Evaluation

For my media Coursework I had to create a front page cover, a contents page and a double page spread for a new music magazine, all images taken must be original and taken by myself the same with all the text. Before doing this task we got the chance to do a preliminary task so we could get to grips with what we had to do and get used to the new technologies such as Photoshop and to gather a understanding of the conventions of magazines. I have now finished researching, planning and creating all my main tasks and am now able to evaluate my work.
For the planning process of my music magazine product the first thing I did was create a mood board, on this mood board I wrote down the ideas that I had in mind for my music magazine such as the name of the magazine, colour schemes, fonts, cover-lines I could us, who and what I could use in my images, what I could write about in the article. Before I did this I researched into similar products such as music magazines like NME, Q, Kerrang etc and did a textual analyst of the conventions of the magazines, the magazines that I used where NME, Q, Mojo, Kerrang and Vibe, I did this so that I knew exactly what I wanted to include on my products. I then did some sketch drafts of my front page cover, contents page, and double page spread of what I wanted them to look like and where I wanted the different conventions to be located and what kind of colour schemes and images I wanted. I also did ICT drafts of the front page cover, contents page and double page spread which basically just showed where certain items would be located.

Looking at my magazine I can see that I have used the main conventions of magazines, for example in the left hand corner of my music magazine front cover I have include a bold, colourful masthead that catches the audiences attention instantly which most magazines that are published these days also include, I have also done the same with my contents page, at the top of my contents page there is another masthead which read ‘contents’ in a bold font and again is instantly noticeable which all other media products use. I have also used a masthead on my double page spread which is related to the main image on my contents page and also relates to the main cover line which again you normally always find in real magazines. On my front cover I also have a main image which I think is critically an important convention for a media product to have as a main image is normally one of the main conventions to draw the target audience in and says a lot about the genre of the magazine you are buying and also shows a representation of the target audience you are trying to aim towards. On a real magazine on the contents page I have found they always have another couple of images that feature the same person that is the main image on the front cover therefore on my contents page I also include images of the same person who is presented on the front page of my music magazine. Also on my double page spread I have two images that are different to each other that are also the same person to who is on the front cover as this is seen to be the main feature of the magazine. Another Music magazine convention I have used are cover-lines, I have found that cover-lines are an essential element to any magazine front cover as people want to know what is in the magazine you are going to purchase, therefore on my front cover I have included four cover-lines and one main cover-line, the main cover-line relates to my main image which again I saw on nearly every magazine that I researched however I have not included any cover-lines on my contents page as I did not feel this was necessary. Like other media products I also chose a colour scheme for my front cover, contents page and double page spread. For my contents page I chose red, yellow and white for the masthead as I think the three colours together really stand out and will appeal to the audience the colours also look lively which acts as a code for the indie music genre. On my contents page I wanted I used a white, grey and black colour scheme, on my double page spread as my images where edited to be black and white I thought I would keep the background more neutral therefore I choose to mix the page so some of it was white and the other grey. Also on my music magazine front cover I have included a dateline, a barcode and the price as these things obviously always located on the front page of a magazine. On my front page cover I also have banner at the bottom which is not really seen as an essential media product convention and not all the magazines I researched had them however some of them did, therefore I created a banner for my front cover. Also on my double page spread I have quotations spread about over the page which are in a bold font which could be seen as a teaser to the audience who are reading the quotations which will make them want to read the story.
I produced my product mainly using the two programs DTP and Photoshop. I used DTP to produce my contents page and double page spread this was because it was easier to layout and insert my text and images and overall created a more professional look, however the images on both my contents page where manipulated on Photoshop so therefore I have integrated both programs. My music magazine front page cover was all done on Photoshop which I found extremely difficult as I was knew to Photoshop, but I also found that Photoshop gives a more realistic overall product then to what is produced on publisher. I produced the images for my front cover, contents page and double page spread by using a digital camera, the digital camera that i used to take my photos on was a Samsung ST50 as this was my own camera i already knew how to use it correctly and did my best to take high quality images. I then used the program Photoshop to edit and manipulate my images.



I would say one of the main ways my media product represents particular social groups is by the mise-en scene for the model who was in my photographs. I dressed the model in items such as skinny jeans, studded t-shirts, leather jackets to create a fashionable, indie look which will not only represent the indie music scene audience but will also represent the youth of today and how the dress as some of the cloths that I have dressed my model in for my images are clothing items that you would really only associate with the younger society and not the older generation, doing this makes it easier to bring in my target audience as if I was to have my model wearing items such as cord trousers and fleece jumpers this would not represent youth but perhaps the elderly therefore I would be failing to meet my target population. Another way my media product represents social groups is by the language I have used on my magazine, the language used on my magazine is standard English therefore I think this shows that it is more likely to be representative of students or younger adults, I do not use any slang words on my front cover therefore this could have a representation on how my product is representing those social groups who are into independent music or rock music but not RNB or Drum and bass. Also the colour schemes of my front cover, contents page and double page spread vary this shows how I have represented different social groups because my front cover is quite bright and bold could be used as a representative of the younger population buying my product, whereas the double page spread and the contents page are more neutral colours therefore this could relate to the older people for example people in their mid twenties buying the product as more neutral colours create a more serious approach to the product.

The type of institution that might distribute my media product I think would be IPC (international, publishing company). This is because IPC are one of the United Kingdoms leading consumer magazine and digital publishers, with a big portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. One of the main reasons I think this institution would be best fitted for my media product is because IPC also distribute NME which is another independent music magazine with the same target audience in mind for people who enjoy indie music. IPC have done a really good job of getting NME distributed and made popular all around the united kingdom making it available in nearly every music shop or newsagents which is what I would want my magazine product to be like.

The target audience for my product are people who enjoy listening or have a big interest in the independent music genre. I would say my audience would be more male then female as there are many more male independent fans out there and also a lot more male iconic independent artists and bands such as people like arctic monkeys, the kooks, MGMT, Palo Nutin, the main etc. Independent music is all about different sounds and getting your different approaches to music out there therefore I see the audience for my media product to be individual people how are not afraid to share their views on musical taste no matter how different they are to anyone else. I would say the age rang for my audience would be 17-24 as I think the younger generation are the people who enjoy independent music the most and can take more from it. I also see my audience as people who take a lot of pride in how they look and how they dress and are likely to shop in vintage clothes shops and places like topman and Zara. My main audience also I think will be students of either college or university who do have an interest in music and may also be studying it at a higher level or maybe people who have started there own band for the enjoyment of it and look up to different artists for some different influences.

Firstly I wanted to make it extremely clear that my magazine was targeted for people who like independent music therefore I named the magazine 'IML' Then underneath wrote what the initials stand for which is Independent music lovers, so this is firstly what will address my target audience. When taking my photographs I took into consideration what indie artists wear and what they normally look like I was thinking about people like Alex Turner, I also took into consideration that most indie stars are male therefore I used a male as a model to attract my target audience. Also I attracted my target audience by my colour scheme In reply to: thought for the front cover to get more of the younger side of my target audience to be attracted to my media product I should make it colourful and bold so it is more likely to catch their attention I also wanted it to look a bit lively and entertaining and not too serious, therefore I used colours like red and yellow which are eye catching and noticeable and more appealing to younger adults, however I did not want the older side of my target population to think that this magazine was to young for them therefore for the double page spread and the contents page I went for more neutral colours that add a bit more of serious influence to the product. Another way I attracted my audience is by in the editors note I mentioned a few big indie artist's that are around the independent music scene now.

I have learnt that when constructing a media product the technologies are extremely a lot more important then I though they where in producing a final product and that if you don't know how to use a certain program it can extremely difficult to get the most out of the program and end up with a finished product that is exactly how you wanted it. For example to edit my images and create my front cover I used Photoshop which I had never used before therefore I found it very hard to know what to do and was struggling to manipulate my images which was having a negative effect on my overall product, however after a few attempts at Photoshop I was able to understand the basic elements and found it essential to use to change the colour of my images and also change the background. I also learnt that without technologies to construct a product it would be impossible as we need the internet to research our product, and certain programs like DTP to actually create a product. Another thing I have learnt about technologies are that when you are using a digital camera you can't just take any picture you really have to think about what shot you want the image to be and how exactly you want the image to come across. Overall I have learnt that technologies are a fantastic way for us to enhance the products we are constructing and are essential to get our product just right.

One of the main things I have learnt is that when constructing your final products you always need to keep thinking about your target audience, its not what you think looks right or what the easiest or quickest way to do something its what will attract your target audience and keep them interested. I have also learnt that you need to really try your best and include as many as the magazine conventions as possible as this is one of the main ways you address your target audience. Also I have learnt that you really do need to take time researching and planning your product as this way you know exactly what you want it to look like which will make it easy to produce and also easier to improve.
On my blog I created an interactive poll which included 8 questions about my media product, this is so I could gain feedback on my media product. My audience feedback showed me that out of the three media products which included my music magazine front page cover, contents page and double page spread it was the double page spread which people thought had been produced the best, however my music magazine front cover would need the most improvement therefore if I was to do this project again I would spend more time on my music magazine front cover taking a deeper look at the main conventions. Another thing I found out through my audience feedback is that the images on my product are what was found the most appealing closely followed by the colour schemes therefore if I was to do it again I would take a closer look and improve the fonts and the layout. My audience feedback showed that I had done a good job in targeting my target audience and all of the people who voted on my poll got my target audience of independent music correctly.

The effectiveness of my product reaching its target audience I think has been done to a good level. One of the ways I reached my target audience was by using imagery, I wanted the digital Images on my media products to represent my target audience therefore I had to take into a lot of consideration to the Mise-en scene of my photographs this include elements such as who I wanted to model in my photos and exactly what they would look like and the appropriate location for my shots. I wanted to make sure that my images contacted to the audience the indie music genre as I think this is important in engaging my target audience as the images are the first convention I would usually notice when I look at a magazines therefore if the imagery is representing the genre that my audience are into they are more likely to take notice and buy my magazine. Another element which shows the effectiveness in targeting my target audience is the language I used, I wanted the Language to communicate that my magazine was a serious music magazine but also with an element of entertainment so that it would appeal to both the younger and older sides of my target audience. I also wanted to use ideology to add to the effectiveness of my media product targeting its target audience therefore I tried to make my magazine have an individual look which acts as connotation to the independent music genre.

In conclusion I found the process experience rather fun and enjoyable to do however extremely time consuming and stressful as when creating this product there is a lot of work to do and information to take into consideration, therefore I found it hard to completely focus on one thing at a time when creating my final products. I would say the strengths of my products that I have created where my images as they where the main things that I knew I really wanted to be like and how I wanted them to come across and I was happy with how the turned out before and after editing. One of my main weaknesses was time management, I did not realise how much time my product would actually take to create therefore if I was to do this again I would defiantly plan my time more carefully. Another weakness I think is my planning, I feel like I could have made it a lot more descriptive and detailed which would have made it a lot easier when creating my magazine product. I also feel that I could have researched into different ways to represent my Music genre to my target audience, I think if I had put in more time planning and researching into the genre of my magazine it would have a been a lot more effective in targeting the target audience therefore if I was to do this again that is something I would seriously consider doing to make my products more effective.

Music magzine double page spread

This is my final double page spread design, i creadted the final product on DTP as it made it easier for me to do so. At the top of the page i ahve the mast head 'Caleb Jacobs' which is showing who the article/interview is about. The masthead is bold and big and also in dark blue, i did this so that it is noticable to the audeicenc and will grab their attention and stop and read the page.

The two images that i have taken for my double page are both medium long shots that are in black and white. When taking the images i knew that i wanted one of the images to show a friendly looking male and the other to look more moody and intense as this realtes to my story which has elements about how this male artist is percieved in all the wrong ways. I also wanted my images to represnt the indie genre therefore i dressed my model in clothes which i thought would be appropiate. I also wanted to keep my target audience interested and wanted the male in the photo to look independent and not like many other people and also to have something different about them. These images also link back to my main image on the front cover as this is who i wanted the main feature to be about. The images on my double page spread also use eye contact with the camera which i think makes the images seem more stronger to the audience and also makes the character in the image look confident.

The text on my double page spread is my question and answer interveiw that i decided to create for my double page spread. I decided to do my article in this way as it was more conventionally recognizable in magazines. I made the questions and answers in different colours so the audience could identify clearly who was who in the interveiw. Around the double page spread i have placed quoatations from tha article around, this is becuasue most magazines i researched did this and i also feel that it is a good way to grab the audiences attention into reading the whole article.

Music magazine contents page

This my final contents paage product. I created my contents page on DTP.

The first thing i created on my contents page was the masthead, i wanted to make the masthead bold and noticable so that the audience would automaticaly see it and know that it was a contents page.

I then created an editors note, as when researching magazines i noticed that nearly everyone i looked had an editors note therefore i included one on my contents page to try and make it look as realistic as possible, all the text on my editors note is origanl and created by me, basically i have wrote about what to expect in this months issue of my magazine creation 'IML'. At the top of my editors note i have also included a dateline and an image of myself as again when researching i noticed that most of the editors notes had images of themselves.

I have sectiond the different contents of my mgazine into three different sections such as; on the cover, regulars and the other is just what is included in the magazine. For some of the titles on what are included in my magazine underneath them i have included little snippets about what the article is about. I chose to do the layout this way as i think its clear to the audience where certain things are therefore they will be able to navigate around easily.

The colour scheme on my contents page mainly consists of white, black and grey. This is because i wanted to keep the colours of my contents page as neautral as possible so that it does not look to manic and also adds an edge of seriousness to the production, and also the images i have choesn to put on my contents page contrast well with the background and are cleary seen.

I have chosen two images to locate on my contents page. The first image i decided to put on is a medium close up of my model, this is because you can see clearly what the model is wearing which is fashionable clothes and as my model is looking away from the camera with quite a smug look on his face can represent an ideology of been a proud, independent individual whereas the second image is still a medium close up but this time in black and white, also the model on this one is not making eye contact with the camera but is still making communication by laughing which i think is shown through the image which could represent a more laid back, friendly character, therefore i think the different representations between the two charcters will attract the audience to look at the images and want to read the article.

Music magazine front cover

This is my final music magazine front cover. I created my front cover on photoshop which at first i thought was difficult but after a while i got used to.

The first convention i created on my music magazine was the masthead which shows the insituation of my magazine which is 'IML' which stands for independent music lovers, i choose to call my music magazine this as its straight to the point of the music genre of my magazine and therefore will attract my target audience.

For the colour scheme of my magazine i wanted it to be bright and eye-cathcing so it would appeal to the younger side of my target audicnece and also look noticable on the shops shelfs. Therefore i decided to use bright coloures such as, Red, Yellow, Blue and white, purple so that my magazine looked really bold and out there.

Another convention i have used on my front cover are cover-lines as all magazines i have seen have these. I have one main cover-line which links to my main image and also the main feature of this months magazine issue, i wanted my main cover-line to be obvioulsy the most noticable on my front page as this is what normally brings the public in. The other cover-lines on my magazine show what else can be expected to be inside my magazine.

Most of my front cover is taken up by my main image. The model in my main image is taking on the role of 'Caleb jacobs' who i've decied is a independent music artist who was in an award winning indie band but apparently was forced to leave due to rumored antics however now is a reformed character. Therefore for my main image i need to show the ideolgy of a star who was someone who had a lot of arrogance but still a nice person therefore i chose to use this image as the model in my picture is smileing and looking away from the camera which shows he may not be fully confident, but also how i have dressed my model which looks like expensive clothes and the fact he is standing quite proud and wearing sunglasses can show of the more arrogant side. Also i thought this image targetd my target audicence as in the medium close up of my model the audicence can gather what the model is wearing, which links to the indie genre.

Also on my front cover i have included some other basic conventions which most magazines are expected to have such as a barcode, dateline, issue number and the price.

Music Magazine first attempt

This was the first attempt at my music magazine front cover. As you can see i didn't truly stick to my plans. The front cover has my original masthead name that i choose for the magazine "IML' and is in the same colour scheme red yellow and white. Looking at this first attempt of my music magazine front cover i can see that the overall effect does not really work well. The background of the image does not let text show up properly and also when i tried editing the background out on photoshop the image was not suitable for a front cover. Also looking at this i can see that the font i have used was not bold enough and the colours not dark enough as you can't really read what most of the cover-lines say. When doing my next Front page cover i will defiantly change the main image to a more suitable one that offers me a neutral background, i will also make sure that my fonts are bold and clear and are of a colour that stands out against the background. I will keep the Masthead and the colours of the Masthead the same.

photos

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^This is the main image for my front cover, i choose this image as it's a medium close up therefore you can see the image in enough detail. I also choose this image as the model is not looking directly to the camera which is often what you find on most magazines therefore i wanted to challenge this and make the image seem more secretive and intriguing.

These are the photos that i have taken for my Music magazine project. When taking the images i wanted the ideology of someone who looks independent, strong and not afraid to put it out there which I think shows a representation of Independent music. Therefore when choosing outfits for my model to wear i wanted something original which again is a symbol towards indie music but also something that appeals to my target population. Therefore I mixed accessories such as sunglasses and neck scarf’s and also belts, i also defiantly wanted to use an image of my model with a leather jacket and a blazer on as this shows some elements of the indie fashion genre.


I have many different shots of my model. I knew that for my music magazine front cover I would want to choose a medium close up shot, this is because on the front cover I want the image to be the main focus therefore it needed to be a close up, I have also chosen to use medium long shots as I defiantly want the audience to see the outfits I have chosen for the model to wear as this does show some ideology and the representation of my target audience and also the audience can get an idea of what the character is supposed to be like, I defiantly wanted to use medium long shots for my double page spread.
As you can see in the photographs I have taken I have used two different outfits one outfit consists of a black t-shirt, a black and white blazer a neck scarf and a pair of sunglasses which gives quite a high class arrogant look the second outfit consists of a pair of a jeans, a black t-shirt with silver studs on it and a leather jacket which presents a much more laid back friendly look, i did this because i wanted to show the different personality's of my fictional character for my double page spread.


I manipulated some of my photos on photoshop, this include elements such as turning the images black and white for a more effective look, I also enhanced some of the colours to make the images brighter and stand out more and i also did the opposite and darkened a few images and enhanced the contrast. I also tried editing the background out on some of the images but i did not like the overall effect therefore when I took the images in the second outfits i tried to take the photos with a blank background behind.

Fonts

These are a list of fonts that i think i will want to use in my magzine. I think that fonts such as Century gothic, Lucida Sans and California FB will be good for me to use as fonts for my mastehead, this is because these fonts are quite bold and eyecatching which will make the mastehead noticable amongst the other texts. Fonts such as Freestyle script and french script will be good for me to use when i want to do story lines or quoatations as they look fancy and are italic and will be a good contrat between the more bolder fonts that i will use.

Sketch design of double page spread

This is the sketch design for the first page of my double page spread. The mastehead for my double page spred will be 'Caleb jacobs!' as this is the name of the person i will be creating a story about. I will want the masthead to be either light blue or drak blue as i think this would be a good contrast to the background which i will want to be a light grey. To the left of the page i will have a medium long shot or a full body image of the same person who is on my front cover.

Underneath the Masthead i will want to have an iductory story to my interveiw. I will want this to be in italic text and most likely to be in the font tahoma. Underneath the inductory paragraph i will be having an interview like article with the questions and answers. The questions will be a different colour to the answers therfore it will be clear to the audience.

The second page of my double page spread is more or less the same as the first one hoever this time it does not have a masthead. at the top of the page there is an image, i will want this to be a medium long shot image and also in black and white. They will also be some pull quoatations and the interveiw will continue.

sketch design of Contents page

This is the sketch draft for my contents page. On this draft i have included what i want to be on my contents page and where i would like them to be placed. At the top of the page is where i will want the masthead to be which will obviously read 'contents' and will also be in the colour black.

To the left of my contents page i will have an editors note, which i will create myself at the top of the editors note they will also be an image of me and the date. The font will be small and regular and probably something like Tahoma or Times New Roman font as they two are quite popular and classical fonts that are clear to read and are used very often in publishing.

My contents page is going to be sectiond in three parts which will include; On the cover, regulars and features, I will seperate these by useing text boxes on desktop publisher. I will want the text box colours to be filled with the colour grey and the title of the pages and there corrosponding page numbers to be black.

I will have to images on my contents page which will both be the same person who is featured on my front cover.

Sketch draft of front cover

This is the sketch draft of my front cover. I have shown where i want my masthead to be which i decided on the name of 'IML' which stands for independent music industry, i chose this name because i think it is straight to the point of the music genre which i have chosen and will be the starting point of targeting my target audience. Down the left hand side of my front cover is where i would like to locate the covelines, at the momement i am not 100% what my cover-lines will say or what colour they will be, however i do know that i will want the cover-lines to be in a bright colour and also of a bold font this is due to me wanting the background of my music magazine to be either a cream colour or white therefore i will need the cover-lines to stand out.

I will want my main image to be the main focus of my front cover, therefore i will be useing a medium close up image that will mainly take up the whole page. At the bottom accross my image I will want my main cover-line to be placed. My main coverline will have to be in a very bold font and of a big font size as this is what my main image will relate to therefore it has to be noticable. Underneath the main cover-line i will have a story line this will include a quoatation from the article that will be written from my double page spread.

At the bottom of my magazine i will have a banner, which will incude text of what is included in the magzine. To the right they will be a barcode and the price of the music magzine which will be £2.85 and also i will include the date.