EVALUATION QUESTION 7

I

I think it is obvious from looking at my preliminary magazine that i've developed my skills and gained knowledge on the subject. I have vastly improved my photoshop skills as at the start i did not have a clue how to used the software effectively which shows when you compare my preliminary cover and my final piece. When looking at my preliminary magazine you can tell my skills are weak and that i did not know how to make a magazine that would make people look twice. The colour scheme was boring and not very effective set in a bland font used for all the wording on the page. With my new front cover, I believe my photoshop skills significantly got better, this came overtime with the more I used the software. I learnt how to add effects on to fonts, pictures and shapes which really helped me create a professional look. I believe that my photo looks a lot more professional rather than a mess around like my preliminary cover. I looked at a lot of different magazines to choose the fonts i would use. I felt that they gave a simplistic look, that was clear, bold and stood out very well. I had a much clearer picture of what I needed to include on my front cover, as i have done so much research on how a magazine should look, and I also looked into what my target audience would be interested in hearing about in a music magazine. The content on the preliminary was poor as i did not out any research in too see what my target audience would like to seen the front cover so it was more of a guess.

In my preliminary, I did however keep the conventions of having a large image of an artist and also, had a few stories running down the side of my front cover. My colour scheme was purple and light blue, as at the time I felt this would be the best look for my magazine, however if you look at my final front cover, it's clear brighter colours look better and make you want to look at my final piece more as it looks more interesting whereas my preliminary looks dull. I feel that the colours on my front cover now look a lot more professional, and I was pleased with the outcome I got from them. My final front cover also follows all the current conventions of a music magazine, the the masthead, cover stories, date, and price. Also it has the barcode and a large image of the main featured artist.

I believe that my contents page also vastly improved, once again my colour scheme changed a lot, once again the colours on my final piece our much more professional looking, my new found photoshop skills were shown,you can tell there is a huge contrast to my very poor photoshopping of my preliminary contents page. The fonts on my preliminary contents were poor they were the same throughout just the font size was changed a few times, looking very unprofessional with all one font, however with my final contents page, I used four different fonts for different parts, all giving a much more professional look compared to when i started with my preliminary. I decided to have one main picture and which a did not do in the preliminary. I feel this made the page look much more professional . Having just one main large image i felt draws attention to it, in terms of what article it's linked with, which is obviously my featured artist. For this contents page, I had a lot better content, I had the features , I also had a 'Reviews' section and a 'This month?' section. This demonstrates that I have now done a lot of research into why my target audience wants to read about.

EVALUATION QUESTION 6

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

COMPUTER:

I used my apple IMac to complete most of my work on as I found it was quicker and more effective than using the computers around school as the software I needed to use took a long time to run and it was taking me double the time it should. I used my mac to everything from finding information to completing my magazine.

IPHONE:

I used my IPhone to note down lists of what I need to do in the upcoming weeks and months so I did not forget what I needed to do. I also set alarms on my phone which rang on the day of certain deadlines which reminded me to avoid lateness.

SOFTWARE:

The software I particularly used throughout the year was Adobe Photoshop Elements which had everything I needed on the program to help me make my magazine. I preferred this to any other software as I found it easy to use once I got the hang of it and it gives the magazine a professional look which is what I was looking for.

INTERNET:

I used the internet a lot throughout making my magazine and completing my blog. I used Google a lot to research different magazines so I could get a good image in my head of how I wanted mine to look. I used websites like scribd to make my blog look better and neater. Blogger was a vital website as I used this too show my different ideas and my improvements throughout by posting different pictures and writing different essays working up to the completion of my magazine.

EVALUATION QUESTION 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

The colour scheme of my magazine is not the brightest but the red logo and lettering stands out. The way it stands out from the black and white attracts the buyer’s attention instantly making the buyer take a second look. The Encore masthead which is the bright red logo in the top left corner, is easy to read with distinctive font that sticks out and catches the eye. The picture of the model takes up a lot of the page which lures the reader in as if they don’t know who he is they want to find out. To the right of the model is a quote from Noel Gallagher, this attracts the reader as it is a popular name and quote ‘this should be massive’ is intriguing especially as the quote is in bright red font it look more interesting. The different sub titles down each side could also be a selling point as if someone’s favourite band are listed or an album they want to buy is being reviewed this could make them buy the magazine.

EVALUATION QUESTION 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience my magazine would be targeting would be the same sort of audience Indie/ Alternative magazines like Q and NME would be targeting.  It would typically be a male audience who enjoy going to gigs and or festivals with their mates. They would be around the age of seventeen, eighteen to around twenty two, twenty three so they are just leaving finishing A levels and moving on too university. They are mostly fashionable and cultured wearing upscale brands. They would enjoy listening to indie/ alternative music most of the time listening to artists like the Maccabees, Bloc Party, Crystal Fighters, Mystery Jets.

EVALUATION QUESTION 3

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

‘Bauer Media is a division of the Bauer Media Group, Europe’s largest privately owned publishing Group. The Group is a worldwide media empire offering over 300 magazines in 15 countries, as well as online, TV and radio stations.’ Bauer media is at the forefront of music magazine production worldwide.  Distributing for big named music magazines like Q magazine and Kerrang! As these big named magazine will be in competition with my magazine Bauer would be a perfectly suited to my magazine as they know how to sell the genres and in particular Q magazine as it is similar to my magazine. Bauer know how to appeal to different audiences and still be successful going from selling anything from women’s magazines like GRAZIA, Closer and Heat to men’s lifestyle which include well know magazines Zoo and FHM. I feel my magazine would bring something different to the music magazines Bauer are already selling as I seen mine as I mixture between Q and Kerrang! Which means I would be targeting a wider audience range which would be good for the company and the company would be good for my magazine as it is such a well know brand it covers 15 countries which means my magazine would be seen by a wider audience around the world.

EVALUATION QUESTION 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Looking at my magazine you can tell from first view that it's aimed at more of a mature age rather than more of a 'boyish' age which NME appeals more too. Its more aimed towards males who are just leaving upper school and or at university. You can tell this from the way my artist on the front cover is dress, he looks smart which shows it is meant for an older audience.

My cover artists stance shows confidence but the way he has his hands in his pockets show otherwise this relates to the age range i am targeting. It also appeals to certain females who enjoy the genre as there is a male artist on the front as females like to see a smartly dressed male on the front cover. whereas males wouldn't particularly like to see a attractive girl, with a small amount of clothing because it is not that kind of magazine they would buy FHM or Zoo it thats what they were after. They would want to a female artist they enjoy listening to and is interesting or a male artist who they enjoy listening to inspire to be like e.g. personality, dress sense, musical ability or taste. I changed my colour scheme at the last possible minute as i thought black and white on it's was too bland and not very eye catching. I chose red as i thought it is a bright colour which gave my magazine cover a bit more brightness. It is a strong colour which gives feeling of danger and rebelling which is something my target audience can relate to. I think it suits the colour scheme blending well with the black and white.

As my media was aimed at a particular social group the content of the magazine had to be aimed at this group. In the contents page i had three different article categories 'features', 'this month' and 'reviews' which i thought would be best suited for my target audience. Features would have articles that were on the front cover with the main story and all the bands advertised on the cover in it, this would be what the magazine would sell to new buyers who have not read the magazine both as it was the cover that attracted them to the magazine. This month and reviews would be aimed more at weekly buyers who are more of more target audience as they would want to be kept updated on new artists, albums, gigs and festivals.

EVALUATION QUESTION 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of music magazines)? 
Underneath is the final front cover i designed of my music magazine, and also a current Indie magazines Q and NME. when looking at the three magazines you instantly spot similarities, although different parts of my magazine have also challenged the conventions that Q and NME use. The masthead i chose to use is challenging both magazines current conventions, as mine goes over half way of the top of the page but Q and NME'S stay in the top left hand corner of the page and they have a small amount of letters which stand the actual names of the magazines. Unlike name 'Encore' Q and NME don't have a meaning. NME stands for New Musical Express but my names 'Encore' means a demand by an audience for an additional performance, usually expressed by an applause. I chose this name as once an on looker see's the name encore they would instantly know its a music magazine unlike Q and NME.

 

My page layout is similar to NME and Q's, I have the my masthead situated in the top left corner like both magazines, although mine is not sticking to the conventional look that the current music magazines are going for by having a few big, bold letters in the top left hand side of the magazine. Mine takes up a lot more of the page than both Q and NME  magazine as i believe it looks better and catches the eye. Like both magazines I have the band or artists picture in the middle of the page taking up most of the page as it is the main focus point  with their name covering name so the buyer knows who they are and underneath this i have phrase to intrigue the buyer like NME have underneath Rihanna and Q have underneath Florence and the machine. I challenge the conventions as my title is at the bottom left hand side of the page whereas usually they are in the centre of the page like on the NME cover. I also challenge the conventions by the date and issue number underneath my masthead rather than above the bare code as i think it looks better under the masthead and is more viewable. I have put the bar code at the bottom of the page though, this is a conventional technique as nearly every magazine going puts it at the bottom of the page.