Evaluation Question 7) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I addressed the specific needs of my target audience as I included all of the bands which they named as their favorites. I did this because these are the indie-rock artists they are most interested in so this means that my 3 target audience individuals will all be attracted to my magazine and will cater for all of their needs as they are re interested in indie-rock music which is relevant and helpful information for the creating of my magazine. The target audience said they needed to read that their favorite bands were included as they would not be attracted to a magazine which did not include anything about the music they are interested in as they were not interested in reading about people they do not know.

Definition of a social group: A social group is a collection of people who interact with each other and share similar characteristics and a sense of unity. A social category is a collection of people who do not interact but who share similar characteristics.

Social groups I have tried to address in my work:

1.Concert goers

2.Teenagers

3.Indie-rock listeners

4.Female readers

To accommodate the social group ‘concert goers’ I made sure I included aspects in my magazine which applied to them. I did this by including information about live music and upcoming concerts/tours by the bands I had included in my magazine. This was so I attracted the attention of this social group as I believe my target audience is made up of the majority being concert goers due to the atmosphere of indie-rock concerts as it is always very upbeat and enjoyable. I think my magazine would attract the attention of concert goers because it include in-depth information about their favorite artists which would catch their eye as they must be very passionate about their favorite artists as they go to many concerts performed by the and take part in things like mosh pits showing them to be ‘die hard’ fans.

To accommodate the teenagers I made sure the appearance of the magazine is very easy to follow and easy on the eye as this will attract the attention of a teenagers. I did this by using appropriate colours and text to ensure this attracted teenagers to my magazine as I think the majority of my target audience is made up of the social group ‘teenagers’. This will bring a lot of promotion and selling to my magazine as I have made it look good instead of boring as a boring magazine would turn away the teenage audience as their young minds get bored easily. I also made sure the content text was not too complicated so it was very straight forward and easy to understand. This was so the teenagers wouldn’t start reading it, not understand, and then drop the magazine, with it being easy to understand the teenagers are able to read it as they would prefer something they do not really have to think about too much to understand it.

To accommodate the social group ‘indie-rock listeners’ I made sure I included a lot of information and key bands from the music genre to attract them to the magazine straight away. I included a lot of indie-rock bands on the front page of the magazine in bright red letters which inform indie-rock listeners and readers to easily see the bands which are going to be included in the magazine. The use throughout the magazine of the different indie-rock band names would attract the social as these are the bands they are most interested in and listen to so they will be attracted to reading more about them. On the contents page I included a lot of pages which include articles on the bands I have mentioned to allow an even more chance of attracting the attention and audience of indie-rock listeners as my target audience is made up entirely of this social group. I have also made sure I accommodate this social group as I have dressed the models included in my images in a way which would attract the attention of this social group as this is the expectation of their own clo0thing style as the majority of indie-rock listeners dress like the artists.

have also addressed the social group of female readers as my target audience is made up of many females who are into the music genre sure to the very good looking band members of indie rock bands. I have supplied this social group with several images of very good looking male models who are dressed very smartly. This catches the attention of female readers as they are attracted to the very good looking man on the front of the magazine. They continue to be provided with images of attractive young men when they turn to the contents pages and the double page spared also, attracting them to tread the whole of my magazine. I have also included a female model in the images who dressed like the female audience of my target audience would be expected to dress so this attracts them to reading

Evaluation Question 6) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

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

Front Cover

1.      One way in which my media product uses a convention of a real media product is that on the front page I have included an image of one defined model. This is a common feature of real media products as most magazines include an image of one person on the front to attract the audience into reading the magazine as the model is big and bold attracting them to read it.

2.      I have also looked closely at my researched real magazine and I have taken ideas from this front cover, I have used their colour scheme as I believe this convention from this magazine looks good for the music genre I am aiming at. I took ideas from my research as it allows me to directly use different conventions from real media products as I have went off the design and layout of this real media product

3.      I have also not used any hanging widows and made sure these were all illuminated as this is a media convention which is avoided at all costs because it is a poor layout design. I believe on the front cover I have used complimentary colours as I have included a black and white background and used bright blue and red colours against it allowing these words to be easily seen and stand out again the background.

4.      My font choice was because it was a sans serif font which is easier to read than a serif font and because of my target audience this was more appropriate to be readable by my target audience.

Contents page

1.      On the contents page I also applied a lot of my research to the creation of my contents page. The colour scheme is again appropriate for the magazine and follows the colour scheme of the front page which is a media convention from real media products as they tend to follow the same colour scheme the whole way through.

2.      The red on the contents page compliments the red of the magazine logo which is a convention from real media products as they mostly include a logo of their magazine which is included in the contents page to allow the magazine to continue to be seen as from the company.

3.      I have included a main image on the contents page but also a second image which is related to an article inside the magazine, this is a form which is used in a real media product as several images are commonly used on the contents page to present different articles and to attract the reader to read on in the magazine and attracts them to read that article.

4.      I have not included much informative writing about each article on the contents page as when looking at real media products they do not give away too much on the contents page as they want readers to read on.

5.      I also used the idea from real media products to separate the different topics in the contents page as this allows the articles to be easy to follow and it allows readers to know where to go for what they are interested in reading about.

6.      Another feature which is used by all media magazine products in the numbers of each page and article being included so the magazine is easy to follow as each page is easy to find.

Double Page Spread

1.      On the double page spread I made sure that I was spacing the text similar to the real media product I had used in my research. I ensured I kept to this idea as I spaced the lettering in the same way as the real media product as I believe this gives my magazine the correct appearance. It also allows the magazine to be easily read and understood because the words are easy to read.

2.      I have also used the idea of having the main article questions in a different colour and case than the main body text answers as this follows the conventions of real media products as it allows the questions and answers to be easily separated. When looking at magazines from my research they use this feature a lot and the feature for the question being a different colour font than the main article/answers so I included this feature in my magazine.

3.      Another feature I included which is a feature used in real media production is the inclusion of the authors of the photographs and words used for my article; this is so everyone involved in creating the magazine is credited.

4.      I also used the media convention of page numbers in the corner of both pages of the double page spread as this is a feature used by all media magazine products.

5.      Another convention from real media products which I have applied to my work is the title of the article being spread across both pages of the double page spread.

6.      I have also included the feature of a snippet of information in small white writing in the corner which is attached to the male model in the image as this information is to do with him.

Evaluation Question 5) How did it attract/address your audience?

Interview with Molly Arney:

What is your first impression when you see this magazine?

I think this magazine has been put together very well as the bands included on the front page are my most common interests. They are my favorite bands to listen to so I am very interested to read what is on the inside. 

Where do you see weaknesses in the magazine and what would you change about this to allow it to appeal to you more?

Firstly I think the band logo on the front page is very blocky and not appealing and would not be representative of most bands I am in to. But other than that I think the front page is very good as the colours are easily seen and I like the effect of the title being behind the models head.  

I think an improvement that could be done on the contents page is I think the image does not represent the music genre that well, although the models in the image do the music genre justice I just think the scenery could be more appropriate.

An improvement on the double page spread is the height difference between the models as I believe the male towers over the female a little bit but other than that I think this double page spread really represents the music genre well as the colours and the models follow a really good and appropriate colour scheme.

Oh that’s okay, I agree with you and if I was to perform these tasks again I would be sure to make these improvements to make sure my work was as good as it could have been. 

What do you think of the layout of the magazine pages?

I think they are very good as they are very appropriate for the music genre as the colours used are very representative for the music type and the layout is quite mellow and straight forward like the music genre. I think the style is quite laid back, just like the music genre  and the artists  which perform for the music genre because people like Noel Gallagher are very laid back. 

I've included the bands Arctic Monkeys and Oasis  on the various pages of my magazine, is this an attraction to you?

It was definitely a plus as it engaged me more with reading the magazine because these are my favorite bands which I am mostly interested  in so I was interested in reading about them. 

After reading the article, do you believe this is something which would interest you in my magazine and would attract you to reading it?

This would definitely interest me as the music artists I follow and listen to are very private in their social and private lives so reading an interview like that allows me to know more about them and how they form the band and stuff. 

Do you think the images used are appropriate to the music genre and do they attract you?

I think the images used are very good as I believe they represent the music genre very well. The image of the male model of the front represents the music genre very well as he is dressed in a style of Alex Turner or Noel Gallagher and his facial expression is very plain but mysterious like the music genre.

I think the image of the 4-man band is good as they appear like a real band who have been photographed like a band like Oasis or the Arctic Monkeys. 

I think the image of the female model on her own is good as she looks very serious but she is a pretty girl which catches my attention as I am attracted to her.

I think the image on the double page spread represents a couple which would fall into the indie rock genre but I still think the female model could be nearer his height. 

If this magazine were to be made into a real magazine which you could subscribe to every week, would you?

Yeah I think I would because I think everything that has been included applies to me as there is an article on the featuring band on the inside which would interest me if it was one of my favorite indie rock bands. The contents page includes information on the band Oasis, The Smiths, Arctic Monkeys and more which I am interested in reading more about. The magazine attracted me well as I think it presents indie-rock really well  and would definitely be something I would be interested in buying.

Evaluation Question 4) What have you learnt about technologies during the process of constructing this product?

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

Photographing and lighting

When photographing my models I was taught a lot of techniques to use when photographing my models as before this project I did not have any experience with photography and how to light the image. My first photo-shoot of the male model was not very good as I did not think through the clothing of the model and the lighting of the images. After looking at these images and realizing my mistakes I asked the model to be photographed again and I changed his clothes to match the research I had done on the artists from my selected music genre, I made sure the light outside was bright enough so I was able to light my models face and body well enough to be seen and to create the correct effect. I also learned the technique of the actual camera and learned the photograph came out better using natural light and not the camera flash, I also learnt how to set the camera to being able to take several photos at one click.

Photoshop

I had never used Photoshop before starting my media project and I feel with my little experience with the software I was able to get on with the software well and I quickly learned how to use the tools and different techniques to create my work. I learned how to use the cloning tool and this was my most used tool whilst using Photoshop. This is because I used this tool a lot to correct things in my images from correcting problems with the models skin to problems with the backgrounds and the scenery in order for the images to look appropriate. This tool was extremely helpful and useful as this helped me improve and make my images look as good as they could have been as I was able to correct the imperfections of the images in order for them to appear like professional images which would be used by a real magazine. I also used the brightness and colour adjustments to adjust the images I used in order for them to be corrected and appear the best they could be improving the look of my images and allowing my models to stand out against e background.

InDesign

I also did not have much experience in using this software but this was also very easy for me to get the hang of. I used the text box tool the most as I used this to insert the text boxes for all of the text I used for my entire magazine as this was the main feature of my pages. I also used the ‘place’ tool to place the images I had included in my front cover, contents page and double page spread which allowed me to include all of the images for my documents. This tool was very useful as I was able to insert each image where I wanted them and I was able to place them by choosing their size and placement as they were being placed which made it easier to put my images where they were to go. I used the pen to draw my text boxes on my double page spread as these text boxes were being placed round the body shapes of my models, this was so the writing was readable against the background as it place around the models allowing them not to be covered by the text. This tool was extremely useful to me as it allowed me to include all of the text  I needed whilst I was also able to not cover my models and their faces/bodies because the pen tool allowed me to choose the shape and size of my text box.

Blogger

With blogger I this I used the program very well, I had no experience at all with this website but I think as soon as I signed up it was very easy to know how to use each part of the website and it was easy for me to start adding and creating different blog entries/posts for my work. I was also able to insert the images and the text easily to allow me to make my blog posts to include all of the different aspects to do with my work allowing me to document the different pieces of my project.

Evaluation Question 2) Who would be the audience to you media product?

The theme of my magazine is the music genre Indie Rock. I have chosen this theme as this is my favourite music genre so I believe that I will enjoy making this magazine and I will be able to work easily at creating the magazine and images involved as I believe I have a wide knowledge on this music genre. Having experienced this music genre with concert crowds and other people being fans, I have a good idea on what the target audience of my magazine will be.

The target audience for my magazine is anyone who is interested in indie. From experience, I believe that this involve people of an age from about 16 to 50, I think that this could exceed these ages but I think these are the main guidelines for the age of my target audience. I think these are the perfect ages as when attending bands like Arctic Monkeys concerts the majority of the audience are this age as I believe they are filled with older people who are experience with the music genre or younger people who are into the style of the band’s music or clothing. I also believe that the music genre is quite intelligent as the lyrics sung in the songs are very advanced so I believe these ages are old enough for the lyrics to be understood.

I think that regarding the images I am using in my magazine that it would be aimed at both genders but maybe more towards female. This is because the images being used are mostly of very handsome male models that would attract the eye of female interest, but the images have also been made to not be too provocative towards females allowing male attention to be caught to with the article headings. I think both genders will be attracted to my magazine as I believe the images, unlike pop magazines, are very neutral as they are of neither gender in a provocative and flirty way but instead very neutral and represents the music genre way more than just setting out to attract the eyes of either gender. I believe the colours used are very neutral between genders which also allow anyone to see it and pick it up. I also think the name of my magazine is very gender neutral as I think the name 'Douvan' is very different to names like 'Boys Base' or 'Girl Corner' which suggests a gender aim where's as the word 'Douvan' suggests that the magazine is aimed at neither gender but both.

Evaluation Question 1) Looking back at you preliminary task, what have you learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

During this project I feel that it outlined the kind of worker I am because I have learnt that I have a strength of imagination as I was able to imagine what I wanted the magazine front cover to look like before capturing my images and designing it. Whilst designing I was able to visualise what I wanted the magazine front cover to look like regarding my research and the aspects I wanted for my front cover. I feel like another strength of my work was that I produced several different designs which were all based around the same themed picture which allowed me to visualise the final front cover even more as I had a paper layout to go by. I feel that I was able to consistently progress throughout the project whilst producing each piece of work as I believe I worked quickly and efficiently and got everything done on time and to the best standard it could be. I worked very hard on the actual front cover and worked very hard to getting it right. When choosing a final font I went through several different sizes, fonts, colours and alignments before choosing the final font for the front cover. When producing my final front cover I went through a lot of stages before completing it and making it look the way I wanted as there were problems with the alignment, widows, colour matching, distractions in the image and other things which all were improved to make my final front cover. When designing my front cover I feel another strength was that I was able to see all of the problems with it and I was able to make changes due to these noticeable problems.

When producing this project I feel I needed to push my ICT skills as I had to use programmes which I am not used to using. I had to use the programme ‘InDesign’ to produce all of the different fonts, as I have not used this before it was difficult to start off with but once I understood the tools and what they did I was able to effectively use InDesign to produce my logo designs. I was able to resize, move, colour change, font change and more with the font when playing around with the different designs of my font for the magazine logo. I also had to use ‘Photoshop’ to edit my images for the front page. This meant I had to push my ICT skills as I had not had much experience with the programme so I had to learn about all of the tools and how they work so I was able to use the programme to its best ability. I had to push my editing skills whilst using this programme as I had to use the clone tool multiple times to remove certain aspects of my captured image. I also had to push my creativity skills because I am not a very creative person and when designing the magazine and taking pictures I had to become more creative in order to produce a good front cover with good images to use and a good title. 

For my photographs I used one of my friends called Simran because I believe she had the appearance of a good sixth form model for the front cover of a school magazine. When positioning Simran and telling her what to do she was very responsive and I was able to get position her and alter her expression easily. When moving her around the school to different rooms and window side areas she cooperated very well and it was extremely easy and good to work with Simran when photographing her for my front page of the magazine. When looking back on the photographs of Simran I realised several problems with her attire as I noticed her nose piercing and the toggle around her wrist. I was able to remove these by using the clone tool in Photoshop but it would have been much easier to remove them before taking the photographs. When taking photographs in the future I will make sure to get rid of these problems and errors before taking the photograph to decrease the amount of alterations needed on the computer. 

When photographing for the contents page I used my two friends Rielly and Simran. From my research of the contents page I intended to photograph the model against a white background with enough room beside them for the contents writing. Both models were good to work with as they allowed me to place them where I wanted and they pulled the expressions I asked them to when photographing them. As they are my close friends I felt they were perfect for the contents page as they attend the school and are very friendly looking people so I believe this is a good attraction of the front cover. They were both very easy to work with as I was able to tell them what to do and they responded extremely well and if they were playing up and ignoring my requests I was able to tell them to stop and they carried on posing as I wanted them for my photographs. I chose an image of Rielly for my contents page as I believe she posed really well for my front cover and her friendly expression in the image really allows the school to look like a friendly environment and attracts the reader to read the magazine. 

Due to all of the models being close friends of mine I was able to persuade and get them to do what I say easily as I was able to tell them what to do and if they started messing about it would be quick to getting back to being serious and modelling for my photos. Whilst taking the images I was able to have fun also as I was able to take several different shots and was able to experiment as I was able to use them for as long as I wanted. I could improve my persuasion skills by being a bit more authoritative in the future as when working with my friends because we are so close I feel I was unable to be authoritative but when using other people as a model I would have to not tolerate messing about. Although saying this all of the models were very good and easy to control when getting them to do what I want to do for my images. 

Overall I think this project was very good as I was able to build on many skills and I learnt a lot. I was able to build on my Photoshop and InDesign skills as I learned a lot more about the programmes and what each feature and took does. I also built one working skills as I believe I was up to date on most things in the project and followed the deadlines allowing the project to easily flow. I also feel I built on my camera and photographing skills as before this project I had little to no experience with a camera and how to place a model but during this project I was taught a lot of things about a camera and how to control the light on an image and how to place a model when photographing them. I learned to use natural light but standing the model and the scene close to a window and I learned how to use white sheets of paper to reflect the light onto the model which allowed the light to be used to control the shadows of the models features. I believe this project helped me a lot with my skills of magazine editing and the media side of the content and layout of a school magazine.