Q7. Looking back at the preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to a full product

Looking back at the preliminary task of creating a music magazine front cover, contents and double page spread, I had to learn various skills using a digital slr and taking numerous shots to suit my target audience which I was able to do through my research, I then had to organise the dates and location of where I should take them and of who, who would be the ideal model. Plus learn how to use a new software which I had never used before.

 I am happy with the outcome but as always there is always room for improvement. I done all of my audience research which was fairly easy socialising with people asking them to fill out my questionnaire. I then had to sort out everything I found out which was a draining task but this helped me cut down to my target audience and allow me to focus on them.

I then had to come up with different designs and sketches of my magazine, not being able to draw very well I wanted my work to be different so I decided to get some practice in on Photoshop and design my drafts on there, this worked well as I was getting use to using Photoshop and doing my sketches. I am pleased with my designs that I done.

I then had to think how I would do my own magazine, I already had the model I wanted in mind and could then work around her this saved time on looking for the right person and right attributes. I booked the camera and wanted to use the natural light from outside so the model could feel a bit freer and not restricted in a hot room. It went well as I was able to take a number of pictures with the camera. But then I ended up using a room so I could use the flash box and soft box I figured out the best position for it and used the equipment, this meant I was learning.

However it wasn’t as easy as I thought seeing the outcome of the pictures I wasn’t as good as I thought, some photos had shadows a lot of them weren’t in focus and some didn’t use the rule of third. This was something I had to overcome and luckily not all of the pictures came out bad.

I had already used Photoshop to do my drafts so I was comfortable using it, I knew the basics of getting front up, changing colours, cropping pictures and changing the light. One thing I am very proud of is that I wanted to challenge myself even further, I decided to give my model a tattoo on her chest of a paw print, I had to airbrush it down and make it look as real as possible, I think it worked because at first glance you wouldn’t recognise it this shows my progression of using Photoshop.

I think one place I went wrong in was the time keeping, I left the contents page till last and this shows because it isn’t really up  to the same level as the other two, I did run out of time and looking back I wished I had managed it more efficiently. If I had gave each page enough time I would have been able to give more detail to the contents page.

The feedback given to my work was through a social networking site called Facebook, this allowed me to upload my magazine and let my friends comment on it. I got good feedback from people they like the name of the magazine, the structure and the colours used. The only criticism was that the main coverline wasn’t big enough and it blended in with the others, this meant I had to go back and alter my magazine.

Q6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

 Google is the worlds most used search engine which can help you find out anything you want to know, this helped me in my research finding out information which I couldn’t do myself. It helped me to collect images which were useful towards my research and data I needed to know. I learned from some of the information I discovered.

Social networking sites such as Skype and facebook helped me in my audience research as well as my questionnaires. They played a massive part as my target audience use these sites frequently.

Using Microsoft word to write about my music magazine this helped me keep a record of all my work and research that I used. It is pretty straightforward to use.

Adobe Photoshop main use is to edit photos, this was one of my main difficulties as I had no idea how to use it at first so getting familiar with the programme took some time however I got the hang of it and was able to edit my own photos and create a music magazine. It has so many different functions which you can find in the tool bar from the mouse cursor to the healing plaster which can magically get rid of spots. I learned a huge amount from Photoshop and now I am comfortable using it.

Blogger was used to keep a record of all my work which I was new to. I learnt that I can store my work on this site and allow others to view it, also I can update it and have my very own followers allowing them to be updated with it constantly.

The Canon Eos 400d was the camera I had to use to take my photographs, this was my first time using a digital SLR so I had no experience with it. Luckily I got the hang of it quickly and worked out the main settings I needed to know.

The Bowens Gemini spirit 6m500 flash is what I used as my light source this lit up my model suitably for the picture. I haven’t used this piece of equipment before so I learned how to set it up correctly and how it worked. We were also informed on how powerful it was and the potential damage it could cause.

The Bowens Radio trigger is the trigger which is connected to the camera and sends the signal to the light when to work. Whenever the button is pressed on the camera it sends a signal to the light and activates on demand, this was good to use as it saved me a lot of time on Photoshop editing the light and changing the levels.

The 60cm soft box is attached to the light and reflects light controlling the level and creating a softer effect. This is effective at removing shadows, It was very useful when seeing the finish product, it looked more natural and clean.

Q5. How did you attract/address your audience?

 

 How my music magazine attracted my audience;

Firstly the use of a female model attracted the male audience by the use of am attractive female character. Also the colours used are bright and effective; reds, blue, white and black these colours straight away grab the attention of younger people.

Some of the headings used will attract my potential target audience, who will understand some of the puns used for example ‘JayZ I’m amazing not a mason’ which only fans of Jayz’s music will understand. I have also used female artist which will be appealing to the female audience.

The masthead is a very unique name and can have different meanings behind it such as change which will address some people that want to make a change or change magazines and try out a different one. I think the blue background works well as a base for the other colours to sit on which enhances them.

My slogan ‘Jealousy is just love and hate at the same time’ also has a meaning behind it which is aimed at whoever is reading it. This attracts my potential audience by giving an indirect to them ‘I know you want me’ telling the reader the inevitable of them wanting to purchase the magazine, but this only works with a female model and it works well.

Q4.Who would be the audience for your media product?

 This previous mood board I designed anyone who finds this interesting is the audience to my product.

Demographic Profile

·         Listen to hip hop/R’n’B

·         Sub genre of soul, rock n roll and Rap

·         Targets both male and female

·         Aged between 16 – 30

·         Passion for music and fashion

·         Up to date with technology (ideally)

Being a music magazine I am appealing to people who enjoy listening to music and are inspired from it, being a songwriter or musician of any sort. This generally aims at an individual who is based around hip hop but fashion is equally important. Each individual will have a different preference that is why this is open to a wider range.  
I would say that my audience would be students and stretch to young adults so my magazine would be relatively cheap for the younger viewers and I found from my audience research that £2.99 was a reasonable price.  It would be aimed at people who live around London and have a creative lifestyle, ambitious and want to have fun. Also it is for people who want to make an impact which has more to do with the fashion side allowing individuals to play it safe or become as rebellious as a rock star.

Q3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Bauer media who joined Bauer media group in 2006 to work collectively the German company/publish over 300 magazines within 13 different countries. Bauer further expanded in the UK with the purchase of Emap Consumer Media and Emap Radio in 2008 to become the UK's biggest publishing group.

The more advertising that goes on the more shops it can get its products out to, also publishers can benefit from subscriptions, which will guarantee a customer the monthly or weekly issues of a magazine for up to a year. This favors both as the customer will not have to go to the shops looking around for what they want.

My magazine targets a niche audience and should be on sell in niche areas such as Camden and other closed areas. However it has the potential to appeal to a mass audience and therefore should be sold in other areas around central London and London itself.

Q2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The model represents my genre of the magazine, a trendy, young attractive woman, who is immediately connecting with the audience with the ‘peace’ sign pose. One thing I ensured was that I wanted my model to stand out, with the clothes she is wearing. The make up was simple, I didn’t want to use much or over do it because I wanted to focus on her natural beauty and not seem false in front of the camera.

Most hip hop magazines have the model looking happy and always smiling, combined with a confident pose, I used this in my front cover magazine whereas with my contents page I wanted a more vulnerable pose so the readers can connect with the article. A lot of hip hop/R’n’B is about spreading a message and telling a story, usually the message is aimed at younger viewers trying to build confidence in other people.

I used these two images as a way of representing my social group trying to be free and more confident, both models are looking directly at the camera, on with a ‘peace’ gesture and the other looking more shy and hidden in her shell, as if people in the social group are still hiding away from reality when the should be more free and open with it.

Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I used primary colours which included Red, Blue, Black and White for my magazine, I figured this will give my magazine a firm and bold presence. However my original magazine seemed a bit dull and felt like something was missing.

As my Photoshop skills enhanced I was able to use different effects such as ‘Stroke’ which gave a bold outline of your chosen colour, this helped bring my magazine to life, the black stroke really played off well against the other colours brightening up the entire magazine.

Another convention which I used would be including a Medium close up as the main image of my front cover, which most magazines do and the reasons why I did is because even though its following conventions, its still representative of my music style which is what the magazine is based on.

On the double page spread I followed the conventions of a hip hop/R’n’B magazine of having a single picture of the artist on one page and writing an article on the other page. This represents my music style as there is not too much going on the double page spread.
Another convention I incorporated was the use of columns for my article, this girls a genuine feel that someone is getting interviewed. In most articles the sizes of the columns were important usually fitting three or four and the full length of the page.

In most hip hop magazines the contents of the magazine was very specific and almost told you what was in every section, I used this on my contents page, giving a brief of what was in the magazine and what number you could find it.
Also in a lot of contents pages I came across an editor’s note with a little message to the reader, so I decided to use this in my own. At the time of the magazine I wanted it to represent real life and include current issues such as the Japan earthquake I added a tribute to give it a sense of realism.