Hi,
Over the half term, you all need to take some photographs for your controlled assessment portfolio (one for the cover and two or three for the contents page and double-page spread). These need to be taken by you (as you are the one being assessed on their quality) and need to be done in a fairly professional way with thought given to the framing of the shot, the lighting and the mise en scene. Take more than you need and make them all slightly different to show in your portfolio that you went through a whole process to get to the finished product. If they are not brilliant it doesn't matter too much, as we can take some more in the Media Suite when you get back.
Try and stick to the conventions of whatever genre you have chosen for your magazine, so, if you are doing a movie magazine, your cover could feature an 'actor' looking at the camera. The type of pose/expression he/she does will depend on what type of film he/she is in. The actor could be in character or just be themselves. Unless you happen to know a major film star, you will have to get a friend or family member to pretend to be a film star and, if they are going to be in character, the character will have to be made up by you and be from a film which you have also made up. You don't need to write the whole screenplay, you just need to come up with a name and the genre of it.
If you are struggling for ideas of how to compose your shot, think back to the examples you analysed in class and, if necessary, get hold of some more magazines to look at.
