Evaluation - question 7

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

From my prelim task, I made multiple different changes to my final product that I think has massively improved my final piece. For example, in my prelim task, I didn't include a direct image on the magazine cover which is what people expected to see from the questionnaire I produced. Therefore, I decided to change the non direct image from my prelim to a direct image in my rock magazine so it meets the expectations of the audience. This change can be seen below. I also wanted to try out different design techniques that I didn't include in my prelim. One of these techniques were the gradient which I wanted to Include as it matched Classic Rocks magazine.

Final product - Direct image 

Prelim task - Non direct image 

Here is my contents page for my pre-lim task and main task. I thought that my main task was to dull and lacked creativity an therefore, I decided to add more pictures and information about my magazine on my main tasks contents page as it makes the page more interesting for the viewer.

My double page spread had to be changed multiple times as it didn't match the conventions of existing double page spreads. However, the image stayed the same as I thought it reflected double page spread conventions really well as a large majority of magazines have their image pushed to one side of the page and not central. I also believe its suitable for the rock genre. I also added in quotes from the main star as this is a common convention that other magazines love to use. I have also changed the layout of this page as previously, it looked more like a poster due to the lack of conventions. I added in a gradient to make the spread look more interesting and creative and also, can be considered as a convention of double page spreads as it is commonly seen throughout the magazine industry.

For my magazine, I wanted to focus on particular areas of my magazine. For example, the design and layout of my magazine. I wanted to focus on this specific area as I wanted my magazine to match conventions of a rock magazine and to make it look professional and recognisable as a rock magazine product. Down below is a comparison between my "AMPED" magazine and Classic Rocks magazine where I took my inspiration from. I also wanted to try out different design techniques that I didn't include in my prelim. One of these techniques were the gradient which I wanted to Include as it matched Classic Rocks magazine as seen down below. I wanted to use a gradient and change the look from my prelim as people said that they would want a grey colour on the cover of the magazine. Therefore, the gradient allowed me to blend in the grey with the black which made the background colour scheme look nice as a result.

Classic Rock magazine - Inspiration
for my product

Overall, I felt that my time management was okay. I felt that I managed to hit the deadlines well as I had planned and prepared myself beforehand and therefore, I could always complete the tasks provided to us on time. However, some tasks took longer than others and therefore, other shorter tasks would be pushed back and delayed which would make me rush the tasks a little an therefore, not as much effort would be put in as a result. This was definitely a weakness of making this product, however I felt that my strengths made me overcome my weaknesses as I work well independently, therefore I was able to easily complete these tasks as I was self motivated to achieve my targets and deadlines

Evaluation - question 6

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

I used a range of different technologies available on the computer. I used software like PhotoShop to create and design my media product.

Photoshop logo 

Photo shop helped increase the quality of my product as it allowed me to make my magazine fit other rock magazine conventions and therefore, can be clearly identified as a rock magazine. Photo shop also allowed me to put my own unique touch on my product by the large variety of tools that were available to use. This was great in making my product fit conventions but also breaking them at the same time. An example of a tool that I used is the shape create tool. This tool allowed me to create shapes that I could turn into puffs and also allowed me to put a border around the outside of my double page spread. This tool worked really well as it allowed me to fit conventions of a magazine as puffs are a common element of a magazine.

Puff created with the Photoshop shape tool

Black border around the edge, made with the shape tool from Photoshop 

Updated double page spread. 

I used photoshop to also improve my work as I was able to test out new designs whenever I wanted and that allowed me to find the right design for me and one that also fitted the conventions of a rock magazine. This also allowed me to copy other conventions from other magazines like Classic Rock. One way In which I used technologies like photoshop to improve my work was with my double page spread. I wanted to make my page fit conventions and so i used photoshop to add gradients, and layout the text so the page conforms to design conventions of magazines.

I also used another piece of technology I used to help create my media product, is Prezi. I used this technology to make creative looking power points that give a more exciting feel to my magazine product that gets the viewer immersed into the content of my blog. This is what i liked about prezi as it is interactive therefore, it will be more appealing to the audience than a blank bit of paper with writing on as they can become part of the content which is more than just looking at it.

However, one part of the magazine I am not completely satisfied with in the front cover. This is because I feel its a little untidy due to the positioning of the puffs and cover lines but photoshop will allow me to make changes in the future to the design of the cover. This is a great feature of photoshop as you can keep changing your product again and again until you are completely happy with what you have produced.

One area that of tech that I struggled to use was the shear amount of tools and commands that were available to use on photoshop. Although having a wide variety of tools was also a good thing, they were also quiet confusing to get a hang of a required some practise to get use to the tools photoshop had available for us to use.

I used photoshop to also improve my work as I was able to test out new designs whenever I wanted and that allowed me to find the right design for me and one that also fitted the conventions of a rock magazine. This also allowed me to copy other conventions from other magazines like Classic Rock

Evaluation - question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract and address my magazine audience, i made sure my masthead suited specific conventions about my chosen music genre. I done this by changing the masthead to the word "AMPED". This attracts my audience as they will know straight away what the magazine is about (music) as an amp is   a common piece of equipment used and associated with rock music and therefore, my magazine can be easily identified by rock fans, due to the name of the magazine. I have also made sure my magazine appeals to the male gender between the ages of 18 - 65 as i have included a more modern look for the artist with the black jacket and the shirt which will appeal to the younger people of this demographic as they are stereotypically more modernised than the older age group. However, to appeal to the younger age group, i have included rock legends that are reflective of the 20th century like Jimi Hendricks and Slash which are more relevant to the older age group and therefore, would appeal to them.

I have also used my main cover image to attract and combine with the masthead. The reason why my main cover image attracts my audience, is because it used conventional props (like guitars and costume) of the rock genre. This will attract music fans and rock fans as they can automatically assume its a music magazine due to the instruments used in the main cover. Also, the guitar that I used goes well with the masthead "AMPED" as both are used together, making it even more obvious about the genre of magazine, an therefore rock fans can easily establish the genre of music and potentially buy the magazine.

On my contents page, i have used multiple design aspects to attract and receive attention from my target audience. I have used multiple images positioned in different places around the contents page to make the page look fuller and more packed in content which, would appeal to rock fans/my audience as it would keep them immersed and entertained into the magazine. I have also used a similar colour scheme to the contents page as I have interpreted colours like red, grey  and black which were all featured in my front cover. I have used this design to follow conventions of other magazines as they stick consistently to the same colour scheme throughout the magazine. However, I have also interpreted new colours into my magazine like the mint green colour at the top right of the page. I have used this design feature to make the magazine feel more unique and to also give the viewer something different.

I have also missed out specific design elements and conventions within my magazine

My magazine also met specific conventions of other rock magazine like Classic Rock. This is also where I took some of my inspiration from in creating the contents page like the design layout of the pictures and also the overlapped writing across the images on the contents page.

For my double page spread, I decided first to not have a border around the outside of the page. However, later on I decided that the double page spread felt a bit empty and there wasn't much going on and it wasn't really interesting from a viewers perspective. This then lead to me changing the Double page spread by putting a black border all the way around the outside of the magazine which, gave the magazine a more polished and professional look in my opinion. It also made the page look less plain and neater which, would appeal to the viewer looking at the double page spread.

Before the border around the outsid

With the border around the outside

However, after this i still wasn't satisfied as i felt it didn't match conventions of a double page spread at all. Therefore, I started to research on what a typical double page spread for a music/rock magazine looked like. I got an idea of the design and layout of the magazine and started to layout the text and image to match specific conventions that would attract and appeal to the audience. I also added a gradient into my double page spread using Photoshop which allowed my to make my magazine look more interesting, therefore it would appeal to the viewers as they will find it aesthetically pleasing and therefore, will be entertained more by my magazine. I have also made the artists name part of the title as this will appeal to snakes fan base and attract a bigger audience. I have also added in quotes from the artist as this is a common convention of double page spreads and therefore, matches a typical rock magazine.

In have also created a prizi annotating the reasons why I added in the design features I have chosen and how I think it suits magazine and rock magazine conventions.
https://prezi.com/7bmocwnnq1vr/contents-page//

Evaluation - question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The gender of my target audience that my magazine would appeal to is both male and female. I think that the majority of my audience would be males as rock culture is mainly occupied by the male gender. This can be seen through the lack of female rock stars and the large amount of male rock stars and the male following that these rock stars have. Therefore, my magazine will appeal to the male gender more as it features a male star on the cover. However, it will also appeal to the female gender as well depending on their wants and needs and what music appeals to them.

The age of my audience that will find the magazine appealing is around the 18 - 65 range. This is because they will possibly have a better knowledge and interest on older rock bands and therefore, would find this style of magazine more interesting than the lower age ranges, as they will be interested in the modern rock era. I have found this out from a website called Edisons Research where they talk about the Classic rocks demographic Cliff and who it appeals to.

My magazine could appeal to people of British/american nationality and people of all ethnicity's as Britain and America have a diverse range of ethnicity's and cultures. This could be due to the fact that my publisher is well know throughout Britain, as TeamRock are one of the most consumed magazines in Britain as they have a circulation of around 56,714 magazines. This suggests that my magazine would appeal to the British audience as their are a large amount of rock fans who like to buy rock magazines. My magazine will also appeal to people of American ethnicity, as my magazine features a lot of well known American rock stars in my contents that have a huge fan base in America, like Jimi Hendricks and Slash. Therefore, this would appeal to Americans as it contains a lot of American rock culture which would appeal to them

The class that my magazine would appeal to is the stereotypical lower working class. This is because rock culture can be described as rough, due to the appearance of the rock stars, like tattoos and piercings. Therefore, this will appeal to the lower class as stereotypical representations of the lower working class tend to be in labor jobs, which are physically demanding jobs and they also are stereotypically covered in tattoos which suits the rock genre. However, there are multiple different genres of rock like country rock which could stereotypically appeal to the middle and higher class people as stereotypically, more rural areas stereotypically contain more upper class people so country rock could appeal to them.

Slash - Rock star

Evaluation - question 3

The media institution that might distribute my magazine is TeamRock (Publishers of Classic Rock magazine). I think TeamRock will distribute my magazine as my magazine focuses heavily on older rock and roll artists as seen in the cover lines of my main cover and contents page of my magazine. TeamRock will like this as they publish and distribute a magazine called ClassicRock which focuses on "Classic" rock and roll stars and therefore, will be familiar with the contents of my magazine.

My magazine will be available in America and the UK as this will help widen the target audience and increase the sales of my magazine. I have chosen this as the American culture is famous for its Rock and Roll an therefore, would appeal potential consumers in America. I have also chosen the UK due to the massive Classic rock following, and because TeamRock is based in the UK therefore, making it easy to distribute and increase the consumption of my magazine as TeamRock are currently the leading rock and roll publishers in the UK. I also know that classic rock appeals to the UK audience, due to TeamRocks magazine "ClassicRock", having a circulation of over 56,714. This is higher than Kerrangs circulation, and suggests that the UK like the 1960's and 1990's rock better than modern day rock. However, TeamRock are independent publishers which comes as a disadvantage due to there unknown reputation, and therefore more mainstream companies like The Bauer Media Group have a bigger audience due to their reputation.

Bauer Media Group logo

The type of people that will read my magazine are probably fans of classic rock, who have interests in the bands from the 1960's through to the 1990's. The majority of people will be probably over the age of 40 as these sorts of bands would of appealed to them back then as this was around the time these bands started to become popular and hit the peak of their career.

Evaluation - question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My music star that I have chosen from our group is Morgan. I decided to use Morgan as he can be presented and resembles the rock genre due to the props and clothing he worn. This was a key factor in our decision to make him the star as he had the equipment (Props and clothing like guitars and a black jacket) to portray the characteristics of a rock star. I decided to use a black jacket on my star as its conventional of a rock star and is a common prop used in magazine covers like kerrang and Classic Rock. As seen in the classic rock magazine bellow, the black jacket that we used matches the costumes and props of a rock magazine therefore, can be considered conventional.

Front cover

Contents page

Double page spread

My inspiration for my magazine came from Classic Rocks magazine style. I have chosen to base my magazine of Classic Rocks style, as it provides a cool and unique look for a rock magazine that not many others copy. I have also chosen to take inspiration from Classic Rock as the contents and theme of my magazine is following in the same footsteps, by featuring older bands from the 20th century. However, I did not chose to base my star around a certain real life rock star. Instead I chose to copy conventional rock styles from different people, and put the conventions together to create one star. I chose to do this as different aspects from different rock stars would be more appealing to the audience, and would create an interesting character for my magazine star. By doing this, my star would also match the stereotype of a rock star as he is based around multiple rock stars, therefore, can represent all areas of rock due to his stereotypical look. I have based my rock star around modern day artists such as Fozzy as they wear black jackets and generally wear the same costumes as to what we had access to during the photo shoot.

Evaluation - question 1

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

My magazine matches various codes and conventions of Rock magazines and also contains conventions similar to those of Classic Rock magazines. On way in which my product has met the conventions of the rock music genre is that the props used in the magazine photo shot, are typical of the rock genre. For example, on the main cover of my magazine, I used a guitar with my main star. This guitar allows people to quickly establish the genre of the music and what the magazine might be about (Music). Down below is an example of a typical rock convention, a Guitar.

Conventional props of the rock genre used during the main
cover of my rock magazine 

We have also used a conventional title/masthead called "AMPED". We have used this title, as it fits the rock genre due to its association with rock music and the fact that its an iconic icon for the rock genre. This is also the reason as to why I used the guitar in my main cover as it compliments the masthead as both sets of equipment go hand in hand. This insures that viewers of the magazine can easily identify what type of magazine they are looking at and the possible content it could contain. This means that it could possible stand out more from a conventional stand point over magazines like kerrang who's title doesn't really fit the conventions of the rock genre. An example of magazine that would stand out to rock fans is Classic Rock as its clearly identifiable due to the nature of the magazines appearance. However, an example of a magazine thats masthead does not suit conventions is kerrang. This is because the masthead doesn't relate to the rock genre, and therefore won't come across as a rock genre unless the front cover image can be associated with rock.

The Masthead of my magazine

My magazine conforms to the conventions of the rock genre by using associated props and titles of the music genre itself. Some of these examples can be clearly identified in the pictures above of my main cover page for my rock magazine. Another way that I have conformed to other rock magazines is that I have put the stars name over the main image. this is commonly done across all rock
magazines especially in Classic Rock magazines.

Classic Rocks magazine cover

My magazine cover for "AMPED"

Another way that I have conformed to other rock magazines is that I have used puffs on my main magazine cover. This convention can not only be seen in rock magazines but the majority of other magazines ranging in topics and genres. I have used a puff to give viewers of the magazine a insight to what some of the content in the magazine is about, which will hopefully catch the interest of the viewer into buying the magazine.

Picture of a puff used in a edition of the Classic Rock
Magazine

Picture of the puff used in my
Magazine

One way in which my magazine has gone against the conventions of the Classic Rock magazine is that my main image doesn't overlap the main masthead on the front cover of the magazine. This convention can be seen commonly throughout Classic Rocks magazine covers as well as Kerrangs and other magazines from different genres. I have decided to subvert this convention for my magazine as I want my masthead to be completely visible so the name of the magazine cane identified clearly.

Elements of my product that match specific conventions are that I have chosen to advertise things about my magazine using the skyline. The skyline is a common convention that all magazines use to advertise events and free gifts like CD'S and posters. The skyline is also used for this purpose in the majority of Classic Rock magazines. Another way in which I have fit conventions is that I have used the cover lines to put a quote from the main star on the magazine onto the front cover. This can be seen throughout the majority of magazines especially Classic Rock magazines

Annotations of my magazine. 

Updated version of my magazine

This is my new updated magazine front cover as I felt that I needed to make improvements as the feedback I received suggested so. I have made changes to the cover lines and skyline as I felt there wasn't much detail and content on the cover of the magazine. I also felt that the layout needed improving and so I moved around some of the cover lines to find a better magazine cover design/layout.

My contents page 

Above this is a picture of my contents page (left hand side) which i have designed around various magazines. One convention i am happy about and  one that i worked hard on is the layout of the images. As you can see, I have took inspiration from multiple rock contents pages but the contents page shown above (Right hand side) was my main guide for the majority of the time when designing my contents page.

As well as the layout for the contents page, I also made sure it matched conventions of the rock genre in multiple other ways. For example, I used specific props like guitars to help the viewer establish the genre by using iconic rock props. This convention can also be seen in the classic rock contents page (right hand side) where you can clearly see a drum kit (another iconic rock convention) and a rock star holding a guitar

My double page spread

I have designed my double page spread around classic rock double page spreads as well as other music magazine double page spreads. I have done this to help me match specific codes and conventions so my magazine appeals to rock and music fans. I have designed the layout of my page so the main image is placed to one side. This is a common convention used in the wide majority of music magazines as it creates more space for the text to go. It also helps make the page look tidy as everything is not all crammed together on one page. I also got feedback on the layout of my text from my class to make the text look smaller and to put into columns so it fits magazine conventions of a double page spread like the image down below. I also had the title in big bold letters placed at the top right and continuing through the middle of the page as this is another common convention of double page spreads.

Equipment list

One piece of equipment I used for our photo shoot was a canon camera. The canon camera was

very useful during the shoot as it was light weight and therefore, was tiring for the hands which allowed us to take lots of photos to get the best one possible. The camera itself was also very easy to operate which speed up the process of the shoot therefore, becoming less time consuming which allowed up to start inputting the pictures onto photoshop ready to prepare them for our magazine

Our group also used lighting equipment to give us the correct lighting that we needed for the Photo shot. This allowed our images to be well lit and become clear to the audience. This is very important as a poorly lit room, could result in a bad image which the viewers could find hard to identify, therefore wont enjoy the contents of the magazine and could ruin the reputation of the magazine, an therefore the demand for the magazine would decrease resulting in less sales revenue.

Canon camera - not the exact model
I used.

Props and costume list

Our props and costume list for our magazine       photo shot:

Props 

Guitar - We used a guitar as a prop in our magazine photo shot as it symbolizes music, and therefore, people will be able to establish the genre of the magazine.

Amp - We used an amp, as it fits the rock conventions but also, to match the title of our rock magazine.

DJ mixer - We used this prop to feature in the contents page of our magazine, and to show an inside look of other music genres to customers of our magazine.

Drum sticks - We used drum sticks to again match the codes and conventions of a rock magazine, so fans of the genre can quickly identify and establish what the magazine is and whats it about. 

Costume

Jacket - We used a jacket as this costume can be commonly seen on other rock magazines like Classic Rock or Karrang. This means that it suits the conventions of a rock magazine well.

Hat - We chose to use a hat, as it could show the person on the magazine, as mysterious and therefore, will appeal to music fans as they want to find out who this artist is.

                Prezi presentation: Props and costume list

Model list

       Model List For The Main Task

The model for my pre-lim task was Ben Forster who appeared on the front cover of my college magazine for that specific task.

He was chosen because he was a member of our group, therefore we could easily arrange the times in which we would shoot for my magazine. Another reason is that I wanted a football themed magazine, and because Ben already played for a football club, he had all the equipment and props which gave me a huge advantage when producing the final piece.

Picture of Ben Forster inside of the Sixth Form

The model for my main task was Morgan Roberts who appeared in the front cover, contents page, and double page spread of my magazine for that task.

Morgan was chosen by our whole group to be the main model for our magazine, as he provided us we the conventional look of a rock member, which matched the genre of our magazine. This decision was also beneficial as he is a huge fan of the rock genre therefore, had guitars and other props such as leather jackets and hats which would allow us as a group to meet the conventions for the rock genre when producing and constructing our magazine.

Picture of Morgan Roberts featured on the front cover of the main task.

Test shots

Test shots from our magazine photo shot.

I haven't chose this picture, as I felt that the positioning of the camera is at to much of an angle, and therefore would of been harder to photoshop and would of been to time consuming forcing me at a increased risk of going over deadlines. I also thought that the poisoning of the prop (guitar) wasn't good as I wanted it to be at a higher angle as it looks better.

I haven't chosen this picture to feature in my magazine as the equipment seen on the left is blocking the picture too much. Although the positioning of the camera is better in this shot compared to the other shot, I felt that editing the equipment out of the shot would be a waste of time as it would be too time consuming and could be doing something else with my blog to improve it. if it wasn't for the equipment in the way of this shot, this could have been a contender for the double page spread.

I decided to not include these shots and therefore, have gone down as test shots. The reason why I  didn't include these shots is because I felt that the positioning of the camera was off or there is to much of the background in the frame and as a result, would have been harder to edit. Therefore, I used these test shots to find out where I should take the picture from to get the best possible outcome. This allowed me to pick the best picture for my double page spread and as a result, improving the quality of my final product as I have picked the correct picture for the magazine


                                                                      Test shots
These shots capture the background setting for my contents page for my magazine. I wanted to take test shots of the surrounding environment as it needed to be suitable for a music magazine as well as suiting my genre which is rock.

I chose this setting as it contained vital props located in the background the link to the rock genre. As you can see, the amplifier and the blue/white electric guitar are placed in the background to give off a rock and roll vibe for my magazines contents page. Both these props are also symbolic of the rock genre as well as the magazine title itself due to the amplifier.

As well as this, we also had easy access to equipment such as the apple macs, where we could capture our photos and edit them on the macs. This was very helpful for us as we were able to utilise the time given to us, which made the process a lot quicker and smoother. Also, if we were not happy on the picture quality, we could retake it straight away.

Shooting schedule

                      Shooting Schedule - Main Task

For our shooting schedule, we had to carefully plan when we would individually book out camera's, so we would avoid any problematic scenarios where our magazine shoots would overlap each other therefore, would delay some peoples magazine shoots. This would also allow the majority of all camera's to be free for use, which would allow for a smooth schedule for everyone. Our photo shoots will predominately take place between march and april, which will give us plenty of time for are photo shoots, allowing us to still work on our blogs consistently.

Schedule
March - 4th - period 5 and 6 - wednesday 
March - 11th - period 5 and 6 - wednesday 
March - 23rd - period 1 - Monday 
April - 8th - period 5 and 6 wednesday

All camera's have been pre-booked for these specific days and times. 

Font and colour research

          Font and colour research

Example font

Masthead - I have decided to use a font called reisenberg to feature on the main cover, contents and double page spread pages as the main title. I have chosen this font because its a bold font that sticks at well and therefore, can be easily noticeable. This means that people will be able to recognize the genre of the music magazine as well as the name "AMPED" can be easily associated with rock music.  

Cover lines - For my cover lines, I have decided to use a font called Marcelle Script. I have used this font as my cover lines for my main cover, contents and double page spread, as the font has a messy style to it, as if it has been handwritten. This means that the the magazine looks more wacky and fun, which would appeal to the rock genre. I want to use the colour black throughout my texts, as it conforms to the genre of Rock N Roll, due to the rebellious connotations the colour has. This could appeal to the tribe wired audience or fun/atics, as part of the life matrix segment, as they are free spirited, and seek adventure and creativeness.

Cover lines - I have also used a different font on some of my cover lines to mix up the look of the magazine and together a more unique feel. I have used the font Marker felt, which features only in the contents and the double page spread. I have used this font to create a more diverse magazine, but to also appeal to rock fans as it gives off a artistic/messy style of writing.