Evaluation 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 that since the preliminary task my knowledge and understanding of the magazine industry has increased dramatically. Looking back at the work I produced in the preliminary task shows just how my knowledge and technical skills have improved.

Looking back at my preliminary task (seen on the left), you can clearly see the improvement. The jigsaw pieces and the text font that was used looks very unprofessional. Also the sizing of the fonts doesn't look like much thought went into it. 

When you compare the two front covers, they are very different, and with good reason, each magazine has a completely different target audience. But even so my main project is much more professional and also catches the eye much better. The photograph of my music magazine is of a much higher quality and looks like it was taken by a professional photographer. From the first task I learnt that lighting is very important to give the best effect. As you can see the photograph for my preliminary project is very poorly lit in comparison to 'Quirk'.

My skills on using Photoshop for image manipulation and InDesign for desktop publishing have improved greatly, I now have a greater understanding of how the software works, and how to use it to its full potential.


The biggest thing that I have probably learnt is how to manage my time. In the preliminary task I didn't plan my time at all. But from that experience I learnt that time management is very important and in a way, vital to staying on top of the work. Planning each lesson with a different task was a great way to keep on top. I had each separate task written out that I need to do and just followed the plan, it works seamlessly. 
UNLESS you add other people in to that plan, i have also learnt throughout this process that people are not reliable, and to choose my models carefully and make sure they are committed and good at taking instructions.

Evaluation 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Evaluation 5 - How did you attract/address you audience?

I feel that I have been successful in attracting my target audience. I asked two people of different ages a few questions about what they thought of the magazine and how it attracts and addresses the audience. Even though one person i interviewed would not fit my target audience, I still found it interesting to hear her point of view and how she feels the audience would be addressed. Here is what they said...

I also posted the front cover of my magazine on Facebook to get some other feedback directly on the layout and the design. This is slightly less helpful as people do not specifically talk about addressing the audience but it does help to know what my target audience thinks of the magazine and their reaction. Here is what people have said.

Evaluation 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my magazine is 'indie' musicians and music lovers. Radicals, people who want to be more individual and also hedonists - people who want to enjoy life now, probably falling into A/B on the jicnar scale. In my original planning I said that my target audience would be both males and females, but after making my magazine I feel that 'Quirk' would appeal more to males rather than females.

Evaluation 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

For my magazine I have chosen to distribute independently as that would be the best way to get 'Quirk' out to the desired audience. I would use a very similar distribution strategy to 'Vice'. My magazine would be placed in the obvious places like newsagents... but then also in bars, cafe's and in some shops like: Topman and Urban Outfitters.

 I would definitely have a multi-platform strategy to distribute my magazine. By creating an application for IOS and Android, this would be a very good way to reach my target audience. With the latest news and even a mobile edition of the magazine, this is a perfect way to keep the audience interested and also attract the audience in bringing new customers. My magazine is aimed at 'indie' musicians and music lovers and i feel that the majority of these people would have some sort of device that uses apps, whether it be a phone, ipod or tablet. This is the market that we should be aiming at. Also I would have a digital copy of the magazine online available to download because not all the time will the customer be available to go out to buy the magazine, they can buy it from their own living room. Creating more and more different ways for the audience to get their hands on 'Quirk' will simply increase the profit dramatically.

Evaluation 2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

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Evaluation 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My magazine front cover uses many of the same forms and conventions that I discovered in my original research. The masthead stretches the width of the magazine and is in a large eye-catching font. The name 'Quirk' thought out in a way that the reader can have their own perception of the meaning. With the masthead I also challenged my research, because in the majority of the magazines that I researched I found the masthead was in capital letters, most probably to reduce distraction, minimising the ascenders and descenders, but for 'Quirk' I felt that the masthead was more appealing in lower-case and made it much easier to read and understand. The main photograph takes up the whole of the A4 cover just like all the examples I found in my research. Also the picture was thought through to great detail.

The main focal point in the photo being the models eyes, this photograph could connote a gaze of thought, with things on the mind. Very much like the 'Clash' magazine I used in my research.














Also the minimalistic style and the use of a single cover line was also styled off 'Clash'. 
I think this worked well in catching the audience's attention and also suited the style of my target audience. 


Also something else i discovered in my research is that the magazine's advertisement doesn't stop once you have bought the magazine. I used this in 'Quirk' as well advertising both a twitter page and a 'quirk music' website. 

For the twitter page I was unsure whether I would need more explanation that '@quirkmusic' was referring to the twitter page. But after asking some people, who would fit my target audience, whether they would understand it, the majority said that it was easily understandable that it was referring to twitter.




In my contents page research I analysed 'NME' and 'Clash'. Both were very different. With my contents page i tried to combine the two, giving a good balance of text and images. My contents page was the toughest to complete. I tried various things to make it work, I challenged my research by having a single image covering the whole page. This was something that definitely worked for my magazine. 
Adding the image brought everything together and made it look much more professional even though it was not something I discovered in my research. I still used many of the same forms and conventions like keeping everything aligned perfectly. Also the minimalistic technique used throughout the whole of 'Clash' was something I thought was just right for my target audience. 






































For my double page spread I wanted to use many of the conventions seen in 'Clash' (seen here on the right). The black an white style very much appeals to my target audience, with quite a retro feel. Even though both 'NME' and 'Clash are quite image based, i still wanted to get a good balance between images and text. 'NME' used more text along with the images, but for my magazine i decided to decrease the amount of images to text. So went with the black and white, single image approach, then added one more picture on the second page to even things out (seen below).

Double Page Spread

Contents Page

Front Page

Coursework Planning: Layout Design Ideas and Sketches

Coursework Planning: Font Ideas

Coursework Planning: Models and Casting

I am going to have two male models in the photoshoot for my magazine. I will contact these people and see when they are available, then I will arrange a date and time for the photoshoot. I chose these two people because they fit the audience profile and they look the part. Also both Billy and Jack play instruments so they will feel comfortable handling the guitars in the music studio.

Name: Billy Francis

Place in the magazine: Front cover/double page spread

Contact Details: I will use facebook to contact my model

Name: Jack Looker

Place in the magazine: Contents page/double page spread

Contact Details: I will use facebook to contact my model

Coursework Planning: Costumes and Props

For my photoshoot I want quite an old-school/retro look so the costumes and props need to match.

Props

• Guitars 
• Leads
• Drum kit
• Microphone

Costumes

• Shirts(top button done up)/tshirt
• Jeans/chinos (rolled up)

Coursework Planning: Locations + Health and Safety

For my front cover, I want the main image to be very clean and I want a solid colour background. I am going to use a media classroom set up as a photography studio to do this. This way I can later change the colour of the background.

For the double page spread and/or the contents page I would like some photos of a band playing in a music recording studio. This will also come with many risks but also similar ones to the photo studio.

Coursework Planning: Target Audience

My target audience for my music magazine is going be both male and females of the ages 16-25. Typically falling into A/B on the jicnar scale. This person will like listening to BBC Radio 1 but will also like the more abstract musicians such as 'Ghostpoet' or bands like 'Bombay Bicycle Club'.
This person will like wearing a shirt with the top button done up, and roll up the bottom of their jeans. They would shop in places like 'Topman/Topshop' and 'Urban Outfitters'. They will think of themselves as an individual but also look out for everyone else. They will have plans for the future but nothing set in stone. Even though this person likes following the trends they also want their own unique style to stand out from the crowd. This person would be constantly searching for new music to listen to by using sites like 'YouTube'. They will also have a close friend network to support them and they might also get music recommendations from their friends. This person would like the easy way of doing things but wouldn't take shortcuts that would affect the outcome.
This person would like adventures and taking everyday as it comes would be a moral they live by.

For them the unknown is the best.

Coursework Planning: Time Management

To organise my time management I am going to use my email outlook calender to show what I am doing when. This will also help me to keep track of where I need to be when, this will be especially useful when working outside of lesson times.



I will add to this as things come up like photo shoots... It will also be a good way to record what I have done and what I haven't, so I do not miss out anything compulsory.

Calender Update December 8

Calender Update December 16

AS Media Coursework: Research and Planning

During the research and planning I am going to analyse several magazines to widen my knowledge and improve my understanding of a single genre of music magazine. The genre I have chosen is 'indie'. I will research this genre and the magazine I am going to create will also fit to this.


Research Existing Magazines

Clash is an award-winning (Magazine of the Year – PPA 2008) monthly music magazine bringing originality and independent opinion in a truly unique style. Clash follows more of the independent music market while still keeping up to date with the all the latest news within the entire music industry. Clash uses a very minimalistic technique keeping the front cover very empty (December issue seen on the left). However this does not make the front page any less eye catching or less effective, if anything more so. The centre of visual interest (CVI) is clearly the photograph of Florence Welch (Florence and The Machine). Her vivid red hair and pail skin is would catch your eye straight away, if seen in amongst other magazines on a shelf. Her eyes gazing upwards could connote a religious belief look up the the sky, it could also connote a gaze of thought, things on her mind. The materialistic layout of the cover is reminiscent of upmarket magazines of the 1940's as seen below.


The old-fashioned style and minimalistic nature of 'Clash' is one that appeals to a specific audience. One that thinks of themselves as 'Indie'. You also need to have quite an artistic personality as the inside content is organised and displayed in a very unique but clever way.

     




The only word other than the masthead on the front cover is the word 'Heavenly'. In a serif font, 'heavenly' stands out dramatically. On the other hand the masthead (seen below) uses a sans serif font which contrasts the up market nature of the magazine. Using this sans serif font could connote an informal approach. They want the buyer to feel like they are getting good quality for their magazine but they want to give it in a casual more informal way.

The contents page in 'Clash' is very clean and structured. It is all contained in lines and boxes. Nothing is out of line, this makes it easier to read. I want my contents page to contain lots of lines to make it quite quirky and unique also making it legible and quick and easy to read. 

There are several double page spreads in 'Clash' that vary in their content. This one seen on the left is quite busy and includes lots of writing, however the on seen below it is more minimal and the main image takes up the whole of the page. For my magazine I am going to try and combine the two, so I will try and get a good balance between images and text. This way I can attract different types of people, those who like reading more but also those who are engaged more by images and seeing what it happening.

NME is another popular "indie" magazine. Originally a newspaper NME started becoming the magazine it is today in the 1980's. The layout and structure of NME is completely different to 'Clash'. Much more is included into the front page, cover lines and different titles. This busy nature appeals to slightly different people, people who are wanting to get more value for money can easily see that there are a lot of stories included within the magazine. Also a call out is used to grab the attention of the audience either on a magazine stand or once they have bought the magazine. The call out usually contains something that is later involved in the magazine or possibly even advertising for something else like this one.

  

The contents page in 'NME' is heavily image based, with only little text telling you the title of the story, this again is appealing to different people. Giving the reader a very clear idea of what is happening on that page.

The double page spread is also heavily image based, this shows that 'NME' believe that their audience want see what happening and not just read about it. The type of images and the amount is something i would also like to transfer across to my magazine. 

  
From my research I now know that I want my front cover to be completely image based, with a very minimal feel. I want the main image to be very crisp and crystal clear, this will take a lot of time and effort to get it how I exactly want it but hopefully it'll pay off. For my contents page I want to have every item aligned like in 'Clash' but with actual lines, blocks and boxes keeping everything together. I also want to include many images so that way I can attract different sorts of people, getting the balance between image and text is very important though. For my double page spread I want to have one image taking up the whole of the page with blocks of text here and there. Also the text should relate exactly to the picture, I would possibly like an image of some musicians in a recording studio looking very busy, with wires and instruments everywhere. Then have the text relating to their next album or single being released, or and interview with them talking about their progress.