Preliminary task blog link

Link to preliminary task
http://lucymccabemediablog.blogspot.com/

Evaluation question 4

What institution might distribute your product and why?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LTOM_LsXOs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Evaluation question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task what have you learnt?

I have answered this question in a presentation which can be found by clicking the link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6EyundQ1lG_X0tnMi01Tk5GY0U/edit?usp=sharing

Evaluation question 6

How did you attract/ address your audience? 
I have answered this question on a slideshow program called Deck and uploaded to Slideshare

http://www.slideshare.net/lucyannemccabe/evaluation-question-6-33467163

Evaluation question 5

Who would be the audience for your media product?
I have answered this question in a presentation which can be found be clicking this link https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6EyundQ1lG_bVplNjgwYl9GQ3c/edit?usp=sharing

Evaluation questions 2 and 3

Both of these answers have been presented on a slideshow software called Prezi, they can be viewed by clicking the following links;


Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?
http://prezi.com/1pqqlrz9vg8z/present/?auth_key=n87by1k&follow=wvw9l__wd1cw


Question 3: What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this?
http://prezi.com/rqjjf0ozditk/what-have-you-learned-about-technologies-from-the-process-of/

Evaluation Question 1

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

Re-construction

This is my original product, after gaining feedback on improvement from teachers and other students such as; the magazine did not seem to evidently appear as a music magazine, and some key features from a typical magazine was missing, so i made the following alterations.

I added key magazine features such as a barcode, in the bottom left corner, this affected the positioning of the list like feature at the bottom, so i moved it to the top of the page- this was beneficial as it is in a place of which will attract a greater amount of attention. I also added a price beneath the date and issue number to give customers the value of the product. I added a red circle with an attractive prize on advertised by "WIN!!!" as a bold title, i find this both creates a music appeal as the prize relates to music with a typical magazine approach in a coloured circle to build up a colour scheme. I changed the name of my magazine as i found that although 'Euphony' is a musical term- a synonym of rhythm- no one understood what it meant. I chose an obvious music related name "Independent records" as this is typically what my magazine is about within the indie genre. I chose to add a logo image again obviously relating to music- headphones. I edited this image on Photoshop by completely removing the background, adding a posterized effect to make it seem stencil-like and within the black fabric the initials of the magazine name.

Final Products

Construction process

FRONT COVER

This is the original photo I captured. I asked my model to wear a hat, as hats seem to be less common to wear- presenting her as an individual therefore representing indie music, as it is unique. I suggested the polka dot shirt as I think this item of clothing is quite quirky again a quality possessed by the genre of my magazine.

I opened the image on Photoshop and adjusted the brightness and contrast. I did not feel the need to crop of adjust the size as I found the empty space around would leave area for text. I then got rid of the red eye by eliminating the red by selecting channel mixer, coloured over with black then inverted to get this result.

I then added a masthead 'Euphony' which is defined as " pleasing effect to the ear, especially a pleasant sounding or harmonious combination or succession of word" by dictionary.com I think this title works well as it is not a word that everyone is likely to be familiar with and is different, representing indie music. I used the font 'myraid pro' as I think it is quite bold yet also narrow in some areas which I think is quite interesting, for example the crossbar of the letter 'h' is thinner than the stem. I added effects to this text such as bevel and emboss creating a shiny 3D like appearance. I also added a stroke and slight drop shadow effect, the stroke sort of outlined the text whilst the drop shadow gave a slight blurred effect.

I gave my artist an average name so it was believable.
Again i added a stroke and slight drop shadow to make this text stand out from the rest. I used terms such as 'reveals'  'new'  and 'exclusive' to create excitement for the reader. 'Reveals' suggests that the artist is finally giving us information. 'New' obviously states that she is presenting the readers with something new to listen to- which is what they would want as fans of indie music. I used a range of font sizes to clearly emphasise importance of certain parts of the text.
I think this placement works well as the tilt of her head and text working around this shows a relationship between the two.

I added the issue number and date below the masthead to the left as from my research I found that this is a common feature of magazines. Another feature I found was common was the use of text across the main person on the cover often a quote. I presented this text in italics  and a different font as this often suggests that these are somebody else's words. I added two features from the magazine to the right of the page working around the artist signifying her importance. I chose words such as 'you' and 'your' as I found that these terms connect with the reader. At the bottom I added more features from the magazine, the list like structure from the Spin magazine research influenced this as I think it worked well communicating areas of the contents without revealing too much.







CONTENTS

I began by opening up the image of a floral background a photo of which I captured some wallpaper. I think this floral background works well in representing indie genre as floral is linked to vintage style which is often associated with 'hipsters' which often listen to indie music. I had previously edited the image of the artist in Photoshop by cutting out the entire background using the polygonal lasso tool carefully working around her. I also flipped her so she was facing the left so she would link to the text effectively. I think the view of the shoes is significant as they show off the artist's sense of style, as you can see they are large platforms, which are quite unique and out of the ordinary, unique items of clothing like this are what I would expect to see readers of this magazine wearing.

I enhanced the contrast and brightness of both images so that it did not look so dull. I added a simple heading 'contents' in a colour similar to the colours of the background. I added effects such as stroke and a drop shadow so that it had an impact on the page and a clear outline. I placed this text to the right of the page to work with image, as this was not central either.

I added a sub-heading 'features' in bold capitals so that it could stand out. The page number and heading of each page are bolder and in a slightly larger font so that they stand out allowing the reader to identify the most important information without having to read the entire text. The following information is slightly bold in order for it to stand out from the background. I also added a thick line below 'features' again to show importance, it is in the same shade as the heading 'contents' enabling them to link. The numbers are not incorporated in the text and stand out quite a bit, I find this helps the eye focus on the page that links to what headings making it easier for readers to flick to whatever page quickly.

I created a fake album cover by capturing an image of my old art work of a train track, I then added text on top and a shadow around it so it was visible on the dark background. I added a black border around this so it was more visible.
















DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

I chose to work from this image on the double page spread, ideally I would have liked it to be taken a little further back so that i had more space to write around, spreading the image across the entire page. Again there is an essence linking to the indie genre- the floral chair also signifies a vintage appeal, linking the type of people that would read this magazine. I think the use of the guitar as a prop immediately suggests the sound of the artist's music- perhaps an acoustic approach. I think the view of festival bands confirm that the artist is a fan of music supporting the quote  "My music is my everything" as it shows that music means a lot to her.

I found that the image I wanted to use was too small therefore i extended the left side in order for the image to be suitable to fit across the whole page. I began by using the clone stamp tool to extend to floor and coving yet I found it was quite uneven so I used the polygonal lasso tool to capture an area and repeatedly paste it in the right place. I also had to extend the wall, I did this by using the colour sampler tool to extract the same colour, yet due to the lighting the shade got darker towards my model so I had to slightly fade the colour out by selecting a darker shades.

I added a heading in the font vijaya as i think it looks quite elegant. I chose an off-white colour to fill this as i think it goes with the image well. I think the statement heading is effective as i have repeated the term 'my' emphasising the idea that this interview is concentrated on the artist.

I added a sub heading to inform the readers, describing the content of the interview. I chose a shade harmonious with the background colour to help them link.

I then added the interview text; I began with an introducing paragraph since this is a new artist. Inspired by the magazine research I placed a drop cap at the beginning of this paragraph to make it appear shorter. I used contrasting black and white and switches between italics and regular so that the readers could easily establish the interviewers questions and the artist's answers. I placed the text around the artist so that she possessed the greatest importance. Even though this text is written I attempted to phrase the text how it would have been spoken, for example the use of repetition "Everything. Literally everything."  And the filler "Well, actually", making the interview seem more realistic. Below the end of the interview, I placed a name in capital which is the writer's name, I used the same shade as the sub-heading for this as I think too many colours would make it look messy. Towards the bottom right of the page I placed information on how to buy tickets again to make the interview concepts realistic.

Writing copy

 “MY MUSIC IS MY EVERYTHING”

Alice Clark gives us an insight into her journey of

releasing her album ‘Half The Battle’

and what it means to her.

Just a few weeks ago Alice Clark was an average girl from Croydon, yet now you can’t walk past someone in the street that is not humming along to one of the songs off of her latest album.

What inspired you to pursue this career? I have always had a passion for music from when I was young and my parents would always have some sort of music playing around the house. They have always supported and encouraged me to do what I love. When did you begin writing and making your own music? Ever since I can remember I was making up songs, but I began writing properly at the age of 16. I learnt to play guitar throughout school and with my dad- we often played together creating different sounds. I used my old book that we used to scribble notes down in to inspire quite a few of my songs. What is ‘Half The Battle’ about? It’s about the many people who did not believe in me- even friends and family. I was told that I would not be able to understand and cope in this industry. In a way I agree, I know that it is going to be hard but I have won half the battle. Which song are you most proud of? Tomorrow. It was one of the first songs I wrote for the album. I had a few of the lyrics floating around my head for a while so it did not take too long to piece together. What inspires you to write? Everything. Literally everything, nature, art, films, life, books, the list goes on. Your albums release date was pushed back, why was that? I had a bit of a disagreement with my label- there were parts of the album that they thought needed changing yet I just wanted to put it out there, I am pleased with it. I guess we will tell from the sales. Your style is quite distinctive and unique what inspires this? I just wear what I like really. Well actually when I saw these platform shoes, they remind me of the Spice Girls- who I adored when I was younger! When are you planning on touring and where? It starts in September in Nottingham, I’m touring across the UK, so I will be visiting places such as Manchester Edinburgh, Bristol, Newcastle, Glasgow, Leeds and many more.

SARAH BARNES

Photo selection

Front cover 

 

I have chosen to work from the last image as this delivers direct eye contact, although another image also delivers this, I find this would work better as I plan to use the image to cover the entire page, this image would allow me to do so as there is space around the person to add text.

Contents page

I think the bottom image would work best on the contents page as you can fully see the persons outfit, which I think is important at it reflects the personality, this image presents this better as the guitar is still in the picture yet you can see her sense of style.

Double page spread

I have chosen to use the two last images. I plan to feature the artists music and use of guitar in the interview on the double page spread, therefore I think its important to show that she has a connection with music therefore I think this image would work best as she is looking at her guitar. For the second image on the double page spread i have chosen i think it will be suitable as it shows a sort of attitude, I think its important to have to guitar in the photo again to show just how important it is to her.

Mock ups

Draft designs

 Front cover

 Contents

Double page

Font testing

This font would be suitable for a hip hop magazine as it is very curvaceous and bold yet some parts are very fine and narrow therefore is quite dynamic like the genre hip hop.

This font would be suitable for a classical magazine as it is in italics, its curves and flicks resemble features on handwritten text, it is elegant therefore would symbolize classical music well.

This font would be suitable for a rock magazine as it is sharp, edgy and quite bold. It may also be fitting for a heavier rock magazine.

This font would be suitable for an indie magazine as it is simple yet unique as it is not too bold and is quite narrow- yet this aspect makes it difficult to read therefore would depend on the size of the text.

This font would be suitable for an indie magazine as its structure is loose, as taller letters such as ‘f’ and ‘b’ do not stand exactly straight, therefore is quite out of the ordinary and unique like indie music.

This font would be suitable for an indie magazine, it could be used for a range of genres as it is simple, yet suits the indie genre well as its slightly sharp edges are unique as most fonts are either one or the other.

This font would be suitable for an indie magazine, it has the similar qualities to the previous font yet it bolder and the spacing is smaller- this works better as it is easier to read. The sizing of the letters makes the font appear to be quite quirky like the genre indie.

Colour Testing

Pop Music Magazine

Blue
The colour Blue connotes freedom, imagination and calmness. Different shades of Blue can represent different feelings, for example a darker, navy blue relates to royalty -hence the shade royal blue- this connotes power and elegance. A lighter baby blue is brighter reflecting fun and excitement yet can also be quite calming with complimentary colours. I think this colour is suitable to use on a pop magazine preferably with slightly contrasting colours such as pink as both colours together can draw attention.

Pink
The colour Pink suggests fun, femininity, harmony and positivity. The colour is used for Breast Cancer Research because of its positivity therefore the colour can be seen as powerful as it represents the charity and the charity is powerful. Deeper shades that go into purple symbolize ambition and creativity, it is considered a mature pink so this colour would be suitable to use in a pop magazine as it implies all of the features of pink yet in a mature way showing it is a mature magazine because pink can be related to young girls.

Yellow
The colour yellow symbolizes hope happiness and sunshine. The colour is used for traffic lights and taxi's as it is vibrant which attracts attention. The colour connotes summer which is fun reflecting on the colour. The colour does not specifically appeal to either gender and is therefore a unisex colour. This would be suitable for a pop magazine as it is and exciting bright colour yet compliments other bright colours without looking tacky.


Hip Hop Music Magazine

 Purple
The colour purple implies roylaty, wealth and wisdom. The colour is a mixture of red and blue, red is fiery and exciting yet blue is calm, this mixture represents both. Lighter shades of purple are calm, the scent lavender is calming similar to the colour. Darker shades connote romance, and maturity. The colour can be seen as a sophisticated pink/ red. This colour would be suitable for a hip-hop magazine as it can be bright yet in a sophiticated way enabling the magazine to highlight features of text well whilsts symbolizing a variety of emotions.

Blue
The colour Blue connotes freedom, imagination and calmness. This colour would also be suitable for a hip-hop magazine aswell as pop- described above- because it compliments the colour purple as they are harmonious. An electric bright blue would be relevent to use for this genre as it is vibrant, like music genre- hip-hop.

White
The colour white represents purity, innocence and perfection. The colour white is often used with the colour black as they contrast making it easier to read. The would only be suitable for text white a bright background, so it is able to be seen. Hip- hop and rap artists often wear white, this is another reason as to why it is a suitable colour for this genre of magazine.

Indie Music Magazine

Black
The colour black is associated with power, elegance, mystery and strength. The colour is used for most signs as it stands out specifically when used with white. It is often used on magazines with white and another colour most likely a bright colour such as red or yellow to highlight important information. The colour would be suitable for an indie rock magazine as it is dark -similar to this genre of music.

White
The colour white symbolizes purity, innocence and perfection. It is widely used as background as it contrasts well with most colours. White can also be an affective colour of text against a coloured background as it is out of the ordinary as we are used to reading black on white. This colour is appropriate for a Indie magazine as it is able to make a statement- like indie music.

Red
The colour red represents danger, passion, and love. The bold shade reflects danger- relates to fire- it is highly visible therefore is used for stop signs and fire trucks as it is able to focus and grab attention. Red is suitable for a indie magazine as it connotes similar descriptions as indie music such as passionate, dangerous (risky) and bold.

Reader profile

The average reader of this magazine is dominated girls, yet is still very appealing to boys, aged between 13-24 years old. 89% of readers are still in some sort of education ranging from secondary school to university. During their spare time the reader typically enjoys attending gigs and other live events. The reader spends at least  20 hours a week on the internet, this includes social networking sites and music related websites such as Youtube and Itunes. They enjoy watching music related TV shows such as X-factor, The Voice, and American idol.

Focus group questions, answers and analysis

What is your favourite Indie music magazine?

• NME- because it sponsors Reading festival, and is reliable as it is quite old.
• Spin- has good covers and artists of interest
• Doesn't have one

From these answers i have found two magazines that i can focus on to base features on for example well known artists and reliable information. I have also found that there is a gap in the market for a new Indie music magazine due to some people not having a favourite.

What colours would you associate with the Indie genre?

• Red 
• white
• bright
• black
• earthy

I can base my colour theme around these colours as they reflect the genre of music my magazine will be based on.

What font/ style of text would you expect to see on an indie magazine?

• Modern
• Box-y
• sharp
• bold

These characteristics are quite similar in ways and are easily combined therefore i should be able to find a font that presents these aspects well.

What kind of layout would you find most suitable?

• Big masthead, minimum writing
• Large picture as background
• Brief text surrounding large photo
• minimal small photos around 

I think a layout including these aspect will work well, i agree that there should be minimal photos and if so very few to avoid distraction. A large masthead with minimal writing will enable the masthead to hold the attention.

Would you prefer big articles, small articles or a range?

• A range but it a dominant amount of large
• Range
• Range
• More large articles than smaller
• Range

These responses are fairly similar therefore i would present a range of articles.

Would you prefer more quotes and information on the contents page?

• Editors message
• few small pictures linking to text
• quotes from few pages
• not many photos

I think the suggestion of an editors message would be suitable as i feel this gives a magazine a personal touch and also introduces the issue. Quotes and few images will allow the reader to grasp an insight in to the magazine without having to read at all or much, therefore would be more appealing.

Would you like to see photos on the contents page?

• perhaps large photo as background
• yes but small
• if a photo covers the background there shouldn't be anymore photos surrounding or on top

These responses are useful as they give a range of ways that i layout the contents page as well as how many photos should be used.

Would you like to see interviews on the double page spread, if not what else?

• Yes focusing on the artist rather than the genre itself
• Yes including information about upcoming gigs

Many from the focus group found the double page would be most useful for an interview, suggesting information about upcoming gigs.

Would you prefer the main front cover photo to link to the double page?

• yes this would be useful 

Everyone agreed that this link would be suitable as the front cover would display the most important feature.

How much would you be willing to pay?

• £4.50
• £3.00
• £1.99

This has given an idea of the largest and smallest amounts the focus group would be willing to pay.

Questions for the Focus group

1) What is your favourite Indie magazine?

2) What colours do you feel are best associated with the Indie genre?

3) What font/ style of text would you expect to see on an indie magazine front cover?

4) What kind of layout would you find most suitable?

5) Would you prefer a majority of big articles, small articles of a mixture of both?

6) Would you prefer more quotes and information on the contents page?

7) Do you want photos in the contents page?

8) Would you like to see interviews on the double page spread?

9) How much would you be willing to pay?

10) Would you like the main front cover photo to link to the double page?

Case Study: NME magazine

Background and Ownership
NME - New Musical Express- is an indie rock magazine created by Theodore Ingham in 1952. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart and in the 1970s it became the best-selling British music newspaper. An online version of NME was launched in 1996, NME.com . The magazines present editor is Mike Williams. The magazine is published by the UK's leading consumer magazine publisher, IPC media. IPC creates content for multiple platforms, across print, online, mobile, tablets and events and owns brands such as Marie claire and Now.

Content and approach to music

The magazine aims at genres such as pop/ rock and is often associated with punk rock. The reader profile includes aspects such as; the readers average age is 24, with a high rating of male readers- 69% male, 31% female, 52% work full time and 29% are still studying.

Double page spread analysis

The masthead "The Week" followed by "everything that matters in music" influences the reader to think about the future for the music industry. 'The' suggests that this indeed is the week that focuses on music and that this is solidly confirmed. "The week" is visually separated by its size and style of font for a greater impact, impact is also created by the use of monosyllabic terms "the week" making it sound quite blunt and again implying that there is a meaning that has been confirmed of what this representsI think the use of visual separation of black on white is effective as it creates two meanings, by making the reader wonder what the title would mean if it was separated. For example; 2014 suggests a discussion of forthcoming events, therefore the 'big questions' must be about upcoming events.

The extracts featuring information on "experts and insiders" appears to be highlighted in white in order to present the text more clearly. I think this works well appose to a surrounding box, which can be common in magazines front covers and double page spreads, as it is visible yet not distracting on the page.

The image works well on the page as unimportant features can be covered with text. The lights and table form 'v' shapes structuring the page well as they are supported by the interesting triangle shaped page numbers, all of these aspects seem to be pointing to the artists in the centre of the page portraying them as important. The image delivers bold colour enabling the pages presentation of text to be fairly simple. 

Indie magazines front cover analysis

Q Magazine

Originally the magazine was called 'cue' in the sense of cueing a record yet was changed in order for it not to be mistaken for a snooker magazine, the founders thought the single letter would also be more prominent on news stands. I agree that this more effective, the use of the red and white is constant through releases acting as a uniform we are familiar with. It is also repeatably placed in the top right hand corner, again so we are familiar with the magazine. The caption below stating 'Discover great music' is powerful as it gives a message that suggests that the magazine offers new and different music available to 'discover'.
The masthead, referring to the artist in the background image, 'Florence. Woman on the edge' is quite blunt yet is supported by a quotation; "I feel so alone" this works well as it gives a short insight into the story without revealing to much. The use of a different font for this quotation is efficient as it differentiates this text from the rest, it also adds personality to the expression. It is bold yet intricate symbolizing the content of the subject which seems to be emotional which is symbolized through the image as we see a close up of the artist, enabling us to focus on the facial features from which a serious allure is detected as Florence holds her hands around her face.
The use of swearing may be intriguing for some readers as it shows the magazine is quite informal, and shows personality, yet this may be quite risky to publish as some readers may find this inappropriate affecting sales. The use of the magazine questioning a controversial subject; "Skrillex. Dance genius or noisy git?" is effective as it involves the reader as it is likely the reader has their own opinion on the subject and would perhaps like to compare with others.
The colour blue is useful as it structures the page. The blue dashes divide the different subjects of text, the bullet points are highlighted to indicate small features of text and the circle featuring Zane Lowe is also outlined in the colour. This colour works well as it links with the blue makeup in the image. The use of different sized font also structures the layout which works well appose to using a variety of fonts which can be distracting and busy. The main, key words are indicated through larger font surrounded by information about the subject in a smaller font. The use of minimal colours work well as it gives a greater professional image.

The masthead 'Spin' is positioned in the top left hand corner, it is often moved about in different issues, yet this is appropriate as it would be able to be noticed when stacked behind other magazines in shops. This is extremely similar to Q magazine- using the colours red and white, yet this font is simpler and quite narrow.
The heading- 'Born to die' - followed by the main featuring artist Lana Del Rey, immediately informs the reader that this feature would involve her speaking mainly about her album, which is informed below in a smaller font as it is less important.
We see a close up of the artist delicately covering her mouth, this suggests a person has said to much, which - as the reader- we would be delighted to think so as we want celebrities to reveal themselves. The background is floral, representing Lana, as she seems to be quite girly yet edgy as she wears pink with glamorous curls in her hair yet her sharp nails, tattoo and clusters of rings suggest that she is quite alternative.
The magazine has a clear list of what artists are featured in the magazine, this is effective as it informs the potential buyer of the people involved without revealing why as this would take up to much space. This works because as long as the customer is able to establish artists that they are interested the content of each is not necessary as it is likely that they would be interested in the content if they like the artist.
Red is a powerful colour as it is able to capture attention therefore works well highlighting 'Free!' using the word on its own as a sentence is effective as it enables it to stand out. Most of the text on the cover is written in capitals, this makes certain text seem bolder therefore more important. Although 'Lana Del Rey' is an important heading the average letters appear to be more elegant. The size of font also indicates importance, for example 'you' is larger in the text that mentions festivals and concerts that must be attended, this term is very direct therefore involves the reader.
The text boxes are semi-transparent so the image is still visible yet structures the layout so individual pieces of text are separated in order to avoid confusion.