Update

As i have decided to resit my AS coursework in order to improve it, i am going to be editing some of my previous work and adding new blog posts to improve what i previously did.

Q7 Evaluation: Looking back at the preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to a full product?

Q7 Evaluation: Looking back at the preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to a full product?


When looking back at the preliminary task i did of the college magazine, i'v realised i took somethings from it and kept them in mind when creating my music magazine.

Through the time that i was creating my music magazine i took some time to think about things that i could improve or do better when looking back at the first days when i was doing my preliminary task - The college magazine.

Compared to when i did my preliminary task, I learnt in order to produce an effective and professional looking magazine i needed to use my music magazine conventions guide. I also learnt that another way to produce mgazine products of a good quality i had to assure that the main type of fonts i used for all my products were sans serif and consistent. This is because it gives the magazine a much more modern feel, of which many music magazines give off to their readers. I also learnt that i needed to keep in mind what happens to magazine pages after they are produced (printed), therefore i made sure that i brought in any images and text that was near the edge of the page so they would not be cut of when any of the pages where printed.

One of the things that i made sure i needed to have had under control was my planning , time management and organisational skills. This is because i noticed when i was doing the preliminary task i did not really keep them in mind therefore which meant i rushed my work when i could have done it way before the deadline to make life easier for me. Also because i had noticed that some of the tasks i had to complete for my preliminary task i had not finished completing them. The most important thing i learnt from my preliminary task was that when the time came for taking pictures i needed to have selected and made my models aware of the time and place in which i was going to be taking the pictures as to avoid confusion. Also i had to make sure that they were all dressed appropriately as i was doing a photo shoot for a music magazine and not for the fun of doing so. When i took the pictures for my preliminary task i didn't really put that much thought into how the quality of my pictures would be after i had taken them. Therefore i had problems when editing them because i realised most of them were out of focus.

Because of this i had to be very careful when taking pictures for my final task. Even though i had been taught how to use a camera for my preliminary task, when it came to doing my main task i noticed i took pictures and most of them were out of focus. I then decided to go and talk to my teacher and ask for help and advice on how to improve the quality of them. In doing so i then went and planned another photo shoot and gathered my models again and managed to take pictures that were of a better quality compared to the previous ones i had taken. Another issue i had with the pictures i had taken for my preliminary task was when i was trying to choose which images to use for my college magazine some of my pictures did not come out as i had planned therefore which meant there was a shortage of pictures that i could have used. Therefore during my music magazine photo shoot i made sure that i took as many pictures as i could that related to a music magazine in the given time period. This meant i had to make sure my models knew what they were doing and were ready to take their pictures as soon as i called them up.

Another thing that i learnt during my preliminary task that i was able to take on with me when doing my main task was my photoshop skills. I noticed that by the time i was creating my music magazine i had familiarised myself with how to use many of the features that came along with photoshop. This was a good thing as it meant that i could edit and create my music magazine to a much better standard compared to my college magazine. For instance i used  the spot healing brush tool quite a few times in order to make sure my pictures looked more professional compared to my college magazine pictures.

For my final task i also learnt how to produce a double page spread as well as have the opportunity to either invent a story or go and interview an artist that was the same age as the target audience for my magazine. This was a nice experience as i never got the chance to write and design a double page article for my college magazine. From my preliminary task, i have also learnt that in order to keep my teacher up to date with the work that i was getting up to during my 4hours of study time for media.


These are the images of the products i produced before i did my resit as well as the comments i got from my audience at that time.

Front Cover

Strengths

Many of the audiences like my front cover and the layout of it, aslo how the main image is over the masthead. They also like how I've used the colour scheme because all the colours go well together. Many also like how i have used different fonts and sizes as it makes my magazine front cover appealing to the readers. My audience also liked the positioning of my main model and thought his pose is quite appealing as he is quite good looking.

Weaknesses

The audiences think that the background of my front cover is too dull. Some of the audience also thought that my front cover would have been better if it had a section that talked about a competion inside the article. This is because they think that this would be able to attract more readers. The audience also felt that the price should have been written or pasted somewhere on the front cover as to be aware of how much it would be when purchasing it.

Contents Page



Strengths

The audience like the way the contents page looks. They also like how i have 'features' and 'style' as  heading as they think it makes the features of the magazine easier to read as they are clearly organised. 

Weaknesses

They however feel as if it's too simple and plain and doesn't really look like a typical music magazine contents page. Others also feel as if the white background is too plain and it would be better if i had used a different colour other than white to make it more appealing 

Double Page spread

Strengths

Some of my audience said they liked my double page spread, especially the layout that i used and the models i used for my images.

Weaknesses

They however do not see the point of the picture at the bottom of the left hand page of my double page spread, however some think it's creative as they hardly see such in many magazines.

After deciding to resit my coursework i made improvements to what i had previously done. I used the comments and feedback i got from my peers and target audience at that time as well as now as to help  me produce my New Final Products for my music magazine. These are the images and feedback comments i recieved this time around.

Front Cover

Strengths
Some of my audiences thought the layout of my front cover was good, they also felt that the structure that i used was original, yet nice and simple. The colour scheme that i decided to use this time around was also favoured by most of my audience. The audience also felt that i used a good use of music magazine front cover conventions.

Weaknesses
Some of my audiences felt that my front cover was quite plain, some suggested that i should have included a puff, used a different font for the yellow text, increased the bevel on the text i used for my coverlines and added more texture to the blue background. Some of them also felt that i made the top part of my page quite plain, especially the left side that is next to where my main image is paced.

Contents Page

Strengths
Most of my audience thought that i used a good layout and colour scheme. They also thought that the images i used were paced on the page in a good way.

Weaknesses
Some of my audiences thought that the use of hyphens in my contents page could make it appear to be quite unprofessional. A few also thought that the layout was too structured and the use of the colour blue was a bit too much. They also thought that i should have used colours that contrast eachother abit more and that the font i used for the coverline sections could be softer.

Double Page Spread

 

Strengths
My audience felt that i used a good layout and colour scheme for my double page spread. They also felt that the use of pictures were good as they look in focus and well presented. Some of them also thought that it was good how my columns looked professional and how the pullout quote was well positioned in the article. The title i used was also liked as it appears to be precise and pulls the audience into wanting to read the article.

Weaknesses
Some of my audience felt as if the small image i used on the left hand page at the bottom was not needed. Others also suggested as mthe article is about a 'rapper' the main image should focus on mainly him. Some of them also felt that i could have improved my double page spread by brightening up the use of colours on the page as to make it more appealing.

Q6 Evaluation: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Q6 Evaluation: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?


Since the preliminary task to create a college magazine, i have learnt allot about taking pictures, editing them and making a magazine to a professional looking standard. The process of making a music magazine also gave me the chance to learn more about using Photoshop.

In the pre-production of my music magazine I used the software Windows Live Messenger as a way of gathering research from my audience. In this process i came up with questions that were related to music magazines that I'll ask the audience in which my magazine would be aimed at. The questions related to what they'd expect to see in the issue of my magazine as well as what they thought music magazines had to have. I then randomly selected the audience i was going to ask and started an Msn conversation with them and asked them the questions i had prepared. I then copied and pasted the conversation into my blogger post and used the answers as a guidance when i was planning out my music magazine.

Creating a music magazine also helped me know how to use a camera properly. I used a 4084 canon 400d 3 Quart cam to take all my pictures for my magazine. I took my pictures indoors and therefore required a room that was designed like a photo studio. I made sure i had a navy/dark blue background so the editing process of my background would not be difficult. To accompany this i was provided with equiptment such as a studio foto circular reflector light, bowens gemini 250r flash head and bowens pulsar radio trigger. Along with these i gathered some props in which i wanted my models to use during the session.  After gathering all this equipment and being told how to use it, i selected a few models and began capturing my pictures.When taking my pictures i had to make sure that the camera had the flash turned on, was all set up and steady when i was taking the pictures. This was all because i wanted to make sure that my pictures would come out looking out of focus.

After this i learnt how to upload my pictures from the camera to the computer. I did this using a card reader the college provided. From there i had to put the memory card from the camera into the card reader connected to the computer and then transfer them to my documents.  After this i had to look through my pictures and select the ones that were in focus and looked appropriate to be on my front cover, contents page and double page spread.  In the process of creating my music magazine i learnt how to use different tools on Photoshop as to help create my magazine. I learnt how to add text to my pictures. I did this by drawing a text box using the 'T' Tool located on the right hand side of the Photoshop programme.

I had to learn to create text boxes in order to make writing text easier for me. I created them for coverlines and this was good as it meant that i could edit certain parts of the text without it affecting all the text i had included on the page. Also because it made it easier to rearrange some of the text. To change the colour of certain texts all i had to do was to click on the colour palette and then select the colour i wanted the text to be.

Another thing i learnt from using Photoshop was how to edit pictures that i had taken to make them look much better. I firstly copied and pasted the original picture into a blank document and adjusted the size of it depending on how i wanted the image to look. I also learnt how to adjust the colours of certain parts of a picture such as the background, or a colour on a top a model was wearing. i did this by adjusting the brightness/contrast as well as Hue/saturation levels of the picture until i got the images to look much better.

Photoshop also taught me how to use the spot healing tool as to get rid of any spots that my models may have had on the day of the photo shoot. In order to do this, i had to open the image and select the 'spot healing brush' tool. To archive good results and clearly see which part of the body/face i was working on i zoomed into the picture. I then used the tool that accompanies the spot healing brush found at the top to adjust the size of the brush. To get good results i made the size of the brush roughly the same size of the spot or just a little bit bigger. I then right clicked on the spot using the brush and this helped the spot fade and make model have fairer skin that blended in together.

Q5 Evaluation: How did you attract/address your audience?

                         Q5 Evaluation: How did you attract/address your audience?


I attracted my audience in different ways, one of which was to make sure I included some of the things in which my audience preferred to see in music magazines, based on the results I gathered from my audience research questionnaire. This is good as it gave me the chance to think about many different things I could include depending on what my audience liked or preferred.

As my music magazine mainly attracts (16-30year olds), i decided to use a young male model that looked attractive for my front cover. I made sure he had his eyebrows slicked as this is a fashion trend for many young guys nowadays. I did this because  the front cover is the first thing the audience see and therefore it depends on the way the front cover is designed itself, whether the main model looks attractive and is engaging well with the audience which will have a major influence on whether it manages to attract the audience or not. I also selected a young model for my front cover because many readers would preferably see someone who is young covering a magazine than someone who's old, especially as my magazine is of a particular music genre.

 I decided to use a black African model because i wanted to put across that my music magazine does not discriminate, it covers and looks at all ethnic backgrounds. As the model is the main focus on the front cover, the double spread page in which goes with the main coverline of the front cover had to also attract the audience to an extent were they would want to read more about the artist covered on the front page. I decided to make the main coverline 'Josh, back In the game' because i also wanted to put across to my audience i know the close relationships they have with their favorite artists and therefore keeping them up to date with an artist that's doing a comeback would be great. Also the coverline it self is attractive because it would make have some suspense as to what the artist has to say in their own words.

I chose 'Josh, Back in the game' as my main coverline because i thought it would help attract the audience as it leaves them wondering and wanting to know what's meant by 'Back in the game'. As the artist i used for the front cover is well known by the readers of my magazine, they would know that because of his low profile he had not been talked about as much or produced any music. The coverline itself sort of suggests to the audience that this is a major comeback for him, which is exciting to many fans therefore making them want to read more. I chose to make part of the headline (the artists name) yellow as to attract the audience. This is because it is a bright colour thats eye catching especially with the fact it goes against a black/navy blue background.

The colour theme i decided to use for my music magazine front cover is white, blue anmd yellow. This is mainly because i felt as if these colours all go well together. I kept these colours consistent throughout the magazine and used them to help to create pages that grab the reader's attention. As the front cover is the first thing the readers see, the colour scheme of the front cover is good as it can help the magazine stand out from the rest of the magazine when in shop stands. Pictures are another major thing that i made sure my music magazine consisted of because many people usually flick through magazines before buying them. Because of this knowledge i decided to make sure my pictures had models that are attractive and would hopefully grab the audience's attention.

For instance for my double page spread i decided to use a large image that takes up a full page because of the contents of the double page spread and how the audience would be more engaged if they saw the picture. The use of certain props such as the microphone and headphones automatically allows the audience to see that this article is related to Josh's side of life that adores music. These props give the readers the impression that Josh is close to his music and feels close to it as the image suggests he values anything to do with music. I decided to use this image because i felt as if having a female artist posing along with Josh would help to attract readers that might not have thought that the article is mainly aimed for both sexes. Also to attract fans of Miss Evie to read the article not just Josh's fans.

I thought it was a good idea to have 1 page of my double page spread have a large image on it because i thought the audience would not be put of with having to read a double page spread full of text. The image makes the text seem less and doesn't make it appear to be as much as it may be. The layout is also quite interesting  which will therefore help to attract the audience. I also used different types and sizes of fonts throughout my music magazine as to make the coverlines and articles more interesting. However i made sure there was a consistency in the type of fonts that i used. I made sure that the main font throughout the magazine is century and that many of the fonts are sans-serif fonts.

The front cover page coverlines were also another important thing i tried to make sure was eye catching as these would be one of the first things in which the audience would read/see. I made sure famous artists from the same genres my music magazine were also mentioned as i know my readers would like to read about their other favorite artists. I also made sure that the coverlines were related to current interesting stories as to give my readers something new to talk about in each issue.

The fact my music magazine does not just feature articles that are music related also helps to attract the audience. Readers also have the opportunity to read articles on fashion, TV programmes and even sports. It also looks at celebrities that are not just musicians. By doing this my music magazine is diverse and will also be able to attract those that like buying gossip, styling and/or fashion magazines. My music magazine mainly uses standard English however there are a few slang words, this is because it also appeals to an audience that speaks slang as well as standard English.

Q4 Evaluation: Who would be your audience for you media product?

                              Q4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

In The Zone is a music magazine that’s targeted at a national audience, but however mainly concentrated on American and British people. This is due to the fact many artists featured in the magazine come from these two countries. It is a magazine that mainly attracts readers that enjoy listening to artists such as Rihanna, Trey Songz, JLS, Vybz Cartel, Tinchy Stryder, 50 Cent, Keri Hilson, Ne-yo, Ludacris and Beyonce.

My magazine is targeted towards people that are mainly into RnB, Rap and Hip-hop music. They can be male or female and between the ages of 16 and 30 as it features contents that will interest the readers between these age ranges. As the magazine includes pages that have concert dates, interviews, posters and reviews, younger audiences between the ages of 16 and 21 may be attracted to the magazine as it targets young audiences that enjoy reading more information about this part of the musician’s lives and experiences. My magazine also attracts people that are from different social groups as those from the working class as well as upper class can appear to have the same taste in music.

In The Zone is a magazine that targets audiences from different ethnicities as many of the musicians featured in the issues are from different backgrounds and not just America and Britain. The magazine may however attract more Black and Asians compared to the White race due to its contents that mainly suggests it’s a magazine that’s mainly aimed for black people.

The types of teenagers the magazine would attract are those that enjoy listening to music, watching TV( programmes such as Helldate, 106 & Park, music videos, sports and movies), playing game consoles (including games such as Lips), surfing on the net, clubbing. Also those that have an interest on fashion and the type of brands they may wear. My magazine also attracts those that have a lively social life - enjoy going to concerts, hanging out with their friends attending concerts (places like the o2 arena and HMV Hammersmith Apollo). Because of this it also targets people that have a large passion for the latest technologies such as IPods, headphones and musical instruments.

In terms of the audiences that are around the mid 20’s and above, it attracts those that enjoy listening to music, watching TV, attending concerts and festivals as well as those that like making music.  Also they are interested in some of the interests as the age group below. It would also appeal to an audience that’s part of social networks such as facebook and tweeter. 

Q3 Evaluation: What Kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

                  Q3. What Kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Looking back at my publishing company case study, Condé Nast might consider distributing my magazine as they do not distribute music magazines. This would be beneficial to their publishing company as it would have quite a number of advantages for them.

As Condé Nast mainly publishes fashion, food, bridal, home, travel, culture, technology and golf magazines, adding a magazine from the music industry would have a major influence and benefit their company. This is because as a company they would increase their target audience as this magazine would appeal a massive RnB, Rap and Hip-hop audience.

 Condé Nast is a company that publishes magazines that mainly attract those between the ages of 18-30 and those from a middle/ upper class; therefore publishing a music magazine such as mine would be a major change. Not only will it help to increase the popularity of the publishing company but it will also help the company to gain audiences that are not just wealthy, and from an upper class. Instead it will help attract those from all types of backgrounds that enjoy reading music magazines and those that live in areas where life is not all about money and glamour.

As Condé Nast already publishes magazines that appeal to a wide range of audiences, the fact that many people in our world are influenced by the music industry and are always keen to keep up to date with it, Condé Nast is highly guaranteed to financially benefit from publishing my music magazine.  This is because my magazine would not have to compete against other music magazines in the company as it would be the first music magazine to be published.  

As RnB, Hip-hop and Rap are three popular genres within the music industry; my magazine would help appeal to many different advertisers that advertise anyone of these types of genres. In whole this would be good as each advertiser will have their own target audiences depending on the genre of music they want their magazines to include, which will not only increase Condé Nast’s audience but also increase the income in which they get from the number of copies that may be sold by each advertiser to readers.

As Condé Nast also has an online marketing service called Condé Nast Digital UK, my magazine would benefit from this as it can land a chance of being advertised on this online service to help attract an even wider range of audiences. Not only will this benefit Condé Nast finically but it will also help boost the magazine’s reputation even more. Also it would mean that my magazine is not only brought from stores but readers can order issues online as well as subscribe to emails from the magazine and publishing house.

The price I would sell my magazine for would be £4.75 as it’s between the price range people would purchase a magazine for. I would also distribute my music magazine in different kinds of stores such as WHSmith because this store is well known, has a range of customers and  attracts many customers, therefore increasing the chances of the number of readers that may find my magazine worth buying. I would also make sure my magazine is sold in corner shops, stations and newsagents as it will mainly appeal to people that live in such areas. This way it’s also easier for my audience as they will be able to purchase a copy from shops that are easy to locate and always open.

Q2 Evaluation: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

                 Q2 Evaluation: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine is one that features a wide range of artists however the majority are part of the RnB, Rap, HipHop and Grime genres.

My magazine mainly consists of young black models, this may raise some racial issues, however this represents that my music magazine mainly appeals to a young black audience around the ages of 17 to 30. Through my representation I have created a sense of reality by making sure I used models that are going to portray the type of audience my music magazine targets for instance ordinary 17year old. The social group my magazine targets iss represented by the props, costume and non verbal communication in which these models present to the pictures.

The first image is of a model wearing a brighty coloured top with a design of a lion and a cream jersey ontop.  This represents the social group my magzine targets as one that are are lively and not dull. Also presented to be people who care about how they look and the types of mterials they own. This is suggested by the pearls and earings that the model is wearing. The costume is simple yet still nice suggesting that they are creative and can  make something out of simple oufits brought from  like primark for exampe.The second image is of 2 models, one holding a microphone and the other withheadphones over his ears. The male model is wearing a bracelet, suggesting that some of the audience targeted by my magazine now wear chains and bracelets as it's one of the new styles for men in the music industry.

We also notice he has a simple sense of dressing, suggesting that the social group are not too obsessed with brand clothes. Suggesting the social group my magazine targets is between the ages of 17 and early 20's as they will not really be able to afford to be buying themselves designer clothes, instead they work with what they have. The female model is wearing a leather jacket, which represents how the social group now find leather jackets to be trend.

I made sure that headphones and a microphone were used as props by the models because i wanted to represent the fact that the social group in which my magazine targets is one that is serious about and enjoys music. Also to put across that some of them will either be rappers/singers that perform in concerts or festivals themselves and therefore will read about other artists that produce similar music to them as they will see them as role models. The props used in these images (headphones and microphone) represent that most of my audience will have musical devices in which they take with them everywhere they go such as Ipods and MP3 players.

As my magazine also features artists such as  Kim Kardashian,  Britney Spears and Katy Perry, we see that this represents that the audience my magazine targets also enjoy listening to music produced by these artists and not just music produced by the ethnic minority.