Note to moderator

Dear Moderator,

My brief for my AS Media was to create a Font Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread for a new music magazine. I chose to do my music magazine in a rock based genre due to my fondness for this type of music and also because it is not as popular of a magazine genre to read as it used to be. Therefore, I though my magazine would be a good addition to this genre of music magazines. I wanted to give the preferred audience of males between late teens to early twenties an up to date magazine in which they can effectively be a pro-sumer and voice their views on what the magazine will contain.

I have used labels on my blog to make it easily navigable in order to find what you are looking for.

Yours Sincerely,

Alex Rolls, Edgbarrow School.

Candidate Number: 0215

Centre Number: 51111

Evaluation 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Here is my evaluation question 7 which I created on SlideShare.

Evaluation 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?

Here is the my evaluation 6 which I created on emaze.

Evaluation 4: Who would be the audience for your media product? & Evaluation 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

Question 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

To address my audience to my magazine, I made my front cover stand out and be eye catching to them in hope that it stands out against other similar types of magazines to mine. I used different types of media that most music magazines use to attract their audiences.

These things include:

Subscription services - these can draw people into the magazine if they are interested in it as they will be encouraged to buy the deal on the number of issues of the magazine they will get. If they see that the offer is reasonably priced then they might take up the deal. Also, if the magazine includes a "free t shirt" it will also encourage the readers to buy the deal as they are getting free clothes of bands that they may listen to.

Competitions/prizes - many magazines of different types use competitions and prizes to draw in their audience to the deal. Depending on what the prize will be, it can entice the reader to pick up the magazine and enter for the competition. Prizes like "Win tickets to.." are very effective as the reader knows they will be seeing someone they like for free, saving them money. My magazine uses this and I believe that it will be very effective in drawing in my target audience.

Images/stories - My front cover will attract my audience as the main image is very eye-catching as it takes up most of the page and the person on the front cover looks alternative. My target audience audience will relate to the way he is dressed through the use of dark clothing and his long hair and want to pick up the magazine and give it a read from this. The stories on my front cover will also draw my audience to the magazine as they will see familiar band names in bold fonts which will be eye catching leading to them reading on.


Question 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

To find out the audience for my music magazine I used various media methods such as survey monkey in which I asked various different questions to people about music magazines. Questions such as "How often do you buy music magazines?" and "What genre of music do you enjoy listening to the most?". These types of questions help me pinpoint what kind of person would pick up and read my music magazine. From my research I found out that people aged between 17-21 years of age are attracted to my magazine the most, these are the late teens and early adults that are into listening and finding out about rock/metal bands.

Ideal Profile
Gender - Male and females (predominantly males)
Age - 17-21 years
Lives in - The UK
Interests - Likes listening to rock and metal music. Mainly listens to their music through digital mediums such as the internet and music streaming services such as Spotify or Apple Music. Enjoys going to music events such as concerts to see their favourite bands. Also, they like watching movies and playing video games. They like to keep up with the latest news and stories on their favourite artists and bands. Dressing alternatively

Evaluation 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Evaluation 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Getting the right institution to distribute my music magazine is very essential to it's success in the market, production and distribution. Also, media institutions can have an impact on the way my magazine could be distributed digitally and also social media sites, apps and games so it is crucial that the magazine is distributed by the right organisation. My magazine's target audience are people in their late teens and early adulthood who are interested in rock/metal music. My magazine is fairly well priced for this The two different media institutions I have studied previously are IPC Media and Bauer Media.

IPC Media - was founded in 1958 in the UK and owns more than 60 iconic media brands and publishes them over various platforms such as print, online, mobile and tablets. They are the leading media distributor in the UK. IPC Media publish over 350 million copies of magazines every year. The music magazines that IPC Media publish are NME and Guitar and Bass magazine. They mainly publish magazines that cover five different divisions: Women's weeklies e.g. Now magazine and Look, Inspire e.g. Leisure and specialist, Ignite e.g. men's lifestyle and entertainment, SouthBank e.g. women's lifestyle and home interest and TX e.g. portfolio of television titles. I don't think that IPC Media would be the best choice of institution for my magazine because they do not publish many music magazines and are only popular in the UK which wouldn't expand my magazine to other countries.

Bauer Media - reaches over 22 million adults in 15 different countries within Europe. They are the largest media institution in Europe. Bauer Media aim to connect audiences with excellent media content. Bauer Media also own Kerrang magazine which is a widely popular rock/metal music magazine which appeals to teenagers and alternative people of any age range which is also the same genre of music that my magazine is related to. I think that Bauer Media would be a good publisher for my magazine as they do not publish may different rock music magazines other than Kerrang. It would also draw customer’s attention to my magazine as people might be searching for a rock magazine other than Kerrang. They know how to reach out to their audiences well and make magazines that appeal to them

I have chosen WHSmith to distribute my music magazine based on its genre of music, being a hard rock music magazine you usually don't see them in typical stores such as Tesco. This will also encourage people to seek out the magazine as it will be only sold in this store. It may also bring more customers to the store, benefiting WHSmith financially.

                          

Evaluation 2: How does your music magazine represent a particular social group?

Here is the link to my Evaluation 2 which is on Google Slides. 

Evaluation 1: In what ways does your music magazine use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real music magazines?

Here is the link for my evaluation question 1.

Finished Front Cover

Here is my finished front cover of my magazine. I have made some improvements to the text to make it more visible and easy to read against the image. I have also widened everything to the fill up the space on the page.

Finished Contents Page

Here is my finished final contents page. I have made some small changes to the images under the "Jordan Harris" text box as they were too similar to the other image. 

Finished Double Page Spread

Here is my finished double page spread for my magazine. I made some minor improvements such as adjusting the quote in the middle of the page to be centered going down. Also, i slightly enlarged the text of the interview article so that it would be easier for viewers to read. 

Evaluation Planning

1. In what ways does your music magazine use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real music magazines?
Masthead - how it was important to my magazine genre. How I made it look original and creative to fit with the rock genre of music. Also, how I made it appeal to my target audience

Photos - how my photos portrayed the rock genre. How I made them eye catching and how they appeal to my target audience. Why I chose certain locations to take the photos. Why the clothing choices were important to appeal to the genre of music my magazine is about.

People - Why I chose to use specific people for some photos in my music magazine. What age range of people did I use.

Title font and style - How is it eye catching to my target audience? How does it appeal to them? Why I chose to use a certain font and style.

Written content - What made me choose to use an interview on the double page spread. What content I included in the contents page and on the front cover to appeal to my target audience.

Music genre - How does my magazine portray the genre I chose?

For this question I will use a prezi to display my answer.

2. How does your music magazine represent particular social groups?
In this question, I will say how I have used clothing, props, age, gender, ethnicity e.t.c. to represent the social group my music magazine is targeted towards.
Also, I will consider the body language of the models in the photos, shot types/angles and pose.
I will say how these photos appeal to my target audience and how the images will attract/ catch their to read the magazine.

For this question I will use Google Slides to show my answer in text.

3. What kind of music institution might distribute your music magazine and why?
For this question I will say how I researched different institutions which distribute different music magazines. I will say why I chose a certain institution for my music magazine and what other magazines they distribute. I will include why I didn't chose the other institutions. I will say what magazines mine may rival and I will say why I chose certain stores to distribute my music magazine.
I will also cover other types of media they use to advertise e.g. TV/radio adverts.

For this question I will be displaying it by using Blogger

4. Who would be the audience for your music magazine?/5. How did you attract/address your audience?
In these questions I will be discussing how I addressed my audience to the magazine. I will show how I used different methods such as surveys to find out what kind of person would appeal to my music magazine by asking them specific questions about the magazine. I will also say and show how I researched people who are interested in rock music and their interests, age and gender using my survey.
How I attracted people to my magazine. Using things like subscription services and prizes on my magazine to attract my audience to the magazine, also the use of images and stories on the front cover.

For question 4 and 5 I will display my answer using presentation software such as Blogger

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?
In this question I will be commenting on what I have learnt from using different technologies and editing software to create my music magazine. I will say what tools I have learnt to use effectively. Also, how I have learned about using other technologies such as using cameras for taking the photos for my magazine. I will say how using cameras is much better for photos on magazines than using a smartphone camera as the quality will be better.

I will comment on the software and hardware I used such as:
-Serif PagePlus
-Serif PhotoPlus
-Blogger

For this question I will be using emzae to show my answer.

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

In this question I will say what I have learned from the preliminary task:
The importance of planning the magazine.
Researching the target audience - finding out what audiences want, making sure they are satisfied with the genre of music that the magazine is focused towards. Also, finding out what type of person would read the magazine e.g. their age, gender, interests.
Researching other magazines of the same genre of music I chose to get a better understanding of how they make an effective and eye catching cover which draws in attention and appeals to their audience.

Also, I will sum up how I have learnt to use different software such as Serif to create magazines and how to use the tools in the software effectively to make a good music magazine.
I will also say how I have improved my photography skills by using cameras and different shot types to take the photos for my magazine.
I will show a comparison between my preliminary task and my music magazine task to show the differences between the two and how I have improved my skills in creating magazines.

To answer this question I will be using SlideShare to display my answer.


How to present the evaluation:
Prezi
Powtoon
emaze
Slide dog
Interactive videos
Directors video commentary
Interviews (video/audio)

Improvements (Second Draft)

Here is my second draft for my magazine. I have inserted the text for my double page spread and made some changes and improvements to my cover and contents page.

Finished First Draft

Here is my final finished first draft of my magazine. This includes all the sections like my front cover, contents page and double page spread. I made light adjustments from my previous updates such as enlarging the image on the front cover to be behind the text and adjusting the temperature of the photos on the contents page.

First Draft - Double Page Spread Preview

Here is my basic layout for my double page spread of my magazine. On the left page we can see that I included the magazine name with the title of the article. I also included several text boxes to show where the story and content about the article will be. I placed a box in the middle of the article to show pull quotes from the article and from what the person said in interviews. This will be good for my magazine as it is eye catching so people will want to pick up on the rest of the story and keep on reading. I also placed 4 rectangular image boxes to show where my eventual photos will be for this story. I inserted three at the bottom of the left page and one large image to cover the right page, this will be very good for my magazine as people will defiantly look at the main image on the right and see that there are pull quotes form the main story and then want to read further in depth.

First Draft - Contents Page Preview

Here is my contents page for my first draft so far. I have included an artists index along the left side which tells people about the different articles and content that they can expect to find inside the magazine. I have also included the main articles on the right hand side with brief descriptions and so far one image.

Update: 10/03/16

Here, I changed my previous photo and added the final photo of my main article to for the contents page and slightly changed the title by using FX.

First Draft - Front Cover Preview

Today I worked on my first draft front cover. I put in the masthead, a large picture frame for the image on the front cover, I also included some small articles at the side of the page. Next I will start work on the basics of my contents page. 

First draft updated - 09/03/16

Here is an updated version of my front cover for my magazine. I have included the main photo on the front cover which relates to the main article in the magazine. I have also included more details such as pull quotes and smaller previews of content inside the magazine.

Prezi Planning

Here is the link to my planning presentation on Prezi. This presentation covers many different possible aspects for my music magazine such as colour schemes, possible layouts, name ideas, articles, images and fonts.

Here is the link to the prezi - http://prezi.com/f4ylfigzvklr/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Magazine Analysis & Product Placement

Here is my analysis of Metal Hammer magazine which includes the front cover, the contents page and the double page spread.

Here is the analysis for NME magazine which includes the front cover, the contents page and the double page spread.

Here is my magazine product placement, this covers where my magazine will fit into the market, research on publishers, distributors and my target audience. 

Music Magazine Questionnaire Analysis

Analysis of Music Magazine Questionnaire

For my questionnaire I decided to ask people 10 different questions about what they think should be included in a magazine that is based on rock/metal music.

Question 1 – What is your gender?

In the first question of my survey I asked what gender they were, male or female. From my responses, the majority of people who answered were male which shows that my magazine may appeal to a more male demographic.

Question 2 – What is your age?

In my second question I asked what age people were, most of my responses were from people aged between 17-21 which shows that my target audience are teenagers and young adults.

Question 3 – How often do you buy/read music magazines?

In this question the majority of responses I collected said that they hardly ever read music magazines at 85%. Then 15% of people said they sometimes read music magazines.

 Question 4 – What genre of music do you like listening to?

I asked what genres of music people liked to listen to, from my responses the majority of people said rock/metal music at 35%, then pop/rock and pop/punk music both came in at 15%. However, the ‘other’ section also got 35%. This shows that I should be designing a magazine that is rock related.

Here is a screenshot of the results I got from this survey. We can see that most people said they either listened to metal/hardcore music or any other genre of music.

Question 5 – How would you prefer to get a music magazine issue?

In this question, I got balanced responses for each. Weekly, fortnightly and monthly all got a percentage of 33.33%. I believe I should publish the magazine monthly as this is what related magazines do such as Metal Hammer which put out monthly issues.

Question 6 – What kind of information would you like to read in a music magazine article?

I asked what people would most like to see within a magazine article, the majority of responses I got were for top 10 lists with about 65% of all responses voting for this, interviews/Q & A’s and exclusives both got around 15% each. I will be including all of these inside my magazine.

Question 7 - How much would you pay for a rock/metal music magazine?

Another question I asked people was how much they would be willing to pay for a music magazine, most people chose to willingly pay between £2.00 and £2.99 for it, this shows I will be pricing my magazine within this price range.

Question 8 - What types of ways do you listen to music?

In a different question in my survey I asked people what types of methods they use to listen to music. The majority of responses said they use the internet to listen, using websites such as YouTube and Spotify. This shows that I will distribute my magazine digitally for people to read and also set up different social media accounts for my magazine so I can connect with readers, making discussions about certain topics and keeping up to date on rock and metal news.

Here is a screenshot from my questionnaire of this question. We can see that most people said they listened to music through the internet using websites such as YouTube.

Question 9 – Would you be willing to subscribe to a music magazine?

In this question I asked people if they would want to subscribe to a music magazine, I got balanced responses for this which shows that I could make a subscription service for my magazine which will mean more people would be reading the magazine.

Question 10 – What would encourage you to buy a music magazine?

I asked people what would draw them the most to want to buy a music magazine, from my responses the majority of responses said that free posters and special edition copies of the magazine would draw them to want to purchase it the most, this shows I should include this in my design for my magazine.

Prelim Task

Evaluation of prelim task

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

I did not plan my magazine before designing it. However, I have learnt about the importance of research and planning during the process of me creating my front cover to the magazine as I looked at other examples of different magazine front covers and contents pages to see what they do is correct. I then used what they do and implemented it into my magazine.

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

To complete the task I used Serif PagePlus X6. I used it to create my front cover and contents page. Using this software, I was able to use different pictures that I took and place them onto my magazine. I also used the Cutout studio in PagePlus to delete any unwanted backgrounds or people that wouldn’t be needed for the magazine. Also, using PagePlus I was able to use a design for my magazine which made it stand out and not just be a normal blank page. I was able to use other tools in PagePlus for my text such as filter effects which I used to make my masthead. I made the masthead 3D, added a slight drop shadow, added an inner shadow and used the colour fill. I used the square rectangle tool to create a section for my contents page that I used to number pages.

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

During the process of making the magazine, I did encounter an issue with the cutout studio as I could not get a smooth edge around the student I was using. This left the image looking jagged. Also, it took a while for me to think of ideas for stories I could include on the magazine.

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

I think my first magazine was successful as I used a good design that makes it look quite professional. Also, the front cover is sectioned well with different stories and pictures as they are not cluttered and are clear to read. I used tags on the magazine which would help draw in people’s attention. For example, “exclusive interview”. I also think that the masthead stands out as it is bold and colourful. If I was to improve my magazine, I would maybe add some more pictures and stories to the front cover which would draw in more attention and make it more appealing.

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 this task, I have learnt that I should research different magazines that are like mine before creating my own as it benefited me when I saw different examples of other magazines. I have also learnt about the different tools in PagePlus and how I can use them to enhance my magazine.