Thursday, 25 March 2010
Friday, 19 March 2010
Contents Page
This is my final contents page. I changed the color to a green so that it was bright enough to be eyecatching but not as bright as pinkWednesday, 17 March 2010
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Evaluation
Evaluation for Music Magazine
The hyperlink to my blog: http://www.katienethercoat.blogspot.com/
The brief for my project was to produce a front page, contents page and a double page spread of a new music magazine. All images and text used must be original and produced by myself.
To find the conventions of a music magazine I looked at current products and the way in which each magazine was presented to an audience. The audience is the viewer and reader of a media text. The target audience is the audience that the magazine is based around and how the conventions can connect to the target audience to appeal to them. I looked at magazines such as ‘NME’, ‘Q’ and ‘Rolling Stone’. These magazines are the best well known in the industry of music magazines and that is why I looked mostly at those three.
Many conventions of magazines are how each magazine adapts and uses certain media language to their needs. For example the masthead is one of the main conventions for a magazine. This is the title of the magazine and it is usually placed in the very centre of the page or to the left so that when it is on the rack at a shop it can still be read. It also shows the institution of the magazine by the use of the font or logo. For example ‘NME’ is always placed to the left of the page and in the same font. It can also be changed for the target audience. If the target audience were female then a font, which was elegant but strong, would be used so that it can still stand out but is showing a feminine look. The cover lines are also a convention. These are small headings that are commonly to the side of page and they outline the main content of the magazine. They are short and are used to catch the eye of the reader and to interest them quickly. The main cover line is the line that points out the main article or feature of the magazine. For example if an interview would be included then it would advertise the interview of the music artist involved. It would also relate to the main image of the magazine and would lie on top of the main image and take up more room than the cover lines. The main image is probably the most important as this is what will attract the readers and draw in their attention. It takes up the majority of the front cover and is what the issue of the magazine is based around. The main image involves the music artist looking confident and attractive, as this will reflect on the music they are producing and the institution of the magazine. A feature of the making of the magazine is the bar code as this shows that the magazine is commercial and it can reflect the quality of the magazine and the content it produces based on the price.
For my planning I looked at current products and I analyzed their layout, conventions, and the way in which they reach their audiences. (See: Magazine Analysis) after I looked at current products I started to plan my layout for my own magazine and first looked at IT drafts and decided how I was going to get the best layout. I decided to have my mast head in the very centre of the front cover and have the main image take all of the cover which would make a bigger impact. Even though many of the products I was looking at weren’t the same genre of music or reaching the same audience as me they were still all very successful magazines which reach a very wide audience and genre of music.
For my main image used a professional camera as this would make the image a high quality image and also look professional. I wanted a female model, as my target audiences are females aged between 18-24 so that when they looked at the main image they would see a confident and attractive woman. As my model is aged 21 she is at the very middle of the age group so she represents the age category I want very well. This is seen through the eye contact she is giving to the audience as she is looking straight into the camera and giving full eye contact. For the editing of the picture I used Photoshop. Using Photoshop enabled me to adjust lighting, color and contrast of the image. I brightened the image, as it was darker originally so that it looked like she was in a spotlight and another way of her looking confident and the centre of the magazine. I was also able to edit her around the masthead which enables the main cover to look more professional as most magazines have the masthead covered because they are very popular and they don’t need to show the whole word. I used publisher to produce my double page spread so that it looked like it was in a magazine rather than just on two A4 sheets. I added three images into the double page spread that I merged together. For my contents page I used Photoshop so that I could add images onto the page but get rid of their original background and merge it into the color of the page. This made it look more professional and less cramped. For my text I used a font that was bold but classy to attract the female target audience. I have used this font throughout the texts and I feel it is bold enough for a cover text. I highlighted word such as ‘BRITS’ by capitalizing and in the color of pink so that just a few words would stand out. I didn’t want a clash of color so I kept the background of the image natural and as a light blue which enabled the pink to work well. I have used the pink in my images as the model is wearing a pink shawl which gives a flash of color and attention to her and is also frames her face and upper body. I dressed the model in a black top with an eagle as the sign of an eagle represents a majestic being and powerful sign. I made these choices as I wanted to present my magazine in a professional way and I felt by making these changes or by adding small things that they would help me to accomplish that.
For my drafts I used IT drafts to briefly show the layout I wanted and the style I was aiming for. These drafts label where I wanted the masthead, cover lines and the main image placed on the final cover. Even though I have changed some of the ways in which the features are paced they follow the same lines and rules of how I wanted it laid out. I had to change my layout slightly to enable it to look more professional. I added two images to the contents so that the mina cover was an influence throughout the whole magazine.
For my audience feedback I found that 75% thought that my magazine would appeal to teens and adults. This is what I was aiming for and shows that the conventions I have used appeal to a female audience. A 100% believed that my price of £1.20 for my magazine was very reasonable and they would pay monthly for my magazine. Even though some magazines are more expensive I wanted to have the content more important than the price so I didn’t make it too high. As my audience would be teenagers and young adults I believed that the price would appeal to them as they would be working, a university or at college and they wouldn’t want to spend too much on a weekly magazine. 100% felt that the background worked well with the layout and the picture, which is why I kept the background a simple color, as I don’t think it, would have worked if it was a matching color of black or pink. 100% believed that the font worked well for the picture and the audience.
In conclusion, I feel that I have produced a media text that relates well to the genre of music I was aiming for and the target audience. Most of all it relates well to music. I have enjoyed the process of producing the magazine as I have been able to stretch my imagination and ideas and also my skills I programmes such as Photoshop and publisher. I had difficulty in coming with a good layout for my contents page but I eventually came up with my final piece and I am happy with it. Overall I am very happy with my front cover and I feel I have accomplished all of the conventions and I have been able to appeal to the target audience I was hoping for.
Word Count: 1,534
The hyperlink to my blog: http://www.katienethercoat.blogspot.com/
The brief for my project was to produce a front page, contents page and a double page spread of a new music magazine. All images and text used must be original and produced by myself.
To find the conventions of a music magazine I looked at current products and the way in which each magazine was presented to an audience. The audience is the viewer and reader of a media text. The target audience is the audience that the magazine is based around and how the conventions can connect to the target audience to appeal to them. I looked at magazines such as ‘NME’, ‘Q’ and ‘Rolling Stone’. These magazines are the best well known in the industry of music magazines and that is why I looked mostly at those three.
Many conventions of magazines are how each magazine adapts and uses certain media language to their needs. For example the masthead is one of the main conventions for a magazine. This is the title of the magazine and it is usually placed in the very centre of the page or to the left so that when it is on the rack at a shop it can still be read. It also shows the institution of the magazine by the use of the font or logo. For example ‘NME’ is always placed to the left of the page and in the same font. It can also be changed for the target audience. If the target audience were female then a font, which was elegant but strong, would be used so that it can still stand out but is showing a feminine look. The cover lines are also a convention. These are small headings that are commonly to the side of page and they outline the main content of the magazine. They are short and are used to catch the eye of the reader and to interest them quickly. The main cover line is the line that points out the main article or feature of the magazine. For example if an interview would be included then it would advertise the interview of the music artist involved. It would also relate to the main image of the magazine and would lie on top of the main image and take up more room than the cover lines. The main image is probably the most important as this is what will attract the readers and draw in their attention. It takes up the majority of the front cover and is what the issue of the magazine is based around. The main image involves the music artist looking confident and attractive, as this will reflect on the music they are producing and the institution of the magazine. A feature of the making of the magazine is the bar code as this shows that the magazine is commercial and it can reflect the quality of the magazine and the content it produces based on the price.
For my planning I looked at current products and I analyzed their layout, conventions, and the way in which they reach their audiences. (See: Magazine Analysis) after I looked at current products I started to plan my layout for my own magazine and first looked at IT drafts and decided how I was going to get the best layout. I decided to have my mast head in the very centre of the front cover and have the main image take all of the cover which would make a bigger impact. Even though many of the products I was looking at weren’t the same genre of music or reaching the same audience as me they were still all very successful magazines which reach a very wide audience and genre of music.
For my main image used a professional camera as this would make the image a high quality image and also look professional. I wanted a female model, as my target audiences are females aged between 18-24 so that when they looked at the main image they would see a confident and attractive woman. As my model is aged 21 she is at the very middle of the age group so she represents the age category I want very well. This is seen through the eye contact she is giving to the audience as she is looking straight into the camera and giving full eye contact. For the editing of the picture I used Photoshop. Using Photoshop enabled me to adjust lighting, color and contrast of the image. I brightened the image, as it was darker originally so that it looked like she was in a spotlight and another way of her looking confident and the centre of the magazine. I was also able to edit her around the masthead which enables the main cover to look more professional as most magazines have the masthead covered because they are very popular and they don’t need to show the whole word. I used publisher to produce my double page spread so that it looked like it was in a magazine rather than just on two A4 sheets. I added three images into the double page spread that I merged together. For my contents page I used Photoshop so that I could add images onto the page but get rid of their original background and merge it into the color of the page. This made it look more professional and less cramped. For my text I used a font that was bold but classy to attract the female target audience. I have used this font throughout the texts and I feel it is bold enough for a cover text. I highlighted word such as ‘BRITS’ by capitalizing and in the color of pink so that just a few words would stand out. I didn’t want a clash of color so I kept the background of the image natural and as a light blue which enabled the pink to work well. I have used the pink in my images as the model is wearing a pink shawl which gives a flash of color and attention to her and is also frames her face and upper body. I dressed the model in a black top with an eagle as the sign of an eagle represents a majestic being and powerful sign. I made these choices as I wanted to present my magazine in a professional way and I felt by making these changes or by adding small things that they would help me to accomplish that.
For my drafts I used IT drafts to briefly show the layout I wanted and the style I was aiming for. These drafts label where I wanted the masthead, cover lines and the main image placed on the final cover. Even though I have changed some of the ways in which the features are paced they follow the same lines and rules of how I wanted it laid out. I had to change my layout slightly to enable it to look more professional. I added two images to the contents so that the mina cover was an influence throughout the whole magazine.
For my audience feedback I found that 75% thought that my magazine would appeal to teens and adults. This is what I was aiming for and shows that the conventions I have used appeal to a female audience. A 100% believed that my price of £1.20 for my magazine was very reasonable and they would pay monthly for my magazine. Even though some magazines are more expensive I wanted to have the content more important than the price so I didn’t make it too high. As my audience would be teenagers and young adults I believed that the price would appeal to them as they would be working, a university or at college and they wouldn’t want to spend too much on a weekly magazine. 100% felt that the background worked well with the layout and the picture, which is why I kept the background a simple color, as I don’t think it, would have worked if it was a matching color of black or pink. 100% believed that the font worked well for the picture and the audience.
In conclusion, I feel that I have produced a media text that relates well to the genre of music I was aiming for and the target audience. Most of all it relates well to music. I have enjoyed the process of producing the magazine as I have been able to stretch my imagination and ideas and also my skills I programmes such as Photoshop and publisher. I had difficulty in coming with a good layout for my contents page but I eventually came up with my final piece and I am happy with it. Overall I am very happy with my front cover and I feel I have accomplished all of the conventions and I have been able to appeal to the target audience I was hoping for.
Word Count: 1,534
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