Prelim, photos for settings.

Note to Moderator

Dear Moderator, 

My brief for my AS Media was to create a Front Cover, Contents Page, and Double Page Spread for a new music magazine. I chose to do a music magazine in an rock music based genre because it is a genre of music that I enjoy and feel passionate about. I also feel that this music genre is not as prominent as it used to be years ago. Therefore, I feel that creating a Rock magazine is helpful at bringing back its importance in musical history and bringing back more attention to this genre of music.
I have labeled all of my Blogger posts in order to make it easier to navigate throughout and find specific parts of my coursework.

Yours Sincerely,
Jordan Harris, Edgbarrow School.

Candidate number: 0131
Center Number: 51111

Evaluation, Question 7

Question 7, Produced on Emaze belowBackup link

Evaluation, Question 6

Question 6, Produced on Prezi below. 

Backup link

Evaluation, Questions 4 + 5

5) How did you attract / address your audience?
It was important in my magazine that I correctly addressed and attracted my target audience throughout my magazine, through the use of my colour scheme, bands, exclusive stories, and extras such as giveaways.

Colour scheme - The colour scheme / house style I used throughout my magazine features black, white, and silver for my pages. I feel that this colour scheme used addresses my audience suitably as it is a colour scheme that has been used previously by other rock magazines with similar audiences. I also feel that the chosen scheme is more serious and calmer choice of colours, which relates the rock genre which is more serious then other genres of music.

I also attracted my audience through the use of  my "Exclusive interview" tag, being placed on the right side of my main image, positioned at a big size so that it stands out and draws attention. It can also attract my audience because it is a story only being covered by my magazine, making it seem more special and interesting people to read it.

"Posters and interviews included inside" - This is located in the bottom right corner of my front page, but it positioned at a big size to help it stand out. My audience can see this and become interested as there are free features for them if they buy the magazine.

Cover photo / main artist - My main cover photo and artist is positioned to fit nearly half of my page, my artist is posed to be playing the guitar which is heavily related to my chosen genre. The bands and other famous artists I have included and mentioned on my front cover can help to attract my audience as they are all famous and influential musicians. They all artists that people enjoy listening, and keeping up to date with recent news involving them.




Question 4 - Who would be the audience for your music magazine?
Audiences of music magazines that follow a similar style and music genre to my magazine mainly include adults of any age. This can be shown through the use of artists and articles that are included throughout issues, along with the less flashy colour schemes and designs.

The target audience that I chose for my music magazine was people who were aged 18+, I decided to focus on this age range as it can relate more to other Rock magazines that focus on this age range. This age range also relates more to the style and genre of magazine that I have produces, as 18 year old's are more likely to listen to a heavier style of music. People at the age of 18 may also be interested in the more modern rock artists that I have featured in my magazine who they will know better. I have also included some artists in my magazine who are aged around 17 / 18

People who are ages 30 / 40 + will have a higher appeal for the classic rock artists and stories that I feature as it is music that they would have listened too as they grew up, and so they could more attached and interested in that element of my chosen genre.
Through my research that I had carried out before making my magazine, I gathered results that were mostly from people who were aged 17 + 18, helping me to show that there was appeal from this age group.

Evaluation, Question 3

Question 3, Produced on Slideshare below

Media Evaluation - Question 3, Magazine Distribution. from Jordan Harris

Backup link

Evaluation, Question 2

2 - How does your music magazine represent particular social groups

The images above are taken from a Guitarist magazine (Shown above) and my music magazine (Shown on the right)  

Posture: The image on the left from the Guitarist magazine features a famous guitarist posed with his guitar held up, whilst looking at the camera in a serious way. He is stood up and looking professional. With my front cover magazine, I tried to recreate something similar to this style and posed used by some other rock music / guitar magazines by having my my main model posed upright, whilst playing his guitar rather than looking right into the camera. 

Clothing: The clothing used in the Guitarist magazine example includes a suit jacket and shirt with the top buttons undone with no tie. This is the signature style of the artist, Joe Bonamassa. It creates a professional yet casual look due to the scruffy look made by the unfinished suit. My artist in my photo is wearing a white Tshirt and jeans, which similarly creates a casual look for my artist. However, these two artists are not similarly dressed. 

Shot type / angle: Both photographs were both taken as mid shots, showing the artists upper half and cutting out just by the legs. The Guitarist example shows the artist looking directly into the camera, directly addressing the audience. However, I did not create this effect with my magazine as my artist is looking to the side, hiding half of his face. 
I feel that I was successful with my magazine when trying to represent a chosen social and age group, especially through the use of my colour scheme / house style. My magazine features a black, white, and silver colour scheme which I have created based off of a previous NME magazine I saw during the planning of my work. My colour scheme also creates a more serious look and feel for the magazine which I fell relates well to my chosen genre and age group of people over 18. The photo below on the left is my my magazine front cover, the photo on the right shows the NME magazine and colour scheme that I was inspired by. This shows that I have selected a similar colour scheme that has worked previously for a similar audience.

Evaluation, Question 1

Question 1, Produced on Prezi below.



Backup link

Magazine finished

25/04/16 - Finished Magazine piece. 

(Front cover)                                                                        (Contents page)

Here is my double page spread, after making improvements and responding to previous feedback. The changes I have made include: Re-sizing  my columns for my main article so they're no longer as big as they were before, this has meant that I have had to rearrange some of my layout. I have also included my main article title overlapping my main photo. In the bottom corners I have included page numbers, and I have removed the box around my pull quote on the Second page. 

Second draft / Double page spread

21/03/16

I have started the main work on my double page spread, I have laid out all of my questions and have started to fill out my main article and answer the questions. I have also included two photos so far and will soon include two more, along with creating my main title for the article.

Draft 1 - Finished

11/03/16 - Deadline for work. 

I have finished my Cover page, contents page, and created my layout / design for my double spread - showing where I include different features such as any pull quotes and photographs of my artist. 

For my double page spread draft, I have indicated where I will be positioning photos of my artist by using the photo frames included in Serif. When I get to fully creating my article / double page, I will remove these frames and replace them with actual photos of my artist.  I have also shown the layout for my main text / article will go. 

Magazine - Designs and Image Manipulation

Main design / effects within magazine.

To get effect in my magazine for different boxes included throughout, I inserted a white rectangle and then used the fx effects to make it more unique and appealing. 

The first effect that I used was the colour fill that I used to make boxes a grey / silver colour.

I used a normal blend mode, scheme colour 9, opacity on 36. 

I then used the Inner glow effect to give boxes the silver / fade effect. The result shown below is what I have used throughout my magazine to create the colour scheme that I wanted. 

Blend mode normal, Opacity 100, Blur 69pt, Intensity 9, Colour - black, Edge. 

Front Cover photo:

To get the result of my front cover photo, I used the cutout studio on the photo I planned to use. This allowed me to get rid of the unnecessary background from the photo and allow for my main artist look more natural on the page. If I didn't remove the background from the original photo then it would've left a white box around him that would stand out on the page, not looking professionally made. 

Here is a screenshot from the cutout studio, where I have selected the areas of the photo that I wanted to keep (The artist and the guitar) 

After I removed the background from the photo, I used the PhotoLab to apply a black and white filter / effect to work better with my black and white house style. Then I used the fx tool to apply a drop shadow the photo. Below is the finished result of my main cover photo.

Magazine - First draft - Finished

(Very early stages of creation)

So far I have been working on the design of my front cover and how my magazine will look. Next time I plan to start including information into my cover and start working on my contents page.

Music Rock magazine - Planning.

Here is my music magazine planning, created on Prezi.
It features the some of the Names, Layout designs, Colour schemes, Images, Articles, and Fonts that I plan to use within my magazine, with analysis on why I have chosen some of these ideas.


http://prezi.com/a_rner4tkdj7/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Here is an overview of the planning included on my Prezi.

(Updated - Changed colours used on the front cover plan, used colours that show what I plan to do for my main piece)

Magazine research, Analysis and Product placement

Research for magazine

Analysis of magazine (Hammer)

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Design / content – The magazine cover uses on big photo that takes up most of the page. The photo is of Randy Blythe who is the singer from Lamb of God. He is being used as the background for the cover as he is the main focus and story of the magazine. He is also an artist who relates to the magazines choice of music genre. The house style features black, red, and white. The names of bands included on the front is written in a black scribbled and messy font. Information below it is written in red.

Masthead – “Hammer” very big and bold, aggressive looking red font, looks hand written and scribbled.

Headline – “The resurrection of Randy Blythe” Stands out on the cover, slightly hinting at what the story involves. 

Contents page:

Contents page:

Visual style, layout, design:

·         Clear, tidy layout, all information is easy to find and read.

·         Far right side includes names of editors and people involved in creating the magazine. Editor’s note is on the right page, with the main contents and page numbers on the left page, shows clear information.

·         Different content is in columns, lots of photos used of different famous artists who are included in the magazine. Under each title of a band is a brief description on what the page / story. It lets people to see what the page is about before they go to it.

·         Uses more aggressive language / swear words. Suits more to the heavier choice of music genre and their target audience.

Range of content on offer:

·         Deals displayed over pictures “Subscribe and save £££s! Page 112” included in a big red circle which stands out and attracts readers.

·         A page for a note from the editor, page for all of the different stories in the magazine, multiple photos on show.

·         “What’s on your free CD? Page 14”, CDS and posters are included in the magazine.

·         Exclusive content on the digital IPAD edition of the magazine which you can’t get anywhere else, could convince people to go and buy the magazine again digitally to get more.

Double page spread:

Design / content – Dark, black style being used for this story. Black pages with white being used for the main text. A pale green is used for drop caps, quotes, and the titles / questions being asked. It starts off with a question to Randy Blythe, with his answer being quoted below it. Afterwards, it includes extra background information on the artist, with another question being featured further into the second page. A quote is featured in the middle of the first page “I’m experiencing life again” this is written in a bigger font and colour which allows it to stand out in the page, it has also been put into a box which allows it to stay away from other content.

The tope halves of the pages features photos of Randy Blythe who is the main focus of the article, with information included about what the photo is showing, sometimes including quotes about the moment. The bottom halves of the pages include the main article and story of the artist. 

NME – 9^th June 2012

Design / Content – Black and white theme / house style, not featuring many stories or text. No pictures being used other than one big photo of David Bowie, being used for the background of the cover. All information being displayed is clear and easy to see + read. It is clear that the main focus / article in the magazine is David Bowie as the majority of information is relevant to him. Three other topics and stories are included on the left side of the cover, giving small information on what else is featured in the magazine. The barcode is located in the bottom left corner. Dateline is positioned on both the barcode, and on the side of mast head. Issue number is not displayed on the front cover. Does not include a skyline as the masthead is positioned right at the tp.

Masthead – NME, big bold white font, in the very top left corner of the cover. Size and boldness makes it eye catching and lets it stand out. Fits the house style of a black and white theme.

Main cover line – “Ziggy stardust” included in a different font to the other titles include on the cover. Goes across the width of the cover. Written underneath the photo of David Bowie as it relevant to him.

Cover line – “40 years on… The inside story of Pop’s greatest Masterpiece” this is giving a brief idea of what is included / the contents in the main story about Bowie. The font used for this text is the same as the font used for the main cover line above it.

Contents page:

Design / content – Contents page is laid out well, with all information being split up into separate boxes in a tidy design across the page. Information is easy to read and is not being cluttered together. Simple style, white background with black text. Big bold heading at the top to display that it is the contents page. Dateline is underneath the page title. Does not include a note from the editor. Main stories / highlights are included in the separate boxes, with a picture of the bands and artists. Includes a quote from the artists from the story underneath the picture – Pull quotes.

There is a brief note included which gives an idea on what is included in the story / what it is about. Extra features such as posters and crosswords are included in a smaller and separate column towards the left side of a page. Page numbers are positioned next to the pictures of artists. There is also an advert in the bottom left of the page, using a yellow colour which attracts attention and stands out on the page, it’s showing how to subscribe to the magazine and how much it costs. 

Double page spread – Feature article:

Design / content – Includes photos of David Bowie in the top halves of each page as he is the main focus of this article. Old photos of him from photoshoots, or music rehearsals. All text and information is laid out in columns, displaying the story clearly. Throughout the pages and in-between the article are quotes from people who have performed with Bowie, and quotes from Bowie himself. These are being highlighted by the magazine as they use bigger and bolder fonts compared to the rest of the text. On the right side there is another column used which has direct questions to David Bowie, this includes direct questions and answers which not related to the main topic featured below. Next to each of the photos, there is a small bit of text which has information on what the photo shows, where and when it was taken.

Product placement

Publisher: Bauer Media – I have chosen Bauer media as the publishing company for my music magazine as they are also the publishers of Kerrang, Mojo, and Q magazines, which are all magazines based around Rock music. As I plan to do my magazine based on Rock / classic rock music I feel that Bauer media may be more appropriate as a publisher as they already publish music magazines based around this genre. The Bauer media group also covers 16 countries which allows them to open up into new markets. They reach over 22 million adults in the UK which means that they already have a wide audience and market. Bauer media are also partnered with many different radio stations, along with owning a few radio stations themselves. This could allow for extra help with advertising the magazine as they would want to advertise their branded magazines more.

Distribution: I plan to have my music magazine distributed through stores such as WHSmith as they sell a range of their magazines in their stores. They sell magazines based on many different interest and categories. For example, the sell magazines for art, computing, news, and magazines focused on music. The music category on the WHSmith website includes around 62 different music magazine brands, including Kerrang and Mojo. WHSmith also offer subscription services for the magazines that they sell, where people can pay more money in order to get a certain number of issues of a magazine over a period of time. For example, you can spend £82.00 to get 51 different issues of Kerrang magazines over the next 12 months. WHSmith is one of the UK’s leading retail groups, with over 600 stores in towns, and over 600 stores at airports, train stations, hospitals, and motorway services. They continue to open up stores across the world. This makes WHSmith a widely available and accessible retailer to distribute my magazine through as they are able to reach a very wide market.

Target audience: The target audience for my magazine would be around 18 – 40 year olds as it will be focused mainly on rock music. Featuring rock music and artists from today and more modern times, also including more classic rock music and artists from older artists. I have chosen this age range as my target audience as people who are aged around 18 may find that the more modern rock music featured in the magazine appeals more to them and their style, whilst audiences of an older age range may find the older classic rock more appealing to them.



What I can use from the analysis for the construction of my magazine.
From doing an analysis of other magazines, I can use this to help me gain ideas on how I could structure my cover, contents, and double page spread. It has given me an idea on what content and colour schemes that I could feature within my magazine. 

Magazine Questionnaire analysis

Music magazine – Questionnaire analysis

I carried out a questionnaire for my music magazine, asking questions about what people would want to see from my magazine. Doing this questionnaire allowed me to find out what sort of information I should possibly include into my piece of coursework. 

Question 1 – How old are you?

For this question, I found out that the people answering my questionnaire were mainly aged 17 as this was included in 6 out of 10 of my results. This lets me know that the responses I was gathering in my survey were not completely within my target audience.

Question 2 – Are you male or female?

9 / 10 of the people filling out my questionnaire were males, this information may not be too helpful for my magazine or its content. However, it can mean that the music artists offered to me in a later question may be more influenced by this one gender.

Question 3 – How often do you buy music magazines?

50% of my responses said that they never buy music magazines, 20% rarely buy them, 20% buy them monthly, 0% buy them once a fortnight, and 0% buy them once a week.

Question 4 – How much would you pay for a music magazine?

80% of my results show that a preferred price for m magazine would be in the range of £2 to £3.99. this has allowed for me to choose what I would price my magazine for, letting me know what to display on my front cover next to barcodes.

Question 5 – How often would you like to see a music magazine being published?

20% said that they would like once a week publishing, 30% said they would like once every 2 weeks, 50% said that they would like once month. This has allowed for me to choose my publishing dates, which would consist of monthly publishes of my magazine. 

Question 6 – do you subscribe to magazines for extra content?

70% of the people I asked said that they don’t subscribe to magazines to get extra content, this means that offering a subscription to gain access to more may not be a successful feature with my magazine.

Question 7 – What would you like to see being featured in a music magazine?

For this question, I allowed a multiple choice option so that people could choose any of the different features they would want to see, rather than just choosing one favourite. Through this I found out that Interviews with artists are the most wanted featured within a music magazine as 90% people included this within one of their options. Competitions are information on new releases were the second most selected options. Tour dates were the 3^rd most selected option, and reviews were the least selected option.

Question 8 – What artists would you like to see in a Rock magazine?

In this question, I included 3 different text boxes for people to write 3 different artists or bands for who they would want to see in my magazine. This allowed me to get a more varied range of answers, rather than giving a choice of artists selected by me. I now have a list of different band that I can choose to include in my magazine.

Here is the list of Artists that I gathered:

·         Red hot chilli peppers

·         Muse (X2)

·         ACDC (X2)

·         Nirvana

·         Imagine dragons

·         Lynyrd Skynyrd

·         Nickle Back (X2)

·         Slipknot

·         Santana

·         David Bowie

·         Led Zeppelin

·         Jimi Hendrix

·         Catfish and the Bottlemen

·         Against the Current

·         Foo fighters

·         Capital Cities

·         E.L.O

·         Bucket head

Question 9 – Would you like to see older artists as well as newer artists being featured?

90% of people answered this question said that they would like to see old and new artists in one magazine, 0% said they wouldn’t, 10% said that they are not bothered / no opinion if there are new and old artists together. This means that I can use a more varied group of artists, who should be able to fit more into my wider target audience as I know that including older bands would be favoured by people who read the magazine. 

Prelim task

Evaluation of school magazine (prelim):

1.       Did you plan your magazine? If not, what have you learnt about the importance of research and planning?

I did not plan my magazine or the content that was going into it until I started to create it. I did look at other examples of magazines to gain an idea on how they are usually laid out. I have learnt that making a plan for this task would have helped as it would help to gain a better idea of what layouts and designs may work more. It would also allow me to go straight into creating my magazine with a clear idea, rather than trying to make up a design on the spot.

2.       What technology did you use to complete the task and how did you use it?

For this task I Serif Page Plus X6 to create my front page and my plan for a contents page. I used different tools that are available in this program to create different features. For example, I used the Mesh warp tool to manipulate a rectangle which I had inserted before, to give it rounded edges. I also used this tool on the rectangles used for my column in the contents page to give them rounded corners which would not be normally available from the shape insert tool.

I used the Cut-out studio tool on photos which I was going to include. This allowed me to remove the backgrounds from my photos, making them fit in with the background of the magazine.

I used the Artistic text tool to create my titles, and the standard text frame to create my text underneath my titles.

On my Masthead, I used the fx tool to create a drop shadow, Outer glow, and an inner glow.

I occasionally used rectangular photo frames so I was able to choose the positioning and sizes of photos before I inserted them into my work.

3     Did you encounter any difficulties? If so, what were they and how did you overcome them?

Whilst creating this magazine, I did not face any difficulties that stopped me from carrying out my work. 

4     How successful was your magazine? Please identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve/do differently?

I feel that my magazine was successful because of its layout and house style. I have laid out my pages so that information and photos featured on them are not cluttered and are clear to read and see on the page, spacing out my photos from one another. I followed my house style, using the same colours for my columns, also using the same font and font sizes for titles and my main text.

To improve on my magazine, I would try to make it appear more interesting and appealing by using a different range of colours that stand out more as I feel that the colours I have used can appear to be plain and boring. Or by possibly adding more onto my pages.

5     What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework, do you think?

From completing this task, I have learnt how to use some of the main features included with Serif Photo page plus. It will be significant for me when completing the rest of my foundation coursework as it has given me an idea on how I could go about with creating my main piece of work, as I now have more knowledge on the tools to use and having a better idea on how I could layout my work.