AICE Media Studies

To create an advertisement for the cover, I utilized the Canva website on my laptop. I wanted to make sure my advertisement would adhere to the summer theme of my magazine issue. I brainstormed some ideas and settled on an advertisement for hairspray that allows users to capture the perfect beach wave. This not only adheres to the season of summer, but it directly appeals to the audience of young college girls. Such an audience has a particular interest in beauty and fashion and this product is incorporated in this category. First I Googled 'bottle of hairspray' and scrolled to find one whose purpose was forming and holding beach waves. I discovered the image above and felt this coordinated with the color scheme of my cover as well as that it explicitly states "beach waves". I saved the image to my laptop and uploaded it to the magazine cover draft on Canva. Under the "elements" tab, there is an option for frames for images. I selected the circl...

This is the image I have settled on using for the magazine cover of my summer edition. I felt that this best suited the playful, carefree tone I was looking for from my models. My prior research found a common theme of the models on the covers looking directly at the viewer, much like the image featured above. This eye contact will serve as an effective mode of address as well as capturing the beach theme of summer in the background. I decided to use an image of only one of my models rather than ones with both of them since the main article would only be an interview with one celebrity. The cover is meant to serve as a first impression for the headline's features and I didn't want to make it misleading by using a picture of both of my models. I also found it easier to find corresponding photos of the same models that would keep in tone with the beach-like, free spirit of the edition for the two-page spread's images.

For my main article, I will be making a mock interview with a former teen star that left the entertainment industry in pursuit of furthering their education. The interview will explore why they left and how their educational career has helped to benefit them in the long-run. o    What caused you to want to leave your stardom? o    How did you decide what college was the best fit for you? o    What did you end up studying and how did this area have value to you? o    Do you feel that the college experience is worth the hassle? o    Do you feel that a college education is necessary for survival in today’s world? o    Do you feel that education has become less valued today? o    Would you ever consider returning to the world of entertainment? The answers to these questions will seek to understand the value of a college education and its application in the real world. It is often wondered if the experience...

After conducting research on existing magazines in the same genre as our magazine, I have created a list of possible article topics inspired by the common themes. Possible articles for Table of Contents             Inspired by College Magazine Why More Women are Going to College Is the Summer Semester Right for You? Maximizing Your Senior Year Mistakes Everyone Makes Freshman Year, and How to Avoid Them Guide to Picking the Major Right for You 10 Guys You’ll Meet in College Cheap, Last Minute Summer Travel Ideas Is a Long-Distance Relationship Worth it? Easy Ways to Spice up Your Resume              Inspired by Seventeen Magazine Cheap, Space-Saving Ways to Personalize Your Dorm Room Vital Financial Resources Every College Student Needs to Know All the Essentials to Survive Your Summer Semester Dealing with a Difficult Roommate What to Consi...

When reviewing the headlines of similar magazines, I noticed that they are primarily interviews with celebrities about relevant issues. In order to tailor this to our audience of college girls living on a budget, I have decided to also do a mock interview with a celebrity. Celebrity input adds credibility in the eyes of the viewer. It helps them to feel they are not alone in their struggles if someone successful has experienced something similar. The summer is usually a time to recharge between school years, or its a time of realization following graduation. Based on this knowledge, I plan to conduct an interview with a former teen star about their experience with using their college education to survive in the real world. This will provide readers with the insight about the logistics of getting a job related to their major and navigating adult life outside of campus, all from a young female perspective. A female perspective will be valued by our readers since it is from someone simi...

These are the photos that I plan on integrating into my magazine project in some manner, whether it is for the main cover image, the table of contents, or to accompany the two-page spread headline article. I felt these best reflected the carefree spirit of the thrill of summer for college students while they juggle handling their responsibilities. For the study session scene I am not planning on using the photos that have my models in them since the angles were difficult in capturing quality photos. I found I had better success at the beach since the models have more area to wander and work with in terms of blocking. The beach is a more natural environment for the models so they felt more comfortable posing and having their pictures taken, resulting in better photo outcomes. This may be in part that they were able to interact more with one another and react naturally, as opposed to the structured scene established at the restaurant.

For this image, I cropped it to just at their elbows since their hanging hands were positioned awkwardly. I increased the saturation of the picture to add a golden hue from the sunlight, almost making it appear as though it was taken at an hour closer to sunset. I also enhanced the brightness of the photo so that the parts of their faces in the shadows are still visible. The model on the left in the white top had the hanger strings poking out at the top of the shirt and resting on her shoulder so I tried to blur that thread to the rest of the shirt. For these scenic images, I added a filter that comes with the iPhone 8 called "vivid warm". This filter increases the saturation by adding a glaze of warm hues over the original photo. I felt this brightened the images without taking away from the natural beauty of the sky, water, and rocks. This medium close-up shot of my friend Lucie has her tilting down the sunglasses and peeking over the frames at the camera. Wi...

The photo shoot I conducted this weekend went well. However, I did come across some flaws in my planning. I was unable to find my camera as I am in the progress of selling my house, thus my iPhone 8 had to suffice for photos. My friends and I met at nine in the morning and then traveled together to the local Panera Bread for breakfast and coffee. While at the restaurant, I captured some photos of them appearing to be studying on their laptops and taking notes in journals. I found that the booth table we chose made it difficult to take photos from varying angles as the shape of the booth was odd. From there we drove down to Lido Beach on Longboat Key. The models changed out of their college shirts and into a navy and white polka-dotted summer dress with the other in a pair of shorts and a white off-the-shoulder top. I brought colorful beach towels for us to sit on and capture some casual photos of friends enjoying the beach. We sat near a rocky pier so I took advantage of the t...

Since I am doing the summer edition of our original magazine, I have been looking at existing summer issues for inspiration. Each of these magazines have the same target audience as our own and they have formulated covers to appeal to said readers. Although they are from different magazines with their personal house styles, each of them convey similar themes that capture summer for teenagers and young adults. Each of these covers use a bright color scheme consisting of oranges, yellows, light blues, pinks, reds, and white. The bright colors reflect the high energy that accompanies the season of summer. The celebrities on the cover are shown from the waist or chest up so that their face may be the central focus of the image. They strike poses that rotate their shoulders away from the camera and angle their head to face the viewer. This slimming effect flatters their features while they smile or gaze dramatically. The women are usually seen smiling to emphasize femininity while ...

Each of the table of contents examples from Teen Vogue magazine has a large image of the featured person of the main article. The name of the magazine is evident and is centered at the top of the page with the date of the issue posted underneath. The page numbers are in a larger font size and color than the cover lines and their descriptions. This helps to separate the articles from each other and the large lettering draws your attention. The sideways font depicts what the issue will primarily be concentrating on, like "beauty & health" and "fashion & features". Teen Vogue maintains their house style and their feminine and romantic nature through the use of transparent hearts around some of the page numbers of the cover lines. This hearts indicate the cover lines that were featured on the magazine's cover. This strategy allows for easy navigation through the magazine's contents because those cover lines were the initial reason the reader was int...

This weekend I plan to have my first photo shoot for my magazine. I have asked my two close friends, both females, to pose for the cover image, table of contents, and main article. Location  - I want to conduct the photo shoot in two locations. I plan to get some shots of my models studying together and doing research in a coffee shop to keep in tone with the college lifestyle, for images for the table of contents. I want to capture the magazine's season of summer by taking advantage of the beaches of Sarasota, Florida. Camera  - To get high quality photos I want to use my Fuji Film camera during the photo shoot. I will then download the images to my phone for the ease of editing on apps. Costume  - I have asked my models to bring different outfits for the shoot. I want them to bring a shirt or sweatshirt that has a college name on it for the studying scene. For the beach scene I have requested that they bring outfits that encapsulate the summer college life. This incl...

Magazines targeted towards women project unattainable beauty standards by showing professional models. These models have been posed to show their flattering sides and their photos have been touched up in software to remove blemishes. Female readers feel dissatisfaction with their own bodies after comparison, though they don't realize that these photos aren't a reflection of the models' true appearance. Many magazines with female readers are taking a stand against this traditional idea of beauty. In particular, this Aerie advertisement shows readers that they refrain from said touch ups. The idea behind this disclaimer is to inform young readers that the models are shown as they appear on a daily basis, creating "power" and "positivity" through "no retouching". Our magazine is looking to utilize a similar method of operation. Since our target audience is young college girls, we want to further this positive message and include a similar disc...

During the preliminary magazine task, we made our dragonfly magazine's slogan "We're not like the other girls". We felt this was appropriate for our audience of teenage girls since the phrase encompasses a girl's want to feel unique. However, we thought this slogan would be too juvenile for the new audience of college girls. For this reason, we changed the slogan to "Spread your wings". Not only does the slogan flow well with the magazine name, but it also ties in the symbolism of the dragonfly as a sign of transformation. "Spread your wings" projects a positive message to our readers and encourages growth and empowerment. The slogan is seemingly feminine and appealing to the target population. The spreading of wings suggest taking flight and taking risks while overcoming adversity. The slogan is almost a call to action to the audience to strive towards self-improvement and success.

For the magazine project, my group-mates and I have decided to divide up the separate issues based on the seasons. I will be creating the summer issue, while my group-mates will be doing their versions of the spring, fall, and winter editions. We felt that dividing the magazine issues into seasons would enable creativity and prevent the overlap of the articles and issues we cover. The seasonal issues will also help draw in our target audience. Since college students have different events and milestones happening at different times of the year, creating the editions for each season would ensure variety. Dividing the issues into seasonal editions also allows each group member to tailor the articles to a particular time of year. For example, in the summer issue I may cover the benefits of taking summer semester classes or how to enjoy your time before school starts again. On the other hand, someone covering the fall issue may discuss topics related to adjusting to the new school year or...

Conventions College   Magazine strives to appeal to their readers through a magnitude of unique conventions. The name of the magazine is shown in bold, all capitol letters in the masthead that is in the background of the featured cover image. The cover image is a person of some significance in the celebrity world and will have a reputation with the college-aged readers. The celebrities are dressed in casual, non-extravagant clothing to be more relatable to the college student audience, and the direct eye contact with the viewer also serves to establish a connection in a mode of address. The utilization of celebrities appeals to society's, especially young peoples', fascination with celebrity lifestyle and opinions and will increase the likelihood of someone purchasing the magazine.The featured person on the cover is framed by the headlines and cover lines that coordinate with the font color of the magazine name. The headlines and cover lines ask rhetorical questions as a mo...