Final Evaluation - Question 7

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

Final Evaluation - Question 6

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


I used a Canon DSLR camera to take my photographs for that feature throughout my magazine:


Some techniques I used in photoshop:



Other technologies I have used (this includes Imovie, blogger, prezi, youtube, powerpoint, slideshare, iPhoto, social media, indesign, flickr, make a gif and voice thread):

Final Evaluation - Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

https://voicethread.com/share/5598739/

Final Evaluation - Question 4

What would be the audience for your media product? Why?

To the left is a drawn picture of a person I would expect to be from my target audience.
I have drawn Abby, a female aged 16, which is appropriate as that is the age I am aiming for. This girl would be from a working class background, with the occupation of attending college, studying for her A-levels. Because of this, she might not have an aspiration in life as she is still young, but will become something unique and against the obvious.
She isn't wearing any extravagant clothing, only a simple dark playsuit. This is very similar to the outfit my main model Lauren wore, displayed on my front cover.
This person is also wearing docs, a very popular footwear Indie lovers seem to wear, according to my target audience research and everyday encounters with people who like this sort of music.
Another key thing I have drawn to represent someone from my target audience, is that the girl has her hair down (again similarly to all of my models). This could represent her as being easy going and free, through the saying 'let your hair down'. This completely represents my magazine as the name, CLASH, is all about clashing with society and being true to whole you are. This is furthermore illustrated by the tag line 'LIVE. INDEPENDENT.'

Below is a gif that I made through makeagif.com showing some of my own photographs as well as some taken of the band chvrches, showing similar conventions of what a Indie music lover might dress like:

Final Evaluation - Question 3

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

Final Evaluation - Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Above is a gif I made from the website makeagif.com I have taken a screen shot of a picture in a contents page of NME, as well as my own allowing me to compare them for the similarities and differences they share.

Similarities:

- The photos are Medium shots

- Have props (both are which are instruments, guitars) which also makes them look more musical

- Models are wearing simple clothing, reflecting the mood this genre of music represents

Differences:

- Both my models are females

- Instead of playing the instrument they are looking down at it

- Unlike the guy from NME, who is playing and therefore not able to look at the camera, my models are choosing not to look at the camera reflecting the moody genre that occurs in Indie music magazines

Shot type - Both the models in the photos above are shown through a medium close up, giving off a certain vibe to the magazine. As well as not interacting with the audience much, it also shows the models as being strong and independent. Furthermore, this shot type doesn't seem to give to much away, presenting them as being against the norm.

Expression - Both these artists are pulling the same facial expression, moody looking and not interacting much with the audience. This reflects the entire genre of Indie music as being unique and individual, care free in society. 

Costume/hair/make up - Once again, the representation of the models through the hair/costume/make up is the same. They are under dressed in the sense that you could wear these clothes all most anywhere and their hair is down presenting them as being care free. The makeup however is strong through thick eye liner which can portray my models as being strong and Independent. 

Posture - The posture of both these models is standing, illustrating them as being strong and independent, not needing anyone to rely on. This ultimately reflects the Indie genre as they are known for being alternative and strong (rememberable)!

I asked Maddie what codes and conventions she thought were being represented from the photo above, and this is a short video response of what she thought:

The short answer she gave me came in very useful, as all the things she said related back to the genre of Indie I chose for my music magazine! 

Final Evaluation - Question 1

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

Research and Planning - Front Cover Process

Here is the another draft of the front cover of my music magazine CLASH. I have altered some of the text into a drop shadow effect, so it is more visible against the background.
Furthermore I tweaked the sticker, by altering the size and angle so it fit nicely on the page, as well as altering the written text so that fit well within the sticker. I made the size of the text WIN larger than the other words in the sticker, making it more attractive for my target audience (they a more likely to buy this magazine if they know that they will also be in the chance of winning a prize.)

Research and Planning - Target Audience Feedback Via Twitter

To help me with my target audience research, I posted this tweet (screen shot on the left hand-side) on the popular social networking site twitter, which included a picture of the up to date version of my music magazine, asking for audience feedback. The reason I used twitter for this is because many of the people I follow and follow me back are fans of Indie/grunge music, so they would be the perfect audience to ask for feedback from.Below is all the feedback I got from the people that responded to my tweet, which includes both positive and negative feedback.

Positive:
- The layout of the magazine was popular, as they said it conveyed similar conventions of an everyday music magazine (e.g. the band index on the contents page).
- The pictures I used fit well with the magazine.
- The double page spread was well thought out, and gave a grown up and mature sense to the magazine.
- The photograph on the front cover reflected the story of the girl, which helped intrigue my target audience.

Negative:
- One person said they were unsure of the use of the colour pink, as they had just never seen it in any Indie music magazine. However, others said it made the magazine look unique.
- The same person also said that their were too many females photographs, as Indie magazines such as NME and KERRANG usually had more males than females.

Research and Planning - Double Page Spread Process

Here is the up to date version of my double page spread for my music magazine; Clash. 

One of the first things I changed when improving my double page spread was the layout of the text on the right hand side of the page. I rearranged some of the text so all the columns lined up with one another and moved all of the text down so it fit neatly at the bottom of the page. I further went on to change the size, font and colour of the quotes "FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE… SHE IS BASICALLY QUEEN!" and "I WOULD LOVE TO DO A COLLABORATION WITH THE 1975" to help both texts stand out more, so the readers know it is a quote and what to expect in the interview. 

Because of this, I moved the title "LAUREN HITS HIGH NOTES" and the name of the magazine in a different opacity down too. This left room for me to add "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW" in the same font and colour as the title "CLASH" in the top right hand side of the page. This simple text helps make the magazine look much more realistic. 

Another thing I altered was the text on the left hand side of the double page spread. I changed some of the words in the quote to the colour of pink, to help continue the three colour rule of pink, white and black. Also, I changed the colour of Lauren's name in the very start of the interview to pink, to help this further.

Research and Planning- Contents Page Process

Here is the up to date version of my contents page for my music magazine; Clash.

                               

Firstly, I have removed the photograph of my main model and added one of the new photographs taken from the 1975's interview. The picture is of Matt Healy talking, which completely reflects the name of the article 'The 1975 TALK'. I added a boarder around this and positioned it on the right hand side of the page so I could place the title (with the opacity changed) above it just like in the top photo. This creates a box type layout, similar to other Indie music magazines such as NME. 

I have also added boxes underneath the headings "REGULARS' and "FEATURES", to continue the box layout, and help the two titles stand out more as well as separating them more so it looks like separate columns.

One of the final things I have done is added another box in grey underneath the "BAND INDEX" (changing the name to white) which makes this much more like a indie music magazine, as the band index in other magazines are usually a different colour to the rest of the page.  

Research and Planning - Front Cover

Here is another up to date version of my front cover for my Indie music magazine; clash. Since the last time I updated, I have made many changes in the process of making my final outcome. 

I have altered the positioning of my model, so she is now on the right hand side of the page and a bit bigger. This helps the page fill out more and over all look much better. I also placed the model above the name of the magazine, which is a common appearance in most magazines. Because of this, I had to move the barcode and pricing into the space above the H rather than below. Furthermore, I brightened the photograph of the model, making the magazine itself look more colourful and appealing to my target audience.

Deleting the tag lines that were once on either side of my models head, I created another banner on the bottom of the page which includes two features of the magazine. This is much more effective than my previous tag lines, as it looks much more intact with the rest of the magazine and continues to demonstrate the three colour rule of pink, black and white. 

I have added the drop shadow effect to the text "LAUREN ENTWISTLE" and "THIS IS JUST MADNESS" to create a more realistic effect that an everyday music magazine would have. This also helps the story stand out, intriguing the reader further. 

On of the final things I have done in the process of finishing my music magazine is add a sticker on the left hand side/ centre of the page. Without it the cover still felt quite bare, and didn't have enough stories either. Once again, this continued the three colour rule using white for the text and pink for the sticker, as well as adding a drop shadow effect to give the sticker a more 3D effect, lifting it off the page to catch the readers attention. This is exactly what I wanted, as this text is about a competition, which might influence the reader massively to buy the magazine so they can win the chance to win the 'exclusive' prize being offered.

Research and Planning - More Contents Page Photographs

Here are a couple of photograph from a shoot taken of the band The 1975. These are medium long shots taken during an interview where the guys were answering questions for a local radio station.