Evaluation Question 1

Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The Magazine that I have produced uses the key conventions that a music magazine available to buy in shop would use. Some of these conventions are the use of a general colour scheme (orange and white mainly). This creates a more realistic look to the whole magazine, although the colours do challenge the typical forms as orange is not commonly used on music magazine. 

Slide 1 of the presentation below shows the key conventions or my magazines compared to others available. Magazines of any topic always have a barcode, the issue date on the cover of the magazine therefore I have used these conventions. Magazines also feature cover lines, which I have definitely placed on the left-hand side of my front cover. My cover of the magazine has the masthead ‘STRUM’ across the top of the page. The cover also features a medium close up shot of artist Sienna Low the common shot used for magazine.

                   

Slide 2 of the presentation shows the word 'contents' is always at the top of its contents page as it helps the reader to identify what page they are on. This is a convention that my contents page definitely follows. On a contents page there is also the text which tells you what articles are featured in the magazine. This is usually in bold, in capital letters and has a page number next to it to tell the reader what page that is.On a contents page, images of different artists to the artist on the front cover are sometimes used. I have followed this convention on my contents page. The main large photographs i have chosen to use are not the conventional posed pictures that the two other magazine contents pages have used. Instead, they are concert photographs with look more independent styled and that fits well with the genre of my magazine. Also, the 'unsigned' look of the female artist in the top left-hand corner looks suitable for an indie magazine. All the artists fit well with the folk rock look. The writing on a contents page of a magazine is normally in columns. This is something that i have used as it is used in nearly every single magazine, no matter what the content is.


Finally on slide 3 of the presentation, in a music magazine, usually the double page spread has a main image placed on the left hand side page. This is one convention that I have not followed because the photo that I have selected looks a lot better on the right hand page as the photograph of the artist has her hand slightly cut off and therefore it looks better if it is cut of the page and not cut in the middle. A lot of double page spreads in music magazines even have the name of the magazine and page number at the bottom of the pages although I decided not use these conventions because I think they were unnecessary and could over crowd the page. I also chose to use black coloured text as it is a standard colour that is easy to read and would contrast against the white and red parts of the double page spread.

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 3

Q3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

A distribution company that might distribute my music magazine is MusicMags or IPC MEDIA.Both institutions distribute a wide variety of magazine genres. I think that my magazine would be quite high in price (£3-£5) because it is such a unique magazine to sell. Also these two companies sell a majority of music and teen magazines therefore I think that it would be beneficial if they distribute my music magazine. My magazine fills a gap in the music magazine market, as it is something that they don't have. 

Also, they could possibly make a large profit from my music magazine because of it's originality and a subscription for the magazine could be a possible way to make that profit. This subscription could be easy to get to the readers as they could get it sent to their homes or they could pick it up from their local newsagents or from bit shops such as WHSmith and supermarkets as a lot of people go to supermarkets with their teenage children or if the young adult is at university, then they might have to do their own shopping.

I think it would be a good idea to sell my music magazine in train stations because many teenagers and young adults travel independently in today's society especially those A level students and university students on their way to job interviews, lectures or for social reasons and would most likely pick up a magazine to read on their journey.

IPC MEDIA: http://www.ipcmedia.com

MusicMags: http://www.musicmags.net

Evaluation Question 4

Q4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

My music magazine is aimed towards teenagers and young adults, both male and female. I have included both male and female artists in the magazine with photos of both genders. This should attract both genders although; I think that my music magazine is unintentionally biased towards females. 

This is because of the layout, the language and the fact that most of the articles that I selected where about females.Also, a lot of the bands featured in STRUM are bands that perform at gigs and festivals in the UK. This means that a large percentage of the readers will be reading it will be seeing the band live at festivals in the summer. 

Evaluation Question 5

Evaluation Question 6

Q6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

This media project has helped me to develop my Photoshop skills further to create more professional pieces of work as well as developing my photography and creative skills. 

Using Photoshop has allowed me to change and remove photos and backgrounds from photos and edit them in a number of ways. As well as this,  Adobe's Photoshop has helped me create effects such as gradients, creating a better looking page which would not have been easy to do or even possible on similar programs. One of the most useful tools for editing the background was the magic wad tool as it made selecting the background quick and easy to do.

Photography-During creating this coursework, I have learnt some more about what kind of photographs sell well in music magazines as well as what the key conventions of shot sizes are . It has given me an opportunity to take photographs outside the classroom environment. This now means I have a decent amount of original photographs that make up the images in my music magazine.

YouTube and Blogger- Another technology that has played a major part in the process in constructing my product is the website Blogger. This website has given me the opportunity to complete the coursework as well as note down my progression to this point when the magazine pages are complete. YouTube has been a useful technology as well because it has given me a new and interesting way to share my ideas through the medium of digital video. My focus group video was uploaded to YouTube and linked to Blogger so it can be viewed on my blog.

Overall, I think my ICT skills have improved a lot thanks to me using the technologies on a regular basis.

Evaluation Question 7

Q7. Looking back at the preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to a full product?

 

As you can see from the photos above, I have gained a lot of Photoshop skills since creating the first cover on the left at the start of the year. During the preliminary task, I learnt that you need to take into account when props, costumes the people I wanted in the school magazine before finally taking photographs. This therefore helped me to understand why these initial tasks are so important to do before creating your final one. Deciding a colour scheme, for example, I needed to grasp the audience. My first cover did not do this but my final piece did just that. I ended up having to also find a proper place to take photos of my model holding props I chose for her to be wearing a shirt in my final piece but just whatever she had on for the school magazine. 

Evaluation Question 8

Q8. Evaluate how successful your product is with your target audience using audience feedback.

I have asked several people what their opinions are about my final music magazine pages. There was some positive but also negative feedback towards my cover, contents and double-page spread.

Cover
Strengths:
Several people said that the colour scheme was unusual but good because the colours where consistent all throughout the music magazine pages. some mentioned that they liked the font of the mast-head as it looks like strings that have been turned into letters. This fits in with the look as the name STRUM means strumming a guitars strings. Also, most people mentioned that it looked neat and not over crowded, which makes it 'look rather professional'.

Weaknesses :
The majority of people I asked said that there wasn't enough going on at the bottom of the page so people wouldn't really want to read the information and therefore not see who or what is featured in this magazine.


Contents
Strengths:
The 'strum' heading and the 'contents' heading font help to show the easy going nature of the genre. The pictures of the artists on stage help to glorify the artist and can make it relatable to readers who have seen the band live. 

Weaknesses:

The image of the amp seems a bit unprofessional when compared to the other pictures, was a general response and some said that the text boxes looked 'weak' as well as people saying that I should have used one more font.  

Double-Page Spread
Strengths :

Lots of people liked the idea that the bubble on the bottom right showed a pun that the text there matched that the artist was jumping in the air. People liked the highlighted questions because it made it easier to understand. The pages have 'a warm and happy feel to them'. I am happy with these comments.

Weaknesses: 
Many people agreed that there isn't anything to indicate that their are other things that you can look at online such as a Twitter or Facebook page. A suggestion was made that these logos should be added so the readers know that they can find out more online. This makes the magazine more widely available to people. 



Final Evaluation
Looking at my final pieces of work, I think that there is room for improvement in order to make these pages even better. For example, I could add the logos on the contents and double-page spread as well as tweeking some of the layouts throughout the pages. Also, I could have added more photos to the contents page.

Overall, I think I did complete my media product with some skill and have created a high quality piece of work in my opinion. I am please with the results, the originality of the magazine due to it's genre and colours. I would give myself 
          8/10.

STRUM Magazine Pages

Draft of Music Magazine

Costume and props

For my folk rock magazine 'strum', the artists that will be in this are people like Gabrielle Aplin, Noah and the Whale, Mindy Gledhill, Mumford and Sons and Of Monsters and Men.

The pale pastel colours are very popular in indie folk as well as indie rock. This old fashioned look is some thing only indie folk artist really do as it does not recognised as fashionable by people who listen to mainly pop or dub step music for example.

The subtle pastel colours are also used in this dress worn by Gabrielle Aplin. Pop and rock stars today wear big bright and bold looks which fit with there upbeat genre of music. The more relaxed and slightly vintage looks of the folk genre mean these colours and designs work well. The artists of this genre focus more on their music rather than their look.An example of an artist who is famous for what they wear as well as their music is Miley Cyrus.

Waist coats are popular in this genre of music. Mumford and Sons are probably the most well known bad to wear waist coats. The waist coat gives an impression of higher class and respectable men. Compare this look to one of Lil Wayne or the band Blink 182.

The knitted and shirt looks are very iconic for this genre of music. The shirts shouldn't look to country and western and the jumpers must have a interesting design to make then look individual.

A guitar has to be on the magazine at some point as, after all the magazine is called strum. Other instruments that could be used are the Banjo, ukulele as well as the piano.

Foundation Portfolio Targets

Research and planning

1.     See new AS deadlines on Fronter and add new tasks. Also use Susana Quinn blog for guidance (on Fronter).

2.     Carry out more detailed research into examples of professional magazines – aim for analysis of 3 covers, 3 contents pages and 3 double page spreads. This can be annotated analysis (See Susan Quinn blog on Fronter). Ensure that examples are recent (last 2-3 years) and from the same genre as the product you will create.

3.     Key conventions - Ensure that examples are recent (last 2-3 years) and from the same genre as the product you will create. Show how this research has informed your final product.

4.     Evaluate focus group video responses – show how this research has informed your final product.

5.     In title block analysis, analyse mastheads from the same genre as your own – show how this research has informed your final product (include your own design and explain choices).

6.     Costume props planning – show how this research has informed your final product.

7.     Drafting – explain choices made (base on professional pages).

8.     Research and planning should show in-depth analysis - this element is worth 20% of the marks, so a lot is expected (see level of detail in Susana Quinn blog on Fronter).

Product

1.     Make it clear what genre your product belongs to. Show that you have engaged with the codes and conventions of your chosen genres.

2.     Find PSD files and I will help you to improve

Evaluation

1.     Use a wider variety of ICT in the Evaluation (not just text, images and slides). This is a requirement in the Marking Criteria. Use a wide variety of appropriate resources in the evaluation, such as Youtube, Prezi, Soundcloud, Urturn, Glogster, Wix etc.

2.     Evaluation should show in-depth analysis - this element is worth 20% of the marks, so a lot is expected (see level of detail in Susana Quinn blog on Fronter).

Overall, the blog should be used as a detailed work in

progress, which highlights the creative journey that you have undergone – post to your blog weekly, showing what you have done, why and what you have learned .

Title Blocks Analysis

Analysing Music Magazine Title Blocks

Billboard Magazine

The title block of Billboard is simple font and the primary colours are used. This simplicity of this font is effective because it is seen and recognised. The title block itself does;t really give away the genre of the magazine, but it tells us as the audience that the  music content in the magazine is about the 'billboard' charts in the USA.

Top of the Pops

The genre of 'Top of the Pops' is pop and the font and style of text matches it. The actual logo is pink and yellow. This girly eye catching colours are aimed at a younger audience of girls. This also reflects the language and the content both on and inside of the magazine. The name 'Top of the Pops' is named after an old popular chart show that was on TV from 1964 to 2006.

The 'Strum' Reader

Reader profile

reader

Sarah, 18, lives and breathes indie folk and rock music : it informs her live choice, friends, hobbies,leisure time, attitudes, fashion sense and lifestyle.

Above all she is in love with Mumford & sons as well as Noah and the Whale. She engages with music 24/7, from the minute that she  is awake, until the minute she falls asleep: when she is not listening to music or watching music TV, she is talking to his friends about her favourite music, attending gigs or learning to play instruments like the guitar and drums . She is plugged in,sharp and enjoys her individuality. Her fashion is indie styled. Sarah is extremely loyal to the brands. Her fashion choices are integral to communicating her 'style' and 'individuality' to the world.

Designing Title Blocks

Designing Title Blocks

For my music magazine, i wanted to ensure that the title block fits with the look and feel of the magazine. The  title blocks is one of the first things the reader look at (or look out to see). i decided this would be a good place to start.

I wanted a title that would be well suited for the type and style of magazine that it is. I therefore decided that 'Strum' would work best as it can be illustrated through the font and colours. The front i felt that the 3rd title block best suited my magazine; as the other fonts here a bit too simple or not really folk related.

Focus Group

In order to gain information and find out the opinion of the target market, I set up a focus group, I asked the group of 10, 5 girls and 5 boys, who are in the age group of my target audience a set of questions. I chose 5 of each to make the opinions fair as certain questions may have been answered differently depending on genders.

1. I am creating a indie folk /rock magazine. Is this something that you see on sale already or is this something new?

The whole focus group agreed that they thought that it was a new and original idea.

"Folk music is becoming more popular in the last years but still hasn't fully broke into the mainstream pop genre, therefore this magazine is something that would be of interest to fans as they will be able to read about their favourite bands." -  Alex, male, 17

2. Design and colour schemes are important when designing a magazine. Magazines such as NME and SPIN use them consistently in issues. I want to have a colour scheme but what colours will be successful but are unique ? 

There was quite a discussion between the group about what colours would be suitable. Red was a popular choice that people initially said but in the end it was agreed that too many magazines already available used red in their colour scheme. Colours such as orange were seen as folk but  3 of the group suggested that red should be used slightly as it is an eye catching colour.

3. The magazine will be introducing an artist that has become very popular. The front page and double page spread will used for this artist. Conventions says that a medium shot is the best to use for the front cover but do you think this is what I should use?

"I think that you should keep to the conventions of a music magazine as any other shot will not be as eye catching for the viewer. You should make sure that the audience can see who is on the cover. A decision to purchase is made in only 5 seconds of being seen, therefore the front cover is important to get right." - Danielle, female, 18

4. Is it important to feature both male and female artists within the magazine?

The group made it clear to me that featuring both genders was important because you want both make and females to be interested in reading the magazine therefore having articles about artists from both genders is an obvious decision. Also, there are less indie folk female artists then male so perhaps a female on the cover would be a good idea as then it will be more eye catching and new but also it is helping the females of the genre become known.

5. Should there be some kind of free item inside the magazine as it will be introducing a new artist? For example, a CD or coupon code for online sales?

" I think that the advertisement for the artist is good but putting something free or giving the reader a discount may not be good for the artist as they may not make as much money as they could have done. Although it might work, often people say that they will do it later but they forget, meaning that the artist is forgotten about." - Christian, male, 16

This has helped me a lot in discovering what my target audience wants from my magazine as well as understanding why certain conventions items within a magazine are so important not only for the reader but also in order for the magazine to look and feel professional.

Analysis of Music Magazine Key conventions

Music Magazine conventions

I have searched online for a range of indie rock magazines and found none which specifically address the single genre of indie rock, although it is contained within magazines such as NME and SPIN as a sub genre and simply feature within these magazines. So I found these magazines which have indie rock main features and see how they compare to analyse.

 As we can see the main part of the cover is the image of the band as this is the most important feature and draws most the attention in of the indie rock genre as it is usually a sub genre recognition is important.

The image for Q Magazine takes up the entire page and over laps the mast head for style and due to the fact it is more important , but the mast head has a bold red background behind it to still allow it to stand out upon the image. The other two do not have overlapping pictures but that could change in the next issue. The mast head is still the largest piece of text on the page and is one of the first things you notice when viewing the cover, but the main feature title is also equally important on this cover to draw the audience into the band as the title 'Mumford and sons' spans across the page with a white block back ground with black bold text to allow the text to again stand out against the image.

There is a text colour scheme of white black and red , all the text is black while having white and red back grounds standing out following a rule of three. The read is used for headers such as SPIN and features to keep consistency between cover headings and in magazine features. This colour scheme and red background behind headers will be consistent through out the whole magazines.

Front Cover

The title of the magazine is very clearly shown in the top left hand corner where it is for almost every issue. Its white font and red background are continuously the same except from special addition issues of the magazine. This issue of Q is a special issue. The gold circle with ‘the 300^th issue’ written inside it makes it look more stylish as well as the fact that gold connotes being the best. 

The short phrase underneath the very large ’Q’ is intended to ‘sum-up’ the magazine’s image and stick in the readers mind. Adele takes up 2/3 of the cover. Her forehead and hair slightly cover the masthead which creates an almost 3D effect. Also her purple outfit, nails and eye make-up connotes elegance and peace.

The artists in Q tend to be young artist and appeal both genders while magazines like NME seem to have a predominantly male audience.The barcode, date, issue number and price of Q are there because all commercial magazines need this information on their cover. However, most designer will consider them not as important as other things on the page and will make them as small and inconspicuous as possible.

Contents Page

The contents page is quite simply made, however it is still effective. The page features a masthead, but it is a lot smaller and less dominating. The colour scheme continues from the front page onto the contents page. The content its self is featured down the left hand side along with the information that is in the magazine every month and on the right hand side is a large picture of one of the bands featured in the magazine. Above the picture are details of the magazine that were previously shown on front cover. A lot of magazines have a box of information on subscription on their contents pages but Q doesn't seem to follow this trend. The contents page is one of the very first pages in the whole magazine, therefore persuading you to continue to read the magazine.Other bands are listed down the side of the page but are in a small font to the main feature as they are of less importance but still important enough to be listed on the cover. This means audiences can view the main feature a swell as the lesser features.

Double page spread

Q’s double page spread is clearly split into full A4 picture and the article.

      - There isn’t a lot of colour in this colour, only black, white and the big red drop capital.

      - Lady Gaga’s name changes font style front italics to block capitals.

      - The black and white picture matches the style of the magazine.

      - The convention of a young artist still applies to this example of the magazine.

      - The Q logo is in the bottom right hand corner on every page as well as the issue number and the page number. 

Overall the magazine is left to a simplistic nature with only one main image grabbing your attention this is focused upon and everything else is left for the audience to notice once they have had their attention grabbed by the cover image and title, it follows a three set colour scheme of white black and red while following again another simplistic style of keeping text on bold block backgrounds to further stand out.

School Front Cover and Contents