As Media Coursework: 2014

Friday, 4 April 2014

Evaluation: Question 6

Other applications that allowed me to make my product is:

Prezi this is an online zooming presentation creator to display my evaluation tasks and planning tasks to use a wide range of ICT. Slide share has also allowed me to upload my powerpoints to the internet and then can embed them into blogger show the many stages or processes of my planning and construction.

Blogger is the whole main package to help me with my coursework as it allows me to upload images and can explain through text and other applications.
Technologies that allowed me to make my product are:
Camera allowed me to take images of my model and upload the image to appeal to my target audience.

Evaluation: Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience

My magazine cover is the most important element out of the whole products designs. This is because it needs to be convectional and attract my audience. To make this successful, I had to make sure that my photography was relevant and would appeal to my audience with a dominant attraction. My Main cover image I think achieves this due to her body language and the use of mise-en-scene are stereotypically related to the pop genre of my magazine. Her clothing and use of makeup look gives a flawless look that is associated with the female teenage market and ideology of feminism present on existing magazines. Overall, my front cover image has an inviting and appealing look which draws the reader in. Her look also would help the target audience because teenage girls would look up to and try to inspire to be like her. Her relaxed body language also does not over the top, aggregated or fake which helps to give a better impression of herself and of the magazine.

The masthead and coverlines also help me to attract my audience through the use of colour and fonts. The coverlines I have included are of existing pop artists, which would automatically grab their attention due to them being well known and popular.

My main coverline is about my pop artist ‘Delilah Rose’ with the strapline as ‘her first ever exclusive interview’. This shows that she has never had an interview before and my magazine keeps up with the latest gossip, something that will appeal and attract my audience.

I have added an image to my main front cover which shows a concert I have been to. This would attract my audience as they are a new upcoming pop band and therefore may want to check out their sort of music and would want to find out more about them.

The use of colour also makes a difference when trying to attract your audience. For example, if I had used grey, dark colours this would appeal to more indie/rock music, which is the wrong music genre. Therefor, I used bright, garish colours which is associated with pop and influence the readers to buy my magazine.

Contents Page

To attract my audience when creating my content page, I had previously knew some features I wanted to include, for example images and page numbers. After this, I decide to research contents page design further, and came across We love pop magazine, which includes similar convections in the same music genre. This is a very popular magazine that looks professional which some of the elements could be incroprated into my own. From doing this it made it easier to construct and portray my music magazines style and therefor help it to relate to the teenage market.

The images I used on the contents page were those of the front cover so that it was easier for the reader to see what feature they wanted to look up. All of the images had been taken by myself from previous concerts such as 5 seconds of summer. This shows and helped me to construct the contents page more easily due to me, having an interest and being the specific target market I am focusing on.

The font I used within the contents page for the heading, is the same font I used for the masthead, this shows sophistication and a house style within being consistent. I used the same typography from the front cover as well to show the flow between the two making it looking higher quality.

Double Page Spread

In my double page spread I had to make sure I kept the same high quality, as it would appeal better to my audience. To create this I edited the main image in Photoshop and made sure it was suitable and matched the design I was looking for. Her body language again is very convectional and the mise-en-scene appeals to the audience by looking happy which is very important on the dps.

The fonts I decided to use were also successful and made my double page spread look convectional and persistent. The main title is the first thing you are drawn to because of the bold colours and boldness contrasting together. The layout of the double page spread addresses my audience because it is easily laid for the readers being at a younger age.

Evaluation:Question 4

Evaluation: Question 4

Below is my presentation for Question 4 which explains who my audience would be for my pop magazine.

Evaluation:Question 3

Evaluation: Question 3

Evaluation: Question 3 from lucygrace96

Evaluation:Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My music magazine is in the genre of pop/chart music, this means that it would be stereotypically aimed at teenage girls who are obsessed with boy bands. They would be seen in society as bubbly, loud who show this through their music and clothing. However, just because this is the typical consumer of the pop genre does not mean that all readers are like this. The exiting pop music magazines are very bright in colour with bold uses of font to attract their readers, I have included some of these convections within my own work, but have also used some other convections that would not be typically associated with the pop industry to try and attract readers from all backgrounds and tastes and show that the stereotype is not always right. I have done this through including different topics in the magazine not just simply focusing on the music for example advice, fashion and fun leisure activities that all teenagers would enjoy. I therefore have tried to appeal to the existing target market and also a different social group.

The stereotypical group my magazine targets is the teenage market, with 85% of them being female. Their typical lifestyle would be sports, relationships, with friends, school life and also going to concerts of their favourite bands. Their ages would range from 12-17 years old.

How have I targeted my social group?

I have targeted my social market in many ways throughout my design product of front cover, contents page and double page spread.

One main way I have appealed to them i through my photography and use of image on my front cover. The main photograph is the most important part of a magazine and can help convey a message to the audience. On my front cover, I features my friend wearing a white top with a bold statement necklace which instantly shows you that girls would be attracted to the cover. This is also influenced by the use of mise-en-scene and how it communicates to the readers. She is placed against a plain white background which instantly puts the main focus on her which is evident in existing magazines. Her makeup and style also looks very clean cut and pretty, something in which all teenage girls want to look like. Her body language looks relaxed and also natural while engaging in eye contact which is very important and draws the reader in. This can also be done through the main cover line, I have kept it brief, giving just enough information for them to read the double page spread.

I did not use any props which are clear in my photos, however I did consider the use of a guitar. After deciding I felt this was not the best idea because it may imply a different image to the reader, for example, many pop artists very rarely play or produce their own music. With the use of guitar it may imply to them that they that they do write their own songs which is something not mainly featured on a pop magazine.However, with this in mind this sort of image may have attracted a different kind of teenage audience and while being a convectional pop magazine.

I have also targeted my social group by specifically choosing cover lines that related to the pop genre. For example, I have included artists that are popular in the pop charts and are of those that they would listen to. I have included a diverse range of these popstars with them being male and female, group or solo artist so that they appeal to the most readers as possible. The non-music related cover line is a free Barry M nail polish; this appeals and represents my target audience by recognizing their other interests such as make-up. Yet, this may not target my whole target market as not all teenage girls like making up and benefiting from the giveaway.

I think that my representation of my audience doesn't challenge dominate ideas through my social group, but shows the stereotypes of my pop genre through the use of cover lines, images and colours. My images are clear and easily relate to the target audience through using interests they are associated with and enjoy. My use of bold fonts for the masthead and important cover lines highlight the appeal to gain their attention. The uses of colour are also related to the pop genre of being bold, bright and colourful. If I had used grey, red and green it would not have the same effect and therefore missing my target audience completely.

If I were to do this again, I would have represented my social group with more range of ideas through mise en scene and props which show a the connotations of her being a huge new popstar sensation.

Within my music magazine I have represented youth through the colours of the magazine. For example they are bold and eye-catching something that you would normally associate with younger children being easily influenced towards.
Feminity is also a prominent ideology within my magazine as it is heavily influenced in teenage girls looking up and towards the main model on the front cover. This ideology is reinforced throughout the magazine by giving away free make- up products to use to look more like the model featured. I have also included a free make up product which shows that I feel that it is main importance to the magazine and the way in which i would attract the buyer.
I have also used the representation of youth through using relevant cover lines on my front page but also within my contents. For example Quizzes which give a more childlike and fun approach to the magazine which younger readers would be interested in.

Evaluation:Question 1

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

Within my music magazine my double page spread was the most developed used of conventions. I think this because of the way in which i have used design elements to create the overall design. For example I have used a rectangle which was placed behind text to create the cover lines.

I think my most challenging convention was the double page was the contents page because of the layout of the whole design. For example, main contents pages are in the layout of a 'house style' which mine does not show but still flows.

Final Double Page Spread

Final Contents Page

Final Front cover of Music magazine

Music Magazine changes

The changes I have made are massive compared to my first drafts of each three elements.

I have kept the same elements the same, for example the cover lines. From feedback I received I was told to move the two cover lines on the right hand side further apart as this could cause confusion. I did this and also changed the colour so they were seperate to show the difference in the stories. I have also changed the main cover story of the 'Delilah Rose' to a bright blue because it was less distinctive against the main image. I also decided to add two boxes above and below with the main relevant information which also shows consistency in convectional elements.
The main pink banners were kept the same and slightly reduced as i felt that they were too thick (epesically the bottom banner). I also changed the cover stories within them to fit the music aspect for example 'win tickets to see 5 seconds of summer live in london' and added a photo which was previously taken by me from their concert.
The Barry M nail polish image was moved to the top right corner and was slanted so that it did not cover the main cover image and is a less relevant story.
The final change i made was the main cover image as i felt that my previous image needed to be more camera facing to attract the audience. The quality of the photo was also an issue and effected the overall product.

I have also changed many elements on my contents page too and think it shows more convections of a pop magazine. For example, I have changed the way in which i have displayed the front cover image by adding smaller stars from the masthead. I then added the page number into this and this shows which cover line is what on each page via the curved arrows.
I have added in more relevant pop music cover lines and alternating pink and orange page numbers to shows different sections of the magazine. Adjacent to the contents is two separate photography images I have taken to used as exclusive posters that will be inserted into the magazine.
I used the blue banner to re- mention the competition on the first page to highlight the once in a lifetime opportunity of winning the competition.

The final changes I made to the double page spread was more obvious. I decide to change the main story line and made the pull quote bigger with contrasting colours which is shown in on my main cover to show consistency. I also changed the main image which filled the space more and is shown looking towards the camera, with a smaller image inserted at the bottom left to show variety within the shoot.

More Photography Images

After looking at my previous images I decide to reshoot some more images for my front cover and double page spread. This was mainly due to not having enough variety of at least 4 pictures to use within my work.

I feel this image will work well on my front cover as she is looking towards the camera, and fills the shot space well.
I felt that these images showed more variety from different shot types and angles. It also shows her being in different clothing.

I also shot some images of my brother for the use of the contents page which will show him being an exclusive poster included in the magazine. These shots were:

Double Page Spread Final Draft

This shows my final Double Page spread final design. It includes my main cover image and other convections you would normally see present on a double page spread.

Double Page Spread Drafts

Double Page Spread Drafts

First draft
For my first draft I opened up a new blank document on Indesign. I then had to format the template differently to what I learnt before. For example I need to start with 3 pages and add in 1-3 collumms each. From then, I was able to start designing my double page spread.
I first started with the rectangle boxes around the border. I did this by drawing up a rectangle and filling it with pink. I then used the rotate tool to rotate the rectangle across the page, the same as which I did on the contents page, so it was more convectional and flowed better throughout. I then had to draw two more rectangle boxes and fill them in white and bring the to the front (over the top of the pink) so that I would be able to add in text without seeing a huge rectangle in the background.
My next idea was to create more of a focus around the main cover story, as this would normally be convectional in an existing pop magazine. I did this by drawing a pink ellipse and also rotating -18 degrees. Within the ellipse I also drew a yellow circle and placed this in the top centre with a drop shadow. This convection is also shown in my contents page.
The last stage for my construction was adding smaller convections in such as the web address and page number which was also featured on my contents page and therefore i was able to highlight and copy these into the document.

Second Draft
For the next stage in my construction I decided to first place in my main image. I decide to chose this one that was originally going to be on my front cover, however I felt it was more appropriate being on the double page spread because of the amount of space i was able to show the full image and give it justification on the body language you may have otherwise lost.
The next stage was mainly text based, with my inserting my article on my popstar that had been previously written. I decided to still incorporate my colour scheme, so decided that I would used the orange as the question of my article and the response would be in black. This gave the double page spread more design and could be followed more easily. I also slightly changed the font, and made it bold just so it stood out more.
For my main cover title/masthead I wanted something bold and also a pull quote from my article as this is something prominent in all pop magazines. I decided to use white, as it looked good against the pink and also felt that black would be too harsh as was already used in the article its self. However, i decide to change the question marks to black as I thought this gave it more of a design element.

Contents Page Final Draft

Above is my half completed contents page. I will need to add in extra images and pull quotes for it to be fully completed.

Contents Page Drafts

To start creating my contents page, I decided that I wanted to incorporate the same colours, logo and style. Firstly, I made a large pink rectangle and tilted it across the page (around 80 degrees).

Next, I drew another rectangle but instead filled it white and laid it portrait and sent it to the front. This meant that i could add in writing without it being against the bright prink.

I then added in my magazines logo in the right hand corner.

I have also added a blue rectangle along the bottom of the contents page as extra information and imaged will be added to it later on.

The last stage I did was starting to add text. i started out adding a main title of 'What's Inside" in impact. The next information I added was "plus this" and cover lines including orange numbers.

Next, I added in an editors note to the left hand side. I wanted to include this because it gives the reader extra information in what articles will be included in the magazine. This note also makes the contents page more personal and formal for the reader, in which most magazines do not include.

I also include templates of where images will be inserted in with a pull quote underneath. The blue strip I created was through a rectangle and then filling it in blue, to match the colour scheme. I will then add text and images later on, which will be to add posters.

I then added a yellow circle and applied a drop shadow to add effect in the top left hand corner. I next inserted and image which shows you the preview of my front cover. I was then able to annotate each convection (cover lines) and the page number it will be featured on. I added the design element of a square and rotating it to make a diamond shape. I then added transparency to the boxes to make them look more simple and also so you are able to see the background image.

Lastly, was to use the text tool and add in the web address which will be prominent on my double page spread as well.

In this step of construction, I added in the simple plug and puff of "Jessie J reveals all" which is something just simple and fills the space. I also added text of 'exclusive posters-phoaw!" as well, to show the reader the images you won't find anywhere else. The images of the posters will also be added to complete my final design of my contents page.

Music Magazine Front Cover Final Draft

This is my final completed Music Magazine Front cover Draft. From my previous drafts this is the finished cover, In which i have added the quiz cover line across the top of the magazine in the black box. I also underlined this to make it stand out, as otherwise it may have been missed against all the other features. For the cover line, I created this by using the text tool and applied 'Has your crush ever noticed you? Find out here!" in myriad white.
I prefer this front cover compared to my first drafts, as it included more convections in a more appealing style for my target audience.

Front Cover Drafts 2

After creating my Front cover for my music magazine, I felt that the final product did not fully look like a professional pop magazine. I therefor decided that I would improve the convections and features of the cover that did not like, and improve them to look more appealing.

Retry- First Draft.

From my last final draft I did not like the plug and puff in the left hand bottom corner and decided to remove that. I also removed the blue rectangle box behind the Delilah Rose and changed the colour of the font to match the Popstar star, (orange).
My next focus was the cover lines in the left third, as I felt there was no design element that appealed to the magazine or the reader, and looked listed and basic. I did this by deleting one cover line to make more room so it did not look as crowded. By doing this also meant that I could include a picture, which is normally present on existing magazines other than the main centre image.I added a blue stroke of 2pt around the image to give more colour and made it more unique.
The new cover lines are "One Direction LIVE!" and "We shop in tesco". To add effect to these cover lines I added in pink boxes which take the shape of the text, by creating two rectangles and then highlighting them both. Once highlighted I could then merge them together by using 'pathfinder' and then 'add'. This was useful as it meant that the shape was now one and a drop shadow could be added to give more depth to the image below.
Next, I added a simple plain rectangle, which i filled in by highlighting and selecting the colour of your choice. I chose the hot pink as already used for the plug and puff and also the cover lines.
Lastly, I adjusted the barcode by making it smaller in size, and adding the price of £2.00 and the magazines website. I used the bright blue as it contrasted well against the pink background and also matched the cover image.

Retry- Second Draft.

I next created another rectangle using the rectangle tool in white. With this I then decided to add a transparency to it, so it did not look so harsh against the image. Within this thin rectangle i added the main cover story of 'Her First Ever Interview!" which was in impact black. I changed the word 'ever' in blue as it highlighted that this is an exclusive interview and she has not been featured in any other magazine.
In the semi circle I added an image of a Barry M nail polish which related to the cover story of giving one away with this issue.
I edited the photo firstly in Photoshop, adjusting the brightness and contrast. I next added another layer to the image and filling it with white. I could then go back onto the first layer and apply a stroke of 30mm. This left a white outline around the image which was the effect intended. I then inserted the image using a rectangle tool frame and using "cmmd D". I adjusted the image by rotating it 70 degrees, which allowed me more space for the text. This then meant that I could apply text in "impact" with a sub heading of "wow" in a blue box to add affect.

Retry- Third Draft.

The last stage in my construction was adding a black angled box in the top right hand side which will feature of a quiz shown in my final design.

To my third draft I also added an black arrow. To create this i first drew a black rectangle. Next i drew another one, but instead used the pen tool. While holding ctrl it allowed me to delete an anchor point and create a triangle which could be placed next to the rectangle. I could then fill in also in black and merge the shapes together using the pathfinder tool. I adjusted the size to fit into the space and applied white text of "plus". I then listed other topics that would be featured inside the magazine such as styles, quizzes and advice with two smaller orange stars.

Research Evaluation

In my research tasks I have found from existing magazines on the style and layout of the magazine. For examples shapes, images, and fonts to appeal to the audience and genre of the music. This was also shown through my annotated contents page and double page spread of a pop music magazine which included new elements. This helped me demonstrate these features which could then be reflected in my own product. From my research and planning I have also looked into the convections of the music magazine and the ways in could be laid out to create a sophicated design. For example, I would need a bold, eye catching masthead in Sans Serif Font in the left hand corner.
The coverlines must also be catchy and relate to music itself which could be an exlcusive interview or competition.
For the research tasks I was able to concentrate and focus on new elements such as target audience for the music magazine and the representations of the people who read that style of music. Such as a rock music magazine would normally be targeted at males aged 16-35 years old. They are normally stereotyped by wearing dark clothing, chains and make up.
My research into the different musical genres also helped me understand that there is lots types of musical styles which can then divided into different sub- categories such as Rock, and then Pop Rock and Heavy Metal Rock.
My initial ideas were to focus on a pop magazine targeted towards the teenage female market and therefore I must be briefly stereotypical for the magazine to look like one which would be present in the shops. They do this through ideologies of feminity. My initial idea was to feature a female pop star and relevant cover lines so that the teenage market would be more appealed to purchase the magazine.
In my Initial ideas i also wanted incorporate the colour scheme of pink, blue, orange which is iconically pop. From my research i have found that these colours are evident on many pop magazines and therefore I would like to use these within and throughout my construction pieces.

Front Cover Drafts

First Draft

This is my first front cover draft of my music Magazine for the pop genre, which was created using InDesign. To start the process, I uploaded an image which I had previously edited in photoshop which i felt relevant for my style of magazine. I chose this image because it features body language which would normally be chosen on a pop magazine. I felt that this image was also good due to the prominent space which had been left around my Popstar. This meant It could be used for the left third without covering her face or other parts of the image. Finally, the main thing I liked about this image is that she had eye contact with the reader which draws your immediate attention to her and the main story associated with the image.

I next needed to create my masthead, I had already decided that my magazine would be called 'Popstar' due to being about artists within the charts and i thought related and appealed well with the target audience. I started out writing the title and knew i wanted the text to be in the colour black and bold so that it would be clear. I used the font 'impact' which is exactly what it does to the cover. I placed it in the top left as that is where the readers eye is drawn to first.

Next I added a tag line of 'making you the star' in a smaller font underneath the title. I also changed the colour of 'you' into a bright blue as this magazine is all about the information they want to know and putting them first with latest gossip. The font is also italic which i works well and is more unique.

Lastly, I added a bright pink rectangled strip along the bottom of the cover as this helps me create and design the plug and puff later on. The colour of the bright pink i decided also contrasts well with the bright blue within the tag line and consist of colours you would normally associate with a teenage pop magazine.

Second Draft

I next created and wrote the main cover line which is featured with the cover image. I came up with the name of calling her 'Delliah Rose' and I wanted to included an interview on her rise to stardom and popularity within the music charts. This interview will then later be created for my double page spread.

To create the main cover line I wanted it to stand out so designed two rectangular boxes and joined them together and filled them in with the same colour blue. I altered the angle of the boxes to make it more convectional and also so I did not cover up her face. I next added the text in the same font of the mast head however, this time in white as it looked better against the blue instead of black. I filled the text into the box and made the boxes more off centre to give effect. Next, was to add a drop shadow to the box as this gave the effect of not being static to the image and stand out against the background.

Finally, I added the text of what the cover line is about in the same font as the tag line and placed it within the image itself due to it being smaller and not as much of a bold text, which could have made it harder to read if placed against the white. I also wanted to include 'exclusive' above the main title as it shows the reader that this is a more private as this is the only magazine which has this source of information/interview. This font is a more bold to the cover line information as it captures the audience, which was done by adding a thicker stroke.

Third Draft

The next stage was adding smaller extras into the top right corner which would show some of the artists that would be featured in the magazine. I thought by adding a '+' meant that it was smaller and did not take away from the other cover lines. By this being smaller also allowed the magazine to not look too full and looked more balanced. I next added colours of blue, red and orange as bright colours are normally visible on this style of magazine. I thought these colours contrasted well. I also wanted them to be semi bold as are not a main story but did not want them to go unseen.

Fourth Draft

For the next draft, i decided that I would play around with the colours of the rectangle at the bottom to a colour that matched her top as i thought it would give a better appeal and also would tie the magazine together.

I also started adding in cover lines to the left third, of '7 huh?! moments from the MTV Emas'' and a subheading of 'The Vamps Girlfriends, naked bits and never before seen pics" I also put this into a circle and rectangle (plug and puff).

The last change I made was adding an orange star to my masthead. I thought this worked well as the star was related to my masthead and also allowed me to create a logo. The orange also worked well as it contrasted well with the bright blue and pink.

Fifth Draft

From my fourth draft I needed to add a third cover line of "Spolier Alert- Backstage with The Wanted" however when i tried to add this i did not have enough space, so therefore I decided to delete the existing circle and rectangle behind the cover line above. I felt this was a good change as the shapes previously was too much and deterred from my main cover image and story.

For my Final draft I added a plug and puff. I created this by using the oval tool as then filled it in with a bright pink. I then did the same again but filled the outline in white so it gave more of an attraction to the plug and puff.

Sixth Draft

For my final draft I changed the font for the main cover line, because it felt that the script was too thin and hard to read for the main focus of the magazine. I changed it to 'chalkboard' in white as it contrasted better against the main image, and was also more illegible to read.

My last change I made was taking out the smaller cover lines in the right hand corner and adding a circle in yellow. Inside it reads 'Jessie J shows us her style" as the main headline. I then used the type on a path tool to add text around the circle saying 'style snoop' as it gave more off a better effect instead of the normal block style.

I also added a bright blue 'shhh!' to the plug and puff as it had extra space above and made the existing title look lost.