Edited photographs used

I used all these photographs in my contruction of front cover, contents and double page spread. They are the final, edited versions- Which were edited using photoshop.
Although we were advised to used only four photographs, due to the variety of pictures I took I felt that I should use more than four. Additionally it worked well on my double page spread with the use of a movie strip layout.

FINAL PIECES

FINAL PIECES

Evaluation 7

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

Media

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Time management- Use of time was very important during the whole process of my media product.

Evaluation 6

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

PROGRAMMES USED IN PROCESS OF MY CONSTRUCTION:
In the construction, planning and development of my music magazine I have learnt a lot about technologies and developed new skills which will definitely help me in the future. Before starting the course we were informed that we will be using an apple mac computer; I hadn't even used one before therefore it did take some getting used to. However, I soon discovered the different exciting programmes that were available and useful in achieving a music magazine. Firstly I came across Safrai web browser; this was one of the most visited programmes. I used it for all my market research and to access my blog and keep updating it.
I used the programme Iphoto during my development, when I took my photographs. After i took pictures many of them had to be rotated and cropped, Iphoto enabled me to do this quickly and view them. I did not edit any of my photo's however In this programme- I used photoshop for that process.
Next, I used word document a lot during the process. Word enables me to annotate parts of my magazine contents and cover without having to use blogger to type everything- This gives a variety of skills to my blog and shows I have used other programmes than just blogger.

I circled the programmes I used on my MAC:

Throughout my development I used the utilities section where there is a tool called "Grab". This enables you to take snap shots of sections you may wish to annotate. This became very handy to me when showing the development process on my blog sometimes when talking about a small section of my magazine I needed to display this without uploading the whole front cover.
The main software I used would probably be Photoshop. I have never used photoshop before but have heard about all the amazing things you can achieve on there. However before photoshop I needed to gain the skills in order to use them in making my magazine- I watched tutorials on http://www.youtube.com/ which gave you a clear explanation of the different tools avaliable. Gradually, I started to use photo shop and edit photographs as a practise- After this I started my preliminary task which I used my photoshop skills on.

Another very important software that I used would be Indesign. This is similiar to photoshop however does not specialize in the editing of photographs. I thought that Indesign would be a suitable software in which to create my double page spread. Similiarily to photoshop, I have not used Indesign before therefore I found it quite hard starting off- Especially because it was hard to go from photoshop where you know the tools quite well to indesign where the tools are totally different.

Using a digital camera- I have had experience when using a digital camera before however have not used it to take proffessional.

TOOLS USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF MY PRODUCT:


Useful tools within Photoshop and Indesign:






Quick selection tool on photoshop allowed me to cut the image out and place the photograph on an artifical background. This is what magazines such as NME would do- enhances the photograph and brings more light to it. As you can see above I used the quick selection tool to cut the photograph out then I placed it onto an artifical background in order to erase any edges that were not detected.


Place tool on Indesign is a tool I used greatly throughout my process of creating my double page spread. I clicked onto "file" and then place.

Knowing the knowledge of layers in the photo manipulation program gave me a lot of flexibility. This made be able to create a realistic product such as Kerrang! It let me undo changes and also gave the flexibility on working on one aspect than having to save it all and undo it constantly.

Text wrap tool on Indesign. This allowed me to merge the pull out quote into the rest of the text and situate it directly in the middle of the article.

Evaluation 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Who would be the audience for your media product?

This picture has been taken from www.google.com under Festival Chick. My magazines target audience is 15-30 year olds, 60% being females and the 40% dominated by males. However this age boundary is quite big and has an age gap of 15 years between. This picture, in my opinion is the image of the typical girl to buy my magazine- She looks roughly 20 years old and has the fashion style of a festival go-er indie chick.


Listening to music such as, The script, Ellie goulding, Coldplay, Glasvegas, You me at six, paramore, the hooisers.

Shopping at places like, vintage charity shops- where nobody else will have the same clothing as you.

Evaluation 5

How did you attract/address your audience

My target audience are 15-30 year olds. 60% being female readers and 40% male readers. Therefore, this magazine will need to appeal as a majority to females as they dominate the circulation. However will also need to attract the opposite gender to increase sales and therefore revenue.

EXCLUSIVE- The term exclusive will inevitably attract my audience. It shows its importance due to the large typeface and contrasting colour and also shows the reader that what they are going to read- can only be read in Nations magazine and nowhere else. This will lure the potential audience into a buying audience. The rule of three term "Here, right, now" will also emphasis the unique interview and almost quickens the reader to buying the magazine.

PHOTOGRAPH- The photograph of Daisy will attract male readers due to her sex appeal but also female readers as Daisy is portrayed as an aspiration/model for women.

DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL- The logo placed in the right hand corner of the magazine claims "WIN! VIP TICKETS FOR DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL" after lots of research, I found out that indie teenagers (target audience) go to festivals in the summer with Download festival being a "hot spot". Thousands of teenagers a year buy their tickets as soon as they come out however not all are fortunate enough. The ticket price is also very expensive, therefore have looked into the socio-economic groups and placed aside A,B classes and given C1/C2 the opportunities to actually Win tickets for the festival, and exclusively for VIP. This will attract my audience as this is the festival they all wish to go to.


DPS
Pull out quotes- I have used pull out quotes on my double page spread "Im like musical marmite" "I dont really give a shit" this is very colloquial and will appear to my target audience as it is the type of language they are used to. It distracts the reader from the large amounts of text and lures them in- with an almost preview of the interview before hand.

Contents
For my contents page I didnt want to overload it with large amounts of text as this would put of my audience. Therefore I used photographs and graphics to attract my audience. I used one photograph of Daisy, and another of a live band "The script" this is a well know band that my audience can familarise with therefore it shall attract them to the magazine. In addition, I have used graphics- which is the mode of address for Nation to create the house style used throughout and also to attract my readers.

Evaluation 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Magazines that Bauer publish with my own product:

Magazines in the UK are mainly published by a few dominate companies such as Bauer, IPC media and EG. They are in a

olgipolistic market where the competiton is shared depending on the target audience.

Demographics within media institution
A media institution that would distribute my music magazine will be one that is aimed for the majority of females with the age group between 19-25. In my market research I looked into different media institutions and the Bauer Media group was one that came up a lot- especially because it publishes Q Magazine and Kerrang!
These music magazines are very similiar to Nation and after viewing their mission statement this links in very well with my genre and target audience.

Taken from: http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/

Bauer media group publishes 323 magazines in 15 countries.
With turnover in 2010 reaching a projected 2,033 billion euro.
Bauer is now the largest consumer magazine publishing company in the UK.
Bauer Media owns more than eighty influential media brands spanning a wide range of interests, including heat, GRAZIA, Closer, MCN, FHM, Parker's, MATCH, Magic 105.4, Kiss 100, Kerrang! Q and the Big City Network, our group of twenty local radio stations.

BAUER has a high circulation of the magazines this demonstrates the high power Bauer have upon the industry. They also have the potential skills to make magazines appealing and sucessful.

Discussion of the role of magazine distribution:
Therefore looking at their website it shows that Bauer Media are a very diverse magazine publishers. They are very diverse in the media world, publishing magazines, radios tv adverts.
I have taken a grab shot of the Bauer Media website and it shows the womens brands and the mens. It has come to my attention that they publish a majority of womens magazines which would be beneficial for Nation.

Ownership- DECISION

After looking into depth across the different publishers, It has come to my attention that Bauer media are becoming increasingly superior to their competition. Bauer is the larget consumer magazine publisher in the UK. As we are currently facing a recession, magazine titles hope for some sort of secruity and in my opinion I believe Bauer are able to deliever this request due to their growth and market share. In attention, I believe there is a gap in Bauer's market in which my magazine title Nation will fit. In 1994 Bauer bought a small magazine called HIM and it is now branded FHM an international brand. I believe my magazine Nation will need a powerful publisher behind them in order to follow a similiar pattern. I have chosen Bauer instead of IPC because firstly due to their size and growth however also, IPC's key audiences are men, up market women and mass market. I do not believe that Nation clearly fits one of these groups therefore IPC may not be suitable for my title.

Evaluation 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?





Expression:
This photograph is taken from the magazine Nylon. I based this on my final photograph of my model. As you can see the model is pulling an expression to suggest she’s shouting however looks quite playful. I wanted to create a similar image however felt that a prop would make the picture look more unique. Facial expressions of an artist can also reveal her personality which was my main aim, her energetic pose looks like she’s having fun and more importantly enjoying what she is doing.
Hair:
My genre is Indie Pop and after research on Indie girls, their hair was a main focal point. Most indie girls have long bleached hair and to give the impression as it they have not brushed it and overall looks like a messy birds nest.
Props:
Looking at this magazine cover- The focal point in my opinion would be the use of the rose- It captivates the audience and brings in a unique mode of address. Therefore I decided that I should use a prop for my photo shoot- Not only is it different it also portrays the image of an Indie pop artist. Though I thought that a red rose looks more ‘pop-y’ and romantic therefore decided I should use a white rose which works well with her jewellery.
Additionally I used an acoustic guitar in part of my photos- I thought this would look good in pictures and show the audience her use of instruments. Although I believe they came out well in the photographs they were not my favourite and do not think they were good enough to feature on a front cover or contents.
Lastly, I used an empty black rimmed picture frame- I was extremely happy with the outcome of these photographs. The prop was different and worked well in contrast to her outfit and overall apperance. It has come to my attention that most teens are obsessed with taking photographs and I believe this clearly portrays a teenager with similiar views.

Gesture:
The gesture of most of my photographs was to show a new artist having a good time conveying the image as a rock chick with indie features. This is shown in the photographs of her holding a radio. The front cover image of her hands behind in her back pockets which portrays attitude and confidence- Which is also shown in her interview.
Clothes
Taken from http://www.uktribes.com/
Indie girl:
Foppish floppy haircut- Yes: I made sure her hair looked almost messy and used a comb to achieve this look.
Waistcoat- No: I did not think this was essential as it would make the outfit a bit too busy due to the jewellery.
Think-rimmed glasses- No: I did not think I needed to use this to achieve an Indie Pop artist look however If i was to repeat this process I would like to experiement with glasses as I think it would look effective.
Skinny jeans- Yes I made sure my model wore skinny jeans as this is a main image for an Indie girl.
Vest top- Yes I made sure she was wearing a vest top to achieve this look.
Bleached hair- Yes, as previously mentioned.
Lots of jewellery- Yes, her jewellery is definitely a main look that is percieved in the photograph. Her statement jewellery piece brings in the reader as it stands out- Which also links into her personality.

I believe she has appeal to both women and men, her sex appeal for the men and the aspirational figure for young girls. Although she is only 19 years of age, the magazine representation was to encourage young people to read it. I was inspired to portray a stereotypical figure of a young girl who looks to party and overall have a good time- I believe many young people will be able to relate to her and use her music as a soundtrack to their lives

Evaluation 1

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

Before even planning I decided to look into the magazine world and it's conventions. This was essential before designing my front cover, contents and DPS as I needed to make sure that I was creating a music magazine similiar to competitors. Additionally, it is essential that the conventions captivate my target audience otherwise the magazine would simply not sell.

Front cover: Strapline- I have noticed that many music magazines use the strapline as an insight to the bands that will be mentioned in their magazine. This captivates the target audience as they are stating bands that capture their interest and genre of music- Additionally it can intice new members of an audience giving them an insight into the magazine without even picking it up. I have shown grab shots of the different magazines that use this convention- Firstly NME have used it on one of their magazines using bullet points to seperate the different bands. Next KERRANG! have used it indicating the bands featured- However more bands are added compared to NME. A grab shot of my magazine strapline is below the others, I have used artists and bands with the Indie Pop genre and have used bullet points to seperate them- Similiarly to NME, also in bold white text capatilised- Which both magazines have also used.

Masthead- When deciding which font I should use for my masthead I researched other magazines. I noticed that most mastheads on music magazines are not too fancy or over the top with multiple effects. Conversely, In my preliminary task I used a very fancy font with a bubble effect round it- However I believe this applied well for my target audience. Though, with my music magazine it was simply not appropriate and did not link in well with my target audience. I much liked NME's capitalised letters and thought this would work well with my magazine. Additionally a convection of a front cover is for the masthead to be distributed and centered to the middle of the magazine- therefore I did this. I noticed also that the masthead normally covers part of the models head therefore made sure mine did this also.

Image- The convenction of a music magazine is the Image- I have noticed that the models gaze is directed to the audience to almost catch their attention acting as a mode of address. I made sure that I photographed my model and her gaze was directed to the reader. I also noticed that most cover pictures are a medium long shot therefore assured when I took the picture it was set as portrait and a medium long shot. In addition, the convenction of a music magazine is also for the artist to be pictured against a white wall; to present it as a photoshoot. Luckily I managed to take the photograph of her against a white wall therefore did not need to use the Lasso tool to quick select her out and place her onto an artifical background.

Circle symbol- I realised that many music magazines such as Vibe, KERRANG!, Q and NME use a circle symbol in the right hand corner of their magazines which either tells the audience about a competiton or poster information. I also realised that these symbols were either yellow or black with an effect around them- overall enhancing it. I created a circle symbol in photoshop and placed a white bubbled effect around it. Also I recognised that NME placed a certain typeface within it claiming WIN which is portrayed as the mode of address. Therefore, I decided to use a competiton to win tickets to Download festival- This will captivate my target audience as this is the sort of events they would attend.

Plus symbol- After looking at different music magazines with different genres and target audiences it came to my attention that a large majority of them use the "+" symbol to convey an offer such as free posters or new bands inside. However to add my own twist into it I decided I should use the pattern tool on photoshop to add graphics around my + sign- This gives my magazine its house style and mode of address.

Below is a grab shot of my plus sign, As you can see I have used a symbol yet bold + but then I used the pattern tool to create graphics coming out of it. This gives it a USP and also creates the house style. I shall use graphics throughout my magazine also- which is another convenction of a music magazine.

DPS

When planning the process of my double page spread I had to research in depth in order to identify the conventions of a magazine double page. It came to my attention the use of colloquial language, it is used within magazine to almost relate to the audience and comes to terms with the sort of language they use. Therefore on my double page spread I made sure I used words which my target audience may use in everyday life. Additionally, many double page spreads use pull out quotes- 5/5 magazines did. These small snappy quotes attract the reader and persuade them to read into the article. After writing the interview I studied the text and found a suitable quote which would attract my reader and make them want to find out about what is happening.
I noticed also in every magazine I looked in, the use of Drop caps at the start of the article. This is a main convention of a magazine as they all do it (music or not). Therefore using In design I achieved this using a tool which enables to do so.