My Magazine: CULTURE

Here is my magazine.............CULTURE! This has been an amazing journey and I hope you guys love it like I do.

Creative Critical Reflection

I'm Done!....Almost.

               Today I finished my magazine!!! I am almost completely finished with this project. I still have to do my CCR, which I plan on filming, interview style, with just me on the right third of the screen, using natural lighting, outside. My CCR will be guided by the following essential questions:

-How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

-How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

-How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

-How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

 I have finished my magazine almost a week earlier than it's due date so that I can ask my friends and peers for constructive critiques to make my project look as professional and interesting as possible. They are all teens, so if not a single part of my publication appeals to them, then I've clearly done something wrong. I have just a couple of blog posts left until this project comes to an end, and I must say that, I truly enjoyed blogging. There were times that I just did not have the motivation to gather research to put onto my blog, but overall it has helped me get through this project. Blogging has kept organized, responsible, and it has also been like a diary for me throughout this experience. Once this is all said and done, I am definitely creating my own personal blog, so be on the look out :).

                                                     xx, Joanne

The Struggle is Real.

        Today my partner Juan and I met up at his house to take pictures for the "What's Poppin'?" section of our publication. We also took a couple of photos for his magazine. I took his cover picture and a photo for his advertisement, Juan directed these photos. I used an app called Huji to take th flcks, it makes photos look like they were taken on a vintage poloroid. This app is free and also super trendy at the moment. Once we took pictures of our items against the white tapestry that we bought from Walmart, Juan and I struggled wth editing the photos on Photoshop, initially. After a few Youtube videos and an hour of utter confusion, we finally got the hang of it. All of the products that we took photos of were cropped and edited within 2 to 3 hours. After that, Juan and I also began thinking about our answers to the questions for our individual CCR's. We both also started putting together our magazine pages on an incredible website named Canva, that has many resources that are, wait for it....FREE! I plan on finishing up the rest of the magazine within a couple days and once that is over, we will film our CCR's.

Last Photoshoot!

           Tomorrow afternoon will be my last photo shoot. My partner Juan and I are going to meet up at his house and take pictures of certain products such as sneakers, skin care products, make up, etc. to display in the monthly must have's or newly named section of our magazine called, "What's Poppin?" This new title for our popular items of the month section of our publication was necessary because, naming it "Monthly Must Haves" would have been too generic. Whereas, "What's Poppin?" incorporates teen slang, it's interesting, and original. Juan and I got a white fabric background at WalMart, very inexpensively, to place the items on so that they would stick out in our magazines; the white background is not distracting and would not take away from the product. Having a white background also makes it easier to edit the photos onto the Table of Contents page(s) and the "Whats Poppin?" page. Juan and I both also plan on writing responses for our individual CCR's tomorrow, addressing the questions that need to be answered about our project. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, but I'm excited!  This project is coming to an end soon and I am finally seeing all my work over the past few weeks come together!

Advertisements

             For the advertisements in my Culture magazine, my partner Juan and I have decided on ads consisting of skincare products, clothing, shoes, food, etc. Overall products that interest teens (aka us). Since he is a guy and I am a girl and we want our publication to be as unisex as possible, our ads will feature products that are unisex. Juan and I decided that two ads would be enough for our publication. One ad for my magazine would be about shoes, "Jordans" to be specific, "Air Jordan 1's" to be even more specific. This highly popularized, trendy shoe is unisex and has always been in style. Jordan 1's are a classic that have been seen on celebrities ranging from rappers like Jay Z or supermodels like Kendall Jenner. Of course all of the images in my magazine have to be original, so "Jordans" would also be a great choice for me because I have a few pairs in my closet that I can take pictures of! I also thought that I could take pictures of my skincare products, to be more specific, my acne face wash, to be even more specific, "Cetaphil". "Cetaphil" is an extremely affordable face wash that has worked to clear and cleanse the skin of many people, including celebrities, one of which being Christina Aguilera, a musical icon, who swears by it. Considering that I have both of these products and the fact that they are both hugely appealing to teenagers, I believe that I have two solid items to advertise. 



Sources:

Toomey, A. (2015, March 20). Christina Aguilera's Favorite Face Wash Is Only $5: Get the Scoop! Retrieved March 31, 2018, from http://www.eonline.com/news/634965/christina-aguilera-reveals-her-favorite-5-face-wash-plus-more-of-her-go-to-beauty-products

Gentle Skin Cleanser. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2018, from https://www.cetaphil.com/gentle-skin-cleanser

(n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2018, from https://www.kicksonfire.com/air-jordan-1-retro-high-og-bred-toe-release-date/

Photoshoot pt.2

             Today I had another successful photoshoot where I took pictures in a local 7/11, the highest floor in an apartment building in downtown Miami, and a local neighborhood as well. I took some pictures of my friend for my magazine and I directed her when she was taking pictures of me. Today we took pictures for a little over two hours. It did get hot and tiring at times, however it was still fun. Overall the shoot was more successful than the last. This time around, there were costume changes and more beautiful locations to take photos at. I am extremely happy about what I accomplished today. Here are some of my favorite pictures.......