Final Magazine Evaluation

In which ways does your media product use and challenge the typical conventions of a magazine?
In order for  my magazine to be recognised as a indie rock music magazine by my target audience, I have ensure to follow particular conventions which apply to this genre of music magazines. However I have also ensure to challenge some of the typical indie rock music magazine conventions, in order to make my magazine unique and stand out from the many other magazines. To display which conventions I have used and which conventions I have challenged I have created three interactive presentations below on the website Prezi, for my front cover, contents page and double page spread.

Front Cover Conventions on Prezi

Contents Page Conventions on Prezi

Double Page Spread Conventions on Prezi

--------------------------------------------------------------------

In which way does your media product represent a particular social group?

To display how I have represented a particular social group, I have compared the character represented within my magazine and a character represented in a mainstream magazine, in the form of singer Taylor Momsen. The individual displayed in the mainstream media magazine, represents the particular social group of indie rock teenagers. This social group, has become increasingly popular in the last few years, therefore I feel to appeal to my audience it would be best to portray this social group in my character. 

The body language is very similar in both images. The posture appears very relaxed and casual, however with the addition of placing both hands on the waist area, this adds a bit of a edge and attitude to the image. A medium shot is used in both images, with a central eye level angle. This is effective as attitude is brought throughout the eyes, which projects to the eye contact made between the image and the audience. The costume, hair and make-up, is very similar in both images. Featuring very dark and smouldering eye make-up to create dramatic eye contact, a very dark and grungy costume and a dishevelled and tousled hair style, all of which are used to project the indie rock grungy genre of the magazine. Both images also appear to be taken in a studio area, with a plain background, which allows the dramatic imagery to stand out more. However the lighting used within my image appears darker with more contrast then in the mainstream image of Taylor, which appears to be more faded and whitewashed, with less contrast. 

Much like artist featured in the mainstream magazine, Taylor Momsen, I would to promote the values and beliefs that girls can also be very talented musicians in the genre of indie rock, which is usually dominated by men. I would also like to promote the strong belief in that you can achieve anything if you try hard enough, much like the Taylor, who has become a musician at the very young age of 19. However in the media she is often criticised for being a bad influence on the genre of music my taking the 'edgyness' too far. Although I would like to still portray my character as a genuine typical teenager, I would also like my character to be a good role model to girls and display that girls do not necessarily need to swear and act too sexual to be successful.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Which kind of media institution may distribute your media product and why?
To identify a media institution that would be likely to distribute my product, I first identified a product which was similar to mine, in the form of NME music magazine, which can be displayed below.

As NME magazine is of a similar style and genre to my magazine, I feel those who distribute this magazine would be likely to distribute my own music magazine. Therefore the distribution company I have chosen is IPC Media, as they would know exactly where and how would be best to distribute my magazine, in order to gain a high popularity readership and sales revenue.  IPC Media, is a magazine and digital publishing company in the UK, that is owned by Time Inc. and conglomerate of Time Warner. 

I feel this company will the best for my magazine as 'IPC Media produces over 60 iconic media brands' which range from sports, to home and garden, to music. Therefore my magazine will fit comfortably amongst a range wide range of magazine genres to benefit the interests of everyone. 

According to the IPC Media website 'Print alone reaching almost two thirds of UK women and 42% of UK men – almost 26 million UK adults – while our websites collectively reach over 20 million users every month’. Therefore I feel choosing this institution would allow my product to be in good hands and allow it to be distributed to my audience successfully. It could also increase purchases, through association with the 60 other magazine brands that IPC Media own, by advertisements, which could also bring in a wider audience.

Magazine Distribution Techniques on Prezi

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Who would you define as the target audience for your magazine?
To allow my magazine to attract and appeal to the target audience in which I will be marketing my magazine towards, I made sure to understand both their interests and their lifestyle in order to cater my magazine to be interesting and suitable for them. Before identifying my overall target audience, I produced a basic review and profile on a typical audience member, who enjoyed reading the genre of music magazine I had created, indie rock.

The specific audience member I had chosen was Nikki (displayed in the photo above), who is of 18 years of age and a full time student at college. In order to give me a basic understanding of the type of audience who would be likely to purchase and enjoy reading my magazine, I interviewed Nikki to find out more about her interests. She enjoyed socialising with friends and hanging out with them on a regular basis. She also enjoyed listening to a range of music specifically in the indie and rock genre and sub-genres and often attended gigs and concerts, which included both a range of high profile and independent local bands. She also had a large interest in fashion and shopping, particularly in clothing which was highly influenced by her favourite music genres indie and rock.

After gaining a basic understanding of the type of audience I will be aiming my magazine towards, I was able to determine by specific target audience (displayed in the image above), who I would define as those of both a male and female gender, between the ages of 16 to 25 and often are in college/university or have a part time job. To allow me to understand how I will appeal to my target though my magazine, I created a questionnaire on Google Docs, which can be displayed below.

Below are the answers given by a sample of my target audience members:

From the answers provided we can see that my target audience mainly enjoy listening to indie and rock music, with outside influences from r'n'b and pop too. They regularly enjoy going out with their friends and spend the majority of their money on clothing and concert/gig tickets. They are mainly of a working class background and attend college as students. They enjoy comedy films, and their favourite TV shoes mainly consist of programmes such as The Inbetweeners, Skins, Misfits and Family Guy. They also enjoy shopping at mainly high street clothing stores such as H&M, Top Man & Top Shop and River Island. 

To ensure I knew that I had appealed to my target audience successfully, I conducted a small discussion group, of which my audience discussed what attracted them to my magazine and if they would purchase it, of which I recorded on a hand held camera. This was attended to be posted as support of my audience feedback on my blog and in my evaluation, however unfortunatly there was many technical issues, in that the video would not upload onto my blog or any other social networking websites such as Facebook or you tube, in which I could have posted the link. Therefore I have placed my peer audience feedback on a disk which can be previewed along with the printed version of my magazine.

I also asked my audience to note down whether they would purchase my magazine and why, to identify if I needed to make any last minute changes. One of theses pieces of feedback can be displayed below.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

How did you ensure to attract and address your audience, through your magazine?
After producing my target audience research I had a better understanding of the lives and interests and what appeals them to a magazine. This allowed me to attract my audience in a number of ways, which can be displayed in the video below.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

What have you learnt about new technologies and software, from the process of constructing your magazine?
When designing and creating my music magazine, I have used various forms of technology and software to help me through the whole production process, each of which can be displayed in the collage below which I created on Picnik.

The pieces of hardware I used within my production process were a Digital SLR Camera and my laptop computer. My computer was very important in the production process, as it gave me access to all the software I needed to design, create and edit my magazine. It also gave me access to the internet, which allowed me to find and use many websites which I had never used before. These include Blogger to create my production blog, Deviant Art to gain feedback and Prezi to create interactive presentations.

To take the photographs for my magazine, I used a SLR camera in the form of the FUJIFILM Fine Pix S2750HD Digital Camera. I used this particular camera, as i wanted my photos to look as high quality as possible in order to ensure my magazine looked professional. This was the first time I had used a SLR camera, therefore I wasn’t very familiar on how to use it. To help me use the camera correctly I visited the two following two websites Facethelight and DSLtips. This allowed me to learn many techniques and tips, which allowed me to take high quality photographs for my magazine, which I am very pleased with. As I have purchased a SLR camera for my own personal use, this process also helped me to learn many techniques and tips which I could use when taking photographs within my own time.

To both edit my photographs and design my overall music magazine pages, I used the popular digital and editing software, Photoshop CS5. As I have previously used this piece of software before, I felt at ease with the using software and had knowledge of the many techniques I could use. However when it came to editing my photographs, I wanted to ensure the contrast was high and that appeared shadowy and grungy, something I had not done before. Therefore I learnt how to use a variety of layer and brush combinations and techniques.

To display each stage of my research, planning and production of my magazine, I have used the popular blog publishing website Blogger. This is the first time I have ever used this website or a web blogging platform overall, however I was very pleased with how helpful this website was, when creating my magazine. When I first began to use Blogger, I was a bit confused with how to create and publish each post to blog; however after visiting various help pages and tutorials, I quickly learnt how to use the site with ease. I am very happy that I chose to use Blogger when creating my magazine, as I felt it was much easier than if I were to use the file portfolio method. The website allowed me to have all my research in one place, which was much easier to find if I had amendments which I need to change. It also allowed me to document every part of my process, even those that were minimal, such as simply changing the font on my magazine page or finding a photo shoot image which I would like to replicate on my magazine. After learning the basics of simply creating posts, I then learnt how could insert evidence into each post in many forms including, photos, videos and audio. This was extremely helpful as it allowed me to display all parts of research, planning and production which contribute to my overall product, for example, photo shoot photographs and inspirations for my magazine and photo shoot. Therefore I can display which aspects of my production went well and which aspects went not so well and needed amendments, with evidence.

To gain feedback for my magazine I used a popular art sharing website called Deviant Art, which I had never used before. Although this was not my primary source for audience feedback, I used this website to display my product to audiences worldwide, to gain a small amount of feedback, which without these websites would require me to pay a producer or publisher to promote it.

Other website which were, Prezi, which allowed me to create interactive presentations when evaluating my final magazine product. Google Docs, which allowed me to create an interactive on-line questionnaire, to gain information about my target audience and feedback on my magazine. The last website I used was Swimchick, a tutorial blog, which provided me with the tutorials to create a grungy and dramatic effect on my magazine photographs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

In which way do you feel you have progressed from the preliminary task up to your final product?

From my preliminary task, which I produced before beginning my music magazine as a college magazine, I feel I have progressed greatly in my understanding of creating and designing a magazine. This can be displayed in the slide shows below, which I created on the website Prezi, which show the progression through the use of image, fonts, colour, text and layout within both my preliminary task college magazine and my final product music magazine. 

Preliminary Task Image Progression on Prezi

Preliminary Task Font, Colour & Text Progression on Prezi

Preliminary Task Layout Progression on Prezi

--------------------------------------------------------------------

How do you feel about your final product overall?
Overall I am very pleased with how my magazine has turned out. I feel I have created my magazine to a high professional standard, that would sell well in stores. I feel I have followed the conventions well, which will allow my magazine to be well recognised as a indie-rock magazine to my audience and amongst other magazine. Furthermore I also feel I have a good knowledge on my target audience and will be able to attract and appeal to them successfully, in order for them too purchase the magazine.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
What have you learned from this experience that might help you, if you were to create a similar product in the future?
If I were to design and create a music magazine in future productions, I feel I have learnt quite a lot from my findings in the feedback from this music magazine, using new technologies and the whole production process and would be able to produce a good magazine. I understand how each page must include a sufficient proportion of both text and images, in order to keep the readers interest and ensure the magazine does not contain too many pictures and appears busy or contains too much text and appears boring and too formal. I am also aware of how the colour scheme should follow the conventional colours for the music genre you will be portraying within your magazine, in order to allow readers and your target audience to associate it with that genre and recognise it if it were to be sold in-store. I am aware of the techniques and process I can use within Photoshop in order to create a professional looking magazine and I am also aware of the many effects I can apply to my photographs in order to achieve my desired effect. However if I were to produce a magazine in future, I feel I would take a different approach to the photographs used, in that I would like to find a photography studio space in which I could take my photographs, which would allow them to look more professional. I also feel having a greater use of props, would also be more stylistic and allow me to tie my photographs in with the genre and theme of my magazine.

Music Magazine Final Design

This is is the final design for my as media, music magazine. Overall I am very pleased with how my magazine has turned out. I feel it has all the conventional aspects of an indie rock music magazine, which will ensure it is recognisable to my target audience. I also feel I have made the correct amendments, to ensure it appeals and will attract my audience and that it is completed to the highest standard and looks professional. 

Here is the final design for my music magazine front cover page. After creating my first draft for my music magazine front cover page, I have ensured to gain as much feedback from both my lecturer and peers, which has allowed to reach this final stage of my production. In comparison to my first draft, I have made the following changes; I have sharpened the front cover image, to ensure it looks more professional much like the high quality photos used on most magazine front covers. I have also lowered the saturation of the main image, which will allow the image to be more consistent with the minimalistic colour scheme, whilst also allowing it to tie in with the grungy indie rock music theme by making it appear to be somewhat worn out. I changed the skyline, with a small sentence which simply states 'the u.k's number one music magazine'. This displays a dominance over other music magazines and ensures the reader that this magazine will be worth while purchase. As I still wanted to promote the freebies and gifts which were included in the magazine, as I felt this was important when attracting a younger audience, I placed the text which was on the skyline on the bottom of the page, which still allowed it to be visible. To promote freebies and gifts, I also added a competition promo to the front cover, to attract the younger audience. I also ensured to have a very high profile band included in the competition of the target indie rock genre, which not only attracts my target audience but those who may not purchase the magazine regularly but enjoy the band I have used. 

Here is the final design for my music magazine contents page. After creating my first draft for my music magazine contents page, I have ensured to gain as much feedback from both my lecturer and peers, which has allowed to reach this final stage of my production. In comparison to my first draft, I have made the following changes; I have sharpened the image, to ensure it looks more professional much like the high quality photos used in most magazines. I have also lowered the saturation of the main image, which will allow the image to be more consistent with the minimalistic colour scheme, whilst also allowing it to tie in with the grungy indie rock music theme by making it appear to be somewhat worn out. I have increased the size of the page numbers within the contents page, to ensure they are larger then the other text making the pages numbers more recognisable for the reader, when they are for example looking to search for a chosen page. I changed the description of the main feature page, to give more of an insight into what the article may be about, which could spark more interest in the reader. I have also added a page number in the right hand bottom corner of the page, as it is a conventional aspect of a magazine and will also allow the reader to identify the page and to associate it with the numbers within the contents page.

Here is the final design for my music magazine double page interview spread. After creating my first draft for my music magazine double page interview spread, I have ensured to gain as much feedback from both my lecturer and peers, which has allowed to reach this final stage of my production. In comparison to my first draft, I have made the following changes; I have sharpened the images, to ensure they look more professional much like the high quality photos used in most magazines. I also added a feature promoting the CD of the featured interviewed artist, which displayed a picture of the CD case, which will allow readers to recognise the CD in-store if they wish to purchase it. I have also included the release date and where the CD can be purchased to ensure the readers can find and purchase the CD with ease. This will could perhaps also increase the sales of the magazine as those who who have purchased the CD, may be likely to remember they discovered it in this magazine. Lastly I have also added page numbers to the bottom outer corners of each page,  as this is a conventional aspect of a magazine and will also allow the reader to identify the pages and to associate them with the numbers within the contents page.

Second Draft Peer Feedback

For the second draft of my music magazine coursework, I gathered feedback from my peers, by placing my second draft on whiteboard, and allowing my peers to annotate the images with areas which I had done well in and areas in which they felt I needed to improve my magazine. Below is the video which displays my peers annotating my music magazine with feedback, showing how I set up the feedback task. 

I have also displayed photographs below which display the feedback which was given by my peers.

Overall I am very pleased with the feedback I received from my peers and after reading the feedback which was given by my peers, it was apparent I had produced a very professional magazine which followed the conventions of a typical indie-rock magazine and was sufficient for my target audience. However there were a few minor details which they felt could be changed or improved before publishing my final draft. Firstly they felt that before publishing my final draft of my magazine I should remove the white border around each page. Therefore I shall ensure to remove the white border, in order to allow the magazine to look like a typical magazine, which does not contain a border and also allow it to look professional. They also felt it would be appropriate to alter the images as they appeared to have a orange tint of colour to them. In order to do this I will lower the saturation of my magazine photos, to lower the orange tone. This will be more in keeping with the minimalistic colour scheme and specifically the dark and grungy colours of the indie rock genre. However one of my peers suggested the image on my contents looked unprofessional as it displayed wires from the microphone. However I do not intend to change this, as I did it intentionally to make the image appear as if it were taken in a music studio with the surrounding equipment.

Music Magazine Double Page Spread Second Draft

For my second draft of my music magazine double page interview spread, I have made a few changes in order in order to make my magazine look more professional and it is completed to a high standard. Firstly I have sharpened the image. Most magazines will often feature a photo taken from a photo shoot which is  produced in high definition, there as my magazine appeared slightly blurry and out of focus, I have sharpened the image to ensure it appears with more definition and clarity. I have also added a page number in the bottom right hand corner. This was a necessity I felt as every magazine features page numbers, in order for the reader to to identify each page and associate each page with the text featured on the contents page. Lastly I have replaced the free space in the right hand corner with a music CD promotion. After music artist feature in magazine interviews, I found it is often conventional for magazines too promote the single they will be releasing, particularly if the artist is up and coming. Therefore I have featured a image of the CD single, in order for readers to identity what the CD cover would look like in stores and information on when the single will be released and where it can be purchased.  This is effective as it encourages those who purchase the CD single, to be reminded of the magazine they were recommended it in, which may influence them to purchase the magazine again. 

Music Magazine Contents Page Second Draft

For my second draft of my music magazine contents page, I have made a few changes in order in order to make my magazine look more professional and it is completed to a high standard. Firstly I have sharpened the image. Most magazines will often feature a photo taken from a photo shoot which is  produced in high definition, there as my magazine appeared slightly blurry and out of focus, I have sharpened the image to ensure it appears with more definition and clarity. I have also added a page number in the bottom right hand corner. This was a necessity I felt as every magazine features page numbers, in order for the reader to to identify each page and associate each page with the text featured on the contents page. On my first draft the page numbers which were placed next to each page featured on the contents page, were the same size as the titles of each feature. Although they were placed in a different colour, they did not stand out as much as I had hoped. Therefore, to allow the reader to identify each page sufficiently within the contents, particularly if they are looking for a page number they would like to read, I have placed my my page numbers in a different and bolder font, in a larger size. Lastly I have placed a recycle logo onto the right hand side of the page. This was simply due to the environment becoming a rather large issue in the world of media, therefore I felt this would a simple touch to inform readers they can recycle the magazine to help the environment. 

Music Magazine Front Cover Second Draft

For my second draft of my music magazine front cover, I have made a few changes in order in order to make my magazine look more professional and it is completed to a high standard. Firstly I have sharpened the cover image. Most magazines will often feature a photo taken from a photo shoot on their front cover which is  produced in high definition, there as my magazine appeared slightly blurry and out of focus, I have sharpened the image to ensure it appears with more definition and clarity. I have also replaced the text which was featured on the skyline at the top of the page. I felt the text appeared too small too be noticed in order for it too attract the readers attention, however I also felt that there was too much text featured to have an impact on the the reader. Therefore I have replaced the text with the simple statement 'the u.k's number one music magazine', which projects the domination of the magazine and reassures the audience that the magazine will be a good purchase. I have also placed the text in large letters, to ensure the text is noticed by the audience. The text which was featured on the skyline however,  I did still want to feature on my magazine, as I feel promoting the use of gig listings, poster, free-give-aways etc. is highly important when it comes to encouraging a magazine to sell, therefore I have placed this text in a simple and clear font and the bottom of the page, in bold noticeable letters. As my music magazine is targeted at an audience who are interested in music, advertising music posters and gig listings etc. is more likely to gain there interest and encourage them to purchase the magazine. Lastly I have added a promotion to the bottom right hand corner, which advertises an opportunity for the reader to win tickets to see the band Kings of Leon. This influences readers to purchase the magazine as Kings of Leon, are a very popular high profile band, therefore not only does it encourage the reader to believe the magazine is very popular, as it can promote tickets for a high profile band but it also provides them a chance to see such a high profile band for free. 

First Draft Feedback

For my first draft of my music magazine coursework, I gathered feedback from my media lecturer, to help me determine the areas in which I had been successful in my magazine and the areas in which I needed to improve to ensure my magazine reached a professional level and my target grade. For my first draft of my music magazine I received a B/C, although I am quite pleased with this I feel I could improve my magazine, to ensure i receive a grade B overall. 

Below are the feedback forms, which display which aspects of the tasks I have successfully completed.

From the feedback I gathered from my lecturer, she felt my overall magazine had a strong brand identity, which represents clearly my genre and target audience. She also felt I had provided a good understanding of my conventions and furthermore, that my front cover provided a good range of fonts and sell lines. 

However she did feel there were may areas I could improve my magazine in. Firstly my images on each page, could be sharpened, as they appear slightly blurry and out of focus. This could allow the magazine to look unprofessional, as magazines are highly edited and often feature very high definition and clear photographs. Page numbers could also be added to both my contents page and double page interview spread. This is a necessity, as page numbers are featured on every page in every form of magazine or newspaper, and would make my magazine appear highly unprofessional if they were no used. They also allow the reader to identity the page and associate it with the text featured on the contents page. I also need to fill in the large amount of space, featured on the second page of my double page interview spread, as this again looks highly unprofessional. Text or images, will always fill almost every space within a page, to allow the page to seem more organised and tidy, therefore I will need to place a form of image or text in this space. 

Music Magazine Double Page Spread First Draft

This is the first draft for my double page, interview spread for my music magazine. I am quite pleased, with how this has turned out, as it looks very professional and followed the particular conventions of a magazine interview, particularly placing them images in columns, with each question placed in a bold font, to ensure they stand out amongst the other items of text. However I do feel I could add extra information to the pages, other then the interview of the music artist. I have ensured to feature and introductory paragraph to allow the artist to be introduced for those who may not have heard of them. Within the interview, I have tried to feature a large range of a questions, with everything from influences, to how they started out, to what they would like to be doing in 5 years time. This allows all bases to be covered within the interview, and cover the interests of a wider audience. 

Music Magazine Contents Page First Draft

This is the first draft of my contents page for my music magazine. I feel this is the best page, from all three I have produced, as  feel I have incorporated all the conventional aspects of a contents page, therefore I feel the page may not need much changing afterwards. In the corner of the page I have chosen to feature the letter R, using the same font, colour and styling, to allow the contents page to be consistent with the front cover. For my articles, I have ensured to choose a wide range, to aim to wider audience, featuring everything from reviews, interviews, festival line-ups and features of particular moments in music industry. 

Music Magazine Front Cover First Draft

This is the first draft for my magazine front cover. I am very pleased with how it has turned out so far and ultimately I feel it looks quite professional and could resemble a music magazine in stores. For my magazine logo, I have used a simple font, which consist of Myriad Pro, however to create a worn out effect I have added a crinkled and dirty texture on top of the text. I have then used a rubber to rub out particular areas of the text and added paint splatters, which makes the text appear as if it has been painted onto the front cover. I feel this is effective, as it allows the title to be consistent with the rock genre aspect of the magazine, with its grimy and destructive affect. To encourage the audience to purchase the magazine, i have featured items on the skyline, at the top of the front cover, such as gig listings, music reviews, competitions etc. I have also placed on text on the skyline which states 'the U.K's no 1 music magazine'. This is effective as it states the dominance and high popularity of the magazine, which creates a dominant atmosphere and influences the audience to purchase the magazine, as they are reassured it will be good. Lastly for the articles, I have tried to incorporate articles of many different aspects of the music industry to interest a wider audience. These consist of interviews from popular indie-rock bands, an exclusive on a music festival, a countdown of the 50 greatest musicians and amusing article on those singers who replaced there music career for a career in a complete alternative industry.