2. What ways does your Media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real Media products? I’ve used a similar style to NME magazines. The main artist is the most important thing so this is the biggest picture on the front and also this is why I decided not to include any other photos on my front page. Also using bold headlines for the main stories and a brief description is something that NME and other music magazines also use. Front Cover Main story made clear, attracts the readers attention and the subheading shows why that artist is in the magazine. I used a similar layout on my magazine but the word ‘FREE’ will attract attention as they want free things. I've placed all the stories down one side so they don’t obstruct the image. I’ve added these other artists as they’re well known and a good way to show who's in the magazine. The magazine name is most important feature as there’s so many different types of music magazines. I’ve used a similar colour scheme throughout my front cover and not chosen too many colours so that it doesn’t look too crowded. I’ve made the image as the artists and not included any other images as the NME magazine has also done, this is so the focus is on the artists, making it seem like it’s their own issue of the weekly magazine.
3. Contents A review of my contents page, comparing it to the NME example shown and explaining why I did certain things. I’ve used these to fill space, I've also used them on my double page spread and is a popular technique used by real magazines. I’ve used the same headings for sections of the magazine as NME does because they stand out and are easy to find particular sections I’ve only got one main image on this page so that the page isn’t overcrowded with pictures, however I’ve broken the page up into different sections. A band index is also used by NME as you can see on the example, this shows the reader all the bands that are in the magazine for that issue. ‘ In Plugged this week’ makes it more personal and makes the reader feel like they’re getting a special inside story and makes the magazine more personal to the reader. Using different colours for the different articles makes the magazine more interesting and clearer to look at. It also doesn’t make it look like the page is filled with writing as they’re spaced out. In this example, you can see the editors filling up space as there's nothing else to put there because more writing would be too much and the space is too small for another main story, so they put an advertisement there, this works better than putting a small graphic there to cover space because they will earn money from it.
4. Double-Page Spread A review of my Double-Page spread, comparing different layouts and why I decided to do certain things. The image is one the main focus’ about the page as its the biggest. I chose this image as I thought it best suited the article. The main title and the image are the most important parts of the page as they attract the most attention, I've decided to use this font so that it gives a classy, smooth effect. I have added a glow so that it looks more professional. I’ve added the graphic at the bottom so that it doesn’t appear boring and colour-less. I’ve enlarged a quote from the artists as many magazines do, it gives the reader a brief idea of the article and encourages them to read on because they want to know what the story is. I’ve added the little Snapshot photos as shown also in the example. This is because the whole page needed more images and it also shows the reader that she’s not boring and only interested in singing, it shows them that she has a sense of humour and that she’s just like everyone else. I have used one colour for the question and another for the answer so that it breaks it up and you can see the different questions. It also makes the page look better as it appears to not just be completely filled with writing. It’s important to have a clear background that enables the text to be easily read and it also makes the page look clear and fresh because it’s white.
5. How does your media product represent particular social groups? These were the best images from my photo shoot, I've used them in my magazine as they represent the social groups that my magazine is aimed at. The pictures appeal to white, working class people, aged 16-18. Both male and female, as there’s different bands and artists in the magazine and it doesn’t have a dominant colour scheme that would only appeal to one gender. She appeals to working class people because she’s not too overdressed and is wearing what the majority of 17 year olds would. My Photo-shoot These are ideas that I used for my photo shoot as I would imagine that my magazine artist would be similar to Florence and the machine and create a similar style music. I chose to make her similar as Florence appeals to a wide range of people as many people like her music. I’ve used similar poses and similar styling. Photo-shoot Inspiration Other artists who would be similar and appeal to a similar age group, class and same styling, are Pixie Lott and Ellie Goulding.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? Adobe Illustrator I’ve used Adobe illustrator to create the lines on my contents page. I used these to cover space and add more colour to my contents, without them being the main focus of the readers attention. I also made them thin and tangled so that they appear to look like leads that would be used on stage by musicians Before Editing After Editing Adobe Photoshop I’ve used Photoshop to create my Front cover, Contents page and Double Page Spread. This is so that I could place my images and text exactly where I wanted to and manipulate my text. Photo Editing : I’ve edited all the photo’s that I have used on Photoshop to make them look more professional, I've removed backgrounds, made her hair slightly darker, brightened the image and used the airbrush to remove anything that would be seen as an imperfection in the professional industry. Text Manipulation I used the character toolbar on Photoshop so that I can make specific parts of my text stand out from the rest so that it’s not all the same size and looking boring. Photography After using a professional camera for my magazine, I can now take a professional high quality photograph and I can use the correct lighting to ensure that the picture will suit the purpose that it’s needed for.
7. Who would be the audience for your media product? How did you attract/address your audience? I’ve attracted my target age group throughout the features that I have used on my front cover, this is because it’s the first thing that buyer will see. Using my artist as the main picture on my front cover shows what type of artists are included (if it was in industry the artist would be well known and easily recognizable) . Also she’s looking straight at the camera so it would appear that she’s giving the buyer eye contact and may persuade them to buy the magazine. The photo also matches the age, race and class of the target audience The ‘FREE’ at the top of the cover will also attract buyers because they know that they can get free gifts with the magazine and will get their attention. These are the colours that I've used throughout my magazine, this is so that it’s not dominant to one sex, for example all blue for a male audience or all pink for a female audience. The target audience for my magazine would be 16-20 year olds, it would be both male and female, white working class people. I have represented this in my magazine by using similar characteristics with my model. The type of styling fits the class of which my magazine is aimed at. I’ve chosen this specific class and age range as it’s the one in which I know most about. I’ve already mentioned that similar artists who would be compared are Pixie Lott, Ellie Goulding and Florence and the machine, although they’re all female, they aren’t representative of the whole magazine as it also includes other bands, female and male solo artists.
8. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? NME would be the main producer of my magazine because I've used them to influence my design for my final product. I’ve used similar styles, colours and layouts. This is because it’s a well-known, successful music magazine. This is because many people buy it, making it more popular. I would want them to distribute my magazine because it has a similar theme that NME does, the articles in the magazine are similar as there’s a mixture of, news, reviews and live. Both my magazine (PLUGGED) and NME are aimed at similar audiences. Also my magazine could easily be replicated as NME is, into a monthly issue. Looking back to my Preliminary task, I think that my skills in using Photoshop and creating a magazine have drastically increased as I now know how to make it look more professional. By evaluating my work, shows that I understand why I’ve done certain things and how they are effective in the real life industry. I also understand how important it is to plan things in order to save a lot of time for example, writing the articles, editing, taking the photos, layout and consistency throughout in order to continue creating a high quality magazine.
