Evaluation

1.  In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Photography- For my front cover and double page spread i used a white background for my photographs, because i noticed when Q magazine features an artist, the main photo usually has a white background. I used a close up for the front cover which is a common convention throughout many magazines, because the direct eyesight draws the reader in. I edited my photo's slightly on photoshop, though i didn't cut out any images and paste onto a different background because i have not seen this convention in any professional magazines.

Page layout and design- I used a blocky style in my contents page, following the conventions of 'Q' magazine. I think this is an effective convention as it allows the reader to be able to read lots of text clearly. The title on my front cover was placed at the left hand side and not centred, because the 'Q' magazine logo and 'NME logo is always on one side of the page in every issue. I also placed a strapline at the top of the page, because most magazines i have seen do this to draw attention to the reader. In my double page spread, there is a large letter underneath the text, as i have noticed this convention in many magazines. My front cover has circle shapes to provide a background for special features, such as 'exclusive interviews'. I noticed 'Q' magazine used similar circles and i replicated this convention.

Language style/article type- I used the conventions of 'Q' magazine whilst writing the article for my double page spread. I wrote my article in a story-like fashion, not a simple Q and A interview. I used a mixture of simple and complex language, to make sure it was engaging but able to be understood by my target audience of late teens. I used 'Q' articles as a style model, writing the interview in a way which explains how the interviewer and artist have met up and where, then gradually adding the questions and answers in whilst describing the setting etc.

Colour Schemes- Most magazines, including 'Q' and 'NME' have a colour scheme of three or less colours. For example, the 'Q' colour scheme is red, white and black, and occassionaly gold if it is a special edition issue. I used orange, black and white for my colour scheme. I think white and black are basic colours that the majority of magazines use, therefore i used it in my own as i thought it was simple and allowed text and images to be easily read and seen.

2.       How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Age- my magazine represents a younger audience, teenagers to mid-20's. The language used in the double page spread is quite complex, but the initial title of the magazine 'remix' connotes new, up-to-date music which a younger audience would be interested in. The age group is being represented as quite intellectual through the use of language used.

Class and status- My media product is aimed at middle class, because of the vocabulary used in my double page spread is more challenging, however, my front cover is written very simplistically therefore could attract an audience of lower class. My media product would represent a mixture between middle and lower class.
Gender- My media product is unisex, but my artist featured is female and is from an 'indie' genre of music, and in the interview, she comes accross as a fun, typical early 20's female who likes to discover new music and go out. This represents that gender as being the same.

3.       What kind of media institution might distribute your media product?

I would advertise my magazine nationally because it features well known and popular artists, though I wouldn’t make it available internationally because my artist I have featured is British, therefore not well-known in America, for example, which would cause people to avoid purchasing the product as they don’t know the person on the front cover. Most people in my survey said they are influenced by the artist on the front cover of a magazine, therefore if a british magazine was released internationally, it would effect market sales if the artist was only popular or known in Britain.

I would advertise my magazine through the internet, on music websites or artist fan websites, because this would attract the target audience of music fans.
I would allow 'British Magazines Direct' to take on the job of distributing my magazine accross the UK, as they specialise in distributing british music magazines such as Q, NME and Rolling stone.

4.       Who would be the target audience for your media product?

My target audience would younger. Late teenagers and mid-20’s would be the target audience because the type of music being featured is modern and new. My magazine would be aimed at people who like going to festivals because there is lots of news about festival lineups etc, and people who like to keep up to date with new music and artists.

An visual demonstration of my target audience

5.       How did you attract/address your audience?
In my planning stage, my audience said they would buy a magazine with a 'blocky' style in the contents page and exclusive interviews would interest them. My magazine contents page has a blocky style with mainly writing more than pictures and my front cover has interviews advertised inside. After my rough cut, my target audience said i should improve my images (make them more visually appealing/interesting) and said there should be more information in the contents page, therefore i took their points into consideration and changed in images and wrote more information. My images would attract my target audience because the people i have used are young, therefore will attract a younger audience (late teens- mid 20's). The language in my double page spread is quite complex with long sentences, but is easy to read and understand. This adresses my target audience because it is not too formal, but not too simplistic either so it is a balance inbetween. The overall message my magazine is sending out to my target audience is 'if you buy this magazine, you will be aware of new artists and have exclusive festival info for summer'.

6.       What have your learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Framing a shot - i have learnt about the rule of thirds when taking photographs to get a better composition.
Shot distances - i have used a variety of different shot distances in my magazine. The front cover has an extreme close up, the double page spread features a close up and the double page spread has a long shot and a medium shot. This gives variety.
Lighting - i have learnt about using artificial and natural lighting to get a better photo. I used a mixture of natural and artificial lighting to create bright photographs.
photoshop - i have learnt how to use photoshop to create my magazine. I learnt the basics, then learnt how to enhance my images by using brightening tools and hue and saturation and shadow and highling tool to create a better colour to my images. I used the ruler tool to create a centre line for my double page spread. I also used to re-size tool whilst holding shift to change the size and shape of my images and text whilst keeping it in proportion.
Blogger - i have learnt how to create a blog on blogger and make new posts. I have also learnt how to upload images and videos to my blog.

7.       Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

   

Time management-  I have learnt to manage my time better throughout the process of making my magazine. I have had different deadlines for both my blog and rough cuts of my magazine, which has been effective at keeping me on top of my work and not leaving anything till the last minute.

Photographs- I have learnt how to frame a shot better using the rule of thirds and how to take a photograph with better composition. My school magazine photograph and final cut photograph were closeups, but the composition for my final magazine front cover photograph was better and had less background in.

Photoshop - I have gradually been learning how to use photoshop throughout the whole process of making my magazine. I used better fonts in my final magazine, whereas the fonts i used in the prelim task looked unprofessional. I have also learnt how to edit photo's properly using brighteness and contrast tools or auto smart fix, to give better effects on my photographs. I also learnt how to add text over a picture, instead of placing my title at the top of the page with a white background like in my school magazine.

Magazine Final

Diary Week 7

This week we are working on our magazines. I took some new photos for my front cover and double page spread. I took quite alot of photos but i only achieved a few good shots, which i am going to use. The images are nice because it has sunlight streaming through, like the photos which inspired me (below). In lessons and in free periods i have been editing my magazine and making sure i have done everything on my blog by using a checklist. It is the deadline week so i have been double-checking spelling, punctuation and mistakes on my magazine and correcting them before it's too late. I noticed when i printed my front cover out, that the photo quality was reduced and became grainy, therefore i was left with a dilema: do i use an old photo, or stick to the new photo because of the better composition, though with worse quality. I have had problems uploading videos to my blog too, but hopefully i will sort that out before the deadline.

Photograph Inspirations

I used these images as inspiration for my own photographs. The photos all have something in common - use of lighting.

The top photo is an NME front cover, with Carl Barat on the front. In the photograph, he is looking directly into the camera, which is why it is ideal for the front cover. The photo is also really bright on his facial area, because there has been lighting used to contour his face and make the whole image brighter. For my own front cover image, my model looked directly into the camera and i used lighting to brighten the image and highlight my model.

The bottom row of images are all very similar. In each, the model is gazing dreamily to the side and the lighting highlights and contours the model. In my own images, the lighting is very important, as it can make a whole image so much better with correct lighting. In my double page spread photograph, my model is gazing out of the shot, like in the above images, and the lighting is mainly on one side of the photograph, like the first image in the row.

Photograph Table

images

This is my favourite photo that i have taken. I took it by using natual daylight mixed with artificial light and the flash from the camera. This gave a nice effect to the picture and it is really light and nice. My model was standing against a white background and near a window with natural daylight streaming through. We used a hairdryer to make it look like her hair was blowing and i think i achieved this well. I used a professional camera (which belonged to my friends dad) to take this photo, however, for the rest of my photos i used a different camera, therefore the photos are a mixture of different qualities. I took a few different shots with this mise-en-scene, but the shot above is the best one that came out of the photoshoot, therefore i chose it for my double page spread.

On photoshop i have not edited it much, i have only made it slightly lighter by increasing the brighteness.

I took this photo by using lighting mixed with natural light and using a professtional camera, like the photo above, so i achieved a professional shot, in my opinion. The photo was taken mid-day and is very light. I am lucky i was able to borrow a professional camera and light. The photo is an extreme close-up, therefore i thought it would be suitable for the front cover. I edited the photo quite alot, but i only increased the brighteness on photoshop and slightly increased the contrast, so the light was in one corner. I like this photo because it is similar to my DPS photograph, however, the two photos are very different to the photos on my contents page, although this could be a good thing as it shows variation.

I took this photo on my original photoshoot. I did not use any lighting and just put my model against a white wall, therefore the quality of the shot was not very good. I used my own digital camera to take the photo, therefore the quality is very different to the rest of my photos, like the two above, for example. The lighting is not very good and the picture is very dark, in comparisson to my other photos. I did not use this because of that reason.

This photo was taken at night time using a digitial camera. My model was standing by a tree in the woods and it was hard to get a decent shot because it was so dark. The flash makes the focus of the picture only on the model and the tree, and the rest of the image is almost in total darkeness. I decided to keep this photo and use it in my contents page because it is very different to the rest of the images i have used, such as the above for example. The darkeness of this photo contrasts with the lightness of the photo above and the shot is from quite a long distance.
I did not edit this image on photoshop because i didn't think it needed editing because it was already extremely dark and editing it would not make much of a difference.

I took this photo for my contents page. My model was standing against a brick wall in an alley, though i noticed graffitti on the wall but i thought this gave quite a good look for my photos. We did not use any lighting and relied on only natural daylight. I used the school camera to take this photo and i took loads of different shots, but in the end i decided to use this one for my contents page because i like the pose and the shot. This photo is also one of my favourites in my magazine because the background is really different to all of the others i have used in my other photos, and gives variation.

On photoshop i edited this image slightly, just to make the colours more vivid and stand out. I did this by using the 'autofix' tool.

This is the photo i was using for my front cover. This shot was easy to do because i did not use any additional lighting and my model was wearing a casual outfit - a plain white t-shirt. We took the photo against a plain white wall. I used my own camera to take this shot, and the image quality is different from the other images, especially my double page spread, which was a problem. I tried to make this image more similar to the one i am using in my double page spread by editing it on photoshop to make it lighter and brighter.

On photoshop i increased the brighteness and contrast and cut out some of the background to make it plain white. I used the clone stamp tool to get rid of spots and patches of light on the skin. I did not acheive my desired result and i think the final image looks 'over edited' and is too obviously photoshopped, which you would not see in a professional magazine, such as my style model 'Q'.

Diary week 6

This week we are continuing with editing our magazines. We analysed each others first drafts of our magazines and gave feedback to people and I received feedback for my own magazine, from students in the class and our teachers. We wrote what we liked about them, and listed what they could change. After receiving my feedback, I listed all of the changes, which included changing fonts and adding more text into the contents page to fill blank space, and I am going to take them on board.

Rough Cut Teacher Feedback

Front cover- The title of the magazine needs to go at the side and be bigger. There is also little text on the front cover, so more text in the bare spaces would make it better.
Contents Page- There needs to be more information on the contents page. There is a picture with a page number underneath, but it dosen't say who the artist is. Write about what the picture is representing (which story/artist).
DPS- The columns need to be equal and bigger text for the title. I need to write the name of the artist who the article is about on the page.

Rough Cut Student Feedback

What did you like about my project at this stage?
My feedback from students said that they liked the strong images used on the front cover and in the contents page. The colour scheme was said to be consistent and works well. The layout and structure is good and well laid out in the contents page.

What could be improved?
The barcode has no numbers and the date on the front cover is on twice, by the title and by the bar code. The contents page could have a page number and could have more images. In my Double Page Spread, a bit of space could have been filled and the line could be removed. Most of my feedback also said my magazine title 'remix' could stand out more. Some of my feedback said that the font does not stand out, therefore a different font would be easier to understand. In the Double Page Spread, put a page number on the left page.

What have i learned?
I am going to remove the date from the top of the page and place it at the bottom corner of the pace, next to the barcode. I am going to do this because people have noticed i had put the date on twice. I am also going to put a white box around the barcode to make it stand out more and be read clearly.  Another main thing i am going to change, is the text in the double page spread. In the DPS, people have noticed there is alot of bare space which should be filled. I am going to add more text and straighten it out so it looks neat and fills blank space. On the front cover, i am going to change the font and colour of the text, to make it easier to read. This is because people commented on the front cover saying the text was not clear to read. Overall, the main things i am going to change is the text, to make it easier to read and to cover space.

First Draft

Diary Week 5

This week I have changed my whole idea for my magazine. I decided to make up a brand new artist instead of doing Beyonce, because I realised it would not look realistic to do an artist who looks nothing like my model. I used the same photographs for the draft because I couldn’t get new photos straight away, but I changed the article on my double page spread and text in the contents page and on the front cover. I looked through some Q articles for some inspiration for my double page spread article and decided to write it in a similar style. My Beyonce article was written in a simple format of questions in bold and answers underneath, however, for my new article, I wrote it as if documenting the whole meeting with the artist in a more complex way. I read an interview about Las Vegas in an issue of Q magazine and I decided to base my own article on Las Vegas and New York, suggesting my artist found inspiration for music from those two cities.

Photo inspirations

 My model wore a black outfit, which was the closest thing i could get to the outfit Beyonce wears in the photo. Beyonce's hair is long and straight in the photo and a similar colour to my models, and i put her hair in a similar style. The background in all images are plain white. My model did a similar pose to Beyonce where she is lay on her side with her leg up. I took a variety of different medium shots with similar poses and expressions.

In these photos my model wore a plain white t-shirt and wore her hair down and straight. Her makeup was natural, similar to Beyonce's in the photo. I took a variety of close-ups to use possibly for the front cover, as they are simplistic.

This medium shot is simplistic yet the shadow makes it more interesting to look at. We tried to achieve a similar effect to the image of Beyonce, where the lighting and shadow is the main focus.

Diary week 4

This week we have begun making the first draft of our magazines.  We have been using photoshop in lessons to create a front page, contents and double page spread. Outside of lessons i took some photos of someone pretending to be Beyonce, as that is my main artist. I am still experimenting with different colours and fonts for my magazine.

Magazine sketches

Diary week 3

This week i analysed my results from the questionnaires i made for my music magazine. I made pie charts to represent the data for each question then wrote a simple analysis underneath each one. I will take into consideration my results. I also started to create drawings of what my magazine will look like, by drawing a front cover, contents page and double page spread on paper. This gives an idea of what my magazine will look like and determine what style model to use.

Questionnaire analysis

The majority of the people who i interviewed said that they would prefer to see a solo artist rather than a band on the front cover. This could be because of their taste in music and which genre they prefer. They also said that they prefer pop music, which could be why they would prefer to see a solo artist because it is more common for pop music to be by a solo artist rather than a band, however, if the majority of them said they liked indie music, they would probably want to see a band on the front cover.

Most of the people i interviewed said that the main image would catch their attention on the front cover of a magazine, and the rest said that the artist being featured would catch their attention. If the image is dull and boring to look at, they are not likely to pick up the magazine and want to read it.

The majority answered 'pop music', closely followed by 'indie' and then 'RnB'. a small amount said 'rock' and i had a few answers which came under the 'other category', as one person said 'alternative' and the other said 'hip hop/rap'. There was such a small amount i decided to merge their answers under the 'other' category as it would not influence my magazine.

I asked 25 people if free items would persuade them to buy a magazine, and 21 people said yes, it would, whereas the other four people said no. If there was a free poster or CD, my magazine would more likely be popular with the people who answered my questionnaire and make them want to buy it.

found out that just over half of the people i interviewed said that they bought music magazines monthly, whilst the rest said they rarely bought music magazines. Nobody said that they bought music magazines weekly, which could suggest they dont like reading about music and prefer different types of magazines.

I asked what they would like to read about in a music magazine, and i gave four categories. Over half of the answers said Question/Answer interviews would be the preference, closely followed by music reviews and articles on artists and bands. Not many people wanted tips and advice, therefore i will not include this in my own magazine, as it will not interest my audience.

When asked what would influence them to choose one magazine over another, the price and the artist on the front cover were the most popular answers. A few people said the articles inside the magazine would persuade them to choose a certain magazine.

I asked how much people would be willing to pay for a music magazine (maximum price). The average answer was £2 - £3. This is a reasonable price and i will take it into consideration when thinking of a price for my own magazine.

Questionnaire questions

1. How often do you buy music magazines?
weekly       monthly     rarely

2. What is your favourite genre of music?

3. Who is your favourite band/artist?

4. What catches your attention on a front cover of a magazine?

5. Would free items persuade you to buy a magazine?

6. What do you like reading about in a magazine?
Q/A interviews        Articles      Reviews        Tips/advice

7. What makes you want to buy one magazine over another?

8. What would you prefer to see in a contents page?
Image dominated (lots of pictures)       Blocky style (simplistic, easy to read)

9. How much would you pay for a music magazine?

10. Do you prefer bands or a solo artist on a front cover?

initial ideas

This is a mind map of different ideas for my music magazine.

Diary week 2

In the second week, we made a spider diagram of initial ideas for our music magazines. We looked at the different options for fonts, colour schemes, layout and magazine names etc. We then made a questionnaire for our target audience, to find out what people want to see in our magazine. After collecting the questionnaires back, i analysed my data and used graphs and pie charts to present it.

Diary week 1

In the first week, we analysed five different music magazines and a school magazine. We looked at the different codes and conventions used in each one, and how they were different or similar depending on the genre and target audience. I analysed Mojo magazine, NME, and Q magazine. After i analysed the school magazine, i made my own front cover and contents on photoshop for Whitley Bay High. This was useful at putting the different codes and conventions into practice.

'Q' Magazine

Front Cover:

This issue of 'Q' magazine uses a different colour scheme and layout than usual. The background of the page is grey, despite most issues being white. The logo is red and white, which is the main colour scheme throughout. The text is arranged in the middle of the page, however, 'Q' magazine usually places text around the central image. The majority of the text is white, which is presented clearly on the dark background. 'Hottest things in music right now' is written in red, which stands out in comparrison to the rest of the text. There colour gold is used on '101', which is eye-catching and not a colour 'Q' magazine usually uses on the front cover, suggesting this issue is different. The image is of the band being featured. The guitar is on fire, which is in reference to the title 'they're on fire'. There is a red strip at the bottom corner of the page, which stands out and is directly opposite the red box of the 'Q' logo. There is two other images of bands/artists on the front cover, in front of the main image. The front cover is very image dominated, with less text than 'Q' usually has on the front covers. 

Contents Page:

The contents page is set out in a 'blocky' style. There is two images, but the majority of the page is covered by text. The colour scheme is the same as the front cover (red, white and gold). The writing is black with a white background behind it, which is simplistic and easy to read. The 'Q Review' section is underneath the central image and has a pale blue background behind the significantly smaller text. The text sizes show what is more important - the contents section is larger because it is what the page is mainly about. The page numbers are red, which draws attention and makes it easy for the reader to quickly jump to the page they want. The title for 'oasis special' is written in gold, and is in a seperate text box from the rest of the contents, which shows that it is a special feature for this specific issue.

Double Page Spread:

The double page spread is image dominated, as a photograph of lady gaga covers one half of the page, sticking with the rule of thirds, and is eye-catching and attracts attention. The colours are a mixture of black and red, with a simple white background, sticking with the traditional 'Q' colour scheme. 'She's the man' is written in very large font. This grabs attention straight away and makes the reader curious as to what the article will be about. The text underneath is written in smaller black font. 'lady gaga' is highlighted in red, to make it clear that the article was about her, if it was not already obvious from the photograph opposite. There are three arrows in the corner of the page, to show that the article will continue on the next page.