Deadline day

Coming to an end of my project now and would like to say thankyou all for keeping up with my blog and reading it. I cant wait to see the outcome of the long project, its been fun, stressful and very time consuming but i have really enjoyed making my magazine and getting to know about InDesign and photoshop etc. My skills and knowledge have been developed for the futre.
Thanks again x

My music magazine evaluation

This is my music magazine evaluation DVD, i have done this on windows movie maker with the help of Adobe premier. My movie asnwers all of the questions for the evaluation, it includes video clips, voice overs, music and pictures. Enjoy!

Deadline day tomorrow!

Its deadline day tomorrow and i have nearly completed my whole magazine project, by doing the preliminary project, creating a rough copy of a music magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread, i then completed the final cut of this too. Tomorrow is the deadline day for my music magazine evaluation and blog, hopefully it will be complete!

More editing

Today i ahve been editing my interviews for question 2 and 6 of the evaluation, i have been using Adobe Premier pro to edit the green screen to make the background different colours for each interviewee. This is defiantly time consuming as i have never used the software before so it is taking it's time to edit. I just hope that the outcome of it is great!

Editing

I have added the videos of myself for question 1 and the voice over for question 3. I have only used windows movie maker a fair few times but i seem to have the hang of it. The voiceo ver is a sound therefore it is put over the images that i have for Bauer media group. I have also separated the videos into their groups of front cover, contents page and double page spread, i have done this by creating a slide before the video so that the viewer knows that they are hearing about.

Evaluation voice recording

For question 3, i have voice recorded myself talking about the company Bauer that publish Q magazine. I have used a voice over as i have images that go with my small speech, i have done this because i have video'd myself talking and have used videos of my target audience for other questions, therefore a voice over is a different element. This will also be edited into my movie soon.

Recording question 1

Today at home, i recorded myself answering question 1. I did this at home as i have used my own webcam, i have put this question into sections and have said how i have used, developed and challenged conventions for my front cover, contents page and double page spread. I printed off the final cut of my magazine and printed different parts of q and NME magazines to compare them with mine. This will be edited in to my movie later on.

Green screen fun!

Today I used the green screen for the first time, i used this for my target audience to answer my questions. This is both for questions 2 and 5. When i edit the green screen i will only be using different colours for the background, this just makes the evaluation more fun and exciting.

Planning evaluation question 1

I have been planning my music magazine evaluation, this planning sheet is just for the first evaluation question. The question is how has your media product used, challenged and developed conventions of real life magazines.

What will i do?

Today I have decided to make a small movie for my evaluation, this will mean i will be using windows movie maker, but editing clips will be done on Adobe premier. I will be including videos of myself talking through questions, it will include clips of interviews with my target audience and screen shots. Music will also be played throughout.

Comparing rough cut to final cut:Double page spread

This is the rough copy and the final cut of my music magazine double page spread
The ImageThe image on the double page has stayed the same, i have slightly changed the position by making it more central.
Drop down capitalsInstead of using a drop down capital at the start of the article, i have used one further down the article on my final cut as i have included a big capital in the background of the article, this is used in one of Q's magazines and though that it helps to fill out the page without looking to crowded.The articleYou may not be able to read the article but i changed it quite a lot, i also included a small into to the article for the readers. I made the article longer and talked more about the artist with a few questions, rather than loads of questions and answers. I also included a small caption on the image which contains a quote from the artist. This added more of a magazine touch.
Page Numbers
I included page numbers on both side of the pages, this makes it easier for the reader to look into the contents page for the number of the article and then finding it easierTitle of the page
I have made the title of the page longer and more faded out so that i could layer the image and the title 'unmask the secrets' on top. This also helped to fill the space on both pages, and included more colours without the page looking to crowded.

Comparing rough cut to final cut: Contents Page

This is my rough cut and final cut of my contents page, as you can see these are extremely different.
The Images
I included 3 images into my final cut, but i used different images to show a vary of artist types and to show my magazine was mixed gender.
The Banner
I was quite happy in my rough cut about the banner at the top therefore i kept it the same, my target audience also liked the banner and i was told to keep it the same by them. My teachers liked the font of the 'contents issue 164' this is why i stuck with it.
Story Descriptions
The 'plus' on the rough copy is a different font to the final copy, this is because i got feedback to say that i was using to many font types, therefore i changed it to a font i already had on that page. The story descriptions are structured much neater and more organised on the final cut as they are all over the place and not lined up to look professional on the rough cut. I also used more stories, as my target audience said that i did not have enough, and that i also did not have enough on artists story.
Page NumbersThe page numbers on my final cut look so much more professional and link with the colour scheme and house style of my magazine. These were changed due to feedback saying that my page numbers down the left side of the page on the rough cut were boring whereas the right side of it included colour, therefore for my final cut i made sure they all used colour but a variety of colours that stuck with my colour scheme.

Comparing rough cut to final cut: Front Cover

 The first image is my rough cut and the second is my final cut. As you can see it has been changed a fair bit. I took in my target audience and teachers feedback and used to perfect my final cut.
The Image
My teachers and target audience both did not agree with the main image of my artist, this is because on the rough cut the position of her arms and body perceive her to be shy and not confident or outgoing, but these are things i wanted to percieve her as. I believe the image in my final cut makes her look more confident and quite the rebel.
The Plugs
In the rough cut i have not used the full page, which makes the page look bare and boring. When i changed the front cover image it meant that i was able to fill the page space more, which i believe makes my front cover look full of exciting detail and professional. The structure of the plugs are all over on the rough cut whereas on the final cut they look organised and neat, they are structured much better. I have also made the plugs more clearer to see, making sure the colours are used correctly.

Final cut!

 This is my final cut of my music magazine. I have thoroughly enjoyed this project and extremely proud of the outcome. I believe i have come a very long way from creating my school magazine to the rough cut and finally the final cut. I am happy with my whole magazine and the new skills i have developed that i can on in the future. There are a few little things that i could develop and make better but i am happy with the finish.

Adding images

Today I have added in the images from my third and fourth photo shoots into my contents page, i have used these photos as it shows my magazine is a mixed gender magazine, it also shows that my magazine varies in music. 

Fourth Photoshoot

 These photos were taken to be included in my contents page, i took a photo of 3 boys that are perceived to be a band, this shows that my music magazine is a mixed gender one. I believe this was not the best location for the photo, but it shows that they are not really pop but are edgy. This fits with the genre of my magazine which is pop/edgy.

Third photo shoot

Today I did my second photo shoot with my friend Sarah, one photo from these will be used in my contents page to show off a different artist, so that my audience would have a range of people to read about. This photo shoot was set up outside as i created the artist to be more indi-edge than pop and my magazine is a pop/indi-edge type.  I used a guitar in these photos to also link with this type of artist, the clothing and makeup also link as i used a bright dress full of flowers, my model wore red lipstick and blue eye shadow, she also had a nose ring. This was to ensure that my artist linked with the type of music magazine i am creating, to suit my target audience.

More photo shoots to come!

I have chosen more people to do photo shoots with as my rough copy contents page look extremely bare with hardly any images, I am looking forward to see the outcome of my photo shoots, so that I can make my contents page more exciting and professional.

Image changes

 The photo on the left was the photo that i originally used for my rough cut, after been given feedback from my target audience and teachers, i then changed the photo to the image on the right, which went better with the magazine as it was a close up. I stuck with my female artist as my target audience said that they preferred a female artist to star on the front cover. The photo on the left that i used for my rough cut makes the artist look quite shy with the way she is positioned. But in the article i have made her sound outgoing and confident, therefore this image did not fit well.

Article changes

Today I completely changed and rewrote my whole article, this is because the feedback from my target audience said that the article in my rough copy didn't include enough detail, I was told by my target audience that the double page spread was to white, plain and boring, because of this criticism I added a small intro to the article, I made the title 'ELEKTRA' bigger so that its goes across both pages. I also added a caption on the image with a quote from the artist. In the article, I added my information and detail about the singer, rather than it mostly being all questions and answers. I have also kept it so that half of the article is questions and answers but i have ensured that the answers from the artist are more detailed, to show readers more about her. The article is now longer and much more professional. The drop down capital letter which is faded behind the text, makes the page look more exciting and full without it looking to cramped.

Only small changes

Today i made changes to my contents page, i took in my feedback and changed the layout of my contents page, i also used more stories and more colours and fonts. I ensured that everything was lined up together to make it look professional, i am also adding another photo into it. When i am finished my music magazine i will compare the first draft to the finished product.

Target audience feedback

This is a feedback sheet from my target audience, they looked through the rough copy of my front cover, contents page and double page spread, they have told me what they like and what i can improve, this will help me to improve my rough copy to the final cut. I will give my target audience what they want.

Teacher feedback

This is a feedback sheet from my teacher, as he looked through my front cover, contents page and double page spread and wrote what they liked about each document and what i could improve on them. This feedback is from the rough copy of my magazine, this will help to ensure that the final cut of the magazine will be perfect.

First Draft

These are the first drafts of my music magazine, which include a front cover, contents page and double page spread, because this is only my first draft i will ask for feedback from my teachers, pupils in the class, and my target audience so that i can make changes to perfect it in time for the final deadline.

Double page spread analysis:5

This magazine double page spread is from Q magazine.
This double page spread includes two images of the artists, both images very different and contrast eachother. In my magazine I only want to use one main image but I will later see what my target audience would prefer.
The images are along the top of the page whereas the article is along the bottom, i would prefer to lay mine out where my image will be on the left hand side and the article on the right hand side.
A drop down capital is used, this is defiantly a convention i will be using.
The title is only the image, it doesn't stand out very well, although it is very big, for my magazine i will ensure my title is big and bold and uses the right colours to stand out.

Double page spread analysis:4

This is another of NME's contents pages, this is fairly different to the other one on analysis 3.
This guves me the impression that it is quite rock, as it uses a lot of black, red and white. The image also perceives to be a rock n roll image. This contents page only has one image. For my magazine i will be using around 3 images. which will also show to be mixed gender, as this one only uses male.
Down the left hand side, it has a band index, this is something that i will not be including in my magazine but i will be including different artists and story descriptions.
I like the fact that this magazine shows that a reader can subscribe to the magazine, this is quite a big part of the magazine, if i did include something like this on my contents page i would make sure that it was smaller so that i could fit more images and descriptions of stories on the page.
The descriptions of stories are split into different section like 'features' and 'News'. I like that they have done this as it means the reader can find straight away what they want to read. In my magazine i may include one section like this that will contain a few story descriptions.
'NME THIS WEEK' stands out really well the colours are excellent against eachother as it makes the words stand out. For my magazine i would like to create a black banner and use the title of my magazine and but that against the black and then 'CONTENTS PAGE' in the colour white against black like this one.

Double page spread analysis: 3

This double page spread is by NME magazine.
The image is on the left hand side of the page whereas the article is on the right hand side, this is how i want to layout my double page spread, I would also like to have a large image of the artist but my artist will be female.
The article uses a big drop down capital, with a smaller one further on. I will be using drop down capitals as they are conventions of a magazine.
The smaller image on the right has a small caption with a quote from the artist, i believe this is a good convention to have but i will put this on my main large image.
The title of the magazine is across the image, as well as the introduction. I will be having a title of the page and an intro but this will not be across the image.
A quote is placed in the middle of the article, this convention is used quite a lot, but i like this layout, it makes the page look fuller and exciting, i will include this in mine.

Double page spread analysis:2

This is another fantastic double page spread by 'Q'. A lot of text is used in this one, as the article takes up the whole of the right side of the page, 3 columns are used for this. For my magazine I will be using 3 columns for my article but i will not be taking up the whole page, as i want to include and title for the article.

A bit drop capital letter is used and covers the whole of the right side page but behind the text, the colour of the letter is red so that it stands out but so that the text is also readable. drop down capitals are also used twice throughout the article at the start of paragraphs. In my magazine i want to include these features. The capital letter is 'L' for this article because it is about Lady GaGa. For my magazine I will make mine 'E' because the artists name is Elektra. I will also use smaller drop capital letters but only once throughout my text.

The image for this artcile takes up the whole left hand side of the page, it is a stunning and powerful image that will really capture the eye of a reader. The photo is also black and white which is unusual. In my magazine i would like my image to take up the full side of the page like this one but it will be in colour, i hope to make my image stand out.

on the right hand side of the page at the bottom corner, a smaller version of the logo is used alongisde of the page number and the date, this is great convention to use as it looks professional. I will include this in my own magazine article page but I will not include the date.

Second photoshoot

This was my second photoshoot for my music magazine. These photos today were taken for my contents page. I have decided to use the top photo as i believe this is the best close up i took, and i wanted to use a close up in my contents page. I decided to use the record as a prop because i have not planned to use any other props than the mask on my main artist. I was going to use a guitar but i thought that this was not a convention for my magazine, so i used the record instead.

Double page spread analysis:1

This is a double page spread from 'Q'. The text gives a lot of information and detail on the artist as the text takes up 3 columns. For my magazine I will also be taking up 3 columns for my text meaning a lot of information will be given to my audience on the artist. I will also be including questions and answers into the text.

The beginning of the text uses a big drop capital which stands out against the rest of the text, this is to indicate the beginning of the article, this is also a convention which every magazine usually uses. I want to include this in my magazine as I am using conventions which are included in my magazine, I also believe it will make my article look professional. I may make this larger by it covering the whole page and use a similar size to this magazine to a beginning of a paragraph further on in the article.

At the bottom corners of both pages a small printed logo is used aswell as the date and the page number. I think this a great feature to include in a magazine and it shows that the magazine are proud which means they have to show off in a certain way. I want to do this in my own magazine but not including the date, I believe this small feature will make my magazine seem professional and sophisticated.

A long shot of the artist takes up the whole of the left-side. For my magazine I would like to do this. The pose of the artist shows that she is confident as she gives a great deal of eye contact. I wont use a similar pose but i will use eye contact to draw in readers.

First photo shoot

Today i did my first photo shoot with my cousin, whom i am using to be my main artist of my magazine. She will be featured on my front cover, contents page and double page spread. The name for my artist will be 'Elektra' i wanted to create this artist to be perceived as quite the rebel and the party animal but loves producing and making music. This is why I have used clothes such as a short dress that shows a bit of flesh, used quite a bit of makeup and features such as blue in her hair, to show that she is different and unique, this colour also goes with her name 'Elektra'. I also used a prop in my photos, which is the blue mask, this is for the image on my double page spread, as the title of the page will be 'unmask the secrets', I believe it makes a great link between the artist and the article.

Which font fits the best?

To ensure my magazine is what my audience want, i showed my target audience four different fonts that i may use for the title of my magazine, i wanted to see which was the most popular, as my graph shows font number two was chosen to be the best, therefore this font will be used throughout my magazine as the title.

Colour schemes

I created a colour scheme templates to show my target audience possible colour schemes for my magazine and asked them to tick which one they preferred. A created a a pie chart to show my findings and found that my target audience preferred dark blue, black and white as a colour scheme for my music magazine. By doing this i have found out what my target audience want therefore i will make my colour scheme the colours that was most wanted (dark blue, black and white), I will use this throughout my magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread.

Reaching my target audience through social media

I wanted to find out what my target audience expected from a music magazine of the genre pop/indi edge. this is a response from one of my target audience. I did this through a social media as i thought that more people would notice it, read it and respond apposed to a questionnaire which may bore my target audience. this response helped me to decide what i need for my front cover to show what is featured in my magazine and the type of artist my target audience expect from my magazine. This also help with the double page spread as i can include "latest updates and stories" on the artist who will be feautured. "along with images and links to the stories" this lets me know that readers want to see exciting images that link with the text, therefore this is what i will do when i create the double page spread for my magazine.

Targeting my audience through new technologies!

I wanted to make sure that i got to my target audience in a way that's more fun and exciting for them, instead of doing a boring questionnaire. I asked a question over Iphone Imessage to see if people would pay over £2.00 for a music magazine, this will help me when it comes to making my front cover as i will include the price of my magazine. As you can see everyone said that they would pay over £2.00 for a music magazine, this helps me come to a decision to make the price of my magazine around £2.50, as i know my target audience would buy the magazine.

Analysis 5: Contents Page

This contents page is from the music magazine Q

The title of the page includes the title of the, magazine which to ensure that readers know that it is their contents page. ‘contents’ stand out against the white background as it uses a black font which is bold and clear as it also uses capital letters. The slogan is also used underneath. For my magazine I want to include the name of my magazine in the title of the contents page, I will ensure that ‘Contents’ is in capital letters so that it stands out, I am not sure what colour I will make this text but I will be sticking to my house style colours.

The house style colours (red and white) are used throughout this page, it just ensures the reader that this is a Q magazine, it also makes it look professional and organised. For my magazine I will keep to my house style colours but will add a few extra colour for the page number to give it a fun feeling.

The stories are structured in a way to make it easy for the reader to understand which page number goes with which description by using black lines to separate the story descriptions  it also makes it look neat as  they are separated into sections. Each story description has a page number that has a red box and the number is in white text, this links with the title of the magazine. The page numbers are large so they are clear to the audience. There are four images that include page numbers which make it easy for the reader to go straight the story that links with the image. For my magazine I want to include a box that’s a different colour to make sure the page numbers stand out, for this I will not stick to my house style colours as I want to use a vary of colours to make it fun for a reader. I will use around 3-4 images to link to stories. I also want to include black lines that seperate the stories so that they are readable and clear and make the page look neat and organised.

At the bottom of the page the name of the magazine is used again, along with the page number and the date. I believe this is a good feature to have as it looks professional. I will defiantly have a page number at the bottom and the name of the magazine but I will not include the date as I may do include this somewhere else. This magazine features the issue of the magazine at the top in a red circle to make the white text stand out. For my magazine I may do this but instead of putting the issue of the magazine, I will put the date. 

Analysis 4: Contents Page

This is a contents page from the music magazine NME.

‘Inside this week’ – the title of the contents page is unique and different to other music magazines that I have analysed; the typical title would be ‘contents’. The title is an extremely large text which is bold with black font, to stand out against the white background. The capital letters make it seem important. I like the idea of the unique title of the page, but for my magazine I will stick to ‘contents’ and will include the name of my magazine into the title. I will make sure it is big and bold and stands out. I may make the title of my page have capital letters.

The layout and structure of this page is well organised and neat by using black lines to show what image goes with which text. It includes a lot of images that link with the stores. But each section is easy to spot out so that a reader can quickly see what they want to read. The page number also help this as they are a large bold text that stand out in a white box on top of each image to ensure this is clear for the reader. The ‘plus box’ has the other stories featured in the magazine in a list with the page numbers on top, this could confuse a reader of which story goes with which page number. For my magazine I want to include around 3-4 images that link with stories, I also want to have large page numbers in a colourful box instead of a white box. I will ensure the different stores are organised and look professional by making black lines like this page to section out the stories. I will have other stories that are featured as well and I will list them down the sides of the page, the page numbers will be clear and easy to understand as I will ensure they are put to the side of the story description.

There are a range of camera shots used for these images, including close ups, mid-shots and long shots. For my magazine I would like to vary to the camera shots so that the readers get a different view on each artist that is used for my images. 

Analysis 3: Contents page

The title of the page is in a large clear bold font which stands out and is very striking for the reader, this is so that they read the title before starting to read the rest of the smaller text on the page. They have included the title of the magazine 'Billboard' but have made it a small text, which is not noticeable. For my magazine I will ensure that the title of the contents page is large and clear and stands out, but i will be putting the title of my magazine next to it, i may make this a smaller font than the 'contents' title put i will make sure that it stands out to a reader.

There are a number of images on this page, they all link with the stories that are featured in the magazine. the main image however is striking and catches the reader eye as the model poses with a direct mode of address which brings the reader into look at the main story. I believe that this magazine has used the right amount of images to look professional and organised, for my magazine i will also include 3-4 images that will draw a reader into the stories linked with the images.
The blue lines separate the text making it look professional and neat, they use their house style colour for these lines to represent the magazine. I like the idea of this to help make the page look organised and the fact that they use the house style colour. For my magazine i would like to do this to separate stories and their images, i will also use a colour form my house style colour scheme.

The page numbers are a clear black large font which stand out against the white background to make it clear to the reader what stories are on what pages. There are images that are shown to have page numbers that are layered ontop of of the images, these are readable and bold. this helps a reader notice a photo and go straight to the page with the story on. For my magazine i will ensure my page numbers are large, bold and probably in a black font so that they stand out, i want to also include page numbers on top or to the side of images, i would like to create colourful boxes for my page numbers so that it gives a little colour to my contents page.

The layout of the contents page is split into columns which is a good idea for readers to find what they are looking for. I believe this makes the page look a bit crowded and too much detail for a reader to handle, therefore for my magazine i will ensure that my contents page is neat and not crowded with too many stories or images. i like the idea of columns to split up to the page into sections, but i doubt that i will need to do this as i wont be including as many stories as this magazine.

Analysis 2: Contents Page

Q’s house style colours red, black and white are used throughout the contents page. The white background ensures that the black text is clear and is readable. The font is very straightforward as this is more of an informative page than for instance, a front cover which needs to draw readers in. I will ensure that for my contents page that my text is clear and readable, i would also like to you my house style colours that i use for the front cover of the magazine.

The contents page contains different categories such as ‘features’, ‘reviews’ and ‘every month’. The features and every month are down the left hand side of the page, this could be because they are most important to read as people read from left to right therefore this will be read first. There are only two images to go with two stories that are featured. For my magazine i would prefer to use a minimum of 3 images to go with the stories that are featured in my magazine, as i believe this makes it more fun for the reader to read.

Because this issue of the magazine is about Oasis, they have created an ‘Oasis special’ dedicated to the band, it uses gold numbers, a gold title and is rimed  in a gold box. The colour gold represents luxury and importance. It makes the reader think they are getting an exclusive on the band. This will attract Oasis’s fans, as there are a lot of stories that are dedicated to them in this issue of the magazine. I think this is a great way to get readers attention, i would like to include this is my contents page to ensure that my readers know who is the main feature of the issue of the magazine.

The page numbers are very simple and are the same font size as the description of the stories featured, and in the colour red which is one of the house style colours. I would like to make my page numbers large so that they stand out i will also use my house style colours to do this.

Analysis 1:Contents Page

After analysing five front covers of music magazines, i am now doing the same for five music magazine contents pages. This will help me broaden my knowledge of the structure and conventions of a contents page to help with ideas for my own.

This magazine's contents page is split into different sections by bold black lines. These blocks all contain an image to show what is featured in the magazine. The images of Frank Skinner and Bill Callahan have a transparent background. The Frank Skinner image overlaps into the next content but this doesn't make it look messy it actually makes it look professional and neat. I love the fact that Q have done this and i would like to include this in mine for at least one image on my contents page.

Each feature stands out as the artists name uses a large bold font and uses the colour black. this helps the audience spot out straight away which stories they would like to read. In my own contents page I would like to give the same effect on the reader so that they can see what articles they would like to read straight away. If i do this i will make sure the font and colour is different to this issue of the magazine's contents page.

The colour scheme used in this contents page is the house style of the magazine which is red, black and white. The majority of text is written in a black font which stands out on a clear white background. The images on the pages provided a lot of bright colours to this page, therefore no other colour is needed. The circular page numbers are effective as they add a little colour to the page, and they sand out well as a large text size is used. For my magazine i would like to use the house style colours used on my front cover like this one does, i will make sure that the page numbers stand out by making them a large text size, i may also use different colour on them to add a little diversity to my house style.

Each feature of the magazine has an image to go with every description . For my magazine i will use a few images to show what the other stories are about in my contents page but i will create a small description for each feature and include a page number.

at the bottom of the page the magazine's name, page number and the date are included, i think this is a great convention of the magazine, I would like to use this but only use the page number and the title of the magazine.