EVALUATION

Question 1:  In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
 
/written content/choice of title...

Magazines typically have a range of conventions, which create the stereotypical image of most magazines. In my magazine I have challenged a variety of similar forms, including; the spacing/appearance of titles, images and the position of these images, use of barcodes, issue numbers, dates etc.

Magazines such as VOGUE and Closer really inspired my initial ideas and naturally progressed into my final piece. VOGUE magazine inspired the font style of my main masthead and Closer was the influence of the colour scheme (pink, white and purple tones). This colour and font is quite minimalistic yet, effective as it still gives an impression and successfully draws attention for positive reasons when it comes to how the audience take the magazine and first glance. Without an attractive colour scheme, there isn’t an audience which could be attracted to it… The actual name of the magazine is "GLIMMER" I found this a highly suitable title, as it's a magazine, about music and 'glitz+glamour' is frequently associated with music and famous musical artists etc. 

Also, I have used columns in my interview with fictional artist, “Elise Lilly”, as this would be expected in any other magazine interview, no matter what genre the magazine covers. The columns allow a very organized layout to be in place and again, stay with the professional look I was going for/hoping to achieve. The columns allow a natural flow within the double page spread to be very present and obvious for the reader to take in, I have tried to distract from a confusing layout as much as possible.

The actual content of the magazine is varied, from interviews with new up coming artists, cat fights because of rivalry music, competition offers and prizes and in depth articles. My double page spread is an interview with Elise Lilly, my fictional character.. from this character I based a life around her and this allowed me to make the interview more realistic and as thought she was actually famous. The article simply features an introduction, which then moves onto the traditional Question+Answer scheme, followed by a brief advertisement featuring the Artists "new book".

/layout/positioning

In terms of images I think music magazines tend to be quite subtle with the use of images, at least that’s something I noticed in my research. The usual style tends to be really simple and quite spaced out in format. Therefore, I tried to stick to that sort of style and not crowd my page/s with too many images, which could in fact distract from the main interview, main sell line etc. On the main front cover in total; there are only 3 images on the page-this allows necessary space for text to narrate the images and important sell lines which are expected on a magazine anyways.

On the contents page again, a minimal amount of images were used, this was due to actually creating enough room for all my text content. The images used on the content page (5 in total) are all appropriately placed on the page and sized sufficiently for the space in which that topic is given. Two images to illustrate the “HANNI” feature are not only relevant but also give an insight into the article, a ‘preview’ if you wish to what that page is going to focus on/feature.

On the double page spread, obviously a lot more images have been used. However this is totally necessary as any normal double page spread would feature a range/variety of pictures throughout, as too much text would make it overly boring. I created one of the images myself which is used as an alternative “album cover” I used a photo montage scheme to combine text and an image to make the supposedly album cover look professional and also very realistic. I decided to feature a picture of the album cover as I seen this done when I was researching music magazines.

The original basis/genre of music magazine I was aiming for was a house mixed with a pop edge magazine. I feel as though there's a major gap in this type of market for a "house" music magazine, it hasn't been done before and I tried my best where possible to incorporate this possible theme, as I feel it's quite unique and original and also daring to try achieve this type of style. 

I found that it was quite hard to base the whole magazine on house music, during the developing process. However, I did manage to fit it in, in places...

My target audience would hopefully listen to music such as the following (Also a pop borderline range)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBx9pu01hrY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJiYc5T_2-8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzwH6Flumao&ob=av2n

Question2:

 How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Pixie Lott and Fictional Character "Elise Lilly"

The posture of both females featured here are very similar, they are both clearly standing in a stance where they're leaning against something. Both characters have blonde hair and appear very feminine (links in with the female dominated target audience) due to the clothing their wearing and the grooming they are con-notated to have endured. Both girls are wearing black, which is minimalism but keeps the focus purely on their face and skin tone. The poses of both girls are again, similar, they have a "pout" and look in a way quite smug/happy with their surroundings... which, in a sense, could come off as quite inviting to the audience. The lighting could be seen as the same due to the way the skin is highlighted, although it does differ as one is quite obviously shot outside next to a wall and the other in an internal location. Pixie and Elise both fit in with the 'glitz+glamour' look I was hoping for because of their costumes/appearances in general. I think both girls have quite a natural celebrity look to them which is the vision I was eventually hoping for to add to the professional aim of my magazine.

Question 3:  What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I would want to distribute my magazine in as many popular locations as possibly. Such as; supermarkets, corner shops, kiosks, market stands etc this would ensure it was accessible as greatly possible to the public. It needs to be noticed in order to create a reputation and create a "name" for itself, therefore distributing each issue in these places would create a mass target audience and would ensure that it reaches the right type of people, in which it is suitable for. Situating the magazine in the right place is all part of 'careful distributation', for instance placing the magazine on the stand is one way of getting it to sell and make profit. However, taking it to the next step and situating it next to very popular magazine's would make it more recognisable.
In terms of marketing strategies, the best source of marketing would be to take full advantage of the modern technology of today. So using television advertisements to make sure "Glimmer" was competing with current other magazines; this would also attract a lot of new consumers. Advertising on popular music related websites would make a huge difference to the popularity of the magazine. Advertising the magazine on popular radio station websites like 'Radio 1' or 'Capital FM' would ensure a new band of customers, Glimmer could even create it's own website which could act as an alternative source to accessing the magazine online. 
  
Question 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

People who enjoy themselves, have fun and like to party!

The target audience for my magazine is mostly female dominated, I'm aware that a lot of boys enjoy house/pop music but, my magazine doesn't really cater to them although, there may be an exception-(girls are more like to buy it!) Girls such as in the image to the left, and the one below would be the ideal target audience for my magazine.


For instance, it would typically be young girls/or boys aged from around 18 to 25 who enjoy house/mainstream music and enjoy spending there spare time taking a further interest into this music, going shopping and generally being regular 'stereotypical' people of this age category.

Typical group of girls in the 18-25 range...

People this age would typically spend their earnings/money on; going out clubbing in places which host my magazine's type of music... Therefore, all the more reason to buy a magazine dedicated to that type of music. The majority of people targeted for my audience will have quite a regular lifestyle, but like to appear as though they posses more just through their outfit choices and general appearance when out in public surroundings. I think the audience for Glimmer magazine will also be interested in a lot of reality TV, such as 'TOWIE, The Hills, Made In Chelsea" etc just because you know they could relate to the drama being filmed within those types of shows, they can put themselves very much in the positions of those featured in these types of shows.  In terms of music, to be specific the target audience would love music such as HedKandi, Swedish House mafia, Avicii and mainstream pop artists such as Rihanna, Pixie Lott etc. 

www.hedkandi.com/
http://www.swedishhousemafia.com/
http://www.avicii.com/

Events which would interest my readers/audience would be
 local events such as hau5...(seen in the video)

An example of mainstream music suited to my audience would be the following: 

I think these type of people will be highly interested in buying this type of magazine; first of all, because it's so unique and there isn't really a specific, similar competitor out there to Glimmer magazine. Secondly, because it will inform and allow them to develop their knowledge of this magazine much better and to a higher standard (not only enjoyable but inform able). And lastly, because it's new, it's fresh and it's relate-able; if someone has an interest in something they enjoy all things concerned with that (house music).


I found that carrying out a questionnaire contributed a massive amount to discovering my target audience, their likes, their dislikes, how much they would be prepared to pay for the magazine and how it must be affordable to your specific target audience and so on.


Question 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

During this whole project I have used a range of technologies to source and then develop my finished, final magazine.

Photoshop- During the whole devloping process of creating this 'music magazine' named Glimmer, I feel photoshop has been the most useful software possible in terms of executing my magazine in the way I initially wanted it to be. I wasn't too familiar with the software when I began this task and started to use it, although, over time my skills developed and I'm now incredibly comfortable with using this software because I am now familiar with the necessarry tools which are frequently used during the developing process of a task such as the one I was given. In the future, if I was faced with a similar task to a one like this current task I would be a lot more confident initially because I would know what to do with the software and create a much more improved finished piece, In my opinion. The tools I used the most were the dodge/burn/heal/blur tools; these all contributed to correcting unfixed images without correcting them, the magazine would have an unprofessional vibe about it and therefore would lose out on potential customers.

Photography- As I take a photography A-level it was relatively easy to execute professional and realistic ,magazine looking, images onto my 3 pages for my music magazine. In the studio I used a professional SLR camera and shot 'HanniRose' who features in the magazine as a female solo artist, she was photographed in a very gentle way but, with a sort of edge to it by using props such as a leather jacket, and positioning her hair in a tousled, intentionally messy way. These photographs appear professional as though they could be in a real magazine, without the help of professional cameras my magazine wouldn't look as realistic as it currently does. 

With the help of Photoshop I transformed this image so it was made more professional and with the help of tools via photoshop I was able to airbrush places which didn't look very appealing (such as chipped nail polish).

 Blogger- With technologing changing from day to day, devloping in such a rapid way it's important to keep up with it and I found that using this website to represent and display ideas, drafts, homework tasks relating to the project and images very useful. It's different to just using a pen and paper, it's much more unique and makes the whole project much more interesting and it differs from any other project i've had to carry out. I feel like blogger has helped me to present my ideas in a much more undrstandable format, and it allows me to get my point across much more clearly because it allows a mix of content to be used at the same time. Which,I personally found a massive help.
Social Networkintg- Without social networking sites such as 'Facebook' I wouldn't have been able to source most of my images used in my entire magazine. Therefore, technology has a massive impact on my own personal finished magazine to a huge extent. It's not time consuming in the slightest to quickly grab an image from facebook with a right to use it and drop it into my magazine. (very useful in the short+long term)

Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I feel I have progressed dramatically through making this product. First of all, my skills and knowledge of particular software such as "photoshop" have made a noticeable, positive improvement which, has only been beneficial to executing my final piece.


In comparison to my finished piece, my preliminary task is of a much poorer standard and in my personal opinion comes across too serious. This may be because of the concept I was faced with having to make it relating to a "college" theme, which I found hard to adapt to. In the sense that a college magazine has a much narrower grouping of subject, whereas a music magazine can be filled with a variety of challenging and different topics to interest not only a specific group but a definite range of people. 

Final Pice & Preliminary Intro to the task... 

I think the appearance of the front cover of my preliminary task is too dull, it's lacking life and fails to attract me as the audience now that I'm looking back on it. However, I do think it stuck with a consistent set of colours which kept with a professional theme and although, the fonts and colours used weren't the most inviting, the layout still remains professional and positioned in a sensible, easy format. The arrangement of content could have been finished to a better standard and I would, If I had the chance change certain images used throughout. The main image used on the college magazine, is not in the slightest relevant at all. A more relevant image could of been used such as, actually, on location, at the college to give it some relevance and stop possible audience members from getting confused. Also, in terms of colour there's a lot more colouring and tones injected into my final music magazine in comparison to the prelimary one which sticks to a very average theme of blues, whites, and blacks. 


The Contents page of my preliminary task is slightly better than the front cover that went along side it. However, still it's of a poor quality and looks very amateur. I feel it would be much better if the fonts used were altered to a more unique, yet, professional theme. This would sort of 'spice' it up a bit and generally make it more appealing to the given audience. Again, similar to the front cover... There's a lot of white/blank space which would never be seen in a professional, on the market, music magazine. An image should have been included somewhere of something just to give the contents page a slight range... As the content is basically all text and shapes. Whereas, in my music contents magazine there's a vary of both images, text, sub-headings, and art formats added onto the page by using brush tools through photoshop. The colour scheme on my final magazine is a lot more professional, and unexpected by mixing grey's with pinks and white's with blacks which gives a good contrast throughout. 


The above is just a minority of how my weaknesses have turned into strengths and my skills have gradually developed due to; helpful research, peer assessment and personal critical opinions. Overall, I feel I have used my natural ability mixed with new knowledge to develop a final music magazine I am happy, but also satisfied with. I feel confident with new software like photoshop, and I now know how to adapt a "theme" to a product in a positive and hopefully, attractive way.

Contents: FIRST DRAFT

 There was a few positioning errors on this page, I found it quite difficult to sqeeze all the content I wanted onto one single page. However, I did finally manage to arrange everything in a layout which appears not very crowded but just enough... In terms of improvements I wasn't really happy with the 'editor' feature and colouring of the page alone... I have now removed the background on the Georgina Hall image and altered the sizing of the Hanni images. I also added credit to the fictional photographer which in any other magazine would be standard policy! I then added a "*" element to the albums which are seen in the "in general" position of the page. I found research helped me a lot, if not the most with the contents page of my magazine, as I was slightly confused/unaware of how exactly a contents page went together to make a final "image" and how different pages and their numbers were represented onto one page, alone.

Contents: FLAT PLAN

 This is a basic first draft of my contents page. The contents page has 4 main elements to it, the 'Editor', Hanni, Career and 'In general' parts of the magazine can all be previewed on the Contents page which gives the viewer an insight into the main aspects of the magazine and informs them thoroughly of page numbers/where to find certain aspects of the magazine.

-The layout is simple and doesn't, for me at least, confuse the audience as it's all titled and spacious in a sense that nothing is on top on one another.

-The colour scheme is consistent with the double page spread, in the fact that grey and pink tones have been consistently used to keep a frequent and also, professional theme just like any other magazine would on a contents page.

-There's sort of a "mini" introduction to the contents page in the Editor feature which features fictional editor 'Georgina Hall' followed by a small image which allowed the text above to be illustrated in a not so formal way as contents pages do so.

Double page spread: FIRST DRAFT

Out of all of my pages I was the most satisfied with the end product of this one, I feel it's very suitable to the target audience, it addresses the theme quite well and to a high level and I think there's just the right amount of content involved within the whole entire page! I didn't have many improvement gave to me for this page, and as I'm satisfied with the page I find it hard to pick out anything I'm not satisfied with or could possibly make any better. However, I did make quite a few spelling errors throughout the many columns and titles etc. These have now been sorted and altered to a professional standard...

Double Page Spread: FLAT PLAN

This is my initial first plan of my double page spread, the article is on 'Elise Lilly' who features on the front cover which makes it very relevant to the magazine alone. The article has a professional layout to it by using collumns and positioning the images around the text in an appropriate manner. There's a main heading which is basically just the artists name, then below that is a sub-heading "ON EXHAUSTION & HER HUGE STRUGGLE TOPPING THE CHARTS."

Double Page Spread: Magazine Analysis/Research

This is an article taken from Kerrang magazine, focusing on American band 'All American Rejects'.

I really liked the look of this double page spread, it's miles away from the colour scheme and overall look I'm aiming for with my magazine, but the basis and general style of this magazine really appealed to me, and in some ways has influenced an idea for my own double page spread.

The colour usage overall is quite dark, and could be described as 'gloomy' but the title distracts from this a tad, as it's got quite a pop of colour in it and helps the article and dps in general to stand out further. 

The images are positioned really well on this spread, the main one obviously draws the most attention, but the other images used are not in any way shadowed by the main image as they all have a red coloured border edging them away from fading into the dark background. Most of the text contrasts with the dark background as this article plays on the black and white them quite well and cleverly. In some sense, the images and themes, combined with the colours and props in the actual images give this article almost a Halloween theme!

The language on this article isn't formal in the slightest and could be seen as quite offensive to some audience's, however, as the magazine is aimed to quite a specific target audience I dont think these readers would take offense.

This is a double page spread taken from cosmopolitan magazine, I really like this as an intital influence and inspiration for my own DPS as it's quite simple, yet effective at the same time!

The colours are quite basic and simple too, but the overall article at a glance stands out as the text begins with an oversized 'T'. However, without the T in the text content the article wouldnt not be as attention grabbing and make come aross as quite boring, in some ways. But due to the graphical arrangement and usage this has een stopped. The colour scheme as a whole is very consistent and fits in with the one image used as it's really feminine focused and the questions are coloured in a pink/purple tone which, also, contrasts to the colour of the answers which is simply black.

The image and pose of the model (Kelly Osbourne) is scaled and positioned in a really effective way to fit around the question and answer scheme. This only works in such a good way because of the positioning of the text too, the columns used are arranged in such a way where the image looks as though it's purposely been photographed in this pose and sizing.

This is a double page spread taken from Q magazine, It's an article which features Lady GaGa one of the biggest, most famous superstars around. Yet this article doesn't match her star quality and her wild attitude, this is a simple BUT effective piece of text...

In the sense that one huge image, which covers the size of a full page features on the left and then the article relating to the star is on the right, in a simple font, followed by a traditional column format this makes the magazine professional (which it is anyway). In relation to text/font, a massive, capital 'L' has been used behind the actual article text, which obviously is relevant to 'lady gaga' and makes a huge impact and makes the article much more appealing and less dull.

The fact the massive image, is alone, totally by itself and not next to any other image it sticks with the minimal theme and also, it's in black and white which detracts from the star's crazy side/style. That element alone gives the article a very controversial and individual theme.

Overall, This was one of my favorite double page spreads found during my research as it's so daring and takes that extra step to standing out.

Front Image/Experimenting with the software...

This is the image I have used for the front cover of my 'Glimmer' music magazine, I have removed the background and enhanced what's left of the image to give the overall appearance of the magazine a much more professional theme and essence, due to the professional style of editing which has been inputted into the cropped image. 

I edited this photo by using 'photoshop', I frequently used the crop tool to firstly centre the image around just the person alone rather than her surroundings. From there I then removed what was left of the background by using the "rubber" and "magic eraser" tool which successfully cut away the shower/bathroom scene. Just to make the image look slightly more professional I then used the "sharpen" tool to sharpen areas featured on the girl such as her eyes, her hair, and her necklace which really amplified the glamourous star effect I was looking to produce from this image... Which, in a sense, makes the music magazine more realistic and gives the person in general a more "famous", believable vibe.