Evaluation Question 7

Looking back at you prelim task of designing the front page of a school magazine what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?


i have learnt a lot from the prelim task it taught me how to flat plan effectively and make sure i knew what i was going when it came around to the actual designing of a music press magazine (see previous flat plan posts) Anchoring the image to the text was extremely important and abled the reader to become involved in what the magazine was trying to sell to them.

In doing the prelim task i have also gained skills in photoshop and pages which have not only helped me in media studies but in the other subjects i am taking for AS. (see post 'evaluation Question 6' for programs used) These different programs and websites have helped me form my music press and prelim task.

Evaluation Question 6

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

The different technologies i have used whilst making both my prelim task and my final music press magazine are:
- Slide share                  - www.brusheezy.com
- Photoshop                  - www.dafont.com  
- Preview                      - www.flickr.com
- Pages                         - www.youtube.com
- Powerpoint                - Microsoft Excel
- imovie
- iphoto
 i have learned that using certain programs can seriously enhance the final product. For example i downloaded a smoky effect from brusheezy.com and downloaded my fonts from dafont.com
also with photoshop i found it easier to use then a program like pages which, although was the right choice of program for my double page spread, i feel you can do a lot less in editing. Preview was also a good way to show work to my teachers or if i myself wanted to see the final result of something. I thought imovie was an interesting was in getting audience feedback as you can see their reaction to the magazine and what they feel about how you have represented your specific social group. Slideshare was helpful as i could do a simple powerpoint presentation and it turned into something i can upload on to websites. In particular, one skill i have picked up is the manipulation if images: See Here

Evaluation Question 5

how did you attract/address the audience for your music publication?

I used bands that the audience can relate to, young people dressed in the same style clothes as they would wear themselves. This was easy because stereotypically ‘indie’ boys wear shirts and suits. Whereas the girls are into jumpsuits and high wasted anything. I also used the right kind of adverts, for blackberry phones as the demographic are very into technology. The image on the front cover also has a sense of mystery as you can see the shilouette of one of the band members and you are left wondering who it is, especially if you don’t know who the band are in the first place. I have also listed a number of other famous bands that will be featured in the magazine so if they are not interesting in the cover band they have a number of alternatives

Evaluation Question 4

who would be the audience for your music magazine?

Young males form the ages of 16-28 with a small spending bracket. Their style is widely known as ‘indie’ which originates from northern bands such as ‘oasis’ and more recently ‘the kooks’. These increasingly common male bands with their own 'unique' style are growing in numbers and their indie style (which is an abbreviation of the word individual) is no longer becoming less exclusive as the years go on. 

However, girls would get their style from bands like Florence and the Machine and Marina and the Diamonds. Any girls that read the magazines will also be able to relate with the styles and trends in the photos of the features. Their interests. would be music, fashion, friends and Parties which are depicted during the interview with the band talking about their own lives and what they do in their own spare time. 

Evaluation Question 3

What kind of institution might distribute your music magazine and why?

The type of institution that would be most likely to distribute my magazine would be chain shops like HMV which is already widely known for it’s merchandise and music sales. Also included would be WHSmiths which has a wide variety of magazine options and S would fit in with other magazines of it’s kind such as NME and KERRANG! However, smaller shops should not neglect this music magazine. For example corner shops that, even though have a smaller selection, people living further away from a major chain would be able to purchase this magazine. This therefore makes the magazine more accessible to everyone.

Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My music press magazine positively represents my key demographic. This is done by studying how people of this particular style talk, walk and dress. On  the contents page I have had the models pose in a particular way without showing their faces. However, you are made fully aware of the genre through their style and the use of instruments being the main focus. On the cover my female model has a seductive look which helps target mostly males and will catch the attention of the males who see it. However, if you’re thinking stereotypically you would think that girls/women would look to see her styling and how they could get that look Throughout my article I have used the correct mode of address, I have kept the interview light and feeling more like a conversation even if it is layout in a question and answer form. This again helps to target the younger end of my demographic but is formal enough for the older end to feel like they're not reading a childs magazine. a  readers of this magazine might go to this music website which although has many different styles of music has it's on section for the indie genre. 

Evaluation Question 1

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

I simply developed the forms and conventions of this particular genre of music press magazine. I used magazine conventions such as the masthead, and main images to correspond with what the key conventions of an indie music press magazine would be like, for example, I used a black white and red colour scheme, the same of NME this worked because any key information I wanted to pick out I could use the red to highlight it. ‘Q’ magazine is named after the founders name so I thought why not use the same thing for my music press magazine, therefore I named it ‘S’. For the main image on the front cover I used the band I was featuring. I used a bright light, which gave a contrasting feel that also runs parallel to the colour scheme with the contrasting red, white and black. For the font I chose one with a paint splattered effect, which I thought, worked well.  It gave a rebellious feel as you would normally expect fonts from in a magazine to be pristine and polished so this goes against the normal conventions of pess magazines.