Essay Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Transcript:
One of the many things I feel I have learnt in the progression from the preliminary task to the full product, is the importance of time. To make an effective and successful product, it requires time and effort which you have to be able to give when making a product. I put in a lot of time and effort when making my final product and I think this shows when one looks at my magazine. For my preliminary task, we were limited in time because we were just practising for when we made the final product. 
Also, you need to be able to put a lot of effort into trying our different skills and techniques on Adobe Photoshop. When doing my preliminary task, I had limited time therefore I did not get to try as many different techniques as I would have liked. So, when making my final product I decided on times when I would experiment with different effects on Photoshop and I think this worked very well. I was able to see which effects worked the best for my magazine, and which would attract my audience in the most effective way. Doing the preliminary task allowed me to familiarise myself with Adobe Photoshop and I found this very useful because I did not have to waste anytime when it came to doing my final product; therefore I learnt that practise is vital when getting ready to create a full product.
I also learnt a lot more about the importance of considering your target audience. For my preliminary task I knew who my target audience was and the different ways I could attract them, but when doing my final product I constantly thought about what my target audience wanted and how I could give it to them: I did an audience profile, mood board and also a magazine proposal which went into even more detail about my magazine.
One thing I have learnt is incredibly effective when creating a product successfully is planning. I did plan for my preliminary task, however I did much more planning for my full product. The detailed planning allowed me to be more prepared when it came to editing my final product. The importance of a detailed proposal is something I have also learnt. I did not do a proposal for my preliminary task, which I think could have benefited me if I'd had the time to do it. My magazine proposal for my final product contained information about the specific content of the magazine, business details (e.g. how much it will cost, subscription details etc.) and many more details that allowed me to look at my product like it was a real magazine. 
Also, I learnt to take lots of images and do them from several different angles in order to provide variety and make the magazine more interesting. The images I included in my preliminary task were all basically the same angle, whereas for my final product I used different angles constantly and took lots of images so I had lots to choose from and wasn't limited in my choices.

Essay Question 6

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

Evaluation Question 6 on Prezi

Transcript:
The main format I used when creating my magazine was Adobe Photoshop. This format allows me to edit photos (e.g. reshaping, retouching, adjusting sizes) and I always used this when incorporating images into my magazine. These editing effects allowed me to make the magazine appear more professional and sophisticated. I used many of these techniques and found them very helpful, and this is evident on my contents page, because I have changed my main image to black and white - which I think certainly gives it sophistication and edge; exactly how I want to present my magazine.
Photoshop also allows me to edit text (e.g. glow effects, drop shadows, black outlining) and I found this extremely useful during the process of creating my magazine. I learnt to value the outline effect because it makes the text pop and stand out - cleverly catching my readers' eye. I used the outline effect frequently throughout my magazine and I think this makes the magazine more exciting and attractive.
When doing the photo shoot for my magazine, I learnt how to use Canon 550D DSLR. I had never used this type of camera before and found it to be very helpful when taking the images for my magazine. I adjusted the focus of the camera a lot during my photo shoots and I think this gave my images variety. I didn't want my images to have many effects on them, so the change of focus made my images unique enough, but not too complicated. When changing the focus of the camera, I had to be careful not to blur the face/body of my model, which at the beginning I struggled with but I learnt the appropriate techniques.
When doing my indoor photo shoot, I learnt how to use a different camera to create a time lapse. The camera was set up to view me and my model taking photo's. It took a image every ten seconds and when I was finished I stopped it and edited it all together. I put all the images together and added music, and I think this gave me even more knowledge about how cameras can be used during photo shoots. For the outdoor photo shoot, I got another media student to take images so I could do a 'Behind the Scenes' slideshow and this is shown on my blog. I added audio to it and the music I used is in-keeping with my indie/rock theme because I used a well-known indie/rock artist.
Each week throughout the process of creating our magazine, we have had to do diary entries explaining what we had been working on in each media lesson. I used several different ways to display this information, such as Prezi. I had also used Prezi to create presentations about audience profiles, mood boards and my magazine proposal.
To display all of the documents I have used and created throughout this magazine making process, I have used a blog site called Blogger. This blogging technique has been an excellent way to present all of my work. I had never used a blog site before but Blogger is very simple to use, and labelling makes it very effective and it makes it easy to access all of my documents.

Essay Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

Transcript:
When thinking about attracting my target audience, I had to consider what my ideal reader would want to read, and how they would like their favourite magazine to be represented. I decided to create a multi-gender colour scheme. I used colours such as red, black and white, which would appeal to both males and females. These colours also represent my genre perfectly and the contrast between the red, black and white work well.
The images I have included would also attract my target audience. My front cover is aimed at females because of the use of a female model, which I think is very effective because it works very well for other magazine such as NME and Q. I have included images of other artists to make my magazine have variety and I think my audience would appreciate this.
I have used buttons and large sell lines to attract the reader to find out what else is in the magazine, and I also included a quote from my main article which I think will make them want to read the rest of the feature.
Also, I have included features and content that I believe will appeal to my audience. Even when creating my front cover I included sell lines that I believe would attract my audience. For example, one of my sell lines is 'TOP 10 GIGS' which I believe would attract my audience, because I think my audience would attend various festivals and gigs frequently, and will want to find out information about them. Also, on the front cover I have included lots of names of bands and artists I believe my target audience would be very interested in, and listen to a lot. These sell lines will gain interest from the reader and therefore make them want to buy it.
I wanted the content of the magazine to really interest the reader, therefore I was very cautious when naming the pages of my magazine. I included an Album of the Year feature and Best Newcomers feature which I think my audience will really enjoy and be attracted to because as I have said, my readers will read the magazine as escapism and for enjoyment, but also to gain more knowledge about the music world.
When writing my article and all my sell lines, I tried to create a style of writing that would attract my target audience as well. I made sure my writing was not too serious, and would make the reader feel like they are having a conversation with the writer, rather than just being told information. However I did want the writing to still be sophisticated and well-informed, so that the readers felt like they were actually gaining knowledge about what is happening in the music industry.
I have also taken advantage of the popularity of social media and social networking sites. On my contents page I have included alternative ways for my audience to get access to the magazine. I have included a website and twitter account and also, ways to find our Facebook page. Since my target audience are young adults, it's likely that they will use the internet on a daily basis, which means that presenting them with ways they can gain more information about indie/rock music will appeal to them greatly.
I think all of these strategies will help me when attracting my audience because I have carefully considered my target audience when going through each step of creating my magazine.

Essay Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Evaluation Question 4 on Prezi

Transcript:
My target audience for my indie/rock magazine would be young adults at the age of 18-25 years old. I decided to choose people from aged 18 because by this age, these teenagers will have decided what type of music they like to listen to. Also, people this age will be likely to spend money on magazines and my magazine is perfectly affordable for this audience. My magazine costs £2.50 and is published monthly, which means my readers get a lot of information at a suitable price. I think my target audience will appreciate the price of my magazine because it is good value for money, and since many of my readers will be young adults, mainly students, they will want a good deal. Also, they will want to find out information about festivals and concerts they could go to, and I will have these features in my magazine. Also, I can include advertisements for alcohol because my audience will be legal to drink; therefore I am not restricted on what I feature in my magazine.
The music industry is constantly changing which indicates that the gender for my target audience will vary over time. I have decided that my magazine will gain mainly female readers because lately, more magazine front covers like 'NME' and 'Q' are aimed at women and have female cover models.
The type of social class my magazine will be aimed at is working class/middle class. This is because a lot of my target audience will be students. My magazine will be aimed at people who are at university or have apprenticeships or jobs.
I believe my target audience would be very interested in festivals, and go to lots of concerts in their spare time. I think they would own an ipod, or mp3 player and use it constantly in their spare time. I think that my audience would express themselves through music, and probably play an instrument such as guitar, piano or drums. I think they would describe themselves and unique and different, and their fashion would reflect this. I think they would wear typical indie/rock festival fashion, such as checkered shirts and biker boots.
I also think that its likely my readers would want a future within the music industry, whether it be songwriting, performing or producing, I think they would be very interested in this. Some of my other readers may just read the magazine for pleasure and escapism; to escape from their problems such as a boring job, and they will be entertained by my magazine.

Essay Question 3

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

Evaluation Qu 3



Transcript:
When researching distributors, I found very quickly that I could not use IPC. I decided this because IPC distributes 'NME' which is a very similar music magazine which falls into the same genre as my magazine. They also target the same type of audience therefore my magazine would struggle to compete with such a well-known magazine of the same genre. My magazine would be a brand new magazine which would need lots of help being marketed, especially if it wants to keep up with 'NME' - a very popular Indie/Rock magazine and competing directly with this magazine would be very challenging and my magazine may not get the chance to be successful. Due to all these factors I knew my magazine would not be successful if I used this distributor.
Therefore, I decided to choose Hearst Magazines UK as my distributor. I believe this institution would be the best to distribute my music magazine because they currently do not distribute any music magazines. Therefore I will not be directly competing with other music magazines and the institution will be able to focus on my magazine and make it as successful as it can be.
Hearst magazine distributes magazines such as 'Esquire' and 'Company' and thus I can perhaps attract a wide range of audiences who see the magazine by these other successful products. These magazines are very well known and could add to the success of my magazine because my magazine product will be highly regarded for using a successful distributor.
Also, I think this institution will enjoy the prospect of adding a new, unique music magazine to their group of magazines they distribute because they will gain lots of success from introducing a new type of magazine to their readers. Also, their magazines can provide lots of extra advertising and promotion for my magazine which would contribute greatly to the success of my magazine.
Another point to consider when choosing a distributor is the level of success and experience they already have. I think I demonstrate clearly that Hearst Magazine UK has a number of successful projects under their belt and they also contain the experience that is vital when releasing a new magazine. Even though they have not distributed a music magazine they are known for being successful and professional when it comes to fashion and lifestyle magazines, and even these skills learnt when distributing these magazines could help my magazines achievements greatly.

Essay Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Evaluation Question 2 on Prezi

Transcript:
In my magazine, I think I represent the social group within my target audience quite well. My ideal reader is someone who goes to gigs and festivals frequently and I have appealed to this audience even on the front cover by including sell lines such as "TOP 10 GIGS". My target audience are quirky yet sophisticated and I think I display this in my magazine through the use of my colour scheme. I use lots of red to emphasise the Rock/Indie genre, but then also lots of black and white to contrast with the red, and also to create a more sophisticated and professional tone to the magazine.
Mise-en-scene also plays a vital role in representing my particular targeted social group. For example, for my front cover I decided to have my model wear red lipstick, which I believe many of my target audience would do - I believe they would wear bright lipsticks, heavy eyeliner, and include a few key bright colours to their outfit to make it stand out and to be eye-catching and bold. I also think that my target audience would wear denim shorts, checkered shirts and leather jackets because this is a typical outfit one would wear to a festival, which my target audience would go to a lot. So, for my double-page spreads and contents page, my model wears all of these items of clothing and therefore relates to my social group and my readers would not feel like my model is 'just another musician'. My model looks tough and edgy when wearing the leather jacket and friendlier and more casual in another double-page spread. I think that the variety of these different looks would appeal to lots of people in my social group, and also highlights that people in my target audience may wear lots of the same items of clothing, but present them or wear them in different ways to be more unique and make a statement.
All of my double-page spread images take place outdoors, which represents how I believe that my target audience would spend lots of time outdoors in various fields and parks, attending festivals and concerts. Some of the images are of my model leaning by trees, or walking down alley ways to signify how edgy my target audience are, but also how they like to spend lots of time around nature.
The body language of my model also contributes to how effectively represented my social group is. Throughout my magazine my model is in relaxed, non-chalant poses because I think my target audience would be laid-back, carefree people who listen to music to relax and have fun. My model looks relaxed, but not unnaturally happy, which is how a musician would be presented in a pop magazine.
Furthermore, the tone of my article is a factor to consider when thinking about how well my social group is represented. When making my article draft, I decided I wanted to make the questions I asked the musician, and the answers given were quirky and fun but also provided the reader with relevant information about this musicians' career and the music industry.
I also included social network accounts so that the readers could access the magazine in a different way. I think that my target audience would use technology regularly so I believe that this would attract my target audience to read the magazine.

Essay Question 1

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

Transcript:
When thinking about my magazine I decided that I did not want to subvert from the conventions of a typical Indie/Rock music magazine. I concluded that I wanted to make my magazine stand out from other real media products, therefore I did not simply 'copy' what I saw in other Indie/Rock magazines. I decided to refer to indie/rock magazines such as Q or NME as guides, but to present the elements I had found in a different way to make my own magazine stand out.
I decided that my front cover was going to use a lot of the typical conventions of a real media product because I wanted my magazine to look realistic and convincing. To achieve this, I included a barcode and prices and even a website to make the magazine appear more real. I even included international prices to convey that it would be a very successful, professional magazine and also to give it global appeal. The masthead is at the top of my front cover, just like a normal music magazine.
I think that my front cover uses the typical forms and conventions of a Indie/Rock music magazine and this is evident due to the way I have placed the sell lines. Typically, Indie/Rock magazines include lots of sell lines, very closely placed together. Also, many sell lines in NME and Q are lists of artists and bands featured in the magazine. I chose to include this in my magazine, which you can see on the left side of my front cover. 
For my contents page, I conformed to the conventions of Indie/Rock magazines due to the similar layout I have chosen to include. After researching music magazines such as NME and Q I knew that I wanted to make the contents page quite full and busy. I decided very quickly that I wanted to make my contents page very busy (which NME does constantly in their issues) however I did not want to make the contents page descriptions too detailed because then my page would become too crowded and I did not want to take the focus away from my image. In magazines like NME, the contents pages look more like lists, which I knew was not the entirely the direction I wanted to go in; therefore I kept the concept, but simplified it slightly to make it easier to read. I have also included ways that the reader can access the magazines contents from social networks like Twitter and Facebook to make it relevant with social media and give my readers more of an opportunity to access the magazine. I have also included an image of the cover star as my background, as well as an image of another artist featured to emphasise the variety of bands and artists included in the magazine.
 For each of my double-page spreads I focused mainly on the image I was going to use rather than the fonts that were going to be used for pull-quotes and interviews, which magazines like NME mainly focus on. When improving my double-page spreads I intend to put more focus into the fonts, so that I can use typical conventions from real media products like NME as well as using attractive and appealing images to catch my readers' eye. Also, for the each double-page spread my model was wearing different clothing, which is what a real media product would do also. I felt that I wanted to include this convention because it makes the images more versatile and interesting.

Diary Entry 20

I have now finished my evaluations for my magazine. I have created several videos in premiere, prezi and powerpoint. In each of my videos and prezi's I have included images and YouTube videos to further provide variety in the ways I have presented my evaluations. I enjoyed doing these evaluations because it allowed me to go over the process of making my magazine and see what I did well and what I could have improved on. I basically self-assessed when doing these evaluations which will help me a lot when doing media in the future and in A2.

Final Magazine