Question 7 to Evaluation

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

My preliminary task was to create a college magazine front cover. 

In order to do this I looked at college magazines to get some ideas.  I then talked to my friends and one of them agreed to have their picture taken for the front cover.

I used photoshop to edit the picture and used lots of colour to enhance the image.

It took very little time to complete the preliminary task in comparison to my music magazine.

Premliminary Task

Music Magazine














These are the steps I took to make my final magazine:

•                     Research genre of music magazine and create a profile

•                     Video of friends + opinions

•                     Front cover picture (used photoshop)

•                     Created contents page (inserted images using photoshop)

•                     Interviewed featured artist – created double page spread (used publisher and photoshop)

•                     Researched music magazine and publishing companies (large and small)

•                     Got creative thinking of ways to keep my magazine unique but at same time keeping costs down (selfie poster, superfan competition, prices)

•                     Review font used

What skills and knowledge did you develop in order to produce this magazine? What have you learnt and how did you develop?

I have learnt that you need to do a lot of research to make sure you are creating a magazine your target audience actually want.  I made the decision to to make my target audience 16 to 25 year olds as I fit into this category and so do my friends.  I could then relate to the people I wanted to sell my magazine to.

I learned that you have to try lots of different placement methods before deciding on a final version. Images, colours, fonts, props, even where to put the bar code can have an impact on your magazine's attractiveness. 

I learned that there are lots software programmes available online, for example Prezi, Goanimate and Photoshop, which can help you to create the look you want for your magazine and enhance images or animations that will generate more interest from your target group to buy your product.

The biggest challenge for me was learning how to plan for this task.  I realised, after a lot of struggling, that I needed to be specific about my target audience and not try to reach a wide age range.  Once I made a decision about this it was easy to consider what the target group may want and to use my friends and family to talk through ideas and get instant feedback.

Once I understood what my target audience wanted to see and read I then had to think about how I could provide these at a low cost.  I thought about software applications I could use and free services like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr to highlight my magazine.

I also thought about cost, and how this may impact on my target audience who may have little disposable income.  I decided I would have two prices; one for my published magazine and one for my online version.  In order to encourage readers to buy the higher cost published magazine I needed something to entice the target group to buy it.  I decided to get featured artists to take a 'selfie' that would be a two-page poster that was only available in the published magazine and could not be copied from the online version of the magazine.

I also decided to use competitions as a way to attract readers, using items that would attract younger readers such as festival tickets.

Why was it useful to carry out the preliminary task?  What would you change about your magazine? (compare college magazine to music magazine)

The preliminary task helped me to learn how to put a front cover together and how to use Photoshop in order to make the cover more appealing to readers.

The music magazine was a lot more challenging and at times I became confused because there was so much to think about and so many decisions to make.

Looking back at my college magazine I think I didn't really think through what the purpose of the magazine was or how I could make students want to read it.  If I had to do it again I would do more research on my target audience and try out different ways of presenting information and do more to enhance the front cover image.

Question 6 to Evaluation

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

Learned:

•                     How to use a DSR camera

I used a DSR camera to record a video for my audience research.

To use a DSR camera you must first of all make sure there is a SD card/memory card fitted into camera. This is what stores the images in the camera, afterwards you must fit the camera to a tripod. To do this you will see that the camera has a screw that attaches to the top part of the tripod, so you can just simply screw the camera on to the tripod. After that if you want to take a picture using the camera, you will see the screen of the image in front of you so you can decided on how you want the image and to zoom in or out. There should be a round button circled by a second one with a small handle which you turn to zoom in and out. To take the picture press the middle/smaller button and wait for the flash to go off, to signal that the image has been taken. To record on a DSR camera there is a record symbol on the side of the camera. Press this button once to record and to zoom in or out, use the zoom button.

•                     How to use a SD card

I used an SD card in the DSR camera.  I then used the SD card to upload my video onto my computer.

To use a SD card, you simply have to insert the card into the back of the camera. To do this you will find a small card holder at the back of the camera. If you open this up and insert  the card with the chip facing towards the inside of the camera. Once you have done this close the SD card holder and your camera will be able to take pictures properly.

•                     How to use Photoshop

•                     How to use Publisher

I used Publisher to create the double page spread in my magazine.

To use publisher, when you first open the document you will see there is a lot of options to use make different types of documents/pages. For example you can make different types of templates, brochures, newsletters and such like. Once you have decided what you want to use or make. You can then adjust the size of page from A5-A2. You can then create text on these documents, insert images, graphs and such like. You can use Publisher to make a double page spread by making guide lines down the middle of an A3 landscape page. This allows you to insert an image and text as well.

•                     How to create a blog, edit it and keep it updated?

I created a blog to show the progress of my media project.

To create a blog, first of all you must make a google account and set up blogger using that account. You can then give your blog a title, change the layout and colour etc. To create posts on your blogger account you click on new post on the main page and you can create a new post. You can also insert videos, links and images to you blog post. You can keep your blog updated by creating new posts each time.

•                     How to use internet search engine to find research information

I used the world wide web to find research material which would help me design my magazine.

To use an internet search engine, such as google or bing. You have to open up the web page and research the topics you want to look at. To do this you must think about what you want to find out about which is relevant to topic you are searching and use this to find out information.

•                     How to use Goanimate

I used Goanimate to create a short animation film for one of my audience research project.

Goanimate is a animation video that you can use to voice over videos or for other purposes. I used it to voice over one of my audience research video's for my magazine research. I got the information from questions I asked people about my magazine.

•                     How to record video's on my mobile phone and upload it to my blog

I used my phone to record a secondary video for feedback on my magazine.

To record videos on my phone, you have to open up the camera and then switch the camera to the video recorder. I had to edit some of the video because people kept interrupting the filming and sometimes the my friend would pause for too long whilst trying to give me feedback. in order for me to upload my video to my blog, I have emailed to myself as an attachment. Which I have saved to my computer and uploaded it as video on to my blog on a new post.

Question 5 to Evaluation

5.            How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract and address my audience I firstly thought about what appealed to me.

I looked at a variety of music magazines and highlighted those images, articles and feature that drew me in and made me want to read more. 

I noted that I was drawn to bright colours and images.

*** example pictures

I also found certain fonts easy to read. These are some of the fonts on different magazines I found, that make it easy to read.

In RS199, we step behind the scenes of one of the world’s hottest bands – All Time Low – as they teeter on the edge of superstardom. Elsewhere, Danny Worsnop talks We Are Harlot, Asking Alexandria and more, we hear about the songs that inspired Frank Iero and My Chemical Romance, and we dip behind the scenes on Architects’ biggest ever tour.

I also liked the double page posters that many magazines offer, which would appeal to me if my favourite musicians was in them.

My favourite articles were those were an artist talked about their life, their emotions and the obstacles they faced and how they overcame them.  This seemed to appeal to me most because at times, as a teenager going through new experiences, I sometimes feel that life is a challenge and I suppose reading these articles helped me to relate to the artist.

I wanted to capture all of these things within my magazine, but also to keep the cost of the magazine low.

In order to do this I would use resources that were cheap and easy to use.

I would ensure featured artists took a 'selfie' to be made into a poster.

I would ask featured artists to do either a live session or webchat or video recorded interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwGgPyiWBoA

I would also set up links with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr.

As my magazine is about folk music I would attend many local free gigs and write about them on my blog so that my readers could find out more about the artists I was interested in or join me at the gig, meet me and buy my magazine.  I could then have a page of 'selfies' taken of me with readers of my magazine at gigs and upload these onto the magazine.

Question 4 to Evaluation

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

The target group for my magazine is 16 to 25 year old who have an interest in the burgeoning, revitalised folk music scene.

Please see video below:

Audience research

Here is a video of my audience research

Question 3 to Evaluation

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

I researched Time Inc. UK, formerly IPC Media, and Bauer Media who offer the largest selections of magazines brands in this country.  Their magazines are available in many high street stores including W H Smith, R S McColl, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Marks & Spencer.

Time Inc. UK is Britain's leading publisher of print and digital magazine and is multi-platformed.  It has over 60 iconic brands including NME magazine.

Bauer Media is a multi-platform UK-based media group consisting of many companies collected around two main divisions – Magazines and Radio - widely recognised and rewarded as being industry innovators.  Bauer Media publish over 300 magazines including the Kerrang! magazine

Using such reputable groups would mean that my media product could be seen by many but such a generic audience means that it would not always reach my target group.

Also by working with such high profile publishing companies my creativity may be restricted as the aim of these companies is profit not loss.

I also researched a South Yorkshire based music magazine called Stirrings.  This is a quarterly magazine which costs £10 per year including postage and packing.  This magazine is also available at assorted folk venues in South Yorkshire and regularly offers freebies such as a free ticket to a local folk music gig.

Stirrings involves it's readers by encouraging them to review new music and gigs.  This is something I think would appeal to my target audience who are likely to want to be involved in the content and production of a magazine.  It would also help me to understand what was appealing to young people at any one time and to capture new influences early on, e.g. upcoming musicians who are unsigned.

Based on my research I would like to use a small independent company to publish and distribute my magazine.  I could keep my costs low by using creative methods such as 'selfie' posters, live web chat and sessions and involving my readers to get involved and send me information and ideas.  I could set up my own editors blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr accounts.

Like Stirrings I would also have select venues where my magazine could be bought, such as record shops and local gig venues, as well as offering an annual subscription for published or online version of my magazine.

Question 2 to Evaluation

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

The target audience for my magazine is 16 to 25 years olds.  I and my friends fall into this category so I captured their opinions of what they thought a folk music magazine for people should contain and how much they would be willing to pay.  A video of this discussion is contained within my blog.

This age group is represented in the Social Economic Table as category D and E.  On the whole people in this group will have little disposable income therefore the cost of my magazine must remain low at £1.75 per month for the online version and £2.50 per month for the published version.

A	Higher management, bankers, lawyers, doctors and other professionals.
B	Middle management, teachers, creative and media people eg graphic designers
C1	Office supervisors, junior managers, nurses, specialist clerical staff. White collar
C2	Skilled manual workers, plumbers, builders, blue collar
D	Semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers
E	Unemployed,students,pensioners,casual workers

This age group want to know more about the lives of their favourite artists, so featured stories giving an insight into their daily life would be appealing, as would the 'selfie' poster.  To ensure I captured unique 'selfies' the artist would be given a mobile device owned by my magazine to take a selfie during an interview and sign a contract to ensure this image can only be used by my magazine.

This age group are also more likely to use digital devices to access media, such as a PC, tablet or mobile phone.  Therefore an electronic version of my magazine would need to be created. 

This can be relatively cheap to set up and allows you to included added extra's such streaming of live video's of artists playing a set or being interviewed.  You may also be able to set up a live chat between fans and their favourite artist which would appeal to many young people.  I would also include links on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

The artists featured within my magazine would be similar in age to my target audience.  These would be new and upcoming musicians who are likely to want as much exposure and advertising as possible and therefore more willing to want to be interviewed and connect with their fans via web chat and live sessions.

Musicians would be able to promote their products including information about tours which would be captured in the magazines monthly gig guide.

I have also included competition prizes that young people would want, for example on the front cover I highlight that this month's prize is a pair of festival tickets.  Many young people find it difficult to afford costly festival tickets, as well transport and accommodation fees but desperately want to see their favourite bands.

I would also arrange for each featured artist to provide something unique to be offered to the 'Superfan' competition.  This could be as simple as a lyric or a picture/doodle which was  signed on paper, t-shirt or mug.  This may appeal to young people who could keep this item for sentimental reasons or in order to make money should the artist become extremely famous.