I Rock Therefore I Am. 20 Legendary Quotes from Prince
A-Level Mag Evaluation
1. #1) Who would be the audience for your magazine?
My audience will consist mainly of males aged 17-26 (students)
who have an attraction to house music, dance music, partying and
the nightlife. Some of their favourite artists may include Avicii,
Sebastian Ingrosso, David Guetta, Axwell and so on. The will also
have an appeal to technology, art and striking/inspirational
images. The features of my magazine would draw these factors to
the front of the readers personality. I hope my magazine would
inspire most of my audience simply by the use of effective colours,
images and language. As my magazine is a new edition in the
industry, my audience may already read other magazines such and
DJ or mixmag. Therefore I have looked at these magazines in my
research and chosen images appropriately to relate to the existing
interests of my audience. As my audience is primarily students, the
use of penetration pricing on release of my magazine can be used to
leap in front of the competition. This involves under pricing my
magazine at first, then raising the price once a market/audience has
been established. This will work as students tend to be on very low
income. Therefore may opt for my product. Once the price has
been raised in the future, my magazine may grow an older
audience with a more respectable and expensive feel.
2. My audience is primarily
males aged 17 – 26. To
attract this target market I
have used a number o f
techniques.
First of all my artist is a
young male aged 18 who has
had success in the music
industry. This relates to my
audience as he is very
similar. With luck, this artist
my inspire my audience to
accomplish their goals and
aspirations.
Second, I have used a famous lyric from a
song produced by the artist, Usher,
named Rest Of My Life. This links closely
with my audience as many young boys
think this way. Usher is a massive artist
and this song has had much success. By
using this lyric I have tied not only with
NeORIX’s fans, but also Ushers. This
could be taken as a sign for future
collaborations and used as a hidden hint
within my magazine.
#2) How did you attract/address your audience?
My Masthead has been designed to look
interesting and unique. The name itself,
PULSE, links nicely with todays generation of
dance music as I mentioned in detail when
researching Mastheads. The font has been
chosen accordingly as it is bold, almost “in
your face.” This stands out as many of todays
youth does. I think it would attract my
audience as it would seem familiar to them,
given the nature of the music genre.
Therefore, drawing them into the magazine
and wanting to read on…
3. My ideal Music Magazine will be aimed towards the age range of
17-26. My magazine will be aimed at males for the majority, but
also cater for females. The reason for this is that I believe Dance
music (party music) does not cover just one gender. My audience
should enjoy Dance music as well as the
"Nightlife". Advertisements and Responses for local and distant
clubs, strips and bars will most likely be included in the
magazine. Favourite artist may include: Avicii, David Guetta, DJ
Fresh, Nicky Romero, Axwell and so on. These all play a part in
their lives, listening to music everyday. I feel the audience will
have an attraction to art and technology, creating my magazine to
fit these style may include adding lasers, vibrant colours and
striking images. I believe the most important factor to focus on,
is... What would I look for in a magazine, and does this
magazine act me to buy it. I think if I produce a magazine that I
would actually want to buy, then hopefully others of similar age
to me, and with the same music taste, will also do the same.
Made to
look artistic
Many young people can be attracted
simply by the use of a free item.
Therefore, I have researched real
magazines and decided to follow in suit
by including one myself
4. My staged image used on my cover page is of my artist.
Their body position has been used to create a sense of
hidden identity.
I wanting to link closely with my own personality when
taking this image. Therefore, this pose gives a sense of
Shyness, hidden secrets and anxiousness involved with my
artist. This attracts the audience by making them think. I
believe nothing “sells” well unless it makes its audience
think. By using this feature it makes the audience wonder
what’s behind my artists exterior. They will hopefully want
to purchase my magazine and find out.
By not looking at the camera has meant that my artist is not
addressing the reader. This is the effect I was looking for,
which means the reader almost has to find out for
themselves, what NeORIX is all about.
My tagline is designed to draw in the audience. “The
World’s Best” gives it a sense of exclusivity and belonging.
Almost stating that this is the real thing and the
competition is inferior.
I have chosen a professional layout
which follows the trend of existing
magazines. I kept the images to a
minimal on the contents page in fear
of it becoming overcrowded. My use
of shapes and design/layout has
been thought out to attract a younger
audience by making it interesting
and effective on the eye. Although
there is a lot of text. The text is most
short and snappy (to the point). This
means readers of a young age can
pick up and find exactly their interest
without reading a block of text.
5. My use of text “DOWN AND DIRTY” has
been designed to appeal directly to my
audience of 17-26, majority male.
Keeping it catchy and meaningful means
it creates a version in their mind.
Hopefully sticking in their mind making
them remember this magazine. Once
again using lyrics from popular dance
tracks has also helped the overall synergy
with my magazine and its audience.
The use of language used has been written to
create a sense of involvement with the
magazine and the artists journey. Eg, above
the use of short paragraphs linking to the
artists life, as if he is speaking to the reader
has been greatly effective with fellow class
mates whilst reviewing my work. This
theme continues throughout the magazine to
help the reader understand my artists
journey, start to finish.
Again I have included advertisements on
the page to the left. This has created a
more professional looks whilst offering
advice and deals to my audience who
primarily may be looking to book their
first holidays away with their mates. This
would be an ideal solution for NeORIX’s
fans to catch him in action during their
holiday. Not only that but my magazine
would receive funding for doing so.
Including a “TOP TRACKS” section is
something many music magazines include.
Therefore, including one in my magazine
was obvious and realistic. My text is
separated in paragraphs meaning the
reader can begin reading at any point. This
is valuable as my audience may not be
interested in great columns of text. Perfect
Pulse has used word play to appeal to the
audience and relates neatly to the story
behind my artist.
6. #3) How does you media product represent particular social groups?
As I have decided to appeal to a more male audience, I have decided to
feature a male artist as my main feature for my magazine. I have tried to
represent my artist through the choices I have made – a male, interested in
dance music who has recently been successful, has a love for technology
and art yet has a hidden personality and story.
Before I started taking images or pictures for my magazine, I research real
artists like Avicci, to see how they dress. I found the main theme is usually
casual clothing like tops and jumpers. Therefore I would feature my artist
wearing this type of clothing. Hats and caps are usual a popular
item/clothing accessory in dance music and Djing.
7. Across the images that
dance artists appear
in, they’re dressed in a
certain style. This is
usually plain colours:
blacks, greys, whites
and most feature the
common DJ accessory,
headphones. All these
have conventions of
the male stereotype in
society. Particularly
dance music artists,
blacks and grey are
associated with quite
shady characters. As
dance music was seen
to be going against the
norms when it first
came about, this ties in
nicely with the artists
themselves.
Their posture and facial expressions also give away a great
deal about their personality, showing their strength or
weakness. Their tendency to stare down the barrel of the
camera during stages images almost suggests they’re
making eye contact with the viewer of the image. This
creates a powerful, almost semiotic atmosphere.
The postures used in the
images often create a sense
of rebellious youthfulness.
This may be created by the
use of clothing, posture or
direct eye contact with the
camera. This could be a
form of ideology behind
the image and could be
used to create quite an
effective magazine like I
have attempted with my
design. The simply use of
colour in clothing and the
styles of clothing create
and ideology that is hard
to ignore. This can change
the way people think
about dance music and the
way the chose to listen to it
and the circumstance they
listen to it.
8. The fact the my artist is staring
at the ground rather than the
camera, together with the
position of the camera (over
looking the artist with a angle
position) gives an impression of
anxiety and hidden feelings
with my artist. A stereotype of
Males and dance music is that
they’re often quite forward and
to the point. They can be
rebellious and unforgiving. For
my artist, I wanted to go against
the norm and stereotype and
create and interesting story
which would provide my
audience with a meaningful
read, offer them inspiration and
teach them a life lesson.
The use of the cap has been used to
create a “shadow” across my artist
(not literally). This again hopefully
adds to his hidden thoughts and
identity.
I have followed the clothing
scheme associated with the male
social group and dance music by
featuring my artist in jeans, jumper,
coat and cap for the main image.
Having my artist sat down has
given the effect of a laid back social
atmosphere. A calm environment
soon to be uplifted with his passion
of dance music – DJing.
9. The titles I have used on these double page spreads represent the social group and the
way in which they think. I have tried to create a shady whilst comical impression of the
male dance music industry. “DOWN AND DIRTY” and “HITS BACK HARD” and
relate to the male stereo type of “Macho men” and dirty minds. The pages in
themselves are about NeORIX sharing his experience through a club guide to the
readers, and his bounce back to fame as an inspiration to the reader.
10. #4) What have you learnt about technology making your magazine?
One example of technology involved with media
that I have used and studied is Photoshop.
Photoshop has allowed me to uniquely edit my
photos to improve light, edit shape and shading,
remove defects and remove backgrounds to name a
few. This gives an overall more professional look to
my final magazine product.
In the example to the left, we where given a test
image of some bottles and where asked to remove
one of the bottles. This technique involved using the
clone tool which can replace pixels with selected
pixel from another area in the image. Other test
images involved spot removal and simple cropping
to make the image seem more “lifelike”.
Here is a clear example of some of the things I have
been able to achieve in Photoshop. For this page, I
had to take three separate images to achieve my
desired effect. I also wanted the artist’s face and
actions to be dominant in the image, therefore I have
featured my artist wearing a black T-Shirt. I first has
to delete the background from my original images
using the selection tool. This allowed my to separate
the background from the foreground. To position the
images together I had to create three layers with an
image on each. Then I created a layer on top of them
and faded the image with a soft, black brush tool. I
wanted an artistic look so I used filters to change the
aesthetics of the image. This gave me my desired
outcome which I felt was effective on the page.
11. InDesign is another example of technology that I have been able to use for my
media product. This allowed my to create a professional design with minute
tolerances with alignment. This meant it closely represent a real media magazine
out in the real industry.
On the left are examples of plans I created when thinking about my contents page.
These where previously shown on my blog. You can see that my final design is not
an exact copy of any of these original plans.
It is actually parts of each design, put together. By planning my design in InDesign
first, allowed me to evaluate them on the spot of put together my best ideas. For
example, my heading for my final contents page takes the initial idea of the middle
image on the left and put together with the design of the word “contents” from the
bottom image. An example would be that I included 3 columns from my first two
designs and included the red arrow from an idea of staggered images from the first
design.
I feel InDesign was a platform to create my magazine on. I have learnt many tips
from the software like creating drop heads and inserting picture frames to allow for
the initial plans.
12. Prezi is another use of technology that I used for my evaluation
and third party opinions. This allowed me to create a wall,
similar to Padlet. I could then annotate around images
inserted to the wall and create a “second” blog.
I was able to the import my
Prezi wall into my blog.
This will allow people to
view my evaluation of
Question 5 interactively
using the mouse to navigate.
This technology has taught
me a great deal when
creating innovative pieces of
work. Here I have used it
for an evaluation, but it
could be used for
presentations,
demonstrations, designing
etc.
13. #5) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms
and conventions of real media products?
http://prezi.com/qjvr-m1mjdr6/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
14. #6) What type of media institution might distribute your media
product and why?
I think the most effective way to distribute
my magazine would be the electronic
market, with it being a new product. The
electronic market is where buyers and
sellers can trade items over the internet
without face to face contact.
One method could be the use of my
website.
On my page folio I have included the
address for my website. This follows most
conventions of a real media product. By
having my music magazine available
online it is likely to grow in the market
place, faster. Word of mouth would be
likely to spread the PULSE name
throughout my audience creating a
media/public stare. People can be
attracted to the website from hearing about
it, stumbling across it, seeing it in my
magazine and from various links on
advertisement websites.
Another way I could market my product is
the use of the App store on IPhone, IPad
and Android. The “in” phone at the
moment, or the “in” product seem to be
smart phones and tablets, especially the
Apple products.
On all Apple products there is also an app
called Newsstand. Here you can purchase
or download previews of magazines. This
would be an ideal place to market and/or
sell my product as it provides me with a
wider audience or market range. This also
appeals directly to my audience age range
as students most need smart phones or
tablets to assist in their work.
With the electronic market growing and
becoming an ever more effective way of
selling. This may also save on fixed but
mostly variable costs to my magazine
business. If, eventually, my magazine sold
via the internet. This means less
hardcopies of the magazine would need to
be produced, reducing costs (output).
Therefore the profit would be raised
considerably.
Finally, my audience are often known as
the “Playstation Generation.” Therefore,
another method of marketing could be to
include in-game marketing strategies. This
involves place a virtual advertisement in a
computer game. Eg, Barrack Obama had
“Vote Obama” placed into the Need For
Speed games on a road side bill board. I
similar strategy could be used to market
my magazine.
The genre of game would be important.
For example, I could include an
advertisement in RockBand, or Guitar hero
which are popular music games. I could
also include an advertisement in Grand
Theft Auto which only appears when the
gamer switches on the Dance Music Radio
Station in game. Therefore I can ensure
that I am appealing directly to my
audience and specifically, the right age and
genre. Of course this costs money, so this
may have to be a method of advertising
later on in the life of the business.
However, all three could be adopted for
the ultimate marketing and distribution.
15. #7) Looking back at your media product, what have you learnt in the
progression from Aquinas magazine to the full product?
Drafting:
I found myself working on my contents page
first. I thought this would be an appropriate
place to start as my complete product can then
follow the colour scheme used here. I felt the
contents page was the best place to create a
powerful and effective page which drew the
reader into the magazine after the initial front
page.
As you can see my initial drafts varied quite a
bit. I said in my blog that I wanted to
investigate all areas of design. Therefore I have
looked at a plain design, a more text based
model and one featuring the majority of
images.
Drafting has allowed me to asses the direction
in which to take my magazine further. For
example, I was able to conclude that my text
based design looked the most professional and
linking with my genre. Therefore I was able to
take it to the next step, Editing…
16. Editing:
The editing stage allowed me to play around
with my initial draft in order to create my
desired effect.
On the left, I have advanced the draft by
adding my magazines title. This I found was
common in real media products found in my
research. I wanted to stick with a 3 column
design which is again common in real media
magazines.
On the left is another draft (not mentioned in
the previous slide) that I felt could be useful.
Instead of my left column being images, I
decided to created an index for readers to
associate with their favourite artists. This
would hopefully increase the selling point of
my magazine, if my audience are able to see
their artist. I also decided that the heading
looked interesting being aligned to the right.
And therefore edited my design. After playing
around/editing with my final design I created
a look which I felt was suitable for my media
product. You can see the progression from
initial drafts to my final product across these
two slides.
17. Design:
In my design specification, I stated that my design should include vibrant and striking
images that link with my target audience of students, the majority being male. I feel I
was able to achieve this not only with my choice of camera angles, shots and artist
poses, but I feel my use of layout and background design has played a useful part. For
example, the shapes used in the pitch perfect page has been designed to catch the eye
of the reader. I wanted to create a sense of movement, as the eye is naturally drawn to
movement, I feel I have achieve this with the shapes used and pose of my artist on top.
The design of my Down and Dirty page was originally different. Instead of 3
columns, it was 2 and it was written, blocked text. Studying my research, I found this
was not a good way to keep the audiences concentration. Therefore I followed the
norm and added 3 columns. Then I changed my text into small paragraphs to divide
each month. This allows for the user to start or finish reading where they please. For
example, if the user was only interested in a particular month. Therefore, I was able to
enhance my design using previous ideas and research.
18. Photography:
I wanted to show 3 sides of my artist, his
DJing, his personality and his ability to
perform to a huge audience. Therefore I
constructed his poses (above) in such a way
to demonstrate these factors. My previous
attempt allowed me to achieve better results
in the photography stage of my media
product by making me aware of the key
factors with photography: lighting, colour,
costume etc.
I wanted a striking image for my
ARRIVALS double page. From my
previous task and research I found that
blurring or smudging certain areas can
draw greater attention to other areas of
the image. Therefore I have added a
small blurred and smudge effect to the
background behind my artist, also on his
feet and parts of his jacket. This brings
him out of the background more, making
it seem 3D.
I have used various angles, eg: eye level
shots, low angle shots and high angle
shots. On my PERFECT PULSE double
page I have used a low angle shot to give
an impression of power and superiority to
my artist.
On the page to the left, I have used an eye
level shot to allow the reader to feel a
connection with my artist, feeling his
emotion and lifestyle or personality.
19. Brand, Genre and Audience:
It was important that I kept a
continuous Theme, Genre and
audience throughout my
magazine. To keep a continuous
Theme or Brand I have used a
house style and branded colours.
For example, I have used the
circles cut out of title as a running
theme to link my magazine pages
together. This appears in the
Masthead, Contents and my Down
And Dirty information and
advertisement page. This ensures
the magazine is tied together with
a running theme that the audience
can relate to. Another use of house
style I have used is the “x”
featuring in my artist’s name,
NeORIX. This has a large point on
the bottom left. I have
incorporated this into every title
involving his name. Different
effects have been used to keep a
variation on the pages, whilst still
continuing the theme. For
example, the X breaking through
the text on my perfect pulse double
page is different to my “This was
the best by far” double page. Not
only in colour, but position and
background was the norm in
media magazines, with black text.
As yellow would not be very
legible on white, I decided to use
red text. This was second to
yellow and black in the most
legible text. Therefore I thought it
would be a sensible choice. Some
magazines in my research showed
a completely different house style
in their contents page, however I
wanted a link between mine.
Therefore I decided to include my
colour scheme in a subscription
section.
It is important to have a constant
target audience as to much
variation can lead to the magazine
actually targeting no one.
Therefore, my use of language,
colours, images and shapes have
all been designed to keep my
target audience (17-26, young
students) constant and attracted.
As students tend not to have a high
income, I have included free offers.
This I hope will appeal to my
audience and hopefully encourage
them to purchase my media
product.
that yellow on black or black
on yellow was the most
legible colour scheme.
Therefore I decided that this
would be the most eye
catching design to attract my
audience. This meant that
my main front page would
feature these colours and the
rest of the magazine would
follow. However, for my
contents page, I had to
change it slightly. Research
suggested that a white
fading. My use of colour has
also allowed me to use a
continuing/flowing style. It
is important to chose the
right colours in order to give
the magazine the right
impression. For example,
gold may give the
impression of an expensive
product. Red screams “pick
up and buy me” and yellow
is most noticeable and legible
form a distance. After
conducting research, I found
20. Marketing, Distribution and Advertising:
It is important that the marketing, distribution and
advertising of my media product is done right. This
ensures that the magazine will sell when it is released.
Marketing/Advertising:
Various products are marketed in different ways.
Ultimately, It depends on your target market. My target
market is 17-26 year old students. Therefore I have to
think what a typical student of that age would do. For
example, they may play games, have smart phones or
tablets, watch a lot of tv, and browse the internet
regularly. Therefore it would be an idea if I marketed
my product around this. For example, now that I have
identified where would be appropriate to market my
product, I can now think, how? If they use a lot of smart
phones, then an online downloadable preview from the
app store will be a good idea, so that the reader can store
it in the newsstand app.
Alternatively, I could use in game advertisements to
draw the audience through mobile games. For example,
Freemium music games such as magic piano or garage
band could be a good place to start. As these are music
apps, the audience would already have an interest.
Therefore it would be a good suggestion to advertise my
magazine here. Finally, my magazine could be
advertised in other media products. Such as related
magazines or my featuring artists album or music video.
This would appeal to my audience directly and increase
sales by feeding them information about my magazine,
supported by their favourite artist.
Distribution:
Distribution is an important area of the magazine life
span. Poor distribution would result in poor sales.
Mention previously under marketing, one method of
distribution could be online. My target audience would
largely own smart phones and use the internet regularly.
Smart phones feature an app called newsstand. This
stores virtual editions of magazines. With the online
marketplace becoming an ever bigger/increasing market,
this would be a sensible suggestion as a place to
distribute my magazine. As it ties in with my audiences
interests, it is likely to make larger sales. As it is viral I
could also release it as a Freemium package. For
example, the first story could be free, however readers
could then purchase the rest of the magazine if they wish
to read on. This could create an even larger audience for
my magazine as students are often strapped for cash.
Obviously another method would be to sell hardcopies
in music stores such as HMV, and smaller stores such as
Martins or magazine shops. The disadvantage to this is
that the magazine actually has to be physically produced.
This costs money. The transport and storage of the
media product then means that all this starts to cost my
company money by raising the fixed costs, and therefore
will decrease my potential profit. Online distribution
avoids this as there is no physical product. This may
appeal more to my younger audience.