3. Comparison In comparison to my draft and my actual front cover I decided to make some alteration such I zoomed into the picture more as I wanted to make my model the centre of my magazine I also wanted to highlight the features of her face. This was important because most R&B magazines have the artist as the main focus of the magazine and also because I felt that her facial expression in this shot are very powerful which would appeal to the genre of this magazine. I also changed the font and size of the title “Desire” because when carrying out research I found that existing R&B magazines such as “VIBE” do so. I also noticed that the some of the text from the title in most magazines were covered by the artist’s head which lead me to Photoshop her head being in front of the text rather than behind it. I found that the colours that I has chosen for my draft were not suitable as it made the magazine look less proficient. This why I decided to use three main colours red, black and white which would appeal to my target audience and stand out they also added a colour scheme to my magazine. I added more text on my actual front cover because I felt that on my draft enough information was not required. Finally I failed to include a barcode and issue number on my draft after realising that both things were significantly essential to a magazine I added on to my final draft.
4. I named my magazine “Desire” as I wanted to create an association between the reader and the magazine, I felt the name desire would make the readers feel they need to buy the magazine and have part towards it. I made the font bold and white as it doesn’t not blend in with the back ground. The date and the issue number have both been added in small text as they don’t carry as much importance in grabbing the audience attention although are vital to a magazine. (reason being why both are at the top) Instead of writing one whole sentence that goes in a line I added this sentence in a columns that go down. The text in white font because it was clear and easy to notice. This original image was taken at south bank state park I chose this setting because I felt the graffiti would help it stand out. I also thought that it appeal to the genre of this magazine as it portrays a very proud feeling which the genre clearly represents in its music. The model looks very confident and egoistic and this is able to attract both genders, men through her sexuality and women as they would feel inspired by her. This was added to encourage the readership to buy the magazine which gives a clear statement leaving them with no choice. I highlighted the importance of “46” by making the font bigger. I realised that this phase was powerful and would be influential to the readers; I tried to place it where it would be most effective. “Alisha Jackson” refers to the upcoming artists that I included as my main article this was done to inspire young adults. The font for this was bold and in red and black similar to the clothes she is dressed in. I found that adding the price on top of the barcode would be efficient as they both are related. The price of my magazine is £1.65 due to the fact that my targeted audience are students. I decided to mention an already existing artist as the intended audience would be familiar with them and interest them.
6. In What way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of a real media product? My media product differs and challenges a real media product for example the background of this real media product is white which helps the image of Ciara and the entire text stand out. Whereas my background includes a setting making it harder to see the text although when comparing both magazine my product is much brighter than the real media products helping it to grab the audience’s attention. Although I used real media products to develop my own in some other factors for example using the VIBE magazine I found that the title was always in bold and bright, influencing me to do the same. This real media product has added some text on to the image of the artist which I have also done because of the association the text and the image have for example “curves” has been placed on the artists curve and the “real women” has been added on to a real woman. The colour scheme for both magazines are very similar as they are both related with the same genre the colours represents power, boldness and are glamour’s colours like the genre itself. The posture of both artists are fairly different however facial expressions are similar which shows the genre of the magazine would prefer this. From this media magazine I found that the writing does not go on in a straight line it actually goes down in one column which I displayed in my media product too. I kept the prize and barcode at the bottom just like this real media product.
7. How does your media product represent a particular social group? My media product represents a group of outgoing social people this group is stereotyped using the term “R&B” I have done this in many factors for example the colour scheme, image used, text type and terminology used. The original photograph is of someone that represents the genre; we are able to see this by the costume, the posture and the setting. The setting is of a bold and colourful giraffe display I believe that this itself represents the genre of being very loud and distinctive. The posture of the model very seductive which is normal how this genre is stereotyped we can also see that the model looks very confident and egoistic another refers to how the genre many be stereotyped. The text type is very bold and the statements are audacious for example “real women have curves” this might the genres stereotype which plays a major role in grabbing their attention. The terminology used is very formal which could be other link to highlight the intelligence of the genre. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? A way of distributing my media product using a media institution would be by making a website for my magazine because it would be one of the easier and cheapest ways of promotion and find young adults of that genre. It would be created will the main features that the magazine has for example the title, colour scheme, and conventions. People will be able to find similar areas which are included on the magazine on the website page for example reviews, news and gigs. Although the website will provide additional information such as events and ways to supporting the magazine it would also be a cheaper way of the audience contacting “Desire”. Perhaps in the near future if this magazine is able to develop a media institution such as KISS TV and radio station will be willing to promote my media music magazine.
8. Who would be the audience for your media product? The audience for my media product are young outgoing sociable adults aged between 16-18 years old targeting at both men and women. As most of them are students I had to keep the price fairly low at £1.65. I found that my targeted audience get most of their music information from the internet reason being why my media institution is a website. My target audience attended gigs and concerts which is why I added a subheading of “Gigs” in my contents page. Most of my target audience read magazines on a regular bases one reason why my magazine is a weekly magazine. The reason why they read magazine is that they find them entertaining and to catch up on the latest news which is why I based my double page spread on a new comer. From my research I found that most of my audience shop at New Look, Topshop and H&M this tells me that they are fashionable and stylish.
9. How did you attract/address your audience? I tried to address and attract my audience throughout the magazine for example on the contents page I mentioned the title again reminding them of the connection they have with the magazine. The colour scheme also remained the same on the contents page and the front covercreating a link between the whole magazine and emphasizing that it is one whole magazine. “This week” shows that it is a weekly magazine and perhaps for a new reader it would encourage them to buy the magazine on weekly bases. I kept the background for my contents page white because I felt that the front cover would have had a strong and bold effect and the contents should be more conspicuous. I included three subheadings which from my research found that interested my target audience the most “news”, “reviews” and “Gigs” and numbers on the side of them to direct my audience when looking for a particular category. When coming up with what to contain in the contents I found that articles about existing artists, finding out about what tracks are most popular and including competitions was regular in real media products. I added an image of a young girl band that look like the genre stereotypically as they both are dressed in revealing dresses. Underneath the image I added a small article about the girl band as I established that contents contain them too. Finally I mentioned that the audience is able to become a part of “Desire” I made this bit in a red text box as I felt it would be noticed more.
10. Editing Before After I edited my pictures on Adobe Photoshop C55; this is the picture I used for my front cover. I cropped the picture to makemy model the main centre of the magazine and so the features of her face would be more obvious. I used the “no spot” tool to make her skin look more floorless. I also made it much brighter so it would stand out and grab the reader’s attention. I used this picture for my contents page, when editing this picture I made the background plain white to highlight the importance of the girls I also made the artists look darker when I did this I selected the area of the skin that I wanted darker and only made that area darker rather than making the whole picture darker this was done so they would stand out on my white background of the contents page. This is a full shot and has been taken at a high angle shot. I took for this picture I had to increase the brightness and contrast because from the original picture I was unable to see her facial features. Once again I selected the areas of skin I needed brighter rather than making her dress or the background look a different colour.
11. Analysis of Double Page Spread I tried to make my double page spread as professional as I possibly could; I kept the title the same throughout referring the artist to “the real woman” as it created a pattern in the readers mind. The dots illustrated the importance of reading the whole text to find out about the “real woman”. I first described the artist in the first paragraph as this is what is usually found in real media products. The font that I have used for my double page spread is very sophisticated which gives the magazine more authority. I added quotations next to the artist because I felt that this would attract the audience and grab there attention as they are very powerful. The colour scheme is the same as the contents and the front cover if all three were placed together it would be obvious that they all are from the same magazine. The article itself is about how this artist got into this industry and her future I found that this is something that would interest and motivate young people. The image of the artist shows that she has control which could be a refers to the control that she has over her music . The final image that used is of the artist in a different setting.
12. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? I was aware of how to you various technology such as publisher and my camera however I had no experience on how to used Photoshop. From using my digital camera I was able to great quality pictures and having a 4 GB memory stick I was able to take a lot of pictures and select the one I wanted when uploading them onto my laptop. I had to create a college and my first draft on publisher I was already of how to aware used to this technology I found this task quite easy. Although when it came to using Photoshop my knowledge was very limited so at first I downloaded the trial at home which made it a lot easier as it meant I did not have to spend hours after school trying to figure out how to use it. I began experimenting with random pictures I had taken to see what I was able to do. After a while I identified different tools such as crop, lasso tool, selection and overlay. I also learnt how to apply text on Photoshop I found this process very difficult compared to my draft and college magazine I had made on publisher however Photoshop allowed me to have a professional finish to my actual magazine. It also helped me make a greater development of how to attract to my target audience.
13. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? Since my preliminary task I feel that I have understood and learnt a lot. For example I was only able to use publisher this college magazine shows that I had some understand of how a magazine would be structured and used to attract the right audience. As I added a colour scheme which is the colour of the school uniform. I also I included two articles that I believed would interest my target audience; students preparing themselves for A-levels and A-level results. Next to these articles I found it would useful to add associated pictures this would help the reader identify what the article is about and grab their attention. At the bottom of the page I decided to include a small article about what is inside this magazine this was done so that my target audience would be persuaded to buy the magazine, the article was about helping students make timetables for upcoming exams. However for my real media product I knew who my exact target audience was 16-18 with interest in the genre R&B whereas my Negus magazine was for a wide range of audience such as children, teachers and parents so I had to be careful about what I included in my Negus magazine. I was able to carry out research for real media product and I have learn various issues such as basing the right type of information. Overall looking back at my preliminary task I have learnt that I was able to direct the precise information according to the what my genre prefer and I also used technology to improve the quality of my work.
