Post production feedback

Q7. Looking back at the preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to a full product?

Question 7:

By doing the magazine front cover I have developed my skills more from when I started with the college magazine. As you can see from both magazines you can see a difference in the layout and the quality of the magazines. I have learnt the conventions of the magazine and how to present a page. Looking at this college magazine I have noticed that the magazine doesn’t seem to have a good colour scheme and the colours don’t go with the background images.

When I first started to do my college magazine I did use Photoshop but my skills were not developed and so I had to use the basic skills I have learnt about Photoshop. I first did a college magazine so I can see my strengths and weakness while using Photoshop so when it comes down to making the music magazine I would have developed my skills and can use Photoshop to my advantage. While I was making my college magazine I was not able to manipulate or do effects on Photoshop because I didn’t know how to. In the college magazine I have shown a front cover and contents page whereas in my music magazine I have shown a front cover contents page and double page spread. I have learnt how to do effects on images and learnt how to work with different canvases.

I have learnt how to attract my audience through the music magazine. I have learnt what my audience finds appealing to them and what age group I am targeting. I can see that in my college magazine I did not do well in appealing my audience. My main audience for the college magazine was meant to be young boys and girls whereas the way my college magazine was laid out and presented shows that my college magazine in the end only appealed to young females because it was too feminine. This showed my main idea of my college magazine audience was not thought out properly. I have learnt that the Canon E05400D can take images effectively with a really good quality and the images are clear and not pixelated.

The conventions I have learnt about music magazine are where to place every source of information. I have also learnt what layout on my magazine best suits my genre of music. I think if I had time I could have made my college magazine better but however I have shown through my effort on my music magazine on how much better I could have made it. I have learnt how to take a picture and what make my magazine look good and what colour scheme I have learnt. I have learnt that the colour scheme has to consistent. Overall I have to say that my music magazine has represented all the different cultures of music I was interested for my magazine. I have also shown through the different cultures of the models of what my magazine is about.

I have managed to meet before the deadline time. I have meet 4 days before the deadline which give me enough time to find out more ways into improving my work. I have found out more ways to improving my evaluation by getting feedback from the teacher. By finishing early I have reviewed my work and seen some more ways in which I can improve. I am independent; I have worked individually and have used my conscience and initiative to work on the evaluation in extreme detail. I have been a responsible student so I can see if there are any last minute touch ups before the deadline.

Q6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Question 6:

I have used photoshop and a camera to take the photos and construct the main images and to give my magazine the modern look. I have learnt a few things about photoshop while I was using it such as some new techniques while using a camera. I have learnt; how to take a picture on a Canon E0S 400D camera, what angle of proportion I need to take a photo,how much space I need at the top and how much background space I need on the sides. All my pictures are taken from a variety of loactions. I have taken them from the pictures in doors, some of them are from hallways and passages and the other images are from the studio's. In order to make my model in front of the cover look distracted I had to make her look away front the camera and have the light arms length away from her so it gives my image depth. I have used a Canon E0S 400D and a normal 8 megapixcel camera. I have used the digital camera for the contents page only. This was done so my image doesn't all look dark. I haven't experienced any problems with the camera's I have used.The make of my camera was Eastman Kadok Company and the model of my camera was Kadok  Easyshare  M863 Digital Camera. The shutter speed I used was 1/8 sec. the ISO speed ratings was 320. I have used this digital camera to take the contents page images.

Another thing I have learnt with technology is in Photoshop. My skills in Photoshop have improved and although I have used Photoshop before. I have used Photoshop through out the process of making my front cover, contents page and double page spread. I have used Photoshop CS5 the most. I have chosen to use this Photoshop the most because I find it was easier to than the other Photoshop. I have used the adjusted tool to change the brightness and contract of my magazine.

I have also used a rectangle box tool to create my boxes in my contents page and double page spread. 

Photoshop is a very important because it can save my work as a JPEG file and upload it into my blog. My blog can not upload other images if they are not saved as a JPEG. So for this reason I have saved all my work in JPEG and uploaded this to my blog from Photoshop. In the process of contracting my magazine I have also learnt how to install fonts from Da fonts into Photoshop. This was my first technique I have learnt about font uploading and how to do it.

As I was taking the pictures using the Canon E0S 400D I have used flash equipment which is a little flash box that has a red light that flashes. When I was taking the pictures of my models my camera had a soft box. The soft box is to give off light softly and not make it to strong at the model. By doing this the model is shown to be reflected with nice toned in the images and it gives a good depth of the light and dark areas. I have used a Bawens GM500m and Gemini to make my image come out clearer and to make my images look professional. The soft box is 60cm long. The espirt monitor’s my image and checks how my images will turn out. By doing this long process of taking pictures my images have come out very high quality and they look professional. The colours I have achieved are very suitable and clean for my magazine. I have then used Photoshop to briefly clean up my images.

While I was Blogging I had a few problems which I have sorted out now.
One of my problems with Blogging is that the images that I had to upload have to be compacted together into a JPEG. So I had to put at the images into Photoshop and then I had to save them as a JPEG. If this method was not done then the images are too big and when I co to choose he images they just won’t come up. Some of the images were saved in Microsoft paint and then uploaded.

The second little problem I had with Photoshop is that when I copied the evaluation from Microsoft word into blogger I had to change the fonts because the original font look too small so I had to take each section and then have it changed in to one size and one font. This is so my work looks consistent and professional. I have changed the font into Arial and the sizing is normal.

Q5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Question 5:

Considering all my audience research as my brief idea I feel I can attract my audience in many other ways. I have attracted my audience through the front cover which is the most important part of my magazine as it decides on whether my audience pick up my magazine or not. One way in which I know I have attracted my audience would be through my model. She is young and the age of my target audience. When they see my model they can relate to themselves cause she is there age. Also my model is very fair and attractive with a light amount of make-up. This will appeal to my audience even more. The model is shown to wearing a nice fitted top showing her figure this is associated with the idea that teenagers are stylish and fashion conscious. It also represents my genre of music. My magazine shows how my model has her individual style and this shows that my audience are independent and individual. I have chosen my model to wear a watch because it shows how my audience are always using a watch as an accessory. This watch accessory makes my model seem as a fashion icon and will give more impact to my magazine when it is displayed on the shelves in the shops. The watch will make my magazine feel more worthy than the others. My audience will relate to this because it shows how they should dress and/or are dressing. The headphones show that my model is young and that my magazine is a music magazine.

Another way I have attracted my audience is by the cover lines always relating to the genre of music. Additionally I used bold dramatic cover lines so my issues would appeal to the audience I am targeting. One on my cover lines states Little Stacey: 'I want to kill them' this would appeal to my target audience because straight away the audience will want to know what's happening," why does a little girl want to hurt the people". Also this cover line is displayed on the left third so when it is displayed on shelves the audience will read this and it will attract them more. This will create a tempting environment for my audience and will attract them in to reading it. I included new artists that is currently out. My cover lines are contemporary and new. I have included a chance for my readers to win an ipad2 and more, my viewers will love to have a chance to win games and this will appeal to them more.

My magazine is shown to be contemporary and has the 21^st century look which it I think is very good because it will adapt to modern life and it can relate to the recent musicians out there and to my genre of music. I have used a serif font which I have downloaded from dafonts.com called coalition to represent my style of music and genre of this magazine. My magazine is very individual and independent. My magazines will emphasis to my readers that we are all individuals.

Differently, I have used a regular font from photoshop in which relates to the front cover theme. This will attract my target audience because the font is different from all the other cover lines and the masthead. I have done this deliberetly so it stands out more and so it shows that that's the main cover line. This also makes my magazine noticable.

Another way I have gained my audience was through the colour scheme. My colour scheme is soft cool colours which go nicely with my main image. I have chosen these colour specifically so it relates to my genre of music. The colours are eyecatching and they mix well with each other. My colour scheme will appeal to both males and females for example my model might be female but my colour scheme is quiet masculine. This cleary shows that I have attracted both genders. My magazine language is full english and can be easily read across the world this will gain more readers. My magazine language does not restrict anyone from reading it. Also my audience will be in the stage of education so the english will make sense to do the magazine language in full english. 

In my contents page I have attracted my target audience by keeping it organised and neat though a strong solid border lines. This allows my readers to read the contents with a nice flow and easy to read. All my content detail is nice and clear and although my content stores a lot of information it is easy to read. The warm colour scheme helps my contents and relaxes my audience. I have shown the date so my views know when this is realised and how early they are. My content page images are shown to be very clear and they are enlarged in to the right proportion.

I have attracted my audience by the main features on the front cover. I have put most of my main features on the left third so my audience will notice it on the shelves. The features which I have shown are:

• The dilema’s on the left third

• The different types of models I have chosen through the ethnicity and religion

• The bold contrasting masthead

• The main cover line

• The website link on the left of the magazine

I have also added an exclusive section on my front cover establishing what my magazine particularly has to offer this mount from all the other magazines.

I have addressed my audience by talking to them like equals instead of imposing my views on them like other magazines do. I wanted my audience to feel free and make decisions for themselves rather them then just following my orders and opinions. I want to treat my audience like intelligent people because at their age they are always told what to do and how to act whereas with this magazine they can have freewill. My audiences are in the current stage of young developing mind so I want to hear there feedback and views on the celebrity life styles. My audience can make up their own opinions and minds because they are independent humans.

Q4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Question 4:

 My audience research is targeted at young 14-21 aged students. This is because Britain to day and our society has shown various ways of the genre of music. There are lots of different music cultures in different areas of Britain but however the most common culture shown across Britain would be hip-hop/rock. This genre is shown to be the most dominating and it is spread out worldwide.

I have decided to target a younger audience because my models through out the magazine are young and will appeal to the younger audience as they will be interested in the models dress sense. It will give them ideas on what genre of music they like and what genre of music or clothes they need or have. My magazine shows the latest bands and genre's out it discusses the current stage of celebrities out. My magazine will also appeal to some older audiences who love to gossip and need an idea on the new trends that come out. It would give my older audiences more information about when the next singers will perform and it represents there genre of music.

In the term of ethnicity the rock/hip-hop is generally associated with white people and mixed race people. However, I shall be targeting people of all races male and female because I will include a bit on each ethnicity. I will be doing this so I can gain more readers and so my readers can relate to their ethnicity. My magazine target audience have a good passion for this theme and they shall go beyond the idea of listening to their music. My audience will download the songs and will be on their mp3 players, iPods, and computers. My audiences will be focussing on live bands and so my audience will be entertained when they are on the go.

My audience would be from the same or similar culture to my magazine models. I have shown multiculturalism through the different coloured models I have used. I have also challenged religion to subvert in to the music culture. In our society today there is multiculturalism in any part of the UK. In Bradford the majority people one would find would be Bengali’s. In Birmingham the majority of people would be Pakistani people.  This therefore shows that I have chosen my media audience for my magazine to be all ethnicities so where ever my magazine gets distributes me will still gain readers which can relate and enjoy rhythm. My audience is form a wide variety because it is a magazine for everyone who loves music and it is a benefit because it does not exclude and faiths or cultures. 

Q3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Question 3:

As guidance to the planning and research stage of my coursework I have conducted to find which publishers will publish my magazine. Looking through these magazine publisher websites I think that Condé Nast would be the best publishers for me because they have never published a music magazine so for them to publish mine would give their readers a new attraction and may also attract more readers. If they publish my magazine they would gain more readers and more profit for them aswell as my magazine will gain younger viewers between the ages of 14- 21. Condé Nast has distributed Wired and Glamour magazine which contain technology & fashion styles. In my magazine I have shown the different fashionable clothing my celebrities are wearing and I have shown modern technology and what gadget is out now. I have included both of what this company shows through the magazines so if I was to be distributed my magazine it will be representing that one magazine.

Publishing and distributing my magazine is a perfect benefit for Condé Nast publications financially. The profits for them will increase straight away as I am attracted the younger audience of my magazine. This is a large company and my magazine is so sure that there wouldn't be any rivals with other magazines. If my magazine gets published by this company they will gain more popularity and will be seen more on the media, they would get sponsors and contracts with other companies. They will be attracting more of the music industry and people will see this publisher worldwide. It will become globalised.

I will distribute my magazine in WHSmiths and maybe with other magazine shops around. My magazine will mostly be sold in WHSmiths because it is a large distributer of magazine and most of my audiences will be from a young age group so WHSmiths is there regular stationary shop. It would be seen as sensible to distribute my magazine in a stationary shop.

The benefit that rhythm magazine will enhance to the distributor from a large company would be that because my magazine is multicultural it will attract all ranges of groups. My magazine can be distributed in the UK or be distributed nationally but it will gain more audiences because I have used models from all around the world and I have shown all the different type of music they might like in my magazine. The potential rhythm has is very wide because my main target audience was chosen specifically to be teenagers. If my magazine gets distributed it will be multi-national.

Condé Nast has a very good logistics network meaning that if they distribute my magazine it can be efficient and broad. They as distributors will find lots of different ways to publish and create a vibe around my magazine. They know lots of different outlets which will be happy to take on rhythm magazine. They can distribute it around the world because they have a branch in the main places and can get other outlets to distribute it from there.

Rhythm magazine will create a big benefit for Condé Nast as my magazine will attract a younger audience and there other magazine usually attracts middle aged audiences. I have noticed the Condé Nast usually publish and distribute lifestyle and technology magazines and not music magazines. If they publish my magazine they will get brand new readers and they will open up a whole new style. As teenagers are constantly reading in society if they choose rhythm then they will gain a new younger audience with their diversities. This will make them well known distributors and will give then more profit. New advertisers will be encouraged that have never been seen. This will create a new buzz around this company.