Topic 2: Forum
Find a recent magazine, it can be of any genre but choose one you would never usually look at or purchase.
My response:
I have chosen Caravan and Motorhome magazine for this exercise. The first double page spread I have redacted the text from is from an article about a tour around the East Midlands. The main photo is set as a background image, partially covered by information text boxes. The photo uses leading lines from the fence and pathway to draw the viewer into the hills and sunset in the background. The lower portion of the picture is covered over with 3 smaller photos showing places to visit on your trip. They have been given a white border and drop shadow to give the feeling of being randomly dropped on the page, giving a holiday snapshot feel.
- Using a sharpie pen (or similar) redact all the text on every page of the magazine.
- Share three of the most interesting pages in the forum below.
- Add 250 words (maximum) about how the images are arranged and why.
My response:
I have chosen Caravan and Motorhome magazine for this exercise. The first double page spread I have redacted the text from is from an article about a tour around the East Midlands. The main photo is set as a background image, partially covered by information text boxes. The photo uses leading lines from the fence and pathway to draw the viewer into the hills and sunset in the background. The lower portion of the picture is covered over with 3 smaller photos showing places to visit on your trip. They have been given a white border and drop shadow to give the feeling of being randomly dropped on the page, giving a holiday snapshot feel.
The second spread is part of the same article, but here the arrangement has shown a larger picture of a sheep and an illustrated map of the route, this time without the interference of text boxes or overlayed images. There are some smaller thumbnail images at the bottom of the page highlighting further places to visit on route.
The third spread about the High Brown Fritillary uses an extended full-page image which crosses onto the first page but did have some distracting text overlaid top right. There are another two butterfly photos which have been cut out and given drop shadow, which gives the feeling of butterflies flying over the page. Two further thumbnail images show locations where these butterflies can be found.
Peer comments:
Snap! I am really surprised at the difference in approach between the two magazines on the same topic. I imagine this represents cultural differences. I also feel that the French magazine is highly influenced by US attitudes to camper vans. I just checked the publisher information in Le Monde du Camping-car' and see that the editorial and publicity teams are pretty big indicating that this is magazine has some clout, I think. The French version has nothing like the detail about what you can do when you are at a destination it's all about lifestyle whereas the British version feels much more gentle and personable.
Peer comments:
Snap! I am really surprised at the difference in approach between the two magazines on the same topic. I imagine this represents cultural differences. I also feel that the French magazine is highly influenced by US attitudes to camper vans. I just checked the publisher information in Le Monde du Camping-car' and see that the editorial and publicity teams are pretty big indicating that this is magazine has some clout, I think. The French version has nothing like the detail about what you can do when you are at a destination it's all about lifestyle whereas the British version feels much more gentle and personable.
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