Evaluation Question 7 draft

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 7
Looking back at your preliminary task (the school magazine task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

In the progression from my school magazine to my music magazine, I feel I have learnt a lot, particularly about my genre and the technologies I used to create my product.  

On my preliminary task (the school magazine), I did not consider a lot of vital elements that a successful magazine requires. I did not research a particular genre and try to recreate it, nor did I consider how to make my magazine appeal to a particular target audience.
I focused on what all magazines had in common, not a particular sub-genre, such as 'indie'. 

I have learnt how important research and planning is for producing a product such as this.
My final magazine has used a great deal of research and planning in order to become a realistic representation of an indie music magazine.
I researched what my artist should wear to appear to be an artist of my genre and styled them accordingly. This is something I did not do for my preliminary task.I researched what photographs of indie artists had in common. This allowed me to recreate the style for my own photographs, using what I had leant about backgrounds, poses, shot types (medium close up to close up), filters and flash to make my photographs look more professional and representative of my genre. By doing this, I improved the quality and mood of my photographs too.

My contents page of my preliminary task was very basic and the types of images or text featured on the page was not considered at all. On my final contents page, the layout, images, text to appeal to my target audience, and branding have all been thought about carefully. It looks like a real magazine while avoiding not just the typical conventions, but clichés, so my magazine is clearly a product of its genre. 

My music magazine title is more sophisticated than my school magazine title; it is subtle but still relevant. I capitalised the masthead, removing any ascenders/descenders, wasting less space and making my cover appeal neater. I would not have thought about this before as I had not covered magazine terms and what they mean.

My music magazine looks far more appealing than my prelim in terms of design and layout, so it would likely be popular with my target audience. 
I have learnt a lot about how magazine companies work, distribute, raise finance etc. and what they must include in order to be successful, which I believe my magazine would be if it were a real publication, unlike my preliminary school magazine task. 

Evaluation Question 6 draft

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 6
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?



Computers: I used computers for most of my music magazine coursework; constructing my magazine, but also storing my research and planning. I looked at other resources such as magazines for inspiration, but aside from that, all of my work was created using a computer. The school computers were available most of the time, allowing me to access many resources for free.
 Camera- COOLPIX P510: This is my personal camera that I decided to use as I already know how to use it well and I know that the quality of the pictures is high. I chose to use this over the cameras available for use at school as I am unfamiliar with these and I would be limited to the backgrounds I could use, when I needed specific backgrounds for my photos to fit my genre. I also used filters and flash to recreate effects used in photos typical of my genre. 

Internet: The internet was essential for my research and planning. I used Google Chrome to conduct my research and planning, collecting images and information so that my magazine would be realistic as I could mimic the styles of similar magazines I found online. I researched photographers, graphic designers and distribution institutions on the internet as well. 


Blogger: This allowed me to display my work for anyone with access to the program to see. It has helped me to document all of my coursework, displaying each stage in the order it occurs. Before starting my media course, I had never used Blogger before, but I soon learnt how to use it due to how straightforward it is. It is easy to track all of my work and features such as 'tags' allow specific items to be found without trawling through my whole blog. 


Photoshop: Photoshop is the editing software I used to create my cover, contents and double page spread. I have used Photoshop in the past, but my skills were very limited. I have learned a great deal about how to use the program, including how to create text boxes to the size required and how to edit the brightness, contrast etc. of pictures. Familiarising myself with Photoshop allowed me to improve the overall quality of my work.


Word: I used Microsoft Word to type out my article so that any spelling mistakes could be corrected before I pasted it into my text boxes on Photoshop. Word allowed me to clearly see the whole of my text so I could easily see what needed editing before my article was transferred to Photoshop. 


Paint: I used Microsoft Paint to printscreen a lot of my work so that it could be presented in different formats. I use this software frequently so using it for my coursework was quick and easy.



Animoto: I used Animoto for the first time when I made my 25 word pitch. It is a useful piece of software available online which presentations can be created with. It presented images, words and sound effectively.

Evaluation Question 4 draft

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 4
Who would be the audience for your media product?

Information on my target audience can be found here.
A profile of an example person who would buy my magazine can be found here. 

Evaluation Question 3 draft

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 3
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?


The information on what kind of media institution might distribute my media product can be found here.

I have chosen not to change my choices as they fit my genre and it would be more likely for my magazine to be successful this way. As my magazine would have a very niche market, institutions (Bauer group etc.) would not be likely to even consider distributing my magazine because it will not be worth their while and would cost more that it would make. However, if my magazine is independently distributed, all costs will be accounted and budgeted for, so my magazine would be successful and make a profit. All aspects would be planned out carefully and my magazine would have no loyalties with any other company, no contracts and all control over the company will remain intact.

Money could be raised by advertisements within the magazine, but would have to be appropriate for the magazine and they should, on some level, appeal to my target audience.
Loud and quiet and The Wire use this method of raising finance. 
The price of my magazine will also cover the costs of making it. The Wire magazine uses its price as a way of earning profit, while The Fly relies only on advertisements for funding.  

Evaluation Question 2 draft

EVALUATION ACTIVITY 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I feel my magazine represents the social group of indie scenesters in an accurate way in terms of the usual conventions of media produced with the indie/alternative genre. My artist does look 'indie' due to the choices I made concerning styling and photography.

My artist

Most indie artists these days are young but dress in clothes associated with older people.

Passion Pit

In terms of clothing, my artist is dressed in items that are typical of the genre, which have been listed here. I chose to go with a knitted jumper and a checked shirt as it was readily available and suited both my artist, my genre, and the mood I attempted to create.

Angel Olsen

Angel is another indie artist. I have included this image of her because it shows a similarity between her hairstyle and my artists hairstyle, and Angel is of a similar age to my artist. It also gives an example of the filters that are often used on photographs of indie artists. Indie artists aren't typically styled to look 'perfect'.

Kelela

This image also shows filters being used, a typical feature of photos showing 'indie' artists from 'indie' magazines. The subtle pose is another frequently used feature that I have incorporated into my image of my artist. 

The make up styling in each image of the female artists is natural looking, so I thought I would keep to this style, but to make my artist stand out from other indie artists and to make her even more 'indie' I put no make up on her at all. Having a completely natural artist on the cover of my magazine assists in creating a 'down-to-earth' feeling, making it more humble and refreshing as I had hoped. 

Plan of Action

After reviewing my draft feedback, I have decided to make the following changes:

Cover:

• On my cover I will add a new image as the current one is not strong enough and the quality is not very high. The new image will be an improved version of the existing one, so will look similar.
• I have chosen not to change the layout of the artist's name and the issue number, barcode, price and date greatly because they are bold unusual, making the magazine more memorable. I have not found any other magazines that present their issue number, date, barcode and price this way, which is what I wanted as this means my magazine will be unique, conforming to the 'indie' genre by breaking away from classic magazine conventions. The large sized barcode, issue number, date and price are easy for the reader to see so they will not have to search the page for them, and the large price text as appose to a small sized price text suggests that the magazine has nothing to hide, giving it a more honest feel.
• I will edit the text on the page so that they are all aligned and the text on the bottom all fits into and fills a rectangle shape. 

Contents:

• My contents page contained errors with the page numbering so I will correct this by renumbering them.
• The image used is weak so I will replace this with a better one. It will still be of my artist. I have chosen to do this as it informs the reader what the main feature of the issue is and the title of the page and number of the page can be displayed near the image. As the image on the contents page is of the same artist featured on the front cover, this offers consistency throughout my magazine. Only including one image on the contents page conforms with the simple, minimalist style I have adopted. 
• I will collect further feedback to add other improvements to this page as I would say it is my weakest. 

Double page spread:

• On this page I will again add better images of my artist.
• I will add the correct page number and magazine branding to the page.
• I will remove or relocate the title as it would be caught in the binding of the magazine, so it could not easily be read and would look unprofessional. 
• I will add another paragraph to my text, providing methods of following my artist's work etc.
• I will make the contrast in colours used for the interviewer and artist's speech greater so it is clear who is talking.
• I may add more details to the page that make it look like a real magazine, without making it 'just another music magazine' and without adding the usual marketing/self advertising ploys. I'm considering adding a 'feature' tag in one of the corners. 

Draft Feedback from Mr Ford

Cover

• A better image is needed
• A good idea- needs a bit of work though
• You need to justify these size choices
• Needs work

Contents

• A better image is needed
• A nice idea
• Something is missing though
• We need to talk this idea through 

Double page spread

• Images again
• This will be the fold of the page
• Page numbers
• More text needed

Overall 

• A great house style
• We'll talk about the next steps
• Level 2 top/level 3 low
• A very good draft

Draft Feedback from Ms Abrahamson

What went well-

• Creative image on front with mirror.
• The minimalist design works (but shrink price/issue/barcode).
• Adheres to Music Magazine Conventions.

Even better if-

• Page 4 on contents says ones to watch but it is page 4.
• Is con-tents designed following a style influence?
• Image is rather conservative. Is this the look you want?
• DPS layout is symmetrical and neat; shadows on images need removing.
• Article is appropriate in style but needs a stronger ending and details of where to get hold of 'Bills's tracks/ Twitter feed etc.
• DPS needs page numbers and Phon branding.

Level 3

Draft Work