Evaluation Question 7.

           My preliminary task turned out to be a complete contrast to my final piece now. My front cover looked very unprofessional and where I thought I was making it fun and appealing, it wasn’t. Instead of having an image where it filled the page, I had a coloured background with photos and text randomly placed. It looks very untidy and I had used too any different fonts for different stories on just the front cover. Where I had made it on PowerPoint I had very little that I could do with manipulations to the photos and texts as well as shapes and organising. For my final piece however I used various tools and techniques in Photoshop to maximise the potential my magazines front cover had. I increased the brightness and contrast on the photo and increased the vibrancy on the colour so it would stand out on the page and wow people. I have learnt through this that the layout on the front cover is extremely important crucial, without it people wont be attracted and will feel no interest to look.

For my contents page from preliminary, I had used purple and blue, completely contrasting ad contradicting the yellow and green theme from the front cover. I again had completed this on PowerPoint so it was unprofessional in many ways. I used again too many fonts and the layout was atrocious. I had to block colours and then extremely dull images. Arrows over lap the images and come from the page numbers, its messy and has no structure. The page numbers are all one after the other and have boring headings with no content underneath to explain what is within the article. When actually completing my final piece of contents page, I realised how important it was to include such little details, like having a small block colour underneath the subheadings to make the headings stand out more and have the page more bright and bold to look at. I found that having the date, issue number, website and the title in the same font didn’t make it look bland, it made I look professional rather than having scribbly writing.

My sketch of my double page spread was completely different to how I ended up setting it out in my final piece. I had a group coming across the 2 pages slightly and having a quote as the title. Instead I used the artists name as the title and instead of having a group of 4 shot I had a single picture of a girl on the left hand page and an interview text on the right. I stuck to my sketch and have 3 columns, I experimented with 2 and 4 to see how it looked, but it look like too much or too less so 3 was perfect. As I was finishing it I reminded myself about the little details that made up the entire picture. Having a rounded off line underneath the image and underneath the text made the page look more professional and neater. Having the page number, logo for the magazine and the website details underneath too all added to create a neatened double page spread.

Evaluation Question 6.

          During this project I have used a number of different technologies to complete my A level media work. I had previously never used Blogger before or a type of blog and so needed to set up my own in order to publish my work. In my Blog I have included a Blog poll in which I have asked a question to help out with the making of my magazine product and uploaded my preliminary task, planning and main task. To upload my work to my blog I have used Scribd and YouTube.

I had also never worked with the programme Prezi before starting this media project. I used Prezi to present the planning ideas for my main task including: name, font, colour scheme and photographs for my front cover. Prezi allowed me to present information in an interactive and fun way. I used the programme to mind-map my ideas and create ‘pathways’ to link these ideas. I would use Prezi again and would like to insert images and film in the future.

I completed my practical production using Photoshop to edit my images and create the final layout for my front-cover, contents-page and a double page spread. I used Photoshop to touch up my photos and to enhance the colours. I found Photoshop challenging as the use of layers can be very difficult. Getting to know the tool was also a struggle but once grasping the hang of it is a programme I would love to use again.

To take my photos I used my Sony DSLR A390. When using this camera I was able to change the focus in order to take a number of different types of shot including: mid-shot, long-shot and close-ups of different individuals but also including the setting into the background.

Evaluation Question 5 Video.

Evaluation Question 5.

        I conducted a questionnaire in which I had 10 questions and wanted to have positive outcomes for the production of my magazine to kick off. I wanted to have their opinions so that I could then address my audience with their ideas and my interpretations of them. When I went through them all I realised that my straight target audience would be between the ages of 17 and 25 as it is quite a young age and they would listen to my choice of the genre of rock or alternative rock. From the results, majority of the people thought that the image on the front of a magazine stood out more than anything. Therefore if I incorporate the right image in with my magazine, I will attract the right audiences age so that they can then relate to my magazine and then want to buy it. The variety of articles through the page numbers on my contents page will help to attract the audience as seeing what the articles are going to be about and then actually reading it, may entice them into finding out more about it. When in my questionnaire I asked the colour theme to my entire product, the clear winner was black white and red. I think that colour theme will attract a lot of attention as it’s bright and bold and so its eye catching when looking at shelves of magazines. Red has a connotation of being a fun and lively colour so I think that it will appeal to my target audience, as this is something that 17-25 year olds want to endure in their day to day life, fun. Throughout my magazine content that I had written I made sure that all of it was going to interest 17-25 year olds by having for example; ‘review on new albums from famous rock bands Kasabian and kings of Leon.’ At the age of 16-25 you want to feel as though you are up to date with what’s going on around you and I believe my magazine helps them feel they are achieving this, as it has the latest stories and need to know information in.

I would say that the over view of audience for my magazine would be, 17-25 year olds, British, in education or small jobs with university. In this video I interviewed a girl of my age to show what she thought about me media product as a whole. This is what she thinks...

Evaluation Question 4.

         When thinking about my target audience for my front cover, contents page and double page spread of an alternative rock genre music magazine, I used Burtons and Hartley’s theory to try and classify my target audience. Following Burtons theory that people are either socially grouped or in the group of media, Hartley elaborated on  by introducing the ways you can be grouped;  these included age, gender, class and ethnicity etc. a quick over view of what rock music  would typically do to attract and establish a relationship with their audience would be to include deeply emotional lyrics to try and relate to their audience with related experiences, they would often talk about their relationships and their feelings.

        In rock music videos, they are often very emotive and overwhelming which allows the artist and the fans to connect on a deeper level. When it comes to social grouping I tried to make my target audience as wide as possible, but  I think the main section is the age group as the lifestyle and language may not be suitable for people who are younger than my target audience, however I don’t think that the social class or ethnicity determines whether you are able to be with in my target audience, therefore I think I have made my audience easy to fit in to, I also haven’t made it to specific to one gender as I think my magazine can be read by both boys and girls. Therefore I would say that my target audience would be male and female frame the ages of 17-25 interested in alternative rock / rock music.

Evaluation Question 3.

           For my magazine to be distributed I would need a huge organisation so that I know that my magazine would be getting out and getting to my target audience. However, as my target audience is between the ages of 17 and 25, I feel that with technology rapidly improving and our dependency on gadgets is greater than it has ever been, I think that my magazine would sell better being in the form of an ezine for tablet computer or computers and app for smart phones. This has easier accessibility and with our modern society, for the busy workers it will benefit better.

If there were to be a distributer needed for the print magazine however, I would choose Menzies distribution. This company supplies magazine to all the top leading super markets such as Sainsbury’s, Marks’ and Spencer’s, Tesco etc. this could give my magazine a very wide range of audience other than just my target. By having it distributed in different supermarkets, it could attract all types of different people. Menzies aim is ‘get the right products to the right customers at exactly the right time.” This implies they are motivated in what they do and will do a good job. The company’s motto statement is “going the extra mile’. Having Menzies being such a huge company distributing magazines to over 40 countries in 5 different continents means that my magazine would grab a lot of different and other potential readers. This would mean that the company is a very successful and powerful distributer and must be reliable due to the amount of countries they are in business with. I believe that having them be my distributer, would make my magazines target audience increase significantly higher.

Another distributer that I would be happy to be in business with would be worldwide magazine distribution limited (WWMD). This is a company that has a lot smaller target range than Menzies. They only supply British published magazines to niche and specialist retailers. This company is behind some of the top best selling magazines such as; Q magazine, Elle, Heat and company. I would happily have them distribute my magazine as my magazine is about music and of the rock genre. With q being a top seller and them being in charge of distributing it, I would happily have theme be apart of the business. Their company’s priorities are to; “create innovative sales, marketing and distribution solutions for our clients, enabling exciting opportunities to reach customers in the UK and overseas, with magazines and associated products in niche and specialist arenas.”  I would want to be apart of the company as I feel their intentions are well and as they are a successful distributer, I feel they are being as positive as they can to help magazines out. I feel that as WWMD know that they already have a magazine on the similar wave length on mine, they’d be more willing to distribute my magazine, knowing that they would be stacking it on the shelves in all the right places.

Evaluation Question 2.

1.       Media represents different social groups in many ways. For example: magazines can represent social groups through the use of mise-en-scene, colour, fonts, language, camera-work and editing. When I was making my magazine I ensured that I had this in mind for my target audience. I also wanted to have her facing the camera lens rather than having her look away from it. By having her look directly at us meant that when a reader is skimming the magazine covers the image would catch his/her eyes as she was staring right at them. By having a prominent image I found that I would be more interesting to look at. I also edited the image by having the brightness increased and the contrast slightly; by doing this I believed I made her eyes stand out more so that we could have her stare right out at the readers. I think this would have a positive outlook on the audience as they would see a more positive atmosphere with it being bright, rather than having a dull less attractive photo on the front.
        Whilst creating my front cover I tried to make sure that I was incorporating my target audiences views into it. For example, when I took the picture of the girl blowing smoke out of her mouth, I was aiming to hit my target audience of 18-25. The legal age to smoke is 18 so I thought by making her look older than what she is, I would be able to intrigue my audience into looking at the image

 With my contents page I wanted to attract my target social group of 17-25 year olds. I did this by choosing a clear font. By doing this I felt it gave it a most sophisticated look then scribbled writing that was harder to read. Bu having it simple on the eyes it would attract the audience in to read the articles, I felt that having a clear font would represent my social group as it looks mature and instead of having loads of different random fonts everywhere, I chose to keep it simple and to have the font the same throughout. I chose to pick my contents page picture carefully. As I had aimed my front covers image at the older range of the social group I then wanted to bring it back down to show the younger audience that it was still suitable for them too. By doing this I took a photo of a young man in the same year as me so that it was easy to relate to him. By having him a simple t-shirt and sunglasses, I felt that majority of the male social group could relate as majority of them casually wear this. I chose to also have a simple setting behind him. I didn’t want a plain background as through my research it wasn’t always a poised picture, and if it were like the NME magazine with oasis, they were on a hill with a similar setting. I wanted the same but I didn’t want to have it to over powering that the audience would be more interested in the scenery than the male.

 I chose to have another young girl for m image. She is in the same year again as my lower target social group so that it would have their attention. I wanted her to wear casual clothes like the chequered top as I feel it is in fashion and a huge majority of the target audience, boys and girls, have the top. She looks like an average teenager like the rest of the population and by having her as the focal image it has a good representation of the youths that I am targeting. The red lips intrigue the readers as I think that’s the focal point of the image. Her make up isn’t thick either so it shows to the group that they are able to relate to her as a naturally pretty person, encouraging the girls that they don’t need it like she doesn’t. As she is quite attractive it would also attract the male audience as they would want to know more about her and want to read the article to see what its bout.

I wanted to have the red white and black colour theme to help represent my target social group too as I didn’t want random put together colours. By having people fill out my questionnaires I was able to determine their opinions and take that on board with my magazine. I had them choose my titles name and the font type that it was in. by doing this I felt they had an input into the creation of the magazine and by doing so they helped to attract more potential target social groups to my magazine.

Evaluation Question 1.

My task for my media studies a level work was to create a front cover, contents page and double page spread for a music magazine with the genre of our choice. I chose the genre of alternative rock so I done my research on magazines like ‘Rolling stones’ ‘Q’ and ‘NME’.

1.         Print is a typical form of magazine in the media industry. The rock genre magazine had typical conventions in which majority of all magazines portray. Whilst I was researching the magazines I was creating mood boards and analysing the features to get a wider insight into understanding what a good front cover would be to attract my audience. A typical main convention of a magazine is having one main image on the front cover, being a mid shot and being very prominent, my front cover uses this as I have one main woman on the front blowing smoke from her mouth. I chose to have one person symbolising this as I thought it was a typical aspect and the girl had a rocky edge by smoking and wearing a lot of eye make up. For example Amy Winehouse was known for alternative rock at times with her cover work, I chose to try and interpret her. Instead of having a mid shot the woman, I had a close up of her face so that the focus from the audience would be on just her. I also chose to have the name of the artist across her. I found that with experimenting different sides to have it, it fit better in front as it seemed more centre and gave the model the attention too. Having it to the right or the left of the image distracted the audience from looking at the image. I did challenge the typical conventions by not having a background on the front page; I chose to have a full close up of the woman instead. I did this because I wanted my target audience to only look at the woman’s facial features. As she only has one eye showing and we can only see part of her lips, it makes the image more intriguing and so the audience would be interested and pick it up. I chose also to have the black white and red theme. A lot of rock magazines have this and I believed it was the best colour scheme as the all stand out when being on top of each other. The red is a very bold colour and the black, nit being dull, attracts the attention when being on top of white.

2.     I chose to have a review placed at the bottom of the page with a whole boxed off section. Normally a typical convention would be just to have the review under a subheading and a list of what the review includes. I chose to develop off of this and section this underneath the main image and story. That way the audience would be drawn into the image and follow the page down. I developed this because I believe that the review is a main part in intriguing audiences as they want to know what is best to spend their money on. They don’t want their time wasted and so I sectioned it off with an image and list and snippets of the articles underneath. I carried on with the black white and red theme as it reminded the audience of what they are reading. In q magazine every page has the q in the corner at the bottom of each page, and is iconic red white and black. I incorporated this into my colour theme with my title and within my page and front cover. I wanted the audience to be able to tell what it is they are reading and to be reminded like the other target audiences. I also chose to follow the conventions of not having all of the page numbers in the column of articles. I tried this in my preliminary task and it looked boring and had didn’t have any life to it. By having a variety of different page numbers I was able to attract the audience into having a selection of different articles’ to look at. Instead of having the whole chronological order, the magazines pick out there most intriguing articles in the contents page to make entice the customer into reading it. I chose to do the same as I thought it was a clever idea.

3.       I chose not to have a quote as the title of my double page spread story as I didn’t want it to be following the typical conventions. I wanted to challenge it and so I chose to have a subtitle then the title being the artists’ name. I thought this was more suitable because the article was an interview of the artist. I believed that the best place for a quote was to have it beside the image on one of the sides of the double page spread. Here it would have the reader looking at the image, then at the quote, and with an intriguing quote they would be more engrossed in wanting to read the article. Typically, the drop letter (the letter of the first word of the article) is larger to intrigue the audience into reading the story. The size of the font that then follows this letter is small. This is so that there are more words placed into a compressed space. The image is then a significantly larger scale to the text to keep the reader intrigued in the story. In all of my research in double page spreads, they all include this in font size, drop capitals and image size. I chose to include this rather than challenging it because I saw it as a significant feature to double page spreads. If I had a small image and had a larger scale of text, the readers wouldn’t bother as they wouldn’t be interested in reading 5 columns worth of an interview.

Double Page Spread Final.

Contents Page Final.

Front Cover Final.

Contents Page Photos.

These are my chosen photos for my Contents Page. I wanted, again younger tennagers to meet with my target audience, and with them wearing casual clothing that would suit the genre of rock. I chose a natural background and for it to be plain so that we can have the models stand out a lot more.

Front Cover Pictures.

These were the choices for my front cover final image. I wanted it to be someone young to reach my target audience. The smoking was to go along with the genre of rock music, it fits in well and represents it as a stereotypical convention. I chose this model as she had bleach blonde hair standing out against her dark fur hood. I wanted this to be a main feature on the cover.

Magazine Planning...

Copy of My Magazine Planning... on Prezi