Final product

This is the finished content, cover and double page spread of my magazine:

 

 

Evaluation Question 7

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

After looking at these two screenshots, one being my actual finished magazine front cover and the other being my preliminary magazine front cover, I can see a few dramatic differences.
For example looking at the colour schemes, on 'The College' cover I have used a burgundy and white colours and on TMM I have completely changed and used purples. I believe the decision behind this was to make it fit more with what my target audience would like to see and I personally believe that the colours used on the left screenshot were possibly too vibrant.  Another thing that has changed from my preliminary is the model (obviously), but looking at the left model you can see that she doesn't necessarily know what to do, in comparison I found it easier to direct the model on the right and tell her how to stand, which kind of facial expressions to pull etc. Furthermore you can see from the preliminary that the writing on the covering the image up, whereas after playing around on Photoshop I was able to figure out how to place the title behind the model.  

The fonts on the my preliminary were simple and at the time I thought fitted the magazine concept, however for my actual magazine I decided to use fonts from an online website named DaFont.com, they had a wide variety of fonts to choose from and as you can see I chose something basic but also affective as I believe it stands out and will attract my target audience.

Moving on to my current contents page and my preliminary contents:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see my preliminary task contents page was very bland and didn't stand out or contain enough information, contrastingly my TMM contents has a lot of information, colour and images which will stand out to my target audience. Also looking at the two different layouts or my magazine, you can tell by looking at the left image there really isn't a layout that anyone could follow, however for the other contents page I have ensured that I created different sections to make it easier for the reader to follow and find certain things.

Something else I thought would be important to include in my contents page was a down bar reassuring the readers that they can follow us on all types of social media sites to keep up with the news.

 

Overall I think that my final product is a lot better than my preliminary task, for the reasons stated above, but I also believe that having a go at using Photoshop for the practice gave me more confidence and enabling me to create a decent final contents, cover and double page spread.
 

Evalution Question 6

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

 

This project has taught me a lot about a vast amount of technical side of things. For a start I began using a Mac computer, which was at first rather hard to adjust to as I had never worked on one before, but once I began to work with it more and more I found out that it was particularly hard to work. Overall I do feel comfortable with using the Mac and I believe it has better facilities than other computers, so I am more confident in the fact that I have composed a good enough product.

 

To take my images I had to use a camera, the Canon Ixus 105. I didn't find this a difficult task as I have used many different camera's in the past. So once I had my images I had to transfer them to the Mac and I did this by firstly using a cable which went into my camera and my laptop, then I saved the images onto my memory stick which fits into the Mac. I found this rather easy as I have done it numerous occasions.

 

I began using Photoshop, on the Mac, to complete part of my work. I, again, struggled with this software, fortunately though my friend knew how to use so was able to help me, so after a few lessons I got to grips with it and after this I was more at ease with this software and could do quite a lot, like editing my model, removing backgrounds etc.

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

 

I addressed my audience by using sell lines. The sell lines included things such as 'free posters' and listed many different, famous artists within this industry, making the audience feel more attracted to the magazine and hopefully want to buy it.

To attract my audience I used colours which I believed would turn my audiences heads. The colours coordinated and contrasted very well. Another thing which attracted my TA was the model I used for my cover. She is the typical indie girl, dressed appropriately and makeup is natural-esc.

 

 

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

 

My magazine is aimed at both males and females of around the ages of 16-21. They have the typical Indie interests such as gigging, socialising, listening to music, Festivals etc. My magazine cover I think is something that my TA would find attractive and if they saw it in a shop they would immediately think about picking it up. Just by looking at the image used on the cover I think that the females will admire the clothing, hair and makeup and aim to look like her and I think the males will be attracted and think she looks pretty 'cool'.

Once the TA open up the magazine and look at the contents page they will be greeted by bold purples (this matches the front cover) and enough information to inform them what bands/artists are inside. There are also more images of the cover girl which may interest the audience even more. 

I asked a friend of mine, who enjoys reading the likes of NME and Q, what she thought of my cover page, contents page and DPS. Her response sounded something like this:

 "I really like the colours which have been used on both the over and contents, as they match and make the writing understandable but also very bold. Another thing which stands out to me is the bands that have been included as they match the genre of the magazine perfectly!"

Evalution Question 3

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

 I believe that IPC Media would distribute my magazine because it works along side NME, which is a dupe of my magazine. They are of the same genres. If they sell a lot of copies of NME, then audiences may be more likely to buy mine. I have took into consideration that there might be a clash between my magazine and NME with them both being based on music, however I do believe that fans of NME who have been buying the magazine for a long time will stick to buying it whereas my target audience will be young teens who are maybe not too sure what kind of genre of music they like.

My magazine will be distributed through shops and there is also an online subscription which readers can use if they wish, as it may make the payments easier for them. 
"IPC Media ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Time In., is a digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year."
This makes me feel more confident in choosing this media institution as it tells me that it sells over 350 Million copies each year and by them publishing my magazine there will be a greater income.

 

Evalution Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

 

 

As you can see from the image my model is looking directly at the camera. The image is a medium shot as I wanted to ensure that my models clothing/hair would be shown on the image, I believe that is what the readers would prefer because they like to see exactly what their favourite artists are wearing so they can in a way use them as a template. As you can see by looking at the other image there aren't many similarities apart from the fact that it is also a medium shot. The fact that my image is looking right at the camera shows quite and empowering side to them and entices the audience as once they look at the magazine they will immediately see the main model which will draw them in even further, the image on the right shows quite a provocative shot of a female singer, this contrasts with my image a lot as my magazine does not premote those type of things. I decided to have my model standing in-front of a white backdrop to create more of an effect and I've noticed that other typical indie magazines have plain backdrops, Q magazine have completely gone against my technique and have instead opted for a black background. The clothing my model has on is that of the type of thing you would see the likes of Indie 'guru' Alexa Chung wearing, alongside the hair and the opposite picture is a typical pop culture image, trying to change peoples persepctive of the model at hand.  

 

Evalution question 1

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

My magazine uses conventions of other magzines as I used certain ones as a template when designing my product. My magazine is made up of different elements such as:

• Masthead
• Barcode
• Sell lines
• Banners
• Date
• Price
• Issue number
• Main image

 

This is a grouped image of my work with all the different elements on it. As you can see in the banner I have written particular information that I think will attract the audience and make them want to buy the magazine. I have basically included information that I find necessary for my genre and have not added any irrelevant things as I find that it ends up just looking stupid.

I picked an appropriate model which fitted my target audience. I added makeup and clothing which I thought the likes of Kate Moss and Alexa Chung would wear. Overall I am pleased with how my images turned out and found it a rather easy process to do.

Here is a link to my Prezi to see my work more clearly:

http://prezi.com/tvgeyrj4sswn/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

General research into my target audiences attitudes and interests

For this part of my task I have decided to do some research into my T.A. I will be looking for certain things such as what they like to do in their spare time, hobbies, interests etc. 

 

To help me carry out this research I looked at similar magazines such as NME and Q. This gave me an understanding of what kind of things I should include in my own magazine. I looked at certain words which were used a lot, I shall try to incorporate some of them into my own work. By looking at these particular magazines it gives me a better understanding of what my target audience like to see, such as the type of bands/artists used and also gives me an insight as to what exactly the magazine should include for example; quizzes, posters, reviews etc.

When looking at my model and seeing how she has been presented I notice similarities between other artists within the 'indie' music industry. The image on the left is my model and the right is of Lily Allen. Noticeable resemblances are clear such as they are both wearing striped t-shirts, their hairs are up (same colour) and the makeups are both minimal, very natural.

 

So after reviewing different singers such as Lily Allen I now know that my target audience are or would be fans of her and her style.

 

 

My magazine so far

This is a screenshot of my cover page so far. As you can see it has simple colours and the information is limited, although there is enough there to alert the audience what the magazine will include on the inside.

 

I have made a few changes to my magazine. For starters I have included white backgrounds, situated behind the text, this makes the image stand out from the writing and also makes the writing easy to understand and read.

 

 

Review of the preliminary task

As part of my preliminary task I had to design a magazine cover and contents page. As you can see from the screenshots below they are not of a particularly high standard and actually rather poor. I have not finished the contents page and it doesn't look at all professional. I don't think that the cover page is really bad but again is not up to the standard of a professional standard.  

 

 

Contents Page- So far

This is a screenshot of my contents page so far. As you can see it is incomplete. But I have  placed the title at the top left hand corner and it has the words 'TMM Contents', the reason which I have named it this is basically so the reader understands what page they are on.

I have also added a picture of my model, the image is of her getting ready for the photo shoot. This gives the reader a taster of what the magazine will contain. It is something that the reader can relate to, seeing that she applied her own makeup, which makes her seem more down to earth. 

I understand that this needs a lot more work to be done to it. I need to include a background and page numbers (information telling the reader what is on certain pages) etc. 

 

 

Photo shoot Preparation

 I took some photos of my model whilst she and I were preparing for the professional shots. As you can see (image at the left) I put my models base makeup on; the eye shadow, lipstick etc. I also did her hair, I place to ordinary plaits by her the sides of her head and then folded them over the top. I picked this hairstyle because I think it fits my type of magazine, as I have seen the likes of Alexa Chung donning this hairstyle.  And finally I chose her clothing, as you can see in the first image she is wearing a Black polo shirt and in the second image she is wearing an oversized navy striped t-shirt. I have seen the likes of Kate Moss parading around in these outfits.

 

I am very pleased with my overall images, as I think they do look rather professional and something that my target audience would appreciate. 

 

 

Model Confirmation

I needed to screenshot the conversation between me and model, just confirming that she was still available to meet me at the specific time and date. She Was still able to meet me, as you can see from this screenshot.

 

Looking at Last Year's Student Work

We looked at previous students work and analysed them, by saying what was good and bad about it. We then graded it. We also wrote down what we have learned from looking and last year's students work and how we will apply that to our own work. I found this task very helpful as it has showed me what type of things I should include in my own work and certain that should not be on.

 

 

Quantative Research

As part of my research, I created a questionnaire. I asked people questions about what type of things they like about magazines, if they could change them what would they do etc.


1. Do you buy magazine often?
I asked my audience if they buy magazines often and the top answer was yes. Out of the 10 people I asked 3 people said no. This has made me think that I should release the magazine frequently, possibly weekly, as the pie chart shows that people are buying them regularly. 

 

 2. How often would you prefer magazines to be sold?
As you can see the majority of people I asked tend to buy magazines weekly, which again makes me think that my magazine should be published weekly. Not very many people seemed to buy magazines monthly this clearly shows that it would be a bad idea to only have mine out monthly.

3. Do you like it when a magazine offers readers free tickets etc.?
Only one person ticked the 'No' box for not liking it when the magazine gives the readers a chance to win something. I will definitely incorporate this into my magazine because I think the reader likes this as they have the opportunity to meet there favourite artists for free! 

4. What would you pay for a magazine? 
Most people ticked to pay £2.99 to pay for a music magazine. Nobody would pay £1.99. Therefore I have come to the conclusion that I will charge around £2.99 to £3.99. Only a few said they would pay £3.99 which has forced me to pick going within the region of the £2.99 and £3.99

5. What colours do you like to see on magazines?
I asked people which colour(s) they would prefer to see on a magazine and many people went with 'Simple colours such as: black and white'. I believe that these colours may be too plain for my magazine so I have opted with including another bold colour to make things stand out a little more. 

6. What kind of articles do you like to read?
I gave people the choice of; interview, quizzes, reviews, pictures and other. The result came back with interviews ticked the most. So I will ensure that my magazine has an interview with an artists to keep my readers interested and make sure they will buy it again.

7. What types of music do you usually listen to?
Rock, Indie, Pop, Classic and Other was the boxes people had to choose from. And luckily the majority of my peers ticked the Indie box. It is lucky because my magazine genre is Indie.

8. Have you ever been to a gig?
I asked if anyone had ever been to a gig/festival and if so which one. Yes was the top answer for going to a gig, but not as many people had been to a festival if they had it was the likes of Leeds or Download Festival. This helps me as it shows that people who will read my magazine have been to gigs so I can give them the chance to have free tickets.

9. Where do you shop?
I asked this question purely to see where my TA shopped again so they could be in with the chance of winning vouches etc. The top answers were Topshop and Topman.

 

 

10. Who are your favourite band or artists?
Finally I asked this question. And the answers given were bands such as Arctic Monkeys, Jake Bugg etc. I did get one answer saying Jessie J, she is more of a pop star and I will not be including her genre of music in my magazine. 

The Recce

I have decided to take my photos at my house; there will be a lower risk of anything happening. Although, either the model or I will need to watch out for certain things lying around the room. My Model will have straight hair therefore we will have the likes of straighteners hanging around so it is important that we keep a close eye on where these type if things are.

 

 

 

 

The weather will not particularly affect the way in which my model looks, although it may mean that I will have to postpone it for the fact that my model cannot make it due to the bad weather, but apart from that it does not risk my photo shoot. However the time of day may jeopardies the final outcome of my pictures, as I may need daytime lighting to help make the pictures look better. Fortunately I have arranged for my model to come to mine during the day.

I wish for my model to be standing in-front of a white back drop, mainly for the fact that it means that she will stand out and the target audience will not feel the need to get distracted. I am undecided about shooting outside, it will depend if I feel I can get a decent shot.

Using the flash on the camera will really enhance the models features and bring more colours out; therefore I probably will decide to use it when photographing my model. We will be working in a room without any distractions e.g. anything that could get in the way of my shots, reflect on to the model etc. (I will not need any permission to take my photos, as it will be in my own home.)

Due to the fact that I will be working in my own home there will not be a distraction from others, although my family may be in at the same time, but I will make sure I warn them in advance that I am working.

I have my own props, so I shall use them to help me find the right shot. Fortunately my model is someone that I already know and whom lives close, so it will be easy enough to invite her over to take my photos.  

Finally I need to make sure that I keep in contact with my model, especially a few days before we come to do the shoot, incase my model is unavailable.

My colour scheme

My colours

 

As you can see I have created a colour chart. I have picked out five different colours that I think work well together. I will pick three of these colours to use on the front of my magazine. So far I think that I will use the middle colour, which is a kind of pinker shade of purple. I like this because it is a unisex colour however its slightly more feminine than say the two colours on the left. I also like the deep purple on the right as it will work well with the other shade of purple. I am undecided on which other colour I will use.

 

 

 

Jarvis Cocker

I was asked to complete a practise magazine front cover as part of my preliminary task. We were notified that Jarvis Cocker must be used as the model on the front. I completed this by using Photoshop. I had never really used this before, so it was really all about finding my way around it and being creative. I believe that once I did have a few goes on photoshop my work was of an alright standard and I have slowly but surely found my feet with photoshop and have full confidence in using it in the future. However after looking back at my first attempt I think it is very obvious that I had never really used photo shop before as it isn't up to an actual magazines standard, in my eyes anyway. But again if I were to re-do this task I would be able to hand in a higher standard of work.

 

 

Here is a screenshot of my preliminary task feedback. Overall I was told that my attempt at this cover was good, but I had to make sure that I made the writing around the image bold and stand out.

 

 

Font Ideas

I have researched different fonts to give me ideas for my own magazine. 

I have picked six unique fonts and have wrote down the pros and cons of 

actually using them in my own work.

 

 

 

Potential Problems with My Coursework

Initial Proposal Table

Photographic Techniques

Photographic techniques

Some ideas and techniques are essential when taking a good photo:

 

•       Shot distance
•       Use of tilt
•       Shot composition
•       Eye line
•       Tone
•       Line
•       Colour, including vivid, primary and monochromatic colour
•       Texture, and hints on creating texture
•       Patterns and hints on capturing patterns

Shot distance types:

 

•       ELS/LS good for showing the insignificance of character of character or for showing characters as powerless within an overpowering environment. Also goo for establishing location.
•       MLS/MS good for showing movement or for a balanced tacking of characters and their environment.
•       MCU/CU good for portraiture or for moving image interviews.
•       BCU/ECU good for showing the significance of character or for showing character as powerful. Also highly useful for drawing attention to character emotions.  

Tilt shots:

 

•       Tilt up shot- used to convey power or dominance.
•       Tilt down shot- Used to convey vulnerability or weakness of a person.

 

Tone:

 

·      Control of tones, including variations of light and dark, emphasizing parts of the image.

·      Tone control can be used to emphasize the shapes of the most important elements in your image.

 

 

Photographic/moving image techniques:

Composition:

 

•     You need to think very carefully about how you compose a photograph.
•       Many photographers place in their subject in the middle of the photograph, which can result in a dull image.

 Foreground/ background :

 

•      You must always think about where the model will be photographed and remember to check the background out to ensure that there is nobody/anything accidentally in the back of the image. This should not be a problem for me as I am making sure my model will be standing in-front of a plain backing.

Framing:

•       Keep the rule of thirds in mind when designing your shot. The views eye is drawn to the cross-sections of a frame, this is where your action should be taking place.

 

Lines:

 

•       Lines are useful for emphasizing and leading the viewer towards a main area or subject.
•      You can easily control the appearance of lines in your pictures by camera viewpoint.

Using colour:

•       Taking control of the way in which colour is used in your photos is a key way of improving your images.
•       Keep your eyes open for vibrant coloured subjects, but also look for delicate coloured subjects and ones with muted tones.
•       Colour sells. Bright, bold colours are used on magazine covers, so choose or plan shots that you will take when producing your magazine cover.

By looking over this it has helped me understand how I should take my photographs and what will look best for my product. I know what kind of lighting the photographs should be taken in and how my model should be positioned. For example I will be taking a mid shot of my model, this will show her face down to her waist. I have chosen to take my images mid shot because I believe it is important that the readers of the magazine can really see her facial expression, as if I were to take a long shot (head to toe) you wouldn't really be able to see her face, it would be focused more on her body language. As for lighting I will taking my images indoors so I will be using artificial lighting, it will be bright, again so you can really see the model.

The Simpsons Movie- Film Poster

This is a picture of my practice film poster. As you can see it is to promote 'The Simpsons Movie'. 

We were given a booklet in class in which we had to fill in. We were then asked to create our own version of a theatrical poster for the Simpsons movie which was due for release. I wrote down our step by step process of creating this. We then handed our work back in and waited for it to be marked. 

 

My teacher gave me some feedback. But we also had to swap our work with someone in our class (peer assessment), they marked it and graded it for us. Overall I received a grade B. 

 

After analysing this myself I am overall disappointed with the outcome. This would never be used as a film poster to promote a movie. Firstly some of the images (the donut at the top) is very bad quality and hasn't been cut out neatly, nor has the 'The Simpsons' sign. Also I haven't made a very good job of placing Homer Simpson or the pig as it looks as though they are standing  in mid air. If I were to do this task again I would create a plan before hand and find better images. I also took in to consideration though that I had never really used Photoshop before and didn't really know what to do. So I would improve my editing skills. I think that this would help me gain a higher grade.  

 

 

Makeup/Hair ideas

I am currently researching clothing/model/makeup and hair styles that I would like to use as a template for when I am taking pictures of my model(s). I have carefully selected pictures of models/icons within the 'Indie' 'celeb' world.

 

Alexa Chung

 

 

I like this image of Alexa Chung mainly because of the makeup. I think she looks very sophisticated and pretty unique. The bold red lip is very simple but also creates a huge effect when you look at it. The stereotypical makeup worn by a female artist within the indie industry is very natural; usually they are seen wearing the winged eyeliner with a pale face and a bold lip. I would like to incorporate this and use it when applying my models makeup. So after looking at this image I have chosen to copy (slightly change) this bold lip.

 

Kate moss

 

 

I like these two images of Kate Moss. I searched 'Kate Moss hairstyles' into Google and this was the best image. I am, at the moment, un-decided which I prefer, I am edging more so to the right image, purely because it may be difficult to use the left, as my model may not have a fringe already cut in. 

Laura Whitmore

 

 

 

I have chose to add this basically for the fact that I like the way this has been taken, this is a Mid-shot. It looks very professional. I also like that the model herself looks pretty comfortable with what she is wearing, the dress fits with my genre; plain but with a little bit of edge to it. There is nothing surrounding the model, which I like because it means that you only focus on her. 

 

Lily Collins

 

 

And finally I have this image of Lily Collins. I like the makeup that she is wearing. It's not too much, but it is obvious that she is wearing something. It's a very natural look. I think that I will use this eye makeup on my model.