Preliminary Task

Cover and Contents page mock up

On the cover i wanted to show that six form is a good choice for when leaving school, i did this by putting a picture of two people laughing and looking like they're having a good time. i also added the school cover which makes it eye catching if it were to be on a shop shelf. the bright colours also give it a happy feel to the magazine, which could reflect on the school.

On the contents page i continued to use the happy pictures and the bright colours, to carry out the happy feel through the magazine.

after doing the mock up of the magazine i did an actual cover with photographs, using indesign to put it all together, and photoshop to edit the photographs and make them fit in with the theme of the cover.

i changed the colour scheme slightly to make it more bright than the mock up, i also  changed a few of the featured articles to make it more appealing to readers. the changed colour scheme makes it much more eye catching and fits in more with the colours on the school badge than the colours i originally used in the mock up. 

Post Production Evaluation

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



My media products of a magazine cover, contents page and double paged spread Develop and challenge the conventions of real media products in different way. 


Cover-

I used a direct address central image on my cover as a convention used in the Kerrang magazines that i looked at, making it fit with the genre of magazine i was aiming for, i also used a similar colour palette to the chosen studied covers, therefore also sticking to the conventions of other rock/punk magazines. Most of the magazines i looked at had used colours such as, black, red, yellow and white. All of these colours connote to fit in with the rock/punk genre,




RED-
is often used on stop signs or warning signs, these signs are usually 'do not' signs, showing it is a very attention catching colour and will help to make the cover more attractive to an audience. Red is also used on traffic lights as the 'stop' colour and is also used as the 'don't walk' red man for pedestrians, again showing it's an eye catching colour. Red also connotes with blood which is often classed as very Gothic as it is very vampire related. 

BLACK-
black is known as a very mysterious colour and is often associated with fear and the unknown, for example black holes. It is usually known as a very negative colour, and people connote with negative things such as, blacklist, black hole, black death. I have notice that people in the rock/punk genre often wear black clothing and have black hair and black eye make-up, this is why i used black in my work because people often associate black with emo's or goths, of the rock/punk genre.
a few examples of the rock punk genre associating with black (emo's & goth's)

YELLOW-
Yellow is often used on caution signs therefore showing it is also a very eye catching colour, they're often used to show that something may be dangerous, which fits in with the rock/punk genre because people usually associate, rock/punk people as being very rebellious therefore more likely to get into a dangerous situation. 
However it also connotes as sunshine and happiness, which shows a second side to the rock/ punk genre, yes people in this group may be rebellious but at the same time they're showing that they're happy with who they are. 
Also yellow sticks out in any surroundings much like the emo's and goths of the rock/punk genre. 

WHITE-
white is often associated with a number of positive things such as, light, goodness, innocence and purity (this is why brides traditionally wear white, because they were supposed to be pure ( a virgin) before marriage). however it can also connote with emptiness and blankness, this fits in with the Gothic genre because people assume that the rock/punk social group tend to be very cold hearted and empty, and not caring for anything and hating everything. The fact that this colour connotes with very positive things suggests that the rock/ punk social group isn't what people would expect, this colour with all of the other colours shows difference as it connotes as very positive, unlike the other colours.

I also used a similar way of presenting my featured articles, i put them all in a strip down one side of the page, this has been used on several other magazine covers of this genre, a few examples of where this technique has been used-

All of these covers have the featured articles in some kind of strip down the side of the page, however they are all on the left hand side of the page, and the strip of articles on my cover run down the left side. 

Another way I made my cover like the ones i studied would be that I made my title for the main article go across and anchorage with the central image, this is used a lot on magazine covers because it shows the audience what the main article in the magazine is, I also used a lifted quote from the article below the name of the person that the main article is about, giving the audience an idea of what the article will be like. 


Another thing a lot of the magazines do is add a flash that looks like a stamp or a sticker,

i used this technique on my magazine cover by adding the blue sticker, i chose to use blue for my sticker because i knew it would stand out from the other colours on the page as it doesn't fit with the colour palette of my cover. 

Another thing the magazines it studied do, is they have banners advertising winning things and free posters, therefore I decided to use both of these things in my work to make it a very appealing magazine, my banner advertising the posters was a bit like a flash as well as being a banner because I used the red stamp like sticker I'd created in photoshop as and addition to the banner to make it more eye catching and professional.


Contents Page-

On my contents page I continued using the Red, black and white colour palette that i used on the cover, I did this so it's consistent and looks like it's all from the same magazine.


Much like the contents pages i looked at my contents page looks like it's been split in half, one half being the 'contents' title and a large image with a flash and some photographs.
this is done on a number of other magazine contents pages by Kerrang!

 Another technique i used from the contents pages that I'd studied was having a banner through the middle of the page with the magazine title and 'THIS WEEK' written on it, it think this is an effective thing to have on my cover as it makes it really clear that it's the contents page, which tells you what's in the issue. 

 Above is an image of a Kerrang magazine and my own magazine contents page, this shows the use of the 'THISS WEEK' banner and also the split cover technique. 


I also used the Banners off my cover on the contents page, this technique of repetition makes it stay in the readers head, therefore further persuading them to buy the magazine, and also making them remember it more and making them feel they're getting more than just a magazine as there are two posters and a chance to win some concert tickets.

I put the two banners together, making them more eye-catching as a pair and also so it can be on the same part of the page. 
Much like the studied covers I put all of the featured articles in the bottom half of the page, this looks really tidy and organised, making it easier to find what you want to read. 


Double paged spread-

On my double page spread i also continued using the same colour palette as used on my cover and contents page. I also continued using the technique of making things look like they've been stuck onto the page.

 I did this with a post it note with a bit of extra information that's not mentioned in the article, this also adds a three dimensional effect to the page, making it look more exciting and upbeat, this reflects on 'Lola Rose' whom the article is about. 

I also used this technique with two photographs that I'd make to look like polaroids, this gives a good effect by not only has it added more photographs but it also makes the article seem exciting and upbeat, making the reader more likely to read it. 

However, my double page spread has been made quite girly by using girly, cute poses in the photographs, rather than the expressive upbeat photographs on the cover and the contents page, they are also very natural and she's not got loads of black eye make-up on, this challenges the conventions of the existing media texts by making a really girly article in a rock/punk magazine, I decided to do this so it shows the audience there can be two sides to people, the side we see and the side that only they see, as my article is a Q&A I made the photographs reflect the things she was saying, these things being positive, therefore not really fitting in with what people would expect to read in a rock/punk magazine.

 Overall, my cover and my contents page develop the conventions of existing texts by using the same or similar techniques and occasionally adding things or changing the way it would look on a published magazine, whereas my double paged spread almost completely challenges the convention by being the complete opposite of what you'd stereotypically expect to see in a rock/punk magazine.






How does your media product represent particular social groups?-


My media product represents the rock/punk/emo/goth social group, however it can also attract people that you wouldn't expect to listen to the music of the singers/bands/groups featured in the magazine.


 the cover represents this particular social group as being very upbeat and confident.

The central image is very girly cute, counter typing against the assumptions people make of the rock/punk social group, this shows the fact that people who don't look/act like they're in this particular social group might well be, but the way the present doesn't make it obvious. However, the image is still a direct address image, representing confidence, showing off who they are, this shows that the social group is independent and unique

with the direct address central image , and also the featured article images show this social group to be very sociable and expressive with the spaced out poses with people reaching out and doing silly poses rather than just doing a normal, clothes model pose. this shows that they're independent and don't care what other people think of them. 

the circled photographs on the cover of my magazine are quite vampire like, representing the Gothic part of the genre of my media product. This also adds to the group being represented as upbeat and confident.


The contents page continues using the same representations as the cover as most of the images from the cover are also on the contents page, the contents page continues representing the social group as upbeat and unique.

The main image on the contents page is of a young girl with red hair, the red hair represents the uniqueness of this social group, it also add the representation that people in this social group like to stand out from the crowd by being different from everyone else. 

The ringed photograph shows someone sat leaning slightly forward on a photograph this shows the confidence and the dark colours hair and clothing represents the emo social group, showing them to be, quite confident, but she looks quite shy at the same time as she's got her arms and legs quite close together, showing she's keeping herself to herself.


The double page spread represents the social group the magazine was aimed at in a much different way than the cover and contents page. 

The most obvious part of the double paged spread that represents the social group differently from the cover and the contents page would be the main photograph, she's smiling in it and is very natural and not wearing all black with really dark make-up, instead she's got quite pink lips, this represents the girly side of people from this social group. It acts as a counter type to what people would expect a punk/rock/emo girl to be like, showing that you cant tell what social group someone's in just by looking at them, unless it's really obvious. 

Another thing that represents the social group in a different way would be the post it note, the writing on it it very girly with a heart to dot the eye, representing her as loving and girly, it also says the things she likes which shows she isn't miserable and lonely like people assume people in this social group are. 


Overall my media texts represent the social group to be not only upbeat, confident, unique and expressive, like people would assume due to stereotypes but also, occasionally  shy and sometimes girly and cute, my media texts show that stereotypes aren't always used in music magazines, counter types are often used to show the reader how different someone could be than what you assume they are from the social group they're in. 




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


The institution I'd get to distribute my magazine would be, i chose this institution as is is Europe's largest private owned publishing group, that offer over 300 magazines in 15 countries as well as online and is also the distributer of Kerrang!, my studied magazine.

However, the fact it's Europe's largest private owned publishing group, could be a problem, if loads of magazines are being distributed by them, that means there's going to be a large number of magazines from the same genre as my own, meaning I'd have to compete for publishing and selling rates. 
But, also the fact it distributes over 300 magazines in over 15 countries shows that it's an excellent choice of distributor, if my magazine was published by this institution people would think "wow its published by Bauer, it must be worth publishing" which would help sell rates. 


Who would be the audience for your media product?-


The audience for my Media product would be, older teens as they are the most likely group of people to read this kind of magazine, the magazine is about rock/punk music, i've notice that most people in the higher years of secondary school and in sixth form/ college, the majority of people listen to this genre of music.


Another reson to support why it'd be aimed at this group would be from the results i got from the ten questionairres i handed out, alot of them came back with results supporting the idea that my magazine would be aimed at older teens/young adults. 








How did you attract/address your auidence?-


I used a number of techniques to attract the audience on my cover, contents page and double page spread, i used the colour scheme as a technique to attract people to my magazine as it was really bright, bold and not very subtle, therefore making it more likely to stand out from the rest of the magazines in the store, i also made the colour scheme repeat on all of the texts, the cover, contents page and the double page spread. 
Another way i attracted the audience to my media text would be the drop shadows used on the flashes to make them look like they'd been stuck onto the cover, and also giving it a three dimensional effect. 
The banners would also attract peoples attention as they say that you can get extra as well as just the magazine, the posters and the potential of winning tickets to a concert, the fact you could get something extra will always attract people to buying something as they feel like they're getting more for their money. 


The central image is in direct address therefore its addressing the audience and making it feel like its aimed at them, which makes it quite personal, also this will make it more likely that they will take the time to look at the cover and take in all that's being offered. 
with the free poster, interviews, the potential to win tickets and festival line-ups, this gives the audience a lot of reasons to consider purchasing the magazine.










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


During the process of producing my three media texts i have learnt how to use photoshop and InDesign, i've learnt how to use all of the different tools and how they make certain things easier, neater and more proffesional. 

In photoshop i have learnt how to make my photographs look more proffesional by using the different tools provided to fix colours, brightness and contrasts of the photographs. 
I've also learnt how to use the polygon lasso tool to take out the background of a photograph to add it onto InDesign looking really professional, another thing I learnt to do on photoshop would be using the different brushes to create my own stamps in the same way existing media texts make theirs. 

In InDesign I learnt how to use frames to organise my work, also I've learnt how you can change the shape of the frame to fit the image so a drop shadow, outer glow, inner glow or other 'fx' can be added, but using the 'fx' tool at the top of the page. 


Out of the two programmes i found InDesign much easier to use, i find it simpler and less complicated, however photoshop does more than InDesign as you can edit and arrange your work in photoshop. 




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


looking back at my preliminary task, i never would have thought i'd be able to produce a piece of working looking as professional as the work i've produced, i feel like i've achieved more than i expected to.
During the process of my work i had to change my idea several times from the one i'd originally drawn up for a number of reasons such as, there wasn't enough room, it wouldn't give the right effect, i couldn't get hold of certain things i needed (clothing/props/etc) 
I had to change my masthead several times as I didn't think it fit with the genre very well one it was made up in photoshop and added to the background in InDesign, this shows that the ideas could be great, but the won't always work the way you want them to when you put it all together. 
overall the process of my work went well and i got my texts done in a reasonable amount of time and i'm really proud of the work i've produced. 
I feel i've learnt a lot during the process of producing my final media texts as i've learnt how to use two programmes i'd never really used before and produced a good piece of work from it, this makes me feel like i've succeeded in producing a professional looking media text and i also now know how to use photoshop and InDesign which before I started using them both i'd only ever heard of photoshop.