Ffi AS foundation portfolio
Friday, 3 May 2013
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.
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.

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

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.
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.
Thursday, 2 May 2013
Evaluation- Question 5
Evaluation
5
How did you attract/ address your audience?
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.

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.
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Evaluation- Question 3
Evaluation 3

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.
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Evaluation- Question 2
Evaluation 2
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
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 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.
Monday, 29 April 2013
Evaluation- Question 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.
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.
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