdrop of the artists auburn hair, so the audience can essentially zone in on it in a more accessible fashion.

With what I have witnessed in consideration I began the process of including a barcode on my cover by searching in Google Images for an appropriate photo to use. I had to be careful so as not to choose any pixillated or blurry scans as this could potentially effect the quality of my product which could be detrimental as the audience may perceive it as 'unrealistic' or 'tacky' looking. Once I had selected one that fitted my requirements nicely I saved it to my desktop to prepare for the next stage in the development.

From my desktop I dragged in the image of the barcode I had obtained into the Photoshop document itself, which I then proceeded to place in the right hand corner of the page. I felt this was the most appropriate place to position it, as I have typically witnessed most mainstream magazines tend to include theres in the bottom or corners of their own covers (you can see my view point when looking at the 'Muse' cover displayed opposite my own product where the barcode is essentially highlighted against the dark background with its white interior at the bottom left of the document). This justifies the sense that it won't be conflicting with the more major conventions (such as text and images) and draw attention away from them, yet is still on a reasonable display that the audience will be able to distinguish it despite the competition occurring around its presence. On a final note I reduced the sizing of the barcode, this was due to it lacking in the same importance as my other conventions and would give me the opportunity to focus occupying more of the layout with vital selling aspects, but it was still easily located and spotted on the cover.

As my conventions were constantly changing due to me being unsatisfied with how they appeared and with the addition of the peer feedback I was receiving now on a regular basis, it ended up with me having to rotate the barcode to a vertical fashion so it could still occupy the space it had previously, and hence still be seen, but also so it could give me access to enlarge the image of my model so he was more dominant on the cover as ultimately he is the essential focal point of my magazine to gauge audience approval and to generate sales of the production. Currently this is how my cover stands in relation to the location of the barcode, I am content with its location and have no underlying concerns as of yet, despite this it is still subject to change so nothing is set in stone.

Progress Update 2

Time Management - Update 5

Peer Review for my Contents Page 2

With certain elements and conditions haven been included into the layout of my contents page, I felt his was the appropriate moment to gain the views from my potential audience members in another peer review in class, this would help me determine whether I was progressing well and to see if any ideas can be developed upon further. Since the previous feedback session I have covered up the empty white space in the bottom right hand corner with a photograph of my male model, so I am hopeful this is an area my peers will be able to identify when the give their personal critique to me.

My first indication was to show one of my friendly classmates the contents page and question them for their advice over what I had produced so far in the construction of this task, I needed to ensure my contents was appearing up to industry standard and that some of the flaws seen last time had hopefully been corrected. I asked the same peer who submitted their views previously to offer their insight once more, I felt this would be the most beneficial technique for me as out of everyone on my course they would be able to most distinguish if these faults have been corrected as they were the one who had brought them to my immediate attention in the first place. As per the normal standard he began by explaining the positive elements to my production. He was most enthusiastic I had gotton around to covering up the vast, empty space in the right hand corner of the piece besides the 'Subscibe' section as he had felt this would make my page look boring and unappealing to him as an audience member - he regarded it as such as he felt there was not enough essential information scattered about to provoke his instant line of sight. With that space now occupied he felt sated, he additionally commented on the humour employed here as he thought it was amusing to use one of the artists mockingly reading the 'Q' magazine, this perceived across to him my product was better so more worth the purchase. However to him this was the only major change he could currently identify and he implied more changes need to ultimately be set in stone for this page to develop further. Once recommendation he could make regarded the 'Features' section, he queried whether it would be possible for me to include another additional article, not only would this make it more attractive but it would help to lose the small gap between the two stories. This space he described as being off putting as if there were no major features at all hence my production would be lacking in them. Finally he added I should maybe consider placing the name of the female artist besides the page number as he didn't understand the concept of her being there without an appropriate sell line - yes he could reference she was on that page number, however there was no brief over what the content would contain about her as there was essentially no preview to this.

The last person who's verdict was critical to gain was that of my college lecturer, she was effectively the indiviual opinion that I desperately needed, with her marking my work she would be able to identify more accurately even the slightest of errors that my other peers may overlook or not pick up on. This would benefit me highly as the review of my product would be the most accurate it could be therefore it will be perceived to be of a more professional standard. Her first comment was quite blunt and forward as she explained that in her insight there was no drastic differences over the contents page to what she had seen when I previously presented it to her, the only alteration she could distinguish was the use of the image in the bottom right hand corner to re-illustrate the connection between it and the 'Subcribe' heading, other then that she could not identify anything else. She was very insistent in referring back to the main image of the female model as that was the concern she wanted me to deal with as a primary motivation, she was persuaded that the top of the page would look less empty in her eyes if the photo was enlarged slightly more so it was in a closer vicinity to the contents title. If she was browsing through this magazine she said explained she would be less concerned to purchase it if there was a large void between the conventions, to her it made it look less informative as a music informative production, in the notion that there doesn't seem many stories to sell and so forth. This co-insides perfectly with her last criticisms of adding in an extra feature cover story in between the two that were already on display in the top left hand column, she referenced back to what she had said previously to me about not approving of the small space between articles as this could essentially be filled to make the document more thrilling and exciting to the eye. Without this she describes my product as lacking a necessary visual impact that is vital to sell a publication of this category.

In conclusion to the feedback I have just gained I feel compared to the last review I really need to take into consideration what has been recommended to me as the most appropriate course of action, previously I had disregarded enlarging the female models image or including a smaller more concise article in the features box as I was content with how my page was developing. Now that it has been drilled into me on two separate occasions these alterations must be made for my contents to succeed, I need to reinstate what was suggested and employ it into my final production stages, as ultimately it will be people like my peers purchasing the magazine so their perceptions are the most critical after all.

Second Draft of my Double Page Spread article

With the problem arising of me having to alter the content of my article due to the main image being replaced from a female to a male, I had to re-address and completely develop an entirely new feature piece from scratch as the storyline seen before would not compute well for a male, in terms what would be perceived of his lifestyle and line of work (in this case the songs he produces). I kept to the same format of having a question and answer styled interview as it seemed more beneficial to me to use an already existing template to use for formatting my new cover story. However I decided on this attempt I would include some additional elements as I had discovered through my background research I had bypassed a few conventions that would be typically seen in a double page spread, in my opinion I could potentially improve the performance of my piece if these were included. For this text I added a kicker and two questions from celebrity singers in the alternative rock/ indie genre, not only as a major difference from my original article, but an attempt to increase the visual appeal further of my main feature, as the more attractive it appeared then the greater chance the audience would be intrigued to continue reading. Seen below is the second draft of the story with all the changes identifiable in what I have produced, before it can be fully submitted into my final task I feel it will be essential to gain the opinion of my lecturer first, this will ensure there are no errors I may have overlooked and to help identify any improvements that can be potentially be made to enhance the quality of the text.

Why is it that Cypher Lewins is afraid of ‘chicks?’ Why

did he mend the ties with his old pal Simon Cowell? And

what in god’s name is going on with his hair style? Sven

Davies puts musicians and our good old publics question

to our lord mighty graciousness

his piece speaks pretty much speaks for itself really. Or rather he does. Cypher Lewins has done it all.Conquered the charts, dominated the festivals (sorry Coldplay but THIS gentleman put you to shame!) and has the likes of Lana Del Rey bowing at his feet. Lucky guy. Despite only going viral wordlwide last year with his explosive debut album ‘Sirens’,which was number one for two months running I may add, he has been coined as the ‘new’ Noel Gallagher what with his sassy attitude and no shit nonsense he is gradually taken the god form from our old man. Yet that one small question remains. Who is the REAL Cypher Lewins? I was fortunate enough to diverge with his majesty during a break in his muli million pound world tour ‘Lights’ to answer the questions you our mighty readers composed of all the nitty gritty details you’s want answered. Not only that but it seems the celebrities are just as intrigued by his presence as a few shortlisted their personal enquiries to Cyrus. Hold on boys, this is gonna be a bumpy ride...

Nice ones first agreed?

Go for it

Have you ever been nervous performing since your success?

Fxcking terrified does not cover it, I mean seriously man the lights, camera, action thing it aint my things, sometimes I actually wonder yanno why I released that video? I am like the most introverted person ever on screen so when people can see my bulge? Bad crack. And the chicks? Don’t get me started, I’ve had flocks of them stalking me, heck once tried to break into my tour bus. That was not a happy moment.

Whats your wildest memory since your sky rocket to fame?

So I’m sitting in Mahiki,chilling, shotting on my own and this guy taps me on my shoulder and I’m like what the fxck.I turn round expecting some savvy record producer and there’s freaking Robbie Williams standing behind me offering me a free drink! I mean hey this guy aint gonna say no, so we spent the rest of the night bleeding the bar out, playing pool and rolling in trash cans at two in the morning.

Cypher we all want to know your hair secrets just how do you create your famous quiff?

(laughs) Now I wouldn’t want to be giving away my deepest darkest secret would I! Its all in the genes man runs in the famly you see, that and a little blow dry, straighten and gel wouldn’t go amiss

So what, hang on, you really strighten you hair?

Every guy should own a pair of GHD’s its in the ‘How to be a fxcking man’ rule book

We all know the gossip about yur famous despute with Simon Cowell, but tell me what was the real reason behind it?

Look I aint got any problems with the bloke, he’s a cool guy and I admire him for all the hard work hes put in over the years and the shit he’s been through - after all he was the one who originally gave me my contract in the first place, so I do have my due respects. However I wasn’t going to stand for all that bullshit his company (Syco) put me through. Just between you and me, they threatened to axe me if i didn’t sing this crazy song for them and put it this way, it wasn’t my style. I don’t conform to some crap people have produced for me, I’m in this buisness to work my way to the top not to be mollycoddled the entire journey. So I told them to stuff it, ripped my contract and fxcked off. Simon admitted he was in the wrong a few weeks later. Were cool now.

Where did you get yout sassy fashion sense from? Its not often we see you without your signature pair of trainers and coat

What can I say its all in the genes guys (laughs). In all seriousness I take pride in my appearance, I mean it wouldn’t be right to step out of my house looking like a fxcking hobo would it? Heck sometimes I care more about my clothes then paying my finances (he wasn’t joking on this one) Not very long ago I was approached by Empireo Armani (the clothing brand) to model for thei latest wear of trashy jeans, I’m sorry but Armani? My nan wears better then that shit! So I told them to go and fxck themselves basically.

A little birdy told me you had a recent stint in rehab,

Everyone has some shit going on in their lives, we fight, we cope, we recover but sometimes even I have to accept things can get a bit too tough to handle. I won’t go into the details but I’m glad it happened, its truly helped me to see what a greater person I can become out of all this. We shouldn’t be defined

by our fxcking problems.

The female boss Skylar Greyson flew in from LA to ask Cyrus her own personal question and believe us it was an explosive one..

I heard you are headlining Leeds this year? If so we may be performing together what do you think? (wink)

Well Miss curoisty killed the fxcking cat I may be, I may be not... Lets hope or your sake we are because we will make a mean live couple. No regrets ey?

Retro junkie Karma Van Herman spoke to Cypher via a live video link as he was desperate for his question to be fufilled...

You kid are crazier then Mr Gallagher himself and beleve me I’ve known that guy for years! How true is the rumor of getting thrown out of the X Factor studio for being high?

Erm maybe this isn’t the best one to answer my old man haha..

Cypher Lewins album ‘Lights’ is available on sale now in all major retail stores. Tickets to see him headlining VFest and Leeds Festival this year can be puchased online or from all ticket offices on Friday 21st.

Editing my Double Page Spread Images - Part 1

Before any of the chosen images could be placed onto the double page spread they needed to be edited in such a manner to improve the initial quality and appearance of how they would display on the document. Editing them would allow me to manipulate the photos in a precise method so certain elements of the body or face could be brought out more effectively to the line of sight if my readers to make them more appealing and intriguing. Not only this but they would ultimately turn out more professional and authentic looking rather then as if they were shot by a college student.

To begin this important process of change, I uploaded onto a blank A4 Photoshop document one of the chosen images to use upon my double page spread that I had decided would be co-operate with the style of article I am intending to create. This photo was imported from the programme Iphoto where it had been in storage since exported from the main LSD camera hardware. Editing the photograph would be fairly straightforward since I had already conducted this method previously with the majority of my other images on various pages. I clicked on the adjustments option that was located on the image tool bar on the right hand side of the document, I then selected the "Levels" preset which dropped down a menu of different editing styles I could employ onto the photo itself to change its consistency/hue/saturation etc.

The primary alterations I stated first was the 'Darker' tone, as what I have witnessed in previous editing trials this has not significantly demonstrated any noticeable differences in the palette of the photo, in fact the only slight manipulation can be seen around the shadows or darker clothing of the models, this setting only focuses upon the already present black scheme and does not offer any benefits to other colours. Once I demonstrated its use on the document, as I predicted this option had only enhanced the black of his jeans whilst ignoring the other palettes, this is not what I desire as I want a complete swap in all of the colours present on the male model, what I mean by this is that I want all of the scheme to be enhanced in some respects not just one part of it (such as his body over his face) as I wanted the reader to notice his entire frame and not one particular aspect of it.) For this reason alone I am vehement on discarding this style from the possibilities of me using as it would not benefit me or my magazine in any respects.

I stepped up the darkness presets by reverting to the 'Midtones Darker' option that the 'Levels' tool offered me. I had used this specific style on the main cover image to see how it would perceive with this change stated into it, that time in particular my experimentation had failed as it had not significantly highlighted the darker areas of the model as I had hoped it may. Unfortunately this was the same circumstance I was encountering again for the editing of my contents photgph. Personally I could not distinguish any noticeable differences with this palette switch when comparing it against the 'Darker' option. the only slight change I could make out was that the shadows surrounding his head, shoulder line and arms had been emphasised in contrast to how they were seen previously. Yet this was not what I desired for my final photograph to display as, as I have stated above I want all of his body and face to be be implored and be emphatic, not just particular segments, plus there is hardlies a change between it and the previous style I tested so it would be fruitless to employ this edit as it contains no enlightenment to me what so ever.

It seemed that the options the 'Levels' preset was offering me were so mediocre that I decided to opt towards altering the hue and consistency of the image by hand, this way I would be able manipulate the colour, shadows and light tones of the photo as much as what I could manage, allowing me first hand to concede to what I wanted my image to display like towards my audience. As you can see I have altered the tones in such a way that the overall quality displays as a lot brighter then before, the facial colours are more prudent and healthy then the pale they were originally, the lightness of the blue and pale red on his top have been focused on more due to me selecting to enhance the light points on them, all these changes have been important as all of him is now attractive and dominant. Previously it was the black on his jeans that personified itself most clearly as this is a palette that normally opposes all others for superiority and the majority of the audience attention with it being so bold. Now they were all in equal competiveness with one another so that none outshone the other, in fact they all co-operated well together as a whole body rather then singularly which is how I imagined this photograph would look. Over the three style I have applied and trialled, changing the hue is the favourite alternative of mine as not only did I have control over the editing process but I managed to create the effect on the photo exactly to my own standards, so I am more swayed to use this over this entirely as it has granted me the style I have sought. However I feel it would be most appropriate to test out a few others as well so I can firmly then decide which is the most beneficial style for me.

On my final trial I adjusted the exposure on the image by selecting it from the menu that is provided to me from the 'adjustments' panel on the tool bar. I took control over the lighting effects by using the bar that had been displayed, I could use the cursor on the mouse to directly drag it up and down, up would create a brighter tone, down would emphasise the shadows and darker areas more substantially.to the visual persepctive. However I was planning on mimicking a lighter effect to illustrate the physical features of my artist successfully, so under this circumstance I over dramatisised the brighter areas, such as where the light of the studio hit his shoulders and face. Once this manouver had been completed it can be recognised that his entire appearance can be noted effectively on the eyes rather then just specific areas, this is what I had described in a previous trial about not wanting the black to be the most prominent feature on the spread. For this case I feel there is an equal apparel in dominance, not as much as before in the hue alteration where all aspects correlated practically but enough that my entire artist can be took into regards. When comparing this to the hue trial I feel this has a more realistic appearance, on the face of my male model when adjusted in the hue setting it made him more orange and therefore more 'photoshopped' or fake looking in that matter. Adjusting the preset of the exposure deterred that from happening while still making him just as attractive and noticeable on the page. For this instance alone I am more preferred to using this alteration over the hue and the remainder of the tests I prescribed.

In context I went with my instinct and decided to opt for the image of my model which I had significantly made alterations to the exposure to.  Now that it is located on the final inDesign document, I feel it perceives itself well, it blends in perfectly with the white background due to it being captured in a studio so there are no issues of conflicting coloured backgrounds. Furthermore I get the impression that the white of the spread illuminates more the posture of the artist, making him appear almost heavenly in a sense, that he is most dominant and therefore deserves every ounce of reader attention. If I had used the hue edit I fear that the darker tones of his face which I had mentioned would be too bold on the white page, drawing too much emphasis which would lose the importance of the remaining conventions and text. Obviously I will have to wait and see how it displays when the second image is uploaded, for now I am appeased with how its presented and I'm hoping it will duplicate the same effect once every element is included on the double page.

Constructing my Double Page Spread - Part 1

With my time management beginning to catch up on me as I had already focused too much of my attention on the other two tasks I had to create I felt this was the appropriate moment to begin constructing the final piece for my double page spread. As I already knew the position of my conventions and images due to the template I had formed, building up the layout was not much of a concern to me at this moment. Detailed below are the starting steps I took in forming what would be my ultimate feature for my product 'Void'.

As a basic starting point to begin the development of my double page spread, I started off the process by opening up a new untitled document in the multi-operative software 'inDesign' that was going to allow me to create an authentic, realistic perceiving presentation of a double page feature you would regularly see in a magazine. it provided me with the correct 2D template of a two page programming system to allow me to replicate accurately the layout  of a real article of this nature. I dragged in one of the edited photographs of my male model that had been developed on Photoshop and placed it on the left hand side of the piece. This was due to me intending to include two distinct images on the page as I wanted them to portray effectively the multiple playful personalities of my artist who is perceived to be highly rebellious in his actions. At the moment I felt the photo occupied the page too centrally which would cause obstructions for the text of the feature as it would be difficult to include it without the two conventions opposing and conflicting with one another, in this instance I may have to adjust it somewhat. I also additionally worked on constructing my headline for the presentation, as I wanted it to be bold and dramatic to instantly grasp the audiences attention I began practising with unique font styles in the hopes I would uncover something that suited my needs. The initial one I tested was the 'Bebas Nevaue' which has been present throughout the product as a means of proving continuity throughout the articles as it indicates all the text interlinks with one another to aim towards a common format. Although it was bold enough to gain that initial interest, I unfortunately believed it did not connotate itself very well as  it was almost too serious in presentation to reflect the bubbly, extrovert personality of my artist, under this circumstance I feel the font style need to be more 'playful' and 'friendly' if that perception of him is to be relayed correctly, if the readers can deconstruct from the font the type of person the composer is then they can be notified of a clear indication what to expect from them when it comes to divulging in the text itself.

With me not being satisfied with the font style displayed above I opted to alter it to see how another unique one would display itself and to identify if it conformed to my expectations I had placed. The second one on trial is called 'Revolution', I was quite swayed by this font once the change had been conducted as it had the bold, interesting gauge to it in the essence it would gain the audiences visual perspective from afar. For it to be more appealing I would obviously have to adjust the size so it occupies a larger majority of the spread, which is understandable if i wish to perceive it as emphatic. The one issue that remains however is that I feel the individual letters themselves lack emphasis under the notion they perceive as being 'spindly' and fragile in a sense, they aren't as thick as what I would anticipate a regular headline to come across as. This thickness is vital as it allows a body of text to effectively dominate a publication so that it will be the immediate focal point for members of the audience when they first gaze upon the pages. Taking this concern into account it may be valuable for me to possibly select a similar style with a slightly thicker mainframe so the letters are more profound hten what they are here. More experimentation will need to be justified before I make a final informed decision over the display of the title.

I discovered a replica style to the 'Revolution' I liked above, I was hoping when I altered it to this 'LondonTwo' that the letters would be more bold in stature as I had anticpated. unfortunately I was mistaken, this style was not only almost identical to the one seen above but negatively was even thinner in comparison to the latter when comparing the thickness of the letters. It was such a disapointing premise for me as I would now have to search for an alternative font in a completely different style as it was evident I would not get a thicker appearance in this category of text edits. Therefore I decided to refer back to my mainstream double page spread of the Noel Gallagher article I had plucked out of NME as the main basis for the construction of my task.

After much deliberation I completely revamped the sytle of font to display my main feature headline for the article. On a primary basis I was originally going to incorporate the artists name in the title, however after using the Noel Gallagher example, I decided it would be more efficient to try and base my own creation to the same template as that, as it contrasted well with the nature, feel and personality of not just the spreads presentation but the artists themselves who were incredibly alike. As my reference feature used an almost cartoonish stylised font as the selling point of its piece, I felt it would appropriate to reconstruct that on my own publication to see how it perceived, most importantly it would help determine if this font was better suited to the article then all the previous ones I had tested.  I downloaded the "king of the Hill 2' site from the website 'dafont' as it matched up pretty well with the text seen on the Noel Gallagher headline. Once I had applied this change, I was fairly content with what I saw. Not only does this emphasise its persona on the page with it engaging and drawing all immediate attention, but to me it accurately portrayed the boistorous, jokey personality of my male artist as the font was outgoing and 'in your face' like his temprement. Under this indication it connected effectively with him and for now I was pleased to use this as my title piece for the reasons detailed.

The secondary image was placed alongside the first but on the right hand page as opposed to the left, this was used in a 'mirror' stylised concept, almost as if my model is looking in a store mirror and is posing/pulling faces/pratting about. This gives a clearer understanding to the readers what type of individual he is in terms of his personality and nature, as from this they should be able to detect he is fairly boistorous, outgoing and loud which is what I intend. To reference slyly to the male representation occurring throughout the feature, I made a significant alteration to the colour palette of the headline by hanging it to blue.  This was a nice notion to the patriarchal identity present as in all due respects my main article was revolving around a male artist, I wanted my audience to anticipate the content by manipulating my conventions in a particular fashion employed to highlight this effectively to them. Blue is a common colour many individuals will relate to as a 'mans favourite', it is heavily stereotyped in many of the worlds cultures, with this shade incorporated into a variety publications to emphasise the theme running throughout a particular story/feature, this aids them in identifying which gender is primarily being focused upon. In this respect I would predict gaining a higher ratio of male audience members reading this specific piece as it contrasts to their sex and possible interests directly, in essence a man would be able to relate more openly to another man and vice versa. Also beneficial of this colour scheme is how bright and dominant it displays itself on the document, this is an effective strategy to gain reader approval as they will be able to notice this article almost instantly upon browsing through the magazine as it is so eye-catching in comparison to the other duller aspects present. I centred the title so it was central down the page, this caused it to overlap on both sides, yet this is what I had intended as I  feel it references to the music artists rebellious personality, in the respect that he cannot be contained and controlled (hence why the headline occupies both pages in the double page spread, its as if he's invading or rising in dominance for that matter) The slanted posture of the text was another technique to avert the readers gaze to it as the unusualness of its position goes against mainstream standards of a straight heading, this can therefore make it more intriguing to the eye for that matter. To round up, I began to include some of the main body of text that would contain the details of my feature piece, as I had not yet finished writing up the story I inserted the kicker in instead. I kept to the continuity in my product by recycling the 'Times New Roman' font style, however for this circumstance I altered the settings so it was bold and in italics, this would easily allow the audience to distinguish it from the words of the article, indicating they are separate from one another. Yet by having them placed directly above/below it still connotates the idea they are related to the same content with them in near proximity. Blue was used in the kicker to draw focus towards more major names in the text such as 'Cypher Lewins' and the name of the writer, so the more important details could be imprinted firmly into the readers conscious. Moreover it was another stereotypical reference to the dominant gender in the spread, with blue being constantly reinstated it created the underlying premise that this was a male centrefold product which would be the essential sex rampaging throughout the story.

A drop cap was placed as a starting block for where the main body of the interview would be situated on the left hand side of the page, drop caps are critical conventions seen in many magazine publications as they inform the reader of where not only the beginning of the story is located, but act as a method to divert their attention to the appeasing sections of the feature as these are ultimately the major selling areas of my double page spread itself. If the audience engages quickly with these points then it is more likely they will continue to read as their immediate focus would already be subversed and satisfied in the content. Another typical convention seen is a pull quote which is a phrase or body of words taken directly from the article to act as am additional mechanism to grant audience approval. Normally these are the more appealing parts of the story that will be used in a mechanical fashion to signal how much diversity and   desirability is present in the words. I decided to be unconventional in the sense that I used a quote that came from the music artist themselves, which wasn't largely positive but negative as it was mocking a particular branding of clothing. Despite this, it is the sassy nature of his personality I want to personify across to my readers which is why I'm attempting to revolve the majority of my elements around this aspect of the feature. To me you can get a better understanding of someone and what they are like as a person if you focus more throughly on their composure rather then their line of work. The humour that is present here in that text should hopefully provoke a comical response from my audience, that they can identify that segment of his personality I want them to relate to. As can be noted the blue is furthermore orientated in the quote to provide that regular continuity which is vital if to allow the readers to accept all these elements confide and relate to one another as they are along the same topic, black although was reinstated as the name of the composer for variety in the texts but importantly the boldness is essential to reinforce a specific idea into the audiences mental state (in this case I desperately want them to recall the name of 'Cypher Lewins' with him being a rising music star in this genre)

Editing my additonal contents images - Part 2

Essentially the format of my contents had changed significantly once my peer feedback had been received as I knew it was now critical for me to occupy the vastly empty space in the right hand corner of the page. To successfully overcome this error it would require me seeking the use of another of my photographs I obtained during the studio shoot to hide the exposed area. Before I could conduct this motion I first had to be positive the quality of the image was substantial before placing it, as I needed for it to appear flawless and superior in the way it personified itself across to the audience, anything other then that and they may refer to it as 'ameaturish' and not of 'professional production'. To avoid this happening I would have to edit it on the adobe photoshop software as seen previously with my black and white photograph.

To start this editing process off, I began by opening a new photoshop document in the tab bar, selected my chosen image from the programme 'Iphoto' where it had been imported to via the external camera hardware and was dragged directly onto the empty page from this point of origin. With it now inserted into Photoshop, the option arose of me given the opportunity to manouver the photograph about until it was correctly situated where I desired it, I did so by moving it slightly to the right so it was centrally parallel with the document.

With what can be identified on all of my previous editing posts, I required my photographs to be of a professional standard, in this instance the colour, brightness and saturation had to be correct to allow them to display as more authentic and glossy appearing, just how we would anticipate to see one in a mainstream magazine. To achieve this look I now had to manipulate the levels preset of my image so it conformed with the required standards I had in place. First protocol involved me selecting the 'levels' option which as always can be located on the right hand photo tool bar on the far corner of the page.

With the levels tool bar now on full view for me to access, I had the options of various different editing styles to select from to alter the image in any way I desired to. Since I was intending on highlighting the background more to bring out the white backdrop more effectively to illuminate my model and so I could enhance the sharp tones on his clothing and face, my preferred course of action was to engage the use of the 'hue' and 'saturation' alternatives.

This is the ultimate portrayal of my model now that the editing process had been undertaken and completed without delay. Although the alterations I conducted are fairly subtle in nature, what has been changed involves areas such as the white background which I stated towards previously. I enhanced its appeal by brightening the overall lighting effect to create a faint 'aura' behind the male model, this gave him the opportunity to appear more dominant and significant in his presence as compared to how he last perceived. I used the same brightness level on the shirt, trousers and face as I personally felt illuminating the already present light rays was an effective method to divert the audiences line of focus solely towards him. The quality additionally appears more flawless then before and I have no issues regarding the possibility of pixillation at all.

Ultimately this is a current update in progress of the development of my contents page - as what can be noted the image of the male model is now correctly situated in the desired area of choice, where he has been positioned not only occupies the blank space I was warned about during my last peer review but accurately draws visual activity towards his loction. Not only has the editing style enabled this to happen, I believe this success also generates from the choice of his placement as it is unconventional in may respects to position a photograph away from the readers main line of vision. yet I cant help but feel they will notice him despite this notion because they will be intrigued as to why he was included there.