Completed Music Magazine

Final Note

Hello Moderator,

 

Below, beginning from September, you will find my 'Research & Planning' posts. You will then find my Evaluation posts (1-7), and also my completed product - my music magazine.

I have attempted to present my blog in a neat and organised layout, so that it is easy for you to read and understand information promptly.

 

I hope that you enjoy scrolling through my blog!

 

Many thanks,

Sarah.

Evaluation Question 7

Below I have created a VoiceThread to explain the progression from my college magazine to my final pop magazine product:

Evaluation Question 6

Throughout the production of my music magazine I used a number of different technologies. Some I improved my skills and knowledge of how to use them, others were completely new to me, which led me to learn how to use certain tools etc.

Above is a Canon DSLR camera. This is the camera model that I used to take my photographs for my music magazine. The camera has many various settings and I had not, before this task, used one like this before. Therefore it took me a few attempts to get used to it and be able to use it confidently without assistance. A particular setting that was extremely helpful was 'AutoFocus', this is because I do not have the steadiest hands and so, when taking the photographs, I would have struggled to get a HD result without this setting on the camera. The professional effect that this camera is able to give really helped and made a difference to the photographs for my magazine - especially when compared to photographs taken on my iPhone.

I used a programme called 'IShowU' to demonstrate how I used different technological software's such as:

-Photoshop

-Blogger

-iShowU (ft iMovie)



Evaluation Question 5

Below I have created a presentation which explains how I attracted and addressed my audience with my Cover/Contents/Double Page Spread with my music magazine:

Evaluation Question 4

Below I have placed a drawing of a figure that I would deem to be part of my target audience. The drawing depicts the stereotypical individual who would purchase my music magazine:

The drawing is of a 14 year old teenage girl named Chloe who is dressed casually, but also with style. She wears fashionable clothes, but these clothes are not highly expensive as my target audience are only teenagers and therefore will most likely still in be school and so will not be able to afford designer clothes.

Chloe loves to listen to artists such as Demi Lovato, One Direction, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber. Apart from listening to their music, she also loves to read about their personal lives; relationships, arguments and their opinions on certain issues. 

When Chloe grows up, she wants to be a professional dancer and maybe even become a new big pop artist - she is considering going to the X Factor Auditions when she is old enough!
Chloe loves animals and has a pet dog called 'Sammy' who she takes for walks every day in the countryside whilst singing along to her music. Chloe's favourite season is summer and she regularly wears summer dresses when going out.

Chloe is 'white-british' and quite slim, she has long blonde hair and blue eyes - this is the stereotype for young british girls who love to dance and sing. She dresses/looks like an aspiring celebrity. She takes great care when doing her makeup, and she cares about what she looks like more than most other things. She has a large friendship group and her favourite subjects at school are Art and Technology - she enjoys to learn English as well.

Evaluation Question 3

By clicking on the Flickr slide above, it will take you directly to my Flickr account where I have annotated my music magazine regarding distribution.

Evaluation Question 2

Above is a GIF that I have created to show how my magazine represents a certain social group.

Expression: Both of the artists are smiling at the camera, this shows that they are happy and friendly. They are welcoming and warm to the audience, and this reflects how my audience would be with them.

Posture: Both artists have a strong posture, although their heads are tilted slightly to the right, and this gives the effect of hiding one side of their faces; this indicates that may be a little shy, but it also shows that they are 'cute'. This reflects my audiences social group as young teenage girls stereotypically 'pretend' to be confident when really they are insecure about certain things.

Shot Type: Both shots are mid-shots and this is important because it makes the shot more personal - a long shot would alienate the audience as it would make it look as though the artist did not want to be part of the magazine. This reflects my audiences social group as they are quite upfront and want to be involved in most things - just like the artists.

Hair/Make-Up: Both of the artists are wearing makeup, just as female teenagers do. Also, both of their hair is styled down as this shows that they have made more of an effort rather than just putting their hair up; this reflects the social group as girls care a lot about how they look, and therefore hair/makeup contributes a lot to this.

Overall, both of the artists look happy and welcoming, and they both look very confident although there is an element of shyness with their side glance posture. This represents my social target audience as they are confident but also have some insecurities because of their age and looks.

Evaluation Question 1

Completed Full Magazine

Completed Double Page Spread

Double Page Spread Progression

Looking at my double page spread, I have decided that I am going to cut out the main image of my model Mia better as I feel that it does not look good enough.

I am using the pencil tool to cut her out accurately and smoothly.

Double Page Spread Progression

I am now going to add an addition yellow box which focuses on the makeup element of a pop magazine; again emphasising who my target audience is - young girls. I also purposely tilted the box to the right slightly to highlight that is a fun and informal magazine instead of a tightly structured, more formal magazine that young people would be less likely to read. 

Double Page Spread Progression

I decided that I had to improve my title and make it look a lot more professional. 
I started to think about how I could achieve this and so I came up with this idea:

I think that adding some 'sticker' like boxes onto the title would make it stand out more and also take up more space on the page. 

I then decided that this was too blunt and so I needed to add some softness to it; I achieved this by adding a drop shadow to the font, and then preceded to adding a white stroke affect.

I think that I have achieved a title which screams out that it is pop. The colours are light and 'friendly' and also the font is bold and captivating. I think that it is a very good title as I think that it is very 'young' looking and therefore well suited to my target audience. 

Social Media Feedback

Double Page Spread Progress

Completed Contents Page

 

I am very pleased with my completed contents page. I think that it is clear what my audience is (teen pop) due to my use of colour, design, layout and cover lines. I think that I have added a unique touch to my magazine through the 'merry xmas' message on the left hand side and also with the idea of the small, succinct box with all the cover lines in. I think that this makes my magazine better.

Also, the yellow bar strip along the bottom also highlights that my magazine is aimed at young teenage pop music fans as its prize is X factor tour tickets and this immediately coincides with the X Factor audience; my research proved this.

I have followed the three colour rule and I also think that the layout is professional as it is aligned and neat; although it is still informal as it is for a younger audience.

I believe that I have achieved what I wanted to achieve.

Lastly, I think that my work with my model photographs are well done and this highlights that I can use the Photoshop software quite well. 

Progression of Double Page Spread

Research: Gossip in Pop Magazines

 

The main cover line on this front cover is 'Taylor: Her first interview since Harry!' This clearly indicates that pop music magazines have an element of gossip/relationship issues within them. Therefore, because of this, I am going to have a 'mini' article within my double page spread which focuses on the current gossip following my models love life. I think this will make my double page spread more unique and realistic; yes the audience want to read about their upcoming music but they are also intrigued by their love lives, as proven by this magazine example above.

Final Draft of Front Cover

This is the completed version of my HOT IN POP music magazine. I have made some changes to improve my work.
Firstly, I have made my models image a lot larger on the page to lessen the amount of blue surrounding her - this makes the magazine look more professional.
Also, I have added a tag line underneath the cover line 'JENNY'S XMAS ADVENTURE' and I have done this so that my audience have a brief understanding of what that article is about. I think this makes it look more original and more enticing.
Also, I have double checked that the outline of my model (with the pencil tool on Photoshop) is accurate and that there are no mistakes. I think that I have done that very well and to the best of my ability.
I added a light blue background to the magazine to make it look more warm and feminine. Pure white looked plain and boring. And also, with a background colour, you can see that I have cut out the background from my model quite well.
The front cover of my pop music magazine is colourful and the colours are all suitable for young teenage fans of pop music. I think that I have listened and incorporated my target audience research accurately.

Progression of my Front Cover

In my next update, I am going to enlarge the image of my main model to fill in the space more as there is too much blue.

Also, in the top right corner I am going to have a graphic around my image of my model wearing the jumper which is to be won. I am going to do this because it currently looks as though she is floating on the page and it looks out of place.

I am also going to make my cover lines bigger to fill up the space more.

Fourthly, I am going to add a sentence beneath 'Jenny's Xmas Adventure' to briefly summarise that.





Progression of Double Page Spread

As you can see I have added guidelines to my double page spread. I have done this to ensure that I do not go over the lines and make the magazine look unprofessional. I have also edited my double page spread slightly from my last update as I have made the 'Mia's top makeup tips' a separate part of the page by adding a pink box around it. I think this not only makes the magazine look young and pretty, but it also makes my magazine less formal and more girly as boys wouldn't normally want to read about makeup tips as they do not wear it as much as girls. I am definitely focusing on targeting my audience.

I have also decided to make the background colour the exact same base colour as my front cover - I have done this to specifically link the pair together. I want my audience to know that this is the same magazine as they read through it as I think that shows continuity which is good.

Research - Double Page Spread Titles

 

I am struggling to decide how to style my double page spread title, and therefore I have begun researching existing and professional styles. I think this will help inspire me and hopefully result in my title being well presented and of a high standard. From this research I have found that titles should be bold and larger writing than normal, therefore I will ensure that I can achieve this. 

Progression of Contents Page

To make my contents page more precise and professional, I have decided to ensure that all of the contents is aligned perfectly and is also the same size. This will take a while and I have required the use of guidelines, however when completed I believe that the contents will appear much better and therefore it is worth the extra time.

I have stuck with the idea of making my 'exclusive features' coloured bright pink, whilst the remaining articles which are regular in the magazine are black. I think this is a subtle way of letting my audience know which is which. I think this shows I have thought creatively about what I want my contents to look like.
I have not finished editing this yet, but I will by my next update.

Progression of Front Cover

This is my penultimate draft of my magazine front cover. I have added some extra cover lines onto it and this has made the space look much more filled and professional. Also, I have listened to my recent audience feedback and added a light blue background colour to the magazine. I think this makes the colours stand out and it certainly helps to make the style young and pop culture like. Also, as a subtle addition I have decided to write 'special issue December 2014' to show that this is not a usual magazine; it is a Christmas special (hence at the bottom of the page it reading 'Jenny's Xmas Adventure'.

Progression of Front Cover

I have updated my front cover by using the pencil tool to cut out the background behind the model (Hayley). I have also increased the brightness on my main models photo (Mia) to make her look more vibrant which would hopefully catch my audiences eye more.

Progression of Double Page Spread

I have begun to write out my double page spread interview and will have it completed by my next update. Also, I have added a yellow circle reading 'Mia's top makeup tips) and marginally overlapped it on the photograph of my model applying makeup - this shows a clear link between the two and that will be obvious to my audience. 

Progression of Front Cover

I have made many changes to my front cover.
I have added in the main image of my model (Mia). And I have used the 'pencil tool' to cut out the background behind her to give the impression that she is behind a blank canvas; making the image look more professional.

Progression of Double Page Spread

As you can see I am using Photoshop skills to edit my model photographs by removing the background etc. I am using the pencil tool to edit the image and make it look more professional. Also, on the smaller image of my model (Mia) applying makeup to her face, I have heightened the brightness to give the image a warm glow which complements the models appearance, and thus makes the image look more suited for a pop magazine as it is pretty and would appeal to younger girls.
In my next update for my double page spread, I am going to put a subtitle above the image of my model applying makeup - this will read 'Mia's Makeup Tips' and this will also give my magazine more of a 'pop' feel to it as young fans of 'Mia' will aspire to be/look like her. 
I am also going to change/improve my masthead on the next update.

First Draft of Double Page Spread

Contents Page Second Draft

I have decided to have my contents information in a neatly layed out box on my contents page. I think by doing this is shows the information clearly and this is good for realism purposes as my audience is quite young and it is good for my magazine to be easy to read/understand. Also, I think it is clear by the design on the box that the numbers in bright pink are exclusive/feature articles as opposed to the typical/usual black numbers i.e fashion tips.