Double page spread 1: changed

Contents page: changed

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression for it to the full product?

There are many roles involved in the industry of magazines such as editor (fashion), journalist, art director, PR, advertising executive, picture editor and publisher. All of these roles are important and I felt as though if I had to be all of them that there would be certain roles I would succeed at than others like the journalist so I would write the articles and texts.

I feel since making my preliminary task and making this music magazine I have come further with the design and the realistic features of a proper magazine and what it should look like. The school magazine I made was missing certain features and I feel as though this is why it didn't look as appealing and looked quite dull and lifeless. In my preliminary task, the magazine looks more like a poster or brochure and it seems to be missing the main features that my music magazine has such as one main image, dateline, subheadings, barcode, issues. This is what made it look impractical. I have learnt what publishers and editors have to think about specifically and the things that do stand out without the audience really thinking about it but if it were missing the magazine wouldn't be fully complete.

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

Depending how you think about it my text is aimed at adolescents so in some ways a niche audience but in other ways quite a large audience as there is quite a large percentage in the world in this age range.  I would choose a publisher who publishes this kind of design and genre as they are the best at knowing things to include and what to make a big deal about overall. I generally think my magazine could have a chance in the market but it would need to be shown to the correct audience to get authentication as if it was shown to anyone I don't think they would understand how it could go far. There are many Indie magazines however, I think we need one that ranges from edition to edition as ones you can buy now have very similar layouts. The magazine in the NRS estimates table that would relate closest to my magazine design I would at is Mojo as this also has a unique take on the genre. As I can read from the table the total and percentage is the lowest which means its not as popular as other magazines so I think there is a gap in the market for mine to fit in and increase popularity on the style.

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

To create my overall magazine design including the front cover, contents and double page spread article I used 'Canva' as my editor because I felt this had similar layouts to ones I wanted my text to have. I had to upload the images I took of my models onto the website to then include them in my design. I had two different photoshoots as I found that after my first one I still needed to discover more poses and areas where the photos were taken as my first ones, didn't look as flattering as my second ones did. I also took more varied photos so that in the final publishing I had more to chose from and my decision was easier. Using a questionnaire and asking people what they thought about my ideas and examples definitely helped me in my publishing as I could know what design style would be most popular and what people would enjoy and take an interest in more. One thing I found hard was the layout and overall structure of my magazine because I wasn't too sure what is usually used for this genre and I didn't want my text to fall into cliché categories as I wanted mine to stand out. It took me a while to complete and chose one, but in the end I think I made a good decision and I listened to my audience.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The main people I have used in my magazine are young adolescents because these are one of the audiences I am aiming it at because these are the new generation and are able to make a magazine genre like this one big again in the future. Many of the images are of a girl however in the article it was appropriate to include a picture of the artist I was writing about as then this helps you picture him in his lifetime. Because my genre is Indie I decided that my images would reflect mysterious poses for the artist and my front cover and contents would reflect gratification and fun that teenagers have these days. The eye contact was mainly focussed at the camera to connect with the reader and show confidence and known in themselves. I did not chose to include the older generation in my magazine as I feel as though they didn't fall into any category that I was willing to write about. I would feel less confident featuring them in it as the audience wouldn't be able to relate to them as much and they are less likely to read it. Many people these days feel as though adolescents have more power and individuality. The models postures are quite relaxed and loose as they have less stress to worry about at their age. Its kind of like what come around will go. Everything is free and there's nothing that can get in their way.

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

The main conventions of music magazines are the bold, main masthead, one large image that covers the front cover and in some cases subheadings and smaller text to frame the rest of the cover. Simple primary colours are usually used as they do not contrast and they are less likely to make the magazine look overcrowded or too complex for the genre. Another convention when we look at this type of text is the fonts, capitalisation and the direction of the person in the image such as the way they are facing and eye contact. I believe I have kept many of these conventions because even though I wanted my magazine to have a different style to others, I still wanted to portray the Indie genre successfully without the audience becoming bored or tired with the way it looks and what it reads. Overall, the main image does include direct eye contact, it has a bold masthead that overpowers the remaining text and I have stuck to the primary colour red with slight use of black and yellow. My survey helped me a lot when deciding how to set out my cover. For example my survey told me not to include a border so I didn't because I wanted the style to be simplistic. Another problem was Much of my text used is placed around the edge of the cover so the border would have interrupted the text therefore making the overall design look scruffy and disorganised.

The four f's

Format: I have similar choices for my magazine as have seen before. For instance the large masthead, full image covering page, smaller subheadings, barcode and small details like the issue number. These all come together to model the magazine and make it more realistic.

Formula: For my double page spread I wrote an small article about one artist which is usually what you find in a music magazine as it focusses on their life story and music career. It also includes smaller images of them and maybe extra information for the reader such as tours or upcoming events to do with the person they're reading about.

Frame: I decided that I would not include margins or borders in my magazine as I didn't want the magazine looking overcrowded or complicated. However I wanted the design to flow a bit more and have a bit more freedom over the page rather than having a set design and places everything should go. If I was to make more issues, there would definitely be some consistencies set but they wouldn't all be identical because I believe keeping something different would keep audiences interest as they are looking or reading something that has changed.

Function: What my magazine is trying to achieve is to grab my audiences attention really with its ideas and overall make the readers entertained rather with the genre rather than becoming bored and switching to pop or rock which are overly popular.

Who would be the audience for your media product? How did you attract them?

I targeted my genre and design at a niche audience as Indie even though is slowly growing in popularity is still not as well known or read as much as pop or rock is. To help with that, I wanted to make a magazine that would challenge this. My audience would like music that is unique and different and also has some meaningful yet quirky lyrics in it. I think my magazine shows just that especially the images as they are unusual and mysterious. My mode of address is varied. I think it appeals to everyone and doesn't stand out to one particular group of people. There isn't much slang used but it isn't overly formal.

The font of the main headline for this double page spread article is very popular and pairs well with the image as the writing looks bold and as you notice in the image, the model is placed in the centre of the photo showing what the title says about being unaware of your surroundings as the model is placed down a dark alley seeming to be lost or not know where he is going but still looking forward into the future giving hope. Also the beginning of the article mentions about whether the style of music is intriguing and unique again inferring that the genre is just that and that the audience that listen to it and read the magazine are more specific that ones that listen and read pop or rock. The image could also infer that he is alone in this genre of music and liking it because he feels as if the genre isn't enjoyed as much as others and needs to be more appreciated. The short exclamation "you become fearless!" makes the reader feel empowered and makes it more about them as its direct address. Pointing it at them helps them to feel more appreciation for the music as they can connect with the lyrics more and it gives them meaning.

I think my magazine falls more into the female gaze as the many of my images are pictured of a girl and them shown in a feminine pose. Also I feel as though the wording of my article and headlines would help them connect more with the magazine than it would for males.

Contents page

Double page spread part 2

 

Double page spread part 1

final published cover

Second photoshoot

Mastheads

analysis of questionnaire

My survey and the answers that I received from it helped me to determine the appearance and general outcome of my magazine overall. I used the questions I asked and the answers to develop my cover and double page spread to fit more appropriately with my audience and the types of people that would be more interested into my music genre which is Indie.
The type of questions that I asked related to style, colour and format of the magazine. Overall the people I surveyed generally said that they preferred darker colours, minimal text, bolder fonts and no border. Using this, I created my first few drafts for my magazine bearing all of the information I had been given in mind. I now feel that this has helped me to create a magazine that intrigues my targeted audience more and fits my genre clearly and is recognisable of it.
As mentioned previously in my recent posts, the darker images and fonts suit my genre better as it gives the impression of something unknown or new that we have to learn about this type of music. Therefore I was very happy to learn that my survey agreed with me about this and so I went ahead and improved my ideas to suit what everybody wanted to see. The design of my front cover seemed to be preferred more simplistically with fewer text and bare design. Again, I was positive that this would work for me and still appear as a music magazine and not any other type of media. This helps to make the main image and masthead more distinctive and give the reader something to focus on rather than being overwhelmed by the busy and crowded cover.

Questionnaire

1. In an Indie magazine, would you prefer to have a border or not?

yes - 6                  no - 22

2. What range of colours would you like to see presented on the cover?

darker shades - 9        lighter shades - 5                mix of both -  14                  no colour - 0

3. Choose a font that best suits an Indie music magazine?

     Indie     Indie     Indie     Indie     Indie

       |||| |||| ||                   ||                  |||| ||                  |||                        |||| |||

4. Would you like the cover to be very simplistic or include a lot of information on it?

simplistic design - 11                    busy cover - 3                lots of information but simple fonts - 4

simple image, bold fonts, minimal text - 10

5. What makes you intrigued into this genre of music?

unique - 6        age appropriate - 3         certain artists - 7              language - 2                            

overall enjoyment - 10