Q7. Looking Back At Your Preliminary Task, What Do You Feel You Have Learnt In The Progression From It To The Full Product (your music magazine)?

Above is my views on the Pre-lim task we did over christmas and my thoughts on how i improved my skills, not just with the technologies i used to help create my work. But also in my understanding of the tasks given and in the target market. Below is how i thought i've improved.

Above are my copies of my magazines in progress. On the far left is my Prelim task - the sixth form magazine. From this i got varied feedback about my design. My target audience said that because of the colour scheme of my magazine it looks feminine and not unisex. So i improved and acted on my audiences feedback by picking colours with are not sex orientated. So i chose colours like reds and black, which are more male orientated. But that's because my magazine is more male orientated. Unlike the Sixth form magazine which is unisex.

My Draft version of my music magazine, is very unconventional and doesn't stick to main conventions. However, personally i thought my magazine was interesting to look at and different. My target audience said that it didn't look like a magazine and the picture looked odd, because of the front model. So by changing the main image and making it look more conventional by using the standard layout for a magazine it looks more believable. 

My final version of my magazine, taking into account everything that my target audience said. I chose colours and images to link in with both sexes. Also i used all the main conventions. Such as a masthead at the top and the converlines in the middle. However, my menu strip is in the same place as in my draft because i like the look of the strip at the bottom. So this is not really conventional but the design feature looks quite good.

   

Q6. What Have You Learnt About Technologies From The Process Of Constructing Your Magazine?

Over the past few months i have come to use alot of different software. Some of it i have used before such as photoshop and a stills camera. Which helped my knowledge alot because this way i was able to deepen my understanding of the technology so i was able to be creative with the software. Plus by using the knowledge i've learnt from making my magazine. I will be able to take that on into the future, if i ever need to do something similar, i will be able to perform the tasks without problem.

Photoshop was a main element of what i used to help create my magazine, without this software we would have struggled to have created something to  the same quality. With doing graphics at A level as well, i already knew some of the things that photoshop had to offer and i could use these skills to help me with my magazine. But because i was doing a different project i was able to gain more skills and use this to create a decent magazine. Below is a short video of how i created my front covers in layers.

Also another main technology used was the stills camera i used to create my images for my magazine. the camera i used was my own camera, so i was used to using it and messing around with the settings because i used it in my spare time as well. My camera is a Cannon S3 and personally i think that when used in the studio is able to create brilliant images and shots, even in low lighting and really high lighting. I don't think that without the use of my camera i would of been able to get the shots i got for my magazine. Below is a picture of the camera i used and also in the video on the next post is the real camera i used.

Below are some pictures which are taken before and after my shots were edited in photoshop. All photo's on the left are the orginal images and those on the right are the edited verisons.

This picture i changed the contrast, by making the shadows darker it gave off my images a more emotional and stricking feel to it. But it could be argued that the faces look oddly white and unnatural, but i think that this adds to the overall feel of the magazine. I also changed it to black and white to link in with the colour scheme of my double page spread.

This picture is one of the posters. I decided to change it to black and white to make it stand out and look more professional feel to it. i also used highlights around the face to make it stand out and to make the face more pronouced.

Again like the first picture. This picture has been altered in contrast and colour. By changing the contrast, it makes the eyes stand out more and look deeper and to show off the facial expressions more and make them appear more emotional.

Q5. How Did You Attract/Address Your Audience?

Media Presentation- Chaz

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Above is a powerpoint i made to show, how i attracted my audience to my music magazine. By using these elements, and in someways sterotypes i was able to make my magazine fit to the criteria given for my set target market. I feel that i was able to successfully complete a magazine, which not only attracts the target market but makes them want to read more and continue to buy the magazine. Because it's interesting and it's what my target audience want to see in the magazine.

Without the use of the features to help make my magazine stand out from the rest. I feel that i wouldn't have been able to create a strong enough magazine to rise sales and to gain enough readers. Because without the stereotypical 'rock genre', people could get confused about what my magazine was acctually about.

Q4. Who Would Be The Audience For Your Music Magazine?

This is my mood board for the target audience i am trying to attract. Inside the mood board is everything that links in with the Rock 'N' Roll lifestyle. Everything from sex and drugs,( because this is what attracts most of the rock fans to the whole genre, because of the excentric way the rockstars live). To performing and being on stage. Also i know that my target audience will be interesting in music, so in the mood board is bands that are involved in the rock genre such as "Green Day" and "Avenged Sevenfold" as well as bands such as "The Pretty Reckless". Also, normally rock fans will be able to play insruments themselves so, pictures of guitars and drums are in the mood board to show this as well. 

Q3. What Kind of Media Institution Might Distribute Your Magazine and Why?

For my magazine i feel that the best publisher to have would be:

I think that this is the best company to have to distribute my magazine because they sell and publish over 300 magazines all over the world, including some of the biggest names in magazine, such as ' Kerrang!" (which i would class as the rival to my magazine), "Q" and "Closer". Also this is a international publishing company. Meaning that i could distribute my magazine all over the world easily. Which will greaten the range in my readers, giving me higher numbers. Plus with a massive 19 million customers every week. My reading figurs will definitely increase and hopefully could become very popular. They are also widely known and a high quality publishing company, so i know that by using this company, i will get great results.  

Q2. How Does Your Magazine Represent Particular Social Groups?

 My image in the background for my magazine is of the two main people from the "Blind Intentions".

The costumes i chose are very different in each because i wanted to show the two sides to the band. Showing the rockstar, uncaring outlook on life (on the right), wearing a checkered shirt and black trousers and the bands focus on looking good and catching the audiences attention through individuality (on the left), by a white shirt and black blazor, by doing this the audience will feel the individualtiy of the band and will be aware of how different they are. I also made sure that my models, were un shaven because this look more masculine and adds to the rockstar feel. 

The back to back pose of my models is agressive and itimidating, this links in with the music genre "rock" because rock music is usually acossicated with aggression and a heavy lifestyle. My models are standing up tall and straight, to add to the imtimidating position, the chest sticking out is also to addto imtimidation and making them look much bigger. The way positioned my models facing away with their heads toward to audience, helps make the audience feel more involved because the direct eye contact with each of the models, makes it seem more personal.

My models are wearing the same colours, black and Red. Which also links in with the main colour scheme of the magazine. The black and red are also argressive, masculine and heavy colours, giving the rockstar feel again to my audience. The white in the background puts the main focus on the colours of  the models, making sure that all the audiences attention is on the people in the picture not, whats going on behind them. It also makes them stand out more, and makes the picture look sharper.

Q1. In What Ways Does Your Music Magazine Use, Develop or Challenge Forms and Conventions of Real Music Magazines?

This is my convention word list for my front cover. In the word list is everything i needed to put into  my magazine to make it effect and attract my target market. Without these conventions my magazine wouldn't sell as well and wouldn't attact my audience in the way i want.

                                                            

                       

This is my front cover for my music magazine (on the left), and on the right is a magazine that i feel would rival mine. For my front cover i kept to most of the main conventions and didn't go against the natural look of the magazine. My masthead is in the top left hand corner, which on most magazines is where the masthead is positioned. Because by sticking the Z pattern it means the titile of my magzine will stand out and be memorable. The menu strip at the bottom of my magazine, is simple and stays within the lines of the conventions. It's bold, stands out and grabs the readers attention with the large "PLUS" in the corner. However, even though i kept to the main conventions for the main parts of my magazine. The cover lines are slightly less conventional. My main key coverline, is across the page, in a larger and more interesting typeface to help draw my readers. Whereas the other coverlines, are placd in the right hand corner at the bottom, where usually the barcode would be placed. This makes my cover interesting and different from other magazines. Also the splat on the left hand side, with the coverline "free posters" is fun to look at and also gives my cover that induviduality because no other magazine has this.

 

(On the left) this is my contents page for my magazine, i based my ideas on this contents page from NME. Again i kept to all the conventions of a magazine contents page. Keeping everything in that should be in the page. Like keeping to the rule of thirds and dividing my page into a grid shape. The columns are all the same size highlight this formation. The only exception to this is th poster picture in the righthand bottom corner. This slightly overlaps the last column, this gives the picture definition and make it stand out more. Attracting the audience to that page. I kept little design features as well, the red boxes and numbers before every page in my magazine, highlights which pages are of interest. Also by keeping to the same colour scheme as the front cover, it links in with my front cover and the overall feel of my magazine. Like the front cover, it's simple and bright which means that it'll be eye catching and will attract the attention of my audience.

This is my double page spread. To link in with the other two pages, i kept the same colour scheme of red, black and white. This is to keep the feel of my magazine. The black and white images are to add effect and to make the article stand out more than the pictures because, it's the article i want them to read, not just look at the pictures. The film strip is to resemble the rockstar lifestyle and how people want to be apart of that and feel their just watching somebody elses life. I kept the typeface of the "Blind Intentions" title the same as on the front cover, this shows the band indentity. Again keeping to the main conventions of the double page spread, i kept al lthe writing in a block formation. Making sure all columns are the same width. The design features i used were drop capitals and the page number/ website adress in the corner of the page. This adds realism and idividuality from other magazines because my website adresses are probably different than the others. Something i didn't do, staying away from this convention was the put captions on my pictures. Because instead of saying who's in picture, in the corner, it's explained in the text. So this was a way in which i went "against the grain" for the double page spread.