Neyha's Blog

I have used technology but here is the evaluation overall.

Music magazine evaluation

1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media product The genre that I chose for my music magazine was country pop. This genre seemed to be different from all the others genres. I was challenged with the conventions of this project in terms of what I needed to add to my magazine to make it seem more like a country pop magazine. I did this by bringing in props to the photo shoot; these included a guitar and a country style hat. By doing this, I thought it would familiarise the genre of the magazine with the audience so they were aware of what type of magazine it was. From my research, I gathered that the rules of country music magazines would consist of rural backgrounds; Country Weekly however my magazine does not show this as I focused more on musical instruments to represent the country pop music further.

I acknowledged from my case studies, such as Q magazine, which features a range of genres of music, that pop music is the type of magazine that has connotations of light colours. This is also reflected in a country magazine that I have read online, which is called Country Weekly. I gathered that colours such as orange, yellows. I chose to use Q magazine as a case study because it doesn’t focus on one specific genre of music which seemed relevant to use as a guideline for my magazine project. What I liked about Q magazine was the contents page because it was simple yet formal in terms of colours and layout. The colour theme of red was used which I think is a good colour to make the text stand out. I reflected this in my magazine contents page, but only using the red to an extent for the headlines that categorised what was featured in my magazine. Another case study I used was Pop Girl which is a music magazine that focuses on a young target audience of girls with the genre of pop music. From this case study I learnt what not to put in my magazine. I learnt that the colour scheme in the magazine seemed very informal and too much was going on in terms of the layout, which seemed too crowded with text and images, as well as the colour scheme, which would consists of more than three colours that would not contrast well with each other. I learnt from Pop Girl in the sense that it helped me understand what not to use in my magazine. On the other hand, what I did learn from pop magazine is what elements I should use to represent pop music. I acknowledged that pop magazines are not dominated by one type of gender but feature both males and females. I gathered this information and used it so the magazine would not seem so feminist and I thought the use of male models would make the magazine open to a male audience as I wanted to aim my magazine at a bigger target audience.

Looking at my case studies, I learnt that Q magazine seemed to carry a more formal and professional theme and looked more like a music magazine as opposed to Pop Girl magazine. Pop Girl magazine seemed to have a completely different interpretation as to how a music magazine should look. The magazine seemed to be very colourful and vibrant and was not well contrasted with the font colours. The layout similarly didn’t seem to look very professional. However, it did seem appropriate for its target audience of young girls. This is completely different to what my original target audience were. Moreover, I’d say my magazine is like a professional magazine because of the photography. I used a Nikon camera to take pictures with in a studio. I also used the software’s Photo Shop and InDesign to project my magazines on. I think the layout of the contents page looks professional which is because I looked at examples of contents pages from my case studies. I think my cover is professional to an extent because of the masthead is behind the model and the cover also contains cover lines which is essential for a magazine too have. On the other hand, I think my magazine is unprofessional in terms of how I have laid things out, such as the DPS. The DPS does not look professional because of the colours I have used and I think I could’ve put more thought into it.

2) How does your media product represent particular media groups?

I think the individuals in my magazine are portrayed as young adults who are mostly female. They would be people who probably do live in more of the rural areas as they are the ones who are most likely listen to country music as they are from the country side. I’d say people from city areas would also listen to this genre of music, the reason being that the genre includes pop music which can be associated with different types of people. In terms of mise en scene, I would say that the models are modestly dressed which can send out a positive message for the target audience, and it further makes it appropriate for the aimed audience of most young female adults. In terms of costume, I think the main model I have used for my cover and dps is dressed for the genre. The model is wearing a hat that goes with the country theme the magazine is representing. Moreover, the clothes also seem to look appropriate because the clothing also seems to go well with the theme. I’d say the clothing does represent social groups in a positive way, these social groups being mostly young girls who are into fashion. I’d say social groups who read my magazine can involve all ethnicities because I have used models from different ethnic backgrounds. I think this helps the magazine engage with a wider audience and involves more social groups. This comes to an advantage for the magazine, the reason being that a bigger audience means a more popular product. Values and messages that are attached to my magazine could be reflected in how the models are dressed. They are dressed suitably, so this could teach the audience morals on how to dress in an appropriate manner.

Moreover, other elements of mise en scene include instruments. On the contents page, a few instruments are shown, such as a guitar and a piano. This could influence the audience to play instruments and take more interest in playing music. I think it is a good way to motivate the audience members to become involved with the magazine musically. To elaborate on this further, I would say social groups of musicians would be able to relate to the magazine. It also portrays musicians as people who are well motivated in what they do. This is reflected on my contents page as the models that are playing or holding instruments, look as though they are really focused on what they are doing. It is shown in their body language they are engrossed in playing music which can also motivate the audience to do the same. I have used both genders in my magazine so boys and girls will be able to engage with the magazine; however I would say mostly girls as they are the ones who are most likely to listen to country pop music. The colour scheme of my magazine also looks as if it is more appropriate for girls than both but overall the magazine can be aimed at both male and female individuals. . Overall, I think my magazine sends out a positive message to young adults. Examples can include the instruments that are being played which can motivate the audience, as well as the clothing, in which models are modestly dressed. Because my magazine carries out only positive messages, I’d say that the target audience has expanded to a bigger range as people in their mid-teens may also read the magazine.

3) What kind of media institution will distribute your magazine and why?

The publisher that would distribute my magazine will be Bauer Media Magazines. It is a UK based establishment that specialises in magazines. It delivers excellent content to its audience members on magazines, which is a factor that I think is relevant to have when publishing your magazine. Another reason as to why I have chosen this publisher is because it has distributed magazines such as Q magazine which is a successful music magazine. The audience members would be similar because Q magazine features many genres of music including pop. My magazine consists of country pop music so it seemed appropriate to choose the same publisher.

Another electronic way of engaging with the audience would be through social networking sites. Social networking sites have become increasingly popular amongst young people so it comes to the magazines advantage in the sense that it is a good way of drawing the audience in. Sites such as twitter and face book are popularly used so the audience can feel more a part of the magazine as it is a way to connect with the magazine. The magazine will also have a website in which the readers have a chance to read online blogs, news and behind the scenes with celebrities. The website is something where the audience can find out more information on the magazine so then they will seem more aware and comfortable as to what the magazine will feature and talks about.

Another way the magazine can engage with the magazine electronically is that they will be able to download a free single of the featured artist’s album of that month. It is a way of influencing readers to buy the magazine more as they will receive a free song in each monthly issue which they will be able to ‘redeem’ in the app store. Each magazine will hold a unique code for the song so there is only one download per magazine. This will also be the unique selling point of my magazine. The audience members will also be people who like to read, so it is most likely that they have a reading device such as a kindle. The readers will also be able to read the magazine electronically through their kindle. I think this comes to an advantage to them in the sense that they don’t have to buy a physical copy if they aren’t able to buy it from new agencies and supermarkets. Moreover, my magazine will be able to engage with audience members as they will sponsor and hold music festivals. From my media kit, I learnt that Q magazine produces Glastonbury’s Official Souvenir Review live on the festival site. This helped me elaborate an idea further. My magazine will sponsor massive country/ country pop music festivals so it can receive recognition from country pop music fans. This will help increase the music magazines fan base. The magazine will also hold small festivals/ live shows featuring country pop artists as a way to engage with the audience in a more physical manner rather than just having them read the magazine.

4) Who are the audience for your mag?

My magazine is a country pop music magazine which from my research, I gathered it is a magazine that is read mainly by female readers from magazines such as Country Weekly. I have aimed my magazine at young adults of mostly females; however men are able to read my magazine as well as there will be elements in there appropriate for them. On my contents page, you can see that the models I have used seem to be both male and female. I used both genders so that readers of both genders will be able to read the magazine and relate. Moreover, the models seem to be from different ethnic backgrounds and nationalities. I decided to do this on purpose, the reason being so that audience members of all ethnicities would be able to relate to the magazine and make them feel like they are more a part of the magazine. This also means the target audience will expand which will come to an advantage for the music magazine. The readers of my magazine will be people who live in rural areas mostly as it is the countryside so it seems appropriate that they would read the magazine and country music is relatable to the country side. Other audience members would include people who live in the city. This reflects the clothing of my model on the front cover as they are wearing western clothing and may be clothing that people from city areas can be influenced by. The clothing the models are wearing is similar to what people wear in city areas so I think this gives readers another reason to read the magazine, the reason being they can take a look at influential clothing. This feature will mostly be aimed at a female audience. Overall, there is an expanded audience from different ethnicities and areas people are from such as rural areas and city areas.

5) How did you attract and address the audienceThe target audience for my genre of magazine are young adults with a majority of them being female. The audience is immediately attracted to the layout and colours of a magazine which I think is vital to pay close attention to. I tried different layouts till I found the one that seems accurately well suited to the type of magazine I was doing as I wanted it to look professional and not overcrowded, as I learnt from my case studies that the simple layouts make the media product look the most professional. I would say the audience will mostly like the colours that stand out on the cover as it is the first thing that they will see. The colours are vibrant and reflect what the model is wearing. From the research I have done from my press packs, for example Q magazine, I gathered that making sexual references in a media product will help attract a bigger audience. However, I didn’t need to use this technique for my magazine as it wouldn’t seem to fit well with the target audience of mostly being females that are teenagers and young adults. In terms of features that are produced in the magazine, I know audience members may want to know about the latest up and coming artists that are developing and this allows the magazine to do that. The audience are also able to put their input on the magazine by giving feedback through social networking sites e.g. twitter where they are able to hash tag their thoughts on the magazine. The magazine also allows the audience to redeem a free song from iTunes of the main featured artist; I think this helped attract an audience as it is a great freebie that the audience will definitely enjoy because they read the magazine from the genre of country pop music. Another reason I think this attracts the audience is because this generation does revolve around technology so it is likely that they have access to iTunes to want to redeem the free download. In my music magazine for the DPS I have used an image of the model looking up with a caption reading ‘I’m on cloud nine but I’m aiming higher.’ This is a technique I used to attract the audience and to persuasively get them to read the interview. Another thing the audience notices are the headlines that are on the front cover. These should attract an audience with rhetorical questions and interesting captions which is something I reflected on my magazine cover. This way the audience will be intrigued to read the magazine

6) What have you learnt about technology throughout the process of constructing this mag?

Before we started our magazines, we had a task of making a college magazine. We were asked to design the contents page and front cover using Photo Shop and In Design. My skill were not developed at the time on this software and learnt as I went along. I learnt from my college magazine that the photography did not seem as professional in terms of using photography that seemed relevant enough to put in the magazine. The font also didn’t seem to reflect the photography and didn’t seem professional or appropriate for a college magazine. The layout of the cover also doesn’t look very exciting and eye catching which is crucial, especially if you have a target audience of teenagers and young adults. However, I learnt from this and developed skills as I went along till it came down to my final piece of my music magazine cover. I learnt skills on Photoshop such as putting the image behind the masthead. I also learnt how to size the image to fit the page to its proportion. These are skills amongst many I learnt whilst using Photoshop. Other skills included how to resize and image and to add text. I learnt Photoshop add ‘layers’ every time you put something new onto your product. These layers could be deleted if you didn’t want to use them or replace them with another feature. I found this useful and the easiest way to get rid of a font or image I didn’t want to use Moreover, the other software I used was InDesign. I used this software to create the contents page of the college magazine. Personally, at the time I found it easier to use than Photoshop so feel it came to some advantage as my college contents page had a slight improvement than my college front cover. The font of my music magazine is from a website called dafont.com where there is a variety of fonts. I chose a ‘western’ font as it would go well with the genre of music that I had chosen. In my college magazine, the font that I had used had been from Photoshop and was very basic. It didn’t have any connotations behind it. The contents page for my college magazine seems to be less appealing with less information as opposed to the music magazine. I learnt how to use colours well for the contents page so it looks professional. There is an improvement that has been made which reflect how I have positively developed my Photoshop and InDesign skills. I’d say my photography skills improved when we were going over what features Photoshop had, I had blogged this.

7) 3) Have you improved from your college magazine till music mag?

I have developed and improved tremendously since I had done the college magazine, the reason being all the tasks that we had to do in between. I feel the tasks helped evolve my technology skills, for example when we were told to research case studies I feel it helped me improve my magazine in terms of learning what a particular audience like to see in the magazine. The case studies I chose were Q magazine, which talks about a variety of music and Pop girl which consists of the genre pop. This was useful because the genre of my magazine was country pop and there are not many magazines on the market that feature this genre of music. In terms of photography, I think I have improved a lot, the reason being, for the music magazine I had used a studio and a professional Nikon camera. This had helped as it motivated me to take better pictures for the magazine which I felt I did. The image that I think has been the most successful is from the front cover. The model is making eye contact with the camera which means she is engaging with the audience. This is something I learnt is vital to have from my case studies. I think the image on my contents page of the female model holding the guitar looks quite professional in terms of the photography. The angle of the image seems to looks good as well as the colour contrast of the background which I think helps illuminate the image to make it look even better. Moreover, the masthead of the college magazine seems to look very basic and has been used thoughtlessly. At the time I have chosen this masthead as I did not acknowledge how important it is to have a masthead that fits well with the genre of your magazine. I soon learnt through my tasks, of a website known as dafont.com which has a range of fonts. This website had helped me choose a suitable font for my main masthead which I think was successfully done as the font was categorised under the western fonts. Things that I had done similarly to the college magazine this time is that I had used a colour scheme of three colours as I learnt it would make the magazine look more professional. This technique was similarly shown in Q magazine which always seems to have a well put, attractive front cover. However, Pop Girl magazine had a range of colours on its front cover which I had learnt from as it did not look professional and too colourful but appropriate for its target audience. This helped me improve what features to add that are well suited to my target audience. Through the tasks given to us, I learnt about anchoring a text to its image. I learnt it was a cleverly used and something that was well liked by audience members for any magazine. In my college magazine I did not anchor any of the text with the images; however, I did in my music magazine. In my music magazine for the DPS I have used an image of the model looking up with a caption reading ‘I’m on cloud nine but I’m aiming higher.’ I thought this was a persuasive technique used to get the audience to read the article and it also seemed to anchor the image. Another feature that I have improved on is using headlines that will appeal to the audience members as this is what they are going to read. I think my media product looks more realistic this time as opposed to the college magazine, in terms of colour, layout and photography. On my front cover, the masthead is vibrant and bold which stands out against the background, this reflects what I had learnt in my case studies as the case studies show bright colours as opposed to dull colours which do not make the magazine look great. I used this element in my magazine. The contents page has use of medium lexis language which is something I was aware of so that the audience could understand the formality of the language and so it was suitable for the target audience. I learnt form the case studies that the language of the magazine does play a big part as it has to be relevant to the target audience for example, Q magazine has taboo language which is appropriate for its target audience of young adults and older. I think this time round I put more thought into these elements as I explained above.

Neyha's Blog

Monday, 14 January 2013

Feedback evaluation

Music magazine proposal feedback

Evaluation

Evaluation Q4

Slideshare Links Q 3&6

Question 5 and 7

Evaluation Q 1&2

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