fredsk977

The Result

2010-03-08T13:48:00.000-08:00

Here is my finished magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread.

Evaluation Question 7

2010-03-07T02:31:00.000-08:00

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

From the preliminary task, I learnt that it is very important to use prominent straplines on a front cover, rather than lots of small ones. I had not orginally realised the importance of this and had not taken into account how large straplines tend to be on most magazines. I have also learnt that it is important to use a number of different cover features to make it more engaging to the reader. A magazine can't go on straplines alone, it has to have other aspects as well, such as puffs and main sells.

I have also learnt how to plan and organise my work. The reality of work in the media industry is heavily associated with tight deadlines which is why some kind of timeplan is necesary. It is very important to help establish the different stages of production and when they should be completed. This then tells us if we are behind or ahead of schedule. Since the preliminary task, I have learnt how to construct a time plan and have used it throughout the creation of my media product. It has taught me to be able to organise my time and manage the progression of my work so that I can meet the set deadlines.

This coursework has also taught me alot about photography. Since the preliminary task, I have come to realise how close up a cover shot has to be if it is of one person. I have learnt a lot about camera settings, the exposure and brightness levels for instance and now have a better understanding of how to take a suitable photograph which can instantly be associated with my intended genre. I have also had to put a lot of thought into location and making sure it is suitable for the shot. I have learnt that the circumstances of a photo can give off very different impressions:

Here you can see hip hop artists 50 cent and a violinist. You can instantly see that the picture of 50 cent has connotations of crime and gangsters as he is stood in a very intimidating pose and the picture is shot in low key lighting. The picture of the classical music artist has connotations of beuty and sophistication just because it is shot in good light and the inclusion of a violin makes us think of intelligence and innocence.

Also, I have learnt a lot about the conventions of magazines, the importance and significance of their intentions, what they mean and how to interpret them. I have also come to appreciate the meanings of certain ideas, messages and concepts and the different ideologies associated with them. I have learnt that a media product that only conforms to conventions is considered uninteresting and one that only challenges forms and conventions is considered to be too objectionable, which is why it is good to incorporate both to make it more appealing.

The preliminary task was helpful because it taught me how to use new things such as Blogging and Photography skills and how to use Photoshop and Quark Express. However, it wasn't until the main production stage after the preliminary task that I developed a full understanding of how to use all the tools on the softwares to their full capabilities.

I am now more aware of the importance of linking the content to the intended audience to whom it is applicable. For example the urban connotations of Hip Hop can be reinforced through graffitti style colour schemes or for instance a photo should be set against an urban background.

The biggest thing I have learnt from undertaking this project is how to manipulate photo and article creating software to the maximum extent of their capabilities. More importantly, within that, I have learnt how to produce magazine content which looks both professional and interesting. I can now identify techniques used and decisions made by the producers of existing magazines. This has made me more critical and evaluative of current media products and probably less susceptible to being taken in by their marketing strategies!

Evaluation Question 6

2010-03-07T02:30:00.000-08:00

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

The construction of my media product has not only taught me how to use professional software and new technologies, but has also helped me to learn the correct and professional terminology associated with these programs.

I have learnt how to use photoshop for advanced picture editing and Quark Express for creating professional magazine articles, double page spreads and contents pages. Also I have learnt to use video editing software in order to make videos for audience research and how to import videos and picture onto the timeline before trimming them and overlaying audio tracks. Futhermore I have had to familiarize myself with the uploading process undertaken when posting a video on Youtube. Also I have learnt how to make, update and maintain a blog, recording my progress in a readable and interesting fashion. I am now also capable of downloading new fonts from http://www.dafont.com/ as TTF files and then using them in Quark Express or photoshop rather than using the provided fonts on the software. Also I have learnt how to use DSLR cameras and how to use their settings to get the best shot possible, taking into account of light conditions and exposure.

More specifically, in Photoshop, I have learnt how to use the lasso tool to select an area of irregular shape and the use the opacity facility to change its brightness. I have also learnt how to fully manipulate the text tool and include TTF font files and import them from http://www.dafont.com/ to create Mastheads and Straplines. I have learnt how to use the eye dropper tool to select a particular colour and then in turn use the stamp tool to spread the chosen colour for decoration or the obscuration of blemishes on an image. Most importantly I can now use the crop tool and zoom tool to extract unecesary parts of the image and to work in greater detail on smaller parts of an image when zoomed in. I also found youtube was a good source for instructional videos which helped me learn how to apply certain affects if I had to do work at home. Here is an example of a helpful video.

As for Quark Express, I have learnt to effectively construct a magazine article and set the correct margin and column sizes, before preparing the page with text boxes and picture boxes. Furthermore, I can now use all the tools, including the item tool for selecting various boxes and the object and rotation tools for effectively rescaling images on an a spread.

The use of DSLR cameras and editing softwares has helped me to get a sufficent amount of high quality photos to be used in my contents page, double page spread and contents page. The use of Photoshop picture editing has allowed me to create a professional front cover and the use of Quark Express has helped me to create interesting and eye catching, professional magazine articles.

The new technologies and softwares that are so available to the public make it easier for ameteurs to create professional looking media products. For example, the recent King Kong film featuring Jack Black was edited on only final cut pro software, which is also the video editing software of choice in the Hollywood films studios and yet it is available to anybody for just a few hundred pounds!

Blogging has helped me to keep up with the production of my media product and has also been very helpful in making references to previous pieces of work. It has also helped me to record information about what I have done and what I have learnt.
It has also been an effective means of presentig my work and research in a readable and attractive way without it becoming boring. It also has the facility to import picture and videos to illustrate points, make make my work more interesting and most importantly "show" as well as just "telling."
In terms of websites, I have used Youtube to conduct research by uploading videos and asking for responses. I have also uploaded images to myspace to get responses about mood boards. With out these free content sharing sites, I would have struggled to collect as much relevant data as I did.

Evaluation Question 5

2010-03-07T02:29:00.002-08:00

How did you attract/address your audience?

I showed my media product to an audience of around 10 people, of both genders between 18-20 years old. Below is a video example of one of the people I asked about their opinions of my work and what their responses to it were.

I feel I was succesful in the production of my magazine as my audience responses indicated that my intentions of genre were clear and interpretable. I showed it to around 10 people of mixed genders from 18-20 years. It seemed they all took the preffered reading of my media product and could easily establish my intentions. My mode of address was not formal as such, but straight forward and clear in order to ensure I had no loaded questions which might have made my results subject to bias. I asked for both their likes and dislikes and whether they thought it was in keeping with the genre. They all felt that it was highly relevant to the genre and liked the fact that it was easy to read and well presented, but a reoccuring suggestion with the double page spread was that it was a bit formulaic and possibly had too much text. All of which are considerations I have taken into account for future productions.

Evaluation Question 4

2010-03-07T02:29:00.001-08:00

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The genre of my music magazine is Hip Hop and would obviously mean that my target audience is going to be Hip Hop fans. This however is extremely vague and does not accurately define the characteristics of a typical individual. When establishing the traits of a consumer of media products, we have to do market segmentation. This is the process by which an audience is divided into groups in realation to a number of different factors. The two main ways of splitting up these characteristics is through demographic and physcographic segmentation.

Demographic Segmentation is where an audience is split up by variables of classification. These enclude; age, gender, occupation, income, ethnicity, sexual orienation and relationship status. Some producers of media products will do a demographic profile which is effectively a stereotypical profile of the average consumer. For example the demographic profile for a reader of "Nuts Magazine" might be:

You wear far too much make up
Your hair is so tightly tied back it looks like you have had a face lift
You see Katie Price as an inspirational role model
You have the playboy logo stamped onto the side of your car

Physcographic Segmentation is the division of an audience in relation to their assumed circumstances. The main variables include; social class, lifestyle and personality.
Social class is categorized by what is known as the Jicnar scale and refers to a persons area of work or social status:

A - Upper middle class - Upper managerial or professional
B - Middle class - Intermediate mangerial
C1 - Lower middle class - Supervisor
C2 - Skilled lower class - Skilled manual labour
D - Working class - Unskilled manual labour
E - Subsistence - Casual workers

The audience of my media product:

As for the target audience of my media product, I carried out research that can be seen in the form of a video in an earlier blog entry. It asks a series of questions, requesting answers and responses in the comments section. I then analysed the collected data in order to develop a better understanding of the target audience. A large proportion of responses stated that their preferred genre of music is Hip Hop. This was my reason for choosing it as the genre of my music magazine. Here are the details of the demographic and physcographic profiles of my audience.

Age - between 13 to early 20's
Gender - Almost all male
Occupation - Mostly D on the Jinar scale, unskilled manual labour. Low paid part time work.
Stereotypical categories - Individualists, trends, under achievers
Lifestyle - Living with parents, money spent mostly on clothe and fashion items
Online activities - Social networking sites and content sharing sites

A consumer profile for an individual of my intended audience may look like;

You still live at home
You underachieve but are happy to do so
You wear baggy clothes of bright colours
You have dreadlocks
You want cannabis legalized because you claim it to be benifical to society
You like to "chill out"

Evaluation Question 3

2010-03-06T14:07:00.001-08:00

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

I think that the publisher of a magazine is probably something that the intended audience have very little interest in. For most, at the end of the day, content is what attracts them to the magazine so the publishers are often disregarded by the readers. However there are implications in terms of who publishes a magazine, that some people may notice. Large multi million pound publishers tend to publish mainstream music magazines and general gossip magazines. These are by far the most popular segments of the industry and account for a huge proportion of the demand. Comparitively, Hip Hop is a relatively niche market and therfore would more than likely require an independant publisher who will be more prepared to distribute on a smaller scale, but probably in the short term at a higher price per unit.

As for segmentation of markets, I think the largest deciding factor of distribution to an audience is dependant on geographical location. For instance, mainstream music magazines are probably the most popular type of music magazine as it has the largest audience. This means that it would probably be safest and most cost and time effective to distribute in an area of dense population such as big cities. However in rural Yorkshire for example, there is going to be less, if not no demand for a pop music because they are probably interested in other things such as farming magazines, (stereotypically speaking). Obviously gender and age are large deciding factors as well when segmenting a market, all of which have to be taken into account before releasing a distribution or promotion campaign.

This tells us that although the magazine is there for the people, the publishers do not necesarily have their best interests at heart and will focus their distribution in areas of highest demand, therefore leaving out annomalies in sparsely populated areas where there is little oppurtunity for revenue.

Dazed and small press publications are both independant publishers and are currently dominating the independant industry. Dazed however has recently been bought out by an American company and its operations look like they may become subject to change.

The advantages of an independant publisher is that they can produce magazines on a smaller scale, more cost effectively than a publisher of mainstream media products. However the cost per unit is likely to be higher that it would be for the mass production of a larger publication as they are only distributing to a niche market. However the increasing availability of new technolgies allows for these smaller markets to promote and advertise media product through media 2.0
Below is an example of the operations of an independant publisher. As you can see, their scale of production and output is quite small. They have to take more detailed specifications from the client as they are trying to meet the demands of very small markets.

The access to cheap or even free multi platform advertising and consumption has left a new oppurtunity for expansion through internet distribution. The use of social network sites has allowed producers and businesses to set up free web pages and the use of video and picture sharing sites such as Youtube, Vimeo, Photobucket etc means that it is now easier than ever for companies to conduct viral marketing and other such activities.

The advantages of a mainstream publisher is that they can produce their magazines on larger scales, often at a low cost per unit. Also, due to having established publishing operations, they are likely to have a good business reputation and therefore a have a lot more support.
The main disadvantage is they are no good to smaller magazines of niche markets as they would be unlikely to want to print on a small scale to such a niche market with potentially such a small profit margin.

My magazine would almost definitely have to be distributed through an independant publisher as they can distribute relatively efficiently on a small scale. Because my magazine only appeals to a niche market and publishing on a large scale would mean my magazine would not get enough sales to warrant mass production.

Evaluaton Question 2

2010-03-06T13:10:00.000-08:00

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The representation of different social groups tends to be dependant on the genre or connotations of a media product. In relation to Hip Hop, the connotations, are drugs, money, crime, style and urban environments. For the most part, these stereotypical associations are common place as dominant ideolgies of Hip Hop artists.

However, the most obvious defining line of representation in Hip Hop is gender. The afore mentioned connotations of the Hip Hop genre are only applied to males in magazines. Because the Hip Hop audience is mainly male, men featured in Hip Hop magazines are depicted as dangerous or as gangsters, but when women are represented, there are whole new implications. They are specifically intended to appear sexually attractive and available in order to appeal to the male audience. This representation of women as sex icons rather than people is an emergent ideology which is gradually being excepted into society. The older generations still complain about the exploitation of women because it would have been seen as extremely offensive when they were younger.

As for my media product, I have both challenged and conformed to the dominant ideologies of social group representation. For the most part, the intended audience is teenage to young adult males which is why the cover models and featured artists are of a similar age. Consequently, that is why 80 year old white women would never feature in a Hip Hop magazine, because they are not associated with Hip Hop and would therefore, be a residual ideaology.

My media product reproduces the dominant ideology of Hip Hop because it conforms to the connotations of the genre. My cover model and article feature is represented as a ganster either in an urban environment or with a fast car denoting wealth or power.

As mentioned previously however, I have used a white model to challenge the dominant ideologies of Hip Hop and therefore give my magazine a different prespective as it offers something new.

The way that values and messages are communicated and represented are obviously dependant on the genre. For instance, the crime related connotations of Hip Hop are also highly relevant to socio economic class. Many assumptions are made about people in the way they dress and where they live because of stereotypical prejudices. The depiction of Hip Hop artists and their associaton with weapons and crime makes people think they are dangerous when they arn't necessarily any different to the people themselves. When aranging the photoshoot for my media product, I specifically chose a white model, in order to add a new and innovative step toward a new era in Hip Hop. My model however seemingly misinterpreted Hip Hop artist as "chav" and yet the dress sense still gave off the same connotations which in itself is a highly relevant reflection on the importance ethnicity, because a black person dressed as a chav would have different connotations, such as poor and uneducated. Ironically, the word chav is a stereotypical emergent ideology retrospectively.

Groups absent from media products also tell us a lot about what is socially important and what is not. The demographic of the intended audience is usually the social group present in the media product. Thos who aren't are considered insignificant as they offer no relevance to a the audiences interests or hobbies.

Evaluation Question 1

2010-03-06T12:08:00.000-08:00

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In order to engage my audience, I have had to use forms and conventions that can be associated with the Hip Hop genre. The innitial response to a magazine front cover is always the most important and from a marketing point of view is what makes the sale. For this to be put into effect, the audience must be able to instantly recognize and establish the genre of a magazine.

Connotations of Hip Hop are largely orientated around cars, women, money, drugs and urban environments, which is why I have intentionally placed my cover model in front of a graffitied wall, found in a warehouse. Also, he is photographed in the double page spread stood next to a Jaguar car. As you can see from my front cover below, I have used forms and conventions to maintain a Hip Hop relevant style/genre.

The font is specifically a retro/graffitti font to stay in keeping with the genre, but is also deliberately a serif font, as sans serif fonts tend to have conotations of class and sophistication which may be associated with a classical music magazine for example.

Another way my media product uses forms and conventions is it adopts the mode of address relevant to the Hip Hop genre. Being largely dominated by black culture, with the connotations of Jamaican ethnicity and rastafarians, I have included some of the colloqiual language with the associated dialect at the bottom of the cover page where it says;

"keepin' it real since 1995"

Insert cover pic

Another way in which my media product conforms to forms and conventions is that it uses the highly common design features such as bleeding over text and puffs. The bleeding over of text is a common feature of most magazines, to add new dimensions to a front cover and make it appear more appealing. Also, nearly all magazines have puffs, to suggest that this magazine in particular has something else to offer that other magazines can't.

However, one way in which my magazine challenges forms and conventions is the fact that I have used a white model. As you can see below, all Hip Hop magazine covers are dominated by black or mixed race models, which is something that challenges the idealogies of the genre. I also feel that challenging the forms and conventions of typical Hip Hop magazines in terms of racial orientation may be well received my the target audience. I believe it may be interpreted, not just by existing customers but by potential customers, as a development in the scene, or someting new and for that reasonn may cause increased interest.

Production Log 6 - Contents Page

2010-03-03T02:19:00.001-08:00

Having prepared the layout to a stage where I could enter the text, I overlayed text boxes onto my picture boxes so that they would have an appealing background. I also feel it gives it new dimensions that make it more appealing to the reader.

Looking back at it now, I feel that maybe there was a lot more text on it than the contents pages of most magazines, but this could also in some respects be challenging common forms and conventions.

Also, I had not realised how many different text and picture boxes are required to create a professional looking page. Even the smallest details such as page numbers can look out of place if they are not the right colour or if they are inproportionate to the rest of the text.

I have also learnt from this that the more clearly it is presented, the more easily it is understood and interpreted. If it is too graphically implimented then it can distract the audience from the purpose of the media product.

Here is the completed version:

Production Log 5 - Contents Page

2010-03-03T02:18:00.004-08:00

For my contents page, I have decided to use Quark Express to make it, as my research of other magazine content pages, suggested that the majority of existing magazines, work on a 3 column layout. Also, Photoshop does not have an equivalent margin setting facility and is not designed for efficient application of text.

I started by setting out the picture and text boxes and aligning them in relatiion to the columns.

Then I set a colour scheme and graphic design in the picture boxes and began to prepare the layout to accomodate text for my arrticle.

Production Log 4 - Double Page Spread

2010-03-03T02:18:00.003-08:00

At this stage, I have now fully completed the double page spread and have learnt to efficiently use Quark Express in order to produce a professional magazine article. During the production, I made a number of changes to the layout and learnt about the importance of position, colour coordination and and text styles.

Innitially, I had not anticpated the amount of changes I would need to make during the actual production of the spread. However, I stuck to my design sketches which were derrived from my audience research and created an article with the correct mode of address, which looks professional. Here is a screen shot of the finished piece.

Production Log 3 - Double Page Spread

2010-03-03T02:18:00.001-08:00

Having finished my front cover, I am currently halfway through the completion of my double page spread. I decided to use Quark Express for making my article, because it would be too difficult to do through Photoshop which does not facilitate a reasonable tool for column division and text manipulation. Both of which are essential when creating an article style media product.

Originally, my understanding of Quark Express was very brief, but since, I have developed a wider appreciation of the functions it has to offer. I can now conduct effective layout design with the picture box and text box tools and have experimented with a variey of layout styles, developed from my own ideas and those of existing magazines. I have also experimented with a number of colour schemes and learnt how to import TTF font files from http://www.dafont.com/

I had decided to go with the 3 column per page article, as my research indicated it is popular and traditional in most magazines. The four column pages tended to be used in more intellectually orientated subjects, something my research suggested was an uncommon trait of Hip Hop fans, most of them being unemployed. It also means with less text, a readers attention can be held for longer.

Here is the start of my double page spread design. I have begun to add in the columns and text boxes for a masthead and straplines.

This is the first half of the completed version with the inclusion of text and pictures.

I have incorporated reversed out boxes and qoutation boxes to add different dimensions to the spread and making it more visually attractive and eye catching, but also in an attempt to conform to the more common layouts found in other magazines.

Production Log 2 - Front Cover

2010-02-25T01:24:00.000-08:00

At this stage in the production of my cover, I had to make several alterations that I had not originally planned. Despite them only being minor changes, experimenting with different aspects of my cover helped considerably in creating a more professional design. One change I made was I swapped my original choice of font for a less stylised one, so that the straplines would be more simplistic and in-keeping with traditional magazine covers.

Also, I had originally not appreciated how prominent the main sell has to be in order to stand out from its surrounding straplines.

To give an extra dimension to my magazine and make it appear more aesthetically pleasing, I used the bleeding over technique so that some bits of text overlapped my model.

I also used a shadowing technique in order to efficiently use an alternating colour scheme of straplines.

Production Log 1 - Front Cover

2010-01-28T01:21:00.000-08:00

Having taken the photographs for my magazine, I have been able to start my front cover on Photoshop.

In reference to my research, I have decided to put straplines and coverlines on boths sides of the featured model as it is a common feature of most magazines.

Also my research indicated that I should be careful when adopting this technique, not to have too much text as it may be too much to take in.

Those questioned suggested that less text, usually on one side of the model would be more engaging for the reader.

Another consideration I had to make was the text style and postion. During my research, I had not appreciated how simplistic the straplines were for most magazines.

When creating my front cover, I used a slightly stylised main sell, but kept the rest of the straplines in a basic font.

I also had to consider an appropriate location for my cover shot. I tried to incorporate the urban connotations of Hip Hop into my photographs and shoot in an environment that was relevant to my chosen genre. I decided to take several shots in a derelict and an abandoned warehouse.

Time Plan For Production

2010-01-07T07:05:00.000-08:00

Our production section of the coursework is due in for the 12th of February giving us one month. Setting deadlines are an important aspect in relation to the importance of exclusivity in the nature of the media industry. This time plan allows me to refer to my progress through out the coursework and will help me to meet the deadline. From today, I have 32 days to have finished my magazine production.

Thursday 14th January

Deadline for the research and planning.
Due to 4 days of snow, resulting in college closure, the deadline has been moved from Friday 8th January to Thursday 14th January.
By then, I should have completed all aspects of the research stage and have covered all 10 objectives on the criteria sheet. My blog should be fully updated and my magazine sketches should be scanned into a blog entry.

Monday 18th January

By mondays lesson, I should have decided what and who to photograph for my front cover and complete a decent sketch of the intended design for my magazine cover.

Wednesday 21st January

I should have taken my photos for the cover, contents and double page spread, having collected all the necessary props and considered an appropriate location for the shots.

Friday 23rd January

By now, I should have prepared some rough drafts and have decided what topics to cover in my magazine, for the double page spread.

Tuesday 28th January

I should have now edited my front cover for my magazine on photoshop, referring my design features to my research.

Thursday 30th January

I should now have edited my contents page on Quark Express.

Monday 3rd February

CI should have completed the neat version of my double page spread.

Monday 10th February

I should have edited my double page spread

Wednesday 12th

I should have finalized all pieces and made any last adjustments.

Innitial Planning And More Audience Research

2010-01-07T05:23:00.000-08:00

For Objectives 8 and 9, I had to do some planning for the production stage of my magazine. I did some rough sketches of my intended front cover layout and had a few ideas for a masthead design.

Then, I showed my sketches to friends and family, asking for feedback. In total I showed 22 people. Their responses will help me to design and create the most appropriate and professional magazine possible.

Innitial Planning

Having decided to call my Hip Hop magazine "The Beats", I drew several designs for a possible masthead. Refferring to my research, I have noticed that most magazines are recognized mpre significantly for the masthead/logo design on the front cover. This suggests the importance of having a recognizable and unique masthead title and logo design.

This is the first of my two design sketches for what my magazine front cover could look like. I have specifically used a sans serif font as my existing magazine research indicated that it is the most common style for a amast head. I have also allowed the coverlines and straplines to overlap the models image as it adds new dimensions to the cover, making it more attractive. Also my reseacrh showed that most models are picture to the left of the cover with the text on the right, which is something I have tried to include hear.

This is the second of my two designs for what my magazine front cover could look like. Again, I have used a sans serif font as my research showed that very few magazines use serif fonts. Like my other design I have used overlapping coverlines and straplines as it is an interesting and appealing feature. It is also very common in magazines as it would be very difficult to get a decent sze picture for the front cover and still fit in all the necessary text. In this sketch I included text on either side of the pictured model, to make it appear more interesting and original.

Audience Research

I showed my sketches to a total of 22 people asking for their feedback.

For the masthead design, my responses suggested that the masthead design should be kept simple, but take up a fair amount of space. Severakl people suggested that if the title was too small and not spread out, then it will not only be unnoticable but, will run the risk of looking like a company logo as opposed to a masthead. Also, a frequent suggestion was that there should be more use of visual aids such as graphics, particularly those that relate to Hip Hop.

For my first cover design, my audience said that the layout was suitable and engaging to the reader, but was also too simplistic and needed some more design features to make it more appealinng. They said that the text on the left would make it look professional, but that it would also be in keeping with numerous existing magazines, which would make my magazine less recognizable.

For my second cover design, It was suggested that the text positioning made it look too symetrical and formulaic. Another concern was that that having text on either side of the model would make it too wordy to be interesting and risk diverting the attention from the cover model. This meant that the picture would be irrelevant to the magazine. Also there would be the danger of failure to define important text like the main sell from the rest of the magazine.

Audience Research

2010-01-01T05:26:00.000-08:00

As part of my audience research, I showed my mood board to as many people as possible, in order to get some feedback.
I also uploaded it to Myspace, asking for responses on the subject.

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=399446974&albumID=963798&imageID=28683986

I showed it to around 15 people in person and got 18 email responses regarding the mood board on myspace.

The responses indicated that my mood board was a good interpretation of the market and audience, but there were several reoccuring suggestions that I need to take into account.

Many people mentioned that they thought the colour scheme was a bit to dark and needed a few more colours to appear more attractive appealing.

Also, many people said that it was too heavily focused on the artists themselves and suggested that there should also be something that related more specifically to the reader such as affordable products etc.

The research also indicated that the content should be slightly more dominated by female models for sexual appeal to the male readers. This technique for attracting a male audience is present in nearly every modern topic publication today and has proved effective for a number of years.

These suggestions will help me to create a magazine that not only meets, but exceeds the expectations of the audience.

Audience Profile

2009-12-31T10:00:00.000-08:00

Understanding a target market is essential when producing and distributing a product. It gives a benficial insight into the nature of the intended audience, alowing the producer to keep up with and predict changes in the market.

My Audience:

My audience will be made up mostly by males and a small proportion of females.

The magazine is intended for people of 12-25 years and has a focus on mixed race youth and young adults.

The audience will usually be of the same ethnicity as the artists, such as Black American and

Afro-Carribean with a smaller amount of white followers.

Stereotypically speaking, they wear very baggy jeans or grey jogging trousers, XXL white T-shirt's and a big baseball cap.

They wear huge amounts of jewellery, such as silver chain necklaces, golden rings and large sparkly studs.

In terms of geographics, my audience is likely to be based in city areas, largely influenced by urban cultures.

They are usually fairly artistic, but not often in the conventional sense, by portraying their creativity through street art or graffiti.

They are not considered to be well paid. A large proportion are manual labourers or unskilled workers on minimum wage and a considerable amount are unemmployed.
Studies from existing Hip Hop producers show that almost 40% of those who follow, or are involved in Hip Hop are from broken families.

They pride themselves on individualism and protest against conformists of mainstream chart toppers.

They mostly spend their money on clothes and often have large drug influences as well.

Many are percieved as thieves, dangerous, or threats to society and many are blamed for drug, gun and knife crime.

They mostly watch gang and crime related films and aspire to be like big time artists such as 50 Cent and Eminem.

Mood Board

2009-12-31T09:32:00.000-08:00

Below, I have used a series of pictures that can be associated with the Hip Hop genre to create a mood board. After collecting numerous images from Google, I edited them together in photoshop.

My mood board will help me to develop a better understanding of the style and culture, but from a different, more generalised prespective.

I can now use this to get feedback from my audience.

Summary Of Research Into Existing Magazines

2009-12-30T06:24:00.001-08:00

What I have learnt from existing magazines:

Since the start of my magzine research, I have learnt many aspects of media production that are used for designing and creating a magazine. I have studied the use and intentions of different magazine features, as well as their affects on the reader and more broadly an audience as a whole. I am now aware that the choice of colour, text and layout have specific influences on the reader and all contribute towards a user friendly and effective magazine.

My research indicates that the genre of a magazine will also be subject to different audiences and demographics. This has to be taken into account during the production stage of the course. In order to appeal a particular market, the use of language, colour schemes and pictures must be suited according to a stereotypical judgement of the average reader. To fully appreciate this concept, I had to study, analyse and evaluate the conotations of the content of various magazines. The use of graphics, pictures and colour schemes helped me to link similarities between design features and the target audience.

Overall, my research has given me valuable knowledge about the techniques used in magazine production. It will allow me to make an accurate and realistic interpretation of my audience for my chosen genre. Using what I have learnt, I will be able to produce a Hip Hop magazines that meets the needs and requirements of its target market.

Institution/Publisher Research

2009-12-30T05:35:00.000-08:00

What does a magazine publisher do?

Publishing is the process of which media products are produced into a format containing content available for audience consumption. This means that any work that has been made, becomes readily available to the public, where it can be seen by anyone. This also refers to books, posters, videos, artwork, CD's and films as well as magazines.

A magazine publisher takes the original piece and produces a large quantity of copies for distribution. The authors of the content are likely to be reliant on publishers as the innitial producers of the original copy, as they are unlikely to have the capital or workforce to publish their own work. The publisher will produce the magazine and take a commision for the production, either from each copy sold, or a specified amount in advannce.

How is the publishing industry organised?

The publishing industry runs under the princple of "concentration of media ownership".
This term refers to the extent at which media ownership is concentrated. It deals with the relationship and proportions between those who own or control a product of the media and those who are exposed to, or affected by it. This reationship is also used, researched and annalysed regularly in order to stay ahead of the market and conduct the most efficient distribution methods possible.

How will this affect my magazine?

My magazine targets city areas so it is important for me to distribute it through high street retailers such as WHSmiths or Waterstones which can be found in large towns and cities. Also, newsagents sell a huge amount of magazines and would make up a large proportion of sales. However before publishing, it is important to take into account the demand for the magazine. If not enough copies are sold, then the time taken for the publishing process would have been wasted, as well as the production cost.
If not enough are produced where there is demand, then potential profits will have been wasted, which is why doing the right market research and estimating the right number of copies is very important.

Detailed Research Into Forms And Conventions

2009-12-28T11:10:00.000-08:00

My research into genre and forms and conventions.

My magazine genre will be Hip Hop as there is a gap in the market for a Hip Hop magazine that focuses purely on the culture and origins of the industry rather than general gossip and rumours about the artists. To obtain enough suitable information for my own magazine, I have conducted extensive research into existing magazines. I have analysed their front covers and evaluated the effects of various techniques in order to appeal to a mass market. Furthermore I have carefully analysed the use of colours, graphics and images and studied the layout and design of magazine articles, covers and contents pages. I have developed a confident understanding of the target market and intended audience for such genres and have established the most effective procedures for devloping my magazine.

I have analysed the stereotypical views, personality traits and fashion preferences to those representative of the artists market market#

I have taken into acount the layout of the articles and taken into account any reocurring features such as prominent headlines, the use of specific fonts and colours and the 3 column layout which appears to be the most popular type of text layout. I will probably use a similar design in the production stage of my magazines double page spread.

Why I did this research

I did this research to establish what the market already had to offer, how I could compete with it and how I could challenge it. It gave a good understanding of my target audience and how to go about producing a magazine that would appeal more importantly to an individual as opposed to a group as a whole. What I have learnt will affect my magazine in regards to the layout and content. The magazine will have to appeal to the target audience and therefore, to some extent, must conform to the concepts associated with the Hip Hop genre.

Targeting an audience is probably the most important aspect as it will affect the damand for a product, in this case the magazine. It is equally important to spot a gap in the market and be prepared for, or even predict a change in the market as demand can vary dependant on fashions and trends.

Here is an example of change in an audience or target market.

http://www.vibe.com/mt/2009/12/timbaland-says-hes-done-with-hip-hop-his-fans-watch-desperate-housewives/

Also, to help me decide what genre to choose, I made a video, containing questions relating to my research. I then uploaded the video to Youtube, asking people to post their responses underneath in a comment. It was this which then helped me decide to which genre to do, as a large proportion of the responses indicated that Hip Hop was most popular. It also helped me to indentify other forms of their demographics, such as status, age and jobs.

Most responses were from teenagers, with low paid part time work who claimed to be individualists. This helped me establish my target audience and how to approach the production of my magazine.

To watch it on Youtube follow this link, then scroll down to see the responses in the forms of comments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=cSJN4Ix6tyk

Existing Magazine 3

2009-12-28T09:11:00.000-08:00

Genre: Hip Hop
Audience: Hip Hop fans, teenagers to young adults. Particular interest from mixed race cultures. Mainly male but a small proportion of females.
Title: The Source

Connotes a sense of originality and individuality that makes it appealing to the audience.

The source is the second biggest Hip Hop magzine after "Hip Hop Connection Magazine"

Style: A fairly busy layout, with large golden text giving connotations of value, money and riches. There is not a great deal of text, but it is in a large sans serif font used to take up most of the cover. The featured cover model is show in the midle with text to both sides. The mast head is in keeping with the general colour scheme and is overlapped by the models head. Beneath each golden coloured strapline is a small amount of pale grey text which fits in with the plain background behind the model.

Content: The content ranges from interviews and performance dates to adverts for consumer products such as watches and albums.

Adverts are mainly about new albums and other consumer products like perfumes/deodorants but also enclude ads for Xbox games and DVD box sets.

Mode of Address: Suprisingly, The Source magazine has not adopted the informal approach to its articles that other Hip Hop magazines have used. Slang is rarely used and the written content is well structured. It isn't particularly formal either but addresses the reader in polite and casual manor. This may be due to the magazines commitment to Hip Hop, as it has a clearer focus on the industry itself, rather than celebrity gossip as is the case with most magazines.

Photographs: Similar to the other magazines, the pictures are stereotyped around gangstars and urban settings.

Contents page:

The contents page like the cover (left), abides to a colour scheme. This time it is mainly pink and black with several images to the right hand side. A sans serif font is used, and the straplines alternate between the two regularly used colours. It is set against a white background for emphasis on its sylish and captivating design features. The banner like Main headings are highlighted in black and are inset on the left side.

Double page spread:

Again, like the previous magazine the page is based on a 3 column structure with a main image at the top. In the top right there is an advert for a new issue of a Hip Hop magazine. The article is an interview with artis "Marvado". The yellow text represents the interviewers questions and the white text

represents the responses. The heading for the interview is the same as the name of the interviewee and is written in a white, bold serif font, which is unusual in relation to the rest of my research as the other magazines have always used sans serif fonts throughout the duration of the magazine.

Publisher: Jeremy Miller Publications

New York, US

Existing magazine 2

2009-12-28T05:27:00.000-08:00

Genre: Hip Hop
Audience: Fans of Hip Hop, usually teenagers and young adults, interest particularly from mixed raced cultures, mainly males but a small proportion of females.
Title: Stash
Gains interest by the illigitimate perceptions of the term, has conotations of excitement, danger and exclusivity
Style: Fairly simplistic style with very little text. Large sans serif font with a direct message. Not much detail. Mainly designed to be eye catching with its large masthead and matching straplines.
Content: Album reviews and Hip related articles and interviews. The content is heavily dominated by adverts, usually for new albums, but also for gangster films/dvds and box sets. Also advertises competitions for the best artists and gives the readers the oppurtunity to vote on it.
Mode of address: Language is derived from urban areas of youth slang with new words such as; "the dopest rappers of 2009" or "Big thangs with Big Rich".
Photographs: Again, in this magazine the pictures are mainly stereotyped around a gangster style dress sense with baggy clothes and jewelery. Often they are pictured against urban architecture, sometimes with graffitti.

Contents Page:

Use of a female Hip/Hop artist/model for sexual appeal to men. The main heading "contents" is in large sans serif font and on more than 3 different lines so as to give a new and unique dimension to the design. The theme is is relatively light for the most part, in order to make the black text more visible. The light areas fade out to shadows at the top of the page to make the white title more visible. Again, the text is aligned on the right side with the model on the left.

Double Page Spread:

Articles are usually about reviews for albums or interviews with artists. Some discuss an artists personal experiences in the industry as does this one pictured to the left. The design is simple with three columns of text beneath a picture of the featured person in the article. The article has a main title in bold black font, with a smaller strapline beneath it to summarise the subject of the article.

Publisher: Feed - Stash Media Inc
Vancouver, Canada

Detailed analysis of magazines - magazine 1

2009-12-28T03:39:00.000-08:00

I have chosen Hip Hop as my magazine genre as there are not as many Hip Hop magazines as there are in different genres. Also, with its ever growing popularity, mainly in urban environments, there is a need to address a gap in the market. Very few Hip Hop magazines today are purely focused on the genre itself and have slowly begun to develop more of an interest in the artists personal lives rather than their music or talent. Also, not being a follower of the Hip Hop culture, I am more likely to provide a more crytical and detailed analysis of the industry, in order to create a unique magazine with a clear focus on pure Hip Hop. Below are some existing magazines which I have researched and analysed.
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Genre: Hip Hop

Audience: Fans of Hip Hop, usually teenagers and young adults, interest particularly from mixed race cultures, mainly males but a small proportion of females.

Title: Hip Hop Connection

The title has an appealing relevance with regard to the potential to expand and become succesful in the industry.

Hip Hop Connection is the largest Hip Hop Magazine in the world.

Style: Fairly standard magazine style, with a large sans serif masthead and prominent straplines. All headings are part of a white colour theme, with details in a smaller yellow font. Adverts and offers of freebies used to grab the attention of the audience.

Content: Interviews with big names in Hip Hop. Album reviews and adverts for consumer products and independant Hip Hop related film releases and theatre productions/dance groups. 0000000000000000000000000000000000000

Mode of address: Language is informal and addresses the reader on a caual level. Regular use of slang, often associated with the dialect of the Hip Hop culture.

Photgraphs: Pictures are largely themed on gangsters and conform to similar dress sense. The backgrounds are often simple or plain so as to emphasize the focus on the individual. Here are some examples taken from the magazine:

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Obvious colour scheme of bright orange and red. Text is assembled on the right side of the page leaving the background picture to be clearly featured to the left. Small font with white text and straplines are in bold.

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Page spread: Mainly about new albums or interviews with popular artists. Again the text is in small white font to one side of the featured person in the picture. Possibly a technique to ensure it is in keeping with the rest of the magazine, (as shown in the contents page for Hip Hop Connection).

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Publisher: Ministry of Sound

London, UK

Innitial Research Into Forms And Conventions

2009-12-26T07:20:00.000-08:00

What I've been doing and why:
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In order to create my magazine, I have been looking at and researching various genres of existing publications.
I have looked at a Hip Hop magazine, a Classical Magazine, a mainstream Pop/Charts Magazine and a Metal Magazine.
I have done a detailed analysis of the four different genres and studied their content, connotations, design, layout, use of colours and graphics, and most importantly their audience.
This will help me to establish which genre of music I will orientate my magazine around, allowing me to make a realistic and professional version of my own.
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What I've found out:
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I have found out that there are huge differences between the various magazine genres. In regards to content, the connotations vary according to the genre, giving off very diferent meanings. The the use of colour and design appears to be dependant on the type of music and changes according to the targeted audience. Here are some examples of each:

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Classical
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Classical magazines tend to have content with a very direct message. The adverts, often about new albums, classical instruments or performances are usually simple with some colour, but against a plain, dark or greysacle background. The intricate fonts used, connote a sense of intelligence or sophistication, both of which are traits that can be associated with classical music. For instance, this advert used in Classical Music Magazine for a 562 page book and a 150 minute CD, uses a mainly purple font with a small picture, set against a white background.

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Pop/Charts

Pop Magazines are usually aimed at younger audiences, with simplistic content, orientated around bright colours. These have connotations of youth and innocence. The adverts are often about new albums, positions in the charts and celebrity gossip. Below is an advert from Vibe Magazine which advertises a theatrical production about Hannah Montanna, a large role model to young females.

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Hip Hop

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Hip Hop magazines are usually relatively "one track". The content tends to be heavily orientated around, crime, power and gangsters and very little else. The adverts are mostly about consumer products such as wrist watches, cars and cigars. Below is an advert from XXL Magazine for Hip Hop artists; Dope Boys.

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Metal

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The general colour scheme for metal magazines tends to be mainly based on dark colors with connotations of death and evil. The audience is considered to be individualistic and appreciate bands from independant labels, rather than the bands they consider to be "mainstream sell outs". The use of gruesome, supernatural or fire related images are also regularly used in adverts and as the background for different articles. Below is an advert from Metal Edge Magazine for a large concert.

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What I need to do next:

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Next, I have to decide what type of music my magazine will be about and carry out a detailed analysis of several magazines of my chosen genre. Once my research into the content of my chosen magazine is done, I will be able to move onto the more practical aspect of the production objectives.

Existing magazine research

2009-12-09T02:49:00.001-08:00

Below are 4 magazines of different genres which I have chosen to analyse. After evaluating the content, audience and connotations of each, I will make a decision as to what genre my magazine will be, based on my research.

Title: XXL Magazine
Genre: Hip Hop and Soul
Audience: Hip Hop fans, male and female, generally aimed at teenagers and young adults. A multiracial audience but most dominantly mixed raced, male youth.
Main contents: Hip Hop and rap related interviews/articles. Reviews of new albums from big names in the industry such as Snoop Dogg and 50 cent. A huge amount of advertisements and promotion campaigns. For the most part of the magazine there is a full page ad for every other page. Products advertised include shoes, whisky, expensive watches and cigars. These have connotations of wealth and power, but in an upmarket manner, set against an urbanised backdrop
Brand identity: A fashionable and trendy publication, supposedly for individualists who object to mainstream artists and seek originality, despite their vulnerability to manipulation through media products, in terms of fashion and ideological values and concepts.
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Content examples found in XXL Magazine:

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Notes: Use of models for sexual appeal in order to attract the largely male dominated audience. Regular use of adverts with connotations of wealth, power and authority are a common occurrence through out the magazine.

Title: Metal Edge Magazine
Genre: Metal
Audience: Particularly aimed at males, between their teens and late twenties. Often considered to be rebels or anarchists who pride themselves on their individuality. Stereotypical connotations may include; long hare, beard, weight issues, black baggy clothes, uninformed and politically unaware.
Main contents: Details on album releases and band tour dates. Adverts for guitars, band competitions and gigs, which are usually decorated with fire and death related graphics. These have connotations of rebellion and anarchy. There are also interviews with large bands such as Metallica, Iron Maiden, Killswitch Engage, Enter Shikari and Lamb Of God.
Brand Identity: A downmarket publication, for uneducated, intellectually idle young adults. They strive for individuality and are recognised by their unruly and unkempt appearance. They often play guitar or drums, sometimes as part of a band.

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Content examples found in Metal Edge Magazine:

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Notes: Dark themes and images, often with connotations of evil, death and anarchy. Use of low key lighting and application of graphics for extra effect.

Title: Magazine

Genre: Pop/Charts Music
Audience: Fans of mainstream pop music, generally young teenagers of both genders, but more dominantly females. Particularly intended for the youth who may be too young to have developed a personal opinion or taste in music and therefore are more susceptible to following a crowd.
Main Contents: Details on live performances and new albums. Interviews with mainstream artists and regular chart toppers. General gossip and speculation. Reports and stories about big names and famous artists. Adverts for health care products, hugely orientated around bright colour themes, with connotations of youth and innocence.
Brand Identity: A downmarket publication for young people. Specifically intended for those who are happy to follow a everyone else and listen to music because it is popular. Their taste in music may also be heavily influenced by the singer's celebrity status and personal life, rather than their actual ability to sing.

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Content examples found in Vibe Magazine:

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Notes: Colourful themes with large serif fonts. Connotations of youth, simplicity, innocence and naivety. Bright colours and graphics, intended to appeal to the largely female proportion of the audience.

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Title: Classical Music Magazine

Genre: Classical

Audience: Aimed at mature adults and elderly people of both genders. Specifically for well informed intellects who have a genuine interest and educated opinion in classical music.

Main Contents: Adverts for choirs, organs and expensive watches. These have connotations of wealth, importance and professionalism. Listings of events and performances. News updates on awards and achievements of various composers and conductors. Details of new classical albums and interviews with classical musicians and producers.

Brand Identity: A sophisticated upmarket publication, mainly for over 40's with no particular gender orientation. Intended for consumers of high intelligence and an interest in some aspect of classical music, often as a recreational past time or in association with some form of experience in the industry.

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Content examples found in Classical Music Magazine:

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Notes: A wide use of colours set against a blank, dark, or greyscale themed background. Has connotations of sophistication and intelligence, with references to an artistic nature associated with the genre of music. All content and adverts are serious with a direct message, possibly a reflection that can be identified with its elderly target audience.

Main Task: Magazine

2009-12-08T07:25:00.000-08:00

Our task is to create a music magazine, with a front cover, contents page and double page spread. This will be achieved through the research of existing magazines, different music genres and the analysis of their connotations. Our media products will be developed through Adobe Photoshop and Quark Express.

In regards to time scale for production, our research and planning is due to be finished by Friday 8th of December, the production by Friday 12th of January and our evaluation by Friday the 5th of March. Our work will be recorded and updated through our blogs.

The relevance of such deadlines, is for the preparation of the harsh reality of time restrictions associated with the demand for exclusivity, in the ever competitive nature of the media industry.

As for the the research and planning aspect, I have included a time plan below, taking into account the remaining 30 days left for completion.

There are 10 main points in our checklist for the research and planning, including the time plan. With the 30 days left, I aim to complete 2 objectives on the checklist every 6 days. That gives me a college week, (or 4 lessons), to complete 2 objectives and carry out my research. That leaves an extra day for ensuring the blog posts are updated and relevant to the previous weeks research. Here is my time plan:

To be completed by oooChecklist Objectives

Monday 14th December oooTime plan and initial analysis of a range of music magazines
Sunday 20th December ooo Analysis of magazines from chosen genre and publisher research
Saturday 26th December ooExisting magazines research summary and initial ideas mood board
Friday 2nd January oooooo Audience profile specifications/demographics and audience research
Friday 8th JanuaryoooooooInitial planning and more audience research

Evaluation - Question 4

2009-10-15T03:36:00.000-07:00

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

Since starting this topic we have learnt about the production process and how to use photoshop, Quark Express and blogs.
We have learnt about the productuion process, how it works and the attention to detail required when constructing an effective media product. I have learnt about the relevance of conotations within media work and how sigificant they are in creating a professional magazine cover, with maximum appeal to the target market.
As for photoshop, we have learnt how to effectively and efficiently use the lasso tools, stamp tools, text tools, eyedropper tools, marquee tools, cropping tools and the hand and zoom tools, as well as being able to carry out all their intended functions to the full extent of their capabilities. We now know how to use photoshop to air brush blemishes, exaggerate muscle tone and add text where required. We have also overcome our inability to understand the concept of using layers on our work and are now comfortable with using the software!
In regards to Quark Express, we can now create a professional looking contents page by confidently using the Item tool, Rotation tool, Object tool, Text tool, and Picture tool as well as the more complicated aspects of moving pictures and text.
Furthermore; as a result of our coursework, we have learnt how to use blogs and record, update and edit information about the development of our skills and our progression during our lessons.

Evaluation - Question 3

2009-10-15T02:44:00.000-07:00

How did you attract/address your audience?

In order to attract our audience we used a number of different features on our front cover that would stand out and grab their attention. We used a large sans serif font at the top of the page which clearly states the magazine title so the audience can instantly establish what the magazine is. We used straplines in a bright red, fairly large sans serif font so potential customers can get a brief idea of what to expect from the magazine and what topics are likely to be covered inside it. More importantly and possibly one of the largest motivating factors for purchasing magazines, we advertised freebies and a competition on our magazine. The freebie makes people feel like they will benefit from buying the magazine if they get something for free with it. Also a competition gives the reader the oppurtunity to win something and their curiosity will encourage them to take a look.
In order to address our audience, we tried to make our magazine more appealing to the potential market by covering topics that they could relate to. If an article is going to hold some form of relevance to a person, they are more likely to have an interest in it. We used this approach throughout our magazine cover in order to obtain maximum interest.

Evaluation - Question 2

2009-10-15T02:13:00.000-07:00

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our magazine product is aimed at teenagers who are currently in education and are considered to be students. One way magazine producers can establish their target market is to write a "you are" scenario which is a stereotyipcal and generalised list of criteria for their potential customers. Ours would look like this:
You post famous qoutes on social networking sites to express your individuality
You consider drinking to be one of your hobbies dispite rarely being able to afford it
You go to "wild" student clubs which are full of hyperactive 13 year olds fuelled by sugar
You feel the music you listen to relates specifically to you, even though everyone else listens to it
You act relaxed to appear mature
You adopt new words to make you sound harder
You genuinely believe that you can get a high from smoking bannana skins
You think that the lower your jeans and the bigger your belt buckle is, the cooler you are
You say things are "gay" if you don't like them
You think you are a pioneer of new trends, when really you follow the crowd like a sheep

Evaluation - Question 1

2009-10-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media?

My media product, (the student magazine cover) uses many conventions of existing media products, in the way that it is designed. Our task was to create a realistic cover that would be suitable for a student magazine. In order to make it look professional, we researched and learnt about the technical terms used in magazine design and the corrrect terminology for analysing such work. We looked at the covers of numerous other magazines, established the features of each and once we understood the relevance and importance of them, we started to create our own. We looked at the conotations and dennotations of different signs, so that we could appreciate what our target market was and what they can relate to. Similarly to most media pieces, we included a masthead (the main title), a poof (a sentence claiming uniqueness or superiority to other magazines), serif and sans serif fonts (fonts with or without protruding lines from the parts of each letter), freebies (advertising something the reader will get for free), competitions (offering the reader an oppurtunity to win something), straplines and coverlines (titles above small article summaries/adverts to grab the readers attention) and a main sell (considered to be the most important article in the magazine). We employed all these techniques to create a proffesional and dynamic cover that would appeal too students.

Quark Express

2009-10-12T04:35:00.000-07:00

Over the last four lessons, (and after completing our front cover,) we have been using Quark Express to create the contents page for our student magazines. We have learnt about the relevance and the importance of the basic tools such as the 'Item tool', 'Rotation tool', 'Object tool', 'Text tool', and 'Picture tool' as well as the more complicated aspects of moving pictures and text to a layout that appears professional but appealing to the intended audience. We have spent a lot of time experimenting with different fonts and the use of coloured text to make the final contents page complete. I found Quark Express fairly easy to use but often struggled with moving pictures and text to a suitable location and found these decisions hard to make. Similarly, with Photoshop, I found it easy to start with and was quick to learn about its various facilities and functions, but at first, struggled to grasp the relevance of layering the work. We have now completed both our front cover and our contents page and are now at the evluation stage of the project. Below are pictures extracted from screen shots that show our front cover and contents page.

Further development of the cover

2009-10-02T05:11:00.000-07:00

In this lesson, we used our existing content, but decided to make a few minor alterations. Firstly we realised we needed to make the magazine look more dynamic. We decided that using the same font throughout the whole of the cover was probably not a good idea as it would make the masthead less noticable. We went on www.dafont.com and downloaded a new sans serif font to be used for the masthead, whilst using a different, more simple font for the straplines to prevent distracting the reader. We also changed the positioning of certain pieces of text to be more appealing to the reader. We used a bleeding over technique where the text slightly overlaps another coverline or the background image. When doing this we had to ensure that we were not obscuring anything from view or were making the cover too crowded. We made sure to try and include the main features that are common on many magazines such as, puffs, freebies, barcode, main sell, competitions and obviously various straplines. Since starting work on photoshop, our skills have greatly improved and we are now confident in using the various
lasso tools, stamp tools, text tools, eyedropper tools, marquee tools, cropping tools, hand and zoom tools, as well as understanding the relevance and capabilities of each. We have also come to grips with the importance of adding new layers when editing photos.
Next lesson on monday, we should have completed our cover, there are just several small changes and decisions to be made which should not take long.

Magazine cover

2009-09-30T03:16:00.000-07:00

Today we started adding in text to our magazine cover. We had completed the editing of the picture, cropped it to the correct size and started to think of a magazine title for the
masthead, and some suitable coverlines and straplines we could use. We decided to use mostly blue font to be in keeping with the colour of our models clothes. We didn't realise how difficult it would be to decide on a suitable magazine name, as we had to come up with something that directly appeals to the intended audience, in this case students. Finally we decided on: EMA education my ass! We then started to think of some straplines that would appeal to students and that they could easily relate to. We put a lot of thought into the positions of the various pieces of text, taking into account the importance of not overcrowding the cover. Next lesson, we aim to get as close to completion as possible and add in some more coverlines and straplines.

Photshopping

2009-09-29T02:57:00.000-07:00

Over the last few lessons we have been using photshop to get familiar wth all the various tools and facilities of the program. So far we have looked at creating different layers in order to edit pictures and have used the magnetic character tool to trace out outlines to be cut out, moved or coloured. We also learnt how to us the stamp tools in order to edit out blemishes and improcve the picture.
We also went to learn how to use the cameras in groups in preparation for taking pictures for our front cover. We have taken some shots for our practice cover which will help to give us an idea of how we are going do the proper piece. We have just started to edit the practice pictures to make a mock up for our final piece.

Research: Conotation and denotation

2009-09-22T07:40:00.000-07:00

Research of student magazines:
The large, dark red sans serif font, denotes a
significance and relation to a stamp-like sign
that is often associated with a military style
document. The red font is a contributor to the
covers general colour scheme. Above the
masthead, spanning the width of the cover and
also at the bottom of the page, are several offers
of freebies and other promotional goods. The
repetitive use of the dark red connotes a sense of
rebellion and opinionated attitude, connoting a
relevance to individuality, which many students
can relate to and often strive for.

One of this magazines numerous signs is the
sans serif font at the top of the cover which
denotes a simple masthead, designed to stand
out in order to attract the audiences attention.
The slanted straplines and coverlines against
the colourful background denotes a likeness to
the disorganisation associated with student life,
potentially appealing to the audience
subconciously as well. The cover also has a number
of freebie offers and competition oppurtunities to
increase the appeal to the reader. The use of
different bright colours in the background connotes
a joyful and exciting concept making the magazine
more attractive to others. This connotes thats
student life has a creative and fun aspect to it.

One noticable denotation of this magazine, is

the sans serif masthead, which stands out

despite its right-sided page alignment and

similarities to the background colouration.

Another denotation of the magazine is the the

use of dark purples and dark blues which

contribute to the general colour scheme,

connoting an association with nightlife and

partying, enforced with the images of shadowed

teenagers. The cover is of a relatively simple

design, allowing the intended audience to focus on

the single 'main sell' in the centre of the cover. The

date, issue number and the magazines slogan is

partially obscured against the masthead, to direct

the attention at the more relevant aspects of

the cover.

One obvious denotation of this magazine is the
regular use of straplines and coverlines which
can appeal to the reader and allows them find
an article within the magazine, which may hold
some form of relevance to them. The 'main sell'
in the bottom left of the cover bleeds into a
summarizing statement beneath. This connotes
a casual design which stands out well despite the
small pale font, due to its comparison against the
red coverlines above. Another prominent
denotation is the bold serif font, which is pale in
colour and intended to stand out, but not to the
extent that it diverts the readers attention from
the advertised articles in the bottom half of the
cover. The dark red coverlines against the pale blue
cover lines connotes the concept of importance or
essential significance which attracts the intended audience.