Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I feel I have learnt more about the process of creating a magazine than actually producing it. For example I now know how important it is to get an opinion from the audience and from people who may just have experience in the industry. As well as this, the need for drafts to be made and evaluated by others; my preliminary task was made by myself without any intervention from others and the quality of it is much less than that of my final product, my final product in my opinion has professional looking camera shots and a layout that looks just as good, for example the translucent images behind the text in the two page spread.
Saturday, 1 December 2012
Evaluation - Question 6
What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?
As my magazine is a generic music magazine, I think finding a distributer would prove difficult, as most large media groups cover many genres and a rock music magazine is almost definitely going to be one of those genres. In order to get a distributor I would have to find either a conglomerate large enought to be able to produce more than one magazine of the same genre, or find a large company in the early stages of business who would be looking for magazines to fill thier requirements.
As my magazine is a generic music magazine, I think finding a distributer would prove difficult, as most large media groups cover many genres and a rock music magazine is almost definitely going to be one of those genres. In order to get a distributor I would have to find either a conglomerate large enought to be able to produce more than one magazine of the same genre, or find a large company in the early stages of business who would be looking for magazines to fill thier requirements.
Evaluation - Question 5
How did you attract/address your audience?
To make sure my product would attract an appropriate audience, I made sure that whenever I asked people for advice or their opinions I would make sure that the person i asked could be counted among my target audience. That way I could be certain that my target audience were a part of the making of my product, increasing the likelyhood of my product appealing to the right people.
As well as this I decided to include a target audince I could count myself amongst, in doing so I could be sure that my product would target people who would have a similar mindset to myself, I would make sure my style of writing would attract the right audience. For a magazine such as mine which is only small, this strategy could be quite effective, however for a magazine which would employ multiple members of staff would encounter many problems with this, in that even though the people writing would have similar views, the more people writing, the wider the audience will be, beacause the writing style of the entire magazine would change.
To make sure my product would attract an appropriate audience, I made sure that whenever I asked people for advice or their opinions I would make sure that the person i asked could be counted among my target audience. That way I could be certain that my target audience were a part of the making of my product, increasing the likelyhood of my product appealing to the right people.
As well as this I decided to include a target audince I could count myself amongst, in doing so I could be sure that my product would target people who would have a similar mindset to myself, I would make sure my style of writing would attract the right audience. For a magazine such as mine which is only small, this strategy could be quite effective, however for a magazine which would employ multiple members of staff would encounter many problems with this, in that even though the people writing would have similar views, the more people writing, the wider the audience will be, beacause the writing style of the entire magazine would change.
Evaluation - Question 4
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I feel I have learnt a lot about the technologies used in professional publishing. I believe my skills have developed far beyond what I thought they would. Before starting this I had never used professional software such as photoshop, as is evident in my preliminary task; my final product, in my opinion, s far superior in terms of image quality, quality of editing and layout designs. I have also learnt how asking people first hand greatly increases your products chances of being well received, due to the fact real people have given their opinions as to what to they believe makes a good product.
I feel I have learnt a lot about the technologies used in professional publishing. I believe my skills have developed far beyond what I thought they would. Before starting this I had never used professional software such as photoshop, as is evident in my preliminary task; my final product, in my opinion, s far superior in terms of image quality, quality of editing and layout designs. I have also learnt how asking people first hand greatly increases your products chances of being well received, due to the fact real people have given their opinions as to what to they believe makes a good product.
Evaluation - Question 3
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
I believe my product represents particular social groups by use of fonts, colour schemes and language usage.
The fonts used reflect the genre of music I am writing about, for the responses in the Q&A section I used red text, a colour often associated with the gothic/emo culture I am writing for.
The colour scheme is very minimalistic, I chose to primarily use black, white and red; in doing this i was able to use contrasting colours whilst at the same time keeping a constant colour scheme. The subject in my magazine, when asked, said he believed the clothes he wore for the shoot would be worn by people who considered themselves gothic/emo, the mise en scene hear is also minimalistic, black white and red and so also fits the colour scheme of the entire magazine.
From personal experience, I have a fairly informed idea of the language used by the people my magazine represents. A peer of mine (Lyam Coe) spoke to me about how he and his friends speak in relation to the articles they read; he noted that , whilst he and his friends did not excessively use profanity, the articles he read would often include swearing, given mostly by the interviewee.
I believe my product represents particular social groups by use of fonts, colour schemes and language usage.
The fonts used reflect the genre of music I am writing about, for the responses in the Q&A section I used red text, a colour often associated with the gothic/emo culture I am writing for.
The colour scheme is very minimalistic, I chose to primarily use black, white and red; in doing this i was able to use contrasting colours whilst at the same time keeping a constant colour scheme. The subject in my magazine, when asked, said he believed the clothes he wore for the shoot would be worn by people who considered themselves gothic/emo, the mise en scene hear is also minimalistic, black white and red and so also fits the colour scheme of the entire magazine.
From personal experience, I have a fairly informed idea of the language used by the people my magazine represents. A peer of mine (Lyam Coe) spoke to me about how he and his friends speak in relation to the articles they read; he noted that , whilst he and his friends did not excessively use profanity, the articles he read would often include swearing, given mostly by the interviewee.
Evaluation - Question 2
Link to a Youtube video answering question 1 of the evaluation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsLNkdo0EI8&feature=youtu.be
Evaluation - Question 1
Please Note: This answer is written in a comic strip in the style of "Cyanide and Happiness" a popular net comic strip.
Audience Feedback of Development
To assure my magazine would attract an appropriate audience I have designed several logo's which I will use for my magazine. I have asked 32 members of the public who were chosen specifically as each person acknowledged that they read a music magazine at least twice a month.
The results are as follows:
Option 1 - 8 votes (25%)
Option 2 - 7 votes (24%)
Option 3 - 3 votes (9%)
Option 4 - 3 votes (9%)
Option 5 - 5 votes (15.7%)
Option 6 - 4 votes (12.5%)
Option 7 - 2 votes (6.75%)
Option 8 - 0 votes (0%)
The results are as follows:
Option 1 - 8 votes (25%)
Option 2 - 7 votes (24%)
Option 3 - 3 votes (9%)
Option 4 - 3 votes (9%)
Option 5 - 5 votes (15.7%)
Option 6 - 4 votes (12.5%)
Option 7 - 2 votes (6.75%)
Option 8 - 0 votes (0%)
Existing Products: Annotated
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| Above: An issue of Classic Rock featuring Slash with notes |
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| Above: An issue of KERRANG! featuring Avenged Sevenfold with notes |
Audience Research
Audience Consumption Habits:
As there is only a few ways of physically reading a magazine, many publishes spend time working out where the magazine will be read. For example, will a consumer be reading the magazine on the go? If so, should the magazine be light and easy to carry, or should it be made heavier to prevent it blowing in the wind? There is no set place or time to read a magazine, so publishers and makers will try to make the magazine and versatile as possible, whilst keeping within the price range of the average consumer.
Many people now have their magazines delivered direct to their home. If a company knows customers will have the magazines delivered they will then need to consider who lives in an average home, and must question wether the content is appropriate. For example, a magazine with a relaxed attitude toward the use of adult language would probably not expect a young child to be reading it. But they would then have to consider whether the consumer is likely to be reading the magazine around young people.
On the other hand, almost all magazines are sold in small and large stores, it is in these situations it is more likely that a small child will see it. To prevent any offences, rules and regulations are put in place to ensure customers are not going to complain.
Audience Expectations:
After talking to several people who actively read music magazines and listening to their opinions I believe I have a fairly solid idea of what the audience expects. A peer of mine, Luke Thomas, has said "For me, a big part of any music magazine is an ability to adapt to the current trends, and to be able to keep up with an ever evolving music scene." I found this to be a slightly contradictory quote as some of my other research has shown that many audience members dislike a magazine that changes its agenda too often; I myself agree with Luke, in that I also believe that in order to be successful a magazine must be willing to change over time.
When asked about colour schemes, within magazines, Greg Reynolds quoted "I think a constant colour schemes makes a magazine look professional, it gives [the magazine] a certain look about it that draws in the customer." Yet again I agree with this quote, for myself a magazine that does not keep a constant colour scheme can look untidy and un-thought through. Though I also think if a magazine is featuring an artist with a specific style, changing the design for a single issue can be used to great effect; however changing the house style often would take a lot of time and eventually become very unprofitable due to the constant need to redesign the fonts and colours.
Audience Expectations:
After talking to several people who actively read music magazines and listening to their opinions I believe I have a fairly solid idea of what the audience expects. A peer of mine, Luke Thomas, has said "For me, a big part of any music magazine is an ability to adapt to the current trends, and to be able to keep up with an ever evolving music scene." I found this to be a slightly contradictory quote as some of my other research has shown that many audience members dislike a magazine that changes its agenda too often; I myself agree with Luke, in that I also believe that in order to be successful a magazine must be willing to change over time.
When asked about colour schemes, within magazines, Greg Reynolds quoted "I think a constant colour schemes makes a magazine look professional, it gives [the magazine] a certain look about it that draws in the customer." Yet again I agree with this quote, for myself a magazine that does not keep a constant colour scheme can look untidy and un-thought through. Though I also think if a magazine is featuring an artist with a specific style, changing the design for a single issue can be used to great effect; however changing the house style often would take a lot of time and eventually become very unprofitable due to the constant need to redesign the fonts and colours.
Audience Expectations
Research - Audience:
Audience Expectations:
Most audiences expect a certain amout of ‘wow’ factor from a music magazine, this is usually achieved by having many different items to grab the interest of the audience and make it stand out against the magazines competition.
KERRANG! magazine is a good example of how a magazine might do this, tha magazine often as one main picture ion the cover with the main article heading, smaller stories within the
magazine then fill the space around the main picture.
When asked about the layout of the front cover one reader of KERRANG! Magazine said:
“It does draw you in, but only if you like the band that is on the cover. Mainly
because I don’t pay much attention to the smaller articles, so if the main band is one I like, i’ll bye it”
This quote could suggest a way to appeal to a wider audience would be to have multiple bands on the front page, if there is not enough space, have the names of ther bands in large text that stands out to entise other people to buy the magazine.
Other readers of music magazines have said that it is important they have:
Pictures that are interesting, but also relevant
Interesting stories/articles
Eye catching colours
Easily readable fonts
Very little advertising
If advertising is included it should be relevant and interesting
The magazine should be unique and not copy the style of others
Another thing to consider is the correct colour scheme for the audience. An example of this would be the use of bright and simple colours for a magazine that targets a younger audience, whereas a magazine that targets an older audience would use simple and easy to read colour schemes, light blue text, for example.
A music magazine’s colour sheme will also need to consider the genre of music it will feature. Heavy metal mgazines will often use blacks, dark greens and blood red
colours becuase that is the kind of colours the audience would expect, for example bright pink with purlpe polka dots would be unorthadox for this genre of music
magazine.
Preliminary Task - Print
Brief:
Using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium to close up plus some appropriately laid out text and a masthead. Additionally candidates must produce a DTP mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of the program.
Why I chose this:
I chose this task because it sounded interesting and something that I think would be a challenge. It also appealed to me because I am interested in discovering what it is like to create a music magazine.
Aims:
I aim to:
- Create an interesting and appealing music magazine
- Appeal to a wide audience
- Develop a reasonable amount of photo editing skills
- Create an original and stylish magazine
Challenges:
Challenges i will have to overcome include:
- Becoming proficient in using professional editing software
- Write competent and believable stories
- Making sure the content are appropriate and fits the genre of music
Preliminary Task
My preliminary task was my first attempt at using professional digital imaging software, it's quite clear that I was inexperienced with Adobe Photoshop. I believe the quality of my final piece far exceeds the quality of this piece.
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