Magazine and portfolio

presentationKelsie Tune

Part 1: About meI am 17 years old and currently at South Downs College studying multimedia journalism level 3 extended diploma. I have a particular interest in media but in the specific field of photography. I have done Photography AS level where I got an overall grade of C.

I am a creative and academic person who can adapt myself to suit whatever situation I am placed in. I complete all tasks to the best of my abilities and thrive to achieve. I am a hard working individual and like the sense of achievement once completing set tasks. I am eager to learn new skills and always willing to try new things.

Industry knowledge I have a wide knowledge about this industry and I am aware that it is a very competitive and challenging industry to get into however, I have researched into this industry to gain a wider understanding for what is neared for this career.

My ideal job would be a magazine photographer or a photojournalist. I really enjoy photography and expressing myself through the art. I enjoy expressing myself through the composition of photographs, however, I also enjoy the editorial side of photography as editing images can often be challenging yet thrilling.

PhotographerAs a Press Photographer captures images of current events for newspapers, magazines, websites and press agencies,

As a Photojournalist the role involves recording longer term, documentary-style stories.

In order to get into this into this career you need to have 5 A-C in GCSE’s and to be a creative person. A degree is not essential however it would build on your chance of getting into this industry.

To be a magazine journalist/ photographer, you need to be very flexible as the hours are not always set. However, it would be around 35-45 hours per week. The salary starts at around £18,000

SWOTStrengths, I am an enthusiastic person, I work well individually and can work well in a team. I am determined to achieve and very creative.Weaknesses, I often get stressed when put under a great deal of pressure and often lack self confidence.Opportunities, I can get further understanding of the subject area and achieve more qualifications and build on my existing knowledge. Work experience is a great opportunity to have an in sight into the job area. Threats, it is a competitive career to get into and there is a risk of more skilled candidates. I also feel that my self confidence could possibly hold me back.

Work experienceI currently have work experience at The Portsmouth News, Fareham office and at Dene Bank Design in Havant. In order to get these work experiences I sent off my CV and covering letter to them I am currently enjoying my work experiences as I am gaining knowledge about the media industry and possible job roles. At The News I get given press releases to edit and read through, I have also been to a local coffee morning where I reported on the charity work and wrote up and article which got sent to the newspaper editor and published. At Dene Bank design I help out the manager photographing various machine parts which get edited and out into brochures and leaflets. In order to do this the manager has helped me gain a wider set of skills which I can apply to various specific computer software such as photoshop and indesign. In my time at Dene Bank Design I have gained a wider understand of camera controls and the importance of technicality in photography. I would like to do further work experience in different forms of media careers, I am currently looking into the radio side of journalism and media. I have emailed and sent off my covering letter to the station manager at Angel Radio at Havant. I think it is important to have a wide set of experience in different mediums as it gives you a wider understanding of the subject area as a whole.

PhotographyI am currently volunteering myself as a photographer for family and friends events just so I can gain experience of working in this media sector. The most recent work I did was photographing my auntie and uncles 40th wedding anniversary afternoon tea.

Future plansThe next two years I am going to continue my multi media journalism course, in order to do reach my target grade I am going to be tracking my grades in order to make sure I am on the right track. After I have finished college my plan is to get apprenticeship at a local magazine or news paper to start off my career. However at the moment I am unsure if I want to go to university. I would like to do an apprenticeship as I believe learning whilst working is more suited to my work style as I learn best when I am actually doing tasks myself. I have been offered an apprenticeship after I finish college with The Portsmouth News as they are very pleased with my progress within my work experience. After working at a local newspaper or magazine I would like to work my way up within the organisation and maybe then move to a bigger well established company.

Part2: magazineFor this media assignment we have to produce a magazine aimed at 15 to 21 year olds. The genre I am going to do is fashion and modern culture. The target audience i am aiming for is a female around the age of 18, interested in modern trends and keeping up to date with celebrity culture, shops in highstreet stores and interested in music. I have decided to choose this as a target audience as these are all things that i am interested in and I believe I would be able to link my own interests and product experiences in to this assignment and use it to benefit my assignment.

ResearchIn order to create a magazine cover and double page spread I need to collect both primary and secondary research. For my primary research i am going to create a questionnaire and ask females aged between 15 and 21.

For the secondary research I have looked at existing magazine covers in this genre and examined the similarities within them all.

Primary and SecondaryThe main two types of research is primary and secondary data. Primary research is research that has been carried out by individuals to answer specific issues or questions. It can involve questionnaires, surveys or interviews with individuals or small groups. Primary research is information with is gathered that does not already exist. The other type of research is called secondary research, this is using information which already exists and was gathered by somebody else, such as using the internet, books and magazine

Qualitative and quantitative

Qualitative research is primarily exploratory research. It is used to gain an understanding of underlying reasons, opinions, and motivations. It provides insights into the problem or helps to develop ideas or hypotheses for potential quantitative research.

Quantitative research is the systematic empirical investigation of observable phenomena via statistical, mathematical or computational techniques.

Cover analysisAll 6 of these covers have some key features in common, these are:1. Large bold fonts2. Bright colours3. Large images of female celebrities4. Limited information on the front cover5. Similar shots of photographs6. Large coverlines

All 6 of these magazine covers have similar key features, the first thing they have in common is that they have all used bright colours, mainly the theme is using reds and pinks. These are key catching bright colours to draw the audience towards there magazine. The size of the fonts chosen are al similar in the fact that they are all large.

QuestionnairesFrom my questionnaires I analysed my results and found out that fashion and makeup where the top 2 things that teen girls would like to see in a magazine. So these are the things I put on my cover and double page spread.

From my secondary research I have adapted the common factors I saw on magazine covers into my own style to suit this genre.

DPSAfter looking at existing double page spread in the fashion and makeup industry I saw that most double page spreads have top tips so I decided to do 4 spring makeup top tips instead of an interview. I believe that this complies with my target audience better.