AS Media project: 2012

Monday 17 December 2012

Here is my 4th front cover draft. I have changed the image by choosing an image where my model has a hat on as i can't yet decide which photo to chose for my final front cover. I have changed my features around and tried them in different places on this draft to see what works and what does not, before making my final front cover. I have removed the sell line at the top of the page to make the magazine look more spaced out. i have also removed the colour from my models eye and left it at the original image.

3rd Front Cover Draft

Here is my 3rd draft of my music magazine. On this draft I have removed the background as I felt that it made the photo look unprofessional. I have also changed the image and picked one a bit closer up so that we can see the models features clearly and there is more eye contact with the reader. I have changed the colour of her eyes to a lighter shade of blue to make them more dominant and eye catching. I have added a plug to this draft as they are conventional for a music magazine to have, and will attract readers to buy the magazine for the offer they are getting like the free download I have used. I have added a teaser at the bottom of my page offering free posters, this will also attract readers. I have changed the colour of my sell line at the top of my page and made the font bolder, and have followed typical magazine conventions by adding an issue number in the top corner of my magazine.

Monday 10 December 2012

2nd Draft of front cover

Here is my second draft of my music magazine. Firstly I have changed the image as I felt my other image was too close up, I have also changed the background colour to a dark grey as this contrasts with my theme colours making them stand out and the words easier to read. I have also brought my image over the top of the masthead as it is conventional for some magazines of my genre to do this. I have made the writing on the models finger look more professional by using text instead of the paint brush tool. I have coloured her lips to match her nail varnish to give my model more colour to contrast with the pale skin and blonde hair, but also making sure I do not add another colour to my scheme as this would be unconventional to have too many colours and it would look unprofessional. I have moved some of my features around slightly to fit with the new image and have also changed the font of my main headline 'Lily's Back' to match the font of the rest of my front cover (Agency FB).

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Step by step guide to how I made my draft

My first Front cover draft

Here is my first draft of my front cover

singles chart

Here is the current top 40 singles chart, many artists on this list fit into my genre as pop/rock is one of the biggest genres with a ride range of artists fitting into the category. I will use some of these artists from the download chart for my magazine as they will be artists my audience want to read about.

Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys are a band that fit with the genre of music I am using for my magazine, I may feature Arctic Monkeys on my magazine as they are often features of magazines such as Q which have the same genre.

Front cover pictures

Here are some of the pictures I took for my front cover

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Existing Double page spreads

Existing contents pages

Saturday 24 November 2012

Initial ideas Prezi

Media on Prezi

Friday 23 November 2012

My plan for my next photoshoot.

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Blog checklist

Below is my blog checklist, the ones highlighted in red are the ones I have completed and are uploaded onto my blog, the others that are not highlighted are the things that need to be done and uploaded by Easter. I use my checklist often to make sure that I include everything I need to on my blog :)

Planning and research:

1. Type up the Brief and post it on your blog.
2. Identify and explain choice of music genre

- post pics of bands and youtube vids etc.

3. Market research into existing magazines that work within the same music genre as yours (e.g. they are competition). Analyse the conventions of each of the following using LIIAR:

- Front page

- Contents pages

- Double page features4. Target audience

Refine your ideas of target audience using demographics and psychographics - see powerpoint slide for help.

- Audience research (existing reader profiles) e.g to be posted on blog with a minimum 250 word summary

- Demographics explanation/definition and a table of the grading system A, B, C etc. minimum 200 word paragraph explanation

- Uses and gratifications model research in the theory referencing all books and internet web pages (300 word minimum write up)

- Focus group: Planning and recording posted on to blog

5. Price

How often will your magazine be published and why? (relate back to your refined target audience e.g. what can they afford?)

6. Initial ideas based on your market research

(thought showers, hand drawn drafts etc - scan them in on the scanner in the edit suite).

-Mood board and initial ideas spider diagram

7. Digital mock ups using found images

can be done on Photoshop / Publisher - remember to save as .jpg files

- Other inspirational ideas that pull together your genre in relation to styling and planning a shoot

8. Planning / development:

Stage one: Set design and styling initial ideas

-Initial idea mock up front cover, contents page and double page spread ICT

-initial idea mock up front cover, contents page and double page spread HAND DRAWN

-Costume ideas

-Mise-en-scene/ location ideas

-Lighting ideas

Stage two: Take LOADS of images

Remember, you have three products to produce and all of the images need to look like they belong together. Post all of them (or a selection of the best) to your blog and explain your choices.

- Maybe you could film your photoshoot and load it onto your blog.

- Start mocking up ideas (can be done on Photoshop / Publisher - remember to save as .jpg files)

Production:

9. DRAFTS!!!

- Do absolutely loads of these in Photoshop.

- Save your work as a jpg. Every time you think that you are finished, get some feedback, post the feedback, then do ANOTHER draft!

*REPEAT STAGES 7, 8 & 9 for each of your products e.g. Front cover, contents page, double-page spread*

10. Write your article and post it.

- Get it checked.

- Get it checked again.

- Repost it with mistakes corrected to show your dedication to perfection.

11. Final products posted.

12. Suggest how you would promote the launch of your magazine on the internet e.g. viral marketing campaigns.

- Perhaps you could even mock up a homepage for your magazine's own website based on research into existing magazines and their websites. maybe you could www.wix.com

- Suggest how the relationship between the online and print version of your magazine would work e.g. what would be in the print version to make people BUY it rather than looking at it for free online? What are the benefits of engaging the audience via the website?
13. Audience feedback on your final products and ideas for your online version.

14. Respond to audience feedback in LIIAR evaluation of your own work.

15. Do ANOTHER draft of all three products for MAXIMUM geek-osity :o)

First photoshoot

Here are some of the photos from my first photoshoot, I used this shoot to get used to the camera and try out angles and poses to use in my second photoshoot.

Tuesday 20 November 2012

Ideas

Here are some ideas of what I want the presentation of my magazine to look like.

Masthead

As my magazine is going to be called Pulse I played around with an image I found on the internet of a flat line and made a draft of what I want my masthead to look like on microsoft word.

Friday 16 November 2012

Music magazine ideas

Here are some of my ideas for my music magazine

I like these 3 locations for my images, either a grafiti filled run down underpass, a wood/foorest or on a plain white background, as i feel all of these ideas would fit with my genre.

My practice photoshoot

My practice photoshoot

This is a long shot with the use of lighting.

This is a long shot without the use of lighting.

This is a medium close up witht he use of lighting.

This is a medium close up without the use of lighting.

This is a mid shot.

As you can see the image looks much better and proffesional with the use of lighting, as a much more defined focus is put on the main feature of the shot.

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Mgazine photoshoot

Here is an example of a magazine photoshoot with Cheryl Cole.

geek chick video

Another video to go with the 'geek chick' look.

Geek chick

This 'geek chick' look is what i am aiming for my artist to look like on the front cover of my magazine, so this video is helpful as it has given me some fashion ideas of how to make this look happen :)

Thursday 8 November 2012

Initial ideas for my music magazine

Wednesday 7 November 2012

Focus group video

Hand Drawn Double Page Spread Draft

Hand Drawn Contents Page Draft

Hand Drawn Front Cover Draft

Front page music magazine mock up

Double page spread Music magazine mock up

Mock up music magazine contents page

Wednesday 24 October 2012

Blumler & Katz 1974

Gratification Theory Blumler & Katz 1974

Uses and Gratifications Theory is an approach to understanding why people actively seek out specific media outlets and content for gratification purposes. The theory discusses how users proactively search for media that will not only meet a given need but enhance knowledge, social interactions and diversion.

It assumes that members of the audience are not passive but take an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives. The theory also holds that audiences are responsible for choosing media to meet their needs. The approach suggests that people use the media to fulfill specific gratifications. This theory would then imply that the media compete against other information sources for viewers' gratification.^[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uses_and_gratifications_theory)

This theory focuses more on what people do with media, and how they use it in their lives. The approach suggests that people use the media to fulfill specific gratifications.

‘Blumler and Katz’s uses and gratification theory suggests that media users play an active role in choosing and using the media. Users take an active part in the communication process and are goal oriented in their media use. The theorist say that a media user seeks out a media source that best fulfils the needs of the user. Uses and gratifications assume that the user has alternate choices to satisfy their need.’ (http://www.uky.edu/~drlane/capstone/mass/uses.htm)

Demographics

Demographics

Demographics are current statistical characteristics of a population Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics)

When creating a magazine I would have to look at the demographics and create a demographic profile of the typical reader of my magazine. After I have done this I can then produce my magazine around this demographic profile making sure I market my magazine cleverly to fit the demographics.

Here is a rolling stones demographic table I have found, from this we can work out the typical audience gender and age of the typical reader. A demographic profile is important because if your main readers are in the upper class band then they may be willing to pay more than those in the lower class band. Demographics will also help when choosing the adverts in my magazine as I will chose adverts that match my demographic profile of readers. I will need to consider demographics carefully when producing my own magazine, as if the magazine does not match the demographic profile then the readers will be no longer interested in my magazine as it will not fit with their interests, or if I price the magazine too high or too low it will put readers off buying it.

Reader Profile

Reader Profile

A reader profile is information put together, based on research, about the typical reader of the magazine. This includes statistical information and also information about other interests the reader may have. I looked at the magazine Uncut and their reader profile, from this I found out the percentage of male readers, the average age of the reader, whether they are married or living with a partner, working full time and their average income. I also found out that 37% of the readers own an iPod, so you would expect ads or references to the latest technology to be included in the magazine because it is what the reader is interested in. Another statistic is that 86% of uncut readers download music, so you would expect competitions to win free downloads or discount on downloads to be included in the magazine. The reader profile shows that the reader is interested in films so they would expect there to be film reviews in the magazine. From a reader profile you can find out things like how much the reader spends on magazines in a year, this will be useful when deciding the price of my magazine because if it does not fit into their price range they will not want to buy it.

Although the target audience of this magazine is not what I will be using for mine I will still take this into consideration when producing my magazine, as I will need to think carefully about reader profiles to ensure I include things in my magazine that my target audience are interested in.

Tuesday 23 October 2012

My focus Group Questions

Moodboard

I have decided that i want the genre of my music magazine to be pop/rock, so here i put together a moodboard of a few artists and things i associate with pop/rock music magazines.

Thursday 18 October 2012

I have just found this double page Spread from Q magazine on the internet, i like the use of the large letter behind the text to represent the artists name as it links the text to the artist and looks effective, I may concider using this tecnique on my double page spread.