Creative writing

Unit 3 introductory paragraph 1

Did you know that alcohol causes 1.8 million deaths per year, which represents about 3.2% of all deaths worldwide? If you drink heavily, there is a chance that you will experience insomnia, paranoia and hallucinations, at some point. Have you ever used alcohol to self-medicate your problems? This doesn’t work. It only makes it worse. Remember that your GP is always there if you need a chat. Do you live in an area where alcohol is heavily advertised? This can lead you to increase how much you drink. Be aware. Seek help if you need it. Help change your future.

Introductory paragraph 2

Being drunk is fun; I’m not going to lie. I remember there was a time I went to this party; there was great music, great people, and a really hot guy. My stomach turned at the thought of talking to him, so down went shot one. Shot two. Shot three. One bottle gone. And another. I blacked out and awoke in the hospital; stomach pumped and having just escaped alcohol poisoning. I don’t drink anymore.

Introductory paragraph 3

The following article is going to cover the subject of the long and short term effects of alcohol; how it can be so easily misused and the dangers of this. Many people use alcohol as an excuse to change who they are, but unfortunately; through psychological effects too much alcohol can change this permanently and not in a good way. Alcohol is used to self-medicate one’s problems; it can become seriously addictive and cause all kinds of long term problems such as depression, anxiety and compulsive behaviour. Drinking at a young age can become progressively more difficult to seek help. Experiences of paranoia, hallucinations and insomnia will recurrently appear, and leave one in a deeply psychological state of emotional unhappiness.

I wouldn’t normally use this type of introduction for a magazine article, as it’s far too formal and is more commonly used in newspapers rather than magazines. My target audience is 17-21 year olds, and this type of introduction is in no way appropriate for that demographic, as this age group is more laid-back and relaxed. The summary introduction is used give detail about the subject of the magazine in brief to make the reader want to continue, however it’s far too informal to be used in a magazine; which are more blasé and comfortable about the content. This type of introduction tells the reader what the article they’re about to read actually involves; this style is not needed for a magazine as it should be a lot more obvious in the layout and some individual pictures.

InDesign double page spread

This is my first page with images selected specifically to look as if they are pointing in particular places to direct the reader's eye towards the text.



This is my second page in the double page spread. After the images on the first page have directed the eye towards this page, the image in this one directs the eye up; toward the writing. The text isn't actually specifically about the article just yet, as I only had time to put it all together rather than do all the research needed to write my own article. I decided to do two columns so it appeared to be aimed at a more intellectual target audience, and I used ellipsis just above the text to draw the reader in and make them want to read on.

 

Cross Processing

This is my original image.

Cross processing was a way of developing film in the 1980's. To create this retro effect I used the cross processing tool, created a new adjustment layer and selected 'curves'. I edited the colours individually; red and blue I made into an 'S' shape which highlighted the red and blue in certain areas of the photograph, while desaturating the image of these colours in other areas. For the green I just altered it slightly. I then created a new adjustment layer and selected 'solid colour' which I made yellow, and then changed the opacity so it's only slightly visible, while still helping aid in this vintage-image style.

Zoey before and after.

This is the image I placed onto Photoshop.

To change this image, I opened the original up in Photoshop, then selected the healing brush tool and clicked 'alt' on the keyboard to get the colour of her skin on the brush, then clicked over the spot and it disappeared. I did this with every spot on her face until they had all gone.

Vampire Photoshop

This is the photo I had to edit on Photoshop and turn into a vampire.

This is my finished product. To acheive this, I started out by opening up Photoshop and creating a new file and pasting the original image in. I then used the burn tool around the eyes and the iris of the eyes to appear darker. I then used the sponge tool on the skin to desaturate all the colour out of it so she appears less human. I then zoomed in on her teeth and selected the magnetic lasso tool around one of her teeth on each side and clicked edit, transform, warp to drag the tooth down and seem like a vampire tooth. I then selected the brush tool and coloured the white of her eyes in red, chose 'darken' then changed the opacity to make them seem slightly red and bloodshot.