my evaluation

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

My magazine uses some of the normal conventions from indie music magazines such as Q and NME. My magazine follows a similar layout to the Q magazine shown below, I did this by staying with a simple layout which enhances the image and brings the focus to the main image in the background.

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

I made my magazine appeal able to the decided target audience of indie rock, I did this by sticking to the colours that other indie rock magazines use. I also used the same font styles as the most popular indie magazines. As below the magazine has used the popular colours of red and black, so I have took this idea and used it in my magazine front cover and contents page.

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

ipc media are likely to distribute my magazine as they have experience within this area of music and would find it much easier to make the magazine a successful magazine. As they have already distributed NME then they can easily reach the correct target audience by using the researched methods which will then allow the to release it with less charges as they already know how to reach the target audience.

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

the typical audience of my magazine would be mainly people who are interested in the band paramore, the typical image of the target audience would be that of the paramore lead singer hayley Williams and the lead guitarist Josh Farro, I picture of each is shown below.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my target audience by the use of a popular song of the band paramore as the title of the magazine(Riot) I also gave the artist on the front of the magazine a paramore tshirt which all paramore fans will recognise straight away, I also used part of the font used in this album on the front cover in order to make sure the target audience can recognise the magazine.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?


Whilst creating my products I have improved my knowledge with many technological skills including Photoshop and macromedia fireworks, as when creating my products I used a combination of both programs. I used adobe Photoshop in order to edit the pictures and bring them all together and I used macromedia fireworks to create unique fonts and adding colours and borders to the fonts. Adobe Photoshop allowed me to change the colours of the photograph and even make part of the picture to black and white by creating new layers.

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

My preliminary task was to create a front cover for a college magazine. As shown with the two magazine front covers it is clear that there has been a great improvement between the college magazine and the music magazine cover. As I only used Microsoft publisher to create the college magazine cover and I used Photoshop to create the music magazine so due to the improvement in the technology the music magazine is much better. Also i haven’t used much imagination when creating the college magazine as there is only one puff and it is very plain and boring.

Double page spread

click for full image

Music Magazine Contents page

As you can see i have kept to my mock up design as best i could and have created this as my contents page. the two photographs also keep to the house of the magazine as they are both dressed in black with a red guitar and these two colours are the main colours of the magazine.

The writing in the Contents page also stays with the house of the magazine as it is yellow with the same font style as the front cover.

Contents page mock up

This is going to be the layout in which i will design my magazine contents page from, my magazine contents page may not be the exact same as this, as this is just a breif idea which will guide me in the creation of my magazine contents page.

I have the word contents page at the top to allow readers to be able to find the contents page very easily. There are going to be two pictures either side of the page, this is to make the page more attractive and easier on the eye. The background is going to be black and red as this is what the background of the front cover is, this is then keeping to the house of the magazine.
The words "contents page" are going to be in a yellow font that is the same as the title page on the front cover, the page titles will also be in this font, this is so i can create a house for the magazine and keep to it.

Magazine Front Cover

As you can see the actual magazine front cover that I created is very similar to the mock-up, however the puff is on the opposite side in the actual magazine, I decided to do this due to the picture, as if I would have put the puff on the opposite side then it would have removed the guitar from view, and I wanted the guitar to stand out most, this is why I have changed the artist to black and white and the guitar in colour, I did this in Photoshop cs4. I also put the puff behind the guitar but in front of the person in order to build on making the guitar stand out. I wanted the guitar to stand out as this is what the user will recognise rather than the artist as it is a new artist that the magazine is featuring in order to help boost the artists career and to give the reader some inside information on the new artist.

I have also added the date issue and the price as this will allow the reader to see if it is the most recent issue of the magazine and to see how much the magazine is.

To encourage the reader to purchase the magazine I have also added a free download code so they can get one song for free, when the readers see free they will be encouraged to buy the magazine, this is a very popular tactics used by most magazines and by a lot of mainstream shops as if the reader/customer sees the word free then they think they are getting something for nothing and do not want to miss out on the opportunity to get something for free.

I have used a pun of the word riot as it is one of the song names for paramore, and the genre that i am using is the same genre as the band paramore so the readers will instantly recognise it and will think of the band paramore and see that the featured band is very similar to the band paramore, this will then encourage the reader to buy as they recognise the band paramore.

magazine front cover mockup

This is going to be the layout in which i will design my magazine front cover from, my magazine front cover may not be the exact same as this, as this is just a breif idea which will guide me in the creation of my magazine front cover.

i have the magazine name at the top to allow customers to be able to see it straight away even if it is slightly hidden from veiw by other magazines on the shelf, the main picture is going to take up the whole of the magazine background and is going to be a edited picture of my band with a gradient as the background to the image.

The puff in the lower part of the magazine will be used to tell the user what is inside the magazine in order to incourage them to buy this magazine instead of another.

My moodboard

Photoshop practice 2

double page spread analysis (1)

The head line is the same font and style as the main coverline on the cover, it also has a quote from this page on the cover in order to attract the reader to this page. Lily allens name is also in the same font and style which makes it stand out from all the other text. The background is white in order to keep it plain so the readers attention is only on the text and the picture. The picture in this double page spread takes up a whole page, this is a verry common method in magazines as it attracts the reader to the article if they are flicking through and see a large picture of one of their favourite bands or stars. The text then takes up the other page and is started with a drop cap, this is also a very common method in newspapers, magazines and books, they do this to attract attention to the article. The lead is position above the 4 coloums in a lager text size in order to bring attention to it so the reader can see what the text is about. The artists (lilly allen) clothes match the colour scheme of the page so the picture “fits” and looks like it belongs in the page. Lilly allen is looking directly at the reader which shows that she wants the readers attention. At the bottom of the page, like in most magazines, is the page number and the name of the magazine and the date, this allows readers to take quotations from the article and also allows the magazine company to quote from it in the front cover of the magazine or in previous or future issues.

Front cover anaylsis (2)

the first front cover analysis can be found in a slideshow at the side or the blog

This music magazine is trying to promote parties and events that ae linked to the music industry. This is related to the name of the magazine being 'Rave'. The main image is of Fergie who is popping out the top of a fake cake imitating being at a party of some kind.
This magazine represents well known people within the music industry while also promoting the major music events. The magazine uses images to represent the people, for example fergie who is part of the main image on this front cover is seen to be smiling and cheerful and looks to be having fun. This represents her personallity, as well as giving off a positive vibe to the magazine. The main events are represented by bold, attractive head lines which draws in the readers attention while also making them believe these events are the place to be.
The language used on this cover represents the type of music magazine this is. It's modern and uses bright colours to attract customers. The image on this front cover is very effective at drawing readers in. It relates back to the slogan "where to party this new years eve". It uses a cake to symbolise a party. The headlines which have been used are typical with this style of magazine, they are about stories which the target audience will be interested in.
This magazine is mainly aimed at people who are intrested in the music chart. Such as Rnb and pop. the audience is targeted using well known figures such as fergie on the front over to draw in the reader. The pose she is in attracts to both sexs, men and women. Attractive to men because of clothes she is wearing and the position she is upholding. Attractive to women because it shows fergie partying and having fun. She is an idol to many young girls so this will attract those who look up to her and want to be like her, and so cauing them t by the magazine.

Questionnaire analysis

Question 1
I asked the audience there gender so I can be able to if there are any trends in the types of music which males may differ to females.

Question 2

I asked the audience there age in order for me t be able to see if there are any specific trends for people in certain age groups.

Question 3

I asked the audience whether they actually read music magazines so I could find out why they chose not to buy the music magazines on the shelves now so I will be able to make my music magazine appeal to them, I also wanted to find out why people read the music magazines that are on the shelves at the moment so that I will be able to make my magazine appeal to them as well.

Question 4

I asked the audience how often they bought magazines so I would be able to find out how often I would need to publish a new issue of the magazine.

Question 5

I asked the audience what type of music magazines they prefer so that I can make that genre, and then I know I will have a larger market for my product. I also asked this so that I could find any trends between age groups and magazines they buy and how often. 

Question 6

I asked the audience which popular magazines they read most so that I can compare each magazine and see which is most popular and why so that I can then make my magazine similar to them so my magazine will be popular.

 Question 7

I asked the audience what encourages them to buy music magazines so that I could find out how to make my magazine more profitable and make it more successful.

Question 8

I asked the audience who dont buy music magazines what would encorage them to buy music magazines so that i could include these in my magazine in order to encorage a larger market for my magazine.

Photoshop Practice1

Mock up college contents page

College Magazine front cover

Here is my college magazine frontcover which i created in microsoft publisher 20003.

I have used the deyes high school logo in the top left corner as it symbolyses the school.
I have changed the colour of the D and H in the title to red and blue as these are the school colours and will allow the magazine to be recongised instantly.
I have put the publication date underneath the badge and title as this is where most magazines and newspapers put them and it makes my magazine look more professional.
I have used a puff to show what is inside the magazine in order to give the readers a sneak preveiw so they are more likely to pick it up and start reading.

Specialist words explained

Introduction to Coursework steps

My task for my Media AS level coursework consists of me producing a front cover for a Music magazine, a contents page and a double page spread on a artist of my choice.

Before I start my task, I must first complete a practice task of creating a front cover for a college magazine. Below are the steps I plan to take in producing my tasks.

Genre of Magazine - indie rock

Research - Current magazines available
Questionnaire
Images

Analysis - 2 magazine front covers
2 magazine contents pages
2 double page spread
College newsletter

Create questionnaire

Create college magazine front cover

Mood Board

Mock of magazine