Decision Day

This week, I was tasked with testing out two different softwares to guide me in choosing my portfolio project. When first using Premier Pro, an Adobe video editing product, I immediately felt overwhelmed by the amount of features available to the user. Premier Pro allows you to import video clips, cut out pieces of film, add new audio in the background, as well as applying hundreds of effects to both audio and video content. When I imported my own clips, I felt a little more comfortable, as it is accessible to the user. I think that to fully master all of the functions of Premier Pro, it would take months, maybe even up to a full year. However, I found Adobe InDesign, a graphic/text design software, was much more accessible and easier to use. I had little to no issue in importing my photos, I could easily access all the tools and finding features was much easier. I felt this would better suit me out of the two programs, or maybe another option will arise for use in my project's design. 

an example of indeisgns toolbar. It is pretty straightforward, allowing for me to utilize these tools. 

My decision of my portfolio project was influenced by InDesign to select the magazine. I think it would be an interesting process to find what works and what does not when it comes to story design. In the class review of different magazine cover and contents, I found it interesting how different themes were conveyed throughout the issues, as well as how smaller things like text boxes, advertisements and page numbers stood out to the reader to catch their attention. These elements will be key to making my magazine, and I feel I have been educated more on what works in modern-day pop culture.

The magazine industry has faded from its original glory, and been reduced to fewer readers over the years. In Joey Franklin's interview with different writers, in response to his question about shortening the gap between avid readers and the public, Brenda Miller responded that she believes," Gaps don't need to be closed; the literary magazine exists for a specialized audience, mainly writers who want to hone in on their own writing.' " I am taking Miller's beliefs as a sort of challenge for myself: my goal with my magazine will be to design so it appeals to the general public, as well as more advanced readers. I like how Vogue is designed, so I am leaning toward using that as my inspiration for my magazine, but I will try to incorporate other aspects, like Southern Living's continual aesthetics that match the other articles throughout the issue. I look forward to this project and learning how to use Adobe InDesign and other programs to develop my ideas into results. I hope to tell stories successfully, because "Storytelling is a part of who we are as humans"(Cherry,2017) and be able to illustrate them well. I am excited for the future of this class, and what different parts of media production I will continue to gain more knowledge about.