Evaluation Questions- (7) (FINAL)

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


A lot of improvement has been made from my prelim task the first being the quality of the photos that I took along with the clothes that were worn in the shoot. In my prelim shoot I took pictures of my model with them wearing what they had come to college to that day. I was not taking into account my audience or the purpose of the shot and what the shot was going to be used for. I was aiming to get the shot and complete the front cover. This was completely different when I was doing my main final piece of work as I took time over the framing of the shot and took into account the Rule of Thirds. I also thought about what clothes and make up my model would be wearing and how those aspects could align with my overall Oriental Theme.
 Everything about the photography was thought out whilst I was creating the persona of my character/artist. 
The lighting on my prelim photo was basic and did not illuminate the model that I was using well enough. As you can see the lighting causes shadows to be cast on the face of my model. This is unlike my final piece. The pose of my model on my prelim cover shot and final cover shot are strikingly similar but this was just a coincidence.
The colouring I have used on my final piece suits the model and the topic/genre of the magazine unlike my prelim piece in which I used a plain black text colour as I didnt take into account what my audience and purpose was.

Evaluation Activity 5 (FINAL)

How did you attract/address your audience?

FRONT PAGE/COVER PAGE-
The bright, vivid colours attract my audience immediately. Its draws there attention to 'Static' and then down to 'Anne Gilchrist- Rising Electric'. This informs the audience of the main topic in the magazine and also the magazines title. The Rule of Thirds is obeyed on the front cover with the Masthead in the first third, the models face and main features are found in the second third and in the final third you can see the main cover line which tells the audience who the magazine features in this case Anne Gilchrist.
The cover page also features the Golden Spiral as the information increases from the top left hand corner of the page.
With the cover lines, I used popular artists that relate to the magazine and will also be popular with my chosen audience. I used multiple artists to give a good insight into what my magazine includes which will cause them to read on and look inside. The
layout of the magazine is not clear but this suits the fact that the rest of the magazine does not conform to the mainstream music magazine. A magazine like Kerrang has an F layout which would not be appropriate for my magazine for the reasons that I have just stated. The model I have used will also attract my audience into reading the magazine because the shot I have used is well framed but slightly mysterious when paired with the main cover lines which suggest that there could be a new artist on the horizon. New, unseen artists are one of the interests of my audience, Indie Scenesters.
I have addressed my audience in an informal and formal way which are appropriate for the subject matters. For example the writing with my Skrillex cover line suggests worry and is formally presented with the words 'What is he doing now?'. I have used a more informal typography when talking about Daft Punk in which I have used some of their album titles to create a witty story. The music knowledge of  my audience made this possible to use because they will already know the songs and be able to relate to them.
CONTENTS PAGE-
For my contents page I have used a more sophisticated style taking advantage of the white space on the page to make the page look a lot more formal. I have broken up the page with pictures which is similar to Dazed and Confused. I wanted my magazine to be fully focused on not just the music but also the photography. This explains why I have used these pictures in the contents page. I have Capitalised all subject matters,artists or albums to show the importance of the music in the magazine. For example on my REGULARS column I have capitalised The Glitch Mob, Skrillex and Peppertones. This capitalisation really works in attracting my audience to a certain topic or subject on the page. This also makes the important parts of the magazine stand out from all the others. I have continued the colour scheme of hot pink from the cover page to keep the continuity of the J-Pop/Electro genre throughout the magzine. Other than the title of the contents page, I have used the colouring for the  lines placed under the Cover, Front and Regulars. This keep with the formality as well as the continuity and colour scheme. I have used an unusual spacing technique which can be found in Dazed and Confused. I felt I should use this style because it fits with the whole theme of not conforming to mainstream aspects.
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD-
I have kept the colour continutiy throughout the double page spread as well as reusing the font I used for my main cover lines. This makes the magazine readable as there is a clear theme and the reader knows that this part of the magazine is related to the feature on the cover. The photo I have used may not be as interesting as the others but I wanted the article to take precedence on the double page spread. The lines used on the block of text formalises and keeps the writing within a set place, avoiding a text bleed. I have addressed my audience in an informal way as I have also spoken to my artist in an informal way.
I have purposely created a lot of white space to give the look of a clean organised page and that everything on there is there for a reason.

Evaluation Question 2 (FINAL)

Pick a key image of your artist from your magazine (ideally the cover image). Take a screengrab of a reasonable sized image of them. Think of one or more recording artists/stars from other magazines with some similarity to them (but maybe some differences too!), find an image on the web of that/those stars and grab it as well. Drop the two into Photoshop, as a split screen. Export this splitscreen image as a jpeg then drop onto your blog and write about the similarities and differences in terms of appearance, costume etc.

My artist has a lot of similarities to the artist Feist also some differences.

Feist is a innovative artist in the music world a lot like my own. The artist I have used creates the same type of music. They are have a similar style as well with a basic fashion style. Fiest and my artist have some differences such as the age difference with Fiest being 38 and my artist being 16. Featuring Feist in my magazine, I feel, would be appropriate and appeal to my target audience as much the artist that I have already aimed at.

The genre of music that both of the artists perform are quite different but in some ways they are similar. I say this because the genres of music they do perform are unique and do not conform to traditional conventions which also makes them more favourable with the age group that they are aimed at. Because they don't conform to these conventions, it makes it the artist perfect for the magazine and age group. 

The outfits that the two artists are wearing are quite different as they add different elements into the genre. Feist adds quite a tomboy feel to the genre whilst my artist adds a J-Pop element which suits the genre more than the tomboy style. 

I think that both Feist and my artist 'break the mould' of mainstream music add add a very different twist on music that already exists.

Evaluation Questions- (3)

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

A publishing company, such as Bauer Media, uses the process of publishing to make information available to the wider public.

There are multiple ways to distribute my magazine the first and most common method being news-stands/news shops.

Many music magazine are distributed through this method such as Kerrang, NME and Q. This is an incredibly effective way of distributing a magazine.

However for my magazine I don't think it will be as useful as it will not reach the niche audience that I would expect to read my magazine.

I have aimed for my magazine to be more like Wonderland. or Dazed and Confused which both have a smaller but more dedicated audience that are more likely to pick up every issue.

Another distribution method is that of mail distribution where the reader subscribes to the magazine either online or over the phone. This makes the possible audience smaller but also makes sure that the magazine will be appreciated by who reads it as they have actively looked for the magazine online. Both of these distribution models are Paid Circulation which I feel would be appropriate for my magazine.

Another circulation I could use is Non-Paid Circulation which is more aimed at free newspapers such as Metro and also the music magazine Loud and Quiet.

Funding for my magazine may be hard to gather as I would have to rely on Shareholders and several smaller investors for money. If any of this major cogs were to pull out of the funding then the magazine could fall apart as fast as it had come together.

To publish my magazine I would have to use a company such as Emap. This company has now broken down but at one they had an 18% market share in the industry and published large magazines such as Empire which is relevant to my magazine because it is another magazine which is in the entertainment industry.

SoundCloud 

Evaluation Questions- 6 FINAL

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

Blogger- I have learnt how to effectively use Blogger to communicate my work to my peers. I have also seen the problems that come with using Blogger and how to overcome these problems. For example the placement of images from Google Images etc. Blogger was also an effective way for my teachers and peers to view my work. It could be accessed from almost anywhere and edited also making it easy to complete my work.

Flickr- I had never used Flickr before this project and I have found it very useful and very easy to use. This was an invaluable asset in creating my magazine as I could access my pictures wherever I was so that I could finalise the pictures I was going to use even when I wasn't at college.

Facebook- I used Facebook to find my model for my magazine. Without Facebook and the contact abilities that it has it would have been a lot harder to find a suitable model for my magazine.

Scribd- I have used Scribd to upload various documents to make them available for my peers on my blog using Blogger. This increased upload speed of the blog posts as it would have taken a lot longer because of the amount of text used.

E-Mail- I used email to broaden my search for a model as my first model wasn't want I was looking for and didn't suit the style of my magazine. I contacted someone that I knew who put me in contact with some models. However I did not find a suitable model that was willing to travel down to do the shoot. Even though I didn't find someone, email was a very effective tool that I used.

Photoshop-Without Photoshop I would not have been able to compile and create my magazine. It allowed me to use all of the tools that I would have needed to create a magazine that looked professional and effective. Some of the tools that I used on Photoshop that were crucial to the creation of my magazine were- Crop- Crop was one of my primary tools when creating my magazine. It allowed me to fine tune my photos so that I got the shot that I had aimed for. This was a crucial tool throughout my magazine as I used it on my Front Page, Contents Page and Double Page Spread.
Transform- Transform was also another tool that I used that help me perfect the images that I used on my Front Page, Contents Page and Double Page Spread. This tool allowed me to resize the various images that I used to fit the purpose of my magazine. For example I needed 4 images on my contents page but all of them wouldn't fit. This is when I decided to use the transform tool and make the images smaller to fit the purpose.
Brightness/Opacity- I used this on my cover page photo to make my model look brighter and more suitable for my genre of Electro/J-Pop as most of the models used on other magazines have really bright features which I would not have been able to create with the lighting we had, meaning I would have to implement this feature artificially.  
Fill- I used the fill tool frequently, mostly on the various iterations of my masthead and also large text that was used on my contents page. Without this tool I would not have been able to successfully create an effective masthead without this tool. I dont think there is an alternative tool I could have to create the same effect so this was invaluable to me in the creation of the magazine. 
Colour Picker- This tool was incredibly useful to keep continuity throughout the magazine. I used colours that relied heavily on them being identical to each other. Even if the colours were a shade different then you would be able to tell, ruining the continuity of the magazine.

Twitter- I used Twitter to contact my teacher for possible improvement on my magazine. I asked about possible fonts, colours and also layouts for my magazine which I then used and on my final product. A lot of example magazine were also posted on the profile which gave me inspiration for my final product.
Internet (For Research)- I extensively used the internet for research purposes. For example I used the internet to find the audience that I could aim my magazine at. UK Tribes was an invaluable tool which I would not have had access to if I had not had access to the internet. Another tool I used, Blogger, would also had been ruled out without access to the Internet.   

POWTOON LINK

Evaluation Question- (1) DRAFT

The Title of the Magazine- I used a similar style of title for my magazine. It's short and punchy that gets straight to the point. It also shows what the magazine is aiming to do. For example 'Clash' is showing the clash between two different styles of music and fashion whilst 'Static' shows that its going to be electronic/techno with the addition of an oriental look/style.
Graphology/Page Layouts- I have used an E/F layout on my magazine front cover with more focus on the E layout as the masthead, cover lines and main cover lines follow this line. This follows the the layout of 'Clash' however it is left aligned whilst my magazine is centre aligned.
Costume,props,iconography used to reflect genre- I used an Oriental/Japanese style costume for my model with no props. The iconography of this costume is innocence that doesn't normally suit the genre however it does suit the overall artist and internal article that I used for my double page spread. It doesn't clash with the colours on the front cover either.
Camerawork and framing of images- The framing of the shots are similar with them both being mid shots however I chose to keep my shot relevant to the genre. The shot paired with the costume and pose accurately portrays the genre of the magazine. This uses the common media convention of Continuity which is critical for for a magazine as it wouldn't have a natural flow, something that I feel mine has.
Title, Header, Article etc Font and Style- The font for the title has an oriental theme. The style of the font has oriental connotations and this paired with the colour keeps the genre of Oriental/Electro. The Cover Lines on the Cover of the magazine represents the style of the genre and also the artist. This font was used elsewhere in a cult film which also links to the artist that speaks a lot about Technology and other types of Modern popular culture. The font for the article along with the contents page is very formal which contrasts with the Masthead font and the main cover lines. The formality of the helps to break up the magazine and give it purpose.    
Genre and how the magazine cover,contents and double page spread suggests it- The genre is suggested in the cover of the magazine from the artists mentioned in the cover lines and also the main cover lines with the quotation 'Rising Electric' suggesting that a brand new electric star could be on the horizon. The content displayed in the Contents Page also shows the genre of electro but the overall design doesn't show it as much as the front cover of the magazine. The colours used in the contents page are an electric/neon pink which can be linked to the electro/oriental genre and style of the magazine. In the double page spread I have included the colour used on the front cover and contents page to keep the continuity of the genre and have also repeated the font used in the Main Cover Lines of the Front Cover. This not only keeps the continuity of the genre but also the artist that I have featured.
How your artist is represented- I have represented my artist as an edgy new artist that doesn't want to conform to the mainstream expectations of an artist like her. I have portrayed my artist as a role model to the age range that would be reading my magazine. I also tried to make my artist like an everyday person that people can relate to easily. The inclusion of pop culture such as video games, comics and movies that people may have seen helps to build up this relationship between the reader and the artist.
Colour Scheme- I have kept my colour scheme very basic with a  Black/White/Pink scheme. I used this colour scheme to make the Pink colour distinct throughout the magazine. The black and white colour scheme used throughout the magazine adds a formal element to the magazine that I was aiming to portray in my magazine. I feel that the sophisticated feel of the magazine is apparent because of these colours.
With my oriental theme I have challenged the conventions of mainstream magazines and have appealed to a very niche audience that would be interested in a new and different product like my magazine. The genre of the music I have included in my magazine directly links the theme of the magazine. Conforming to these conventions would go against what my magazine stands for as the whole magazine is based against the mainstream style of music. 

Evaluation Questions- 1 (FINAL)

1.In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (I.E of music magazines)

The Title of the Magazine- I used a similar style of title for my magazine. It's short and punchy that gets straight to the point. It also shows what the magazine is aiming to do. For example 'Clash' is showing the clash between two different styles of music and fashion whilst 'Static' shows that its going to be electronic/techno with the addition of an oriental look/style. This goes against a lot of mainstream conventions created by many magazines such as 'Clash'. You can see that 'Clash' has used a generic fonts which do not show the theme/meaning of the magazine unlike my masthead that clearly has connotations of an oriental theme with electronic aspects.
Graphology/Page Layouts- I have used an E/F layout on my magazine front cover with more focus on the E layout as the masthead, cover lines and main cover lines follow this line. This follows the the layout of 'Clash' however it is left aligned whilst my magazine is centre aligned.The layout of the magazine tends to conform with conventions as the magazine would not look effective I had not used an already appropriate layout.
Costume,props,iconography used to reflect genre- I used an Oriental/Japanese style costume for my model with no props. The iconography of this costume is innocence that doesn't normally suit the genre however it does suit the overall artist and internal article that I used for my double page spread. It doesn't clash with the colours on the front cover either. I have conformed with some conventions to a certain extent with a stereotypical oriental fashion and makeup.
Camerawork and framing of images- The framing of the shots are similar with them both being mid shots however I chose to keep my shot relevant to the genre. The shot paired with the costume and pose accurately portrays the genre of the magazine. This uses the common media convention of Continuity which is critical for for a magazine as it wouldn't have a natural flow, something that I feel mine has.
Title, Header, Article etc Font and Style- The font for the title has an oriental theme. The style of the font has oriental connotations and this paired with the colour keeps the genre of Oriental/Electro. The Cover Lines on the Cover of the magazine represents the style of the genre and also the artist. This font was used elsewhere in a cult film which also links to the artist that speaks a lot about Technology and other types of Modern popular culture. The font for the article along with the contents page is very formal which contrasts with the Masthead font and the main cover lines. The formality of the helps to break up the magazine and give it purpose.    
Genre and how the magazine cover,contents and double page spread suggests it- The genre is suggested in the cover of the magazine from the artists mentioned in the cover lines and also the main cover lines with the quotation 'Rising Electric' suggesting that a brand new electric star could be on the horizon. The content displayed in the Contents Page also shows the genre of electro but the overall design doesn't show it as much as the front cover of the magazine. The colours used in the contents page are an electric/neon pink which can be linked to the electro/oriental genre and style of the magazine. In the double page spread I have included the colour used on the front cover and contents page to keep the continuity of the genre and have also repeated the font used in the Main Cover Lines of the Front Cover. This not only keeps the continuity of the genre but also the artist that I have featured.
How your artist is represented- I have represented my artist as an edgy new artist that doesn't want to conform to the mainstream expectations of an artist like her. I have portrayed my artist as a role model to the age range that would be reading my magazine. I also tried to make my artist like an everyday person that people can relate to easily. The inclusion of pop culture such as video games, comics and movies that people may have seen helps to build up this relationship between the reader and the artist.
Colour Scheme- I have kept my colour scheme very basic with a  Black/White/Pink scheme. I used this colour scheme to make the Pink colour distinct throughout the magazine. The black and white colour scheme used throughout the magazine adds a formal element to the magazine that I was aiming to portray in my magazine. I feel that the sophisticated feel of the magazine is apparent because of these colours.
With my oriental theme I have challenged the conventions of mainstream magazines and have appealed to a very niche audience that would be interested in a new and different product like my magazine. The genre of the music I have included in my magazine directly links the theme of the magazine. Conforming to these conventions would go against what my magazine stands for as the whole magazine is based against the mainstream style of music.