Take Two!! - Evaluation – How did you attract/address your target audience?

Evaluation – How did you attract/address your target audience?

;Evaluation - How did you attract/address your audience

I attempted at doing a slide share for a part of this evaluation but it seems I have failed miserably, the powerpoint is meant to run smoothly without clicking and for music to play whilst the slides continue to the end. I'm really really disappointed this hasn't worked because I had hoped of doing this instead of typing everything up like I have on previous parts of the evaluation!!

Instead I will have to print screen the written part of my presentation, and have to deal with the fact my evaluation is a tad boring!!

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

I think that my media product sort of uses the conventions of a typical music magazine because I based it on the NME magazine that used Florence on their front cover. I think my front image looks similar to this although it does not look as professional.

My magazine also gave away a freebie to its readers which I think is a definite typical convention of any type of magazine! I think my product challenges other products because I feel my magazine looks more relaxed compared to others.

I tried to stick to the colour schemes which magazines usually use too, I went for a basic black grey and white colour scheme because I felt it made it easier but still looks quite classy.

I have learnt looking at other DPS's that I should have made more room for my double page spread. I don't feel i really got enough on there, but I didn't really know how to go about making a double page spread bigger?

Overall I don't think my magazine looks that abnormal compared to other music magazines, it has a colour scheme, a key person on the front cover, a freebie, a price, a barcode etc.

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

Wow! Well my preliminary was quite simple compared to the end product! I now realise how much work it takes to create a music magazine! and it wasn't even the full magazine! I'm hoping in real life it isn't as difficult as you have different people for every role, i.e photographers, editors and every other role there is in creating a magazine!

I wish that I had had access to an SLR camera now, as I don't think my images are that great.. But with the equipment I had access too I think I have used reasonably well...!

The preliminary task didn't take as long at all, whereas the final product seems to have taken forever! I don't know if this is because the final product you have got added pages to create?

I think also, it seems harder because every time you do something new you have to add it to your blog which many people are not use too. I'm glad I have kept the blog though because it shows you how much work you've actually done! I was quite suprised that I have done about 38 posts!

Evaluation- How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I foundd this question quite difficult to answer...

I tried to aim for a magazine that isn't too expensive, and doesn't look too expensive because I wanted a product that aimed at people my own age. I tried to think at what would attract me to buy a music magazine and used that.. I also did some questionnaires which helped me on what to include in the magazine. I aimed for the social group to be either gender but more towards the females, who are older teenagers, ranging from 15/16 too around the early 20s? This social group would be classed as C2, D and E.

These readers would possibly be students with part time jobs or young and don't earn a great wage yet. Obviously being in 6th form this gave me the opportunity to just generally ask my fellow student friends whether they would buy my magazine and if they think the price is reasonable. And for £1.99 nobody could argue!

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

For this section of the evaluation, I researched and found that the company who distributes the magazine I based my magazine on. (NME) The distributors company is called International Publishing Cooperation. This company sells over 350 million copies of magazines a year! Which I found an incredible amount! By the sounds of things, this company do really well so I think I would go to them to distribute my magazine, although I would find out the cost first!!

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

There are several programmes which I used to piece my magazine together. Firstly, I consciously decided that I would use Publisher to create the layout for my front cover, contents page and my DPS.

I chose this because really, I am not that great with the latest technologies, I like to stick to what I know and that's Windows/Microsoft.

For my images, I used picasa because I am familiar with that programme, but I also tried picnik? Which I had not used before, but that was quite good considering it was free! I also didn't use a great camera. Whereas others may have used an SLR camera, I did not have access too one so instead I used a Canon Power shot A460.

I have learnt that, you have to be patient! Also that, you need to put the time and effort into what your doing; you need to experiment with what you use, I attempted to use an Apple Mac computer but I just could not get the hang of how to edit your images on there so I went back and did so on the "normal computers." (windows/microsoft)

Another technology I had to get use to was Blogger. It completely confused be at the start as I had only heard of blogs before and never actually experienced seeing one, but I feel like I know what I am doing now!

I used the internet to view other real magazine front covers, contents pages and double page spreads. It may look simple but infact I think its quite an art to create something that looks as good as the real ones that get sold.

Evaluation - Who would be the audience for your media product?

As I established, I wanted my magazine to target an older teenage audience, either gender but I assume that the magazine will appeal more to the female gender. Their interests being; the latest news on their favourite or the latest stars, interviews and questions they want to know the answers too and hopefully interested in upcoming gigs because I have advertised that my magazine includes the No1 Gig Guide.

The lifestyle of my audience I would imagine too be, a student whether they are in in secondary school or higher education. These people would fall into the category of C2D and E.

Although we do have to consider the possibility of the penumbra effect. This is when people who are not your intended audience purchase your magazine. This may be because one issue may have an artist that attracts a different type of reader. In this image I have an example of what my ideal reader/target audience may look like. An older teen who does not look like she fits into any stereotype and the image also shows that she is a student.

Contents

Finished contents page.. Although it's a music magazine, I thought it would be cool plus different to add in a picture and interview with Stig, i was going through pictures for my media and i came across this and thought well nobody else will have a picture with the Stig so why not! ha :)

Also I thought it could attract different types of readers?

DPS

Completed Double Page Spread...

Front Cover

After going into school during the half term and taking many images of my friend that I had planned to be the model for my front cover, I have now edited the photo and adjusted it to go onto the front cover!

Because of the how dark the picture is, I had to change the font colour of some of the text so that it could be seen over the image.

Also I Just realised I had not put a price on the magazine cover! How stupid! So here it is with the price on! I decided £1.99 because I think it will be affordable for my target audience.

edited mag..

I thought the magazine looked plain and boring. So I searched for some "vine" like patterns that I could adapt to put around the magazine, considering the title of the magazine is "Unwind" I thought this would make sense, as the pattern looks like it is.. Unwinding?

NME forums.

Wanting to know abit more about what people like/dislike about the nme magazine, i decided to go onto the nme website and take a look at the message boards. Interestingly, there was quite a balanced opinion on the magazine. Whereas some say they love NME and try and buy every issue, others negatively express their opinions on certain artists they do not agree with and their articles published. For example, one person claimed NME was the "New Oasis Express". They stated,

New Oasis Express ??? "why does the N.M.E. still give so much space to Oasis ???They had their day many many moons ago. Let them die in peace."

Although im sure every post is valid to the magazine creators, I suppose it is important to get various opinions from people in order to make the magazine the best it can be. They may try their hardest, but for some people that will never be enough! A magazine will never make 100% of its readers happy...

Meme & Tropes

Meme:

A meme identifies ideas or beliefs that are transmitted or evolve in a culture. Often this meme appears independently in different works of art. The meme of music is the fashion which varies for each different genre.

Trope:

A trope is a recurring element in art or culture e.g. fantasy films and medieval. Sometimes tropes are rewritten, which is called revisionism. Generally, tropes are rewritten because audiences prefer the new tropes.

Genres...

These are genres of film but can also apply to music magazines:

Prototype- The SEMINAL texts, establish, the conventions.
Classic- the typical examples of the genre, exemplify the conventions perfectly. For example 'NME', the logo has never changed and is defiantly considered as a classic.

Revisionist- Rewriting conventions- Why do they do this?
'Classic' Becomes boring, less popular, the styles change and also the ideologies, which we can relate to music magazines for example how they've changed the front cover but still the logo still hasn't changed as it's that much of a classic.

Parodic- Parodies of a text for example The 'Scary Movie' Sequels are a micky take of previous "horror" films.
This is rarely done in music however Comics have started to use songs using humorous factors.

Hybrid- Combining genres

Post- modern approach-

Bricolage- Combining old elements to form new things.

Homage- A deliberate tribute to someone or something from the past
Intertexuality- the deliberate or accidental referencing of other texts.

Mock

This is my mock, I do not plan on actually using this image, and I will be tidying it up before using as my final magazine.. This is just an idea of how the magazine will look, but I will be going for a more professional picture.

My Front Cover Design..

This is the design of my front cover which I have designed after looking at other magazine front covers to gain an idea of a stereotypical music magazine cover.

Do you think music magazines have a future?

I do not think music magazines have a future because, there are so many new technologies that have been created and are in the process of being created which appeal to the next generation of people. I think my generation will be the last to cherish music magazines. Not only because of the technologies, but magazine creators may find that the amount of money they pay to make the printed media will soon level with their profits. People find other sources for information, freebies, music etc that are less expensive and easier to access from home. Eventually, everybody will go for the easier and cheaper option... However, although many magazines will no longer be made, a minority of them should survive. People may buy them as a memento, just like people now buy music on vinyl.

Completed Questionnaires

After receiving back my questionnaires I now have a clear idea as to what I will include in my magazine.

Title..

These are some ideas of the fonts that I may use for my magazine. I chose a range of italic fonts because I think it looks classy and it also looks like the font is winding, as the title will be "Unwind."

My Title..

I have been debating with myself for a couple of weeks now as to what title I should use for my magazine. After some discussion with friends and my media teachers I finally decided on... "Unwind." I felt this was an appropriate title because I don't want to design a magazine that is over energetic, I want the audience to feel they can "unwind" whilst reading.

My Ideal Reader

My ideal reader for my magazine would be

• either gender


• between the ages of 16-22


• enjoy contemporary music


• dont fit into a paticular stereotype

Deconstructing an artist

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (born 5 May 1988), known professionally as Adele is an English singer-songwriter. Adele graduated from BRIT school in Croydon in May 2006, where she was classmates with Leona Lewis.

Adele's breakthrough song was "Hometown Glory" which was released in October 2007.

She was the first recipient of the BRIT AWARDS Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008. In 2009, Adele won two Grammy Awards, Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, at the 51st Grammy Awards.

Adele released her second album 21 on 24 January 2011 in the UK, and 22 February in the US. The album was a critical success debuting at number one on the UK Album Chart and also charted in the same position in nine other countries.

After an acclaimed performance at the BRIT Awards this year, the album track "Someone Like You" went straight to number one in the UK, while the album also remained at number one.

Although I have chosen to deconstruct Adele, I don't actually feel there is much to deconstruct. She does nothing over the top unlike some artists that wear odd costumes for example Lady Gaga, and she sings normal songs which everybody can relate too. I have not heard one negative comment or feedback from anybody about her as an artist which is unusual as the society are quite critical about artists. Stereotypically, people would not look at Adele and think she is anything amazing, which is unfortunate and quite shallow just because she does not fit this stereotype of artists which is too look incredible.

I know for certain that i do not want to take my photographs for my magazine outside, this is because the weather is unpredictable whether you want it to be a sunny day or want it to rain. Therefore I plan to take my photos in the media studio in front of the green screen and using spot lights, or in the drama room where there are large white backdrops which i can light up with spot lights. This way you can add to the background or take-away anything you want too.

The type of picture I want to take I am going to base on these two pictures of Jessie J from her website. I like how you can make a picture look amazing without any fuss in the background. I chose the following two pictures because firstly, the picture of the close-up with her make-up on and how they have made her look, looks sooooo good!!! If i could pull this look off for my magazine I would be very happy, I like how close she is to the camera so that you can see how great and different she looks, secondly I like the second photograph because she just looks normal and having some fun.

My questionnaire

This is my questionnaire which i have created to find out what people of my age look for in a music magazine. I created this on Microsoft Word but once I have gave them to my target audience to be completed,when I receive them back I plan on scanning the completed questionnaire onto my blog so it is clear to see that people have genuinely gave their opinions.
This will be useful because I will get an idea on what to include in my magazine to make sure my target audience will be satisfied.

Uses and Gratifications.

In 1983, McQuail classified that there are several main reasons for media use by society. These are:

• Information
• Personal Identity
• Intergration and Social interaction
• Entertainment

I think that some of these reasons which fall under the above catergories, also apply to music magazines. I believe that the uses and gratifications of music magazines are:

• Finding out about relevant events
• For learning; self-education
• To find a basis for conversation and social interaction
• Enabling the reader to connect with family, friends and society
• To fill time
• To relax
• To possibly excape or divert from problems

My target audience

On the left, I have posted a table of what different social grades mean. This is so I can decide on which social class I want my magazine to appeal to.
I want my target audience to be people around my age, but for both genders, across the majority of the social classes and for any ethnicity. I'm planning on creating the music magazine not based on one paticular music genre, this is because I'm hoping that a variety of people will want to read my product.

Magazine names...

I created a mind map of the music magazine names I already know of. I feel this will help me to decide on a name for my own magazine.
Obviously the name i decide on will have to suit the type of music magazine i wish to create.
I want my magazine to have a bit of everything in it, not just a set genre. However, i don't feel several of these names would be appropriate for my product, for example "Record Collector", "DJ Mag", "Metal Hammer" or "Gramophone".

Prelim

My Completed Prelim.

Summary...

From my magazine research I've decided that I will have a "female" artist on the front cover and for my double page interview. I gathered that with a female on the front it intrigues both sexes to look at the magazine whereas with males on the front I feel the magazine probably would not sell as much or have the same impact. The camera shot will be a close-up or a mid close-up because this is what shot the majority of other magazines use.
On the front cover i plan to offer a "freebie" because generally, magazines offer something free for the people who buy the magazine which sometimes intrigues more people to purchase the magazine. This is because the people who buy the product should/need to feel like they are gaining something from the magazine.

Double Page Research...

I went onto the NME website to gain an insight into how they created their double page spreads with interviews which is one of the things we have to do for our own magazine. I chose this example because not only do i LOVE Nicki Minaj but i like how NME have designed this double page.

On the right hand side of the page they have used a big mid close-up. I decided to do some research to see who she reminded me of and found a 1960's female artist. Nicki looks retro but still "cool", by having her wearing a ring suggesting she is an icon, as it says, "icon". I also like how the text is spread across the two pages so the text is broken up which makes it easier to read.

Research Methods

Today, our media group had a lesson based on 'Research Methods'.

The main research methods are:

• Primary - this is research you carry out personally
• Secondary - research you gather from other people
• Quantitative - this is when you carry out questionnaires/surveys and you look for a pattern or trend within peoples answers/responses.
• Qualitative - this method investigates the why and how of decision making.

Examples of Primary research methods are:

• Questionnaires - Advantages: can gather information quickly; easy to create; you can get direct answers. Disadvantages: people can lie; they can be time consuming.
• Interviews
• Polls/Surveys
• Focus Groups (a group of people you get together and ask questions too)
• Email/Text/Letter - Advantages: Not expensive; simple; can be fairly informal. Disadvantages: Can be reported as junk; may be misinterpreted; may be ignored.

Examples of Secondary research methods are:

• The internet - industry websites (such as the BBC website)/websites by individuals
• Books
• Newspapers/Newspaper archive

Honestly, so far i have used secondary research for the information about NME. I gathered the information from the NME websites. This is because I have no personal information i can use as research which will change when i start to buy and read the NME magazine myself.

The Process of my prelim which i have been designing on Publisher.

Prelim Research

For my premlim task, I researched into other school magazine covers so I could gain an insight into how other real schools had created their magazine covers. This gave me an idea into how i could design my front cover.

Investigating two music magazines.

I have decided to base my music magazine on this NME special edition. The New Musical Express - NME has been published weekly since March in 1952. It was the first british paper that published a singles chart in November 1952. During the 1970's it become the best selling british music magazine. It was first associated with gonzo journalism but then became associated with punk rock.

From the issue of 21st of March 1998 onwards the magazine has no longer been printed on newsprint but it has now shifted to tabloid size with full, glossy, colour covers.

Key Facts

Price £2.30

Frequency Weekly

Circulation 56,284

Readership 411,000

Launch Date 1952

Male/Female 73%/27%

Average Age 25

ABC1 73%

Target Market Men 17-30

The content of the NME music magazines consists of having 'the best new music first.' The magazine also contains interviews with artists, the nominations for NME awards, gig guides, reviews, news and occasionally some odd world views.

More about the reader

• 34% work full-time, 18% work part-time and 26% are full time students
• 49% have been reading NME for the past 3 years
• 84% think the magazine gives them what they want, spending an average of 46 minutes reading on each issue

I have gathered this information from:

• http://www.nme.com/mediapack/pdf/nme_media_information_full.pdf
• wikipedia.com

Glossary of Terms for Magazines..

• Balance - the design principle that one side of a layout must be given equal weight compared to another. Balance is achieved through the placement of type and graphic elements.


• Banner - the place where a magazine's logo appears.


• Body Copy - The main text of an article


• Brand - the magazine is a 'brand', in the same way as GAP or Levis is a brand. With the growth of synergy, a magazine might have spin off products such as a radio station, TV channel, clothing line or merchandise.


• Bullet - a circle or dingbat before each item on a list


• Byline - the name of an article's author


• Callout - explanation of a specific area of an illustration or diagram


• Caption - also called a cutline

Prelim!

For our preliminary task we have been asked too design a front cover of a school magazine. As a starting point we decided too take some practice camera shots of ourselves and other students around the school, we tried too make ourselves look more like students so that the front cover of the magazine will clearly show what it consists of and hopefully appeal to other students. The first couple of practice images we decided to take in the sixth form common room as this is where the majority of the sixth students gather too study. The final image we decided too use is in the library, we chose this as the image that will be used on the front cover because it clearly shows what the magazine is about and because the students are making use of the schools resources.