Final main task: music magazine

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

 I've come a long way from my preliminary task and I really feel I've improved greatly. Both my analytic skills and my creativity have expanded and I've learned a lot from my past mistakes. Also, a more thorough research for the music magazine task has proved to be very effective in providing me with a clear idea about what I should or should not include for such a task. For example, my target audience is more clearly addressed in my music magazine, also the layout and framing of photos denote a more professional looking piece of work. Finally, feedback from both the teacher and my friends helped me discover my weaknesses in producing a music magazine and work on them.
It is a well known fact that practice makes perfect, and my final product could still use a lot of improvement but I feel content with the level it is on, and would I see this magazine in a news stand I would buy it!

6. What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

The construction of this media product has greatly enhanced my knowledge of some basic programmes and software. With the help and advice of a Photography student, I have learned how to use a Cannon D500 SLR camera to take the photos necessary. Unlike other digital cameras, this camera provided me with a wide variety of options and unique features which made my pictures look a lot more professional.
 

Also, I've become if not proficient at least skilled in the use of Adobe Photoshop Elements 8, both in class with the teacher and experimenting with it at home. Having so many new and improved features makes it one of the best image editing software there is and so I didn't spend time trying to find another similar software such as Inkscape or Picassa,  but solely used this one, perfecting the product to the best of my ability.

I chose not to use Desktop Publisher because I found it rather tricky and a bit more complicated. Other websites that helped develop my product were dafont.com - where I found and downloaded the font I've used for the masthead and contents; www.surveymonkey.com - which helped me get feedback from a wide and quite varied audience; www.issuu.com - where I have researched existing magazines created by other teens.

5. How did you attract your audience?

In order to attract an audience, firstly I have considered the use of bright colours which considerably make the magazine stand out. Then, the photos used in all my four pages have a significant importance in attracting the reader and convincing him into buying it. Also, like for quite a lot of the professional magazines out there, there's a free give-away along with the magazine: a 'Best of Rock' CD, advertised in a visibly large, bright orange sticker on the cover.

The text is in turn very important because it has to address to a certain, previously chosen, group. I could describe the mode of address throughout my four pages as serious but slightly informal  and witty (the cover story interview) and also informative. Words like 'Plus', 'Special', 'The' on both the cover and contents and the use of the exclamation mark entice the audience further.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

I've decided to go against the bohemian, clean teen image I've promoted on my preliminary task, and totally opposite from that would be the dangerous, more aggressive picture the rock and roll style paints brightly. Therefore, the 'target reader' for this magazine would ideally be a guy, possibly mid twenties. He dresses at JD and SportsDirect, but occasionally buys band merchandise online such as shirts and wristbands and practically lives in Converse sneakers and worn out jeans. He listens to 'old school' rock music: R.E.M., Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and yet he really likes the music Annie and The Band is trying to promote. He plays guitar in a rock band too, so he can directly relate to her story. He's not rich but nor he is poverty-soaked as he works at some electronics store in his local area and earns just enough to get by. He hangs out with his mates a lot at the local pub where they occasionally perform. He is, above all, fun, loud and not exactly the type of guy a girl would bring home to meet her parents.

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

I believe that the main institutions that would possibly distribute Rock&Roll magazine are: Bauer Media Group (Q magazine's publisher), Future Publishing (Classic Rock's publisher) and Jan Wenner (Rolling Stone's publisher).

I have chosen these mainly because of the resemblance of my media product to these three best-selling magazines: the coverage of serious, high profile bands and artists and the hard-hitting journalism with a hint of dark humour.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Although the picture on the cover is that of a girl, my intention was that the magazine I've created would appeal to both men and women (that men would find this girl attractive, while the female audience would read her story and relate to her instead). Also, in the double page spread I deemed that Mahonni would pass as a petite 24 year old, although she is only 18. I did this deliberately, intending my target audience to be quite mature (from young adults: 20 to mid 30's), hence the long, small font interview with quite a few pictures and the reference to two rather old bands: U2 and R.E.M. .
Finally, it could be said that just like Rolling Stone and Q magazine, it has universality , for it does not represent only a particular social group.

Evaluation: 1 In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of a real media products?

My media product follows closely the conventions of a real magazine with the prominent masthead at the top, the price and date on the upper right and the bar code - lower left corner, with the cover story in bold, so it would stand out and the other inside stories in a smaller font on both sides of the picture, which is the main feature. My magazine is mainly based on the well known magazine Rolling Stone, which fits perfectly with my chosen style, which is rock. The main colours I've used are crimson red, grey and black, which by my opinion denote best a more mature, classy but serious style. The picture, as previously stated, could be described as quite unconventional, due to the really low number of female rock artists appearing on the cover of such a magazine. I find it is a bit challenging, but an audience found it bold and eye-catching, so I stuck to it.

Main task progress

After a fairly long debate, and a written school survey, I have decided that the title for my magazine would be Rock&Roll.

  It is quite straightforward by my opinion, rock being the genre I want to promote. After a quick browse through the magazine section in WHSmith I saw that this title is not taken, so I've decided to use it.
Next, inspired by the well known American music magazine, Rolling Stone's masthead, I've searched a similar font online and used it. Here's the first two pages (cover and contents) as a work in progress:

Semiotics theory

Semiotics is the study of meanings and signs. We have learned in class that there are three types of signs: iconic(which look like what they represent), symbolic (whose meaning must be culturally learned in order to understand it) and indexical signs (which are suggestive, and they could have more than one interpretation). Further, we took a quiz in class in order to familiarize ourselves with these three concepts. We found out, for example, that while an image or the name of a person is an icon of that person (an iconic sign), this

is symbolic and we have been taught it means 'No Smoking' and therefore we know its meaning unlike others who may not have seen it ever before and do not know what it stands for. Finally, a perfect example of an indexical sign is the Swastika.

Primarily used as a symbol of peace and good luck, time has altered its meaning so that nowadays it has a negative connotation, being associated with Hitler and Nazi Germany so to most people it suggests war and hatred. However in a certain amount of time from now on, this meaning could change again in people's perception - unlike the symbolic sign, it is not fixed.
Relating this to our media product, we've learned that we could use these certain signs for the cover of our music magazine to help us communicate particular styles, genres and other distinctive characteristics.
For example, on my magazine cover I have used the medium close-up of a girl, to represent the rock genre, which is a bit unconventional, although not uncommon (example of relating artist: Paramore's Hayley Williams) She is holding an electric guitar, which could be seen as indexical sign representing the rock&roll style: cool dangerous.

Activity 3: Research a music magazine

Title: Mojo
Price: £4.50
Publisher: Bauer London Lifestyle Ltd
Frequency of publication: Monthly

	Music promotion	Lifestyle	Classified ads	Other
Name of times occurring	18	1	3	7
Name of the product being advertised	CDs, live shows and tour tickets	planet rock	DVDs	whiskey, magazines (Empire, Q), plasma
Where in the magazine does the advert appear	every other 5 pages	127	8, 23, 126	87, 117, 129,147
What cost is the product (provide a ‘guesstimate’	£10.99	£5	£8 - £15	£10, £15 £500

This magazine is aimed at a more mature audience of about 25-43, its mode of address being formal but informative. it is a  well-known, quality music magazine promoting mostly the classic rock genre. The percentage of image to text is about one-to-three, and it is obvious that a main asset of the magazine is their long, in-depth articles and interviews. There is very little (if any) use if slang in the articles, which are written on a generally serious tone.

Analysis of music magazine covers

Q magazine is a really well known British music magazine, which promotes not one but many music genres (soft and alternative rock, pop, hip-hop etc), this appealing to a quite wide audience ( I would say 16-35 years old). On the cover we can see a close-up of world famous Brit pop star Adele, standing sideways, her hair being blown back. This is suggestive, as we see the main cover story relates: 'Adele blows us away'. The masthead is also really proficient: it consists of a single letter title on a crimson red background, which makes the magazine more prominent so that it really stands out on news stands.  

Tottaly different from Q, Vibe is an RnB style magazine, and this is shown by the main picture of  male artist, which is mainly associated with hip-hop/RnB. The main colours used are red and gold and the font relates to the urban genre.  The singer, Akon, is also wearing a chain around his neck, which is viewed as an icon of urban music. The target audience is represented by teenagers and young adults because this magazine promotes up to date music such as RnB and Hip hop .

Finally, as a third example I have chosen a rather unusual magazine. Wire magazine seems to be an indie or 'modern music' magazine; it doesn't give away much information on the front cover,and also for the cover stories the editor has chosen to use a really small font, possibly to focus the audience's attention to the cover picture. Their use of this sort of picture could be classified as unconventional - a close-up of a person dripping wet - this doesn't seem to relate to music in any way, and it doesn't really attract a reader, but shocks one at a first glance. Supposedly, its target audience would be non-conformist young adults to middle aged people.

Evaluation of the preliminary task

My media product follows the conventions of a school magazine. The main feature on the front cover of the music magazine is the image chosen which is the picture of a student, holding an arts book. This has successfully attracted the intended target audience - which is the arts college student. The contents page was designed in the same style as the cover. I haven't made any major modifications but followed closely the mock flat plan I have drew for both pages. The design , the colours and also the fonts I have used proved to be effective and appealed to an audience. However, looking back on it, the title might use some improvement given that the concept of a school magazine doesn't come to mind after reading 'Artline'.

Finalised preliminary task

Given that not all the photos I have previously used for the contents page were mine, I have decided to use these instead:

And here is the preliminary task, completed and finalised:

Progress on the College magazine & contents page

Meet the typical reader for Artline

Meet Alexandra M. She is 19, goes to an arts college in London and represents the typical reader for my Artline magazine. Every morning she eats a healthy breakfast, possibly oatmeal, with her parents at home. She doesn't own a car and travels by bus as it gives her time to quickly peruse her notes for upcoming lessons. She drinks mostly bottled water or coffee and spend lots of time at Starbucks reading books or fashion magazines. She watches little TV and mostly news or educational documentaries. She listens to soft rock music, bands such as U2, The rolling stones, Sting, Three Days Grace, One Republic, Nickelback etc. Her favourite meal is Tofu Noodle Bowl as she is vegetarian. She wears ruffles & lace and shops at Hollister, Gilly Hicks & Zara. She doesn't have a boyfriend as she can't seem to find enough time for one. She goes on holidays with a close friend or family to places like Paris & Monte Carlo. She isn't interested in and doesn't quite understand politics so she doesn't vote. She also doesn't frequent bars or pubs and goes there only on special occasions: birthdays etc.

Handout 1: Producing a School/College magazine

I have started off with thinking about the concept and decided to create an arts college magazine cover. Next I had to choose a title, so I took a little survey around the school:

and outside the school: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YFKT962

After deciding to use the title ARTLINE, I have sketched the flat plan:

Then, I took several photos in the photography studio( including medium close-ups, big close-ups and two-shots):

and chose this last photo to be on the cover, then modified it in Photoshop Elements 8. Finally, unsure which one looks better, I went 2 different ways with the design of the first draft of the cover:

Activity 8: Electronic evaluation of the film poster

I have given a lot of thought to the film I was supposed to create a poster for. So, I imagined the plot to be something like this: 'A group of the worst students of an university decide to kill all their smart colleagues, one by one.' My idea for the poster was originally conceived in school, in the common room when, in order to surprise a colleague, one of the students put a hand over her mouth and one over her eyes. Then, I remembered that I had a similar photo in my computer, taken by me last summer, back in Romania. I have therefore drew the plan of the poster on my way home that day and I stuck to it without making any major changes, but further developing that same idea. I have decided to change the slogan, to make it a bit more explicit as well as the font of the title: instead of the 'nice and calm' font I have drawn, I chose to use something more appropriate for a thriller. The idea of the film companies logos came at last, after seeing that most film posters have them. Also, all throughout the process of editing it I have observed the film posters that were really everywhere I looked: on the buses, phone booths and billboards, and kept making small changes to the size and position of the texts I used in order for it to look as real and professional as possible. Finally, I have learned that in order to create a good media production I needed to plan it thoroughly at first.

Activity 2 to 7: Creating a Film poster

To start off, I have sketched a plan of what my poster will roughly look like and scaned it:

The picture used is a high quality close-up, and was taken with a nikon n90s, originally set on black & white. It was taken on a local theatre stage, using a dim spotlight. Here it is, edited and darkened in Photoshop Elements 8:

Next, I have considered a font for the title that I thought was suitable for a thriller genre. Therefore, inspired from the hit thriller Fight Club, I have downloaded the font below.

Then, using a normal brush I have drawn a few spots at the end of it to to make it look like blood.

I have used a crimson red colour for both the title and the credit blocks, for which I have again downloaded a font, called Univers LT 39 Ultra Thin and made up some fictional names for producers, actors etc:

As for the final touches i put at the bottom the logos of some famous American production companies such as CBS and Escape as well as the 15+ rating logo:

Here it is as a work in progress:

And finally, this is how the poster looks like after a few finishing touches in Photoshop:

Activity 1: Researching film posters for teen films

Here, the majority of teenagers are represented as typically American, acting like they are always in a popularity contest, valuing style over substance and not the other way around. The main character is presented in a positive light contrasting with the others. On the poster we can see the main character, dressed casually, and three 'Barbie Doll' girls posing in the back, their picture considerably smaller. Given that the genre is 'comedy', the poster is colourful and bright, the predominant is pink therefore the poster appeals mainly to teenage girls. The layout is slightly unconventional with the title being placed vertically. There isn't a film certificate on the poster, although it is rated PG-13 meaning that it is suitable to almost all audiences. Finally, the poster does have a slogan: 'WATCH YOUR BACK', which is written in bold -> a mock warning to prepare us for the 'war' that is high school.

For the second teen film I have chosen a completely different genre. The Invisible is a thriller teen film and therefore the teenagers are presented in a rather negative light. The image used for the poster is bleak, we can see a silhouette of the main character fading away in the pouring rain making the audience wonder about him. The poster is dark, the main colours used are blue, white and black and the layout is conventional with the title in capital letters in the middle, the Credit Blocks are small, at the bottom. We can notice at the top the names of other well known films in order to attract audience more easily. The film is rated PG-13 for violence. This, however, does not appear on the poster. The slogan used: 'LIFE, DEATH AND SOMETHING IN BETWEEN' gives us an insight into what the film may be about.

Photoshop Effects