As I would need to a compilation of appropriate font faces for my magazine's various components such as the title, cover lines, strap lines, content text, captions, quotations etc. I went through the available fonts on Adobe Illustrator and even downloaded some display fonts from fontspace.com to use in the final product. Many renounced magazines like Vogue, InStyle, Elle and PlayBoy have their own custom made fonts, which matched their distinct style. 

Title font options:

 

Cover line font options:

Subtitles and strap lines:

Standard font for the content text would either be Times New Roman or Calbri body.  

All these fonts are free for personal use. However I would not be able to finalise the fonts and the font colors until I do the mock or final product with which I can mix and match prior to deciding.  

I started the designing process for my double spread mock by drawing up a basic sketch of what I wanted the pages to look like on the software ‘Storyboarder’. I was able to make maximum use of the varying brush tools available. Although it was intended for movie storyboarding it came quite in handy for me. 

[Digital sketch of double spread pages on StoryBoarder.]

After this I created a document with two facing A4 pages as my sample double spread page on Adobe InDesign. Then I placed the image and text holders available on InDesign to customise the template as I wanted. All the images used were taken from Pinterest and Lela Smith’s Instagram page. After placing the images I worked on the page colour, which I chose to be Grey to resonate the night court vibes. I’ve used basic fonts of colour light grey, white and black, to once again align with the night court aesthetic. 

[Double spread pages designed using InDesign.]

I got suggestions from my teacher to rethink the colour palette for the double spread, because if I choose a dark coloured background I would have a lot of limitations in terms of font colour. I was also advised to make maximum use of the text wrap and other tools available on the software to create a well developed final product. She also told me to think of some creative layout styles instead of the traditional collage pattern. 

I made note of all the feedback to ensure that I make the necessary amendments in my next design.

When it comes to magazines, what I noticed a lot was that they had a lot of interviews from different people and that seemed to add more depth to the content published in the magazines. As I had no prior experience on the art of interviewing, I did research on conducting my own interview, transcribing it and then telling a story through the information gained. 

Lesson By Media Teacher

A lesson was conducted by my Media Studies teacher on ‘Principles to Apply for a Successful Interview’. Good interviews, well researched and well crafted features, great photographs and a collection of articles that speak to its readership are what makes a magazine great.

This lesson was very informative and helped get an overview of what I should and should not do prior to an interview. As someone who barely knew anything about interviews apart from what I read in the magazines, this lesson was very insightful and assisted me in planning and preparing myself for the pending interviews. 

YouTube Video

Video link: Art of Interviewing

During the lesson we watched a YouTube video on interviewing which developed my understanding further.

Listening to this video taught me that the art of interviewing is more than just asking a series of questions, it's asking questions with a purpose. It was resourceful in assisting me comprehend how I should conduct myself in an interview and how I can help the interviewee be comfortable on camera.

Reading Assignment

Followed by the lesson on conducting interviews, I was assigned to read through an article on writing an interview narrative essay. This article was centred on transcribing the interview notes and developing a story through it.

Article link: Interview narrative essay

Attached below is the annotated copy of the article after I finished reading and making notes about it.

  

 

 

[Article link: Interview narrative essay]

This article was very helpful in giving me a deeper understanding on developing a complete story from basic notes and even gave insights on keeping the readers hooked to the article. The sample essay showed how I can incorporate each of the tips suggested in the article. 

I read through a couple of interviews featured on fashion magazines as well. I found an article in the Avant-Garde magazine that has featured a very strong interview in my opinion.

Article link: Interview from Avant Garde

The layout of this interview was different compared to the previous one I read for my class assignment. It followed a question and answer style rather than a storytelling format. Yet, I found it very engaging. There was a good mix of lighthearted questions and hard-hitting ones, all of the questions asked were thought provoking and not factual. 

[Time-lapse of analysing the above article.]

Attached below is the link for the annotated PDF copy of the article after I finished making notes on it while reading. This was very convenient for me, as I was able to jot down any ideas, doubts and things I found interesting in the article.

PDF link: Avant Garde Annotated Interview

Layout Inspirations

After scrolling through Pinterest I was able to gather a collection of interview layout ideas that inspire me. I found the following better suited for my magazine. 

[Source: Pinterest]

I liked this layout because of the font they've used to highlight the interviewee's name in particular. There is also optimum space to include detailed description of the interview and place a large photograph of the interviewee as well.

 

[Source: Pinterest]

I found the way the interview was titled '3 Questions' in the first design very different to the rest and it had also followed a question and answer format rather than building a story which was interesting as well.

Even the second image has a similar layout style - question and answer format. However what interested me in particular was the handwriting font used for the questions and a more formal font for the interviewee's responses. But I feel that the spaced out layout might be limiting when trying to write more descriptive content.

After learning the theoretical aspect of the various camera works such as the shot types, angles, composition and movements, I put it into practice by using an iPhone 13 camera.

Attached below are some of the photographs I took for this practice photoshoot. As this was my first attempt at handling the phone to take pictures while giving importance to technical elements, it can be seen in this photographs a lot of mistakes and instability when holding the camera etc.

Venue: Cafe Chocolattie

Models: My mother and sister

1. Two shot:

It is evident through this shot, that although the subjects are not conversing with each other that there is some sort of relationship between them. The two shot not only establishes relationship but I think it gives additional information about the situation. Here it is shown that the subjects are going through the menu trying to pick their orders.

2. Establishing shot:

I focused more on the composition when taking these shots. The coffee shop I took these shots at, had really beautiful lighting that helped with the shots. The lighting played a main role in the picture with its reflections.

3. Over the shoulder (OTS) shot:

Although I took this shot easily and it fulfills its purpose of showing the relationship between the subjects and includes the audience in the shot, I was not necessarily satisfied with it.

I only noticed that I had not photographed the off-screen subject's shoulder properly when I was compiling the photos later in the day. I was also not happy with how the backlighting is reflecting off the menu that the text on it is unclear.

These mistakes however emphasized the importance of taking more than one photograph of each shot and checking them immediately to see if they've turned out as expected.

4. Master shot:

Here once again I wanted to incorporate the mise-en-scene available at the coffee shop. The flowers on the side added more colour to photograph.

5. Dutch angle:

Although, Dutch angle shots are used mostly to show discomfort, I attempted to try the shot just to see if I can use it in my own product and I liked how it turned out. The dark lighting backed up by the photo mural reflecting on the subject's T-shirt, unintentionally built dark colour palette with brown, black and white, enhancing the photograph a lot.

I initially struggled to capture the shots smoothly but after taking some trial shots I was able to get the hang of it, and my hands were somewhat steadier than they were before. Most of the photographs were taken by hand, however for some shots I used a tripod.