Friday 6 April 2012

EVALUATION.

 In what ways does your product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My product uses conventions of real media products in many ways. For example, firstly there is a masterhead at the top of the page. I have used a photo as my background linking to a story within the magazine. 
I have also stuck to a colour scheme of black and white, with the colours coming from the pictures. The reason I have done this is because I feel it looks young but sophisticated. 
The reason I chose this particular photo for my background, is because it is a bright photo, although her dress is black and white, her hair is red so it makes a nice contrast with the rest of the colour scheme. It is also a particular pose that is popular for magazines. 
It is clear that the magazine is a music magazine by the title “VOICE”. The reason I chose this title is because I think it is simple but also interesting. My magazine is about all types of music, aiming more for a younger teenage audience to link in with my inspiration “We Love Pop” 
I have included a strap line to make my cover look more professional and believable. 
Although I haven’t done cover lines, the reason is because my photo makes a big impact on the reader, and with cover lines I didn’t want it to look too busy and tacky. My photo would be of a well known singer so the audience would know straight away what my magazine was about.
One of the photos I have included shows a guitar, so my audience would see this and know it was a music magazine. 
My cover CHALLENGES the conventions of a music magazine because it is simple. Normally you would find many photos, cover lines and different colours for a young music magazine but I wanted to be different and choose a different route. 
My cover also develops the conventions of a music magazine because I have placed a photo of a girl with a guitar, and the title shows it’s clearly about music. 
CONTENTS PAGE.
In what ways does your product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
It has been thematically organised into “Inside this issue” “exclusive” “take a peak” “volume” and “extras”. These different categories are common of a magazine and make it look more professional, it also makes it easier to read.
The page numbers are bigger than the rest of the writing so readers can access the page easily. 
There is a montage of images of different people and ages appropriate to the target audience.
My contents CHALLENGES the conventions of a real music magazine because there would normally be an editors note, and I haven’t included this. 
I have used a montage of pictures, whereas normally there might just be one main image. 
My contents DEVELOPS the conventions of a real magazine because I have a continuity of colour. The grey and red. I chose a grey background with red writing. The reason I have done this is because I wanted the red to stand out, and the grey enables the red writing to do so. 
In one of the pictures, it is the same model from the photo on my front cover. Displaying a continuity throughout my magazine. 
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD.
In what ways does your product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My double page spread develops the conventions of a real music magazine, because I have used a sub title underneath the main title, explaining a little bit more about the magazine. 
There is information about the artist at the end of the article. 
I have used a quotation from the article which normally occurs in a magazine double page spread. 
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
All of my photos, show young teenage girls. I have done this so that my audience know the social group at which my magazine is aimed at and enables the audience to relate to it.
I have also chose teenage colours such as red, black and white. These colours could also symbolise the Rock And Roll genre, but due to the words and photos I have used it is clear that my magazine isn’t a rock magazine. 
Although it is a teenage magazine, I have aimed it at higher class group, due to the colours and simplicity of my magazine and because there is more writing than there is photos. 
I think it represents my social group well because in all of the photos the models are smiling and look positive. 
On my double page spread the model is looking directly into the camera, and looks very confident which puts across a good image for my music magazine .
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think IPC Media could distribute my music magazine because it is a multinational company, which means they would have the skills to ensure that my magazine would be successful in the music magazine industry. 
Who would be the audience for your media product?
My target audience for my media product would be upper class teenage girls. Between the ages of 16-19 due to the layout, colour scheme, and topics within my magazine.
How did you attract/address your audience?
On my front cover I places a box displaying things within the magazine, such as “Advice, Posters and Gossip” to ensure the audience would be attracted to my magazine and want to read it. 
The main image of the girl looking away from the camera, dressed unique and not mainstream, shows femininity and will attract female audiences. 
The informal font I have chose for my title and cover line makes the audience feel comfortable. The language used is also informal and at a friendly tone.
The two images placed on the front cover are of posters that would be within the magazine, and they would make the audience want to buy it. 
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt many things from the process of constructing this product. 
I have learnt how to use InDesign and Photoshop. 
With InDesign I learnt how to make a magazine cover, from scratch, something I was nervous about as I have never done anything like that before. I learnt how to place photos, text, different colours, backgrounds and more. 
When learning how to use photoshop, I learnt how to crop images, editing the photos I had added, adding different texts and images, and including shapes. 
I have also learnt what looks good. I realised that you don’t have to place everything on one page for it to look good. 
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I have learnt that the magazine cover must include certain things. Such as a strap line. 
I have learnt that you cannot use a wide range of different colours on one page, and different text fonts, as it does not look professional and would make it difficult for the reader to read. So I have been able to use colours and text more effectively with a neutral background. 

Tuesday 27 March 2012

Screen shot Front Page.

This is a screen shot of my final front page. As you can see from my previous shots I have experimented and developed my ideas and they have been through a changing process.
I decided to use this photo as she is dressed in up to date clothes, and represents a positive image of teenagers.
I called my magazine VOICE because I wanted to keep it simple, and get straight to the point, so looking at my front cover you know straight away that it is going to be a music magazine.
I chose to use white writing on my front cover because the background is black and I think that the white writing contrasts well and is able to stand out and will be read easily for the audience.
I have placed two photographs underneath the title. One photo shows a guitar, so this again, shows the audience what my magazine is going to be about. The other photo shows a young teenager smiling, to give a positive feel to my magazine and make the audience aware that my magazine will be happy and entertaining.
When designing my layout for my front cover, I wasn't entirely sure which theme to take. After many development processes I knew I wanted a dark background. So when taking the photos of my model, I placed her in front of a black curtain to ensure I got the best layout possible. I believe that this has worked well because it enabled me to place anything over the top, as long as it linked in with the theme.
I also made sure my model wore suitable clothes, but especially clothes that stand out to ensure my audience would be hooked into my front cover, and make them want to open it to see what is inside.
I am pleased with my front cover and feel that it has worked well, and am proud of it.

Screen shots.


Here are two screen shots of my final pieces for my Double Page Spread, and my Contents Page. I like how these have turned out because you can see clear evidence of development and experimentation.

For my Double Page Spread, I knew the layout I wanted to achieve, so I made sure the photographs I took enabled me to succeed with this. I linked the colours together; red, black and white as I thought they contrasted well together and it is easy to read. I think it looks professional as it isn't too busy, but it is subtle.

For my contents page I still wanted to go with a similar theme of the red writing, but wanted to have an interesting background. I chose grey because it is a neutral colour, and it allows the red writing to stand out and be read easily. I added some photographs to make the page more enjoyable. The reason that I haven't gone over the top with my pages, is because I wanted my magazine to be up-market and although I was inspired by We Love Pop, my audience is of an older teenage age group.

Tuesday 7 February 2012

Screen shots.


Here are the screen shots of my letters I tried to create. As you can see the first one was done with the drawing tool on photoshop. I wasn't sure on how to create a large letter so I did an experiment first.

The second one I used text, and just changed the size and font to make it stand out more.

Screen Shots.

This is a screen shot of my final magazine idea. As you can see i've used many different skills to achieve this look. I have sent three photos backwards for the background, used photos and different fonts. However, I don't like this as I think it looks like there is too many words on there, so I am going to take some photos and add some more photos to it. I love the colours, and the idea of the bright colours with black and white photos.

The reason there is the letter A in the background is because the magazine is called Aspire, so I wanted to link that in with the contents page.

Tuesday 31 January 2012

Screen Shots.


These are screen shots of the completed number I wanted to place onto my magazine. I began on photoshop, making a box, filling it with colour, then placing the number four in, changing the size and font and then changing the blending options to "Inner shadow", "Bevel and Emboss" and "Satin". I then placed it onto the area of my contents page I wanted it to go and am happy with the result.

Screen Shots.



These are screen shots of the skills I am using to create my contents page.
The first one is an experiment I did with photoshop. I wanted to create a more interesting number for my contents, and used this software on Photoshop.
The second one is showing how i created my own colour for my number boxes and how I did it.

Tuesday 17 January 2012

First Draft Of Completed Double Page Spread.


This is my first draft of a complete double page spread. However, I am still waiting to take some photos so I have not been able to include photographs. I wanted to have a title with a quote as well. I also wanted to use two areas of my page as I think there is a lot of small writing for the reader to read, so I thought that by using two boxes it breaks up the page and is much easier on the eyes.

I like how my pages have turned out, but they will look much better with photographs and when colour is added.

Music Magazin Contents Page- Draft 1.

This is the first draft of my contents page. I decided I wanted to make my magazine quirky and fun, so I chose a bold font, and a bright colour. However, these colours and fonts may change with the experimentation process.

I like how my contents page looks so far, and I have included a big title, the issue number, the date, the page number and four different boxes with different pages and stories in.

Tuesday 10 January 2012

Magazine Article Screen Shots.


These are the screen shots of my article places on a magazine draft. The top one is the text without any changes. In the bottom one I changed the font because I wanted to make it look more interesting and easy to read. 

I enjoyed writing my article because we were able to make up anything, as long as it relates to music. Next week I will add pictures, and the title and other details. 

Magazine Article.


You know them songs that get stuck in your head all day long? When you’re washing up and you find yourself humming to a tune you heard 8 hours before on the radio? That would be the sweet music from the lyrical genius Zoey Southwell.

The mysterious soul singer is new on the scene and she’s certainly come around with a bang! Her music ranges from all ages, she mixes pop with soul, rhythm and blues and rap. Zoey has featured with the likes of Jay Sean, Drake, Ellie Goulding and Rhianna. She is signed by world famous record company Universal Music, along with labels such as Lady GaGa, LMFAO and Mary J. Blige.

Stealing Zoey away from her busy lifestyle at her penthouse apartment in Essex for only a strict half hour we managed to get lots of juicy information from her, including tour dates, album releases and new videos. We also get the full scoop on her relationship with Lil Wayne.

Hello Zoey, this is a lovely place! You’ve come a long way from Croydon. This lifestyle must have taken some getting used to.

-Yes (she chuckles) coming from somewhere like Croydon I thought I was on a one-way ticket to working in Asda. It’s just a totally different lifestyle.

We can only imagine how it must feel to be able to order champagne on ice whenever you want! What’s the best part of being a celebrity?

-(Laughing) haha that one never gets old! The best part of doing what I do is knowing that I’m giving something back to my family through my music, and knowing that I’m making them proud. Also, the free shoes aren’t too bad either!

Free shoes?! Some girls only dream! So what is your music going to be about in the upcoming future?

-Trust me I did dream! My music is going to represent everything I stand for and believe in. It’s going to have meaning, obviously because I write my own music each song will be very personal to me and my experiences. I’ve written some real heartbreakers on this album.

Ooooo we’re intrigued! Heartbreakers? Who could ever be silly enough to break your heart?!

-(Laughing) haha every little girl has their heart broken at some point in their life, it’s how you deal with it that defines you and closes that part of your life.  Relationships end and people move on, that’s life. The album really focuses on moving on, and closing things. It gives it away from the title “Where’s My Heart” which by the way is out at the end of this month! It’s available on iTunes now.

Speaking of relationships, can you give us some juicy gossip on you and Lil Wayne?  Are we hearing wedding bells?

-(Laughing) hahah me and Wayne are friends! We’ve been out for lunch, and shopping a couple of times. He’s been like my big brother in this business, advising me on who’s who, and being like a mentor. We’re not dating.

-I’m sure that will disappoint some of our fans! Is there any hope for the future between you two?

-I never say never, but not right now no. I’m dedicated to my music at the moment. Nothing else!

Ok ok we won’t say anymore! So, you’ve been featured in a few songs with big artists recently. Who was the best one to work with?

-I know I’m so lucky and truly blessed to be able to work with such incredible and successful people. None of them were the best because they’re all amazing! But meeting Drake has been one of my dreams since I was about seventeen years old! (Laughing) They were all fantastic and I’d love to work with them again. They are all extremely talented.

In your new video with drake, there are a few love scenes. Was it hard remaining professional with someone you’ve had a teenage crush on? (Laughing)

-(Laughs) hahaha no not at all, I’m very business minded and know that if I’m not professional companies and artists wont want to use me. You’ve got to remain level headed in this industry.

Your duet with Drake has now made it into the top ten! How does that feel?

-It feels like I’m on cloud nine all the time. To be able to get into my car, turn the radio on and hear my music blaring through the speakers still freaks me out, but I love it at the same time. It’s even weirder seeing myself on television!

We know you’ve got a few tours coming up, you’re touring round the UK first right?

-Yes, I’m touring round the UK going to London, Bristol, Brighton, Liverpool, Scotland, Wales, Manchester and Newcastle. It’s only a 32 day tour, which is relatively short for a country tour but I’ve never experienced tour life before so I have no idea what to expect!  We’re spending 4 nights in each city and living on a bus, with one bathroom sounds interesting (Laughing)

Do you have any supporting acts playing at your tour?

-(Giggling and smiling) You’ll have to wait and see!

Okay Zoey it’s been brilliant talking to you, good luck with your tour and heartbreaker album! We’ll be hoping to see a lot more of you!


Tuesday 3 January 2012

Music Magazine Screen Shots and Evaluation.




Today we started making our own double page spread for our music magazine. We began by opening the software InDesign and laid out two blank pages. We then added columns, photos and text boxes. We had to make sure the sizes were correct, the text stood out and that our margins were in the right places. 
We were then told to highlight our columns and "Fill Placeholder With Text". This copied random text into our columns just so we could experiment with the text and practice on changing the size of our margins, making sure the text wasn't overflowing, changing the font and size, and making sure the text didn't hyphenate. 
We then had to add a small photo into our text, and make it fit how we thought looked best.

Above are some screen shots I have done to show my process of thought and experimentation. 
I think I have made a lot of progress today and throughout this experiment I have learnt new skills I will be able to put across when coming to my final outcome of my music magazine.