Evaluation: Skills Development

Looking back at my preliminary task I feel I have progressed in several areas which has helped me to create a full product which is to a higher standard. I feel I have a better idea of how to appeal to a particular audience through research into current magazines and the audience that reads each type of magazine. For example I had a better idea of what questions to ask in my questionnaire after what articles and features are commonly found in music magazines. Also I have learnt that when using Photoshop I have to spend more time paying attention to finer detail to create a more professional looking product. As well as taking more time with my Photoshop, I have learnt that I need to consider various other factors when taking my photographs, as in my preliminary task I didn’t consider lighting, camera angle etc. For my cover lines and article, I have looked at several magazines of the same style to get a good idea about music journalism. Bearing this research in mind I feel I have created an article that could be seen in magazine that is already being published and cover lines that could be featured on a magazine that is already being published.

Evaluation: Technologies

Whilst producing my music magazine I feel my photography and Photoshop skills have increased. When taking my photographs I learnt that I have to consider the setting and composition as this can be vital to creating the right image for the magazine. To do this I chose to have my band members looking serious with a straight face but yet casual as they are leaning on a wall in a nonchalant way. I also took the photo at a slightly lower angle as I thought this would give the impression of success for the band. I feel my Photoshop skills have improved in all aspects as I have only recently started using the programme and I believe I have become more comprehensive and improved my ability overall. I have got used to using a larger number of layers to create a more professional looking magazine. As Photoshop is the professional image manipulation software I am pleased to have learnt the basics of it.

Evaluation: Addressing My Audience

When addressing the audience I attempted to use a chatty style in order to make the reader feel comfortable when reading. I did this by using slang and writing in an informal way, which appeals to teenagers and young adults. When producing my magazine I wanted to follow a colour scheme of red and whites on blacks. I did this because I feel this colour scheme works well together and the black brings out the red and whites, especially if the red has a white stroke which stands out very well against the blacks and darker colours. The cover lines stick to the red and white colour scheme which adds to the magazines house style. They are clear to read, containing a piece of information in a larger font and coloured red which aims to give potential buyers a glance at what each week’s magazine contains. The articles found in my magazine will address the intended audience by offering reviews and interviews with popular ‘Indie’ bands and new bands that are coming onto the music scene. In my articles and cover lines, I have used exclamation marks to highlight important details and to add emphasis to my cover lines. It also contains chances to win tickets to gigs and festivals. An idea to attract new readers and to reward loyal ones is to include a free CD with future issues.

Evaluation: Target Audience

My target audience can be identified by the sub-cultural group known as ‘Indie.’ People found in this social group are demographically white males or females; from the ages of 13 to early 20’s. They are mainly students or found in the social class category of C1 or C2. The psychographic profile of this social group is Individuals as they like to be different from the crowd.

Evaluation: Institutions

For my media magazine I would choose a medium sized publishing label, for example Dennis, because I believe it would give me all the advantages of a larger distributer but would be a lot more cost effective I would be able to negotiate a larger share of profits than with a big company, for example Bauer. Although a larger company would be able to distribute more copies at a quicker rate, which would benefit sales of my magazine, it would be less cost effective than choosing a medium sized distributer. A small distributer or self publishing my magazine would not be cost effective and it would not allow me to print as many magazines at the rate that I would like. Also a larger publisher will have dedicated advertising sales staff to increase the magazine profits in advertising as well as circulation

Evaluation: Representation

I have represented youth by using images that are gritty and urban. This urban look fits in with the stereotype that young people spend a lot of time on the streets as there is little else to do. I chose to have my main image of the band that the issue featured, standing in front of a brick wall. I did this because it gives the impression that the band come from places like the fans of their music and that they share the feeling that there is nothing interesting for youths to do. This impression allows the readers to feel like know the band and can relate to them and their music. The band members are shown as not smiling which adds to their gritty image. The image used on my contents page shows a youth smoking; this represents the more rebellious side of a stereotypical youth. Also, on most of my shots I have used low angles to create an intimidating feel about the bands. This again shows the stereotypical youth but it gives the impression that this gritty, intimidating look will be reflected in their music.

Evaluation: Forms and Conventions

My music magazine fits into the genre of ‘new music magazine’ because it contains extended interviews that contain a lot of description and quotes from the interview, aiming to make the reader feel acquainted with the band/artist. It also fits into the category of ‘Reviews of new releases’ because it claims to have all the latest information on the newest bands, which are labelled ‘Indie bands’ hence the name of the magazine, ‘Indie Band Review.’ The magazine follows a house style which contains a distinctive colour scheme of reds and white on black. This allows many features to stand out and be recognised by readers who will associate the contents of my magazine to the magazine itself. The magazine contains articles concentrating on up and coming bands as well as already established bands which allows for the audience to read about their favourite bands and new bands that they may like. A magazine that already exists in the same category is NME magazine which is very popular with my target audience. Because of this I have used the conventions set by NME to help with the production of my magazine. To ensure that my magazine can compete with NME I have attempted to gain more access with artists by including more interviews and reviews. The increased amount of interviews aims to allow the reader to feel as they can relate to the band more and in turn purchase my magazine over competitors.

The masthead of my front cover is in a bold font which looks slightly cartoon like. The red letters have a white stroke which allows them to stand out from the black background. This connotes a vibrant and fresh feel about the magazine. The colours correspond with the overall colour scheme of the magazine. This colour scheme contains the house colours that appear throughout the magazine. These are red, white, black and gold. The strap line is a red strip containing information about the contents of the magazine. The word ‘Reviewed:’ is coloured gold which connotes the fact that it is valuable information, as gold is considered a precious metal and colour. I have ensured my cover lines are an appropriate size so that they can be read at a fair distance. They are arranged so that the main topic of the cover line is larger and red; with a small piece of information about each, in a smaller font and coloured white. This allows potential buyers to have a quick glance at the larger font and then if they wish to do so, they can read the smaller font to find out some more information. I have included a graphic that resembles a sticker to give the impression that the magazine has so much inside that a sticker has had to be placed on the front to let people know that as much information has been squeezed in as possible.

I have used a close up image for my double page spread to make the reader as more engaged with the article. I feel the fact that direct address is being used in the image also contributes toward making the reader feel more engaged. I have paid taken a lot of care when making sure the colour of the font is correct when the font crosses from the darker background to the white shirt worn by the male in my image. I have gone into as much detail as to have half a letter white and half a letter black to ensure a more professional look. I have used a drop cap to catch the reader’s eye and draw their attention to beginning of the article. Although in principle it should work, I feel that the red could be much brighter in order to really catch the reader’s attention. This dullness of the red could also be said about the stand first, which really could be brighter so it could compete with the white of the article title. For the by-line I have used the same technique that was used on the front cover where a white box contains black font and the black box below contains white font. This connotes a gritty feel that coincides with the wall in the image to create a stereotype of youth. I have included a side bar to break up the page and bring information that is relevant to the article but isn’t completely relevant, to the attention of the reader. In the article I haven’t included pull quotes and I feel that using these would improve my double page spread as it would look more professional. I have used large gutters to give the article an elegant feel. This elegance contrasts with the brick wall and the harsher feel that the rest of magazine has whilst still maintaining the house style of red, white, black and golds.

For my contents page I have reproduced the house style and have also taken the masthead from the front cover and used it again at the top left of my contents page, further continuing the house style. I have used a large image, slightly off centre so that the contents could be place along the left hand side. The image shows a stereotypical youth wearing a hoody and smoking a cigarette. This connotes the gritty and urban feel of the magazine which attempts to appeal to the youth of today because they feel they have a music magazine that relates to them. The image and background contain a lot of black which further connotes this representation. I have used another graphic that resembles a sticker, but this time it has been tarnished around the edges to give a rough and worn look. This could be seen to represent the artist shown in the image behind as the image relates to the sticker. Its coloured gold which continues the house style.

Finished products

Original images

Audience Research

Questionnaire:

1. Would you buy a music magazine?
Yes
///// ///// ///
No
///// //

2. How much would you pay for a music magazine?
£1 or less
////
£1 - £1.50
/////
£1.50 - £2
///// ///
£2 - £2.50
///

3. What genres of music would you like to read about? Tick as many as you like:
Rock
/////
Pop
///
Indie
///// ///
Metal
//
Rap
//

4. What genres of music do you listen to? Tick as many as you like:
Pop
///
Rap
//
Punk
/
Metal
///
Ska
////
Dance
/
Indie
///// /

5. What would you like to see in a music magazine? Tick as many as you like:
Gig guides and reviews
///// ///// ///// /////
Band reviews
///// ///// ///// ///
Interviews
///// ///// //
Up and coming bands
///// ////
Latest trends and looks
///// /////
Fashion advice
///// //
Competitions
///// /////
Festival Info
///// ///// ////

6. How often would you like the magazine to be published?
Weekly
///// //
Fortnightly
////
Monthly
///// ////

7. Do you go to gigs/festivals?
Yes
///// ///// ///
No
///// ///

8. Would you find a section dedicated to gigs/ festivals beneficial to a music magazine?
Yes
///// ///// ///// /////
No


9. Where do you acquire your music? Tick as many as you like:
From shops
///// /////
Online e.g. iTunes, Amazon etc
///// ////
Free downloads
/////
From friends/family
//

10. Do you shop online?
Yes
///// ///// //
No
///// ///

11. If yes, what websites? List below
Topshop/man
///// ///// ///
eBay
///// ///// /////
Amazon
///// ///
iTunes
///// ///// //
River Island
/////
Play.com
////
HMV
//

12. What clothes shops do you purchase from? List below:
Topshop/man
///// ///// /////
H&M
///// ///// //
New Look
///// ///// ////
Primark
///// /////
River Island
/////



13. What are your hobbies?
Football
////
Rugby
//
Skating
///// ///
Socialising
///// ///// //
Playing Instruments
///// ////
MSN
///// //
Gaming
////
Gigs
///// ///// /////
Gym
///// ///

Double Page Spread

Double Page Spread
Originally uploaded by William J B

Analysis of a double page spread.

My own music magazine; initial ideas.

Working title of magazine:
-Indie Band Review

Target audience - demographic:
-Gender: Male
-Age: 13 - early 20s

Target audience - psychographic:
-Image: skinny jeans, plimpsols, hi-tops, printed t-shirts, cardigans, polo tops, checkered shirts, nylon jackets, long winter coats, retro sunglasses, untamed hair. Appears to immitate the look of popular band members.
-Music: Arctic Monkeys, The Fratellis, Kooks, Razorlight, The View, Foals, Kings of Leon, Hadouken!, Kaiser Chiefs etc - all popular bands with youths.
-Shops: Topshop, H&M, New Look, River Island etc

Price Point:
-£2.50

Weekly or Monthly:
-Monthly

Content:
-Reviews and interviews of popular bands.
-Reviews of 'up and coming' bands.
-New bands and genres.
-Latests fashions.
-Reviews of gigs.
-Interviews with band members.

Style:
-Glossy
-Mainstream - direct competition with magazines like NME and Q.
-Vibrant colours, interesting fonts, contrast of bright colours on darker (grey scale) images - attempting to attract reader.

USP or postion in the market:
-Appealing to young adults that enojy attending gigs and want to know about latest trends in both music and fashion.
-Aiming to compete with the likes of NME.

artrocker

artrocker
Originally uploaded by William J B

Analysis of an existing music magazine.

hiphop connection
Originally uploaded by William J B

Click the cover to see my analysis.

Analysis of an existing music magazine.

mixmag
Originally uploaded by William J B

Click the cover to see analysis.

Planning my College Magazine

In the planning of my College Magazine, I used different techniques to gather ideas and information about what would be required to create my magazine.

Firstly, a questionnaire was compiled by the class to see what people would like a college magazine to include and other issues that come into the publishing of the magazine. This was achieved by coming up with questions that would give a vast range of information on what articles would be included, the price, style, and frequency of publishing etc. The questionnaires were then filled out before being gathered for analysis. The results made very clear of what the most popular topics for articles were. I found, using the results, that music was a very popular theme throughout the answers, so I made sure that I would include an article on music.

Another technique used, was to analyse real magazine covers. To do this I chose an existing cover and used Flickr to analyse it in detail. Flickr allowed me to pick out certain areas of the cover and write my comments about the allocated area. This helped me understand the layout of magazine covers and to understand that it is important to keep the theme of the magazine consistent. This analysis can be found in an earlier post.

To actually plan my magazine I used my knowledge gained from earlier techniques to sketch out a rough idea for the front cover, deciding on a title, what articles I would include and I also roughly sketched out what I wanted as my picture so I knew what I was looking for when it came to taking it. I had to sketch in all the necessary components, for example, date, price, and barcode, as well as the more obvious title, pick up lines and pictures. All this gave me something to work with when I came to creating it on Photoshop, where further changes could be made.

Original Photograph

My Finished College Magazine

The image on the front cover shows a student of the collage looking very happy. He is wearing an England sports shirt which links the image to the text ‘England trials for ENORF students.’ This shows that the college takes pride in its students achievements, hoping the pride will rub off on the students and teachers who read the magazine. The image has also been enhanced using Adobe Photoshop, giving it a youthful appearance which aims to attract students. The bright colours could be linked to the fashions found in college, which are of a huge variety of colours. The title ‘Got It Covered’ could relate to the ability of the reporters, suggesting that they have everything you want in a magazine ‘covered.’ It boasts the quality of the magazine and attempts to tempt readers into seeing if the claim is true, and that they have a variety of interesting topics ‘covered’. The font of the title creates a fun look, as it is slightly curly. It is bold enough to be seen and the use of the orange on the word ‘Covered’ further emphasises the claim of the magazine. The orange used is the same orange used in the college’s logo which keeps to the theme of the college colours. The font for the article headlines is the same as the title which keeps consistency and the colour’s keep within the colour scheme for the rest of the cover, which shows an attempt to improve attractiveness. However, the text ‘England trials for ENORF students,’ is coloured illumines green which grabs the readers attention as it is the article that relates to the image. The articles themselves all have relevance to student culture, as they show where new clothes can be purchased, bands can we watched and photos of a college party where students can unwind and have fun. These all appeal to the target audience and should encourage students to purchase the magazine. At the bottom of the cover is a tag line that appears to outline the key factors of the contents. It is angled diagonally, along a black strip that bring out the text. The position contradicts the rest of the layout as it is at an angle rather than set out along horizontal or vertical lines. The text ‘Gossip – Events – Music – Reviews’ all coincide with the type of articles that are found in this issue of the magazine, as they are considered interesting by students. The colour of the font is arranged in an alternating arrangement of orange then green, which shows continuity in the colour schemes of the magazine.





















For the contents page shown left, I used an existing layout from a real magazine and entered information relevant to the magazine which I was creating a cover for. I was instructed to attempt to copy the existing layout to the best of my ability. The grey areas will be filled with pictures that i would take if creating the contents page to actually go in the magazine. The use of different colours for 'On the Cover', 'Features' and 'Regulars' is an attempt to attract people towards the main features of the magazine. The word 'Contents' is clearly shown in large font. It is also in capital letters which further enhances the clarity of the heading. The red colouring of the heading and the bright yellow strip stands out against the white background creating a clean and sharp image.
















Overall I am pleased with how my products have turned out. I am especially pleased with the front cover, because it has turned out pretty much how I wanted it. A few adjustments to the layout had to be made because I planned for the bar code to be at the top but when I decided to play around with the layout it became apparent that it was best suited in the bottom right corner. As well this i feel the tittle 'Got It Covered!' suits the magazine and gives the impression to readers that it is a reliable magazine full of interesting information. I think the effects added to the image on the cover give the magazine a youthful look which would hopefully attract readers. I feel that I could have chosen the colours for the articles advertised on the front cover more carefully, as I feel they look as though they have no particular order. For the contents page I feel that the layout is effective due to its simplicity. The white background is successful because it make the text stand out more, giving a crisp and clear look which is easy to read. I feel that I could have used more colour for the contents written down the right hand side, as they are just plain black and a bit more colour would increase the attractiveness of the page.



Undertaking the Preliminary Task has helped me to develop my skills in Photoshop and in planning tasks. I have now learnt how to carry out a questionnaire and use the information gathered to benefit a task I am carrying out. I have realised data gathered could be put into a graph or a table which is a good way to present information. Through the Preliminary task, I have learnt to use the programme Flickr to analyse any work that I produce. I believe this is a great benefit to my abilities as it is very easy and quick to use but is very effective and can produce detailed analysis's. Aswell as improveing my skills in these areas, I feel I have greatly improved my ability to use Adobe Photoshop. When we started the task I had very basic knowledge of how to use the software but now I feel I can create pieces of work to a much higher standard than before. Whilst exploring the fonts on Photoshop, I found a way to make my font look more cartoon like, by using the shadow effects. I also learnt how to use gradients on the background and other ajustments, for example, saturation, contrast and brightness. Throughout the task my comprehension of the layer system increased as I learnt how merge layers and add effects by double clicking the lay in question. This made adding the effects discussed earlier, easier to use.

SOUP

click on the cover to be taken to a Flickr analysis of it!

SOUP
Originally uploaded by William J B