Evaluation of main task

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

My magazine uses conventions in the way that it has a distinctive house style, with the pink black and grey colour scheme, and the distinctive house background. It looks like the magazine belongs together. Also most music magazines are of the rock scene, and i stuck to that as i am a fan of that style of music, and i know their is a very wide fan space for this genre. The language used is generally conventional, although in some parts it differs, like the way sarcasm and humour is used, and the few swearwords used. The main titles and other pages i thought of using (pages in my contents) are also fairly conventional, as most magazines have a main features, news, and regulars spot, and music magazines tend to have live reviews and album reviews, which i have included in my product. I have also clearly put an editors note, and practically every magazine does this. The images i have used are fairly conventional, and the same sort of style is definately used in other magazines of the same genre. My colour scheme is quite different and unconventional, as instead of cutting out the band members i blurred some of the background and i used the whole image. This is rather different to what magazines tend to do. They either cut the band out or shoot the photo against a white backdrop. I think this has worked quite well and ties in nicely with the colour scheme. My layouts have been quite conventional as i have stuck to using quite a neat look, with simple fonts. I believe my magazine has enough conventions to be considered a real magazine, but the way i have arranged it all makes it a bit different to other magazines and therefore it keeps its distinct style.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My Media product represents particular groups by the style of music it uses, and you can tell what sort of social group its from as the main picture is of a band that represents the pop/rock culture. My magazine is for late teens/20 year old's, and that is shown through the language used in the main interview and on the contents and cover. From my audience feedback it seems they agree with me in that my magazine does represent late teenagers and fans of pop-rock music.

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

http://www.ipcmedia.com/brands/ i think this may publish my magazine as it does quite a variety of magazines, and a fair few of them seem to be a bit like mine.

• Who would be the audience for your media product?

My audience is music fans of the pop-rock music scene, and i think mostly late teens and people in their 20's of both genders. I feel like at first i started off with quite a widespread idea of who my target audience was going to be, and as my project developed the target audience has became more and more specific.

• How did you attract/address your audience?

I designed my magazine to entice my target audience into the magazine. i did this by using an appealing colour scheme, and i used language that was recognisable to the target audience, as shown more clearly in the DPS. I also made sure the bands i used were of the right music scene and they were attractive to the readers. I gave it a neat layout and mostly used simple fonts on my cover. For my contents i used the band actual band fonts to attract fans of those bands. The humour used in my DPS is generally used and associated with magazines of my genre and it is quite

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I have learnt that my magazine is atttractive to look at and it would go down well in stores. I learnt that audience feedback is crucial to make changes that are suited to the audience and so i can make my magazine as attracttive and appealing as possible. I have learnt that my product seems pretty realistic and that really pleased me.

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

I thought i had a large understanding of Photoshop, Publisher and Fireworks from my GCSE work. Turns out i was pretty wrong. i have learnt how to use Blogger as to be honest i didn't have a clue how to work it beforehand. I also learned how to use fireworks more in depth and have now gotten used to the software. Also I learnt how Photoshop works, as i didn't know how to use it before at all. And obviously it is crucial to know how to use these programmes as they are the most important part of the task as they are used to actually create my product. I have a friend who is quite advanced in the manipulating of images, so she showed me how to work all the pragrammes i needed in my task.

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

I feel that i have learnt a lot whilst going through the tasks. My knowledge of how media products are made is now much wider than it was in my preliminary task. i expected it to be quite easy but it turns out that it is rather difficult. I learnt that i need to think through my decisions more before i act on that and totally mess it up. Ive definitely learnt more about how to edit and manipulate images and how to make them look great on pages. I also learnt that having a mess about to start with is okay, as you can find out some interesting things, and use them whilst creating your magazine. I also think i learnt how to lay things out more effectively, as i created a rather clear neat layout.

Preliminary Task - Final Creation

I started creating my final cover design on Macromedia Fireworks. I designed my mast head first, using two colours: white and purple. I planned on using a rather simple bold font, and stuck to that decision and used a stencil font, which is quit related to schools. Although the font was good I thought that it looked rather plain just on its own , with a white 'Wor' and purple 'Monkey' so i decided something else was needed. I experimented with two seperate fonts and decided this wouldnt work, then i sudenly had a brainwave: I could shadow the words with the other colour used. so i would shadow the white with the purple and shadow the purple with the white. I tested this and decided this was what was needed and so i used it. I also added a small introduuctory like sentance 'Monkseaton High Schools Own Magazine', just so that it wasnt as bare along the side. It suggests that this magazine is unique and different to other magazines out. I used a different shade of purple in this, but still stuck to my colour scheme. I had took a student in front of a colourful painting in the school, and incorperated that into my colour scheme. The colourful background also matches the red school shirt that the student is wearing.I tried out a few different poses, but decided to stick to what i had originally wanted to use, the student standing with a stuffed animal monkey on her head. I placed the photo to the right of the mast head. I wanted my model to look friendly and inviting to the public eye and target audience. So I put her in front of the colourful background and made her smile, which is a rather simple, yet effective pose. Also i made her look to the right, and not directly at the camera. She looks like she is having fun and the monkey on her head is related to the name of the magazine, and the school, as monkey is short for Monkseation. I then went on to write my coverlines. I used a variety of chunky styled fonts, as i feel chunky fonts are more youthful and the younger generation (teenagers) will like them. I also used some simple sentances that would be interesting for all yeargroups. I then tried a variety of putples, and realised that all the different shades looked good in certain positions as the background caused some to be unreadable. So i decided to use a variety of purples, going from the darkest at the top to the lightest. But this still didnt solve the problem of some writing being unseen a little, so i decided to use a black shadow so all the words could be seen. I then added my bar code to finish my magazine.

Preliminary Task - Developed Draft

After gathering the results of my questionnaire, i made a developede draft of my final cover that was based on the questionnaire reaults. I created it using the same programme i intend on using in my actual final cover. I used fonts similar, or the same to those I plan on using; the more bolded fonts. I created a representation of my student, Using the same sort of idea i had for the pose, with a monkey on her hear and standing at a medium close up photo. But even though i have a vague idea of what pose to use, i know that i will need to organise it more when i do my actual photoshoot for the main task. I decided to put the mast head down the side of the page and i think this works effectively. I also decided to use some coverlines. I may change them when it comes to creating the cover, but i'll stick to the main theme, around the school. Also i may add some more, and change the sizes of them.

Preliminary Task - Audience Research

To get feedback from by target audience I decided to create a questionnaire, using an opportunity sample, with a sample of 10 students from my Media Studies class. When creating my actual magazine I will use a larger sample that will give me information that is actually representative of my target audience. My media class sample is just one set of students in my 1 class in 1 year group. I should of asked students in each year and each class to fill in my questionnaire to get valid feedback, but just for my preliminary task I shall use the opportunity sample as it is quick and easy to do, and leaves more time to concentrate on my actual magazine. I wrote down a few questions and possible answers and then wrote up my questionnaire on the computer using these questions. I used around 10 questions in my questionnaire and handed out 10 of them to my Media Class. The results were as follows:
1. If the school were to release a free magazine would you read it? 9 people said yes and 1 person said no
2. what would you prefer the name to be? 9 people said Wor Monkey and 1 person said Pyramid
3. How many cover lines would you like to see? 2 people said 3 and under, 7 people said 4, nobody said 5 and 1 person said 6.
4. The front image will be of a student. would you prefer the student to be holding something or not? 8 people said holding something and 2 people said not.
5. The front image will be of a student. would you prefer the student to be in school uniform or not? 7 people said in school uniform and 3 people said not.
6. What sort of information would you like to see on the cover (select 3)? 7 people said new building information, 5 people said new uniform information, 5 people said agony aunt headlines, 7. people said 6th form help/tips, 6 people said school events and nobody said other.
8. Would you prefer the colour scheme to be: 3 people said bright, nobody said dark, nobody said plain and 7 people said a mixture.
I will take into account all of these responses when i am developing my cover further.

Preliminary Task - Rough Drafts

Before I created my actual school magazine front cover I needed to have a rough idea of what I was going to do. So I created 3 mock up covers whilst I was in my lessons, and came up with 3 rough layouts of what I could try out on my magazine cover and see what worked well, and what didn't.
For my first draft had the mast head along the top, and some cover lines and small images scattered down the right hand side, with the main image on the left, and the bar code, issue number and date on the bottom left. I decided I liked the idea of the main image to one side, because it looks neat and set out well. I also like the idea of the bar code being in a bottom corner, like other magazines so it is recognisable. I don't like the idea of scattered small images and cover lines, as I feel it would make my magazine cover look trashy and thrown together.
My second draft had the mast head down the left of the page with the main image on the right, some cove lines across the bottom of the page, and the bar code on the bottom right. I liked the idea of the mast head going down the side of the page, as it is quite different to it going in the top corner or across the top of the page. I think having all the cover lines across the bottom of the page would make it look squashed and so decided not to use this idea.
My third draft had the mast head across the top of the page, the main image in the centre, and the cover lines all around the image, with the bar codes at the bottom left. I didn't like this draft at all. i thought having the cover lines all around the image made it look cramped and squashed therefore decided not to use this.
My drafts gave me a vague idea of what i wanted to do for my actual magazine cover. I wanted to put the mast head down the left or right of the page, with the image on the opposite side, and the cover lines to wither the left or the right of the image, and layering it slightly.

Preliminary Task - Planning the Cover

After summing up popular ideas from my research, i had a general idea of what i was going to include in my cover. So in class I created a thought shower of main ideas i could possibly use for my cover. My main branches were Name, Cover lines, Photograph, and Colour Schemes.
For the name of my magazine I decided to link it to the school in some way, by using links to the school name (Monkseaton High School) or links to the teachers, or popular aspects of the school. I thought of The Pyramid, because the glass pyramid is probably the most known aspect of the school. I also thought about using the name Space School Mag, because of the spaced learning our school has been developing. My personal favourite name was Wor Monkey. I used this as it links to our Geordie background by using the word 'wor' and the school by shortening Monkseaton to monkey. I thought this would be quite a popular original idea for the magazine, and I would use this and the Pyramid in my questionnaire to let the target audience decide on the final name.
My colour scheme ideas came from the current school logo, black and purple. So i decided to try out a style with black, and different shades of purple to see what worked the best. I decided to use a variety of shades of purple, so that the writing could be seen in parts where my image was slightly darker, or lighter where the writing would possibly be less visible. I decided that the background would be bright, so this would mean finding a bright place to shoot my photo, so the background could tie in with the colour scheme.
For my cover lines i decided to focus on the changes to the school, like the new building being built, and a new school uniform being introduced etc. I also decided to focus on some 'regulars' like the upcoming events in the school. I toyed with the idea of using a cover line for something unrelated to school, yet appealing to students, like fashion, or music, but decided against this idea and decided to stick to the school and to use cover lines related to the school in general. To make sure my target audience liked these ideas i will include this in my questionnaire and use the results to create my cover lines.
I had decided my name by now (wor monkey) therefore decided to design by picture around that name, by using a small stuffed monkey, and a model dressed as a student perhaps holding the monkey. The image will be in medium close up, and possible poses could be smiling, so it welcomes the reader or something along those lines.

Preliminary Task - Research Into Existing Covers

I started working on my preliminary task by browsing on the Internet for images of existing school/college/university covers, which kind of follow the sort of structure i would like to use to create my magazine. however i didn't find one to fit my criteria, and so i settled for a magazine called Campus Life.



The first thing that draws attention to this magazine is the image and colours used. the image takes up all of the front cover. It is layered over the top of the magazine title, which is what a lot of magazines tend to do to make the magazine seem more modern. the next thing i noticed was that its a popular person being used on the cover. Its a person from the famous well known band. This would attract fans of this band to buy this magazine. The red shirt the guy is wearing stands out as it is quite bright in contrast to the rest of the cover. The cover lines then stick to this colour scheme, Quite plain (White font) Then the name of the guy (Dallas Green) to attract readers to the magazine is red, so it stands out more, and so it sticks to the colour scheme and Dallas' shirt. The layout of the cover lines is quite neat. It's boxed with a black background, so that the white font stands out more.

Overall this is a fairly simple design, but it is quite effective. Although I like this design, I don't think I will use it for my actual school magazine as it is not the type of design my target audience would appreciate.

Also the class looked at a Magazine called Latino University Magazine. Firstly I shall focus on the image. The creator of this used the image of a typically attractive woman, who looks rather like a model, not a university student. She is fashionably dressed, in medium close up and the cover model would appeal to a wide variety of people. I found this cover stuck to a colour scheme, which seemed to work effectively with the purple, white and beige background. The layout is neatly spread, with the model slightly to the left of the page. The writing is evenly spread on the right and sticks to the colour scheme of purple and white. the model is layered over the top of the mast head, which i found a lot of magazines appear to do.

Overall this is an effective magazine, but more for the use of a fashion magazine, not a university magazine for students. Although i like the idea of a meduim close up image and will be using this in my design for my school magazine.