Evaluation Question 1

final 1 by Helen Rich on Scribd

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 2 from AbbiDhabi

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?
I tried to use different ways to attract and address my audience but the main way was through the front cover. I used different features such as the language, font, and layout to help contribute to make my magazine stand out to my intended audience. The font I used for the masthead and subheadings was ‘Elephant’, this font is bold and stands out yet it does not make the page look too cluttered and busy. I used a different and more simple font for pieces on information that were less important or didn’t need to stand out as much as the subheadings and masthead. The font I used was ‘footlight’ and I used it for the interview on the double page spread. The interviewers’ questions were in the ‘elephant’ font and the answers were in ‘footlight’, this made the interview easy to read and easer to identify which were the questions and which were the answers. This was important as my target audience is quite young so it needed to flow to keep them reading on. I had to address my audience using language. My audience is 13-20years old so I needed to use informal language as this is more appropriate for my age group. Informal language is more interesting to read and will relate more to the language that my target audience will use themselves. I also had to consider the layout and give my magazine a look that would attract my audience. By doing this it allows my audience to relate to the magazine as the text and language is something my readers will be use to therefore making it recognisable. Layout: I used a simple layout to attract my audience as I wanted a magazine where my audience would immediately be drawn to. To do this I positioned the masthead at the top so it is memorable and eye-catching and this links back to the choice of font. I used a mid- close up shot with my model in the centre with cover lines down each side of the page, this was a simple yet effective method but I think it gave the magazine a tidy and sophisticated look. As for the colour scheme, I used black, white and dark blue/ navy. I only wanted to have 3 colours as if the cover had too many colours it would look to busy and may appeal to an even younger audience. By using these colours, I hoped that it would appeal to both men and women. I wanted my magazine to be minimalistic so it is simple yet effective at reaching my target audience. My questionnaire also helped me to decide on the colour scheme, I asked people to select what colour pallet they would prefer for a magazine and most people said black and white. I used this information but I decided to add the blue as I think just black and white would have given the magazine a more indie look. I used the layout of my contents page to help attract my audience, I did this by again by using a simple easy to read layout. This was important as if the page looked messy the reader would not be able to find page numbers for sections they wanted to read. The contents page is important as it consists of detailed descriptions of my magazines features, this way the read can choose what they want to read depending on their personal interests. I think that overall I have successfully managed to attract and address my audience, I have done this through the styling of the model on the cover, the layout and the language. I used my questionnaire feedback and existing magazines research to identify what worked and what methods they used to address and attract their audience. I used poses similar to ones I discovered on existing magazines and then I applied this to my own magazine. The image of my model on the cover looks natural as she is not over posed. I think this helps as it gives the magazine a more simplistic look rather than a busy/ messy look like other magazines from this genre.

Evaluation Question 6

While in the process of creating my magazine, I have used many different technologies to help create the final product. The first thing I had to do was take my photographs, to do this is used a cannon EOS 450D digital SLR this camera took clear high quality images giving the photos a professional look. I had little experience using this type of camera so I had to learn how to use it with the different settings. The images for my cover content and double page spread were important so I need to take good quality images to have a successful magazine. Using this camera was a good example of technology I needed to use for the creation of my magazine and through the process I feel I have expanded my knowledge. Photoshop is another good example of a technology I had to use to create my media product. The Photoshop programme I used was Adobe Photoshop. I used this to put my magazine together and edit/ manipulate my photographs. As I created the magazine I learnt about all the different tools and options that are available to help create a magazine, this has helped me to gain further understanding about the software I was using. I had no experience with this programme which is why I think creating the preliminary magazine was vital as I had more experience when it came to my final product. I feel that I have gained further knowledge of how to use Photoshop during the designing process of my magazine   SlideShare, scribd, Animoto  and Prezi were the different ways in which I posted my research and work to my blog. I would save my work as a PDF then upload to either SlideShare or Scribd and then copy and paste the URL into the HTML section of blogger. This made my work look nearer as it helped me to organise my work. I used Animoto to create a short pitch about my magazine which I then posted to my blog. I had to learn how to use these different websites thus expanding my knowledge on different ways to create and present my work. I have used prezi to create slideshows to demonstrate my research. Most of the site I used I was unfamiliar to so I had to learn as I went along of how to use them. This was useful as I know have a better understanding on how to present my work neatly to my blog.

Evaluation Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product.

 

Compared to my preliminary magazine I have decided that I have improved considerably with the quality of the magazines I created. I think one of the main improvements was the quality of the photos and the layout of the magazine. Between the time that I made my preliminary to my final magazine I had furthered my understanding about how to take photos and use photoshop. I expanded my knowledge on the programmes I used to create my magazines which is why my final magazine is considerably different to the preliminary task. My photographs for my preliminary were not as good as my model looked uncomfortable whereas my model for my final images looked more natural. The layout also looked better for my final magazine this Is because I carried out more research on existing magazines to find out what makes them look more professional, I then applied what I found to my magazine. I also learned more on how to use photoshop, for my preliminary I was new to adobe photoshop and had little experience using the software so creating the preliminary helped me to learn about the different features. For the preliminary I did not have much time to complete it so I rushed it and therefore I had less time to think about aspects like page furniture. For the final magazine, I spent longer trying to get good photos and on the editing and layout process which is why it turned out to be more successful. Once I started to get better at using Photoshop I could see how my magazine was progressing from my preliminary to my final magazine. This links to the technology I used and how I have expanded my understanding of them. I think that the difference between my magazine clearly show the progression of my preliminary task to my final magazine. I have learnt about what makes a magazine look credible and what to do to make a successful magazine. Overall, I think I have improved and learned a lot since the preliminary task from taking successful photographs to the layout and look of the magazine. I have learned about page furniture and its importance and the mis-en-scene in the photos and how it can help to create more professional looking magazine.

Stages of my Magazine

. from AbbiDhabi

Evaluation Question 1 Draft

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of music magazines)

The genre of my magazine is pop music. The masthead of my magazine is ‘Revolution’ and I have put it at the top of the cover in a large bold front. Pop music is often new and modern which is why I decided to name the magazine Revolution because there are always new pop songs and albums being released. Additionally, I decided to go with 'Revolution' as pop music is usually brand new music that gets everyone talking which is what I want I wanted the magazine to connote, new pop music is often described as being revolutionary which is how I came to the name. The word revolution is a fairly long word which is what I wanted as I wanted it to fit across the top of the magazine without having gaps on either side. My magazine has a long masthead which is different to the magazines that are on the market. The font I chose was called ‘Elephant’ it is eye- catching and memorable and suits the style of my magazine. I used it throughout all pages of my magazine, but mainly for headings and sub headings. I think the font I have chosen is unusual for the style of my magazine, most pop magazines have sharp thin font, Q and Billboard are good examples of this, whereas I have chosen a bolder and more of a modern font. I feel that my magazine has gone against ‘normal’ conventions for a pop music magazine and I think this is shown by the way have decided to use black and white photos which is uncommon for a pop music magazine. I have also only decided to use blue and white which is different to most magazines as they tend to use a much brighter colour pallet, this could be why my magazine might have more of an ‘Indie’ look to it as I have used little colour. The layout of my magazine is unconventional for a magazine of this genre as I have kept mine simplistic and minimalistic, which is different to what existing pop music magazines do. A majority of music magazine have busy and overcrowded look to them which is something I wanted to avoid. When taking my photos, I considered advice from Roger Black 'A single image of a human will sell more copies than multiple images or all type' I used this information as I decided to have one person who features on the cover of my magazine. I also followed another price of advice from roger Black, he stated that you should 'never set a lot of text type in all caps. As after a while it's just to hard too read. This advice helped me as I did consider typing in capitals to make the text stand out however, I decided not to go with this idea in case my audience find it difficult to read.

Evaluation Question 2 Draft

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

With the help of my prior audience research and audience profiles I think I have managed to successfully establish and represent a social group that would link to magazine genre. To do this the styling of my model on the cover was very important. My target audience is 13- 20 year olds and a majority of teenagers wear simple clothing like black jeans and tops which is why I decided to style my model in clothing that most of my target audience would wear (Black skinny jeans and a baggy grey hoddie) this makes my magazine look more credible and appeal to my intended audience. If the front cover and image are not good it is unlikely someone would pick it up as the cover represents what the rest of the magazine is like. I knew I wanted to have a young female pop artist on the cover as I think females are doing well in the music industry and so are younger artists. My research and planning into existing magazines found that the front cover to a magazine is important as this is the first thing someone would see, so this is where you would need to establish a social group. My magazine needs to appeal to teenagers so I tried to give it a mainstream look which will help it to apply to a bigger social group or audience.  

Evaluation Question 3 Draft

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

There is a large selection of distribution companies that could potentially publish my magazine. There are many successful companies that have had experience with the distribution of music magazines from the same genre as mine. After looking at my prior research into the analysis of media institutions, I found a number of worldwide distributors which means they distribute magazines globally, reaching more people. Bauer media group is a good example of a distribution company as they own around 570 magazines, 50 TV and radio stations and 300 digital media products. They distribute a number of well-known magazines such as Q and NME. This is why I think using Bauer media group would be beneficial to the growth and success of my magazine. They have a good reputation for publishing magazines including pop music magazines. They understand the processes of publishing in a way that would reach a wide audience. I also considered Prometheus Global media, I found that Prometheus publish Billboard magazine, which is a pop music magazine with the same target audience as my magazine. Prometheus GM clearly are good at what they do and this can be shown by how successful Billboard magazine is. Overall I think I would choose Bauer Media Group to distribute my magazine due to the success of existing magazines that they distribute, I decided that Bauer would be a trustworthy company who would ensure that my magazine would be read by my target audience.  

Evaluation Question 4 Draft

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

The target audience for my magazine would be 13-20-year old’s. The magazine is likely to appeal to more women than men.This could be due to the style and look of the overall magazine. The genre of my magazine is pop music and this is key to designing a magazine that will appeal to the correct age group. My questionnaire helped me to identify what age group would be most interested in my magazine. For my questionnaire, I asked how old they were and which artists they listen to. Most of the people who completed the questionnaire were 16-18 and listed pop music by artists such as one republic and Zara Larsson. This was key information as I could Identify what age group is likely to want to read a magazine that is about new and upcoming pop music artists. I think I have chosen a sutiable age range for my magazine as 13 to 20 year old's are most likely to be interested in pop music. After identifying my target audience, I asked what magazines they read and were interested in, this way I could look at what existing magazines my target audience like. Most said they enjoyed reading Q and Billboard which I used as inspiration for my own magazine. I completed four audience profiles of people I know who are in the age range of my target audience:

Name: Millie Wragg

Gender: female

Age:17

Hobbies/ interests: makeup, beauty, nails and hair

Favourite artists: Zara Larsson and Drake

Favourite clothes shop: H and M, Zara and New Look

Favourite magazine: Billboard magazine

Millie is a perfect example of a person who fits in with my target audience. She likes style and fashion and is always keeping up with the most recent trends. She also enjoys reading pop music magazines and discovering more about her favourite artists. Audience profiles provide a good indication of what people in my target audience are interested in. I incorporated clothing styles into my magazine by dressing my model in a simple grey jumper.

Evaluation Question 5 Draft

5. How did you attract/address you audience

I tried to use different ways to attract and address my audience but the main way was through the front cover. I used different features such as the language, font, and layout to help contribute to make my magazine stand out to my intended audience. The font I used for the masthead and subheadings was ‘Elephant’, this font is bold and stands out yet it does not make the page look too cluttered and busy. I used a different and more simple font for pieces on information that were less important or didn’t need to stand out as much as the subheadings and masthead. The font I used was ‘footlight’ and I used it for the interview on the double page spread. The interviewers’ questions were in the ‘elephant’ font and the answers were in ‘footlight’, this made the interview easy to read and easer to identify which were the questions and which were the answers. This was important as my target audience is quite young so it needed to flow to keep them reading on. I had to address my audience using language. My audience is 13-20years old so I needed to use informal language as this is more appropriate for my age group. Informal language is more interesting to read and will relate more to the language that my target audience will use themselves. I also had to consider the layout and give my magazine a look that would attract my audience. To do this I used a simple layout with the masthead at the top, a mid close up shot with my model in the centre with cover lines down each side of the page. As for the colour scheme, I used black, white and dark blue. I only wanted to have 3 colours as if the cover had too many colours it would look to busy and may appeal to an even younger audience. By using these colours, I hoped that it would appeal to both men and women. I wanted my magazine to be minimalistic so it is simple yet effective at reaching my target audience. My questionnaire also helped me to decide on the colour scheme, I asked people to select what colour pallet they would prefer for a magazine and most people said black and white. I used this information but I decided to add the blue as I think just black and white would have given the magazine a more indie look.

Evaluation Question 6 Draft

6. what have you learnt about technologies from the processes of constructing this product?

While in the process of creating my magazine, I have used many different technologies to help create the final product. The first thing I had to do was take my photographs, to do this is used a cannon EOS 450D digital SLR this camera took clear high quality images giving the photos a professional look. I had little experience using this type of camera so I had to learn how to use it with the different settings. Photoshop is another example of a technology I had to use to create my media product. The photoshop programme I used was Adobe Photoshop. I used this to put my magazine together and edit/ manipulate my photographs. As I created the magazine I learnt about all the different tools and options that are available to help create a magazine, this has helped me to gain further understanding about the software I was using.

 SlideShare, scribd and Animoto were the different ways in which I posted my research and work to my blog. I would save my work as a PDF then upload to either SlideShare or Scribd and then copy and paste the URL into the HTML section of blogger. This made my work look nearer as it helped me to organise my work. I used Animoto to create a short pitch about my magazine which I then posted to my blog. I had to learn how to use these different websites thus expanding my knowledge on different ways to create and present my work.

Evaluation Question 7 Draft

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

Compared to my preliminary magazine I have decided that I have improved considerably with the quality of the magazines I created. I think one of the main improvements was the quality of the photos and the layout of the magazine. Between the time that I made my preliminary to my final magazine I had furthered my understanding about how to take photos and use photoshop. My photographs for my preliminary were not as good as my model looked uncomfortable whereas my model for my final images looked more natural. The layout also looked better for my final magazine this Is because I carried out more research on existing magazines to find out what makes them look more professional, I then applied what I found to my magazine. I also learned more on how to use photoshop, for my preliminary I was new to adobe photoshop and had little experience using the software so creating the preliminary helped me to learn about the different features. For the preliminary I did not have much time to complete it so I rushed it and therefore I had less time to think about aspects like page furniture. For the final magazine, I spent longer trying to get good photos and on the editing and layout process which is why it turned out to be more successful. Once I started to get better at using Photoshop I could see how my magazine was progressing from my preliminary to my final magazine.

Overall, I think I have improved and learned a lot since the preliminary task from taking successful photographs to the layout and look of the magazine. I have learned about page furniture and its importance and the mis-en-scene in the photos and how it can help to create more professional looking magazine.

Poses For Cover

ed and rach by Helen Rich on Scribd

Magazine photographs

For my final magazine I needed to take some test shots of my model. I took a variety of different photographs, both portrait and landscape, at different angles to give me an idea of what sort of photos I wanted to use. I will use Photoshop to edit these photographs. Here is a small selection of some of the photos I took.