Thursday 7 May 2009

This is my article
This is my article cover
This is my contents page



















For my contents page I used the same colour scheme as my front cover just changed the style around slightly. I also added the colour blue to make the text stand out. I used different pictures to the ones I used on the front page as I wanted to advertise more stories.I used the magazine logo again on this page, this was to publicise the logo and, like other music mags, such as Q or top of the pops, to make the name seem well known and popular. I used various size fonts to engage the reader.



This is my front cover




















This is my front cover as you can see I made the Gina article the biggest so that it stood out, this was so that readers knew who the model was and the main story. This is a common convention of many magazines therefore I based my cover on this. I used the colours back, pink, white and yellow as I felt all of these colours had an edgy affect and fitted well together.
I also included a competition and a catch slogan in affect that this will entice my audience to buy the magazine.

Wednesday 6 May 2009

Media Evaluation

For my production I had to produce a music magazine. I worked in a group with Zoe and Jennifer although we stuck to the same style we produced different pages for example Zoe and Jennifer produced an interview whereas I produced an article, this was to show our individual understanding of how to use Photoshop. In terms of planning, we used the same methods; for instance, we both produced a questionnaire, but asked different people and therefore our results were slightly different.

How did you attract/address your audience?

Our magazine is aimed at teenagers and young adults both male and female however my practical is more stereotypically aimed at a more female social group, this was incorporated by the fact that all the models used were young, attractive fashionable females, I also used feminine colours such as bright pink and yellow. The bright pink makes my magazine look modern it contrasts with the bold black writing making the main stories stand out. I decided to use these colours as I felt they would attract the audience.I produced four pages, an article, front cover, contents page, and an article cover.
In my magazine I decided to follow typical music magazine conventions in order for it to compare with the other magazines on the shelf. After analysing a few I found that most of them included free gifts therefore decided to include this in my magazine as my target audience is fairly young and having freebies will encourage them to purchase the magazine.
The price in which I set for my magazine was £1.80.After researching other magazines I found that this price was reasonable as my target audience for my magazine is teenagers to young adults so ages range from around 14-19 and also may still be in education therefore money which they will be receiving may be off parents so I decided £1.80 was adiquit. After analysing other magazines in the market such as Top of the Pops. I found that my price compared with the actual prices of a magazine on the shelf.
On the front cover of my magazine I have included a large medium close up of a female model, this will attract a female audience as they can relate to it as they normally aspire to be like them but also a male audience because of the sexual attraction. I also wanted my model to be noticed from a distance therefore customers will be able to recognise her.










My model relates to Marjorie Ferguson's types of facial expressions, she fits in with the invitational theory where the camera has emphasis on the eyes and the pose is from the side looking back to the camera. Her pose was important as we wanted her to have a ‘rock pose’ therefore we created a tongue bar on photo shop and placed it on her tongue as it was sticking out, to create a more ‘rock’ effect along with a hand pose and thought that this represented a typical punk rock look and thought that the target audience would be able to identify with her. I used similar conventions to a real magazine as the text relating to the main story about ‘Gina’ was the largest of the text this was to attract the readers and to be able to sell the magazine this is a typical convention of a real magazine as people generally want to read about the attractive model on the front cover. I stuck to a limited colour palette of four colours and three different fonts as I didn’t want my page to be overcrowded with colours.
As well as the main stories I also included sub stories as all of my target audience may not be interested in the main cover story, I included various singers as this may attract a specific genre of audience such as CHRIS BROWNS UK TOUR, this technique is used to lure the audience in to buying the magazine so that they can see the tour dates and so on. However the main focus on my magazine was Gina’s article, I included bullet points
· “my tragic accident”
· “how i overcome it all”
This was to intrigue the audience and in effect make them buy the magazine.
Many magazine's also use promotional offers to sell their magazines such as top of the pops. I followed this style and used WIN A FREE TRIP TO NEW YORK. I used New York to simply draw peoples attention as new York is a very popular destination although very expensive therefore if there is a chance to win a trip there it will encourage people to buy the magazine. As well as a promotion I decided to make my magazine catch so I added a slogan ‘the UK’s best selling magazine’ which again was aimed to entice my audience to purchase the magazine.
After researching other magazines I noticed that most of them all had prices and dates noticeable on the front cover so I also added a price, date, bar code and URL this is so that the customers can go online and check when the new issue will be available on the shelf’s.
For my contents page I have used both feminine and masculine colours so it can be aimed at an either female or male audience. I have used some colour schemes from the front cover and included them in my contents page to achieve a sense of continuity, however I have also added an extra colour which may not always fit in with typical convention. I changed the model on my contents page to 3 different models but a lot smaller, all of my models i have chosen feature in my sub stories. To follow conventions and so that my magazine could compete with an existing market place i added an editors speech this simply sets a friendly tone and lets the reader know what’s in the issue that they are reading.
In my contents page I used 4 different headings and broke down the pages of my magazine to fit under these headings, this generally makes it easier for the readers to find the article they are looking for.
For my article cover I have used the feminine colour pink which is stereotypically aimed at girls I used this colour as I felt that my target audience for this type of story was mainly young women. I used a very large font in order for the text to stand out and after looking through other magazines I noticed quotes from the text were blow up to make them more noticeable and also make the reader want to read on so I decided to use this technique. I also used a medium close up of Gina and again her pose fits with the invitational one which has connotations of come and read this story but also sexual on her expression which in a sense could attract male readers.
For my article I followed exactly the same colour scheme as both pages as this challenges conentions of a magazine which is on the shelf and also creates a more professional look.I wrote the 1 page article in columns following standard conventions on my model Gina . I have featured enlarged quotations which will instantly make the reader look at them first, and wonder what the article is actually about. I used Gina again as my model for this page but used a different picture to the other two to create variety.
After I finished I showed my final product to the target audience of my age. Jennifer foster said that my work would be able to compete with an exisiting market but could also open a new market for my magazine.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back at my preliminary magazine i have improved a lot. I have studied conventions of music magazines and analysed them to see what conventions they use and in addition have included these conventions in my own magazine The finished product I was creating had to be good enough to compete with existing market place and I feel the standard of my magazine will do that. As well as improving my knowledge in this way I have improved my practical skills too.
I have widened my knowledge of Photoshop which before this task I found a little bit difficult.








Who could be the audience for your media product?
In my magazine I had to use language and features that would relate to my target audience for instance a young solo artist would not appeal to an older generation they are more likely to relate to an older generation of pop singers. The audience for my product will be teens to young adults.
My magazine is stereotypically aimed at females beacuse of the pinks and yellows I have used. However I have used the more masculine blue colour on my contents page so that my magazine can appeal to both genders.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My magazine appeals to working class and my model is also working class. Working class people end relate to the story because her way of life before her rise to fame was in many ways similar to their own people find this encouraging as one day their life could be bettered it gives them a chance.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
The type of media institution which might distribute my magazine could be Bauer consumer media. This company may be interested as they publish rock magazines such as Q and my magazine genre is rock. They also distribute the popular celebrity gossip magazine, Heat. However my magazine is more so for women so it would open up a niche market and increases the company’s profits.

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

I have learnt about the varied types of distribution for a product, For example putting our work on our own personal blog on the internet. I have progressed
since GCSE and developed my skills further. I learnt the various ways in which to use Adobe Photoshop and have come a long way since GCSE.





Choice of Photographs
















I chose this picture because I felt that it would appeal to my intended audience and the style of magazine I was producing. The hand pose relates to it being a rock magazine.

I used photoshop to manipulate her. I used the magic wand tool to take away the majority of the blue background then I used the eraser tool to take away the remaining blue bits which the wand could not remove without cuting bits of my model out.










I chose this picture because she is in action with the microphone and also has an attractive face and appealing clothes which will appeal to my intended audience as most girls who see attractive models aspire to be like them. I decided to crop her body to remove the bottom half as I only wanted to use the top half of her.
























I chose this picture to use as the front cover of my article because I felt the pose was striking and would encourage the audience to read on because the article was about this model.
When I manipulated her I had to use the clone tool to create hair because when I was cutting out the model It was impossible not to cut her hair out.


















Tuesday 5 May 2009

Flat plans

This is my article.