evaluation

The preliminary brief was to create a new college magazine front page, with a mock up of a contents page. This was practice for our main task. Doing this meant we had to research and analyse existing magazines to determine and establish the codes and conventions used in designing the magazine and to appeal to my target audience. The college magazine helped me to understand the conventions and points of LIIAR and also helped to improve my skills using photo shop which made making my magazine of a higher quality.
Our main task was to create the front page, contents page and double page spread of a new music magazine. All images and text used must be original and we had to have at least four taken by us.

First of all I looked at existing magazines to find out the codes and conventions of a music magazine. The magazines I chose to look at were NME, Q, smash hits and Kerrang!
The codes and conventions I found were a masthead, positioned at the top of the page, usually in the left hand corner. It is always brightly coloured as it is a main attraction for the audience. A suitable font to fit in with it's genre is used, as well as the colour. The colour of it must contrast against the background along with fitting in with the uniform colour scheme. The mast head is usually less than four words, meaning it must be 'short and snappy', again to attract the intended audience. The cover must include more than one cover line, giving an insight on the stories inside. These also reveal who else the magazine features, again attracting the audience and further showing the genre. There is usually a main cover line that is presented bigger and bolder than the others to make it obvious that that is the main story. The main image, another convention is very important when it comes to attracting the audience. It must feature somebody who looks as though they belong to a band of a certain genre, and I found that the model almost never smiles. This again depends on the genre of the magazine and what message is been put across. Using a music artist makes it relevant to the music magazine, and reveals what sort of music the magazine features. Often, a logo is used in one of the bottom corners. This is used so that the audience can easily identify it, but is very small so that it doesn't dominate the page. Usually, this logo is printed at the bottom of every page through out the magazine. Along side this, the details of the magazine are sometimes shown at the bottom. This may be an address of the company or the website of the institution. Once the magazine becomes popular, these make the magazine recognisable. Another convention used on the cover is the dateline. This is presented in a smaller font beneath the masthead. It allows the audience to identify whether the information inside is relevant. The colour scheme of the magazine must be uniform all the way through and it must be relevant to the genre. Using the same one through out gives it a more professional finish.

I followed the conventions of existing media products to make my music magazine seem more realistic. I have used a similar colour scheme of red, black and white to what has been used in existing media productions (that I discovered in my research) so that my magazine communicates the right message of being fun yet serious about music. Because successful existing music magazines use this colour code often, it tells me that these colours will work. I also used a mast head that uses bright, cold and attractive colours and fonts, like other magazines do. I used Kerrang! as a comparison and decided to use a mast head that dominates the page a long with the main image. I both developed and challenged this convention as I made the letters different colours on my magazine. I have not found a music magazine that has done this already. I have also challenged the layout of a typical magazine cover. I did this by including only one cover line, the main cover line, and did not use any other story on the front page. Instead, I used a film strip down the right hand side showing various images of the band my magazine features. By going against this convention, my magazine looks original.

I chose to make everything else match the conventional features of a real media product in order to keep it looking like a real piece of media production. For example I made sure my main image was in the centre of the page, and made sure my model didn't smile to create the right attitude for the audience and made her look serious. This use of representation helps to communicate the genre by creating the impression that the artist takes their music career seriously.

I chose to aim my magazine at a mixed gendered audience. In order to target this chosen audience I have based my magazine on Indie music, I chose to focus on this music choice as it is a popular music within the teenage generation and it appeals to both genders and students. I tried to represent this social group in my magazine by using a simple layout to be sure it is easy enough for everybody to understand and enjoy. I also used a consistant colour scheme so that it looks professional and uniform through out, and using articles on new, young, successful artists. I found this would appeal to my intended audience because those purchasing and reading music magazines with a genre of indie music would be expecting this. Aiming at a target audience such as this means I need to consentrate on things that are important to this social group, such as the latest album releases and updated news. I also think that articles like these are more relevant than others. Also, because I am aiming my magazine at students I needed to consider a number of things; interests, price, images. I needed to know what bands this social group finds appealing, and after completing a questionnaire, I figured what this audience would expect from a newly produced music magazine. I also need to take into consideration that my intended age group are students and therefore would not be willing to pay and expensive price to purchase a magazine. Having a reasonable price of £1.99 means it is easy to buy, and also because it is issued monthly, it means the student won't have to purchase it weekly.

After discovering my target audience, I began producing mock ups of my front cover, contents page and double page spread. To begin with I produced them by hand, which I then scanned on t0 the computer and posted onto my blog. I then developed these drafts using ICT software which I posted on the same date. Once I knew what layout I was going to use, I decided to take my photographs. At first I gathered a group of female friends and asked them to wear red, black and white, using props such as a guitar and a pair of drum sticks. Using professional lighting and a black back drop I took the photos then looked through them to see which ones were clearest and most suitable to use. I thought at this point that using an all female band would be the best way to attract a mixed gendered audience. The representation I created was that the artists were fun and modern, yet serious about their music. After discovering that this was not the case, I decided to re-take my photos in order to fully reach my intended audience. Again I gathered a group of friends, this time both male and female, and organised them in different positions (as posted on my blog). They were of a teenage age in order to appeal to my audience and I told them to dress in contrasting colours such as black and white, along with a bright and eye catching colour like blue or red. I did this so that they would stand out amongst the background. I chose to take the photographs in the local youth club centre in Withernsea, using the red background to contrast against the colours of their costume. The centre had bright walls and colourful chairs which I chose to focus my images around. We used props such as a guitar, drum sticks and a microphone to give a definite image that they were in an indie music based band. Whilst taking the photos, I told my 'models' not to smile as I felt it was inappropriate for the message I was trying to communicate.

Another way of attracting my audience was my use of the masthead. 'AMP' is short and attractive and it fits with the music genre. This is because it is coloured brightly and presented in an appealing font. It matches the colour scheme as I have used black, red, white and yellow, making it appealing for the audience.

I then had to put my magazine together. I used the programme Adobe Photo Shop CS3 which helped with effects and positioning my images and writing. To begin with I found this programme hard to work with, but as I progressed I discovered the basics, and from there learnt how to use it properly. This allowed me to spend more time producing the magazine rather than spending a lot of time trying to figure out the programme and making it look attractive.

I began making my front cover first of all as I felt this is what would make the first impression on the audience. I made different versions, using the original images I took and others using the second lot of photographs. After comparing the two I gathered the second set of pictures worked a lot better with my genre and attracted my target audience much better. This is because of the clothing and over all look of the models. In my original photo shoot, I didn't communicate the right message as much as the second time, and I felt that because the people I used in the second set of photographs are younger, it would be more likely to attract my target audience. I then went on to develop the drafts I had made, not using the original photographs. I looked through the second lot of images and decided on the one I would use on the front page. I chose an image that I thought communicated the right message to the audience, that they are a real musician and serious about their music career, and that seemed the most in focus. This would give my magazine a professional finish. I then had to decide what coloured background would look best behind this image, and after testing various colours I gathered that the colour of the background (red) on the actual photograph looked best. This one worked better as the colour red has connotations of attracting attention, such as on warning signs or danger signs. Using red on my magazine meant that it would attract the public eye more than another colour. Also, having red as my dominant colour relates to existing magazines such as 'NME', 'Empire', 'Stuff', 'Mojo', 'Q' and 'Uncut'. I then had to make sure my masthead stood out amongst the red background and main image and so I made it as attractive as possible. Because it is only three letters long it meant I could use a different effect on the middle letter. I chose to put it in italics and alter it's outline colour from white to yellow. This makes my magazine original in comparison to others which would make it stand out if it was to be produced. When it came to putting on my cover lines I started by following the conventions of a magazine by using a mix of cover lines on the front page. I found this didn't work. My front cover seemed too crowded as I used many kickers followed by tellers which came across as far too much, and I thought with less writing on, it would appeal to my target audience more. I deleted these cover lines and found there was a lot more room on the page. I didn't know what I could use to fill in these gaps. After further reaching Kerrang! magazine, I figured that using a film strip down one side would make it seem more interesting and again, original, but gave it a professional finish as it used a convention used by Kerrang! I also made my main cover line bigger yet still slightly smaller than the masthead to take up more space, and inserted some more images. My magazine looked a lot less crowded now and much more appealing to look at. I included a bar code at the bottom in order for the audience to purchase it, next to the website of my magazine's institution. AMP magazine will use a commercial institution of it's own but will be horizontally integrated into IPC Media. AMP would have it's own website (as presented at the bottom of my cover) to help with advertising and selling the magazine. Because magazine's are now struggling to sell as audiences are increasingly demanding free music and information, the website would make money through advertising and synergy. Merchandise will be available to purchase online which again would help AMP to make more money. It would also use Web 2.0 meaning the audience can be part of altering and making changes to the website. Examples of this are twitter, facebook or chat rooms. Streaming music would also be available online making it relevant to the music magazine. Convergence would come into this, as it consists of more than one media product coming together. AMP magazine would be available on devices such as the new Apple IPad, and the magazine could be read online too; saving the industry in the future. The price of the magazine is presented in the top right hand corner, to make it easy to see, although it is in a small font. This is to inform the audience on how cheap it is to buy. My magazine needs to be cheap in order to attract it's intended audience as I am aiming towards students. The price will be for the content of the magazine. The magazine is quite thick and provides lots of relevant information, and so this is what the audience will be paying for.

I then moved on to create my contents page. The first thing I looked at was an appropriate background colour. As my front cover was extremely bright I figured that the contents page didn't really need to be. I therefore used a bright yellow but using Photoshop, decreased the opacity of it to make it seem paler. I thought that this would enhance the images and text used and that it would put more impact on the front page. I then inserted one main picture, which to begin with I thought would look more effective by going against the conventions of a contents page. My intentions for using this picture was to make sure the attention of the reader focused on the band I chose to feature in my magazine. I used one of the images of the band members I had previously photographed and re-sized it so that it dominated the page. I made sure that the colours of this member's costume fitted in with the colours I used on the contents page. The colours I used on this page matched those on the front; red, white, yellow and black. I made the text on the page various colours to make it more interesting to look at. The title of the pages are red, outlined in black, and the article previews beneath or next to these are in black, outlined in white. This is to make it easy to identify which is the title of article, and which is the preview. I made the contents page heading in red, to match the other writing on the page, but this time I made it much bigger and bolder. This is to make it more eye catching then the rest of the text presented on the page. I used headings above both sets of texts to allow the audience to identify which pages were exclusive and which were the usual features. I made these black, outlined in a brighter yellow compared to the background. This made them stand out more than the writing beneath them as they looked bolder and more dominant. After finishing my contents page I decided to compare it to an existing magazine; Kerrang! and found that my contents page didn't look as professional as it could. This was because of the image I used. Originally, I thought that challenging the conventions of a contents page would make my magazine stand out from the others, but it didn't work. My contents page looked too empty and needed more images. I then changed my contents page totally, as I felt it just didn't work against my front cover. It didn't seem bright enough. I thought the main disadvantage was the background as I had previously altered the opacity of it to make it duller. I put the opacity back up to full and it looked much brighter. I then altered the headline at the top of the page as I didn't feel it made the right connection with the audience as well as the text on the front page. I got rid of the embossed effect on it and changed it's colour from red to black as I felt black was more dominant on a yellow background. I also included an image that showed a preview of my front cover, followed by a snippet of writing. I found that after researching further in existing media products that many music magazines did this. I made the image slightly slanted to the left so that it looked more professional, as when it was straight it didn't seem to fit in with my genre, it looked boring. The writing I positioned next to it is in black, and in a simple font, sized ten. This is so that it doesn't look like a dominant feature on the page. I have inserted another dateline on this page beneath the title, similarly to the front page. This makes my magazine seem more uniform through out. I decided to keep the text in the left third of the contents page, and in the same colours and fonts as I felt they were still readable amongst the new background and still looked attractive. In fact, they were now easier to read now than before. I then felt it was essential to delete the main image I had used and insert more to fill the space. I decided on seven different original images that I felt were the most attractive and positioned them in a certain way on the right hand side of the page, opposite the writing. I made one of the images (the one that captured the band I was focusing on) and made it bigger then the rest. This made it more obvious who was been featured in my music magazine, as well as articles about other music artists. Another thing I kept the same was the logo in the bottom right hand corner. This was simply to allow the audience to identify the magazine and make AMP a more recognisable institution. Lastly I put together my double page spread. This took the longest to create. My original idea was to make a list of rock songs. I decided that my article would feature a band member, who would reveal their top rock songs of all time. I began creating this double page spread using the photographs I took first of all, using this idea. After putting it together, I realised that the image I had chosen to use did not communicate the intended message, and that because the image filled the background it meant that it was difficult to find a colour for the writing that was readable. Again I decided to chose another image from the second set of photographs I took. When it came to using these images for my double page spread I couldn't decide how to set it out because of the problem I had previously. I had discovered that using an image as the background doesn't work because of it's colours, which meant I had to tackle this and find a way around it. I searched through existing double page spreads again looking through magazines like 'Q' and 'Kerrang!' and I figured that using one dominant and dramatic image looked very effective against an unclutter mise en scene. The title, previously, looked boring, and didn't grab attention like it should do. I decided it was down to it's presentation. It wasn't eye catching enough and didn't stand out against anything on the page. To get the title to do it's job I decided to put an outline around it and make the number in a different colour to make it look more effective. My title now worked well with the genre. Now with a brighter background, image and title, I had to sort out the text. I decided that writing on it's own without a different background wouldn't look as effective, so I inserted a black box and positioned it behind the text. This made it look much more creative. On the right hand side of the double page spread, the same side as the picture, I used a white box, this showed contrast. The numbers down the left hand side of each page were presented in a different colour to the song titles, again to make it seem more attractive and interesting. I used red boxes this time and the numbers white. Once I had made this, I asked my subject teacher and friends for feedback. After doing so, I had to change my font size. It was said that the font was too big, making it look unrealistic. In order to make the font smaller and still use up the space, my only option was to double the number of songs to 100. This lead me to create my second double page spread.

The layout of this double page spread was kept basically the same. Although because I was adding extra writing it meant I needed to add another box, and because I was unable to find another colour to fit in with the colour scheme I decided to change all the colours on the page. I changed the background from yellow to a pale blue, as I knew using a colour like this would make the writing on top of it show up well. This also meant that the attention was drawn away from the background and onto the contents of the page. The title was kept in the same place, but obviously had to be slightly altered. I changed the number to 100 and made it yellow rather than red. I felt this colour worked better amongst the blue background. I also then had to change the colour of all the boxes in order to make the colour scheme work. I put a thick yellow outline around each box to match the title, and filled them in purple. I then altered the opacity of them to 19% to make those paler too making it easier for the writing to be read. I made the writing black in order for it to be clearly read and understood. To match the black writing I made the image in the background black and white, which contrasted against the rest of the colours. It looked original. I then again asked for feedback and a similar responce was given. People did not feel as though it looked like a music magazine, which meant I had to research even further. I figured the only solution to this would be to completely follow the conventions of a double page spread. This meant it was in need of a total change. I began by deleting everything but the image, giving me a black and white picture and a plain white background. This gave me the idea of not using colour, and just having a black and white double page spread. This would both be easier and effective because of the struggle I had previously with the colour scheme. I then had to decide on a suitable font, and after looking through the fonts available on photo shop, I was unable to find one that looked effective. I searched on a website called 'www.dafont.com' where I found the perfect font for my genre. I experimented with a few off this website until I was certain on which to use.
I enlarged the text to make it dominant along side the picture positioned on the left page. Here I have followed the conventions of a double page spread as on most, the picture is on the left; the first place the audience looks. However, I have also developed these conventions as I have enlarged the image to fill the full size of the page. It is then more noticable to the audience. I felt because the image is so dominant, having too much text would make it seem too crowded, giving me an idea for my article. After previous research and finding 'www.jamessummerbell.co.uk/magazine.htm' I knew my idea was suitable. I decided that I would make it an introduction page to the main article, with little writing and the main article on the next page featuring a new band member. My double page spread would focus on the main points and reveal small pieces of information in order to make the audience want to read on. I created two small paragraphs in font size 10 (like in other magazines) and placed them in the middle of the right hand page below the title, and away from the image. Again I did this to keep the picture looking dominant. I inserted a box that I placed around both texts to make them stand out more and give them a little more importance as I felt people were less likely to read it if all attention was drawn to the picture. My finished double page spread has immensley improved from the previous copies and it looks much more professional with the help of photo shop.

The technologies I used in the process of constructing my magazine taught me many new things. The first one being able to take decent quality photographs. Doing this task allowed me the chance to gather a group of friends, dress them how I wanted and I was able to take various images at different camera angles (that I also learnt). This taught me what kind of process the magazine industry go through and what kind of images are even suitable for a music magazine. In the preliminary task I learnt how to use photo shop, which meant for the main task I could use it effectively and give my magazine a professional finish. I learnt how to put different textures on images and texts, and how to create different effects on different things. I could manipulate colours and opacity of images which meant applying this to my magazine would make it look clever. I used various tools on all three productions which gave a variety of styles all relating to my chosen genre. I learnt how to re-size images and texts, re-size pages, cut out images and manipulate a number of features. All these skills helped immensley when making my magazine as it saved me using unprofessional programme such as paint. Using photo shop made things easier and made my magazine look much more effective.

After producing my front cover, contents page and double page spread, I created a questionnaire that allowed people of my target audience to say what they thought of my magazine. My results can be found on my blog. This feedback taught me that I attracted my target audience well and the correct message was communicated as the genre was easily identified by those who answered my questionnaire.

If I was to make my magazine again with more time, I now know what would need improving from the results of the questionnaire. Firstly, I learnt that my genre could have been clearer. Some thought the genre was rock music rather than indie which tells me I could have done some further research into indie based music magazines. That way, it allows me to see what feature communicate this genre correctly.
Also somebody answered a question which stated they would not read my double page spread. Lack of colour was the reason given. Because it is only black and white, an element of colour would have helped to attract my target audience better.

Over all, my music magazine was successful. This is because most feedback was positive and everyone who answered the questionnaire gave a high rating on how attractive my front cover was. This tells me I have communicated the right message and have reached my target audience well.

my final peices