Evaluation Q7

7. Looking Back at your preliminary task (college magazine), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Since i looked at the college magazine i feel that i have greatly improved my skills in not only constructing a magazine but i am also able to now to realise what i have done well and what requires improvement throughout magazines. For example i went back and found very simple errors throughout my music magazine drafts the where easy to improve. I am able to now realise and analyse the construction of a magazine and its requirements for it to become successful and address the correct target audience.

Now i am also able to plan a more structured and understandable way to insure that i make sure i do not have any flaws or mistakes throughout my magazine. Planning also helped me make a more clear magazine that shows representation from other professional music magazines in which mine can be related to. By setting a house style and colour scheme was my best plan of action to make sure that i kept to a strong plan. I have learnt from previous mistakes that when planning out a music magazine that every feature must be considered and taken into consideration. Here you can see from one of my previous drafts of my front cover how it is extremely simple and dull. By using photoshop i was able to create a more interesting and unique house style.

Using photoshop really allowed me to be a lot more creative and unique when creating my magazine using a lot of new tools that helped me create a new and interesting style to my magazine. I was also able to learn a lot about photoshop manipulation, allowing me to edit images to better fit them to the genre of the magazine. You can see how i have used a gold house style to make my magazine a lot more stylish and to fit the genre. I also used photoshop manipulation to create a black and white image to show the representation of the genre being slow paced and acoustic.

Final Contents Page Evaluation

I feel that this was much improved to my other contents page. By using NME as a backbone for this i was able to create a more stylish and professional contents page. I feel that this contents page really resembles a real contents page and uses a more consistent house style than previously.

Final Contents Page

Evaluation Q6

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

I have became very familiar with many different and a variety of programmes such as photoshop, voki, google drive etc. By using all these new programmes it allowed me the create a more in depth music magazine that shows better relevance towards other music magazines such as NME or Q. I really improved my photoshop skills this year. Previously i was familiar with simple tools in photoshop and now i know a lot of advanced tools to allow me to better manipulate my images and house style to create a more relevant magazine that relates to rock. Also i am now a lot more fluent with the photoshop programme and to what extent it can be used.
I was also able to use new programmes such as Blogger and Voki. Voki was a new, interesting feature i used  in my coursework. It was a new way for my to analyse my work and annotate it.I really enjoyed using blogger this year. I feel that it is a better way to record your progression in the course and show your development in the topic. Blogger is very clear and understandable to receive feedback throughout.

Evaluation Q5

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

By looking at NME and Q I was able to look at ways in which they bring in and attract an audience. After getting my questionnaire results I was able to see what the suitable age for my magazine and what they would like to see in the magazine. I then adapted my magazine to their needs and what they want in the magazine. If you compare together my magazine to both my questionnaire and the Q and NME that I have research you can see that I think I have used what is necessary to find the suitable audience and attract them. The key feature I feel that was shown throughout my magazine was the house style and informality of the magazine as it is both formal and informal at times. As you can see I feel that by using a house style of gold red black and white it gives it a classy and smart look but still aims towards a specific audience. Also by using props such as the guitar it enables and ensures that i attract the right audience as they are able to relate it to rock and realise what genre my magazine is. The house style and colour scheme suggests this is a rock magazine because of the red and black scheme i have used.

Evaluation Q4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my music magazine would mainly be teenagers or young adults. Research shows how the typical audience for rock genre music magazines are teenage/ young adult males. I feel that i correctly addressed my audience and altered the magazine to fit the audiences needs. I created a questionnaire to find out the suitable audience for my magazine. I was able to find out what people wanted in a magazine whether its free items etc. I also was able to see if they preferred an informal or formal layout. This was really helpful when creating my magazine as I was able to directly address my audience by this research and questionnaire. After using these questionnaire results I have better fit my rock magazine to the people who actually read music magazines and try to get people who aren't interesting in music magazines to take an interest in mine by using a lot of platforms such as twitter and other social networking platforms. Here is a here is a link to my questionnaire results that show evidence of how I have changed my magazine to suit the audience.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0ApZ-zAejsaj2dGgxZ3NHMUZZUEhkbXZOUHNHZXA4NUE&single=true&gid=0&output=html

Evaluation Q3

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

IPC media specialises in rock genre magazines and I feel this is why the institution fits my magazine. NME was the main magazine that I looked and researched into. I feel that this is why it Is better suited for IPC. My magazine shows a clear representation of rock genre magazines and uses very relevant features to magazines such as NME.
 Bauer Media Group could also publish my magazine. One of the other magazines that had given me influence and i had based my magazine on was Q magazine. i feel that my magazine shows similar aspects that Q magazine. As Bauer media group publish Q magazine they could also publish mine due to the similarities shown throughout my magazine.

I feel that my music magazine would fit in with other free independent magazines. My magazine is quite formal but professional following a very similar approach to magazines such as the fly. It is relatable through its context and the style of the magazine as a whole. I feel that my magazine would also have to be an independent magazine due to IPC looking for more professional magazines.

Evaluation Q2

Evaluation Q1

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

My front cover had to stand out in my opinion and I feel that I done a good job in doing this by using a very stand out house style of gold, black, red and white.I am confident with the outcome of my front cover as it actually resembles a real magazine in my opinion. I feel that it is clear and understandable. It is also very relevant to magazines that i have looked at such as NME as it uses a very similar house style. I am also very happy with the images i used as they follow a stereotypical rock artist. My content page is my weakest page in my opinion I feel that it doesn’t show enough relevance to other rock magazines and doesn’t have a strong house style to make it look professional.It lacks depth and individuality making it look extremely plain and bland. My double page spread is very relevant to Q magazine. By using one large image on one side and text on the other it gives the audience a clear separation when reading. My red house style is also relevant to Q magazine and the images relate to the text well. I feel that on the contents page and double page spread I should’ve used a more unique and interesting background and this is my main flaw of my magazines that makes it look unprofessional and not relate to other rock magazines. By using a more unique and interesting house style on these pages i feel that it would really improve the magazine as a whole.

You can see here how i have used NME as a guideline for my front cover. I feel that NME uses a strong house style to allow it to stand out against others in stores. I have used a similar technique by using the golden house style and red and black details. I feel that the black and white image really adds to the magazine making it even more unique as it reflects well with the gold. The brick wall suggests how the genre could be gritty and rebellious. By using one large image on my cover and large heading and masthead you can see the similarities between my and NME magazine. You can also see from my previous draft for my front cover how a more unique and interesting house style allows it to stand out and look more professional.

You can see my progression throughout making my double page spread and how my knowledge of music magazines and there standards has changed. I now know what the expectations are when creating a music magazine and how i can alter my magazine to suit the genre. you can see how my photoshop and manipulation skills have changed to ensure that my images represent the genre. On my original double page spread it was extremely basic, using little text and simple images. I have followed a stronger house style for my double page now using a colour scheme and sub headings to make it more stylish and clear. The clothing also shows a clearer representation of the rock genre giving a more professional outlook.

Finally you can see how i have created a more intriguing and professional contents page to help relate to the rock genre. The subheadings and house style relate a lot towards NME and how they present there contents pages. By using one strong image i feel that it relied on having a good house style which i feel i do. NME was the key inspiration throughout my contents page and i feel that it matches well together. My magazine uses a similar layout to ensure the professional look and to be able to relate to NME.

Final Contents Page MOCK Evaluation

My contents page really resembles a real contents page. I am really happy with the layout of it as i feel that it is really clear and simple. It uses the colour scheme to clearly show the layout of the contents page as it uses specific colours for each part of the page. Also by using social media links such as twitter and Facebook it can be linked to other rock genre music magazines, i feel that the one thing i would change would be the image as it looks very simple and has no background.

Final Contents Page MOCK

Final Double Page 2 Evaluation

When creating the second page for my double page spread i wanted it to reflect the first page but make sure it is more detailed. I feel that the image on the side really allows the text to address the band by using text/image cohesion as the image links directly to the text. I also feel that the colour scheme really suits this double page spread as it reflects the genre. I also feel that by using the quotes that it emphasises the text and links to it. The quotes are also using in magazines such as the NME. They are useful as it gets the reader thinking an allows them to see other peoples opinion on the band.

Final Double Page 2

Final Double Page 1 Evaluation

I am happy with my final product with the 1st page of the double page spread. I feel that it is lacking a lot but worked. Its background is quite plain and simple but is the introduction to the review so i was aiming for this. I feel that the large image introduces the reader to the review and who it is going to be about. I also followed the house style and colour scheme keeping to a white/ red and gold. This scheme works well as a review as it bring in collectively the approach that the front cover had. Also i feel that the image i have taken introduces us to the band due to the clothing that they are wearing links to the genre of music.

Final Double Page 1

Final Front Cover

Final Front Cover Evaluation

I am very pleased with the final outcome of my final front cover. i feel that it clearly shows inspiration from other rock genre music magazines. By looking at music magazines such as NME and Q this music magazine cover shows a lot of influence from them, it is mainly shown through the layout and font. The  colour scheme is a gold/white and red layout. I feel this layout uses the red and white as a classic red and white rock genre. Such as NME the red and white colour scheme works really well to give and present a professional layout. The gold adds a piece of class to the cover and to allow it to stand out more and be more unique. I am happy with the image i used as i feel that the props and clothing well suit the genre of rock and shows resemblance to other rock artists. The house style and context also links appropriately to other rock genre magazines.

The Importance of a Front Cover

For my front cover I had to take a lot of magazines in consideration and also how rock magazines address there audience through a front cover. Most rock genre music magazines use a key image of the artists or band in the middle. The house style is also usually bold and stand out which is why I have used a house style of gold/white/red. I feel that my magazine is very professional and suits the genre. By using equipment such as the guitar and suitable clothing, people are able to view this cover and realise the genre of it. I have also taken influence from magazines such as NME as I feel that the layout that there magazines use is very professional and brings in a large audience. I also feel that the layout of the text is very professional and clear.

Blog Progress Update

I feel that so far I am really happy with my coursework and how it has progressed. I feel that I have well documented my music magazine and its progression. I have spoken in detail about the influences I have had when making my music magazine and honestly criticised myself when I had to. This was helpful to me as I knew what had to be done and how I should do it. I also feel that I well developed and analysed my music magazine in comparison to other music magazines that show resemblance to the rock genre. I also feel that within the last 3 months I have really focused on detail and quantity of my blog posts insuring that I reach 60 posts in time. My next step is to now finalise my music magazine with a few changes and document them. I also have to create an evaluation of my music magazine and the process of creating it to hopefully end up with at least 60 blog posts. I feel that when I add these finishing touches to my magazine it will look very sleek and professional resembling a real life rock music magazine. For some of my blog posts I feel that I didn't put in enough effort and they may lack detail so I now feel that I am going to go back and change this to give my blog a much more professional look. Also I think that I should better document my journey throughout these blog posts as it is quite weak how it shows my development. I also feel that my time management has been very strong throughout as it have uploaded around 7-10 blog posts per month keeping on my 60 blog post target since the very beginning.

Props and Costume

This is one of the images i used in my music magazine. After researching music magazines such as NME and Q i have found that artists within the rock genre wear similar clothing to this, wearing a casual shirt and black skinny jeans. I also went to music and borrowed a electric guitar to allow the reader to notice how this is a rock genre magazine due to the music equipment used.

You can see from the photo that i have taken compared to the NME cover they wear very similar clothing to what i have chosen for kasey to wear. I also got influence from the style and way that they pose as i wasn't sure how to present my artist for my cover. I am very pleased with how my images came out as i feel that it reinforces the genre i have chosen. The guitar and clothing well represents rock and the style of rock magazines such as NME.

Double Page spread

This is also my final draft for my double page spread. A lot still has to be changed including the text and how detailed it should be. I feel that i have used a solid house style and layout that can resemble a real magazine. The photos i have used for this double page spread are good and i feel that they reflect the article and contents of the magazine. The images also resemble more of a band and can be linked. To finish this double page spread i still have to add a lot more text and alter some of the headlines and quotes. Also i want to add a new background as this is very bland and boring.

Contents Final Draft

This is my final draft of my contents page. i feel that this is much improved compared to my last contents page. When creating this contents page i wanted to add a lot more information and text to give it some depth and allow it to resemble a real contents page. Also i feel that i have used a better layout and house style as it has very good colour contraction and the layout is very clear and easy to give out information to the audience.

Front cover

I have completely changed my idea with my front cover by opening a new photoshop document and using my older drafts as a backbone for this new front cover. I used certain aspects of my other covers and i feel that by doing this it has allowed my front cover to look a lot more professional and clean. I still have to make certain adjustments to the colour scheme and text but so far i am really happy with this.

New magazine pics

These are a few of my new images i will use for my music magazine. I feel that these images are better because they look a lot more professional and smart. Also i think these images better suit the genre as they are using more suitable clothing. Also these images are a lot easier to adapt and edit in photoshop compared to my other images. These images are also a lot more varied and show a lot of different styles of images to resemble the pages on my magazine.

Double Page Spread 2nd Draft

Contents Page 2nd Draft

Front Cover 2nd Draft

Mock Progress Update

So far I have created a few mocks and are currently altering them and editing them until I find a suitable one that I am happy with. By changing the colours and layout I have noticed how much of a drastic effect it can actually have on the magazine. I have also created multiple masthead designs which I have found very effective as it show progression and I am very happy with the one at the moment as its very clean and smart. Also it looks very professional and suits very well with my magazine as a whole. Mock after mock I have noticed a significant change after every mock which is showing great progression not only for my magazine but also shows experimenting skills through Photoshop which can really help when making my final magazine.

Music Magazine Photoshop Mock Analysis

After making my music magazine mock on photoshop i know have a very clear understanding and example of what my music magazine will look like when it is finished. It has really given me a backbone for creating my music magazine on indesign. I feel it is a real good set-up for creating my magazine as i like the layout and colour scheme i have used. When making my magazine i think i will use this to follow but will make everything to a lot higher quality.

Double Page Spread Photoshop Mock

Contents Page Photoshop Mock

Mock Photoshop Front Cover

Double Page Layout

These two images show the clear and clean layout I have chosen to use in my double page spread for the magazine I am making. I used the NME magazine to get some influence and hopefully this shows reflection of this. I feel that this layout will be successful as I feel I have used a good layout that uses a strong combination of text and image. I also wanted to use a feature in this double page spread that allows the page to more versatile and adaptive to the reader and what they want to read.

Contents page Layout

Like the front cover I feel that my contents page really shows influence from other magazines I have looked at and also reflects the rock genre. It shows an even use of text and image and will again be a pretty clear and slick layout. I also wanted to get a good grasp of what I should consider for the contents page, this is why I have used this type of layout.

Front Cover Layout

This is my layout for the front cover of my magazine, I am really happy with what I have done and I feel that after looking at a lot of front covers I have made a cover that shows influence from these other front covers. I wanted a pretty simple layout for my cover as I didn't want it to be filled with text and lettering. I feel that most rock genre magazines stick to a simple layout and house style so I did too. I may have to alter may layout though when creating it if it doesn't match what I an expecting this cover to look like.

Magazine Picture mock analysis

After taking all of my mock up pictures for my music magazine i found them very useful and effective. I feel that my pictures show a clear representastion of the rock genre and what should be expected for images of a rock genre music magazine. I feel that each image shows a good comparison to other popular music magazines such as the NME and Q as i used these magazines as guidlines for my work. I find that overall the pictures came out positive and noticed how the quality of my phone camera was jsut as good as a normal camera so i think i will use this with my actual pictures. I also used a lot of diffrent styles and poses for my images to show a range in the genre and to show emphasis throughout the pictures and what they portray. I feel that i could have used a lot more props to show the genre so this will be something i am going to consider when taking my final pictures.

Magzine Mock Pictures