Unit 14 - Producing a print-based media product: 2015

Wednesday, 25 November 2015

LO3 - Showing conventions of the genre

Wednesday, 14 October 2015

Friday, 25 September 2015

LO2 - Reflection on using InDesign

I learned some basic skills in Adobe InDesign.
This will help me in terms of creating a concept for the layout of my magazine. It will allow me to insert features such as puffs and titles.
In my magazine I'll need to include features like images, puffs, banners, mastheads, straplines and pugs. I now know how to put text into columns, change font size/colour, add graphics and other useful skills.

Thursday, 24 September 2015

Wednesday, 23 September 2015

Tuesday, 22 September 2015

Wednesday, 16 September 2015

LO2 - Legal and Ethical considerations

Ways the magazine could break the law:

Could violate copyright laws
Could accidentally include a person in a photograph
Slander - could make a false statement

Obscene Publications Act 1959 and 1964

This law makes it an offence to publish, whether for gain or not, any content whose effect will tend to "deprave and corrupt" those likely to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it.

How I will avoid violating the Obscene Publications Act:

I won't use any images that could be considered pornographic.
I won't use any images or language that could be considered very distressing to the target audience, for example reference to death
I won't use any language or images that could be considered offensive, for example reference to racism or homophobia.

The Defamation Act 2013

This act states that a publisher has broken the law when it publishes content in which:

A statement is defamatory when its publication has caused or is likely to cause serious harm to the reputation of the claimant.
For the purposes of this section, harm to the reputation of a body that trades for profit when it has cause or is likely to cause the body serious financial loss.

How I will avoid violating the Defamation Act

I won't write false or undermining statements about anyone who might feature in the magazine.
I won't downgrade any company that may be affiliated with the topic of the magazine.

Copyright Law

At its heart copyright law covers the publication of content (written or image) without the permission of the author/copyright holder.

Under the 1995 Regulations of the period of author's copyright was extended, to the lifetime of the author and 70 years thereafter.
The publisher's (separate) copyright, in the typographical arrangement of a printed work, lasts for 25 years from the end of the year in which publication occurred. This protects a publisher's copyright in all printed works: including books, magazines, newspapers, and other periodicals

How I will avoid infringement of copyright laws:

I will produce all material that will be included in the magazine myself, or I will gain a company's permission to include their copyrighted material in my magazine.

I contacted the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to gain permission to use their logo in an advert on the back of the magazine.

Negligent Publication

The author and/or the publisher under certain circumstances, either individually or jointly, could be found liable for "incitement" or "negligent publication" if a reader of their publication is seriously injured, dies or suffers damage to their personal property after acting upon or using the content contained in the publication.

How I will avoid breaking Negligent Publication law:

I will not produce any material that might advise a reader to do anything potentially harmful, without a warning

Ethical Issues

Ethical issues are those not covered by law, for example if a fashion magazine uses real furs in a shoot some may say this is unethical.
Use of models and their treatment is the likely most common ethical issue to arise from magazine publication.
Also content can cause ethical issues as well e.g. long term effects of gaming, body shaming, fad diets, fitness regimes etc.

How I will avoid ethical issues:

I won't portray any sensitive ethical matters in a negative way.
I won't use too much Photoshop or other editing software on my images; they will be as much the state they started in as possible.

Friday, 11 September 2015

LO2 - Photo shoot locations

Farne Islands

Address:
Seahouses, Northumberland NE68 7SR
Use: Photographs for feature article
Time of Day: 10am-4pm
Cost: £35
Transport: Car and boat
Feasible: Yes

Potteric Carr Nature Reserve

Address:

Sedum House

Mallard Way

Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN4 8DB

Phone: 01302 570077

Use: Images for "advert", potential images for articles

Time of Day: midday

Cost: £4

Transport: Car

Feasible: Yes

Gillfield Woods

Address: S17 area
Use: Shots for articles
Time of Day: Evening
Cost: Free
Transport: Walking
Feasible: Yes

Peak District

Use: Shots for articles
Time of Day:
Cost: Free
Transport: Car
Feasible: Yes

RSPB Old Moor

Address:

Old Moor Ln

Barnsley S73 0YF

Phone: 01226 751593

Use: Photographs for articles, interview

Time of Day: Afternoon

Cost: Free

Transport: Car

Feasible: Yes

Clumber Park

Address: Worksop, Nottinghamshire S80 3AZ

Phone: 01909 544917

Use: Images for articles

Time of Day: Afternoon

Cost: Free

Transport: Car

Feasible: Yes

Friday, 4 September 2015

LO1 - Hedgehogs Need Our Help (Draft Article)

It’s been a mild year for Britain, and now it’s approaching winter. It’s getting darker as we wake up every morning, the temperature is falling: and the leaves are making their way through the spectrum of yellow, and orange, to red, and then finally brown. It’s when these leaves blanket the ground that the little mouse-like, spiky critters decide to start settling down for the season.

Hedgehogs like to start hibernating any time from mid-October to mid-November. It’s amazing how the creatures can shut down their body and survive that way through the cold, harsh winter months. But there’s a bit of a problem when it comes to hedgehogs setting up camp for the winter.

They tend to bury themselves in piles of fallen leaves or grass cuttings, in compost heaps, under hedgerows, and even bags of rubbish. As a result, in our busy urban environments, these aren’t always the safest places to be sleeping.

There are ways we can help get these little spiny, bright-eyed little animals safely through the winter, even in our unforgiving towns and cities. We talked to Julie McCurdy, a volunteer at a wildlife sanctuary in South Yorkshire, about how we can help protect hedgehogs in the winter season.

· If there’s a build-up of leaves in a particular area in your garden, take the time to investigate before using a fork or burning the leaves. Upon inspection you may find there could be one surprised and disgruntled hedgehog nestled in there!

· It’s better to have woken the hedgehog up and know it’s there than accidentally making the huge mistake of throwing the whole pile in the dustbin or on a fire with a pitchfork.

· If you wake the hedgehog, a good idea is to leave out a little food and water – cat or dog food always works a treat, or mealworms, if you’ve got them – they’re full of protein that hedgehogs just adore.

· After a while, they will make their own way back into their little nest, or move elsewhere. However, it’s probably ideal to wait for quite a few hours before disposing of their winter dwelling – they might wander before returning to their warm and cosy home.

· Try to avoid using slug pellets in your garden as much as you can. Alternatives to pellets include copper tape wrapped around the top of the plant pot, scattering salt on the slugs, and even seaweed scattered around the plants for its repellent high salt content.

· To take an extra step towards helping our hedgehogs by making them their own place in your garden for them to hibernate! A corner of your garden specifically rugged and full of fallen leaves or grass cuttings would be perfect for a hedgehog who wants a peaceful, undisturbed winter sleep.

· You could even go a step further by making a little “den”, made of wood stuffed with hay or the leaves and grass cuttings. If you make sure there’s enough room to shuffle things about and get comfy, you just might be lucky enough to have a hedgehog taking up its winter residence in your garden!

With a serious decline in hedgehogs potentially on the horizon, it’s up to us to help them carry on thriving. And by helping to get them through the difficult time of winter, we’re already halfway there.

Thursday, 3 September 2015

LO1 - Draft layout 2

Wednesday, 2 September 2015

LO1 - Draft Editorial

Editorial

Hi, and welcome to the very first edition of The Roost!

The world of nature has fascinated me since my early childhood.

It’s a thing I’ve always been passionate about, and I’ve always loved the unpredictability of the natural world. But in this day and age, our man-made world is just as unpredictable as the vulnerable, variable world I fell in love with as a child.

The diverse world around us is hanging in the balance, and everything is changing too fast for the flora and fauna to keep up.

We’re taking over, and sometimes it seems like all hope is lost. We’re desperately trying to redeem ourselves for the imbalances we’ve caused to the infrastructure that our wild neighbours rely on to survive.

Animals have a charm that we just can’t impersonate. They each have their unique charisma that makes them such a thing of wonder, and every human sees it differently. I find a delightful amount of humour in the way puffins waddle around proudly with their bills stuffed full of sand eels. And the way that bats, against popular belief, are not a menacing, bloodsucking creature of the night. In fact, they’re pretty adorable when you see them up close, with their wings wrapped around them like a blanket and two beady little curious eyes poking out at the top. Insects, however, don’t really hold any sort of appeal to me, but, each to their own – an entomologist probably would disagree there!

Yes, people are seemingly hopelessly ignorant of the fate we’re forcing onto the earth’s critters and creatures. But all hope is not lost. Despite the destruction and apparent ignorance in the face of their fate, we’re beginning to see a change in the way we’re approaching the idea of a safe future for wildlife. Awareness of issues like this are being presented in more important light than ever, and a new generation of children who seem glued to their technological gadgets are not completely void of appreciation for what the natural world can give to us. The current and further generations just need to realise that there are things they can do to help turn the tables of the damage we have wrought on wildlife, and they’re relying on you to help bring that out.

In this, the very first edition of The Roost, we will cover topics such as how you can make your own impact on the welfare of our resident critters by making your garden – and their home – a safer place. Managing to co-live with the wildlife all around us in our suburban jungle is the first step in making the world we’ve dominated into a more habitable place.

Throughout the production we’ll also look at how you can be inspired, and inspire those around you, to help preserve the world we’re pushing away that’s diminishing fast. We’ll do this by taking a look at some of the most amazing locations on earth, with stunning sights to see and exhilarating atmospheres to experience. The Special Destinations articles are the ones to look out for if you’re looking for somewhere to see just how remarkable the natural world can be.

For me, it always has been and always will be an amazing experience to go to somewhere with astounding natural beauty. People want excitement. And the world holds so many amazing, thrilling scenes to catch people’s eyes. They just need to be discovered. The Roost will cover so many of these beautiful places, and their exciting, captivating atmospheres that are always so different from one another.