Final Blog Post

Evaluation Question 7

www.bubbl.us 

Construction

You can see clearly when I compare my two front covers (final product and prelim) that I have developed my skills in using both software and hardware. 

My photoshop skills have developed a lot, as In my prelim I used basic text techniques whereas in my final product some of my text is distorted and rotated, in different sizes and I've used a variation of fonts. 

My photography skills have grown considerably, for instance in my prelim the image is slightly  over exposed and this has created a off white to light yellow background. The image in my final product further resembles professional practise as I learnt how to compose a photograph; I learnt how to use the 3 point lighting set up in the studio and set up aperture and shutter speed setting on the camera to ensure that my image wasn't over or under exposed. 

Both my models eye lines are on the top third creating direct address with the viewer, this was a convention I learnt right from the start of my prelim. In both prelim and final product my models and their costume were well picked for the target audience and genre I had chosen for the magazine, I think this was because I am well in touch with in season fashion and how young people like to dress and certain tribe stereotypes. 

In my prelim I have a sound understanding of magazine terminology however it has definitely developed and this can be seen in my final product - I have made good use of puffs, banners, sell lines, skyline, masthead etc. The text to image radio is more balanced in my final product as I had researched more into other magazines of the rock indie genre so had plenty of ideas for cover lines, skylines etc - the content was more researched. 

Comparing my Prelim Contents Page to my Final Product you can see straight away some very obvious developments. I learnt about the layout and the importance of it, the design of the prelim page is initially there it just needed more thought, work and research, on the other hand my final contents page uses a lot of conventions of professional texts and it has an exciting design that creates a lot of interest and bares a lot of useful information. 

The alignment of text and icons in my prelim contents page is inaccurate whereas in my final contents page all text is accurately and precisely aligned - my skills in Indesign widened and improved and I made proper use of the rulers in my final product. There is lots of open white space in my prelim page and the text to image ratio is further towards the text, whereas on my final contents page there isn't any open white space and there are four images to balance out the text. Leaving open white space isn't a convention of these types of magazines and makes the page look unprofessional. 

In my prelim I have grasped the basic skills of InDesign, placing text and image, creating icons and using different fonts, however in my final product my skills have greatly improved and I have a wider knowledge of the software. In my final product I have rotated photos, cut up my page into different segments and columns, made use of shapes, and I've added a whole range of different effects to my text. 

With regards to the content, I have interesting articles that will draw college students in, and this continues in my final product. In my audience feedback they commented that the sell lines were a big feature that drew them into possibly buying the magazine.  

In conclusion I think my final product resembles a professional music magazine. 

Evaluation Question 6

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

Evaluation q 6

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Evaluation Question 5

How did I attract and address my audience?

I firstly conducted a focus group in my initial audience research to learn more about my target audience and what they wanted from a music magazine of this genre. 

My front cover model is a representation of my ideal reader and other models of this music genre; moody facial expressions, 'hands on hips' poses reinforce superiority, and that the model is in charge, dominant and completely sure and confident of themselves. They are all dressed in the latest 'in trend' clothes and accessories like my featured front cover model. My audience are interested in materialistic good they desire, such as smart phones, the latest gadgets, games and designer clothes to make sure they are a cut above the rest - so I have created a 'WIN £4200 WORTH OF TOP MUSIC GEAR' sell line icon on the front cover to attract my audience. The buzz word 'top' tells the audience that this is the best-of-the-best gear and that is something that excites my target audience. My colours used are very similar to the issue of NME featured; this 3 colour palette attracts my intended audience as it is sexy and playful but serious. I have challenged the use of fonts used usually in magazines of this genre, for example my font choices are a lot simpler than ones used in NME. This is because my target audience said they wanted a cleaner 'look' to a magazine, with not as much going on - a more sophisticated classic look. 

I conducted audience research with my target audience at different stages of my production and took this on board to make relevant changes. The following is some audience feedback that was taken out after my rough cut products were completed: 

I used this feedback to make the following changes; I added vital page numbers into my products, made my text larger on my front page to cancel out any unwanted white space, changed the shade of my 'Artists Index' box on my Contents Page and I added a banner and lengthened my article on my DPS. You can see clearly in the timeline of my blog what changes were made from my rough cuts to my final products. 

Audience research is really important in creating a quality product that will do well when launched - Knowing who your audience is makes it a lot easier to design a product for them because you are aware of their interests.

Also after I had finished my flat plans I conducted some other research and commented on it in a video, this helped me construct my rough cut. 

Audience Feedback

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for my media product?

My target audience belong to a tribe blend of Hipsters and Indie. The average age of my audience is around 19 and they are grouped mostly in middle class and lower middle class socio-economic groups. This is because their readers are educated and have a strong desire to spend a lot of money (disposable income) on materialistic goods, such as the latest gadgets, nice cars, in trend clothes and costly foods and drinks, Figi Water, Pizza Express etc. My audience isn't gender specific however my reader count may lean towards one particular gender; in my audience research 69% of NME's readers are males, leaving only 31% of women, this is the same with Kerrang with only 40% women and 60% male.
I created this mood board on Photoshop CS4. 

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Q. 3 on Prezi

Evaluation Question 2

How does my media product represent particular social groups?

From my secondary audience research I was aiming to represent Hipster and Indie and used the uktribes.com website to get inspriation. People that belong to these tribes are educated and usually have plently of money to spend on materialistic goods they desire such as smart phones, the lastest gadgets and designer clothes to make sure they are a cut above the rest. Being superior is important to them. They are also very interested in fashion and wear on-trend clothes.

This manifested itself in my production as;

My model is wearing very on trend clothes and accessories, and keeping up with the latest season is a big part of my chosen social groups life. Image is very important to them and they enjoy materialistic products. My model is wearing clothes similar to the models in my opening video.
She has long hair which is slightly backcombed to give volume, this style is common on most indie hipster models/artists. Her pose is iconic, she is a leader for this social group - the models in my video were all showcasing innovative poses which arouse interest. My image is in high-key lighting, taken in a studio and this is seen in most magazines of this genre.

The four models on my Contents Page are all dressed in on-trend clothing and statement acessories (sunglasses), these clothes are commonly seen on 'indie, hipster kids'. They fit the genre stereotype whilst also challenging it in ways to realistically represent musical artists, for example my model featured in the 3rd photo down, is just wearing a simple plain t-shirt however this works for him as an artist. The images are taken in a variety of locations, these are all rural and unique, typical of the genre.

My model featured on my Double Page Spread is wearing very on trend clothes and the tights are very unique and make a bold statement. She has got heavy eye make-up on, which is common in models/artists of this genre. Her pose oozes confidence and reinforces that she is very sure of herself as an artist, we can see this with many musical artists in magazines of this genre.

Also the quotes featured on the article represent my social group as they are the sort of people that would be interested in this information and these would draw them into reading the rest of the article.

Evaluation Question 1

Evaluation Q.1 on Prezi

Final Products

Front Cover

Contents Page

Double Page Spread

Pitch Analysis

Above are the comments my peer group and teacher gave on my magazine pitch. I am going to use these comments to improve and further devleop my product.

Double Page Spread Construction and Shoot Analysis

Firstly I uploaded the photo to Adobe InDesign. I inserted a dotted line to split the page in half to help me when I construct it to keep the page ordered and symmetrical. 

This image appears to be my finished DPS spread, however I didn't think the block of text looked professional enough and the title wasn't the size I wanted so I carried on making futher amends. I reached this stage by; for the title I inserted the text using the text tool and changed the 'without' to italics. I used this method to create the quote on the left side of the page. I created the transparent box by firstly creating a box with rectangle tool, droppping in a grey tint then applying a transparency to it. I then inserted the text using the text tool then fitted it to the size of the box. 

In this screenshot I have separated the article into two columns to create a more professional look that adheres to the genre conventions. I have made the title text larger to make more of an impact and to catch the readers eye. I added a pink arrow to signify that the text carries on onto the next page - When I first wrote my article it was much longer than this, however I had to cut it short to fit onto this page. I created the triangle from the polygon tool. I selected the polygon tool and before I let go of the shape I pressed the down arrow key to 2 times to create the triangle.

This is my completed DPS spread. I again inserted my quote on the left hand side of the page.  I have removed the dotted line separating the two pages as it was just used to help me construct my page. 

Shoot Analysis of Different Shots

I chose this shot for my DPS because my model is on the left hand side and looking directly at the camera so the reader will see her straight away and be pulled into the article. Her facial expressions and body language further reinforce her undeniable confidence she has in herself and her music. The background is very edgy and creates interest as it far away from mainstream-pop studio photos.

She is wearing in trend clothes that signify the indie rock genre and are very in-trend.

I didn't chose this image as the model is not looking at the camera therefore not making direct address with the reader.

I didn't chose this photo because it is quite closed framed and doesn't have much room for text, however I might also feature a smaller version of this photo on my DPS spread when I make amends.

I didn't chose this image because of the text on the right hand side as this would intervene with the article text

I didn't chose this photo as the main image for my DPS because it is a landscape close up shot and doesn't allow enough room for text. However I might also feature this photo on my DPS spread when I make amends; the floral in-trend jacket is typical of the indie genre and will draw readers into the article, it is also a good contrast against the black/grey backdrop photo.

I really like this image and it would have been the perfect image to fit on one side of the DPS, however in my intial planning I wanted a photo that was landsape to fill two pages. She is wearing in trend clothes that signify the indie rock genre and are very in-trend.

Contents Page Construction and Shoot Analysis

Contents Page

This is my first fully constructed contents page for my magazine, Indigo. I have used Adobe In Design CS4 to construct the page. Below are my following stages and tools I have used to create my front cover. 

I used the Rectangle tool to create the columns, I then used the text tool to fill in the Band Index, the heading and date. I again used the Rectangle tool to create the table of contents heading boxes and filled them in black.

In this screenshot I have used to the text tool to write in the headings in the table of contents and started writing in the articles and relevant page numbers. I used the line tool to create the black line separating the main heading from the table of contents the the second column.

I have used the text tool to write in the rest of the information for the table of contents.

In this screenshot I have finished filling in all the text in the table of contents. I used the line tool to draw a line under 'LIVE' to create a section for my subscription information. I re-sized the photos using Photoshop CS4 and I imported the photos into In Design using the Rectangle Frame tool, then rotated them to how I wanted them positioned.

Here I have used the text tool to insert the captions for the images, I then rotated them the text to suit. For the page numbers overlapping the image I used the rectangle tool to create the boxes then coloured them white and used black for the numbers.

This is my finished first draft of my contents page. It has been thoroughly thought out and I think it definitely resembles one of a professional magazine.

To further improve my contents page I may need to introduce another font type. And possibly drag down the band index and the table of contents columns so they fit the whole page.

Shoot Analysis

The shoots went really well and all to plan. And have chosen these four photographs because they are all different and add variation to the contents page. They all adhere to my genre conventions and will attract my target audience. For the costume they're all wearing in-season clothes and accessories typical of the indie rock genre. 

Below are some of the shots from the shoots I chose not to use for my contents page;

 

I really like this photograph as the models eyeline falls on the top third and as a result it creates direct address with the reader. The only reason I didn't choose this to feature on the contents page is that it doesn't showcase enough of the outfit, and costume is very important in my magazine genre.

There are lots of great aspects of this photo; especially the edgy combination of backgrounds. Nevertheless I didn't choose to use it as it doesn't create direct address with the viewer.

I really like this photo and it fits all the conventions of what I wanted for my contents page. However I didn't use it as it doesn't showcase enough of the costume.

I really like this photo as it showcases the in-style costume typical of the genre of my magazine however the image isn't landscape so it wouldn't fit with my contents page design.

I chose not to use this photo as it isn't landscape and wouldn't fit with my contents page design.

I really like this photo and I think it would fit really well onto the contents page, however the photo that I chose to use of this model is much more suited as it showcases a lot more personality and adds a mysterious edge to the artist. Also you can partly see her eyes on the other photo and this creates address with the reader.

Front Cover Construction and Photoshoot Analysis

Front Cover

This is my first fully constructed front cover for my magazine, Indigo. I am really happy with how my first cover has turned out and I think it is interesting and exciting. The 3 colour palette is really eye catching and creates intrigue. 

I have been using Adobe Photoshop CS4 to construct the front cover. Below are my following stages and tools I have used to create my front cover. 

I uploaded the image to Photoshop CS4 and used the text tool to insert my masthead, INDIGO and the move tool. 

I again used the text tool to insert the sky line and the banner '300 UK GIGS LISTED THIS MONTH'. I used the rectangle tool to create the right banner which overlaps the skyline and masthead, I rotated it, shaped it and coloured it black using the fill tool, and changed the text to white. This makes it stand out and makes the text readable. 

I created the circle through the rectangle tool, then I chose the ellipsis shape. I coloured the border in hot pink and deleted the centre so it is the colour of the background of the main image. 

I sectioned the bottom part of the page off onto another layer to work out where I am going to place my other sell line, puff, and barcode. It is slanted as my text is going to be distorted and this will add variation to my cover. 

For the text at the bottom of the page I rasterized then distorted the text for the sell line 'the 50 DARKEST ALBUMS EVER MADE...' then coloured the text white. I inserted a line using the line tool and coloured it pink and also did this for the smaller lines separating the artists. Then used the text tool to write out the puff and coloured it white. 

I inserted the barcode and rotated it so it fitted into the right hand side of the page. 

In this screenshot I have inserted my sell lines and main sell line using the font tool and move tool.

This is my finished first draft of my front cover. I've used the text tool to write inside the pink circle then rotated the text so it fits perfectly inside. and used this tool to create the rest of the sell lines. 

However to improve my product I need to change a few details. In my second draft of my front cover I need to change and modify a few different aspects; I need to introduce one or two extra fronts to create more interest and variation for the magazine. 

I will also enlarge part of the main sell line 'EXCLUSIVE VICKY P' to make it stand out more dominantly. 

I also need to add a price (£2.00) and Issue No (46) to my magazine. I will place this above the bar code or underneath the masthead. 

Front Cover Photoshoot - Analysis of Different Shots

I chose this image to be my front cover image for many reasons. My models eye line falls on the top third to create direct address with the audience. And her hands on hips pose suggests she is confident, sure of herself. Her facial expressions further reinforce her undeniable confidence she has in herself and her music. She is the perfect role model for my readership.

She is wearing in trend clothes that signify the indie rock genre and are very in-trend. There is plenty of room around the image to fit my text (masthead, sell lines, cover lines, puffs, etc) 
Below are other shots from my photoshoot:

I really like this close up shot, however it doesn't showcase enough of the costume to be featured on my front cover; and the costume partly attracts my target audience. 

I haven't chosen this shot because it doesn't reinforce the artists confidence which wouldn't abide to my genre conventions. It also wouldn't stand out on the front cover as much as the image I have chosen. 

This image is most things I was aiming for in a front cover image. However her body language doesn't connote full confidence which I was aiming for. 

This is why I haven't chosen this image.