Post-Production techniques and processes (P5: U3)

Learning Outcome 4 (U3): Be able to carry out post-production techniques and processes for an original media product to a client brief. 

Here are my final production pieces. I have exported them as JPEGs to meet my client requirements.

Screen shots from photoshop making the double page spread

Tools used, how it meets the client brief and how I created meaning

Here are the tools I used for my front cover.

I worked with everything on layers so that I could easily change anything without having to go back too far if I made a mistake. This would have slowed down the production time as we would have needed to start again. It also means it was easier to make changes to the colour scheme and layout.

I used the rectangle tool to create my text boxes and the lowered the brightness of the boxes so that my text would pop off the page a little more. This is common practice for the magazines when laying text over an image.

I used Photoshop to change the colours - using yellow and black. I used black as it is associated with hip-hop and connotes importance/dominance of the artist interview. The yellow stands out to my target audience and reflects the vibrant music scene (brief requirement). The use of the text box and colours makes the text stand out more to the readers. I specially used the phrase "North London" as that was a client requirement.

Here I used the magic wand tool. I used this to cut out and background and I cut the selected part of TJ's head so I could layer it in front of the masthead.

The second image is before I used the tool and below on the front cover Is after.

The third images shows putting TJs forehead to layer 2 as this would mean that it will be in front of the background and masthead.

I wanted to put my North London artist in front of the masthead to create a specific meaning - that he had more dominance. As this is a magazine that promotes him, his image needs to demonstrate importance.

This links to the client brief as it was not only original content that I manipulated to create meaning but also, the artist reflects the vibrant music scene developing locally. Additionally it showcases the talent in the area.

I used the text edit layer style in Photoshop to add an outer glow and drop shadow to my coverlines. I also put the genre (hip-hop) in red. I used the drop shadow edit to illustrate that the magazine is hip-hop based, a popular genre in North London (brief requirement). I put this in red because it's a colour associated with hip-hop and reflects the passion of both the artists and the readers.

This is all own original content and was used to create meaning. It's also telling people about the music scene, which is another brief requirement.

Here is my nearly finished version of my edit, You can see all the different layers of text and some of the editing techniques that I used. I added his name in a different font and colour to add emphasis to the cover and the serial code at the bottom with the price £4.00. These are all conventions of magazines. The only requirement I didn't meet here was including a website so show that the magazine is available as print and online. 

Double page spread tools

Here you can see the technique I used to help change the layer style for the text box, I created a black box and then bought the opacity down allowing you to see the image. I found this the most successful way of doing it without over-complicating the process. I wanted the image below to be seen as that helped keep the rough look that is associated with hip hop. By reducing the opacity, it allows readers to see the location clearly, this location is in North London (Wembley) so readers can identify it and associate it with North London, again this clearly links to the client brief.

I obviously used the text tool to add all of my text. I firstly wrote everything out and had it proofread so that it made sense. I knew I wanted to have a bold section of text in the lower left corner to entice people into reading and I found this challenging. I did this by creating the separate layers and then matched the sized but changed the font. 

I used the font 'Bad Cab' because it connotes graffiti/gun shots which are themes commonly explored through hip-hop lyrics and songs. It has the graffiti look at the same time which no other hip hop magazine has, with graffiti being a subculture of the hip hop industry, we wanted to link these two areas together. The reason I used the same font for both my title on the front cover and double page spread is that I am trying to create a brand and get potential customers to associate the font “bad cab” with my magazine
This was edited together to create meaning (brief requirement). I changed the colour to red and added in hints of black using the brush tool. I used these colours as they are commonly associated with hip-hop and again reflect passion of the music.

Finally I used the brightness/contrast levels on Photoshop, to brighten up the clothing, specifically the trainers of my artist.

I did this because trainers are conventional to the genre - many artists sponsor trainers and it is typically clothing that they wear. By doing this is might encourage readers who base themselves on hip-hop artists to wear the same clothing. This links to the client brief because it showcases the talent as my artist is the one wearing the trainers.

Review of suitability

Front cover analysis - strengths 

• I think that my front cover has many strengths for example, I believe the colour scheme is strong and represent the genre, brand of the magazine and the culture around Hip Hop. I wanted my magazine to have a striking look that would help to create a brand awareness. Using the colours black and red allowed me to create something that has impact when being seen by a new reader. This appeals to my target audience because the colours are typical to male, so they would be encouraged to buy it.
•  I think that the fonts I used are very important, as it allows me to keep with in the atmosphere. Hip Hop is a sub culture of urban lifestyle that was originally formed from breakdancing in the Bronx, New York. The culture at the time was heavily linked to graffiti and I wanted to show that with the fonts used in this publication. This gives the magazine a sub theme that will hopefully inspire to graffiti artists also. This appeals to my target audience because it links to the genre, which is again what my target audience enjoy. This was conducted from research.
• The reason I decided to take the portrait close up of TJ is because I wanted to entice fans that might not know about the magazine to buy it. I wanted to keep the theme that has been supported by other Hip Hop magazines in the past of a close up portrait as I wanted to establish my magazine (TUUNE) with a slightly aged feel. This appeals to my target audience because they are able to feel more connected to my artist and are encouraged to read about him.

Front cover analysis - weaknesses

• I believe I could of made better use of the space around TJ as there's plenty of dead space. Leaving the dead space would have been fine if TJ was an stablished mainstream artist as people would have bought the magazine just on his image. TJ is still fairly unknown to the rest of the population away from North London, this could lead to less sales. This could of been filled with more information about the Hip Hop scene in North London. Maybe as we are a new magazine, I should have offered some sort of offer to entice the general public. 
• After I had finished I realised that the black sub heading writing such as Snoop Dogg (In North London) is too dark and too small. Obviously we would have picked this up when we did a test print of the magazine but as that's not possible we've noticed it while writing up our strengths and weaknesses. Giving the writing a larger fill wold have taken away some of the dead space also, which eould have provided more content for my target audience.
• We should have used the same font throughout the whole front cover for example the title and it's caption have two very different fonts. This makes it hard for there to be a clear theme throughout the front cover, there by making it look a bit messy, off brand and unprofessional. It provides inconsistency for my target audience, which may impact them.

Double page spread - strengths

• While creating my double page spread, I added a new layer, selected over my text and darkened the original image. I did this to make sure my writing was clear and not lost against some of the lighter parts of the background. Such as the beginning of the text where it overlaps the white sky.
• The font I used at the top of my double paged spread links to the front cover allowing it to have a continuing theme throughout the publication. This creates a brand that starts to support TUUNE magazine and identifies back to our graffiti based sub culture something we would be keen to develop as this would help with magazine sales. This appeals to my target audience because it creates consistency and brand identity. This makes them feel more connected to the brand of my magazine.
• The location I used was in fitting with the magazine and Hip Hop but more importantly was taken in Tottenham as this links back to TJ's childhood. This is where he found his love for Hip Hop and would have spent his time in areas like this alleyway, where learning about Hip Hop as a music genre. It appeals to my target audience as they enjoy being in these locations, so feel more connected.

Double page spread - weaknesses 

• I could have improved my double page spread by making sure the spacing of the text was aligned within my slightly darker box. On a couple of parts I have accidentally gone outside the box. This looks sloppy and unprofessional especially when we are charging people to buy and read this interview that has been featured. I have also noticed that I am off line with the page fold and that I would have ended up with some of the text inside the crease. 
• The body text I have wrote in my double page spread needs to be spell checked, grammar checked and also needs to be laid out correctly. In the sense that the questions in the interview need to be checked to make they make sense and fit in with the "character" we've created in TJ. It also would have made it more professional for my target audience.
• We could have also added to our double page spread links to TJ's social media platforms in regard to Snapchat and Instagram. In fact it would have been better to also create exclusive footage and media of TJ that was only shared on our social media platforms. This would have given us a big boost when comparing ourselves to other UK based Hip Hop magazines. This is because not many of them link the rapper they are interviewing to the world to social media. 

How does my work appeal to my target audience?

Introduction –

I feel that my front cover and double page spread connect to my target audience because I have identified several key areas that connected with their identity and created a sense of community. Some of the areas I have looked at are colour, images, font, composition and I also looked at what my target audience would fine interesting in terms of my article.

I thought that the most important part of the front cover was the title because although the image and theme could change with different editions the title becomes iconic and will create a brand identity. We Needed a title that would connect with our target audience so this why we decided to have an informal name and a word that used commonly by teenagers EG “This is a tune”.

Using TJ it allowed to connect with our demographic of target audience as he a young  male of whom is wearing a hoodie it allows the audience and viewers to associate themselves with him and will there by feel more connected. The hoodie is seen as part of the urban lifestyle and can be seen as a part of the urban problem. Although the magazine was to never push any form of crime it has always been part of the hip hop culture. This is something that is part of the daily lives of our readers and this would allow them to connect to our magazine as well.

We wanted the cover to have an impact and by having a close-up portrait it meant that when it sat on the shelves of a store it would catch your attention. I decided to lay the front cover with TJ in the middle to show his importance and for us to have enough room for copy around the sides.

We went with the font in the title of “BADACAB” this font gave the magazine a sort of graffiti feels towards it. Ideally the magazine was mainly to appeal to teenagers not adults, so by having this graffiti it allowed the match with our target audience of teenagers and young adults. We also used fonts that didn’t have any mass appeal to adults after all this magazine was for people aged 16-20.

I found this fairly tricky as I wanted the image in the background to have Impact while also being able to fit into the layout and allow copy. So I had to do the photoshoot with the composition in mind. I found this location that managed to work both the image and the text. Also by having TJ to one side it gives sense that he’s thinking about what he’s saying. Having the title across the top was also a way of telling the audience that this article was important and not just a piece to fill the gap. This magazine was also meant to be a learning curve for anyone reading while offering advice on other around the hip hop culture. So when TJ was talking about his life I wanted the image to have meaning also.

I used the location that I did as it’s familiar with our target audience once again. Many of our readers will see locations like this in their daily lives and I wanted that to have a connection when reading about the life that TJ has had. The graffiti and mess on the floor are often portrayed in areas with higher crime and lower wealth.

Something that is seen as a small sign of wealth in the urban parts of London is clothing, having clean white trainers and clean matching tracsuit is a way of showing your peers that you have a handle on your life. Even with TJ being in a messy and dirty location it was vital as we talk about his rise we needed to portray that with his image.

One thing I would have possible done differently would be to move the location to somewhere that was a little darker and dangerous to really push that sense of we were trying to create but I felt that could have caused issues with the article layout and text.

To conclude I feel that I identified well with the key areas that would have allowed me to connect with my target audience. I have used colours and fonts that are liked by young adults, the article is real and people will be able to empathise with it. My target audience will be able to locate locations like this in their daily lives and the images are in a way that people will be able to connect. It wouldn’t have made sense if TJ was talking about his life while sitting on a beach in a hot country. The article, images and even the magazine brand are a direct reflection of our target audience.

How it will be exported?

Industry standard 

I decided to use Adobe’s InDesign to create the magazine as this is seen as the industry standard and I wanted my magazine to look as professional as possible at all times. InDesign was first released in August 1999 and has worked ever since changing the way we’ve created publications. 

InDesign is part of the Adobe range with other Apps like Photoshop, lightroom and premiere pro. All App’s that we look at while creating content for the magazine and our website that will be used to support online sales. 

Each individual page will be edited by Photoshop so any images or bold fonts such as my title. I will create using Photoshop and then the pages will be loaded into InDesign, this gives us complete control of the outcome of the look and style of the magazine. 

Sending it to physical print 

We researched into different companies that would print the magazine for us, but obviously, this is very important as we are trying to keep the printing costs down as much as possible. As we are selling the magazine at £4.00 we don’t have the money to spend on a fine printing company like https://mixam.co.uk/magazines where to style the magazine with a smooth finish would cost us £3.74 per copy where if we ran a slightly less high quality we could make a good margin on the sale of the magazine. It would be great to use this company in the future as we could do a special edition art book or when collaborated with other genre's we could make that copy have a different feel then before. 

Two companies I have looked are https://www.monkeypuzzlemarketing.co.uk and https://printedeasy.com these offers a slightly cheaper option and allow us too more money into the marketing and advertising hoping that sales would allow us to grow at a quicker rate. I would imagine that we could form a good relationship with a printing company to get the costs down so we looked to do that. Monkey Puzzle looks like the best service we could get, I would imagine that we would be making around 10000 copies which is a fairly large offer. I would hope to be able to sell all copies within a 3-6 month projection. 

A major part of a magazine builds is looking at the quality of the paper, most weekly’s and fashion magazines us a paper quality of 80 grams per square meter (GSM) this is the normal kind of paper you can use, but I think using a slightly thicker piece of paper like a 100 GSM would give the paper a better look and feel. As you can see below is that newspapers use 45-52GSM and a paper-based uncoated magazine uses 70GSM I think going as far as 100GSM would give the magazine an established feel. 

Maybe using sites like issuu? 

We did at looking sites like Issuu to help push the magazine, but as a mainstream media outlet, we thought it was best to stay away from using Issuu. Although I feel we could do something with them as we could put older copies on there for free so most people would be able to read them at a later date. This could allow us to have a readership that caught and became more excited that they then bought the magazine.  

As we would be designing the magazine using InDesign we wouldn't have to worry about adjusting the design or layout as Issuu uses the same layouts as InDesign

• looking at the font's we used and the cultural types that are highlighted in the magazine 

content lay out 

A magazine double page spread is sized around 17inchs by 11inches but you would have to also bare in mind that you will lose half an inch or so in the dip in the middle of the two pages, this is known as the page crease it’s where the magazine is bound or stapled together. It is for this reason I chose the position the text with some small gaps to the middle crease as it will allow the text to become more visible as it will be on a flat surface and keep up with industry standards.
 
I chose to make a translucent darker box behind my main text this allowed to create more contrast between the white text and the background, if I didn’t put a translucent box the writing became very blurry against the light parts of the background this is evident here. The reason why I went with a translucent box and not an opaque box is that I wanted to feature my background as it adds to the overall feel of the image that lends itself to the generic feel of the Hip hop industry. On the other hand, I could reverse this and chose to go with a white background and a darker font. The image is fairly light and we wanted to keep this as it added to the story of TJ. We would have lost a lot imagery if we had added a full coloured white box for the text, something that would have not been in line with magazines ethos.
 
I chose to go with the same font the title of the front cover as well as the front cover, this font is called “bad cab” the reason I went with this font is because it is very similar to other existing hip hop magazines out there meaning it will easily be settled into the market, having said this we want to have a USP, this is another reason we chose this font as it has the graffiti look at the same time which no other hip hop magazine has, with graffiti being a subculture of the hip hop industry, we wanted to link these two areas together. The reason I used the same font for both my title on the front cover and double page spread is that I am trying to create a brand and get potential customers to associate the font “bad cab” with my magazine

I decided to place my pull quote from the text under TJ’s knee on the left page of the double page spread this is because it allows it to have a sort of box material box around it meaning it will stand out, to make it stand out even more I decided to make a much bigger font to my other texts as well as making it bold, this will make the reader be attracted to read this quote and by want to read on more.

Content layout (front cover)

I used the clone tool to help hide the spots and marks on TJs face, this really helped me to make TJ look better looking thereby enticing more customers to the magazine, as you can see here, there is a small but noticeable difference Meaning that TJ looks more like a role model and look a lot older than he actually is meaning customer will think the more established,

I also used the same colour scheme I used throughout my magazine as again it would keep the brand I I am trying to create on top of this I had taken advice from the client to add in another colour this is why I used the colour of bright yellow, the colour scheme I used to fit in very well within the market of hip hop magazines. 

In terms of potential the issues, I could see the font and colour of the words “in north London” and “special,” becoming an issue as it is hard to read with the darker background behind it meaning its very hard to read, one way I could improve this is white create a translucent white text box behind the writing meaning the darker writing will mean the black writing won’t be blurry. You can the darker writing being blurry