Tuesday 28 April 2009

Friday 24 April 2009

New Evaluation

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Friday 27 March 2009

Essentail Magazine



Toast Magazine

Friday 20 March 2009

Evaluation

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

My magazine does not challenge conventions of other media products in terms of layout and how the cover line which is the name of the artist ‘Maria Mengi’ is larger than all the other text on the page and there’s no text touching the edge of the pages. The font I used for the front cover is CALIBRI and MONOTYPE CORSIVA. I chose these fonts because it fits into my sophisticated theme and the MONOTYPE CORSIVA is quite decorative. Also I made sure that all of the kickers were lined up so it’s readable and neater, I also included a strap line which is above the Mast Head in blue to match the colour of the mid shot of the artist’s dress. The colour of the strap line will always match the colour of the artist clothing. This is in a different colour from the silver and white so that it stands out and it’s the first colour the reader notices. My house colours are silver, black and white which I have kept running throughout the magazine. Next to the image and name of the artist I added a pull quote to attract the attention of the target market. I have decided to use a lot of cover lines so that the audience are able to read the articles on the front cover to see what else is inside the magazine. The name of my magazine is ‘Essential’. I chose this name because it’s simple and easy to remember. Also it can be interpreted has an essential guide and must have magazine with the latest music news and gossip. However because we had to construct a music magazine is a music magazine compared to others my magazine is very contemporary and has a sophisticated look. Because this is unconventional I had to keep the theme running throughout the magazine. The font of my masthead if ‘GIGI. This is because when doing my primary research this was the chosen font from the people I surveyed.

I’ve also challenge forms and conventions of the content page; I have decided to keep my content page very simple and plain. This is because I didn’t want it to be crowded with snap shots of articles within the magazine and loads of writing. Instead I had one image of the artist who’s on the front cover on the content page. The model is learning against the wall and the picture is almost faded but you are still able to see her face and emotion. To keep the sophisticated theme continuing into the content page the two heading and the sub-heading are also written in the same font MONOTYPE CORSIVA and I changed the shape so it flowed.
My double page spread doesn’t challenge any forms or conventions. I’ve placed a slug in the top left hand corner of the page which is ‘Essential’ written in GIGI but only the ‘E’ is in upper case and the rest of the letters are in lower case. The pull quote is next to the image of the artist and it flows around her body. The interview is very much standards and I added a side bar to make the interview more interesting. I also included another pull quote in-between the articles to separate it and underneath the side bar I added an album cover with the release date above it. I added the page numbers and on the left hand side of the page I added the names of the photographer, stylist and hair and make-up artist. The image of the artists in very big and takes up three quarter of the page this is so that she is centre of attention. The image of Maria smiling contrast the serious face on the front cover which suggest that friendly and a happy person. She is in a white dress in a white background which makes it professional looking and sophisticated which fits into my theme.


How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine doesn’t focus on a particular social group. It is aimed at anyone who is interested in the genre of the magazine which is a mixture of R’n’B, Hip Pop and Soul music and in new artists. However it can be preserved has being aimed at young adults aged 16-24 or either older. The artist on front is a young adult aged 19 and is a new artist which suggests that my target markets are interested in new artist. So she will appeal to both older and younger age members. The whole image is very sophisticated including her body language which will appeal to the target market. the article will appeal to potential artist who wants to make it into the business but it will also appear to young teenagers and even adults who want to read about her story and how she made it to become a singer song- writer and about her single.

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

One form of media institution which may distribute my media product may be IPC Media. This is because it is a leading UK consumer magazine publisher. IPC’s already publishes one magazine ‘NME’ so this would be a perfect choice for my magazine. Another media institution is EMAP. EMAP are more involved with sectors such retail, media, finance, fashion, health, education, government and automotive sectors, EMAP provides essential news, analysis and access. So this wouldn’t be the best suitable option for my product.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my magazine would be young adults from the age of 16-24. It is mainly aimed at females because of the feminine touch and sophistication may be the style of a man’s magazine however it does not mean that males are able to read as well. This is because the magazine is aimed at this specific audience; however it doesn’t mean that older adults are able to read the magazine. Also the feature of the magazine and the editorial context is aimed at the younger generation.

How did you attract/address your audience?

The way I attracted my audience member is by having latest artist appear on the front cover or having a feature about them in the magazine. She has strong eye contact with the readers. Although the colours are not necessary bright it will stand out from other magazine covers. Another way to attract them is by providing information about gigs and concert which my target audience will be interested in and artists which my target audience listen to. The double page spread will attract the audience by having a striking pull quote which will attract their attention when flicking through the magazine. The image takes up a lot of the space on the page which attracts the audience to the picture because it’s big. The background is plain and the text is written in silver so the text it’s clear and easy to read.

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

I learnt how to use BLOGGER and blog my work, but before doing this I had to save everything on JPEG including my PowerPoint presentation. I’ve also learnt how to use SLIDESHARE and ANIMOTO. Throughout both preliminary task and my music magazine I learnt how to use Photo Shop. I used this to make my magazine and to edit photos which I have taken. I used clone item to clone bits out of the pictures.

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

What I have learnt is by planning what I was going to do before hand meant that it was much easier to construct the magazine itself. I was able to choose which colours will look and fit well into my magazine. I learnt how to assemble the whole magazine so that the front cover, content page and the double page spread all flowed together has one magazine. I also learnt that it takes time and a lot of effort because what you may see on screen may not be what you see on paper which meant that I had to keep printing out pages to make sure that I its correct and how I want it to look like and making loads of drafts.
FINAL Double Page Spread

FINAL Content Page

Friday 6 March 2009

Front Cover



Content Page



Double Page Spread

What I decided to add at the bottom of the side bar is an album cover which I didn’t include in my double page spread mock-up. This was because I felt that the side bar was empty and if I added an album covers not only does it fills up the space but also it looks more realistic. The album cover picture was one of the front cover shot which I took but didn’t use it for my front cover.
Unedited copy


This is the picture which i used for the album cover. Originally this picture was one of my choices for the table to content but i think it works better as an album cover. However i didn’t want to use the whole of the picture so i decided to crop it on Photoshop.

Edited copy
This is the final result; the image is a close up shot which is what i wanted. I also added her name across the album cover in Monotype Corsiva. This was originally black but i changed it to white because it stands out of the cover.

Monday 2 March 2009

Double Page Spread Mock



The double page spread will be in keeping with the same theme as the front cover because it features the artist. On the left hand side of the magazine there will be a landscape picture of the model lying across the page. Underneath the picture there will be a pull quote from the article featured. Next to the pull quote will be the by line, I have chosen to have the by line next to the pull quote so that when the consumer is flicking through the pages they will read the main pull quote and the name of the writer. On the side of the page there will be the names of the stylist, make-up artist and the photographer; this is so I am able to make the magazine more realistic.

Below the picture will be a brief introduction about the artist what kind of music is does, who she’s worked with and other necessary information. On the right hand side of the page is the main article itself; it is a standard informal interview with structured and semi-structured questions. Next to the main article will be a side bar, this will contain quick fire questions and facts about the artist. I will continue to the same house colours and keep the overlook simple, clean and sophisticated.

Pictures taken for my Double Page Spread

Unedited copy



In the unedited version of the double page spread picture the background is a faded grey into white which i didn't want. So i edited the picture on Photoshop.
Edited copy

As you can see in the edited version the background is plain white which is what i wanted for the double page spread.

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