Friday, 17 October 2008

Magazine Evaluation

We came up with a theme for our magazine by discussing what genre of music we could focus on and which would be fairly easy to present. During the making of our music magazine we tried to focus on keeping things fairly similar to the general guidelines of other magazines. We made sure we included a barcode for the magazine and kept layout simple but eye-catching. We did challenge other magazine by blending to images together to create our front cover. We used this technique as we thought it was unique and it may appeal to individuals.

Our music magazine is aimed out young people who are into rock and pop music. The front cover is a focus on a band made up of young people to attract younger readers. Also our clothing is similar to those of pop and rock bands.The picture on the cover represents the dress sense of those the magazine is aimed at such as rock-like clothing. We also focused our cover lines or a subject which is the interest of young people to relate to certain social groups.

A media instute which would distribute my magazine would probabaly be one which distributes to young people as this will ottract those who are already going there. Good newsagents could distribute the magazine as well as music stores such as HMV at will appeal to those who love music it will be an ideal selling space.

The main focus audience of my magazine would be young people aged 16-25.Our magazine is focused at both genders. The people the magazine is aimed at are mostly likely to be into music which is mostly rock and pop.

We adressed our audience with music and subjects we felt they could relate to. First of all one of our cover lines was 'Free gig tickets for 10 readers'. We thought this would be ideal as alot of young people will read the magazine and as concert tickets are expensive this would appeal to a wide range of people, especially those of a younger age without jobs. We also included a cover line which said, 'Carl Barat from Dirty Pretty Things tells us his top tips on getting signed' we thought this would appeal to alot of readers as there are a lot of pop/rock bands being formed by young people yet to be signed. Also our Main cover line icluding the band 'The Gossip' will be sure to attract fans of the band.

Using the Photoshop CS3 I have learnt a number of things as I had not used it before.
I learned how to use the crop tool, how to add text and rotating text and images and using a marquee tool. I also learned how to overlay images by changing the level of opacity of the picture, we used this technique for our front cover. Overall I enjoyed using Photoshop and learning how to use all the tools.

If I was to make another cover I would certainly add a Date and Issue number and Include a price as we forgot these. I would probably aslo add more cover lines to make our magazine more appealing to people. If I was to make another cover I think I'd focus on creating a magazine which focuses on more genres rather than just two. This would be Ideal as it would appeal to a wider range of people.
Music Magazine Evaluation

Our focus was to create a music magazine on a specific genre. We called our magazine ‘Generic’ which is based on ’rock/pop’. These ideas were brainstormed on a large sheet of paper to develop our ideas further. After choosing our magazine title and genre, we began to discuss in pairs of two how our front cover will look like. We included the masthead, graphic, main cover image, cover lines, bar code and strap line. This was to emphasise our magazine into further details and make it proportional to the overall magazine.

The ‘Generic’ magazine shares the same similarities just as a normal one would look. It contains all the same features such as the font styles, FREE eyeliner, free gig tickets for 10 readers and an exclusive interview with The Gossip. This is usually what a typical magazine would have. Our magazine is not clearly the same as other ’rock/pop’ magazines as the font, layout and the way it is presented has its own style. There are many different types of fonts in various colours being used including green, white, yellow and dark blue. The title ‘Generic’ in dark blue is big, bold and catches attention because of its abnormal colour. It has cover lines on the left side and a few on the right which gives a glimpse of what updates the celebrities are into.

The magazine cover represents a rock/pop group which allows people to be part of the rock/pop culture and the way they live their lives. It gives a personal insight of how young adults can portray themselves into something unique or different. Although we are based on a rock/pop side, we are lacking a sign of a lot of black make-up with red lipstick or white powder on the face. This means that in today’s society nearly everything can be re arranged into a certain degree. Most important, the target audience for the magazine is mainly based for young adults who take interest in rock/pop. Perhaps if they enjoy playing the electronic guitar or maybe the influence of rock/pop bands itself. This can lead its role of becoming an easy yet simple to read magazine.

In addition, I feel that any newsagents or supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury and so on will distribute our magazine. In these stores they also sell other types of magazines with different genres, newspapers and books. Therefore, ’Generic’ can be part of this section too. We can also advertise and sell our magazine online as it states ‘Exclusive interview with The Gossip’ this is practically a video clip of them where buyers will be interested to watch, which leads them to subscribe to a weekly delivery of the magazine by post.

Moreover, the target audience has not yet been decided but I think it ranges from 16 years old and above. The title of our magazine called ‘Generic’ can give a big impact of the overall magazine attractiveness and the picture of ‘Coldplay’ can address our audience in a number of ways. It will want them to read more about the free tickets for 10 readers to ‘Coldplay’s’ gig but also the main cover image which can be seen as persuasive.

Most significantly, I have learnt about using the CS3 more professionally and how each of the tools on the side bar works. Before starting this, we have been through the basic of using the crop tool, magic wand, lasso tool, rectangular marquee tool and so on. As we moved onto creating the actual front cover, CS3 became easier to use and understand. It was a lot more clearer as each lessons passed by CS3 seemed more fun and creative, where we just had to put forward our ideas then project it through how we wanted it to look to convey our target audience.

In conclusion, if I had to make another front cover I would choose the genre ‘Classical’. This is because I have done studies on this genre previously and have basic knowledge about the insight of Classical music itself. Classical music refers to the mainstream music produced in the traditions of western liturgical and secular music. In other words, classical can include religious or scared music being played by a number of instruments. More on the secular music side, this can include the following love songs, political satire which is gaining entertainment from politics using political cartoons, dances and dramatic works. Instruments such as the drums, harps, recorders and bagpipes were used in secular music because they were easy to travel around with. Even though there were good and bad points about the magazine it was sorted out after having a few discussions. Overall, I have fully enjoyed myself creating this music magazine front cover and I am glad that we have managed to finish it in a certain amount of time.
Magazine Evaluation

Monday, 13 October 2008

Music magaizne evalutation

Magazine Evaluation

Our task was to create a music magazine on a chosen genre. The name of the magazine is “Gerneric”. Its genre is “rock/pop”. We came up with these ideas by developing them in a mind map then choosing the most appropriate title to suit the genre. After this, we began to decide how the front cover would look and where it would be set. We also had to come to a decision on the main colours that would be used on the front cover and the topics that would be displayed. We also had to decide what colours would be worn. We decided to wear black, white and grey as they were rocky however left a statement that girls don’t just look good in pink. The magazine covers main colours are black and purple. The reason for this is because the colours chosen compliment each other so therefore there is no sudden clash.

The magazine is very much alike a real music magazine. It contains all the same elements such as, a free CD give away and an exclusive interview. It gives tips on how to be a rock chick and gives a glimpse of new and upcoming artist. Our magazines layout is also very similar to a real and published magazine. It has all the main features. For instance, the name of the magazine is clearly written on the top of the magazine. The font in which the name of the magazine is written in suits the genre of the magazine. The font is big, bold and stands out. As the main colours being used were black and purple we decided to make the title in black and purple and in a rocky font. The magazine also has little sub-headings which allow the reader to get an insight of some of the topics/stories inside the magazine. The font of the sub headings range from different sizes and fonts, this makes the magazine look interesting and attracts the reader. The magazine also includes a barcode, price and date.

The magazine cover represents a rock/pop group however, at the same time challenges the classic rock style and the classic pop look. The fact that we do not have heavy black make-up on shows the development of rock and how it can be manipulated into someone’s style. The fact that, we are not dressed in pink and girly colours puts forward that pop is not the same as it use to be. As time develops so does culture, music and style.

Our magazine is aimed at young adults who like a mixture of rock and pop. We came up with ideas focusing on girls. The magazine contains all the latest things to do with rock/pop and so therefore will inform our target audience in a language they will understand. When we can interact with out audience via competitions and free “give-a-ways.” We attract our audience by keeping our magazine simple and easy to understand, we aim to make the front cover as appealing as possible. We also add striking images

I think that our magazine cover could be distributed in many general stores/news agents. This is because every other magazine is also promoted in such places. It could also be sold online as it says “The online music store”. By selling the magazines online customers can pay online for their weekly/monthly magazine. By distributing the magazine in various places this promotes the magazine and allows it to be recognised. This is the technique that well known magazine companies do.

If I had to do this task again I would plan everything properly and take time to expand on each idea. I would also gather all information required and create a rough mock-up of how the magazine will or should look. I would also change the background and make it rockier with instruments placed everywhere. I would also include a price along with the barcode and issue date as it will make the magazine look more realistic. Also if I was given the chance to, I would completely change the genre and make the magazine a hip hop/ rap magazine as then I would be able to work with brighter colours and make the magazine look funky.

Overall, form creating this magazine I have become more familiar with using Photoshop CS3. I know how to edit, crop and rotate images and texts. I also became use to making text glow and layering shapes. Even though I have Photoshop CS3 at home I still wasn’t confident using it. However, now I am and I feel that I can produce great work. From this experience I enjoyed creating the magazine and would love to do it again. I will ensure that next time all the magazine requirements are met and will hopefully produce outstanding work.

Wednesday, 8 October 2008

Music Magazine Evaluation

Magazine Evaluation

Our magazine idea came from a group discussion we had about the genre and the overall contents of the cover. We brainstormed our ideas about what we could do for the magazine and then decided what we would actually do. We picked our magazine name and then split into groups of 2 to work on the project. I understood the fact that all magazines abide by a certain set of codes and conventions such as having mastheads, straplines and cover lines. We wanted our project work to be as realistic as possible so we tried to follow the forms of other real music magazines adding all necessary details such as barcodes and issue dates. We did not try to challenge the conventions of magazines but conform to them via using the backgrounds, sell lines and eye catching images.
The music magazine mainly represents females who consider their selves to be “rock chicks”. The magazine is able to represent them in this way because the cover lines suggest this is aimed at them “your guide to being a rock chick” and “100 most popular rock bands” this immediately attracts those who are interested in the rock genre of music. In attempt to sell the magazine we present our social group in a way that makes them feel as though they belong and they should be proud of belonging.
There are various media institutions that will be prepared to distribute our music magazine such as general stores, they will be likely to stock our product because it is a common thing to have in store and is considered by many as a necessity. We can also advertise and sell our magazine online as the magazine states “the online music store” and again we are following in the footsteps of other magazines who allow their customers to subscribe to weekly/monthly deliveries of the magazine.
When discussing what we would do for this product we did not think about who our target audience would be, we made the magazine cover then the audience was chosen, this was both easier and convenient. Our target audience when considering our completed magazine cover would be relatively young females and mainly the rock. punk, emo social groups. We targeted this group of people because they take up a large proportion of the consumers who tend to buy these goods.
We attracted our audience by using bright colours, funky text and eye catching images. We were also able to attract their attention by appealing to personal inspirations or beliefs that they may with hold. We also addressed our audience in a kind of formal way allowing some distance between the audience and the magazine itself but not losing all connections with the audience by addressing them in an casual manner at the same time using appropriate slang or street language when needed.
Over the period of time spent working on the magazine project I learnt a lot from the Photoshop programme which allows you to edit and create pictures, this was the software that we used to create our magazine cover. At first we went through a short tutorial running through the basics of how to use Photoshop with a technician who showed everyone how to use tools such as the text tool and the magic wand. We were then given time to mess around and experiment before setting off to work on our own magazine covers. I found that whilst working on our magazine cover we were becoming more familiar and used to everything Photoshop had to offer. I noticed that we went through a learning process whilst doing our work which was satisfying and enjoyable.
If I was given the opportunity to create another magazine cover I would be more organised and prepared for it. For example I would come up with a basic plan of what I was going to do and then after gathering everything I would need for my magazine such as photos I would then draw up a rough sketch of what the cover would look like and make it slightly detailed. I would also have a rough idea of what I would want my magazine cover to look like rather then just go with whatever I thought looked nice or suited the cover at the present time, I would of thought the whole process through at least if not put it onto paper.
An advantage of being able to do the magazine cover a second time is that I would be able to know what is needed for the magazine and then the extras could be added on later, I would prioritise things into an order. Secondly we failed to put a small detail onto the magazine cover which was the price although we had barcode. Although having the price present was not necessary it would of made the magazine seem more real. We also tried to limit the usage of internet images to help maintain originality but if I was given the chance to do the project again I would allow one or two images taken from the internet.
Overall I enjoyed working on the magazine project and at the end the result may of not been the best, the cover had its good points and its bad points but overall I feel as though the outcome of the music magazine cover was a success and the extra inside page of the magazine accompanies it well and allows the magazine to be as realistic as possible.

Sunday, 5 October 2008

Magazine Cover

First of all we took pictures for our magazine covers in groups of four. For the designing of the magazine cover we were split into groups of two. We used Photoshop to design our covers. TO BE CONTINUED.....

Wednesday, 24 September 2008

Magazine Analysis

Magazine: Mojo

Technical elements:

Masthead - "Mojo" : Is usually the title of the magazine an it is normally in the top right-hand or centre.

Banner - "BON IVER; A quiet storm" and "PAUL McCARTNEY SPEAKS!; 'my white album; Plus! The Beatles remastered." : Usually found at the bottom or top of the page giving limited information.

Graphic - "FREE CD" It is not usually placed in any specific place on the cover but it is mainly used to highlight a special offer such as a free gift.

Strapline - Is a 'sub-heading' and is not used by all magazines.

Main cover image - Usually looking straight at the camera in hope to attract and make a connection with the audience, the image usually takes up all the space on the cover.

Main cover lines - "QUEEN" Used to sell the main story in the magazine and in the issue.

Cover Lines - "ISSAC HAYES" , "PLUS! BRIAN MAY, ROGER TAYLOR & PAUL RODGERS" These help sell the magazine , it gives some information about the content of the magazine. The cover lines are usually based on the sides of the cover.

Bar code, price and issue date - Are generally in the bottom right hand corner.

Image:

The image is once large photograph of the band “Queen”, it makes up the background of the cover and is also central and key to attracting its audience. As the band is famous and well known it is able to attract multiple attention via the image it may also be successful in selling because it promotes itself by giving away a free CD with every issue.

Audience:

The target audience is the fans of the band, many of them will be middle aged and white as the band were popular almost 40 years ago.