Evaluation Question 7

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

I think my knowledge of how and where to lay things out on my pages have improved, it seems more structured and organised, i also feel they carry more connotations than my preliminary, it also made it look more professional and mature. i also believe i have improved in using Photoshop because as time went on it seemed to become second nature and things would seem simpler and easier without any big hassle  for example: using the magic wand tool was frustrating at first but as time went on i learned out to use it quicker and more efficiently than before. this also helped improve my work as i was constantly getting better and so was my work. i have learnt what images i should and shouldn't use from a front cover and where is should put them, whether it be the contents or the cover. overall i think my understanding of the technology has improved and helped me create a half decent magazine cover because before i think my preliminary wasn't really that good at all. i also feel i have learned how to create a music magazine and what conventions i should us whether it be a really small thing, but important and effective.

Prelimenary

Evaluation Question 6

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

To create my magazine i had to use a lot of different technologies most of them being on the I Macs. without these i wouldn't be able to create the magazine and i wouldn't be able to upload on this blog. i found i quite easy to use these different technologies.
i used:
I Mac - this was were mostly everything happened. if i didn't have this i wouldn't be able to make my product as it Photoshop, my pictures and the internet on them. i found that the Mac was easy too use and i didn't really find it difficult it was like using a computer but it was better quality. if i did this again i would use a Mac again as i think it helped me a lot with my work.

Digital Camera - i used the camera to take the photos i needed for my magazine. this was easy just a normal hand held camera and it was fairly easy to use. i didn't find any fault with the camera it worked fine and didn't work up. i think i could have gotten better shots if i had used a SLR camera but the shots i got were fine and i was able too work well with them. if i was to do this again i would try it out withe SLR instead.

Photoshop - this was the most important piece of technology i used. this is were i created my magazine. it was easy to use once you found out the different tools you need but when you don't i could be very hard and frustrating and your work could come out quite crap, but luckily i knew how to use Photoshop and found it easy to use although it could still be frustrating  i didn't really use a range of tools on Photoshop as there wasn't much editing i needed to do, the only thing i edited was the main images, the rest was cropping and selecting. i would use this again as i think it is a very good piece of technology to use to try and create a professional looking piece of work.

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

I decided i would have a younger figure on the front of my magazine so they would see it a know it was about someone who's around there age range and they will want to knows whats going on, i also tried to style as if it was music from the charts which is the most popular music today. i think it also has the largest range of audience so it would attract a lot more people which is one of my aims, to have a wider range of people reading my magazine than just a group. the way its set out is a definite factor of how it would attract my audience as its not too boring, it has colour and bold text which stands out from each other, the cover has different headlines on the front. and its not to childish so they would be embarrassed to read it. i think i've done this well but i could improve on making it look a lot more professional and add maybe another brighter colour

this is a part of a sub-heading on my magazine, it stands out and is bright, so the audience will see it. it is also a different text so people will be attracted to that part, and if its an artist they like will want to buy it and read about them .

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the target audience for your media product?

The target audience for my magazine would be suited to wide audience but i would narrow it down too teenagers 13-16 and for all social groups. i don't think my magazine think my magazine is sophisticated enough to be aimed at an older audience, for an it to be aimed for older people i would have to add a lot more text make it more organised and smarter so it looks suitable. i also think you would have and older generation of music so they would be interested rather than it being a young artist that they wont have heard of that much, but that might be why they would by it so they can read up on modern up to date music. you would expect younger people to be more interested in an artist in the top 40 as thats what they listen to and its whats popular so i think i'm looked at the magazines that dealt with popluar music like Q and  NME. i also think that younger people are more likely to pick up a music magazine than older people so it is a good target audience to have.

Character Profile: this would be the target audience because he enjoys the style of music that my magazine produces. he has a wide range of music tastes which suit my magazine as it is for people with a wide music taste. his music tastes are from dubstep to rock, so it has a lot of difference in ti. in his spare time he likes going to gigs and festivals which shows he is interested in consuming music and that it is a part of his life. he has wide range of hobbies and interests such as skateboarding and playing the guitar.  this could be some of the things my other target audience do and like 

Evaluation Question 3

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

I would choose Bauer Media as it offers 300 different magazines in 15 different which means a larger population and more of a target audience to get your magazine out too and be read. It also offers radio stations and TV stations which advertise my magazine and get it to a lager audience. they put out a lot of popular music magazines such as kerrang! and q. these are some of the different magazines i chose to analyse and take ideas and inspiration from they are all also quite popular and doing well in the UK, this shows Bauer Media is a good and successful media institution.
I think they would distribute my magazine because of the fact i would have a larger target audience which suits a wide variety, this would mean they would get more recognition, it would also help them make more money. I also think my magazine is quite similar too the magazines Bauer Media produce so my magazine is something they would look at and distribute as there are a few magazines that are popular and successful that look like mine

Q is a popluar and successful music magazine that Bauer Media produces. it also has its own radio station so it can get its own music out and advertise the magazine further.  this is similar to my magzine because of the way it is layed out and the colours that are on the front cover. i think

Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

i don't really think my magazine fits into a social group. the way i have set it up and the colours i've used suit a lot of different social groups. i would say that i don't think rock fans would be as interested, this is mainly down the the images. a lot of rock magazines have live photos were the singer has one foot on his amp and a mic in his hand, or shot in the studio with a bad ass pose. its more of a girly pose that's straight forward and calm rather than in your face. so think for this it would be girls who like regular chart music because the artist is girly and shy, she isn't going all out. i don't think i can really stick a label on my magazine for what social groups would read my magazine. i think its something i should have done so i could research the type of magazines they read and head of in that direction so it would cater for them and they would read it, but that would mean only a portion of people would rather than a wider range of people. i think that's whats good about my magazine i doesn't mention what music it is or what type of magazine it is, like some magazines have 'best rock magazine around' but mine is more if you know the artist or you like the look of the magazine, so i don't think it appeals to a particular social group.

Main image - she is doing a girly pose to attract female fans and show her feminine side. This will catch the eye of the female audience as they are always on the look out for things that are girly and can help their style  

Evaluation Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I think my product uses quite a few conventions of a real media product. one of them is the way i have layed out the different pages. on the front cover i have looked closely at how different magazines layout there magazine, i decided i wanted to look at magazines with different genre of music so i when i came to put my ideas down i would have a wide variety of ideas and know what different genres would look like. i could also have mixed different magazines in together. i did the simple things you would expect like the issue number, date and bar code to obviously give it a sense of realism and make it look more professional. i  made the title stand out from the rest of the text by adding a glow around the edges so it would be noticable and look different from the rest. i think i could have definatley added more to it like banners across the bottom and top saying whats inside or something to get the audience interested just by looking at. this would have been done in a bold colour to make it stand out. i could also add smaller picture across the bottom maybe that involve different articles. i think the contents came out well, i tried to make it look a lot more organised than the front cover so it looked smarter and was easy to read. i saw that a lot of contents pages were very busy and had a lot of photos and writing but i wanted too try and stay away from that and make it more simple. i think the banner was a nice factor of the contents, this is one thing i wanted to carry across from other magazines as it instantly lets you know what is being listed. when listing the pages i made them into different colours, one so you can identify what that page has on it and the other a small description about it. i dont think my contents had as many connotations as it could have but i needed to to make it simpler. the double page, i thought, had quite a few different connotations  the main image as the artist in which the article was about, this was easy enough to get and edit. the title was big and i thought drew attention to the page because it was in a different font than the rest so when you see it you realize its different and will focus on the page more. i wanted to add and introduction as i realized most magazines did this to start there article, it was easy to put in it was just thinking of what to write is what i struggled with. i added small things like the page number which i thought was important to give the magazine a sense of realism. i also added the 'B' of my logo at the end of the article to show it was over. coming up with questions and answers were quite hard as i
wouldn't really know the answers but i gave it a go and i think i came out alright. i chose different colours for the question and answers so it would look more professional and give and show were the question starts

improving my double page

i have added a quote from the interview on the top of the page. i did this because i noticed a lot of professional magazines do it and it would make mine look a little more professional and fill up some space, also thought it would make the page look more busy and a little more exciting too look at
Time Management: i will have too have this done by next week to achieve my deadline, to get get it complete i could do it in my own time. this will give me more time to improve my work and make it look better

Double page

this is my double page spread. i have finished of all of the interview, title, image and page numbers. i think i've done well to continue with the colour scheme and line everything up neatly, i also think i have done well too come up with some questions and answers as i think that was the hardest part. im quite happy with how this is turning out. i think i could in prove by adding more across the to such as a quote from a magazine or a couple of pictures, this would make the page look a lot better and more professional.
Time Management:  I think i could get this done fairly quickly or even in my own spare time so it is complete for the deadline and i will have more time to improve and touch up on little bits

So far i have completed my front cover and contents, i think there is still room for improvement on them. i will get feedback so i know what i need to do to improve it, i will post this on my blog. i have still got complete my double page spread but i aim to do this in the next 2 lesson, i will also try and improve some of my work.
Today i will work on my double page spread, i will add the text and move things into there places.

Time Management

This is my time management for the next 4 weeks.

28.2.13 - I will start my double page spread
               Add titles and subheadings
               Move everything into position

7.3.13 - I will start writing in some questions and then start answering them
             Improve the layout

14.2.13 - Finish of answering the questions
               Improve the layout


21.3.13 - Improve everything

i have just started my double page spread and intend to get some titles in and try and make it fit in with the front cover and the contents using the colour theme and some text, these colour will be the black and burgundy colours. i think this will give my magazine an identity.
Time Management: by the en of the lesson i will try and get the title started and start think of someanswers and questions for the interview.

Contents Page - For Marking

Magazine Cover - For Marking

i have completed my contents page by adding more writing onto it. this makes it look fuller and more professional, and because it is supposed to be a monthly magazine it should have more things in the magazine, i like how well the banner at the top came out. i think i could still improve the layout of the text.

i am now onto doing my double page spread. this is the image i am going to use. i have cut all the green of and just need to edit the image. i will then start piecing my pages together but adding the text and interview

Time Management: by next lesson i hope to have started my double page and add improvements to my contents page.

so far i have added more things to my contents page, in this lesson i will finish it off and then start on my double page spread. this means i should have my work finished and ready for the last touches before the deadline

Time Management

i have managed my time by completing work to my own deadine, this will keep me organised and will get all my work done quicker. it will also mean i know what im going to do for each lesson and work i need to complete.

This is my contents page. i have kept the same colours from my front cover and the same text, this makes my magazine cover recognisable and creates a house style. I like the layout of my page, i could improve the amount of stories on the page, this would make the page look busier. i could do this by making the text smaller and coming up with more stories. i think i would also add a smaller picture with the page number on it of where that feature is.
Time Management: i will try and improve this next lesson and then hopefully start on my contents page.

contents page

First i added the title, i decided to keep the same font and colours from the front cover so it gives my magazine a theme. I then decided to add a black box underneath so section it of and make it look more important, it also gives it a more professional look. 

I then decided i needed a smaller title but i didn't want to make it look bigger then the main title, i put it in the black box, made it smaller and changed the colour. After that i added the image and placed it to the side so i had more room for the text. I then started putting in the numbers down the side

I then finished it of by adding the sub headings, i used the colour from the front again to keep the same theme through my magazine. I also added a small description about what is on the page to fill out my page and make it look a lot more professional.

I am happy with the way my contents page looks like, i think there are some gaps on the page i could fill in and make it look a lot better, that is something i could do in the future. I could also add another picture but smaller to make it look more exciting.

i have updated my magazine cover from the last time, i changed the colour scheme, the sell-lines and some of the font. i think  this makes it look better and a lot more professional, i think i could have a few more things added to the page to make it look fuller.
Time Management: i hope to complete this by next lesson and then start on my contents page.