Evaluation Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task (the school magazine task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?
I feel like I have come a long way from my perliminary product and improved my media skills a lot. I have learnt a lot about the use of ICT in the real media world and how to take professional looking photographs that are relevent and representative of my magazine. I have also learnt what to do in order to attract my target audience to my magazine and how real media publishers do this.

 Below are links to two prezi documents that answer this question

http://prezi.com/_op0lwuzqone/evaluation-question-7/ 

http://prezi.com/guo5ulom3hwi/contents-pages/

Evaluation Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I have learnt a lot from constructing my media product, the process of creating my media product has allowed me to learn how the real media world create their magazines and how photoshop and indesign are used by media companies for the benefit of their magazine. I have learnt how to use these programmes which has widened my knowledge on ICT and technology.

Coursework Feedback

Today I was given feedback on my blog and on my media product as a whole. Other members of my class looked through my blog and at my final work and suggested what was good about the work and what could be improved. The general impression was that my media product was good and there was house style consistently throughout the three final pieces and they could be easily associated with eachother. However some of the feedback said that some work on my blog could be improved such as my target audience post.

Complete Media Product

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?
Similarly to magazines such as Q and NME my magazine features a photograph of an aritst that my target audience would recongnise, this attracts my audience because it gives them incentive to buy the magazine. The mode of address used by my magazine presumes that the reader already knows many of the bands that are featured and uses language that makes the reader feel welcome to the magazine.

By using questions such as "Are you a real rock'n'rolla?" the reader feels as though the magazine is questioning them specifically and so feels comfortable and welcome.


The use of the word "exclusive" on the coverlines of my front page attracts my target audience because it shows that they will not get this featured story anywhere else. This makes my magazine unique because it shows that the artist likes the magazine enough to give them an exclusive story.

Also to attract my target audience, I used a female artist on the front cover wearing clothing that will attract the male gaze - seeing as my target audience mainly consists of males. This picture that is featured on the front of my magazine will attract the males eye which will then lead him onto reading the coverlines and evidently purchasing the magazine due to the genre of music that is featured. Also, the fact that this edition of 'RIOT' is a festival edition would attract the reader because my target audience would be likely to attend the festivals.

Double Page Spread Construction

The first thing that I did for my double page spread, was to choose the photograph that I wanted to use. I chose this photo because I liked the background and I thought that the outfit, pose and the fact that it had a guitar in it was all appropriate for my magazine/the genre of my magazine. I edited the photo (made it slightly brighter and edited out the bruises on her legs) and then added the pull quote in the bottom right hand corner. I chose this quote because it makes the reader question "what was a massive fuck you?" and gives them incentive to read the story.






The next thing that I did, was to add the text. Once the text was put in place I could then add pictures and pull quotes to make it look like a more authentic double page spread. Similarly to my front cover and contents page, I used the colours white, red and black throughout my entire double page spread so that all three pieces of work are tied together and the house style is shown. As well as this, the font that I used was 'Coolvetica' which is what I used for the coverlines and the writing on the contents page.

I added this line to the top of the page to show the reader who the story was about. This adds authenticity to my double page spread because a similar element was used in a Q interview with Lady Gaga.

After I had placed the writing, I added this pull quote to the centre of the page. This quote shows the attitude of the artist and suggests to the reader that she is misunderstood. To create this pull quote, I used the rectangular marquee tool then filled in the rectangle. I then duplicated the layer three times to create 4 exact same rectangles. I then added the writing on another layer on top of them.



 I added this photo strip like photograph to the right page of the double page spread. The second photograph in this strip looks casual and shows the reader what the artist looks like in her own environment, this shows a private side which the reader finds interesting. I created this picture strip by making a rectangle then filling it in black. I then put the three photos in and made them all the same size. I then used free transform to make the black parts of the strip the same size.










The last thing that I did to my double page spread was to add an album cover which makes Laura look like an authentic artist. I made this cover by editing the photo, then adding the writing and barcode on the photo.

InDesign allowed me to easily change the font and experiment with different fonts to see which one best suited my double page spread. As well as this, it allowed me to change the colour to see which best suited the magazine/supported the house style.






                                                                                    
The gridlines that InDesign offered helped me to structure my double page spread quickly and easily. They allowed me to place my columns and make sure that they were all equal widths and lengths - this is important because it makes the double page spread look genuine and like it could exist in the real media world.

Contents Page Construction

I started the construction of my magazine's contents page by adding the title, numbers, pictures and third column so that placing the text and the rest of the elements of the page were easy to structure. I created the page numbers by making a small black square then adding a new layer and writing the page number on top of the square. To create the third column (black box) I used the rectangular marquee tool to create a box then filled it in with black using the fill tool. The font of my title is the same font that I used for the title 'RIOT' on my front cover. This shows a house design because the font is consistent throughout the magazine.



After I had done this, it was easy to add the writing because the numbers were already in place so I just had to match up the stories to the correct number. Once i had done all the writing I realised that I didnt have headings for each of my columns so added those after. I created a box just above the picture in the bottom right hand corner where my 'subscribe now' feature would be. The font of my writing is 'coolvetica' which I also used for the coverlines on my front cover, this also shows house style because this along with the 'Nova Solid' font are used consistently. The red writing contrasts with the black and the two colours are used on my front page and on my Double Page Spread.




I added some festival logos either side of my title because there was too much space with made my contents page look unauthentic. I added the festival logos because as you saw from my front cover, this edition of 'RIOT' is a British Festival Season edition. Here I also added writing to my 'subscribe now' box which - after the writing was added - looks realistic.

The final thing that I did to my contents page, was add the bands to the 'bands featured' section. This section of the contents page is very important because if the reader were to pick up  the magazine to see if they wanted to buy it, they could simply look at the 'bands featured' column and see if the genre of music that is featured in the magazine matches their own personal preference. The black, white and red theme is used here which compliments the rest of the contents page.

 To create my subscribe now box, I made a line using the brush tool, after creating this line a duplicated the layer twice which gave me three lines, I then put this in the shape of a square up against the 'bands featured' box which gave me an empty box in which I could write my 'subscribe now' text. The use of layers made creating my front page easier and more organised. They allowed me to link layers and move things quickly.

Target Audience for my Magazine

The target audience for my magazine is 'Indie Scenesters' between the ages of 16-25. I have chosen this sub-culture as my target audience because the genre of music that is featured in my magazine is the type of music that indie's are typically associated with. Bands such as Foo Fighters, General Fiasco, Vampire Weekend and Klaxons.

This is a post from uktribes.com, it shows that 'Indie Scenesters' are driven by fashion and listen to music such as the Klaxons. This website also shows the brands that are usually associated with indies and gives examples of a few bands that they might listen to

The graph on the right shows that indies spend a lot of time on the internet and reading magazines/newspapers. This shows that they are an appropriate target audience because they like to read magazines in physical form as opposed to on the internet; this means that my magazine will gain a lot of custom from the target audience.

Indie's are fashion driven and here are some pictures of the type of fashion that my target audience would favour

NME's target audience is similar to my target audience which successfully shows that it is appropriate because there are many similarities between my magazine and NME. To attract my target audience I have featured bands that they would be associated with and the clothing that is featured on my model in all of the pictures that are featured in my magazine are clothes that would be appealing to indie's. As well as this, the festival edition of my magazine is appropriate because Reading, Leeds and Glastonbury festivals are popular amonst this fashion driven - music loving sub-culture.

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience for my magazine is Indie Scenester's between the ages of 16-25.

This is my target audience because the genre of music that is featured in my magazine is very popular amongst indie's so they would find the magazine interesting and be able to relate to the stories and genre of music featured.
Indie Scenesters typically like music such as: Klaxons, Vampire Weekend, General Fiasco and Two Door Cinema club

This sub-culture is typically seen to enjoy independent bands until they 'go mainstream', when this is seen to have happened the bands previously loyal fans lose respect for the band for 'selling out' and stop listening to their music.

According to uktribes.com, Indie Scenesters like to shop from high street brands such as Topshop/Topman, American Apparel, urban outfitters and vintage shops in London's Brick Lane such as Beyond Retro and Rokit.

As you can see from the picture above, this is the clothing that is typically associated with indies. Also, the fact that indie's are typically associated with carrying around 'Rough Trade' branded canvas bags shows their taste in music, it also shows that they support independent labels which is where the term 'indie' originated.

 

Levi's denim shorts are regularly associated with indie girls' fashion, usually worn with a band t-shirt or blouse of some kind. Dr Martens, Chelsea boots and Creepers are very popular amonst this sub-culture.

For indie boys, skinny (usually black) jeans are often worn with a checked shirt and baracuta harrington jacket, with usually vans or converse. An image of my target audience is shown above

Indie's are often driven by fashion and use the internet to search for new ideas on how to dress, lookbook.nu  is a website devoted to fashion that can be considered to be indie and allows people to upload pictures of their favourite outfits. 

According to this from uktribes.com, indie scenesters are very influenced by the media - spending the majority of their time on the internet or reading newspapers. This chart shows that indies read magazines 'heavily' which shows that this is an appropriate target audience for my magazine because it would actually gain custom from an audience that want to have the magazine in physical form as opposed to reading it from a magazine themed website. 
It also shows the brands that this sub-culture favour.

Indie's do tend to spend most of their time on the internet, a website that is widely used by the indie population is tumblr. This is a blogging website where people can share photos and write blog posts and gain followers.

Evaluation Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

IPC media distributes NME magazine, this means that they have experience in publishing and distributing magazines aimed at the same target audience as my magazine. For this reason, I think that IPC would distribute my magazine because they have experience and knowledge in how to do so and so would not have to think of new marketing strategies or do much more research which is beneficial for them.


According to their website  "IPC Media produces over 60 iconic media brands, with print alone reaching almost two thirds of UK women and 42% of UK men – almost 26 million UK adults – while our websites collectively reach over 20 million users every month." This shows that if IPC media did publish my magazine, not only would it reach a high percentage of my target audience in physical magazine form, but also through the form of a website on the internet. Having a website for a magazine also increases custom; people view the website for free then could purchase the magazine because they see it as an elaborated more detailed form of the website.

 My media product would fit in well with the products that are already sold by IPC media, its layout is different to any of the magazines that are already produced by IPC so that would offer readers a fresh magazine to read which would be appealing.