Monitoring Log - 28/2/2014

This week is the last week of production for the product, and due to also having a deadline for Extended Project on Monday, I concentrated my weekend and Monday free lessons on completing my report and successfully handed it in on time.
Now that this is out the way, I am able to concentrate my time on working on my product and ensuring my blog is up to date. I am finding the completion of my blog much easier as I am able to do this at home and in the library at college, however it is more difficult to work on the production side due to not having access at home and the inconvenience of using Microsoft computers instead of Apple Macs in the library. It is clear everybody doing media is trying to get onto the spare Apple Macs in college!!

In Monday's lesson I began to use Photoshop to edit the images I took of Nicola so that I could import them into my double page spread and contents page. This included using the burn tool, quick selection tool and magnetic lasso tool. I found it difficult to go around her hair on the images due to the similar colour of her hair and the carpet however once I'd zoomed in closer to the image I found this easier.  I also faced difficulties around the bottom of the image and her feet, however this didn't raise a large amount of concern due to where the images would be placed on the double page spread and contents page.

Once I had worked around these images and created a white background, I placed the images into the correct places on the double page spread and contents page. I now feel like I only have small adjustments to do on these pages to ensure that they are fully completed and ready for submission. 

After gaining feedback on my work from my teacher and peers we all felt that my double page spread could be improved, for this reason I decided to start from scratch and redesign the double page spread completely. Although the layout itself is different it is clear to see that there is a similar pattern in terms of using the same colours and use of break out boxes when discussing each diet. 

I spent 2 days redesigning the double page spread, including time in free lessons and staying back after college. This allowed me to have it completed and handed in for Tuesday the 4th of March. 

Above is the final product that I created for "Diets. Dangerous or Delightful?" Although I chose to still use the layout of using the breakout boxes, I decided to create a more generic layout for the left hand side of the double page spread. This meant I created the layout of a normal article rather than the use of break out boxes.
The border consists of small boxes using the colours featured in the break out boxes. I felt that this would jazz up the double page spread and make it more eye catching and appealing.
I also found it easier to position my main image in this layout as I was able to overlap her with the border and therefore created layers. It gave me the opportunity to spread out the text more and use advanced text wrapping to show my technical abilities.

I have now completed all of my products and handed them in to gain audience feedback from my teacher and to also gain feedback from members of my target audience which will allow me to complete the next stages of the course which consists of numerous evaluation documents.

Monitoring Log - 21/2/2014

This week is half term and for this reason I chose to come into college on Thursday 20th to do some more work due to not being able to access Photoshop and InDesign at home.
I used this time to continue working on my contents page and add small features to my double page spreads such as page numbers.
Here is the current appearance of my contents page, I have added more images which are relevant to what features in the magazine to give the readers an insight.

I also arranged to meet Nicola on Saturday 22nd who is my model for Diets. Dangerous or Delightful? This photoshoot was done at her house and I feel it was very successful. I was successful in gathering the images I wanted which included some of her looking happy which portrays how she feels about the weight loss, I also took photographs of her holding up old pieces of clothing to show the extreme differences of before and after. I have chosen that on my double page spread, I will use an image which shows her holding up an old pair of trousers as a visual for the readers. Due to spacing reasons it was difficult to find somewhere to take the images. For this reason we took the images in front of the curtains with the intention that once back at college I would use Photoshop to edit this out. Below is an example of some of the images I have taken, both successful and unsuccessful ones.

The images above are those which I have chosen not to use, this is for reasons such as not portraying the message I wanted to give to the audience or due to visual reasons such as the model not being ready or due to the image not being taken to a high standard such as not being centered correctly. 

 The image above is the image I have chosen to use for my main image on the double page spread for "Diets. Dangerous or Delightful?" This is because I feel it portrays the message I am trying to give to the readers in a very visual and literal way as they can see the clear transformation of before and after. Now that I have chosen to use this image, once back at college after the half term break I will begin editing the background on Photoshop to a high standard to ensure it looks appropriate for my double page spread. 

As I changed the design and layout of my contents page, it is important that I have images for it which will allow me to show the reader what is going to be involved in the magazine. I have decided to use this image on my contents page for this reason. Similarly with the previous image, once back at college I will edit the image on Photoshop to allow me to have a white background on the image so it fits in with the house style on the contents page. 

I feel that due to coming into college during the half term I am at a very secure position with my work and am very confident that I will successfully complete the production stage within the time limit. This therefore means I feel my client will also be very pleased with the progress I have made.

Monitoring Log - 14/2/2014

This week consisted of continuing to work on my Eat Well. Stay Well. double page spread, as I have now inserted my written article into it I have been able to add the finishing touches to it. To ensure that the double page spread follows the house style which matches with my front cover and contents page, I have chosen to highlight particular areas of my article using the same colour. This therefore makes it appear more professional. Due to difficulties finding and using a tool which would simply highlight chosen text, I had to create individual boxes to fit the chosen words in my article, I then sent these boxes to the back so that the text was the more dominant feature out of the two. Below is a screen shot of the current stage I am at on this DPS, which shows that all that needs to be added to make this page complete is text in the breakout box and page numbers. I am very pleased with the current appearance and progress I have made this week on this DPS.

As well as continuing working on this article, I began to have second thoughts about my contents page as I felt it didn't look professional and that it didn't highlight my designing abilities. For this reason I chose to redesign my contents page starting from scratch, however still using similar features from the previous attempt. Below are two screen shots, one of my old contents page and one of my current one. I intend to use images from different articles rather than just from one article as this will be more useful to the audience as it will give them an idea and sneak preview of what they can expect to see.

As the deadline is soon approaching, I have chosen to use time in the half term holiday to go into college to continue working on my production as I feel this will make me feel more confident and less stressed therefore leaving me in a better position for finishing the production of my magazine to begin the evaluation stage.

I believe my client would be very impressed with the production as it is clear that I am readily prepared with what I intend on doing with my time to ensure that the magazine for publication in time.

Monitoring Log - 7/2/2014

Due to the issue stated previously about my schedule, it appears it is still out of sync for what I had intended to do this week.

This week I have successfully done the photo shoot for my front cover and contents page. This means that I have been able to sort through the images and choose which I intend on using for these pages of my product. Below are a sample of the successful images I have taken, including the one I intend on using for my front cover

    

The image to the left is the one that I have chosen to use as my front cover, however it is clear that I will have to use the crop tool when it comes to editing the image on Photoshop to get rid of the extra space around the model. I have also chosen to use the dodge tool on Photoshop to whiten the background to ensure that my model stands out well on the page.



Overall I am very pleased with the way that the images came out from the photo shoot, however towards the beginning of the shoot there were issues with the flash lighting kit due to low battery level. During the planning stage, I ensured to book an hour and a half slot for my photo shoot just in case I had to use my contingency planning. This was therefore very useful. Once this issue was resolved I was able to continue with the photo shoot. Although many of the images were very pleasing, a few from the beginning of the shoot were out of focus and were not centered very well. (shown below) this issue was quickly resolved leading to professional looking photographs.

Once that I had taken the photographs for my front cover and contents page I was able to begin choosing the images I wanted to use and editting them in Photoshop. As stated above, I used the dodge tool on Photoshop to whiten the background of my front cover image. This made it look more professional and appealing to the eye.  (the image below shows this process)

As I was able to insert my main image onto my front cover, it made it easier for me to begin building up my front cover, including inserting sell lines and headers into the desired place.

The image above is the current state of my front cover, this however doesn't quite match my original flat plans and treatment as when I began creating the front cover to match the characteristics I stated in the treatment it didn't appear professional and the red was too over powering and clashed on with the model's skin, this was therefore why I chose to use a more pale peachy colour. This is also the colour I chose to use on my contents page. I feel this colour will appear more apparent throughout my magazine and will be used as the house style. I am very pleased with the current appearance of my front cover.

I have also been able to insert the images onto my contents page, however I feel that it looks too empty and intend on gaining some audience feedback and comments to see what they think will make it look more appealing. I still need to add page numbers onto the description of each article and onto the bottom of the page. This however will not take up too much time.

The imagery I have used on the contents page is intended to direct the readers with the use of shapes and eye lines, this is because I have purposely chosen to use images where the model's body shape points towards the text on the left hand side of the page. 

Overall I am very pleased with my progress this week, and intend to focus my attention on the Eat Well. Stay Well article DPS as I have also got the images to use for this. I also believe that my client, the Northern Echo will be impressed with my progress as I have a satisfactory front cover and an ongoing, improving, contents page. 

Monitoring Log - 31/1/2014

Due to confusion whilst creating my schedule, it is clear that I have scheduled my photo shoot into the incorrect place. For this reason I decided to use the lesson in which I had scheduled this, to continue working on my front cover and contents page, particularly my contents page as it was easier to develop further without having the imagery whereas it was more difficult to place the sell lines onto my front cover without having the main image. For my 4^th lesson of the week I had a photo shoot scheduled to take place.

I successfully created the main outlines of my contents page and began inputting text and using colouring. Below is a screen shot of the current process of my contents document. 

Below are some examples of the images I have taken. 

 

I was very pleased with the way that many of the images came out, this is because I believe that they are very clear and represent the message that I am trying to portray. However due to lighting issues, the background isn’t as white as I hoped, for this reason I will use Photoshop to edit the background to make it more white. I have decided that for my main image I will use the last image, out of the 6 that I have posted above, on my DPS, this will be located on the second page and will also have a break out box on it. 

However due to not using a tripod, a number of the images I took were off centre and therefore if I was to use these images I would have to spend some extra time editing them on Photoshop.

 

I believe that my client would be impressed with my progress this week as different aspects of my magazine are beginning to take shape, I have also successfully executed a photo shoot therefore making the production line move further along.

The current state of my project does mirror my treatment objectives, however I have made slight changes in terms of positioning and choice of imagery. For the DPS “Eat Well. Stay Well.” I intended on using a split image on the left hand page, however now, due to believing it will look more professional I am using one image and having it on the right hand page.

I feel that so far the progress of my production is running smoothly and that I am pleased with the stage that I am on my schedule and production line.