Drafts of contents page

 

This is the draft of my contents page. The contents page is only half complete because I have changed the idea on how it needs to be laid out. I think it looks the same as many music magazines, so I am planning on changing it around by adding different images of album arts to show the actual artist. Instead of having random pictures which could confuse the person who is looking at the contents page.

Final front cover

This is my final cover. Have included a QR code as it is the most up to date technology that is on magazines. This will help in attracting my target audience and it appeals to my conventional magazine ‘Q’

Feedback on Front Cover

Above is before and then after I have edited my cover from improvments. To improve even more on my magazine I have taken into account certain aspects of feedback from my peers. I have shown this on a Pie chart. I asked 20 people if they think the previous cover was better or worse. here is the pie chart.

Drafts of front cover

 

 

From the draft I have now I have improved drastically for the final copy. One of the new parts of my cover would be the QR code. This is some of the most up to date technology that is used on magazines. For example Radio One is using a QR code to show people videos of various artists’ music videos when you scan it. This has only been introduced this week.

Image Planning

Model:	Rhiannon Wayman
Camera height/angle/distance:	Medium shot and medium close up
Location:	Hallway at home
Lighting:	Nothing added just lights on it hall
Mise-en-scene (including props, costume) :	Guitar, Casual clothes
Attempted connotation:	To show her on her own to show she is now solo from a band.
Planned denotation:	Girl posing holding a guitar facing camera.
Contingency (in case of model absence/weather):	Find another model and take pictures pre shoot just in case.
Alternate angle:	Low angle aiming up or from far away.
Thinking points:  use more props in the photo to emphasise the story more.
Comments:  The chosen model is representing a typical band member from the Saturdays; she has gone solo due to no longer wanting in on the girl band. This is chosen as a headline for the magazine as it can relate to the target audience and the social groups that will be interested in this type of genre.

Image Editing

Image Editing

Some of the ways in which I edited my photos would be with new and improved software. These are the new version of fireworks CS6 which let me use new editing techniques which were not there before. I also found out how to use Photoshop to edit my front cover photo. This let me to blur crop and change the colour of certain areas when editing my photo. Also when taking the photos for my cover and other parts of my contents and DPS I had to take into account the angle, framing, lighting, misc-en-scene etc.

Slide share and Prezi are also two new types of software I had never used before but did come to being able to use them effectively. Prezi is what I used to complete this overall evaluation. It brings a new look to normal boring PowerPoint that only shows on different slides unlike Prezi. And Slide share is what I used to upload the evaluation to my blog which makes it possible to use navigate through on the blog.

 

Colour Palettes

Colour Palettes

The house style in the magazine that I am using conventions from is Q. I have found out that it uses the colours red and white mainly. I have used conventions of this by using a lighter red that is on there and also using white on some parts where text is located. This is so I am not directly copying of Q but using similar conventions. I have also used black text like Q magazine as this is one of the only colours which contrasts well against the background which I have used on my products.

Colour symbolism is when the colour means something to the person that sees it. This is similar to semiotics. So I the colour Is red for example it can mean danger or even love/passion. This could be why Q used this colour for their magazine. This was the reason why I used certain colours in my final designs.

Language and register

Language and Register

When I was researching Q magazine which I am basing my conventions on, I found it to be very informal. This was due to it having different words they are blocked out with stars (***) these tended to be words that are inappropriate for audiences that are younger. This is another reason why my target audience is 16 - 20 years of age. The magazine is not like other music magazines that you will read as it doesn’t tell the reader it speaks to the reader. I found this very effective when reading as I could relate to different quotes and I felt like I was conversing which kept me reading the magazine. I have used these conventions on my own products and I think they are very effective. However this has limited my media products to a target audience no younger than 15 due to using informal language.

Layouts

Layouts

I made many significant changes to my mock ups once I finished creating them. This is because they did not seem to fit the conventions of the magazine I was trying to use conventions from. The magazine I was trying to use different conventions from was Q magazine. The mock ups did not seem to follow hardly any of the conventions which meant I had to change my final product so it   would look the best it could. I choose the final layout for my product as I felt it was the best layout to suit my target audience. This is because my target audience is 15-20 and the QR code will also help to show people the new technology that can be used.

Representation

Representation

I have represented different types of social groups. One of these would be young males and females, mainly males. The age would be young as before, probably between 15–20 years old. This is the age and gender I have chosen as different results from the questionnaires have shown that 40 year old males and females would NOT be the right social groups. Only young males and females would be the right social groups.

I have constructed these representations of the social groups through finding information about my target audience and also through the genres of my magazine. The images and language that I have used throughout will also have an effect and has had an effect on what the social groups of my magazine are. Examples of this are in my mock up covers, mock up contents pages and finally mock up double page spread.

Names & Masthead Fonts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This masthead was my final choice as I had a peer vote on which of the three were the best. This Masthead won by a lot of votes. I think personally this was the best choice to have since my chosen genres for the magazine is indie/rock and pop these two are very different and gives a wider range of audience this links to the title as it is a mash up of genres. This is why my other two masthead names would not fit due to one linking to reggae and the other not looking like pop or indie.

Target Audience

Target Audience

This is the survey that I have gave to students in the school around 25 have answered the questionnaire and I have got positive results back on who my target audience will be. This is what one student answered to their questionnaire. This will help me a lot more to develop my final products.

 

Q magazine is the magazine that I will be following and trying to be similar to by using many different conventions that it uses. Here is a table that I had got online form the Q website about the people who read the magazine.

 

Here is a picture also showing their social network status:

 

Finally here is another questionnaire that I have done to get feedback on my planning and my draft products. Here is what one person answered to my questionnaire. I had handed this questionnaire out to the same 25 people to keep the results for my target audience as accurate as possible.  

 

 

 

 

Genre

Genre

The genre that I will be working in is either indie rock or pop. Indie has a wide audience range such as bands like Kings of Leon and also the Arctic Monkeys. Pop is different groups or solo artists such as Lady Gaga or Jason Derulo. This is because I have many different ideas for bands and also I will be able to write a lot about it. I finally decided to call my product MASHUP this has let me to combine both genres and also makes the magazine unique. I decided to do this as I wanted to use both and could not decide. This lets me have many more ideas and also to have a lot more content in this type of magazine.

Analysis of existing magazines 'DPS' 2

Analysis of existing magazines 'DPS' 1

Analysis of existing magazines 'Contents' 1,2 & 3

This pit bike magazine uses different ways to attract the audience to read this contents page instead of anyone just reading it and skipping straight past and carry on to read the rest of the magazine. The colour of the contents page is green and black due to James Barr the rider who is on the motocross bike. This shows he is very important due to them copying the colours off of his bike and having a large detailed picture of him riding around a corner, mainly focused on the wheel with uses depth of field which makes your eyes wonder over to the text which is over a bright background to catch your eye. The text is in bold for contents to catch you eye then in italic to look more professional.

The background of the text is slightly worn away to give the image that the text on top of it has been here before and that it is like the bike it can get worn away and scratched. Which makes it look more like it should be like that and look more professional. Also the colour of the text is all in white to match the paint splats and in a small font size however on the picture is show the page number 72 in bold grey and the name James Barr in block capitals in black to show his importance.

The contents page for this magazine is straight forward and simple this means that I will make the audience think that there is not a lot to read. This is due to the lack of colour and attractiveness of the rest of the picture. The Helmets vibrant colour attracts your eyes straight to it this makes the customer want to look at the contents. All of this draws the eye of the customer however this is not the only thing that attracts the eye even though it’s not colourful. The greyscale is used to enhance the helmet and the depth of field makes you not to look at the stones due to it being blurry this put more emphasis on the text to tell you what’s in the rest of the magazine. This layout of the page is also very good due to everything being where it should be, as if the helmet or contents was in a different place it would not look as good as where it is now.

The contents text is in a fancy type of font this would be san serif as it is more modern and futuristic this can lead back on to the helmet, as the helmet may be used to show it could be the future of helmets as it looks very good to have. This gives an overall opinion that the helmet is a major part of the magazine as it could be a new type this is why it is so eye catching and interesting to look at and also to attract you to the text.

 

 

The contents page for this magazine uses many different techniques to attract the audience. These colours used are simple (black and white) and pictures are almost chucked on their to create a more vibrant look to the page however the background which is all black can give the impression that the magazine is not professional and looks bland. The font on this contents page is a san serif font as it has little flicks on the end of the letter. This contents page has a good layout to sow you what is on each page however on each side of the page there is features and regulars. These don’t catch the reader’s eye as the colour of them is not bright on the background. The page numbers stand out to show the reader instantly what page the information has on. On each of the contents sections the magazine has used a picture to show the reader and to make them want to see more of that certain page. This is used by the magazine as it could be a main story that they have wrote about.

Analysis of existing magazines 'Covers' 3

Analysis of existing magazines 'Covers' 2

Analysis of existing magazines 'Covers' 1

Contents page, with drafts (Prelim)

The first part of this post is my contents page draft. I decided to change the first contents page as it doesn’t follow the same colour scheme as the cover page. It also has too much dead space on the draft as some letters were going off of the page. All of this has been changed as the text colour now matches the cover and the dead space and letters have been fixed and rearranged.



Evaluation of the preliminary Exercise

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of a school magazine?

One way my product uses the conventions of a school magazine cover are that is creates a professional look to it. This is a convention that would give effect as when it is looking professional more of the target audience will find it appealing. The covers typography is one of the main features that make it look professional as it looks very similar to the typography used in the schools logo. This means that if someone were to see the logo and the typography on the cover then they would see that it is used to give effect to show it is the schools magazine.

My school magazine cover develops conventions by using an image. For example instead of using a solid block colour that will not give off a very good effect the background used would be a picture. This picture helps fill out dead space and most importantly makes it looks more professional this would develop the convention that is image. This is important because it has to stand out over other school magazines.

A way in which my school magazine challenges different forms of conventions would be that it uses 'the hook' this is where the cover uses some sort of line or phrase that will make the audience think in a number of different ways. This will challenge the conventions of the magazine as 'the hook' may not work in some areas and also it wasn't used on any of the school magazines I looked at before. This will be decided on a peer review on whether or not it works.

2. How effective is the front page of your magazine in focusing on the ethos of the school?

My front cover is very good at focusing on the ethos of the school. This is because the school aims to get good grades for all pupils at Biddulph and so on my front cover the student is pointing up using 'the hook' effect as it says students aim for the highest this year. Also the school website uses many pictures of students on there to show both the uniform and some of the pupils. This has also been used on my magazine cover using a student to give the effect that it looks a lot more like the actually magazine would be. The school also uses the motto which is 'pride, dignity and respect. It also says on the website the schools vision,this is 'The process of education we seek to develop the attitudes, knowledge skills and qualities necessary for each pupil to lead a meaningful, successful and productive life'. My magazine uses the motto effectively as it shows the student on the cover has pride to show she is aiming for the highest. It also shows respect as it is 'the article by students for students' this means that people can have their say and the school will respect it. My magazine uses the vision of the school as it says the students are aiming for the highest this year.This is effective as it is focusing on the ethos.

3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

From my audiences' feedback who are my peers I have learnt much more about the strengths and weaknesses of my preliminary product. Some of these strengths are that there is a medium close up this is effective because you can see the action of the student and also it shows a surrounding of the school. One weakness of my preliminary cover would be that the pose of the student is unprofessional as my peers pointed out that she had her phone in her hand and also her uniform wasn't to a good standard. One other strength would be that the typography that is used is suit for purpose as it looks like the schools logos font. One final weakness would be that the bar code attracts to much attention to it as it doesn't blend in with the background. This is not good because the people who look at the magazine will look at the bar code first which will shows it cannot be the most important part. 

 4. How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages? (Write about using fireworks / adobe Photo shop etc. and explain what you have learnt about constructing a cover / contents page.)

I used different media technlogys in the process on the cover and contens page as i used different programs such as fireworks and photoshop. These were somtimes complicated to use however after a few lessons I could use them efficiently. One of the things that was new to me was the new fireworks CS6 as i was used to the normal 2004 version so this was a problem I had to face. I learnt to constuct my cover much better with photoshop thanks to the different effect that it provides.

Front cover, with drafts (Prelim)

My School magazine cover had not been to a high standard when I had first finished it. It is now better as it is much more appealing to the target audience. This is because it has a competition that it advertises just below the masthead. This is a good convention as people who read it will want to win and this makes them more interested in the magazine. Also it has been improved as quite a lot of dead space has been removed and also text has been sorted into better places.

Semiotics Images and Names

Semiotics Names & Images

Visual semiotics is what words or phrases are associated with a certain image when you see it. For example, if you see a picture of a heart you may think of love and passion, or maybe life, or feelings. Semiotics in names is when their name could mean something to you and also it is that it could be a sign of something.

The reason I used different ways of semiotics in my preliminary products was because it has many relations towards the school. This is good as it could show pride which also makes the target audience more attracted due to them wearing the same uniform.

 

Semiotics Images and Names

Semiotics Names & Images

Visual semiotics is what words or phrases are associated with a certain image when you see it. For example, if you see a picture of a heart you may think of love and passion, or maybe life, or feelings. Semiotics in names is when their name could mean something to you and also it is that it could be a sign of something.

The reason I used different ways of semiotics in my preliminary products was because it has many relations towards the school. This is good as it could show pride which also makes the target audience more attracted due to them wearing the same uniform.

 

Masthead fonts

The fonts I will be using will be:

This is a good font to use as it gives off an old school American look which he could be compared to the old American high school football team font. This links in with the school as it is a sports academy and would look nice with sporty pictures on the front of it.

This is another font it will be using and it will give off a good look towards the title where it will be using it. It makes the reader look like it’s a chilled magazine, almost cartoon like as it has the caption at the end saying 'yeah'. This can show that the magazine is more chilled and aimed at the target audience as the title would be in an unusual font.

This is the final font I will be using; I chose this font as it will give off a professional look. As I want it looking as much like a professional magazine as possible as then it will look much more like something the school has done. The font is also similar to the schools logo however the schools logo has used sans serif.

Layout

Image plan

Image Planning



Model:	Rhiannon Wayman
Camera height/angle/distance:	Medium Long shot / straight ahead / approximately 1 metres away
Location:	School Foyer
Lighting:	Nothing added, natural lighting.
Mise-en-scene (including props, costume) :	School uniform.
Attempted connotation:	The school is aiming at its highest.
Planned denotation:	Girl pointing arms into the air ‘Aim for the Highest
Contingency (in case of model absence/weather):	Film indoors, inside school foyer
Alternate angle:	Low angle aiming up empowering the model.
Thinking points: To make sure no unwanted props are in the picture.
Comments: The chosen model will prove to show that the school is doing its best at giving students the best education possible and also helping to attract parents as it will look very professional with certain quotes and stories.

Genre Conventions

This magazine is very amateur and does not look like a magazine that you would buy in the shops. This is due to the picture looking low quality and not so professional. The masthead also does not stand out much as it is not in capitals which put less emphasis on it. The house style is set out almost like the contents page as the left hand side looks bare as there is nothing their. Another thing that is missing is the price and bar code which should be on to inform the reader how much the magazine actually is. There are also no signs of a kicker which may put the audience off of the magazine due to no competitions or new additions. The fonts used are very bland on top of a bland background this makes it hard to see. This leads to people not wanting to read it as it can hurt their eyes. The chosen colour palette is also not very good due to the blending in the background.

Colour Scheme

Target Audience (Prelim)

Target Audience

I researched into my target audience when looking who my school magazine audience was going to be aimed at. I had to take into account the demographic and also the psychographic aspects of the audience. This was to find out who the audience was and what their interests were. I did this by going around to different forms and asking the new ‘Year 9 pupils’. I got mixed opinions on the psychographic side but I definitely had my demographic side sorted as I knew who the audience were going to be.

Existing Magazine Analysis (Prelim)

 

The magazine shows one bright colour (pink) to catch the eye and uses it only to highlight the main parts like the title and her name. The white background makes her hair to stand out and looks like a main part of the cover. Also she has pink lipstick on to refer to the other pink text. The masthead uses sans serif to show it is a sophisticated magazine and the stance of Nicole shows she doesn't want to reveal anything. Her head overlaps the kicker which shows her dominance over the page. This also shows that Maxim are confident to have her cutting out some of the title as they know people will buy the magazine as they still know what it is due to Maxim being well known. Her position on the cover is a long medium shot to show all of her body. This is done to attract the audience who look at the magazine. Also all of the cover stories are located around the outside to show that she is still the most important. Her look towards the camera is showing that she is confident and not a cocky type of woman.

The Q magazine uses two colours here, red and white. These stand out on top of the dark background that Cheryl is standing behind these to give emphasis for the red lipstick she is wearing. The fonts in this are mostly the same there are only approximately two fonts used. This is good as it keeps originality however the text used in this is sans serif to show it’s not so formal and likes to show a different side. For example the magazine shows rock and that is not the most calm and chilled music. Also all of the writing overlaps her to show she is not the most amazing item on the cover. However as the magazine says she does rock this is ironic as it is a music magazine and rock is a type of music. As well as her dressing in all black to give that effect of her being somewhat part of rock itself. Also the main photo of Cheryl gives off a feeling that she doesn't care what so ever about anything other than the photo, this is shown through the rain falling down past the screen.

 

The Blender magazine uses many different techniques to attract an audience. Some of these are simple and easy to notice however some are not. Some of the ways the magazine stands out on the cover would be the colour; the colour used in this cover is very minimal as the only colours used are black and pink in the text. These colours are used to help to show off the main picture of Katy as she stands out from her pose from her very colourful variety of clothes. The shot of the photo is a long medium due to her legs and body on show. I would say this gets the most out of the cover as it shows more of her clothes which are colourful and this catches the viewer’s eye the most. The fonts for the text on the magazine are very bland however when mixed with a colour it contrasts very well. As above this cover uses a normal serif to look less formal and more like a chilled magazine to read. The masthead on the cover is actually partially covered up by Katy's' head this shows that Blender are confident in how well known they are that they can partially cover up the masthead and still expect to sell.