Dear Moderator,

Welcome to my blog AS Media Blog, find below my completed music magazine. Below my magazine is my evaluation, below that is my research and planning. Enjoy :)

Thanks
Rachel

Thursday, 22 March 2012

Evaluation Question 7:

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I have learnt alot in the process of creating my music magazine, espcially about targeting my audience and about making my magazine have a house style. My college magazine was very bland and boring however my music magazine is very busy and has alot more style to it. I paid attention to how each part of my magazine would target my audience like the colours, images, articles and the layout of the page. In my college magazine I didnt really know what my target audience was therefore I made it look quite girly however my music magazine was aimed at both so I used different colours I also kept to three colours meaning that it looked professional.

Evaluation Question 6:

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


I used blogger to document my progress and research and planning.
I used adobe illustrator to help create my magazine before exporting into photoshop to edit further
I used photoshop to create my front cover and my contents page. I also used to it edit images for example I made my image black and white to fit better for my house style














I used this camera to take the image for my magazine so that they were high quality.









I used indesign to create my double page spread as it was easier to lay the text out than on photoshop.














I used a imac to create my magazine as this allowed me to use all the software together. It allowed me to use photoshop, iphoto and it also allowed me to import images and export images to the internet and blogger. It also allowed me to use the adobe creative suite.








I used iphoto to import my images onto the imac so that I could edit them and put them on my magazine.

Evaluation Question 5:

How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product? Why?


I have chosen to draw this person as they listen to the music by the artists featured in my magazine and also goes to the gigs as well as she is wearing a band t-shirt. She is also only slightly younger than the artists in my magazine which means that she may inspire to become the artists and see herself in their in a few years. She also watches television programs which are youth orientated which may feature music by the artists.  She also has dyed her hair to a color similar to one of the artists featured in my magazine.

Evaluation Question 3:

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

FinalContents
 
completeddoublepagespread



Evaluation Question 2:

How does your media product represent particular social groups? 
 
  • They both have a open posture however my artists seems much more open as she has her body is positioned more to the reader.
  • Both the image from Kerrang and my image are at eye level so that the readers feel that they are connecting to the artist.
  • I used a long shot in my image as I wished to show the background as it fitted with the name of my article 'Going Solo' as she is alone in a forest.
  • The image from Kerrang is in a studio therefore It will be in high key lighting. I didn't use any lighting as there was enough natural light where I took the image and I didn't wish to make it too bright. I also felt it wouldn't look like the artist was in a forest and wouldn't fit the article that it goes with.
  • Both the artist in Kerrang and my artist are wearing dark colours although Amy Lee is wearing much darker colours only black. I decided not to do this as I felt that it was too rock for my magazine and this wasnt the look I was going for. However my artist has dark eye make up on as Amy Lee does but my artist has bright lipstick on to make it feel less dark and more indie. My artist is wearing more casual clothing than Amy Lee as I felt that It would look very out of place in the surroundings that my artist was in, if she was dressed like Amy Lee.
  • Both have a slight smile but dont seem especially happy as this isnt expected of a Indie artist.
  • Both have long dark hair however my artist has straight hair which looks more natural. My artist has dark purple which goes with her outfit.

Monday, 19 March 2012

Evaluation Question 1:

In what ways does your magazine use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of a real media product?
Use
  • I used a cracked font as on Kerrang as I think this shows the genre of my magazine which is indie.  
  • I used a banner at the top of the page to show the contents of the magazine for potential readers and helps them to see if a artist they are interested in is featured in this issue of my magazine, so that they will buy the magazine.
  • I used a white border as on Kerrang to make the images stand out against my main image on the front cover.
  • I used a image of artist on left hand side to help to show who the artist is, as this is the same as Kerrang and also fills up space, and shows that the magazine is full of different articles.


  • I used the same font as the masthead used in Kerrang to keep to a similar house style.
  • I used a image of the editor and a paragraph about the magazine to make the magazine seem more personal as used in Kerrang.
  • I used a image of the double page spread to show the reader a main story they may be interested in reading and to make the magazine bursting with information.
  • I used a main header to entice a reader into reading the whole article 
  • I also used columns to make it easier to read
  • The main image is on the left hand side so that poential readers will see this first and then may wish to read the article.

Develop  

  • I changed the arrow to a block look, to look smarter as I wanted to use a more grunge style on the free posters part and the name of my artist who had free posters. I liked the way the arrow looks more interesting than just a box and made the text stand out.
  • I used a + sign  rather than the word plus to make it more interesting rather than just the word as it is common to use abbreviations as it is a magazine aimed at teenagers and young people.
  • I put my posters at a angle so that the magazine looked more interesting, rather than just using straight images, however I kept the white border to help them to stand out against the rest of the image.

  • I wrote the page numbers in a larger font next to the article, as I thought it was hard to read the numbers the way that they are written in Kerrang.
  • I decided to use different header for my articles than those used in Kerrang, as they use a sign to show if a article is on the cover I created a section just for articles that were on the front cover.
  • I changed the subscribe section to stand out more than it does in Kerrang, as I feel it blends in with the rest of the contents page.

  • Kerrang uses a introductory paragraph at the top of their page I decided to use a opening paragraph instead. I decided to do this as I felt that if a reader wanted to read the magazine, they would read it after seeing the quote from the article rather than a introductory paragraph.
  • I used a quote in a much larger font than used in Kerrang so that it stood out more to entice readers.  
Challenge

  • I used an entire story at the top of the magazine which was in yellow and white, as I felt that it looked more interesting as this story was a big story.
  • I used a box around the artists name so that it would stand out more and that people would still be able to see the image behind.
  • I decided to use a different pose for my artist as I felt that the artist looked abit silly on Kerrang.
  • I used the artists name above the posters as I felt that it didnt stand out much on Kerrang.
  •  I used the same colour font for the page numbers so that they didn't stand out too much and so that it kept to my three colours (White, Yellow and Black).
  • On the top articles I used a line to separate the page numbers from the text, as this kept to style of the numbers on the rest of my page.
  • I used a banner above the article so that the name of the article stood out more and that it still kept to my house style.
  • I used different colours to show the interview questions and to make the article look more interesting. I also did this so that the reader could tell what the artist had said to the questions set by the interviewer.
  • I didn't write the artists name below the quote as I felt that the fact that the image was below the artist showed it was a quote from her.



    Tuesday, 7 February 2012

    Research and Planning: Front Cover To Date


    After feedback from my moderator and my target audience I have decided to change the colours  and am now working on a new draft.

    Monday, 30 January 2012

    Research and Planning: Pictures for magazine

    I have found that the main problem with my magazine is that there isn't a house style and the images do not fit to the genre and therefore my magazine doesn't seem to flow and looks very disjointed therefore I am going to have to take my images again. I am planning to use the same location I used on my previous shoot however I am going to make sure that there isn't any greenery in the shot as this makes it look very folk like and nothing like my genre of my magazine.

    Thursday, 26 January 2012

    Research and Planning: Double Page Spread

    Research and Planning: Double Page Spread


    Emma managed to spare a hour in her busy schedule to have ae interview with Pandamonium up close and personal about the recording of her new album and her exitment about her upcoming tour.

    Hi Emma thank you for taking time out from your busy schedule for this interview, how are you doing?
    Im great thanks this weather is horrible though, havent really noticed first time out of the studio this week

    How did it feel when your first album went to number one?
    It was so amazing I didn’t expect that at all, I really wanted to do well but It’s a massive gamble doing a album and releasing it, You spend months working on it and trying to make each song perfect and its amazing when all the hard work pays off and you see people listening to your music.

    I’ve heard you’ve got a new album your currently recording hows the new album coming along?
    Theres a few songs that are recorded I’m really exited to see them once they’ve been put together properly but the bits I’ve heard sound amazing its crazy. I’ve been living at the studio only really been to my flat to sleep then been getting up and going straight to the studio, its abit tiring but its all worth it to see the finished album I cant wait! Hopefully it will be all finished within the next few weeks so the fans can all listen to it soon.

    You’ve got a tour coming up, where are you going to be, anywhere near?
    We’ve got gigs at many different places up and down the country and hopefully we’ll be near everyone who wants to come see us!  And We’ve even got a few gigs in Europe which I’m really exited to see if we get any more fans. It’s quite surreal seeing my name on a gig ticket at the places I used to go see bands all the time. I’m most looking forward to my gig at Manchester Academy as I used to go see bands there almost every month and look at them and be like I want to be doing that one day and here I am.

    Do you have anything you do to calm nerves before a performance?
    I always phone my friends and sometimes I have them with me backstage its still pretty scary and now that even more people are coming to see me I think I cant let them down.Each gig feels like the first even thought I know that people have come to see me and I’m headlining I still worry something will happen. At one gig the mic wasnt working which was horrible but now I’ve had bad things happen I just think well nothing as bad as that can happen but the fans are pretty understanding so its okay. When I first started at small pubs it was really hard coz if something messed up you were right there with the people.

    How long did it take before you became noticed?
    Well it took years I’d do so many different gigs at small venues and my family were so supportive of it. I’ve always wanted to do my singing and I’ve had a passion for it as soon as I got a guitair that never left my side.

    Where do you get your inspiration for your songs?
    Well usually from the people around me, all of my songs are inspired by real things that have happened to me or my friends and family, its better when it means ssomething to you coz you feel more passionate about it.

    Thank you for your time best of luck with your Album.
    Thank you very much

    Monday, 23 January 2012

    Research and Planning: Front Cover

    After I reviewed my front cover I decided that my image doesnt fit my genre as it appears more folk therefore I will need to get a different image that suits my genre better
     I need to get a image that has more attitude and looks more rock.