Evaluation- Question 7

Evaluation- Question 6

Evaluation 6
What have you learnt about technologies from the processing of constructing this product?

I have learnt many things to do with technology on the computer/ laptops while designing my music magazine and my skills have improved greatly. At the start of our production I watched tutorials of various adobe applications that I would be using in the making of the magazine. Also Blogger was very new to me and it was a new, cool way to post information about my media product using images, links and texts. Also my photography skills improved learning about different angles and lighting.

When I got introduced to blogger I must admit it looked rather confusing but I got straight into it and after a few lessons I was really enjoying it. I tend to spend a lot of time on the internet looking at various things so this was right up my street and I could always access it on the laptops in school at home and on my smart phone. Blogger had all the help I needed in learning how to use it, I think it’s a good way of doing coursework as its online which I prefer. It was also handy having it on my smart phone because I could easily show my teacher or friends my up to date blog and work is easy to comment or edit on. I definitely would use blogger again.

I used two main adobe products these were InDesign and Photoshop.

I got introduced to InDesign in the first few months of Media Studies A Level which I used quite a bit learning new skills on this product and to make my preliminary task and mock up magazines where we had to copy a real life magazine using various tools and colours. To start off with I did not get on with InDesign because there was a lot of little bits to learn. Eventually I really enjoyed InDesign and kept going back to my product and editing text/ font etc. I thought the layers you place on a magazine was very fascinating and worked well with my magazine, I personally thought InDesign had everything you needed to create a magazine.
I already knew about Photoshop as I have used it a few times at home, but I learnt more about it in school. I had to edit a few of my photos by removing the background which was a real tricky process that took time. Occasionally I found it quite stressful because I would think it’s all removed until you zoom in and see little patches that come up on your image. I eventually got the hang of it using the zoom and background eraser. There is a magic tool which you can use to go around the waste background, I did not find this a good tool at all because the colours would clash against my models clothes and hair.

My photography skills improved during my magazine production. I learnt about various angles, shots, mise en scene and lighting. I also learnt how important photos are to take for a music magazine it needs to be perfect. I did two photo shoots as my first one did not go to plan the colouring was dim against the boys clothes, I retook the photos on a sunny day where natural lighting was used. Looking through my first photo shoot and second there is quite a difference, I understand now how important clothing, models, mise en scene and lighting is for a photographer and a photo shoot.

I also got introduced to Prezi and Slide Share where you can create your own sort of PowerPoint’s but using various tools and it looks very creative. Slide Share is similar to a PowerPoint however you can post it online and you can add more skills to these online products. At first they were quite difficult but yet again it did not take long to understand how they work.

 

Evaluation- Question 5

Evaluation 5
How did you attract/ address your audience?

When I first started producing my own music magazine I looked at other leading brand magazines codes and convention for the genre I had chosen. I noticed that my magazine needed to catch the audience’s attention by one quick glance like other published music magazines.
For my music magazine I chose to use both types of language; formal and informal language because I found that’s what was appropriate for this genre. I used informal text during the interview to make the interview seem more real and to seem like it was actually like them speaking.

On my front cover of my magazine I have used formal language because that is the type of magazine it is compared to rock etc where language like ‘hell’ is used which is informal where I have used appropriate text. I think the natural pose of the band on the front cover is formal because they look smart and sophisticated. I think the bright colour scheme makes my magazine formal because it does not seem like the colours stand for anything in particular compared to a black and red scheme. I also think my front cover will attract the audience because of the images; they meet the stereotype of boy singers/ artists. They have everything perfect and neat with the latest new styles.

 For my contents page yet again I think I have used formal language and images with natural poses and text. I personally do not think my audience would be instantly attracted to the contents as it is not full of colour, there are white patches. I tried in the contents page to attract my audience by following the codes and conventions of other chart music magazines and tried to follow a similar layout. Also there is a lot of information on the contents page that should catch the audience’s eyes.

My double page spread would attract my chosen audience because of the long interview with questions. In my article I have used informal language so it seems more real life and that it seems the typical language from a friendship young band group. If I used more sophisticated words it may not have seemed so real because of the age of the boys. I think the article would attract many readers because they can link it to maybe a situation they are in etc.

Evaluation- Question 4

Evaluation- Question 3

Evaluation 3

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

I would choose Bauer to distribute my product because they are known as the largest publishing company in Europe who publish a lot of well known magazines like Q. Also they are known to be a very successful company in promoting music information. Bauer media publishing would also be a good publisher for my magazine because they are a multi platform brand this means they do not just offer magazines but publish on television, radio and internet which is becoming a huge part of the magazine industry as this generation use the internet to find out information on websites for example Q have a website as well as a radio station and television programme. Bauer Medias internet websites would be important for me because of my target audience they are the generation which prefer the internet to a magazine. 

 

I would use front line to distribute my magazine because they are the leading distribution company in the UK. Frontline are in charge for the distribution of magazines produced by Bauer Media. Frontline distributors believe that no other media companies can offer the same service and experience that they deliver. An example of a magazine that frontline distribute is Hello! Gossip magazine. Frontline distributes and delivers over 160 of their publisher’s magazines.

Evaluation- Question 2

Evaluation 2
How does your media product represent particular social groups?

When creating my magazine I wanted it to really represent my target group which I think the models did perfectly. On my front cover I had the boys wearing typical young boy band clothes for example high tops, sleeves rolled up, top teenage designer brands and colours. Teenage boys would relate themselves to this boy band as they are who the girls are going crazy for. Hair is another important issue that would represent the social group because they all have similar hair that is the latest fashion. This represents a modern young boy who cares a lot about hair and fashion it also reflects on other young boy bands out there for example One Directions hair styles.

I think the models clothing is very important as it represents a specific social group, I also think the models poses represent the social group. The models I used look quite casual, laid back and have that cool attractive look about them. The photos I took have bright lightening this can reflect on the type of audience that my magazine in aimed at. When I was planning my models poses I looked in to other magazines codes and conventions and used similar poses that were natural looking but adding some extra little poses adding my own uniqueness. i think my photos represent my media social group in a good way and reflects on their style and personality. I used mainly wide shots to reflect on what the models are wearing and the poses they are positioned in.

I think my magazine represents my chosen target audience because of the colour, images and style I have used. The colour scheme of blue, yellow, green, red are four colours that can link to the social group I have chosen because of who they are as a social group. During the making of my magazine
I have created a slide share to show you similar magazine photos that are used to help me take the photos. 

Evaluation- Question 1

Evaluation 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The masthead of the magazine
I wanted the title of my magazine to be simple but quirky, I looked at various pop music magazine to see their titles which were mostly more than one word. I thought that I would give a one word title for example ‘Smash Hits’. I thought I would give the title a go and see how it turned out. In my survey I asked the audience which title they would prefer and the highest was ‘BEATZ’ so I thought I would go along with that one. It may challenge the codes and conventions for a pop music magazine because beatz could be for any genre, I thought it suited this genre and audience. The Audience are young and bouncy and I thought the title looks quite bouncy and fast.

My masthead of my magazine and Smash Hits masthead are very similar. Both mastheads stand out with the bold, bright coloured text, this is important as it should be the first thing that gets noticed. I found during my research and planning that most pop/ chart music magazines used variety of colours but stuck to similar ones on the front cover. I had to think carefully about the text and colour I would use for my masthead I needed it to attract my target audience strongly. To help me decide on texts and colours I looked at a few magazines so the codes and conventions would fit with similar magazines in the same genre. I found the blue and yellow theme went quite well as it suits both genders. Due to using light colour I needed to make the letters bold and easy for the reader to read, the light colour scheme was one of the main reasons why I chose capital letters and a blue stroke just to give it that extra boldness and a good contrast from the yellow. Quite a few of the magazines I was looking at had a colourful background I challenged this code and convention and did not have a colour background. Looking back to my front cover I feel like I should have added colour in to the background. The Smash Hits masthead is covered with parts of images, I purposely chose not to do this because I wanted my masthead to stand out clear because it is a new music magazine and I wanted the title easy to read. I did attempt to cover part of my text with the image but I thought it did not look right and the target audience might not benefit from it as they are teenagers.

The images

Since learning about music magazines I have learnt that images in a music magazine have a pretty big part because with no image certain audiences would not be interested. For my magazine images are very important because my target audience is mainly teenage girls who buy magazines to see bands and their latest music and photos. I had to choose my models very careful, I needed to make sure they fitted in the with the typical boy band style, this took two attempts but eventually I got there. My models needed to represent the type of genre perfectly, I found a magazine with One Direction on and used this to find my models, I had a vague idea who I would use at the start of the production. My models outfits had to be very precise, in the first photo shoot the colour on their clothes did not match models in the same genre. For my second photo shoot I made sure my models would wear bright colours and act like a typical boy band which I thought was a success. I wanted to make sure that when people would see the image they would know straight away the style and genre. I researched conventions of the same type of magazine to get my models similar to popular magazines/ boybands. I think their colours of their clothes go well together, I also needed them to have that cool look about them which I think they successfully did. To use this image on my front cover I had to remove the background off photoshop I figured out it would be more effective and the wall behind the photo is quite dark and powerful. I wanted my photo to be a natural photo for a boy band I didn’t want the boys to look fake towards eachother this natural smile shows this well also the fact that like they look relaxed. I was lucky when I was taking the photos it was sunny/ warm so the lighting looks well.

I also used different images for my contents and double page spread. I was really happy with the double page spread photos but not to keen on the contents photos. I believe if I had worked my time correctly I would have better photos for my contents. The double page spread photo was pictured on a wall in the castle where I thought was an ideal place to produce a boy band style. I think the picture I chose for the double page spread represented the boys well with their clothes, hair, posture and the colour in the photo emphasises the energetic typical boy band. I did not need to remove the background because I wanted the photos to look natural and casual as you can see from the one where they are messing about on the wall. I used 3 images on my double page spread and each photo could explain the boys past; life were messes and the scattered/ grey wall would represent their past contrasted with the bright blue skies which is where their lives are now.

I had to choose my models very carefully, I needed to make sure that they fitted with the genre and would look natural and the target audience needed to think that they are a real boy band. Personally I think the boys I chose were perfect for the role because they look like a typical boy band with how they look and act with one another. I chose a friendship group in my year because I knew the photos would look more natural. Also in my article and before I started I had planned to write about 17-18 year olds and these models looked the exact age.  

The content of my magazine I kept changing, I was never satisfied with my pages I kept going back to little patches and changing them. Overall I am satisfied with my outcome of my magazine apart from my contents page, I know this does not fit in with the genres codes and conventions. I now know the page needed to be full of blasting colours and more pictures and less white after looking back to the photos. I used a flash on my front cover, I used it to promote the magazine because you may win something, these are often used for the audience to buy the magazine. Flashes are on the top layer so they have the chance of sticking out more to customers and it brings their interest in. I kept the layout of my magazine similar to other pop/ chart show genre magazines because I thought it would look more real that way, however this failed on my contents page. I kept changing the layout of the contents page and double page spread to see what suited the page best, I wanted it to look like a real music magazine.

My double page spread

Final contents page

Second draft of music magazine

First draft of contents page for music magazine

Final draft of the front cover

There is not much detail that has changed from the second draft apart from moving texts, photos and removing any errors that I could see. I am happy with my front cover, I think it matches the stereotype of a typical boy band magazine for teenagers, mostly girls.

Second draft of front cover with image

This was my second draft of my music magazine front cover, I am pretty pleased with the progress of my cover. 

My written media article

EXCLUSIVE interview with the new high street Boyband!

“From classes to masses!”- Alpha

Who would have thought 18 months ago Trafford, Elliott, Patrick, three 18 year old boys would have an audience of the world not just their class mates that they were performing to many months ago.
The boy band formed in 2012 after being friends and growing up with each other for more than 12 years, since their first day at Primary School. The boys went on to their local Secondary School where they struggled for many years; missing lessons, not doing any of their work, turning up late, causing trouble in the corridors, missing exams and many more, teachers would find the three together. When Alpha turned 16 they left school, it just was not the place for them, and they were not getting anywhere. The boys would be practicing their music in any abandoned buildings they could find, there would be no lighting, no electricity but it was just perfect for them, they were living their dream.
Lead singer Trafford said ‘ I knew there was something out there for us in the music business  cworld, our time just had to come, it was just a matter of time’
Alpha did not let anyone in on their music writing, it was simply the three of them.
Since Alpha were spotted by Music Management for Youngsters, they have released two singles and later on in 2013 they plan to make an album. They want their fans to know how grateful they are for all the help they have done to promote this young boy band. Their single ‘It Can Happen’ was the fastest ever selling boy band single since Westlife released their album in 1999.

“It has always been our dream”- Elliott
Alpha tell Beatz “It has always been our dream, it was our saviour from school. We knew it was not for us the stress, pain, torture we used to go through in school, after a long boring day of school we used to grab a Sub Way then go find a building to sing or make music. It is also funny because people who didn’t want to hang round with us because of our behaviour now are trying to contact us on Facebook or Twitter.
“We are a wide awake hyperactive boy band 24/7”- Alpha
THIS WEEK..
Inside a shopping centre in Cardiff, a heavily built body guard leads Alpha through the crowds of screaming, emotional teenage girls. The squeal was high pitch and deafening but the three 17 year olds just smiled and waved to their fans, appreciating the help the fans have given them the boys were completely unfazed by it all.

So boys.. How did your career start?Trafford: Well.. we were sat in Ells house on the Xbox and the phone rang we didn’t have any idea who it could be, the number came up ‘BLOCKED’. I put on my posh voice and it was Music Management for Youngsters, I put the phone on loud speaker and me and the lads would not stop smiling they asked if they could meet us to listen to some of our tunes. From that day on we knew we had something good coming our way. Since that day we have just not stopped doing what we love to do.
Wow boys that is incredible! Are you going to approach any local gigs for your fans?Patrick: Oh man we love our fans they mean so much to us and we want to try and do everything we can for them. We are going to try and gig in the local area for a few nights in the summer, we are so excited about the future and I am sure there will be plenty of tours and concerts.

That’s really good lads, it must be so exciting! Your new album about to be relesead  ‘ It can happen’ is there a link to your dreams?Elliott: Yes it is!! The album title is letting all young musicians know that there is an answer to everything and to fulfil your dream and that it can happen.
That’s lovely Elliott! Boys, is there anyone you would love to collaborate with? Trafford: We had this discussion back in the studio a while ago and we would love to collaborate with Olly Murs, he just seems such a genuine man with amazing songs.
(Elliott laughs and turns red) Elliott: Cheryl Cole!

Interviewer giggles, oh boys. What has been the craziest/ funniest gift you have received off a fan?Patrick: It is not often we receive gifts, however we receive amazing letters off our fans which put a constant smile on our face knowing that they are following right behind us! Oh yes, one time we received quite a funny gift which was a load of Haribo rings off a fan saying ‘Marry me’ and she also made as individual tops with the right sizes, which was quite scary.  (Pat laughs)
You have got some consistent fans boys. Do you miss home when you are working on music in England?Elliott: Yes of course we miss it, that is where everything started for us.
Patrick: When I arrive home I instantly get shivers down my spine, jump out of the taxi or bus and there are banners everywhere and occasionally screaming girls.
Aw that is so sweet! How are you enjoying this famous hype?Trafford: It is fantastic it really is, it can be a little scary at time however. We walk into a shopping centre the first step we take and there are girls screaming some crying everywhere! We have not forgotten everyone who has helped us from day one even now when we’re famous.
Ah crazy! So boys, is there any artist you have a total crush on?*Boys blush*
Trafford: Rihanna, wow.
Elliott: Nicole Scherzinger. She is the definition of perfect!
Patrick: Taylor Swift, she is beautiful.

One day boys, one day. Well it’s been a great interview, thank you for giving up your time for Beatz. I wish you all the best in life! I am sure we will catch up soon, enjoy it.

First draft of music magazine without main image

How to use capitilisation and pull quotes?

Capitilisation and pull quotes
To achieve capitalisation.. select word or paragraph you want to focus on.. type.. paragraph.. side box.. choose left hand bottom icon.. increase.. change colours.

Pull quote.. create layer 2.. create box.. create quote.. select object box.. windows, text wrap, little box, different types of text wrap, best one to use third one from the left.

Second media photo shoot

My first photo shoot did not go to plan to how I would of liked it to, the codes and convention did not meet a typical pop music magazine. I did a new boy band photo shoot that I was much happier with the new photos. I used three of the same boys, due to not being able to use the fourth boy I had to change a few things for my music magazine eg the name and some of the article.
I personally thought the photos I took in the second photo shoot were more ideal for the type of genre I was aiming for, the stereotypical clothes and boys fitted the genre perfect. I also changed the models positions and how they looked, their clothes in the first photo shoot did not match the genre they were wearing black.

Media photoshoot

Here are some of the photos I took for my Music magazine. I have used 4 boy models, as I want to create a boy band that will get a lot of interest from the target group I am approaching.

All these photos represent the boy band I have created in many ways, I do have a variety of photos these are just some previews before I finalise which photos are going to appear on my front cover and in my article. The last photo I think will be on my front cover after I have removed the background. My next task after taken all my photos is going to be editing them to make them decent enough for my music magazine and make sure they follow my codes and conventions. I am very happy with my photos, I think they will meet my target audience perfectly. I have also done a questionnaire asking questions to students about the boy band and the type of music I have chosen, which is chart music.