Evaluation: Progression from Preliminary Task to the final product

I learnt since from the preliminary task how to edit my front cover and main image to make it seem more professional and realistic towards what I wanted to achieve.

I also learnt how to create a more effective layout that looks more familiar to a real magazine creating a look that makes it seem possible to be on a stand inside a newsagent or store.

The fonts used on my preliminary task are all different which made the front cover more complicated than it should be, so I learnt that the page needed to be more simple for the reader so they wouldn’t see the page as too chaotic or complicated to look at.

I also think I improved with layering the page and adding much more to the front cover and making it seem much more detailed and like a real magazine whereas as my preliminary task seems quite plain without any editing or planning done to it.

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

Evaluation first part

View more presentations from Olivia Bennett.

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

When creating my magazine I used Adobe Photoshop provided for me on the sixth form computers. I have had previous experience with Photoshop giving me an advantage of using it for my magazine creation, I used it for both my preliminary task and final product.

Photoshop made the creation of the magazine much easier as it let me add numerous amounts of layers and different shapes and photographs all into one document. I used this to my advantage and added as many layers as I thought possible for my actual magazine product.

I used a digital SLR camera to create the shots for my magazine cover, contents page and double page. I worked with the camera well as it was my own and I have used it many times before to gain practise for my actual magazine shoot to make sure my photographs were perfect and clear.

The camera was easy to use once you can understand each of the setting and tools to use to create the photograph that you really need for the magazine. It also helped that I took my photos within a proper studio with proper lighting giving them the professional effect for the magazine.

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

Top of the Pops is typically owned by the BBC as the programme was aired on the channel for over 40 years and so therefore expanded the franchise into a magazine based form of information to get their audience more involved within the programme.

This instuition might not distribute my magazine as they have only ever created magazines that directly connect with their programmes as this broadens the horizons for their television programmes and helps them promote their television programmes and gain more publicity for their channel.

In that case I believe that other young gossip magazines may be able to distribute my magazine as it seems to appeal more to those sort of institutions such as the owners of Bliss, Sugar, Star Girl and Shout, as these appeal to a similar target audience and would help give them more profit and money by distributing a new media product like mine that is completely different as it relates more to music.

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

My intended audience for my magazine was young girls aged between 11 - 15, this age group is particularly hard to target as young girls tend to change their interests frequently so I had to make sure I knew that the genre of magazine I was creating would sell the to target audience that I wanted to aim it at. I had to research my target audience to find out exactly what they would want from magazine and what genre really interested them the most.

I was unsure at first on what genre to chose for my magazine I was stuck between choosing pop, indie or r&b as these were the typical genres that younger girls seem to influenced by all the time. I researched this by looking at magazines that were on the market appealing to the target audience that I wanted to appeal to. From this information I studied closely Top of the Pops, Smash Hits, Blender and Spin, they all gave me each some look into what sort of magazines my target audience read and buy.

I then created a questionnaire full of questions relating directly to my target audience to help make my magazine ideally for them and to help find out more information about my target audience and what celebrities and articles they liked the most. I also asked exactly how much they would pay for their magazine and how often they would like to recieve it. This helped me recieve exact information from my target audience to give me the help and advice I need to create my magazine this can be seen on the link below:

http://asoliviabennettcabot.blogspot.com/2011/02/questionnaire-on-music-magazines.html

Colours & Fonts

Colours and fonts used are a huge priority throughout my magazine as they help draw the audience in and catch their eye immediately. Seeing as my young audience are all female the colour scheme would typically be pink, purples and light pastel colours as these are colours that can relate to the audience almost immediately and draw the audience into buying and reading the magazine. In contrast to this I used different tones of pinks and purples to help keep the magazine more interesting and not all just one simple colour which could make the pages dull and uninteresting to the audience.

Font is another huge priority in the magazine as this can make the pages more creative and interesting, but yet the simple fonts are the ones that keep the pages much more typically of music magazines. The only unusual fonts I used were from the front cover where it says 'by you x' which makes it look like it is especially hand written and gives the sell line a creative spin and makes it seem more unique.

Photos

I had planned that I would use a studio with professional lights and white background to create my photographs and make them as clear as possible. I used an SLR camera to make sure they came out exactly how I would like them. I did a test shoot first to make sure that I tried out all the poses that would be possible for my front cover once I had officially decided what poses to chose for my front cover, contents page and double page spread which helped me plan out my final shoot much more easily and quickly.

Once my final shoot was taking place I decided to dress my model in quite simple clothes as I didnt want to attract attention from the front cover and the rest of the sell lines surrounding the main model. This ultimately shows connotations of a typical music magazine such as Top of the Pops as they tend to wear simple or plain clothing so I used these ideas and created it as my own.

My Final Products.

Front Cover

Contents Page

Double Page Spread



double page editting.

For my double page I used the original model from my front page as the main female who is being interviewed as 'the winner of X Factor'. I used two different shots of Olivia in two different poses in a simple and plain outfit which can be clearly neutral for the audience reading the magazine. Once again I used pink text as this has conventions of girls and immediately represents young girls who the magazine is aimed at. I also picked out a quote from the actual interview to use as the title for the double page spread as this is a typical feature of music magazines. Along with all this I made sure each question was of a similar length and were all lined up within the page with each other giving a typical layout of a magazine. I also added an introduction and subtitle to the double page as this helps the audience know abit more about the main model being interviewed and what she has achieved or who she is. The interview also includes a competition and a choice to find out more about the star online through a social network site.