Evaluation: 2014

Monday, 15 December 2014

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

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

When I created my Sixth form magazine cover for my preliminary project I created it on PowerPoint. Throughout this process I have learnt how to use software successfully to create a music magazine. The preliminary task gave me a chance to learn about the conventions of any magazine and to practice them. My final project then allowed me to look at these in more detail.

When I did my preliminary project I didn't know about the house style of a magazine. This project has allowed me to learn all about house style and how it can make a magazine more effective by having something as simple as a colour scheme throughout the magazine. I then put what I learnt to use in my project.

I have learn that the type of camera you use will have a big effect on the photo. In my preliminary project I used a mobile phone camera to take my photos . These photos were bad quality and I feel it reduced the look of my magazine. For my actual project I used a digital SLR camera to take my photos. This made them better quality and I feel this added to the overall look of my pages.

Improvements

After improving my front cover i feel that i have learnt more in the progression from my preliminary talk to the full project, to my improvements.

I heave learnt more about the layout of a page and how moving and changing small things, such as where the text is placed, can affect the look of a page and make it easier for the reader to read. I have also learnt that its important to make the things that you want to be memorable and to stand out bolder than the rest so that they are more noticable to the reader so that they do remember them e.g. the masthead and image of the artist.

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

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

Throughout the process I have learnt how to use different computer software to help me create my magazine pages.

The main software that I used to create my magazine was Adobe InDesign. Using this software I think that I created professional looking pages. Through using InDesign I learnt new skills and I learnt how to use the software effectively and to its best potential.

InDesign has lots of options for things like font, colour, shape, size and more. This allowed me to play around with each section of my magazine and get it to how I wanted. Through InDesign I learnt how to wrap text around an image. This allowed me to put a pull quote on my work and not have other text written over the top of it.

I used PowerPoint to do a lot of my planning. I used this as I found it easier to use than the blog format. Through using PowerPoint for my planning I learnt how to save a slide as a picture so that I could quickly and easily upload it onto my blog. This saved me from copying and pasting the information or print screening the slide

To edit my photos I used Adobe Photoshop and an online editor.

On Photoshop I learn how to use the magic wand tool to remove the background of a picture. Although I used this to edit a photo I didn't use it in my magazine.

For the main editing of my photos I used an online photo editor called fotor.com. I used the site to enhance the colours within my photos by changing things like the brightness of my photos. I also used it to remove any blemishes on my models face to make it look more professional.

After spending a lesson on the shutter speed on a camera, I learnt how to create a cool effect in a photo using something as simple as light. I tried to take a picture to use for my feature article using the skills i had learnt about shutter speed, but it didn't come out as planned so I didn't use it.

Before and After Editing Example

Before After

Progression

The pictures below show how i created my front cover and contents page. It helps to show how i used the technology provided to my advantage and how i used the different tools on InDesign to create the page i was looking for.

Photo Shoots

Photo Shoot One

As I used the woods as my location for my photo shoot it got dark early. This resulted in nearly all of my photo being in the dark and having black background. It also didn't show the location very clearly so the photos weren't usable for my magazine. Also when I looked back at my photos I wasn't happy with the poses and the expression of my model in the photos.

This resulted in me re shooting my photos on another day at an earlier time when it was still light.

Photo Shoot Two

These are all of the photos that I took on my second shoot and did not use. These photos turned out a lot better than my first photos and I found some photos that I was happy to use. Most of these photos didn't get used as I had more than I needed, although some of them I didn't use as I wasn't happy with the look that my model had and I didn't think they would be suitable for my magazine.

How did you attract/address your audience?

How did you attract/address your audience?

Front Cover

The font I used for my masthead is very simple but has a twist on it which makes is alternative and different. As my target audience are people who listen to indie and alternative music, this appeals to them as it is different and stands out.

The pull quote I used “life couldn't get any better than this” attracts my target audience as it gives them a slice of what is inside so draws them into the magazine

Putting Exclusive on the front cover attracts the target audience as they feel that what they are getting inside cant be found somewhere else and it makes them feel like they are getting more for their money if they buy it.

The model I used looks like a typical teenager and as my target audience contains teenagers this appeals to them. The model being a teenager also appeals to them as the feel that they could easily be like her and this makes them want to buy the magazine to find out about her story.

The colours I used stand out on the page and are quite bright. This appeals to my target audience as it shows confidence and also helps to make it more visually appealing if there is more colour on the page. The blacks and the dark blues will also appeal to the male target audience as they are stereotypically more male colours.

Contents Page

I used a blue colour scheme throughout my magazine and on my contents page. This helps the magazine appeal to the male target audience as blue is stereotypically linked to men.

The artist that I had on my front cover was a female teenager. This attracts my target audience as a lot of it is female teenagers, so my magazine appeals to them as they are similar to the artist being shown and they want to find out more about her. The artist is also very pretty which will appeal to teenage girls as they will aspire to be like her.

The font that I used for the Headings of each section on my contents page are simple to read but have an edge to them which stops it from looking plain and boring. This appeals to my target audience as they are into alternative and indie music and this reflect this.

By putting Your music guide for the week it attracts my target audience as it gives the reader a guide to music and as teenagers are interested in finding new bands and music this appeals to them.

Feature Article

The Layout off my page is very easy to follow and isn't cluttered. This attracts the reader as they can easily read it and don’t have to struggle with what to look at when. The overall look attracts the target audience as it is very clean which makes it appealing to the target audience.

To attract my target audience, within my article I didn't state the questions that were asked. This appeals to the target audience as it suggests that they do not need the questions given to them to work out what was asked.

I used the colour blue on my feature article page as it attracts the male target audience and this widens the target audience from just being female based

The model that I used for my images is pretty. This attracts the female target audience as they will want to be like her and so will buy the magazine to find out more about her. As she is also within the age range of my target audience it appeals to them as she is similar to them.

I put some of the writing on the page in white as it is a smart, stylish and feminine colour. This makes it more appealing to my female target audience.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Before:

15-25

Both genders

Music, Concerts, Socializing

After:

15-21

More female orientation

Music, Concerts, Socializing

Before I made my magazine my target audience was 15-25 year old of both genders who were interested in Music, Concerts and Socializing.

Now that I have made my magazine I think that my target audience has changed. Due to the use of a female in my pictures, I think that my target audience has become more female orientated instead of it being aimed at both genders.

Although the photos make the magazine more female orientated I think that the use of blue as the main colour throughout the magazine helps it to appeal to the male target audience as the colour blue is linked with men.

Now that I have completed the layout of all of my pages I feel that it looks less stylish and a lot more simple than I thought it would look. I now think, due to this, that my target audience rages between 15-21, instead of 15-25. Although this shrinks the range of the target audience I feel that it makes it easier for the magazine to meet the needs of this target audience and the readers will enjoy it more as the content is aimed at a smaller age range.

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

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

I think that Bauer would distribute my magazine as they distribute well known music magazines such as Q, Kerrang, Mojo and Empire. The magazine Kerrang has a simular target audience to my music magazine. Some of the other music magazines that they produce are simular to my magazine as they are simular genres of music and contain simular style artists and pages. Overall Bauer are one of the leading media companies and i think that my magazine would be suited within the company.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My feature article artist fits into the social group female teenagers. This is a similar social group to my target audience which is teenagers that are both male and female.

The image of my feature artist shows her outside wearing stereotypical clothes that you would see a teenager wear. It also shows her with very little make up on which is not typical of many teenage girls but it goes against that you aren't pretty without make-up, and this helps teenagers to feel more comfortable by looking at my feature artist. The picture that I used has my artist with her hands holding her coat. This suggests that she is shy as she is hinging away. This fits within the teenage social group as there are lots of teenagers who are shy and like to be hidden. Her facial expression is very natural and relaxed. This gives a natural and relaxed representation instead of stereotypical teenage poses that are seen on other magazines. All of these factors help my artist to fit into the female teenagers social group, even though some of my artists traits aren't stereo typical of female teenagers.
My Artist also represents the social group of teenagers who try to get what they want and put their full effort into achieveing what they want. This is shown thought the information about Lola Matthews in the feature article and how she was involved in lots of musical events to get her name out their and slowly reach fame even though she started at the bottom.

The representation of my artist In my music magazine is different to the representation of teenagers on other music magazines.

On the magazine shown here, Taylor Swift has been made up for the camera. She has her hair and make-up done and is wearing nice clothes. This isn't a strong representation of teenagers as although they do wear make-up and do their hair, they don’t have it done to this standard and this represents teenagers as not being pretty and needing make up to be beautiful.