Evaluation Question 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 coursework was extremely basic 

compared to my real product.

The colours weren't set correctly to match and there wasn't a great theme going 

on throughout my front page and contents.

I used magnetic lasso in my preliminary which I did not continue on to use in my full product.

This tool was frustrating as it never seemed to really cut out images well and therefore my image was somewhat poor.

My font was basic and boring to look at, it wasn't eye-catching in any way whereas in my final project I used a variety of fonts, fonts that were appealing to the eye and ones that stood out.

The way I positioned my text on my preliminary task poor and unprofessional. It's just straight across the top of the page, very ordinary and common, although I have done the same in my final product, it looks much much better as I have used good style font and it is looks 

rather professional.

I have produced a double page spread which I did not do for my preliminary so that was a new experience for me.

My preliminary just doesn't cut it and as you can clearly see, comparing it to my final product, I have indeed made progression throughout the preliminary task to my final product.

My preliminary doesn't contain the key features that a magazine has, such as; barcode, price, date etc. this is extremely unprofessional and would never be distributed!

The photography is dull and lifeless, nothing interesting doing on, the only vibrant colour is from the lipstick!

The pose isn't positioned well at all and it is very boring and unimaginative.

In comparison to my final product, my preliminary was very dull and unappealing whereas my final product was vibrant and successful.

Preliminary:

As you can see my preliminary is extremely poor.

The colour for the background isn't accurate on both pages.

My picture seems to be highlighted round the edges which looks weird.

I just have simple font and simple colours.

My contents page doesn't had any headlines breaking up the stories such as News, Features etc. which I have in my final project.

As you can also tell, I have copied and pasted a picture of macbooks instead of taking my own which is very unprofessional of me.

Final Project:

This is my final!

You can see how far I have come since I produced my awful preliminary.

This just looks like a real magazine.

I used a barcode and price and date, I also included an issue number.

I am really proud of my final outcome, the colours are matching, the pictures are of excellent quality.

It just all fits in and works well together.

I think I have progressed more than I thought I ever could. I now know how to use photoshop properly and all the different functions I can use to produce an excellent piece of work, before I did not know of all the different uses photoshop could bring me.

Looking at both my preliminary and final I am extremely pleased with how far I have come and what I could produce, my final has great potential I think and unlike my preliminary it is radiant and alluring.

I have learnt a lot from this project and it really shows through my final three pieces.

Evaluation Question 6

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

I have used many different technologies whilst producing my magazine, such as:

Sony Cybershot T900 Camera, Mac Computers, USB Sticks, Safari, Internet Explorer, Photoshop.

These are all the technologies I used during the process of making my magazine.

Sony Cybershot T900 Camera:

I learnt how to use different modes and that the megapixels of the camera are very important if you want to have an excellent quality photograph. The megapixel of my camera was 12.1 which is brilliant and helped me a lot as my photos were crisp and clear.

Mac Computers:

This is the computer I used to create my magazine.

USB Sticks:

I used a USB Stick to save all my work to incase I lost it and it came in very handy as I did not need to save anything to t

he computers and I will still have my work saved on my USB Stick incase I needed it for something else.

Safari/Internet Explorer:

These are both t

he same thing really, only difference is that Safari comes from the Macs and Internet Explorer comes from Windows. The only reason I used both was because I did some work at home too and my computer at home is a Dell so I obviously had Internet Explorer whereas the Macs at school had Safari.

I never really learnt anything new using the internet, all I needed it for was google to compare my magazine to others and gain some perspective of what was expected of the magazine.

Photoshop:

Photoshop was obviously a big part in creating my magazine and I learnt something new everyday; I learnt how to ma

ke images darker/lighter using the Burn Tool, how to get rid of white background using the Magic Wand, how to pick up colour from somewhere else using Eyedropper Tool and I learnt how to merge images together.

Burn Tool:

I used this tool to make the background darker in some places and lighter so it was easier to read text and give a good effect.

Magic Wand:

I used the magic wand when I was transferring my text over onto my pages, I used this to highlight the white background and then deleted it making it look neater and so that I could blend it in with the rest of my product.

Eyedropper Tool:

I used this tool and it was extremely helpful. I used this to pick up colour from the picture I used on my front page, I then used the colour I picked up for boxes behind the text and it went really well (this was my theme).

I also used it again in my double page spread, I picked up colour from the top in the picture and used it as boxes behind my text. It was a re

ally good outcome and gave off a great vibe and feel to the magazine.

Merge Layers:

This was handy when things were getting a bit crowded down the layer board.

It also helped when I wanted to move things at the same time.

I used this to merge titles with their stories such as; News with the stories in that section, this made it easier for me to position it as I didn't have to do one box at a time.

To merge layers I simple held down shift and clicked on the layers I wanted to merge and then clicked on layers in the tool bar and selected 'merge layers' and they were merged together to create one simple layer.

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

My photography and text attract my audience.

the photographs I have used really relate to my audience as they are of a 17 year old girl and the clothing she is wearing are that of a teenage persons interest. It would appeal to them as they are always up to date with the new styles and that is what my model represents.

The text lures my audience in as it is fun and exciting and many teenagers of that age group are interested in those styles.

The language also appeals to my target audience, although I haven't used swear words or slang which is popular in the teenage world, my language still appeals because most teenagers want to grow up before their time and try hard to act grown up and talk as adults would speak. So in that sense I have succeeded because my interview is very formal and the answers are very grown up which is another point I'm trying to put across, most teenagers are very mature nowadays so I wanted to make my magazine a little mature as well as teenage approved.

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

This is Aleksia. She would be my ideal target audience as she is 17 (young adult).

Her dress sense is of her own style. She does not like to follow any trends, she just dresses as she feels comfortable which is a good example of what rockstars are like.

She shops in places such as All Saints and Topshop.

She enjoys shopping, dancing, socializing with friends and family but she loves her music.

Kings of Leon, Keane, Blur, Athlete, you name it, she loves it.

Some people may think she doesn't come across as your average rock lover but I think she does. I think she is a perfect example.

She is a bit of a rebel which is the stereotype for a rockstar.

You can see by the way Aleksia dresses that she is into her rockish looks. She has a certain charm about her that really makes her stand out and people look up to that and aspire to be the same so she is a good role model for the rock world.

Aleksia is my target audience, many people her age are interested in similar music, and the fans of rock/indie are growing by the minute.

Evaluation Question 3

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

Places such as Tesco, WHSmith, Sainsburys etc. would sell my magazine as they sell a wide range of different magazines as they are megastores. Megastores give magazines like mine a big advantage to get the public interested, this is because all kinds of age groups shop in megastores such as tescos so it would give them the chance to pick up my magazine. Stores like tescos try to benefit the needs of all age groups and therefore sell all types of genre magazines.

Places such a newsagents will also sell my magazine as they specialize in selling all the different types of magazines.

The only place that would not distribute my magazine is magazine kiosks, you find these on streets, outside stations etc. and the reason wh

y my magazine would not be sold at kiosks is because they stick to selling only the worlds most popular magazines and newspapers such as The Sun and Ok magazine, they would not have any space to sell magazines like mine as it is hassle for them and they only stick to a niche market unlike major stores.

Evaluation question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The colour scheme I have used appeal to most social groups.

Some people might think that having pink as a colour scheme would be a problem as boys/men do not favor this colour and I agree, however, many people do not focus on the colour scheme, they focus on the stories and I think my stories are good enough to draw people in.

My genre is unplugged indie, hence the name 'Unplugged'. The reason for this is because the picture on the front is more of a soft indie approach rather then hardcore rock so in that sense I reckon the colour scheme goes quite well.

My photos used for my product appeal to both genders; male audience would be attracted to this image and would see it as a young beautiful successful artist and would most probably interest them, on the other hand; female audience would see her as a role model who they look up to.

The clothes used, the style of her hair, little make-up and the pose are all key features in the production of the magazine.

I had to think carefully about the pose I wanted to use for my front cover and the clothes used.

The outcome is successful. Many teenagers can relate to her as she is just an average teenage girl just the same as anyone else. The fact that she is holding a guitar makes it more recognizable that she is an artist and these days a lot of people relate as so many people from both genders aspire to be a rockstar.

The fonts I have used attract readers as my title is playful and that is very eye-catching instead of having a plain font. Although my magazine is aimed at teenagers, I think adults would have no problem buying this magazine as it is very adult approved, some of the older consumers have no idea who these people are on my front page or even what I am talking about, however, some are very capable os understanding the young generation as many enjoy living as youths themselves.

Teenagers aren't the only people attracted to rock and indie music.

Evaluation Question 1

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

My magazine front page is of A4 size, just the same as other music magazines.

I have also made my double page spread the same width as any normal one would be.

While creating my front cover and double page spread I had to think carefully about the positioning of my writing and pictures.

My double page spread was more of a challenge as there has to be a centre line so I found it a bit difficult to get everything in the right plac

e and also making it look good.

I had to arrange my paragraphs so that they were equally parallel. I managed to sort it and I am very pleased with the outcome of my final product.

My magazine also includes a barcode which is found on any media product that is being marketed.

It is important to have a barcode as anything being sold must have one; simply because it has to be scanned in the store where it is being distributed, it helps prevent products from being stolen or misplaced.

Another aspect of my magazine is the price.

As you know, any product being sold must have a price so it's buyer can see how much they are paying for it as many people would want to know before purchasing the product.

It is also there so consumers can compare the price with other products on the market.

Many magazines have their price in the corner, either at the top or the bottom, however, I chose to put mine on the right hand side underneath my title as I think this stands out but not too heavily. It is neatly placed with the issue number so people can see it but it isn't too bold and the reason for this is because I did not want my magazine to look to complicated and tacky.

I have chosen a simple font and the colour black for my price, I did this because it is sticking to the colour scheme and also it goes well with the magazine, not being too bold has made it look much more professional.

My date is placed on the left side of the magazine but still in line with the price.

By doing this I have kept it tidy but visible and not complicated to read as I would not want my consumer trying hard to find it.

Many magazines have a lot of features, these include subscriptions. This is there to promote the magazine and its image and offer people the chance to get the magazine at a cheaper price.

A lot of magazines use a subscription to give people an opportunity to win a prize if they were to subscribe, this helps boost the magazines profile as many people are interested in this offer.

Using this information I decided to include my own offer on my contents page. 

This is my subscription.

I am pleased with it as it's simple yet it tells the consumer everything they need to know (if you want a free copy, subscribe to the magazine).

I have stuck to the colour theme to make it look neat and not complicated.

I decided to challenge the media world and not use a 'Pug' in my magazine.

The reason for this is because I think they look tacky. Yes they sometimes make the magazine stand out more and draw people in but in this case I think my magazine looked better without one as it goes with my theme more and makes it less busy and confusing.

Preliminary Task

Preliminary Task

Double Page Spread continued..

These are quotes I use in my double page spread.

I think these really look effective and bold, it draws more attention to the story and the whole page.

I made the speech marks bigger then the quotes so when you look at the page you immediately see them and it attracts you to the story more.

They are both quotes from the answer that my interviewee gave.

This is written underneath the main title.

This is because it is to do with the interview on the double page spread.

Including this little bit extra makes it more sufficient. It gives the audience an understanding to what they are about to read.

Behind the text I used the burn tool in photoshop to make the writing clearer as it is white.

This is the page number and magazine title.

I have used them for each corner of the double page spread.

I have the first one at the bottom right corner and the second in the top left corner.

This helps the audience to identify what page the article is on and what magazine it is coming from.

I have again continued using the colour scheme.

This is part of the interview I produced.

As you can see I used a box behind the interview questions and answers. I made the box slightly see-through so the image in the background wasn't completely cut out. This helps to make the interview stand out so readers can see it clearly without having any difficulties with reading it.

I also decided to u

se a lighter pink to as the questions and white for the answers.

This also gives the reader a clear understanding of what is the question and what is the answer.

This is the main headline of my double page spread. You will notice that the word 'biggest' is bolder then the rest. I did this to attract the reader and let them know that this person is one of the biggest rock legends around. I decided to keep it the same font and not underline it as things like that are too common

The way I have changed it still makes it easy to spot and that is what I wanted to achieve.

Again I used a pink box behind it to make it easier to see and also because it is the main headline.

This is my final Double Page Spread.

I really like my double page spread. I think that between this, my front page and my contents; this is the better of them all.

This is a good example of what a double page spread should look like I think.

Instead of using the same shade of pink I have made used the eyedropper tool again and used it on the top in this picture. I then made it lighter so it was easier to see.

Instead of using black writing I decided to use white writing, although it isn't following the colour scheme I think that it looks fine because it is my double page spread, whereas with the contents and front page I think they had to be the same style but the double page spread is separate and therefore it is ok to change the style a little.

This is the album I designed. I put pink background behind that aswell to make it stand out as it is quite a small image. Next to the im

age I have explained when the album is out and how to win a free copy.

This looks perfect in the bottom right corner

as it i

s not in the way of the main stories but it is noticeable too.

Like I did with a story on the front page; I have used pink to highlight the name of the lead singer from Kings of Leon. I did this because if it were in black you would not be able to see it against the picture but mainly to stand out so it draws the reader in and attracts him or her to the story.

I think this is a good idea as I am sticking with the colour scheme as well.

This is a picture I used for one of the stories.

I have put a bit of a border round the edge

to make it more bold.

Without this border the picture looks a bit dull. Although the border is just plain black it gives the picture more character and more importance.

Again I have carried the theme through with the date and issue number.

As you saw on the fro

nt cover they are placed in line exactly the same as I have done on my contents.

I did choose to underline it on my contents page to make it more noticeable.

This is an example of where I have used the pink as the background for the titles. As you will probably agree this looks much better. It would've looked plain and unprofessional if I was to leave it as it was.

Using the pink I drew a box and placed it where I wanted to and then put that layer behind the text layer.

I chose to only do a strip half way down because it appears more stylish.

This is my final contents page.

As you can see I have followed the colour scheme through to my contents page.

I honestly think this contents page isn't as good as my front cover and double page spread, simply because there is not much going on.

I don't really like that you can see a lot of white however if I was to use colour or an image it would look too hectic so I chose to make it simple.

I do like the way I used the pink behind the main text. Doing this has made 'Contents' stand out and look more effective.

I carried this on with the main titles e.g. On the Cover, News and Features. This gives the magazine a more interesting look and makes it much clearer for the reader to see the different sections.

This is the barcode i used for my front cover. it is placed neatly in the right corner at the bottom on the page.

I chose to place it there as it is neatly tucked out of the way but still very noticeable.

I tried various places however this one came across as the most convenient.

This is what my date looks like. Just simple font, nothing too BOLD.

I chose to use simple font merely because the date isn't too important and if i was too use the same font as my title it would have looked a bit tacky.

I have put this top left hand side just above the

stories as that is where it looks best.

As you will see I have lined it up neatly with the issue number and price of my magazine which is on the right hand side.

This makes the magazine look tidy and professional.

This is my Issue Number and Price as mentioned in the paragraph above. Again a simple yet effective font.

I really like the way I laid it out with the price

underneath the issue number, I think that looks really good and also the price I made a little bigger so it stands out a bit more.

This is another aspect of my magazine. In one of my front page stories I have changed the colour of the word 'Not' to make it stand out from the rest of the story.

This gives the headline a bit more meaning as it shows that the story is important and makes the reader want to know more.

This is my Final front cover.

I have used Pink and Black as my colour scheme. The reason for using this pink is simply because it matches the pink on my models top. I used the eyedropper tool in photoshop to pick up the colour from the top and use it as a theme throughout my magazine.

I think my choice of font really works for the style of my magazine.

Initial Ideas

Title

These are my initial ideas for the name of my magazine:

- Pulse

- Crave

- Unplugged

- Unplugged Indie

- Torn

My final choice for the title of my magazine was Unplugged.

Font

These are my initial ideas for the font i want to use:

I have chosen the first font as it looks more like an indie/rock type of font.

This is Aleksia and she is my target audience for the music magazine I am producing.

Aleksia is 17 and lives in London.

Her hobbies include: music, shopping, dance and likes to socialize with her friends.

I have chosen Aleksia to be my target audience because she is a good example of what my magazine stands for. This is because she loves the indie type music and it influences her in the way she dresses and also in day to day activities.

She enjoys listening to music by Kings of Leon, The Verve, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Killers etc.

This makes her the typical consumer for my product.

Audience Demographics

For audience demographics this is the beginning for most magazines as this is one of the most important factors to start with. This is the audience. Its important for the audience to find out about them. You are entitled to find out information like: how old they are, what music they like, what they want in the magazine, where they live, what gender they are, this information is important and relevant for me, it plays a big part in creating a magazine; you need to find out what people want in order to gain a better understanding and allow yourself more chance to capture their attention. The failure or success of the magazine would depend on how well i do in finding out this very appropriate information from the audience. To find out this information i will be producing questionnaires/polls and posting it onto my blog for the audience to fill out. I will be posting links of my blog for people to answer my questionnaires on social networking sites such as facebook or twitter.

Uses and Gratifications Theory

Uses and Gratifications Theory is a way to show an approach to communication. This theory places more focus on the consumer or audience. It assumes members of the audience are not reactive but take an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives. The theory also holds audiences responsible for choosing media to meet its needs. The approach suggests that people use the media to fulfill specific gratifications. This theory would then imply that the media compete against other information sources for the viewer’s gratification. This theory would definitely help me design and produce my magazine; this is because the theory is for the audience to choose what they want in the magazine, for example; what font they prefer, what title they want, the colour scheme used throughout the whole magazine etc. Important things like the layout would be much easily decided with the help the audience deciding what they prefer. I have produced a questionnaire to see what the audience want from a magazine, therefore giving me a rough idea of what they will like. I will be using ideas from the audience, however if i feel something will not work i won't use it for my magazine.

Maslow's Hierarchy of needs is basically presented in a pyramid with the largest and lowest levels of needs at the bottom, and the need for self-actualization at the top, also the needs for people. Maslow's Hierarchy is trying to explain to us that we started off with needs such as breathing and water, moving onto needs such as safety and security then friendship, family etc. finally getting to needs such as self esteem and confidence; these are important to people because is helps us to figure out who we are and to feel like we belong. What this pyramid is made to do is to show us that those two top boxes of what people need (esteem and self-actualization) are given to us by magazines; magazines give us confidence and morality etc. obviously magazines are a big part of life. Not only do they help people gain confidence but they also put across information of how to deal with problems that people may be receiving.

This contents page comes from 'Q' Magazine. Contents pages are supposed to be clear and tidy so the reader can understand what they are looking at. This particular contents page is very neat, the magazine uses its colour scheme for the contents page as well; red, white and black - this helps to keep the magazine looking tidy and put together.

The main picture is of a band called 'The Courteeners', as the page number a little information is presented in a white box on top of the picture, it shows us that this is the biggest story in the magazine.

Down the left hand side is a white strip containing all the stories the magazine has to offer. In a red box the word 'Features' is written showing us what extracts have been chosen for this magazine, a little further down is a lightly outlined box with the words 'Oasis Special' written inside, this whole box contains stories of the band Oasis, this is obviously showing us that they are popular at this moment in time as they have 5 pages about them.

Underneath that in a red box are what I would call activities; these are activities that are placed in the magazine every month, the box is just there to let people know what pages they are on incase they want to skip to the activities first before going on to read the stories.

In the bottom right hand corner is a section called 'Q Review, the worlds biggest and best music guide'; this section is basically all the pages to do with all the latest news on music and what's new, I think youngsters can really relate to this as music is an everyday essential to young people's lives.

There is a picture of the Australian singer, songwriter 'Nick Cave' and the number of the page where you can find his story; this is obviously there to show us that the extract on him is important.

The date and issue number is neatly tucked away in the top right hand corner out of the way of everything else making the page look immaculately tidy.

The contents page of a magazine is used to inform the reader of what content is printed inside, therefore, the contents page must be displayed well so it is pleasing to the eye and easy to understand in little amount of time.

In this magazine the contents page has a very structured layout enabling the reader to get a clear view of what the magazine contains. The page is divided into sections, the images used cover most of the page whilst the information is laid out around it.

The format used immediately catches the readers' eye drawing their attention to the pictures. The pictures make the contents page seem more excitable giving the reader and insight into what the rest of the magazine may well be like.

Yellow and black are the main colours used for the text and some of the pictures as well, this gives the magazine a colour scheme, these colours happen to be very common to Kerrang. Two images stand out in particular, a large dark image of slipknot which is fairly understandable, and a large dark yellow image. These colours contrast against the white background, meaning the images are more outstanding and catch the attention of the reader.

In the text, exclamation marks are used to represent attitude and heavy rock music, which connotes the style of the magazine. The language used in the text is a representation of the style of magazine. ‘Your chance to win hot signed shit!’ is a very informal and rude quote, which denotes to the genre of magazine very well. Also at the top right hand corner there is a quote written by a member of the public saying "I'd be really slutty if I were a girl for a day...", this shows that the magazine is unconcerned about other people's opinions making it quite popular as people look up to things like that.

Despite the images all belonging to the same sort of style of music, each image displayed is targeted at a different aspect of music. For fans of hardcore rock there are fairly scary, unwelcoming images and for fans of softer rock there are images of bands performing whilst smiling for the camera (much more welcoming). The mixture of different music styles attracts reader's as people have different interests and taste and the magazine contains a bit of everything. As this magazine appeals to pretty much anyone it gives the magazine a much broader market.

The purpose of a contents page is to give the reader information about what is inside the magazine and where to find it. It needs to be simple and easy to follow. The contents page is split into sections so the readers can find what they are looking for easily. The white background is successful in which it allows the reader to not be distracted and to keep there attention on the text and what they are trying to find.
The big picture of Astoria shows it’s importance and that it’s one of the main features in the magazine. It is anchored by the text printed underneath it.
NME also has a ‘Band Index’ on the contents page, this again is for the convenience of the reader and allows them to see what bands/musicians are featured in the magazine.

The subscription information in the black banner stands out against the white background to attract readers into possible subscribing (if it interests them), it's easily noticeable so that no one can miss it even if it doesn't appeal to them. The subscription box also shows off two other NME magazines giving the reader an insight into what the magazines are about and what kind of stories are printed in them. The content inside the red arrow is telling the readers that they will find 'the UK's no1 gig guide' inside the magazine, this will be very useful to many people.

The black arrows pointing to some stories show us that they are the biggest stories and most important.

The main headline is a quote from the text. This shows that it’s related giving people an idea of what the story is going to be about. Lily Allen’s name is also in this style which makes it stand out from the surrounding text as she is the main source of the story. The background is white and uncluttered so the readers attention is just on the text and the picture.

The picture of Lily Allen covers the whole of the right hand side of the page, leaving the left page for all of the text. The article is started off with a drop capital. The text is in four same sized columns separated by gutters which makes it look neat and tidy. The lead is positioned above the four columns of text and is in a larger text size as it is a subtitle. The shirt Lily Allen is dressed in is kind of a youthful young design showing that this magazine is aimed at teenagers and she can relate to them, her shirt also shows some form of masculinity giving us the impression that she is more masculine than feminine, more of a tomboy. She's stood with her hands on her hips, giving a bit of attitude again relating to teenagers, however her wrists are pointing up showing off her tattoo. This shows that she is quite reckless. She is looking directly at the reader connoting that she's strong and and demands attention, she looks quite intimidating which fits in perfectly with her personality as she is non-conformist.

At the bottom of each page is the page number, the name of the magazine and the date, this reminds people what magazine they are reading and obviously of the date. The name of the magazine is in the house style font and colour as it always is whilst the date is in a smaller font and is in italic setting it aside from the title and making it more easy to see. The picture credits are written in a small sized font, in bold at the side of the body copy so it is out of the way but still noticeable. Lily Allen's name is written in the top right hand corner of the page in a black box, this is helpful as it tells the reader who the article is about if they are not familiar with her face..