Production Review Week 2

When looking back at my schedule, I set out this week in my lessons to:

a) The first lesson of the week I will finish up the front cover, and make sure it is set out the way I want it to look. Because of the work done on it in the previous week it should be ready to go, and at this point I will get some feedback from my target audience in the group.

b) The second lesson of this week I will start creating my Cities article in InDesign, and placing in the text and images, and working out the layout and where I want things to be placed

c) This lesson will be a continuation of the previous one, where I will still be working on my second DPS. By this point I should have a general idea of where I want things to be placed, thus I will start putting in the kicker and headline, as well as mini-headlines per section, and really begin to place colour and font into the layout, and begin putting the main sections of the article together

d) Project Monitoring & Continuation: For this lesson I will be evaluating what I have achieved during this week, and the previous week in terms of production, and sort of round up where I am in the process of making the magazine. I will also use my target audience to see what they think of what I have created so far


This week, in terms of following my schedule hasn’t been entirely successful, as although I have completed some things, I haven’t with some of the others that I set out. 

In terms of what I have achieved successfully this week: 

On Monday, in my frees I did gain feedback on my front cover from my target audience, as I asked a couple of students who aren’t in my media lesson what they thought of it, and what they think could be changed. This was good, as they weren’t looking at it from the point of view of a media student, so their feedback was honest and helpful. Both students said that they thought the front cover looked effective and young, which was really great, and they both liked it. Their only criticism was that it just needs a bit more space filling in the top right third of the page, and I totally agree with this view. Therefore although I am not currently returning to my front cover I will be in the coming weeks, after some of my other production is out of the way, and this is when I can begin to make the changes. So in terms of what I set out to do in the Tuesday lesson, this was successful as I actually did it on the Monday, so it then freed up the Tuesday lesson to start production on the York article. 

So, because I did what I wanted to do on Tuesday on Monday, in my first media lesson of the week I started creating my York DPS in InDesign. I really began with simply setting up the page I needed, using a magazine and ruler to gain the measurements I wanted to use. I then began by creating the background, using a brochure I found in the York City Picturehouse as inspiration. I also began to see where the text and images would go, so in terms of this lesson it was really successful, because I had done what I set out to do for this lesson, which set the ball rolling for the rest of the week to continue with production.

 

These are some of the images I have included into the York article. The one on the left is the 'before' and the one on the right is the 'after'. 

In both my Wednesday lesson and Thursday lesson I continued with the production of this DPS page, as well as coming into media in my free lesson time and this really moved the production forward, as by today, the end of this week, my DPS, as you can see below, is in a nearly complete state.This was because as well as working out the layout, I edited the images I wanted to use, with only one left to place in which will be finished off next week. I think the reason for the good progress was that I focused a lot of time into getting this DPS into a state where it was nearly finished by the end of the week, and because I had my fonts and colour scheme already selected, this made it easier to know what I was doing essentially. 

As you can see from my DPS I just need to place the final parts in on the bottom of the third page, but this will be done in the coming week. Overall I am pretty happy with it and will most likely return to it towards the end of production. 

However there are two issues at the end of this week. One is that I have missed the lesson today due to being ill, thus I couldn’t gain target audience feedback on my DPS. But I am not too worried about this as I can simply do that in my free time next week, however this mass concentration on the York DPS meant meeting my homework schedule was not all that successful and in some areas I need to catch up. 

This is what I wanted to gain from my homework this week: 

a) For this homework I will have the draft I wrote for my Cuts Crisis article checked over and then I could make the changes I need to it, and continue editing it up

b) For my second homework I will aim to collect all my research and findings in York, and begin to fully/properly write up the various sections which will be going into the article

c) For my third homework I will start to look at my design for the contents page, and really re-create the flat plan, as at this point I know that I want to change design of the contents page

Out of all these things I have only completed my second homework, and this was due to me starting my York article, so I needed to write up the different sections and look over my findings. This has been almost entirely completed, with one small section left to write so I am happy with this homework, but I didn’t complete the other two. I am yet to have my Cuts Crisis article checked, and because of this I am behind in completing the writing of that. But, what I aim to do is get it looked at next week when I begin production on that DPS so whilst I am designing the page, the article is being marked. I have also not looked at a contents page at all, and this is something I really need to factor into my time, as I am currently without any real idea of what I want from my contents page. So this weekend I am going to look for a few ideas on the internet, and when it comes to producing one I have the ideas and research ready to go. 

So, this week has been in some ways really successful in that another vital part of production is nearly finished, however I need to get back on track with the homework’s I have set myself to do.

Production Review Week 1

When looking back at my schedule, I set out this week in my lessons to:

a) a photo-shoot for both my front cover and for my ‘Cuts Crisis’ article

b) pulling all the images from my photo-shoot in York, as well as my photo-shoot in the studio, and deciding which ones I think work the best

c) start editing up the images for the York article, front cover and Cuts article

For homework I set out to:

a) staying at college and in media, and continuing with the front cover production, by this point, adding in the main sell lines, and starting to construct the final layout

b) looking over the first DPS I did for University Blues as I have already mocked it up

c) beginning to write the article for the ‘Cuts Crisis’ article

Out of the things I set out to do, I have completed all of the above except for editing the York images and Budget Cuts, and this is due to me working with my schedule almost entirely and really trying to follow it, as it makes my life easier if I can keep a structure. 

The reason for not editing my York and Cuts images was because I have taken more time editing my other images for the front cover, and came across an issue after the photo-shoot, in which the image I wanted to use didn't quite fit the page dimensions, thus I have to re-shoot it, which set me back slightly. However this concentration on the front cover has enabled to me get it to a stage where it is nearly finished, and then I can leave it alone, and go back to it in the coming weeks.  This has meant that although the editing of the York and Cuts images hasn't been successful, the progress with the front cover has been, so I can now free up the time I set aside for the front cover to go and start editing the images in the coming week.

The shoot itself was a success as the images I have, minus the one image I had to re-shoot worked well, this was due to the lighting been set up in the butterfly effect that I wanted to use and the being models ready to work, and enthusiastic which is always helpful. Also they came prepared with everything I asked of them, and my props were built over the weekend so they were ready to use.

These are some shots from my photo-shoot. The top shot of Joe has been edited up since then, as is the photo which is on my front cover as you can see below. I brightened the image up, as well as using auto colour, auto tone and auto contrast to balance the image out, before finally using the dodge tool to lighten up the background.

I will begin to edit the 'cuts crisis' images in the coming weeks when I start production on that particular DPS, as it makes more sense to do it at the time of creating that page, than before hand.

This is where my front cover is currently at, and as you can see, I have got quite far this week, and hopefully by next Tuesday I can leave it and start to move onto my DPS's. By editing the image on Wednesday I could move into designing the page. I already had all but one of the fonts selected from my mock up last year, so I knew which ones I wanted to use. The title font used on the 'Liquorice' logo took some time to choose as I changed my mind from my flat plans, but I kind of knew the style I wanted and by going on Dafont.com it didn't take long to find one that worked well.

I think the reason for getting it to this stage was simply working in my frees and coming into Media when I had the time to and this was really because I wanted to be able to nearly finish it, which now frees up my time at the end of production to look back and make any changes then, instead of dragging this part of production out for too long. I think the front cover production this week has therefore been pretty successful, and I am really happy with what I have got at the moment.

The other things I have done this week was looking over my University DPS. This was successful as I could really concentrate on the parts that needed editing, and because of my target audience feedback, I had actually already made the changes needed beforehand, so it was a case of simply looking over it, and then using the colour schemes from it in my front cover to create and brand and continuity with the article. 

In terms of my 'Cuts Crisis' article, this has been drafted, and I am now at the stage where it can be proof read and any editing that needs doing can be done in the coming week. This is something I need to factor into my time, and make sure that this gets read by Mark, and checked over, but because I am ahead of schedule on this particular homework, I should be able to factor it in easier than if it was not fully drafted. 

Interview Questions

Contributor Details	Date of Interview	Interview Questions to be asked
Kinga Nowak (student)	16/1/14	1.    What is it that attracts you to the city? 2.    What’s the main reason for heading down to York every once in a while? 3.    Would you recommend it to students?
Tracy Harrison (Head of Training and Learning at NYCC)	18/1/14	1.    Tell us about your service? 2.    How do your service and the council affect young people? 3.    Do you think it’s important for young people to understand why cuts are being made? 4.    Do you think the cuts are having a negative effect on young people’s lives? 5.    What do you feel young people have lost because of them? 6.     Has it created a negative culture in the North East?

Schedule

Production Schedule and monitoring document

Week	Date	Activity
1	13th Jan	1 Schedule Creation: This week I will aim to create a realistic schedule, which enables me to then plan and submit a completed project on the 15th February, which should follow the objectives I set out in my treatment. Therefore, the schedule will be both detailed and realistic, containing meaningful activities, as well as activities to complete for homework. The schedule will be realistic, detailed and will contain 3 meaningful activities to complete as homework. Around four hours will be taken up doing the homework. 2 Schedule Creation: I will look at the other commitments I have going on in the other subjects that I study, such as coursework and upcoming exams, thus enabling me to produce a realistic schedule which takes into consideration my other ongoing projects. To do this I will speak to my other subject tutors about what work and deadlines are up-coming during the 6 weeks I will be creating my magazine. Homework 1: For my first homework I will be going out to York to take images for the ‘Cities’ DPS, gaining different images and going out to various places. This means I don’t have to then worry about gaining the images at a later date, and allows production to start earlier. I’ll aim for around 100 images, giving myself a large choice of shots, and this will take place over the course of a day, spending around 6 hours in York itself. Whilst on this photo-shoot, I will be going with a friend, who I can carry out a mini-interview with for my breakout box on the train there, thus taking my pre-planned questions with me, and using the time before the shoot to get the interview done, so production can start sooner.   Homework 2: For the second homework I will be, whilst in York, picking up various items relating to the city, so as well as taking images I will hopefully collect up some items, for example a leaflet from the City Picturehouse, which will then help me when it comes to writing my article, and constructing it, as I could scan them in, and add to the dynamics of the article/layout. This will be carried out alongside my photo-shoot in the city. Homework 3: The third homework I will be doing is looking over my treatment and original ideas, and finding the magazines that inspired me at the time. I will then re-look over them, and build up a plan in my head of what I really want the layout to achieve and look like – therefore I am exploring and re-confirming my ideas, as next week I will be starting production, so I want this clear in my head of where I want to go with the magazine. Exams/other subject deadlines: History Russia Coursework – Hand In 20th January English Language Data Investigation Profile
2	20th Jan	1: For this lesson, I will be doing a photo-shoot for both my front cover, and for my ‘Cuts Crisis’ article, as I can carry out both within the hour, as neither involve difficult props or lighting, and it then lets me begin selecting and editing them in the next lesson. This will involve my models Hannah and Joe, and at this point, they will have been briefed, and shown what the photo-shoot is aiming for. Basically, by doing these both together, it ‘kills two bird with one stone’ in essence, as they can be done within in the hour, and giving more time for production. 2: For this first lesson I will be pulling all the images from my photo-shoot in York, as well as my photo-shoot in the studio, and deciding which ones I think work the best, thus deciding which ones I will be taking forward to edit in Photoshop. This will take the entire hour, as I really want to make sure the choices I make on the pictures is the right one, and that the pictures I select work the best for the magazine and the articles. I am doing this at the start of the week, as by the 3rd lesson, I will hopefully start editing them, and by the 4th lesson, I will begin to create the layout and begin placing the images into it. 3: In this lesson I will start editing up the images for the York article, front cover and Cuts article, as the previous day I will have already selected which ones I am using in the magazine. Because this lesson is an hour and a half, I should hopefully get all the images edited up to a point where I am happy with the way they look, and thus they will be ready to use in production. Again, because this is a longer lesson, I am grouping the editing of my images all together, as I can then move forward with the production and begin getting something made. 4 Project Monitoring & Front Cover Production: This lesson I will be spending 20 minuets looking over my blog, and making sure that everything that is on there is correct, and that it is all finished. This will help with production as I can re-look over my treatment, and where I aim for my project to go, therefore refreshing my memory on my ideas, especially on the front cover, as for the 40 minutes remaining, I will begin placing the front cover image into Photoshop, therefore setting up the document and the dimensions correctly, and because the image is already edited and ready to use, I will begin to create my kickers, and constructing the layout for them. Therefore for the main 40 minutes of the lesson, I will be mocking up the kickers, and where they will be placed, and starting to construct the front cover around the photograph. Because of my previous research, I already know what colours and fonts I want to use on the front cover, therefore this isn’t going to something I need to look over, as that decision has already been made. Homework 1: My first homework will involve staying at college and in media, and continuing with the front cover production, by this point, adding in the main sell lines, and starting to construct the final layout, as I will have already flat planned this, therefore making it easier to know where I want to place my text in accordance to the image. I will also be placing in aesthetics such as the barcode and price/date, as well as the magazine title, and making sure that it all works around the image. This will take up a fair bulk of time, around 2 hours max, as I will have already planned it out and know where I want to go with it. The reason for doing the front cover first is to get started with the ‘face’ of the magazine, and then move into the content of it. Homework 2: My second homework assignment is looking over the first DPS I did for University Blues as I have already mocked it up, and basically finished it, therefore I will spend some time re-looking over it, and making sure that it is what I want the entire magazine to look like, in terms of font and colour, and make any edits according to the feedback I gained from it. Hopefully, this will enable to finish with the ‘Uni’ DPS, and concentrate on my other two DPS’s and get them to the same standard. Homework 3: The third homework will be beginning to write the article for the ‘Cuts Crisis’ article, as I can do this at home as it doesn’t require Photoshop/InDesign, therefore I can spend the weekend getting it started, and placing in/editing it and the research for the article. It also allows me to sit with it for a few hours at home, and really concentrate on getting it finished, as it is the longest article I have in the magazine. Hopefully by having it over the weekend, and fitting it around my other subjects I can finish it, or at least have a first draft ready to be checked over. Exams/other subject deadlines: History Russia Coursework – Hand In 20th January English Language Data Investigation Profile
3	27stJan	1: The first lesson of the week I will finish up the front cover, and make sure it is set out the way I want it to look. Because of the work done on it in the previous week it should be ready to go, and at this point I will get some feedback from my target audience in the group, and see what they think needs to be changed. Once I have this feedback, I will consider the changes, and move the production of the front cover into my homework and at the end of the 6 weeks, as it should be nearly completed by this point, and therefore I can begin to place priority onto my other DPS’s which will take much more time, and planning. 2: The second lesson of this week I will start creating my Cities article in InDesign, and placing in the text and images, and working out the layout and where I want things to be placed. This will take some time as the article is in different sections compared to the images, and content so it will take time to mock up the layout, and where, in general, I want things to be placed within it. So for this hour, I will be using my flat plan as inspiration, and begin to create the look/layout of this DPS. 3: This lesson will be a continuation of the previous one, where I will still be working on my second DPS. By this point I should have a general idea of where I want things to be placed, thus I will start putting in the kicker and headline, as well as mini-headlines per section, and really begin to place colour and font into the layout, and begin putting the main sections of the article together. This lesson will also see me really construct the overall layout, so I begin to start writing up the article, place that into it, and then finalize the design and make the changes I want. 4 Project Monitoring & Continuation: For this lesson I will be evaluating what I have achieved during this week, and the previous week in terms of production, and sort of round up where I am in the process of making the magazine. I will also use my target audience to see what they think of what I have created so far, basically using this hour to monitor where I am with the production, and then continue with the second DPS creation, and round off the week by knowing where I am, and what I need to achieve. Homework 1: For this homework I will have the draft I wrote for my Cuts Crisis article checked over and then I could make the changes I need to it, and continue editing it up. This shouldn’t take too much time as I aim to get it to a good standard in the first place, as it reduces time in re-editing it continuously. Hopefully I can then have I finalized version, which will be ready to place into the DPS when I begin to edit it. Homework2: For my second homework I will aim to collect all my research and findings in York, and begin to fully/properly write up the various sections which will be going into the article. This also means that I will be writing up the mini-interview and introduction, using my treatment as a guideline. Hopefully this won’t take too long, as this article isn’t extensive like my Cuts Crisis one, and each section is only a ‘round up’ style, so I can hopefully get a first draft of each section finalized. Homework 3: For my third homework I will start to look at my design for the contents page, and really re-create the flat plan, as at this point I know that I want to change design of the contents page. I will use the research I did for homework on the week beginning 13th January, so hopefully I have an idea of what I want to create, and then draw up a quick sketch, so when it comes to creating it in Photoshop, I’m ready to go. Because the fonts and colour scheme has been already decided and used throughout, it is the layout that I really want to finalize. Exams/other subject deadlines: History Russia Coursework – Hand In March English Language Data Investigation Profile
4	3rd   Feb	1: This lesson will see me double check of the article for the second DPS (York), and place it into the layout. Therefore, this lesson will be mainly focusing on finishing the second DPS, and finalizing the design of it, editing different sections I feel need changing, and then leaving it to begin to focus on the third DPS and contents page, and will return to it the week after. 2: This lesson I will begin to look back at my flat plan for my Cuts Crisis DPS, and then begin to create it in InDesign, creating a basic layout and deciding where I want different sections to be placed, such as the headline and breakout box, as well as the images. Hopefully because of the flat plan, I can do this without too much hassle, as I already know what I want to create, therefore its simply using the hour to start creating it, and placing in parts of it. 3: This is a continuation of the previous lesson, however I will now be placing in the article, and working around the length of it, and the way it looks on the page, moving the images to fit, and decide basically where I want to place them in accordance to the other elements on the page. This will take the full hour and a half, as I will be moving and editing the layout, and using the flat plan to guide me, as basically continuing to make the DPS look as effective as possible. 4 Project Monitoring & Continuation: In terms of monitoring I will re-look over the current stage of my production, and what needs to editing. This gives me a general idea of where I have come from the previous week, and plan what still needs to be done to create the magazine. I will also continue with my third DPS, now finalizing the colour scheme and fonts used, and whether they are effective or not, basically rounding off the week by finishing off the draft of the DPS, which I will then leave for now, and return to it, much like my previous plan with the other DPS. Homework 1: This homework will be getting my target audience to have a quick look over my current work, and gain both positive and negative feedback, and thus gain what they think overall, which I can then use when writing in my blog, and also editing the magazine, and the design. It helps me get a second opinion rather than just relying on myself. Homework 2: For this homework I will be re reading all the articles I have created, and double-checking they have achieved what I wanted them to, in terms of what I laid out in the treatment. Basically checking that the are tailored and written for the audience successfully, and that they are all ready to be used in the articles as the final edit, therefore if they aren’t, I can edit them over, and finish them off. Homework 3: The third homework will be double checking over my images, and making sure I am happy with them all, as at this stage, all my main DPS’s will be nearly in a finished state, so I want to check that the images look good on the page, thus if they don’t I am giving myself enough time to re-shoot them if I need to. Exams/other subject deadlines: History Russia Coursework – Hand In March English Language Data Investigation Profile
5	10th Feb	1: This lesson I will be starting to create the contents page, getting the basic layout and design, using the sketch I created the in the previous weeks. I will spend the hour creating the layout, not yet placing in colour or the correct fonts, but using magazines as inspiration to create the contents page. 2: This lesson I will be continuing with the contents page, this time putting in the text and creating page numbers, as well as other articles which would be in the magazine, here meaning using the page numbers to place in things such as ‘regulars’ and ‘specials’ to bulk out the contents page, and make it look like a full magazine, rather than the 12 pages I have decided to created. 3: Once again I will be continuing with the contents page, using this lesson to finalize the page, placing in the images which will have been edited weeks ago, so they are ready to place in, as well as the fonts and colour scheme, basically using the lesson to finish off the contents page, placing all the elements together, and using magazines and my original design to check over the design and make sure it works well. 4 Project Monitoring & Feedback: I will look back over my entire project for most of the lesson, monitoring it, as well as gaining feedback. This is because at this point I should have created all the pages for the magazine, therefore I will ask a few people to look over what I have created so far, and get feedback, which I can then use in the upcoming week to edit up everything, and finalize off each design. I can also look over my blog and make sure that all the monitoring entries have been done, and that there is consistency in my work and what I have achieved so far. Homework 1: This homework I will be going over all my research for every article and making sure I have used it properly, and that I have actually used what I wanted to find out in the articles, again wanting to make sure that the articles are coherent and deliver the research effectively. Homework 2: This homework I will actually look at some research for each article, as since they were written and more importantly researched in 2013, things could have changed, and more information could have surfaced about the issues I am writing about. Therefore I will make any changes to the research content in the articles, and check the article still has current and relevant information. Homework 3: This homework I will be looking over my University Blues article, as at this point I will start to revisit my work. So I will use the more current target audience feedback to make any changes I need to/think would be effective, and then finalize this DPS, and know that it is ready to go, and is entirely finished. Exams/other subject deadlines: History Russia Coursework – Hand In March English Language Data Investigation Profile
Half term	17th Feb	Homework: Complete Monitoring and make sure that blog elements are complete
6	24th	1: For this lesson I will revisit my front cover design, and much like I did with the University Blues, I will use the feedback I gained from it to make any edits I need to and think will be effective, checking that the kickers are successful, and that each section and part of the front cover works well together before finishing it off. 2: For this lesson I will be revisiting my York DPS, and again looking over the target audience feedback, making any final changes in terms of layout and basically finishing off the DPS, making sure that it fits my intentions and looks coherent whilst creating continuity with the rest of my magazine. 3: For this lesson I will not be there, as I have to go on a driving course for the majority of the day, therefore I won’t be able to attend. So what I intended to do will be moved into my homework. 4 Project Monitoring & revisiting the contents page. For this lesson I will be writing up my blog and also re-reading it, making sure I have placed enough information and monitoring in my uploads to gain good marks and show a detailed progression of my production. I will also re-look over my contents page, as at this point nearly all my work will be completed, so I will continue to double check everything, and make any changes needed to make it as effective as possible. Homework 1: For this homework I will look over my Budget Cuts article, the last one to check over, and continue just like my other ones in that I need to check that everything works and that I have made it as effective as possible. Hopefully it will be coherent, and fit with the rest of my magazine. Homework 2: For this homework I think it makes sense, that after spending much of the past week looking over the work individually, I should see how the magazine looks and reads together, going back to my pitch and initial ideas to see what I have achieved and what I changed, which should then help me in the coming weeks where I have to evaluate the project. Homework 3: My final homework will be checking over everything and getting some feedback before I start reviewing the work and typing up what I have done. Therefore I will go over the entire unit, and blog and see that everything is up to date, whist also asking some friends what they think of my magazine, before creating a questionnaire next week, as it will help to tailor the questions and see where the main areas are that I want to gain feedback on. Exams/other subject deadlines: History Russia Coursework – Hand In March English Language Data Investigation Profile
	3rd  Mar	Audience/Assessor Review Week 1 Create Audience review questionnaire 2 Teacher assessment of project 3 & 4 Complete prep work for evaluation E exam Unit 5 Blog Deadline 7th March