I am now going to re-evaluate my product. I feel as though the new product is a lot better than the old one and I am going to give reasons why and how I developed from my preliminary task to the old product to the new product.
I plan to answer the following questions
In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
How does the media product represent particular social groups?
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Who would be the audience for your media product? How did you address/attract your audience?
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I will now attempt to answer these questions, I feel that by answering these questions I will be able to showcase how my product would fit into the current market and I also feel that I will be able to showcase how I have developed my knowledge and skills.
Question 3
What media institution might distribute your media product and why?
IPC media vs Intermedia partners
Question 4
My target audience is aged between 15 and 25 they will be mixed gendered and will be interested in hip hop music and the R&B culture. They would wear hip hop or street wear and would listen to radio channels such as LIVE 365 and MTV.
I have targeted this audience by using images, the body language and the facial expressions used all target the R&B culture as they are laid back but they have a serious and hard edge linked to it. I made sure that the images wouldn't be controversial and upsetting for certain groups of people, I feel as though I have been able to show the stereotype of the R&B and hip hop culture without being offencive.
The article that I have chosen have also addressed my target audience because I have made sure that the article links in with the genre and I have made the interview personal and but humorous as this is what the target audience wished to read. They felt as though they liked the true life stories so instead of just an interview about music I linked it with real life so that the audience would get what they want.
The Results
I sent out my blogger address to over 20 people that fit inside my target audience. However I only received 10 results back so I will now analyse the results that I received.
Question 1 - would you buy the magazine?
100% of the people asked would buy the magazine, this is great to hear as the purpose of creating the magazine was to make it competitive in the market and from this feedback I can see that the magazine would be a success if released as a product in the market.
Question 2 - why/why not?
All of the people asked gave positive results I am really happy with this as they stated that the pages linked well, and that the magazine was finished to a high standard similar to others currently on the market. This is great feedback as it shows that my product would be competitive in the market. one reader even said that the 'quirky features' helped it to stand out over the magazines in the market.
Question 3 - would you pay £2.50 for the magazine?
100% of the readers asked said they would be willing to pay the £2.50 for the magazine, this shows that I have chosen the correct price for the product. However if I was to sell this magazine in the market professionally then I would have to do more research to see if I would be able to charge a higher price for the magazine.
Question 4 - Do you think the magazine's genre is clear?
All of the people asked said that the genre was clear throughout the product. This is good because it means that the product will link with the target audience that I had decided upon and the images that I have chosen and the content all link in with the genre well and it is clear to the reader. This means that if the magazine was on a shelf in the selling place then at a first glace it would be clear to the target audience that the product is aimed at them.
Question 5 - Do you feel that the pages link to one another, is the link clear?
I was worried that the pages didn't link well enough to create the synergy needed through the product, However from the feedback I can see that 100% of the people asked said that all of the pages linked to one another and the link was clear.
Question 6 - Which page was the most effective and why?
I asked this question because I didn't want one of the pages to outshine the others. I am happy to say that the feedback shows that there wasn't one page that out shined the others. 4/10 said the contents 3/10 said the front cover and the other 3 readers said that the double page spread was the most effective. Even though the contents page gained one more vote I feel as though if I had more feedback then I may have gotten a more even result.
Question 7 - Is there anything you would change about the magazine?
Most of the people who fed back said that they wouldn't change anything. however two small errors cropped up and these were the fact that the post-it note on the contents page looks 'squished' this can be easily adjusted and changed to make it a better quality. The second statement was that the quote that appears on the double page spread was not that easy to read and its colour didn't fit in with the magazine's overall colour scheme, this can also be easily changed.
Conclusion
Overall from this feedback I have found out that the readers feel as though the magazine is competitive enough to compete in the current market and the images chosen and the content are all successful enough to convince the target audience to buy the product.
I have now finished creating the magazine and here is the finished product
I am really happy with how the pages came out and I feel the link between the pages is a lot clearer and the pages are of an overall better standard and the product is of a high enough quality to fit in with the current magazines that are on the market.
Here is the process that I took to adapt the old contents page and change it to the new design.
I needed to add in the further listening box
I am going to move the Polaroid images to the far right hand side so that the further listening can go below the interview; it also means that all of the images will be on one side of the pages which helps to show the reader that they are linked.
I am going to change the interview text to black instead or red and black as this makes it a lot easier to read. I will however make sure that the questions are in italics so that it is clear which are the questions and which are the answers.
I am also going to change the colour of the headings from black and white to black and red so that all of the pages link better.
I firstly decided to change the text to all black as I felt the red and black text didn't look like a magazine should look and lack would look a lot more professional and sophisticated. I then decided to change the questions text to an italic font so that they differed from the answers.
I then moved the Polaroids up next to the main image as they were meant to link but I felt the existing design didn't show this off well enough. I decided to add a date to the images also to make them look more like personal Polaroid photos. I made this text red and black to fit in with the other pages better.
I then added in a small CD and rating into the interview as I felt this was a common feature on a lot of music magazines. It appears in a lot of the magazines that I read and I felt it would also link in with the further listening feature that I was about to add.
I decided to add in a 'furthur listening' section as I noticed that this appeared in a lot of music magazines and it helps to bring in the interview to the rest of the magazine. It also helps to advertise the Cd's that the artists are trying the sell and it shows the user the rating before they choose to buy them. This fit into the place where the Polaroids were and made the page look a lot more detailed.
I decided to change the colours of the headings as I felt they didn't fit in well with the rest of the magazine. this is why I changed the colour of the text to red and black so that the colour scheme was easy to see throughout the whole magazine.
I then decided to add in a quote as I felt this was an essential feature in magazine double page spreads. I noticed that in Q magazine there was a quote from Coldplay that gave them the idea for one of the album names. This shows me that the 'quote' is essential for the artist and the magazine.
I thought that the layout of the page was now sorted out well, however I felt as thought the text needed to be into column format. as this would be alot easier to read and follow for the reader. I also enlarged the CD and rating as I felt this needed to be larger than the other Cd's included on the page.
I have now successfully finished the magazine and I feel as though it is of a better standard and quality now. I am going to ask for some audience feedback so that I can see if the target audience has the same opinion.
Here is the process I took to change the old contents page into the new one.
I felt as though there wasn't enough features shown on this contents page as the contents page I researched had a lot more features included than I have on this design.
I also felt as though one CD vinyl was a good idea however two became too overpowering so I will remove the larger one and replace it with something different.
I also feel as though one image wasn't enough so more images are needed
I also am unsure whether the 'turning page' is effective so I will keep this for now however I may remove it and replace it with something more fitting.
I also need to change the colours from blue to red to fit in with the new front cover.
I firstly removed the parts I would no longer be using; I firstly removed the vinyl however I made sure that I have copied the cover lines so that they could be re-entered at a later stage.
This is what the page looked like.
I then added in a text box using the box tool and pasted in the old cover lines I also added some new cover lines; I also added in some images that worked alongside the features; for example the skateboards fit in with the 'page 17' cover line.
I repeated this step for a second box which contained cover lines for 'Gigs'. I also added in another small picture that linked with these cover lines.
I then changed the blue colour scheme to red so that it matched the front cover and would help better with the synergy throughout the product. I also added the pages numbers to the small images so that they linked to the contents page and the corresponding cover lines rather than looked like they were just placed there.
I then decided to add in a subscribe to the magazine line underneath the boxes as I felt that there was too much white space; this is why I decided to add the text in that particular place I also felt as though this was common feature in music magazines.
I then added a QR code into the bottom corner as I felt as thought this would be a good feature to have as this keeps in with other forms of media and also it is something that most smart phones have now which helps for the magazine to link with the current forms of media on offer. I made sure that the 'free download' text was the largest text as this needed to stand out the most; this is because I want the reader to see all of the offers on display so that they will be convinced they are getting a really good deal when buying this magazine.
I finally added a picture of the week feature as this is also common in magazines and it gets the readers involved in the content of the magazines they read and they will keep buying the magazine to see if their image has been used, I also decided to add in a note from the editor as this is also very common in all magazines. I also decided to change the 'miss fitz' from text to a signature as I felt this would make the name stand out better.
I have now finished the contents page and I am really happy with the outcome so I will now proceed on with the double page spread to see if I can get it to the same sort of standard with the changes I decided on previously.
Here is the process I went through to create the new front cover by adapting the old one.
Existing front cover
I need to remove the cover lines and leave the main parts of the front cover; I need to keep the main image and heading and tag line. This way I will be able to re-arrange the front cover and add in the new features more easily
I need to change the colour scheme from blue to red
I also need to change the layout into split sections much like 'Q' magazine.
I need to add in more images and offers to make the magazine more appealing.
I am also going to add in the website so that I can create synergy between the different forms of media.
I firstly removed all of the cover lines and the background leaving the bar code, main image and title and tagline.
I then changed the complete layout of the page, I wanted to base the new front cover on a recent Q magazine that I had seen, I really liked the way that the page was broken up into sections so I decided to follow a similar structure with my own magazine.I decided to use red and black as the main colour scheme as I think this is more R&B related than bright blue. I broke the page down into small sections and made the main image small and added a red background so it was the image section that stood out the most.
I then add in some text along the top of the page telling the reader they can get a free CD firstly I thought that this was a really good promotions method but I have also seen it in action on many of the magazines that I buy frequently. I also added in the price and the website address as I thought this would help create synergy through the different products that the magazine may own. I also changed the tagline from blue to white and shrunk it down as I felt that the tagline was too large compared to the existing magazines that I have researched.
I then added in a quote to go with the main image; this is because I wanted something that would entice the reader into reading more into the artist on the cover image. I also added in a star shape containing an advertisement for a competition, this would persuade the user to buy the magazine as they would like to win the competition to claim the prize.
Next I started on the cover lines. I firstly started on the smaller box. I decided to add in another FREE section as I thought this was a really good way to convince that they are getting a great deal when buying this magazine. I added in the text and some smaller images that linked to the text so that the reader would be provided with a visual of the offer they are receiving.
I then moved onto the larger box, I added in some cover lines that appear on the contents page so that the pages link well together. I then added in the image of an iPod advertising the double page spread. I added this onto the iPod as I wanted this to be more special than the other cover lines.
I then added in the graphic of a skateboarder as I felt this would fill in the white space and it fit in well with the theme and genre of the magazine.
I felt as though the bottom of the page looked a bit chopped off and 'boxey' this is why I decided to add in something I noticed on 'Q' magazines front cover. It was a diagonal line with the artists names on that were appearing in the magazine. I felt as though this finished off the page well. I also decided to swap the flo-rida coverline with the miss fitz coverline as I felt the converline linked to the double page spread needed to stand out more.
I feel as though this page looks a lot more professional and I feel it could successfully compete on the market; so I will now move onto the contents page.
I have decided to base the new magazine on some pages from existing magazines that I have read.
I have used Q magazine for my style model for the front cover of my magazine.
Front cover
I really liked the way that this magazine had broken up the page into sections I felt as though this made the page look ordered and neat yet it didn't look too tidy as that may have been perceived as boring. I felt as though the layout was the type of layout that my magazine needed in order to make it look more aesthetically pleasing.
I also noticed that this front cover had more than one picture which is what my magazine was missing. This is why I think that I should add more image on the new front cover so that the magazine is of a more competitive standard.
I also noticed that the tagline for the magazine was a lot smaller than I had originally had mine so I definitely need to shrink mine down along with the bar code and price as these were also too large on my front cover.
I also noticed that I had not included a quote from the artist shown on the front cover. I further noticed that this was one of the largest fonts on the page in Q magazine; this therefore meant that I needed to firstly add one to my magazine but to also make sure that it was a large enough font to be a prime focus.
I also really liked the diagonal banner that 'Q' magazine had included on their front cover. It stated all of the artists that were going to be included in that issue. I felt as though this would be a good feature to include on my front cover as it advertises the artists and persuades the readers to buy the magazine as their favourite artist may be included inside.
Contents page
I didn't want to use a style model for my contents page as I felt as though it was individual in its design and it would be hard to find a magazine that I could link my new design to; however I will use my analysis and research of the existing magazines to make sure I include all of the appropriate features that are expected on a contents page.
Double page spread
I didn't want the layout of my double page spread to be made from a style model as I already thought that the page layout I had made was of a professional standard however I added features to the existing design that I had seen in other magazines I had seen. For example I saw the idea for the 'further listening' in lots of different magazines but mainly in 'Q' magazine. I also noticed that the quote from the artist was really important as I hadn't seen many Q&A article without one which makes me feel like adding the quote from the artist is a priority.
I have decided that it would be best to change parts of the magazine as I don't think it is strong enough to compete in the magazine industry. I felt as though some of the pages worked better than others and there was no real synergy between the pages so I thought that making some changes would make it more competitive in the market.
The changes I would like to make Front Cover
I would like to completely re-think the front cover as it doesn't work well and looks amateurish, I feel as though the background looks out of place which in turn ruins the main image. I also feel as though the cover lines are far too large for the front cover and they look messy as they aren't aligned. I would like to bring some order to the front cover and make it look more like something featuring in the current market as this will bring up the standard of my magazine and in turn make my magazine as a whole more competitive.
I will keep the same main image for the front cover however I will shrink it down.
I am going to remove the current cover lines as I feel a different font needs to be used and they need to be smaller
I am going to change the colour scheme to red from blue as I feel that this is a better colour that fits with the genre a lot better.
I am going to keep the current bar code and keep the price the same however I will shrink them dramatically and I will also move them to a new position on the page.
I am going to use 'Q' magazine as my inspiration and I am going to split the pages up into separate sections as I feel this will look neater but I will also be able to make the magazine look more professional this way.
I am going to add more cover lines, special offers and images to make the magazine look more professional and to add features that will convince the reader that they are getting a good offer when they buy this magazine.
Contents page
I feel as though the contents page wasn't as weak as the front cover however there are some changes that still need to be made in order to bring its quality up to the standard of the current magazines displayed in the market.
I am firstly going to change the colour scheme from blue to red so that the front page flows onto the contents and the magazine looks more like a complete magazine rather than separate pages.
I am going to remove one of the vinyls as I feel one is enough and the other should be replaced with something like boxes to make the page look more interesting it also means that more cover lines can be added and they will be a lot easier to read as they will be left aligned.
I am definitely going to add more images as there is too much text for the text/picture ratio it looks like a lot of text which can be quite boring for the user to read through. I also feel as though the user needs some visual representation of some of the cover lines so this is how I could add some of the images.
I am going to add some sort of subscription information onto the page as I know from some research that I conducted that this is common on magazine contents pages.
I am going to add a QR code as I feel as though this means that the magazine can be linked to the new gadgets that are on the market and it helps to bring several media industries together through synergy.
I am also going to add a editors note as I have seen this appear in a lot of the magazines that I regularly read.
I feel as though these changes are necessary in order to bring my contents page up to the standard of the current magazine that are in the music magazine market. I also feel as though adding these features may make my magazine stand out over other magazines and my target market will be more likely to choose my magazine over the market.
Double page spread
I felt as though the double page spread was the best page that I have created however I would still like to make a few changes as I feel I have a lot more knowledge behind creating the double page spread now so I feel as though I can improve it to make it link to the two new designs for the pages I am going to create. I felt as though the page was too bare and I as a reader would not be happy to pay the price I had chosen for this little information
I am going to shrink the text of the interview down to a size 5 as I feel this is more appropriate and that means I can add in a lot more information about the artist
I am also going to change the alignment of the interview as having the interview in column format makes it a lot easier to follow and read.
I am going to change the colour scheme to match the other pages so that the pages flow on from one another and so that it looks more like a complete product rather than 3 separate pages.
I am going to create a CD for the artist appearing in the article as this will help promote the artist and the genre being portrayed.
I am also going to add a 'further listening' section; This is a feature that regularly appears in a lot of different music magazines such as Q and Vibe. I would like to add this as I feel it is a really good feature as I can advertise the genre of the music and also artists that appear both in this genre but also in the interview conducted as this will help tie all of the features on the page together.
I feel as though if i conduct all of these changes I will firstly be able to create more successful pages but I will also be able to create an overall better product.
Introduction
I have now completed the final product, I now plan to complete an evaluation of the final product, I plan to answer the following questions
In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
How does the media product represent particular social groups?
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Who would be the audience for your media product? How did you address/attract your audience?
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I have decided on these questions as they will potentially answer the questions needed to make the task into a real media product, its audience and its distribution institution. I also wanted to evaluate myself and the process I went through as I feel by doing this If I do another project like this I can learn from the mistakes and make an overall better product.
1) In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I think that my media product is fairly similar to existing media products that are currently on the market. My media product sticks with the typical conventions of a music magazine in the fact that I have a contents page and double page spread (typical features of a music magazine).
Front cover
I have also kept to the typical convention of the front cover, In the fact that I have one main cover image. The cover image also fits in with the genre of magazine that I have chosen which is really important as it needs to attract the target audience. I also made sure that the costume, facial expression and body language of the model all fit in with the genre of 'Hip Hop' as this is very important due to the fact that all existing magazines insist on the cover image matching their genre or target audience. I also decided against using props, even though some existing magazines use props I wanted my models facial expression to draw in the reader instead of the reader getting distracted by a prop.
I have also kept the masthead at the top of the page as I thought by going against this would make it stand out less which meant that it would be less of a focus which isn't a good thing. I also made sure that font fit in with the genre I was aiming at, I did this because I wanted the front cover to be completely urban instead of everything being urban related and then the masthead to let the whole thing down. I also made sure that the name also linked in with the genre as having a magazine completely linked to urban then having a name like 'classic' would ruin the whole vibe and genre. I also wanted to follow in the footsteps of existing magazines such as 'vibe' as they are very much genre orientated.
Contents page
I have however gone against typical conventions on my contents page. This is due to the fact that a contents page generally has in-line square text that is easy to read and follow mine weaves in the shape of a vinyl so is not aligned in any way, however I have kept to the convention of having several sections on the contents page, this is due to the fact that it makes the contents page easier to follow and to find the article you would like to read more easily.
Existing magazines also traditionally have several pictures showing what is to come through the magazine. I didn't do any of this as I wanted to create something different and individual to that magazine as I thought this is something that could make the magazine recognisable if it was mass produced. I decided to only have one picture as by having one picture means that the focus is on that one picture instead of spread around between several pictures. I also think that several pictures work best if the text and pictures are aligned which mine are not. I also have incorporated images into the background so layering pictures on top would also take focus away from this.
I have also gone against conventions in the articles as I have included articles that aren't linked to music, Even though this is a music magazine I found out through my research that my target audience wanted real life stories so I have included them, this means that I can please my target audience and encourage them to buy the magazine (eg ....
Double page spread
In terms of my double page spread I have followed conventions in the fact that I have one main image that takes up one page and the artists name being a main focus, However I have gone against conventions as the image is usually on the left hand page I decided to go against this as I wanted the writing to follow on form one another but also wanted to have the 'Miss Fitz' next to the image and if that meant having the image on the opposite page this is what I was going to do.
I stuck to typical forms of having little images on the page as I felt that the page needed little images on it and they fit in well with the interview. I also didn't think that the main image was enough for the double page and also i wanted to have a double page spread that was similar to the basis of existing magazines and existing magazines generally have smaller images on the page
I also went against the typical background as I went for a very cluttered one I wanted the page to feel very colourful and hip hop so I decided to grasp this in the background. I really wanted the page to be more hip hop related through the background and more R&B related through the text and images, as by doing this I could merge the two culture together and get the mix of genres that I wanted for the magazine.
2. How does the media product represent particular social groups?
I decided to go for a hip hop/ R&B theme as these two groups are similar but different at the same time, They go well together so I wanted a magazine that could bring them together. I will talk through each of the pages that I created and how I have used the images to link in with these social groups
front page
The front cover links in with R&B/ urban more that hip hop, I wanted the front cover to be striking and daunting. this is why I decided the cover image to be urban and 'street'. Firstly I decided on the costume that the model was going to wear, I decided on a hoodie as this is something that I link with urban clothing. Then I decided on the shot type that i was going to do, I decided on a mid shot as I wanted most of the attention to be on the face. However I decided not to go for a close up as I still wanted focus on the outfit and body language.
I also conducted some research into the main images used on vibe's front cover and found that the shot type used and the body language was very similar to mine, this meant that my magazine had grasped the genre well and would be a contender against the existing magazine's front cover.
Contents page
I decided to go for more of a hip hop style for the contents page, I tried to grasp the culture of 'hip hop' through my own knowledge of it. I link music and 'decks' as a part of hip hop life, this is why I wanted to incorporate the vinyls into the contents page. I also decided to use an image of a break dancer, this is because I wanted to incorporate the hip hop side into the magazine and felt this was a good way to achieve this.
Double page spread
I used four images on my double page spread, I used one main image and three smaller images.
The main image is more R&B as I wanted to have a serious facial expression and a slouchy laid back body language. I also made sure that the t-shirt was colourful and slouchy as this is what my research came out with.
The smaller images
I went for more of a fun, artistic vibe for the smaller images as i wanted the little images to grasp the artist's personality and how they act when they are on tour as this is what the magazine is essentially about.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I conducted some research into IPC media as they are a very well known and widely used distribution company however they do not publish any hip hop music magazines this could be regarded as a positive or a negative, the positive is that I wouldn't have competing magazines being published by the same company as mine however this could mean that they wouldn't have the knowledge about R&B / Hip hop magazines which could put my magazine at a disadvantage against competing companies. I could also use Inter Media partners as they currently publish magazines such as 'Vibe' this means they would have knowledge on the genre of music that I am doing and would be experienced and would be able to help make the magazine successful however on the negative side I would have a competing magazine also being published by the same company ; however this could mean that the institution could make us both a very high standard so we would moth get a good chance in the market.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product? How did you address/attract your audience?
I have addressed my target audience through the images that I have used as they are linked to Hip Hop or R&B through the body language and facial expressions. I have also tried to keep my audience happy through the articles that I have included due to the fact that they are all linked to hip hop music or hip hop / street culture. I have used my research, and through the opinions of my target audience I found out that the majority of them wanted real life stories and hip hop related topics, so I have included them in the issues as keeping my audience happy means it will encourage them to buy each issue.
5. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
6. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I think that my preliminary task was quite basic as I was unsure about the technologies needed and the software that I needed to use. I had basic knowledge about what made a good photo and how to use photoshop. So I was unable to make a professional looking front cover due to my lack of knowledge. However after during the course of making my music magazine I was able to learn new skills and make an overall better magazine.
I felt that I have learnt how to use photoshop to a much better standard and have learnt what each of the tools do through trial and error. I had hardly ever used photoshop so have only used the basic tools before, so by experimenting with the tolls I was able to see what I could create and then I was able to understand the type of product that I would be able to create using that software
During my preliminary task I also used the in-built text tool on photoshop; this meant that there wasn't alot of choice and there wasn't genres of text. Through using a search on google i was able to find http://www.dafont.com/ this gave me a site which had text that linked with certain genres and gave me much better text for the music magazine
I also learned how to use a camera more effectively, I decided that I wouldn't conduct any research as I wanted to find out what I could create not what everyone else has already created. I took over 50 photos as I wanted to try out all the different functions on my camera, this way I could find the best setting for the types of images I was attempting to take. compared to the preliminary task where I took all the photos in the same setting and only took around 12 photos in total. I learnt that it was better to take more photos as by taking more there is more likely yo be a photo that works well.
I also learnt about the lighting of an image. with the preliminary task I just took photos without thinking about the lighting. I learnt that lighting was a significant part of a photo through the failure of the first set of images. this meant that I took a lot more care and thought into the lighting of the images which helped me to create a better product.
I have learnt a lot through the course of these tasks and have learnt a lot about the practical side but also what happens behind the scenes to create a magazine and about the distribution of magazines. This helped me widen my knowledge of existing magazines and helped me to create an overall better product.
I am really happy with the overall product and I think that it is of a professional standard, and could potentially be sold alongside existing magazines, and through the response of the target audience I believe that the magazine would also sell well.
