Final Version for my Contents Page

 

After receiving some feedback, I have added page numbers, and I have also aligned the text. I have also got rid of extra blank space. I have also cropped my photos to get rid of the boring backgrounds. I have also added page numbers and quotes to my pictures so it is obvious what articles they go with. I have also added page numbers to my articles and changed the font and colour of the "regulars".

Final Version of my Double Page Spread

 

 

After receiving some feedback for my Double Page Spread, I realised that I had to much blank space!

So I sorted this by making the bit that says "Black Out" and "The Lights are Off" and by moving them closer and I added a fact file of the band to get rid of the space and make it more interesting.

I also made more space around my quotes. I also added a page number to make it easier to go to that page. I also made a quote larger and moved it to the picture so it tied in with the article.



Final Version Front Cover.

 

After receiving some feedback, I changed the colour of the cover lines on the top left to yellow, with a black outline, to make them standout more. I think this is effective as it makes them stand out more and adds more dimension to my final front cover.

I also added an issue number and date, as originally I had forgotten to do this. I also put it in bright red to make it easier for potential audiences to notice and make it easier to tell what edition it is.

For "Greatest British Bands Ever" I changed it to a bolder red font to make it easier to read, I also moved the words closer together to get rid of wasted space.

I did also move "Live Kasabian" further down so it wouldn't get mistaken as being the connected to the "Album Title." 

Evaluation Question 1.

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

Evaluation Question 5.

How did you attract/address your audience? 

In order to attract my demographics i used a series of forms and conventions which were influenced and observed by my case study magazine and through market research. 

The Masthead is a major part of my brand identity which my audience would associate with my company so my masthead design had to be representative of my company but also reflective of my demographic. Starting with the colour scheme of my masthead, i looked a other magazines colours and the relating genre- such as Q was red and Kerrang also. This is also a similar type of music to the one my magazine is about, and so related to the colour schemes. I did this so that i could get  abetter understanding of the implications and associations in which is portrayed with particular colours, therefore allowing me to manipulate certain ideologies of that colour onto my brand image. 

From my market research i found that younger audiences tend to opt for bright, bold colours which can grab their attention quickly, whereas older demographics tend to go for dimmer, darker colours which are gentler on the eyes. Using this information i decided to use a darker colour which would be seen to my demographic, i decide to use the colours white, with red and yellow. These are mature colours as it is a maturer magazine, so matches my target audience. 

An additional way in which i address my demographics was by using the feedback and results i received in my questionnaire. The contents page of my magazine includes features such as festival listings, gigs and band reviews. I have also included names, interviews and features of popular artists which will be well known to my chosen audience. 

I tried using lots of different text to see what fitted my genre the best. Whilst doing my research i noticed that most Alternative Music Magazines used bold writing or just plain writing, such as Ariel. I did like them both very much, so much that i decided to use them both, but mixed, so my text was easy to read but also the writing was formal. I decided to have the Masthead behind the models head because whilst researching i noticed that alot of magazines did this. I really liked this, and thought it suited my genre.

A further way apart from using font and colour to attract my target audience is the use of pictures. Certain photographs won't attract my target audience, such as if it was someone dressed in pink, smiling. This type of photo wouldn't be appropriate to my target audience. That is why all of my cover models and my images, look grungy and moody to create an 'alternative' music atmosphere. I learnt this through my feedback and questionnaire. 

Evaluation Question 6.

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

From the construction of this product we started by learning how to use our blogs. This meant that we could post our work and ideas to it. Also, for guidance we can look at other students blogs which can influence our own ideas. 

First of all we used a programme called Serif Photo Plus. This enabled us to edit photos that we wanted to put into our products. For example in my double page spread i have a photo which i edited the back ground to be black and white, whilst the models were in colour. This enabled me to do so. This has given me a new skill set, with which to edit photos to make them of a professional, magazine standard.

Secondly i used a blog site, called Blogger. As mentioned before we started our coursework process by learning how to use Blogger.  Blogger enabled me too post my progress and eventually my finished products. I used blogger to type my ideas and eventually post up all of my magazine research and designs. Blogger is the main programme i have used to present my coursework. Over the course i have become well-equipped with using Blogger, and now use it with ease and find it a very simple, effective programme. 

Prezi- is also a programme i have dabbled in. I have only used it a couple of times, but i do find it a very effective programme. I have found it harder to use than say blogger or Serif, however it is an interesting also unique way to present things in a new way. They also have a great range of layouts and fonts etc to make every Prezi different! 

Another programme i have used it PagePlus. I used this to create the initial plans for my final products. This was a very useful software as it enabled me to gather ideas about how i wanted my final product to look. It did take me a while to learn how to use PagePlus as it was a completely new idea, that hadn't tried before. I had never come across it before, but now that i know how to use it, it is extremely useful for envisioning the ideas you have! 

It did take me a while to use the programmes, as i had to learn how each individual worked and get my head around the whole process! But now  i know how to use all of the programmes, effectively and to my advantage. 

Evaluation Question 7.

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

Looking back on my preliminary task, I have learnt various new technical skills as well as how to create a successful product. My preliminary task was very bland and included no sense of creativity and the contents did not match with the cover. However, in my full product I have ensured a consistent colour scheme in order for all my pages to look as though they’re from the same magazine. My school magazine looked empty whereas my full product has a small amount of writing to match my style model Kerrang!. However, still looked like a legitimate magazine. I feel that since my preliminary task I have progressed as beforehand I did not really understand how to attract an audience successfully. I used extremely bright colours, however I used too many different ones meaning my task had no organisation. My contents page looked dull, including no exciting colours which contrasted to the front cover making them look like two separate magazines. However in the full task I ensured that my contents page fit in with my cover using eccentric colours effectively. I believe that my final product looks a lot more professional, I think this is because I had a style model to follow as well as research I had done on various other magazines. My preliminary task helped me to reflect on what I was doing wrong so that I could improve this within my final magazine. I realised that image quality and model choice was important, in my school magazine I used blurred images where my models did not represent anything however my final product images were better quality and represented the genre of my magazine well. The layout of my magazine was also important. My preliminary task did not have a specific layout causing it to look disorganised and unprofessional, to ensure my final product could be sold next to huge magazines such as Kerrang! And NME, I followed the layout of my style model in order to create a genuine feel to my product. My Photoshop skills lacked at the beginning of the course however after the preliminary task I was able to learn how to use various tools such as blur and brush tool, this helped as I used these on my final product. The use of fonts in my preliminary task did not look effective, or ‘stand out’ to attract an audience. However I was inspired by Kerrang! to use ‘edgy’ fonts using the drop shadow tool to make the text more prominent. My school magazine was targeted at a niche audience however my final task was aimed at a much wider audience, having audience feedback to create the product, I was able to create a successful product. I did not have any audience feeback for my preliminary task so I did not know what the audience wanted. Overall from the progression from my preliminary task to my final products, i have learnt how to use photoshop more effectively, Serif in order to create the products, and i have also managed to use blogger more effectively, to help me complete my coursework.