Evaluation 7

Evaluation 7

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

 Looking at both covers together, there is quite a contrast. The cover on the left (my preliminary) is uninteresting in it's minimalistic style and so it seems unprofessional and unfinished. However, the cover on the right is far more full of life as it includes important features such as previews, other images and special offers.
My preliminary also seems a little washed out and almost appears as though the colours have faded which creates a less eye catching image. This is different in comparison to my final cover as this cover is more strongly coloured and so it stands out more. This again applies to the previews, etc. as I have used a more vibrant colour scheme for my final magazine and so everything stands out and is more capable of grabbing attention.
The Mastheads are also contrasting in comparison as my final one has a far more interesting choice in font and also stands out more due to the use of bright white. My preliminary Masthead is less eye catching as it almost seems to blend with the rest of the magazine and and has an uninteresting font so it doesn't really draw attention.
Another aspect which I have improved is the positioning of my models. In the first cover, I have used an uninteresting pose which doesn't really say anything about the model. On the other hand, in my final cover, I have posed my model differently so that the cover does not appear too straight forward.Due to having done this, I left myself with far more space around the model for previews, etc. and I think I used this space effectively.

 In my opinion, my contents page has also developed greatly. In the contents on the left (my preliminary), the page appears to be split in two and so it almost appears a little too top heavy. On the other hand, the contents on the right (my final), while still separated, fits together better due to small links such as the magazine name that brings it all together.
Due to the visually displeasing top heavy look of my preliminary, I made sure to structure and layout my final contents in a different way. I chose to put the contents on the left of my final page as we read left to right and so it is more visually pleasing this way.
My colour scheme also changed to something more vibrant as my preliminary isn't very eye catching due to it's muted colours whereas my final uses more attention grabbing colours such as white on black. Something I did keep the same however, was my use of titled sections in the contents as this made it easier to navigate. I developed this slightly by adding subtitles and a line about the article in my final as this made my contents appear more professional and gave readers a better idea of what's inside.
Another feature that has improved is the photography as my preliminary used dull, uninteresting photography that didn't really say anything about the magazine, whereas my final has images that are far more full of life due to the concert scenes which are relevant to my type of magazine. These images hold far more energy and colour, just like my final does overall when compared to my preliminary.

Evaluation 6

Evaluation 6

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

For my product, I used a variety of different technologies, for example, for my photography I used both a Canon EOS 550D and 600D. These were both very good choices for my photos as they take high resolution photos and so my magazine was given a more professional appearance. When using these, I learnt a lot about taking the right photos as I found that manual zoom works best to get the best photo possible and I also learnt which settings are best for my kind of photography.

I already had quite a lot of experience with Photoshop as I had previously used it in Art, Graphics and at work experience. This helped because it meant that I could do what I needed to my magazine without worrying about how to do it. However, during this process, I did find some things to be troublesome and so I learnt some new and helpful things such as how to use guidelines which was extremely useful when it came to the time of typing up my magazine interviews which needed separating into three columns.



On the other hand, Indesign is a program I struggled to use greatly. I began using it to create my double page spread as I felt it would be better when separating the text into columns and adding a page divide. However, I found it hard to use and after spending much time unsuccessfully practising on it, I moved back onto Photoshop as I felt it would be better not to use all of my time on a program I couldn't use.

For features such as my photography slideshows, I used Powerpoint Online. In the beginning I had been trying to use the usual installed Powerpoint, however, I soon found that I could not import my slideshows onto my blog through this. Later, I found that Powerpoint Online had the ability to generate an embed HTML code and so I chose to create my slideshows on this as it was easy to use and easy to embed.

I used Blogger to present my work online. This was, in my opinion, an easy site to use and so I have been able to display my work with ease.

Evaluation 5

Evaluation 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

I attempted to attract the attention of my audience using multiple techniques such as appropriate photography.
The photography and models
 were important parts of my magazine as they will be the main thing people focus on. In order to chose my models correctly, I had to think about my target audience and about the kind of person they would most relate to and look to see in a rock magazine. This is why I used Anna as my main model as she is the same age as my target audience and so a lot of people will be able to relate to her and feel more personally towards the magazine. I used 2 Foot Moose because I felt they related very well to my genre of music due to their style. For my photos, I tried to get my models to look into the camera as this addresses the audience through direct eye contact and almost seems to draw them in.
I also used other features such as special offers and previews to attract the attention of my audience. For example, I used a special offer with "WIN" in large noticeable letters to catch attention and and attract my audience to the idea of winning something to do with a band of my chosen genre. I also used the offer of free posters to attract my audiences attention. I did this because a lot of the people I know who have an interest in rock, have an extensive amount of posters from magazines stuck to their walls and so I know posters would be a popular feature. Previews were also meant to catch the attention of my audience as I used band names to grab the attention of other fans. I feel I was addressing these fans by adding a selection of bands in so that they might buy the magazine due to having seen another band name they liked on the cover
Other ways in which I attracted my audience were the use of a dark forest background. I used this as it created a horror movie style of scene which helps to connect with the darker members of my audience.
I attempted to directly address my audience by having "YOU" in large eye catching letters on my double page spread as this makes the interview seem more personal due to the band member directly addressing the reader. Another way I tried to attract attention was by using the word "Exclusive" to describe my interview as this implies that my magazine is the only one containing this interview and will therefore give it a quality of being 'rare' which will make readers want to know more.
On my contents page, I included other images from separate photo shoots as these will, again, help in attracting the attention of other fans and will show a variation in the content of my magazine.

To find out which features my audience preferred most, I asked a few people in my chosen age range to give me their opinions on my magazine. This is shown in the video below.   
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFzUhfLU7zA&feature=youtu.be

Evaluation 4

Evaluation 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?
After doing my survey, I found that the majority of those who read music magazines are 13-18. After asking about gender, I decided to focus on a more female audience as the majority of people answered as female, however, I also added features to attract a male audience as well. I found that rock was a popular genre among those who read music magazines and so I decided my magazine would be aimed at people who are 13-18 with an interest in Rock.

Once I had decided this, I started to look into other bands with a similar target audience to find out what sort of things they use to connect with their audience. I found that dark makeup and black clothing was a popular part in this and so I decided to make this a feature of my own photography. I decided my magazine band would be based on other bands such as The Pretty Reckless and Bad Pollyanna who are both female fronted bands and so they hold the ability to address a mainly female audience who might think of them as role models.

Along with this, I have made my price fit my audience as it is only £2.99 which was most voted in my survey. I did this because a lot of people who are 13-18 are Pre-cash and so they will therefore have little money which means I must use a reasonable price in order to sell more copies of my magazine to my chosen audience.

Evaluation 3

Evaluation 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Which media institution distributes my magazine is important because this is how my magazine will reach it's intended audience and could also later help in the retail and advertisement of my media product through other platforms. A good media company could also boost the reputation of my magazine which will then be able to boost the popularity of it.

Evaluation 2

Evaluation 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?
To make my magazine represent a certain social group, I used different features such as style and setting. For example, I dressed my model to appear Gothic with the use of dark make up and black clothing. This dark makeup helped emphasise the serious look on my models face, a look which is important because conventionally, all magazines of my chosen genre are very sombre in appearance. I attempted to base my model's look on Taylor Momsen as she also has blond hair and has the ghostly yet Gothic look I am going for in my magazine. I have represented my audience through this style as my model is based on the style of the audience and other rock stars. To further the rock star style of my model, I used props such as a microphone and electric guitar.

Evaluation 1

Evaluation 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I have answered this in the Powerpoint below, click the right arrow to proceed through the slides.

The Finished Double Page Spread

This is my double page spread for Plectrum magazine.

I did not make any changes to this as I felt it looked finished and also no suggestions were made.

The Finished Contents Page

This is my finished contents page for my magazine, Plectrum.

The only suggestion that was made towards this was that I add more page numbers as it originally ended at 31 which wouldn't have been enough for a weekly magazine. This caused me to decide to bump the numbers up and leave spare pages for adverts which would likely be inside a music magazine.

The Finished Front Cover

This is my finished front cover for my rock magazine, Plectrum.

As an improvement, it was suggested that I take away some of my previews, however, I decided against this because the majority of conventional rock magazines are very crowded and busy in appearance as this gives them a more energetic look. It was also suggested that I enlarge the previews but I felt this would cause overcrowding and also distract from the main cover line and model.

Magazine Cover Plans and Ideas

To help with my choice in magazine cover photo, I created some rough drafts and tests which helped me see which images would look most fitting and appropriate for my cover.

This could be a good choice of front cover as the model I have used in this photo is centred, leaving a reasonable amount of space for previews, special offers and extra photos around the edges. The position also leaves enough space for the models head to be over the Masthead without making the words unreadable. Along with this, due to the low positioning of the guitar, there is a convenient placing for the band name as there is nothing to obstruct the view or damage the readability of the writing. 

I feel that this could be a good choice in cover image as it shows the whole band. However, I feel that the image is not quite right as the band look a little caught off guard in the photo, for example, the model on the far right isn't looking at the camera. I also feel that it doesn't work well as a cover image because there is no space left around the edges for previews and special offers, therefore meaning that writing would have to be over-laid on top of the band which would give it an untidy finish.





In my opinion, this would make a good cover image as, unlike the image before, there is enough space around the edges for previews and special offers. Along with this, there is direct eye contact which makes the cover appear engaging. I feel that the general positioning also creates an interesting cover photo as it is different and more eye catching than a completely centred pose. However, I feel this image is too over exposed and lacking in colour to create an eye catching cover because all colours in the photo are muted.

This cover, in my opinion, would be the best choice as it holds many aspects which make it fitting to be a cover. Aspects such as the positioning are good because the way the model is positioned means that plenty of space is left for previews, special offers and other images. I also prefer this cover as the forest background gives the cover depth and creates an eye-catching appearance.