Contents page for resubmission:

Pictures I didn't use:

Evaluation:

For my Media studies task I created a music magazine that consists of a front page, contents and a double page spread.  I included original images for my magazine taken using a digital camera and edited on the programme Photoshop.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I believe that my complete piece follows the conventions of most music magazines; using things such as a house style that represents the music genre I’m trying to represent and the type of audience I am trying to appeal to, keeping the colours consistent throughout the media text. As with most magazines, a medium shot of the artist featured in the magazine or being interviewed is usually used as the background of the front cover, with cover lines and perhaps pictures with captions down the sides. I chose to use this design when constructing the layout of my front page as I like the idea of having the artist as the main focus point, showing who and what is in the magazine without having to look at the contents page. I also chose not to include other pictures on the cover as I believed it looked quite untidy and distracted attention away from the main artist.
Additionally, I included a masthead which was the name of my institution (NBM Magazine) that I created on a text generating website and then edited it on Photoshop to make sure it looked professional.
The contents page that I created follows the house style that I chose, using the colours red, black and white to try and portray the not so girly side of pop music. I chose these colour when first planning my product as they are not usually associated with the pop/r’n’b genre which challenge the conventions of real music magazines. I used another original image of my artist on the contents which was bigger than the rest and also a close up which again shows the importance of that particular person, and I also included the names of more conventional, well known artists (Katy Perry) when describing the content of my magazine which would attract those that are interested in those artists which would therefore promote my magazine.  In my opinion the first contents page that I produced did not follow the house style and therefore did not fit within my piece and the images that I had taken did not promote the artist in the best way possible.
The double page spread was then constructed using both Photoshop and Publisher, putting the interview between the magazine and the artist into columns which is again a convention of other media texts. This makes the text easier to read and also looks much neater and again, more professional. I created the headline using a pull quote from the article I had written to show the reader what the article was about and to attract attention. I used a large font and the same house colours showing without saying that this interview was conducted by my particular institution which is similar to most magazines as they use colours as an identifier. In the layout of this piece I also included close up and medium shots of the artist, depicting who the interview was about.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I chose IPC media as a distributor of my product as I believe they are quite successful and provide texts for different audiences. As there is a current gap in the market for Pop magazines that appeal to audiences between the ages of 15-24 I believe that the pairing would be well suited as they are used to catering for more niche audiences such as the institution ‘NME’.

Who would be the audience for you media product and why?

I would like to believe that my music magazine doesn’t exclude any social groups and appeals to all types of people, which I tried to achieve by using quite androgynous colours such as red and black and appealing to those who may not have the most money by reducing the cost of my magazine to make it more affordable.  I believe that my most likely audience would be 15-24 year olds as they are more likely to care about the current artist and the current trends, and are more likely to attend gigs and concerts as they have more disposable income and time. I also specifically chose a younger artist dressed in quite fashionable clothes, which the audience is more likely to identify with if they are in my target age bracket. I do not think it would attract an educated readership or the older generation as it doesn’t include any current events or world affairs etc.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?I believe I have gained more skills when using Photoshop as the pieces that I constructed are much more like the conventional music magazine layout I was aiming for. In my first product what I created looked messy and disjointed, like it didn’t belong to one magazine but using a digital camera I was able to take much clearer pictures with different angles and edit them in a way that followed my house style.
Using the magnetic tool I was able to shape images the way I wanted to so that they fitted in with my layout. I also used the crop tool to change the size of bigger pictures so that they were the same as others and changed the effects such as sepia and black and white, which added a more professional hint to my product.  I also applied these changes to my masthead which was much smaller when I created it, and it needed to be the biggest thing on the page apart from the picture itself in order for it be eye catching.  Compared to the double page spread I created before resubmission, using the colour effects I was able to follow the house style and therefore improve the end result.  Publisher also helped me to place the text into columns which I didn’t do before which resulting in my previous work looking more like a draft than a music magazine.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt from it to the full product?I have learned how to imitate the conventions of music magazines but also how to input my own personal style into my product. Beforehand I think I underestimated the amount of work that needed to go into making a semi-successful music magazine and looking back on my previous work you can tell how unprofessional and untidy it is. I learnt that using Photoshop and Publisher together creates in my eyes a reasonable music magazine and that the application of effects can change the way the audience views your institution.
I have also developed my skills when experimenting with different camera angles and shots which has benefited my end product.

Resubmission of my double page spread:

resubmission of my front page:

Examples of text that I plan to use for my magazine headline.

Using the website http://interactimage.com/ I created these two similar pieces of text that I plan to use on the front cover of my music magazine as the headline. I like the fact that the style of text is bold and therefore noticeable, but I prefer the one in black as it is even more eye catching and will stand out from the background. Also, if I used the text in black it would follow my specific colour scheme, which is a convention of most music magazines that keep to the same theme throughout.
I got inspiration from the NME cover of Florence and the machine but wanted to make the text a little different. I liked the fact that the artist's name was in bold which would attract people into reading the magazine.

Options for my music magazine logo.

I like this choice as it follows with the font throughout my magazine, but I don't think it stands out or is eye catching enough for a front cover.

This text is bolder and is written in a comic font which adds a fun aspect to my magazine but also follows the usual media magazine conventions of having a bold title, usually an abbreviation of the magazine name.

This is different and eye catching and also big, which most magazines conventionally follow. 

I like this masthead as it's different; not in black but in white. it's also bold ebough and easily recognisable.. but will it look stupid on my background?

hand drawn drafts of what I want my front page, contents and double page spread to look like:

existing music magazine covers.

With these two covers I decided that my magazine would have the artist featuring in the interview as the main background image. I also like the fact that there is nothing in the background to distract attention from the artist and that there is also a choice between using a close-up and medium shots.

History of my chosen genre/s for my music magazine.

Rhythm and blues is often abbreviated to R&B, which is a popular genre of music usually from African American groups but has lately has diversified and become even more appealing to it's audience. R'n'B  is believed to have originated in the 1940's, the term itself has shifted in meaning, refering to blues records in the 1950's but also to gospel or soul music.An example of rhythm and blues in this era is Elvis Presley's 'Jailhouse Rock'.
 In the 1980s, a newer style of R&B developed, becoming known as contemporary R'n'B.

R'n'b came to Britain mainly through African American men being stationed in cities such as Liverpool during the Cold war, and their style was emulated in many of the club scenes. The mod subculture also took inspiration from this genre, with bands such as 'The Who' that produced R'n'B tracks that reflected the Mod lifestyle.

Examples of present day R'n'B artists are Rihanna and Alicia Keys, shown below.

Another genre that I would like to incorporate into my music magazine is Pop. The pop genre, or popular music genre is usually aimed towards a youth market, which is similar to my aim for my music text. Pop incorporates genres such as R'n'B and Rock and Roll and appeals to a general audience, not those who have specific ideological values.

The term "pop song" is first recorded as being used in 1926 in the sense of a piece of music "having popular appeal".

The creation of the video channel MTV in the 1980's gave audiences the chance to see popular artists such as Michael Jackson and Madonna and gave theses artists the promotion they needed. American and British music industries tend to dominate the music market but most regions have their own form of pop culture.

An example of the pop genre are the artists Natasha Bedingfield and Jessie J.



Initial ideas for my music magazine.

For my front cover I plan to use the an image of the artist being interviewed as the background as this is a convention of most music magazine. Ideally, the shot I use will be a medium shot, and the artist will be stood facing the camera. This would attract a potential audience as they would recognise the artist and want to buy the magazine to read about them. I also plan to dress the artist in quite young, fashionable clothes as my target demographic is 15-24 year olds and I want to almost emulate them so they identify with the artist shown. I will use a catchy headline also in bold print, and will keep the colour scheme I choose the same throughout the text, one that reprsents my genre.

For my contents page I will analyse those from other music magazines so I get a insight into how they're conventionally set out. I will again use original images and include other artists that will appeal to my target audience.

Lastly, for my double page spread I will align my texts into columns and use pull quotes, as well as add on or perhaps redo my interview with the artist. I also plan to take a picture of my artist, perhaps kneeling down and in colour, using the same colour scheme throughout this.

Prezi presentation showing the main areas of improvement and my plans to do so.

Improving my AS coursework for resubmission. on Prezi

Music magazine evaluation

Media evaluation.
Kelly Nicholls.

For my media task I created a music magazine that consists of a front cover, contents page and double page spread.

In what ways does your media product use, develop

 or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

 For my front cover I chose to use an image of the artist featured in the interview I created as a background and it also serves as a denotation as to what the main content of the magazine is. Using an image as the background of my magazine is a convention of most institutions and I liked the idea of having the consumer/ target audience drawn to the artist and therefore the magazine, without using huge texts and fonts that would crowd up the whole of the front page. For my music magazine I basically followed the conventions of most institutions, using the mast head/ main logo in the top left hand corner and by also adding a website which most magazines have now.

I believe the contents page of my project is the weakest and unconventional, as most magazines spend an equal amount of time on each part of the magazine. Although I tried to make my contents look professional and although my knowledge of photoshop has improved the ideas I had just didn’t translate onto my design.

My double page spread is more conventional as it has an image of the artist being interviewed (usually a page in size) next to an article usually written in columns with at least one snippet of text larger in font. I followed these conventions as it looked more professional and neater, and is also easier to read.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Most conventional magazines now use the chance to win tickets, which I also chose to do. This also represents my social target audience as most 15-24 year olds don’t have as much disposable income ( students) and are more likely to enter competitions where they can get it for free.

When it comes to my target demographic I believe that I chose the right price as it wasn’t too expensive but also could create potential profit for my institution.

The website I chose to include also represents the younger social groups as they are more than likely to have web access and spend most of their time on the net. This doesn’t exclude any particular social group as there are wide range of people who do use the internet, and therefore could appeal to everyone.

I chose to use a young adult who fit in the category of my target demographic as my artist. I think this appeals to the young audience I am aiming for as they can relate to them and their age group.

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

I chose IPC media as publisher for my magazine as I believe they are successful and well known brand that provides for different target audiences. They provide institutions such as NME and ‘Chat!’ magazine which show their diversity, and shows their wide range of niche audiences.

My magazine would be supplied in the conventional places to buy magazines, such as newsagents and supermarkets. They would also be a possibility of subscription via the website which is more appropriate for my target audience. This is because most people who are 15-24 own bank accounts and could pay by direct debit.

In my questionnaire I asked ‘Do you believe that my magazine would do well if placed on a shelf in a supermarket or in other channels of distribution?’ and most people who were asked said yes, because of the bold heading. This tells me that if placed on a shelf in a newsagents or a shop then my magazine would be noticeable, even without the bright colours.

Using a masthead or logo on the top left hand side of the page is a normal convention of magazines, due to the fact that when they are stacked amongst others, they are easily recognisable.

Who would be the audience for you media product and why?

Although my house style appears to be quite ambiguous, I believe the theme that I chose to repeat all the way through  my magazine connotates the unusual sort of r’n’b/ pop genre that I was trying to represent. I wanted to be more unconventional when it came to the pop genre, so chose more dark colours on my front cover, and used a mix of greys and pinks throughout the piece, which I then changed to black, red and gold as well as white to suit the needs of my target audience. Pop and perhaps R’n’B is more than likely to be represented with quite girly colours such as pinks and reds. This wouldn’t have attracted most of my target audience and I wanted to appeal to both genders. When I conducted my questionnaire I got some fairly good comments, although there was some people who believed that although my magazine was quite dark, the pink and grey theme still appealed more to the female sex. I asked ‘Do you think my magazine represents both genders? If not, why?’ and the most repeated response was no, because of the colour scheme of the contents and double page spread. With this feedback I would definitely change the colour scheme a little, although I still believe that it compliments my theme and genre even though I changed the scheme in the end.

The content of my magazine also suits my target audience as I specifically chose a younger person as my artist.

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

To construct my media product I used photoshop and although I improved from my previous preliminary task I still couldn’t get the desired effect that I wanted. I improved on the ability to cut and crop photographs but I still would like to get more of the professional look when constructing things such as the front cover, which is one of the most important things in order to attract your desired audience.

Although I find photoshop difficult to use I know that it’s beneficial to making a professional and clean cut piece, and I do notice the contrast in my previous work since I have learnt more about the programme.

On my college magazine I realised the my use of different fonts, colours and pictures made my piece look messy and untidy, and this magazine I have noticeably improved.

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

I have learnt more about the conventions of music magazines, and how to incorporate them into my own product. Beforehand, I did not realise that in order to have even a semi- successful music magazine brand you need to appeal to a wider audience, but that also you can provide content for more niche audiences.

On my preliminary tasked I failed to include a price, a barcode and a website, which I realised was a convention and added to my final music magazine piece.

I also learned that most products need to look professional, and the desired effect isn’t always as easy as it looks, especially creating images on photoshop.

Finally, I realised that you don’t have to crowd your front cover with information, that the contents can also be used to supply the features of my magazine.

Completed front cover.

Completed contents page.

Completed double page spread.

Pictures I didn't use.

Questionnaire for my music magazine.

1. On a scale of 1-10,  how much does my magazine appeal to you as an audience?

2. When it comes to the colour scheme and font format of the text in my magazine, do you think that my choices continuously shown throughout it?

3. Do you believe that my magazine would do well if placed on a shelf in a supermarket or in other channels of distribution?

                                                                    

4. Do you believe that my price is reasonable? Would you personally be willing to pay it?

5. Who do you think is the target audience and why?

6. Do you think my magazine represents both genders? If not, why?

7. Name one strength and one weakness of my magazine.

proposed front cover

proposed contents page..