Magazine evaluations presentation

Magazine Evaluations

Danny King

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

Throughout the entire time that I have been creating my media magazine I have learnt how to use different types of media products such as Photoshop being the key programme. By using this programme I have enhanced my skills of using Photoshop which will allow me to create better things when using the programme. I started out by not being able to use Photoshop at all, not knowing any buttons or options that I could use to then being able to successfully create a magazine that has many effects on it and has taken a lot of time to be made the best it can be. As time went on I started to get a better idea of how to use the programme and start to play around with the magazine, by the first draft for the magazine I managed to create something fairly good although there was a lot of room for improvement. By the finished product I had managed to use many different techniques to get the magazine looking good and attractive by using the skills available on Photoshop. To the left is the tool bar that allows you to perform the most important skills to enhance your own photos or other photos from cameras or the internet so that they look much better than you originally started with. The title of the magazine is similar to the magazine ‘NME’. It is very catchy and you can clearly see what the title is when looking at the front page, this would be beneficial as it would stand out on the shelf to other magazines. A good, clear picture is needed for the magazine front cover as all professional magazines like NME have so I took a picture that entices the reader but is also goes well with the layout of the magazine front cover and doesn’t make it look too crowded. The title is very important when it comes a magazine as it is the main aspect that will grab the readers attention when they look at the magazine, if it is loud and clear then they may pick it up whereas if the title wasn’t very clear or it was too small then they may miss it and not be drawn into it. The page layout of my magazine is very similar to most magazines as professional looking magazines have a main picture, normally mid shot or full face so that it takes up the whole page and draws the reader in. My magazine has a full face picture with captions and description all around the image so that it doesn’t cover up anything, having text over the image is fine but having it so that it destroys the image or covers up too much of the image will make a magazine look unprofessional. In my magazine I have many pictures with the user wearing a certain outfit that reflects the music genre I am focusing on, Indie rock. The style of the outfit and brands that my image wears are very similar to what bands would wear themselves so it links in with the fact that the style of the band is reflected with the image on the magazine. If the magazine was a pop magazine and you had a rock and roll star on the front then it wouldn’t go and it would look out of place, so having an image that links in with the music genre you are talking about is crucial for the magazines look. To get the best pictures I took many images so that when it came to putting it on the magazine front cover I had many to choose from and play around with until I found one that looked suitable for the magazine I had in mind. I used my own camera for the pictures and I took them outside of the school so that I could get a picture with other features included, for example I had one where the person I was using was leaning against a tree, not only does this bring in a unusual look but also a good picture that would suit a magazine front cover.

For the title, subheadings, main article and the captions within the magazine I tried to use the same font, Microsoft Tahaiti, so that I kept a certain amount of consistency which made the magazine look neat and tidy rather than having many different fonts which would make the magazine look very messy and look unprofessional. I managed to develop the title the NME normally do by using a fairly short word, ‘Noise’, that gave the magazine a good header and looked neat once I had chosen the right font for the title. Choosing the font was very crucial in my opinion as it is a very big part of the magazine and if it doesn’t look good then it may ruin the magazine altogether. I positioned the title at the top centre of the page so that it was clear that it was the title and not a subheading or large caption, by doing this I made it clear which text was the magazine name. Throughout the magazine I managed to use many titles, subheadings and captions that had to look the right when the magazine was finished, in other words the text had to be the right size, the right font and the right positioning on the page. When it came to the article I had to use the right language that a character in my music genre would use, this was highly important as I had to talk like a indie rock star so that it linked in with my magazine music genre. As well as the physical side of the article I had to make sure that the technical side of things was right too, this included the positioning of the text on the double page and that I had added columns on the page as almost every magazine has columns to divide the text and make it look easy to read but also professional. The genre of my music magazine was indie rock, you can clearly tell this from the outfit style that my character is wearing in the front cover and on the contents page as well as the double page. The language that is used in my article also suggests that the genre of the music is Indie Rock as they talk like any other indie rock band member would because the language comes with the style that they have. Reading through the double page spread I have used the right language for the genre of music I am focusing on, I have asked questions that relate only to the music that they produce and a few more in depth detail about the person/band I am writing about. In my media product I have challenged the likes of NME and how they represent their main character or band in the magazine. I have done this by having a very large picture on the front so that it would stand out on the shelf and people who are interested in the sort of music that my magazine is on. I have also added many subtitles on the front page about other bands and key features within the magazine as this will also make someone looking at the magazine want to buy it, especially if there is a band or person that they pay particular attention to and want to see the latest about them. As well as having text I have added many pictures throughout the entire magazine, the front page has a large mid shot of the focused character, the contents page has three main images, two as pictures relating to the subheading and paragraph that will be the main features in the magazine and the other as a large poster like picture that makes the contents page look clean and tidy but also features many aspects so it doesn’t look to bear. The double page spread has a main image on one page and text about the certain person or band I am concentrating my article on. On all pages I have included their name as representation, using it as a title and including it subheadings and main text. Finally, the colour scheme of my magazine is a combination of light blue, black and white, I have used these colours because I feel that they go well together but more importantly makes the magazine look sharp and clear. For the text I have used all three colours as they can all be read easily when put onto a background with any of the colours. For the magazine title I have used the blue to make it stand out against the black and white picture, also for the subheadings including other bands and other information regarding what is in the magazine I have used both black and blue text in a pattern that makes the magazine look professional.

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

In some ways I have developed the likes of NME’s layout with the text and colour scheme except I have changed the colours round to my liking and what I think looks best. The colours that I have used are consistent throughout the magazine and don’t change as you need to keep it consistent to make it look professional and not tacky. The colours used can be used anywhere on the magazine as they don’t clash if they are put next to each other, NME and Q Magazine have used red in their title on almost every magazine, this shows consistency and that it is done fairly regularly.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product is aimed for the music genre as it is a music magazine and nothing else. It focuses completely on music and has been aimed at people who like the indie rock genre of music. This will attract many types of social groups, at many different ages with many different interests, if you were to stereotype the person who would listen to my magazine you would think of them to have a very good interest in music, good interest in clothing and like to go to many gigs exploring new bands or seeing bands live they that may like. The music that my magazine product focuses on is mainly Indie rock bands and upcoming new bands that are just starting out in the music world. My media product entices the reader with a catchy front cover and a suitable name, ‘Noise’, also including an informative contents page and in depth interviews and details about many bands. The magazine is a monthly edition and shall have around 50 pages in, priced at £2.99 which would be a suitable price for the amount of content within the magazine and the detail it consists of. Below is a picture of my character that I used in my magazine and a music star, Noel Gallagher, with two very similar images. I had my image in black and white as I tried to stick with the colour pallet that I was using on my magazine, if I had it in colour then there would be many colours that would clash with the colours I wanted to use. I also felt that in black and white the image looked more sharp and gave an easy to look at picture that draws a reader in. Another similarity is that my character is wearing a similar outfit to the one that that star, Noel, is wearing as they are both dressed smart. They are similar because they are both wearing shirts, my character has a branded coat on whereas the star is wearing a blazer that is more than likely branded too but the branding isn't as visible. A second similarity that you can see they are both looking directly into the camera which entices the reader to open the magazine and look in, they have both styled their hair so that they look as good as they can to give them an impression to the reader that they take care of themselves and like to havea certain style to them compared to other people. One majordifference that I noticed was that the brick background on my image is not blurred and the bricks look very visible, especially in black and white. On the stars image however the bricks have been blurred out so that the star is standing out in the image as it is very clear compared to the background. This gives the star a stand out look if it was placed on the magazine and shows that the focus is on the person not the surrounding background of the image. the images against each other however look very similar and I havecreated an image that is very similar to an expert image like the one on the right.

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

A media institution that may publish my sort of magazine would be IPC Media (International Publishing Company) as they publish many types of magazines, the most well known being NME (New Musical Express). Because of this they might publish my magazine as the product I have created is very different and stands out compared to other magazines. IPC Media publish many sorts of magazines so publishing mine would fit in nicely and it would become a big magazine due to the detail and content inside it. Another magazine that might publish my magazine would be Bauer media group as these are a very big media institution that publish and help produce many magazines. Media institutions will need to have a good reason for why they would want to publish a magazine so that people will want to buy it and that it becomes a well known regular magazine on the shelves.

PowerPoint presentation on blog for this question

Who would be the media audience for your product?The target market that I have aimed my magazine at is older teenagers being the youngest people and older adults that are interested in the Indie rock music genre being the oldest. This is because not many people under the age of 16/17 are going to buy magazines regularly as they simply don’t have enough interest to go out and buy one whereas older teenagers who have matured more and adults that will want to keep certain lifestyle interest such as music are going to be more likely to buy the magazine. The detail and writing language that is used in my magazine is a good level so that all people can read it and it isn't too complicated for anyone yet it still consists of the same detail. The typical type of person that would read my magazine would be a keen music listener to the whole indie rock genre which is very wide as it consists of rock and roll to the more relaxed music that is being created nowadays. They would be a person who likes to know the latest on new bands and songs and would also attend many gigs and festivals around the UK to see their favorite bands live. As well as their music taste they would also be very interested in their appearance and the style that they posses, this would include their clothing choice, hairstyle and the way that they like to behave with other people, often they would use a certain way that they talk unlike other people. They would like to be seen as different to others and that they stand out compared to other people because of their interests sop shopping at both high end clothing stores like Pilot or Cruise or the local retro indie store that consists of many products that you wouldn't find anywhere else so the customer would see this as them being unique and different tot others because they are the only ones who have the product. One major problem is that the local indie stores cant afford to keep running in the high street so look to go e commerce or become an online business where the customer wont be able to physically see the products or know where to look online whereas in person they would. The sort of TV programs that they would watch would be the usual Saturday night entertainment that other people would watch but also watch a few music channels to see what other music is about. Mt target market is very specific but there are lots of people who would have a great interest in this sort of style so having a lack of people who would want to buy it is something that wouldn’t happen, especially if I present the magazine in a way that appeals to this genre of people.

How did you attract/address your audience?

How did you attract/address your audience?Take a screen grab of your magazines cover, content and spread and place into iMovie, movie make etc. You will then use YOUTUBE's annotation tools to add NOTES, SPEECHBUBBLES, and LINKS to your magazine:http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=92710These annotations will highlight the ways in which your Magazine links to other similiar films in order to attract the particular Audience you have previously identified.Your annotations will refer to genre conventions, use of iconography, similarities with other magazines and what you have identified as the Unique Selling Point of your magazine.

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

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

In pairs, take a picture of each other holding the kit you have used. This might just be the camera and tripod, and your Macbook but there may be other things you want in the shot.

Drop the image onto your blog and annotate it, adding all the programs and other technology you have used as screengrabs and what you learnt about it/from using it. Your written text need only be minimal. You could include reference to all the online and computer programs you have used such as flickr, blogger, facebook, photoshop, vimeo, scribd, slideshare etc.

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

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?

Concentrate on mise en scene and camerawork.

Grab some images from both tasks and put them on the blog and show what you know about shot types, magazine terms etc. Explain how you've improved.