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

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

This project allowed me to recognise my strengths and weaknesses, and also the different opportunities I was fortunate enough to come across:

Technologies are used throughout the magazine industry, from the use of Adobe’s InDesign to their illustrator; Adobe is a leading company which provides all of the different software suitable for all different uses. InDesign is perfect to be used for creating magazines because it is quite easy to use once you get the hang of it. Also, it has guidelines which allow you to ensure the elements are placed in their correct places. Other than InDesign, Photoshop is a very popular software for magazine industries to alter their photos to change and improve the model’s appearance. 

For my preliminary task, I have used InDesign for my front cover, InDesign was a stranger to me and no matter how much I'm using it to try and get familiar to it, it was still very difficult for me. Therefore I decided to switch to using the trusty Photoshop for my contents page as I was more confident with the programme that I have been using for years. I decided to use Photoshop instead of any other technologies that I'm also familiar with, such as Microsoft word and power-point because I find Photoshop more professional than others and it is being used in the magazine industry by publishers too.

Evaluation Question 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

Elements I have used to attract my target audience:

I have conducted a questionnaire for 10 of my target audience to answer:

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

My chosen target audience's information, hobbies and interests

My target audience profile sheet

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

Transcript of the video

W (WOMAN): Hello, I am the editor of diverse music magazine and I believe Bauer Media Group will be the perfect media institution to distribute our media product.

M (MAN): Hello, we have many other editors coming to us with their media products and there are many other media groups who are great distributors, what makes you decide on choosing Bauer Media Group?

W: Well, Bauer Media Group is a multinational media company which operates in 15 countries worldwide. At the moment, the worldwide circulation of Bauer Media Group’s magazine titles amounts to an astonishing 38 million magazines a week.

M: I see you have conducted some research on our media group.

W: Yes, I have also further researched about your media brands under Bauer Media Group. You already have two very successful music magazines which are Q and Kerrang! Q magazine covers a variety of music genre, from indie to pop, alternative to rock whereas Kerrang specialises in rock music only. Our diverse music magazine is the perfect product to fill in the gap between the two magazines as diverse is specialised in indie-pop music only, therefore it will be attracting some audience from Q magazine and an extremely different audience group to Kerrang magazine. Q magazine is so successful that Bauer Media Group has launched the Q radio and Q TV channel through horizontal integration. Kerrang is just as notable with the Kerrang award ceremony, Kerrang radio station, Kerrang TV channel as well as Kerrang tour of rock music concerts around the United Kingdom.  The popular Kerrang radio is also available as an app for smart phones, which is a great use of the latest technology. In addition, an iPad edition has also been created for the Q magazine, which means the target audience are able to read it wherever they go. With the advantage of horizontal integration and the latest technology, I am very sure that if our diverse music magazine is to join the Bauer media group, we would be just as outstanding as Q magazine and Kerrang magazine. If our diverse magazine is to have a smart phone app, I can ensure you that it would be a lovable product for the target audience who are aged between 16 and 25 as they will be able to read the magazine on the go since the majority of the target audience would own at least 1 smart phone or tablet, if not more. The frequency of publication for Q magazine is monthly and Kerrang is published weekly. And our diverse music magazine has a frequency of publication of every two weeks, therefore it would be a great media product to fill in the difference of frequency of publication between Q magazine and Kerrang magazine.

M: Why did you decided to choose Bauer media group over other companies?

W: Well, we decided that Bauer media group is the company for our diverse magazine mainly because this media group does not have a magazine that is specified in the genre of indie-pop, and that this genre of music is a gaining great popularity over the past few years and will be even more recognizable for many years coming. The horizontal integration as well as the use of latest technology is also very conventional. We did consider IPC Media but as both of their music magazines of Uncut and NME are both majorly specialised in rock music only, we decided that IPC media is not the company for diverse magazine.

M: Thank you for your time, as a representative for Bauer media group, I can ensure you that we will definitely be considering on working with your magazine. 

Evaluation Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Evaluation Question 1: In what ways does your product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

 There are many similarities between Spin’s magazine cover and my magazine cover. For example, we have both used a recognizable masthead which means the readers are able to notice the magazines easily. Above both mastheads lay the cover lines; I have developed from Spin's cover line by making a list of the artists mentioned in Diverse, they both have just as much attractions as each other as Spin's cover line will make the readers believe it is a special edition whereas Diverse will attract readers who are fans of the listed artists. The main cover lines on both magazines are black text with a contrasting white background, same goes to the taglines beneath the cover lines. The main images are similar in a way, as the models on Spin magazine are showing their genre of music mainly through the instruments they’re holding whereas on my magazine, the genre/artist’s history is shown through the mise-en-scene. However, no dates, prices, bar-codes as well as plugs and puffs were shown on the Spin magazine, therefore I have challenged this particular magazine by creating my own plugs and puffs plus the other elements.

Comparing my music magazine to these magazines above, I can see that Diverse uses many forms and conventions that are seen in real media products. For example, my main cover line is the name of the artist featured on the cover, it is a very bold text which the colour is contrasting against the background, this element can also been seen on the cover of real magazines. In all the real magazines listed above, I noticed they all have the colour of red (or shades in the same colour family) on the cover, this is because red is a vibrant and bright colour which will catch the reader's attention, therefore I decided to use an amaranth red on my cover as this will not only brighten up my cover but also bring the cover to life. Not many of the real magazines have much of the background of the photograph visible on the cover, so I decided to challenge this by including a section of the background that is behind the model. I believe the background will also reflect on the youthfulness of the magazine because the model is at a park sitting at the top of the slide.

There are some similarities between Under the radar’s magazine contents page and my magazine contents page. Both magazines have a smaller version of the masthead that was seen on the front cover, this allows the readers to recognize the magazines when they read the contents page. Also the date can be seen near the masthead to show which issue it is. The layout of both magazines is very similar; they both have models at the bottom of the page and the list of contents above with a clean simple background. However, there is a contrast between the two main images, Under the radar’s main image has the models sitting passively on a sofa whereas the models in my magazine are being very active which suggests they’re fun and youthful. In addition, I decided to only include featured articles in my list of contents because I don’t want the readers to be bombarded with a whole lot of pages and numbers. By changing the page number colours to red as well as underlining the title in red which is a colour that can be found on the main image, it allows the contents page to look more uniformed and professional. I have additionally created a list which gives credit to the people who were involved in the photography of the front cover as there may be readers who would wish to find out that information. The above examples all use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products.

There are a lot of similarities between Spin’s double page spread and my double page spread, we have both used the title of “Artist of the year” to draw the reader’s attention. Our headlines are both in black and bold text with an interesting font that is bigger than the rest of the text in the article. We also have a subheading on our articles to give a summary of the text. The layouts of the articles are both divided into two columns with a drop letter to enhance the text. However, I have decided to use a pull out quote as well as another image within the article to allow the readers to have a better understanding of the artists featured. The above examples all use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products.

'Diverse' Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread

Progression of Music Magazine Double Page Spread

1) I began with this medium shot of the models who I have named them 'Double Muses'. 

2) Then I placed a white rectangle on top of it, allowing the image to take up over half of the double page spread, I have also added a minimal title of "Artist of the year" so the readers will know what makes them famous.

3) I typed out the masthead with the font "Broadway", I love the simplistic vibe of this font, it also looks modern and contemporary which is what my target audience are like.

4) Then I wrote the sub-heading, giving a brief introduction that this article is an exclusive interview of the Double Muses. I have also written the by-line as it is usually seen in magazines to give credit to the writer and photographer. Drop capital is also used as it enhances the text, I decided to have a black circle under the white letter to give it contrast which adds to the modernity of the whole page.

5) I have then written the entire article based on the exclusive interview with the Double Muses, separating the text into short paragraphs in the two columns so it's easier for the target audience to read without getting bored or lost in the text. 

6) Last but not least are the pull out quotes, I decided to have one quote from each of the members in the Double Muses. I have then added another photo to add up to my minimum of four original images across the three elements of front cover, contents page and double page spread.

Progression of Music Magazine Contents Page

1) This was my first draft of the contents page but I decided to discard it because it seems too passive to attract the audience's attention. Although I really liked how the photo has turned out with the model looking relaxed playing the acoustic guitar.

2) I have then chosen this photo because it is more active with the models having eye contacts with the readers and they generally look like they're having a lot of fun.

3) Due to the image being a landscape photo, I have extended the top part of the photo making it a portrait also the blue background looks like part of the sky and allows a plain background for the text.

4) Moving onto the masthead, I typed out the masthead with the font that was seen on the masthead of the front cover, this will ensure my magazine looks consistent. The month and year is also shown so the readers will know when this contents page is for. I was deciding whether to have a white rectangle behind the masthead of the contents page to make the masthead stand out more, but then I decided the latter one is better because the white rectangle looks too odd.

5) Afterward I added the title of "Features" and the names of the featured articles. there is a red underline to the title and the page numbers are also in red, so that it seems connected to the photo as the model's scarf contains the colour red.

6) I then written briefly about what the featured articles are about under each title, this will allow to readers to gain an idea of the article's content and they can then decide whether they're interested in reading it or not.

7) I created a box at the top right corner of the contents page. I choose to have a grey rectangular box because it is a much softer colour than black, which means it wouldn't be too much of a contrast against the sky blue background. 

8) Inside the box I have listed credits to the image used on the front cover for the readers who wish to know the information.

Progression of Music Magazine Cover (2)

I didn't like how my first music magazine cover turned out because it seems to be overwhelmed with colours and texts, so I decided to create a second version which will show how I developed and changed my ideas to improve it.

1) I began with this landscape photo, I like how the model is looking directly into the camera and the mise-en-scene was perfect for my magazine

2) I edited the photo on Photoshop to make it brighter, better contrast and generally nicer and more suitable for a magazine cover.

3) Then I created the masthead with the font "Old Press", changed it into a raster layer from vector layer, then erased a portion of the masthead so that my model's head is in front of the masthead, making the masthead seem more like part of the photograph. I have also given the masthead the effect of drop shadow as it gives it more dimension.

4) Simple rectangular shapes are placed on the page as a background to the cover lines and taglines I wish to add in later on.

5) I have added the cover line on top of the white rectangular backgrounds. As well as names of other featured artists at the top of the magazine.

6) Taglines are added on the left side of the page, I used the different fonts of "Broadway" and "Arial Black" to vary the fonts and make it look more attractive. I have also placed a plug and promotion on the right side of the magazine...

7) To create the plug and promotion, I first created two pink rectangles and typed the phrase on it with "Arial Black", but then I tried out other different fonts and found "Impact Label" which looks much better. I included two posters as a sample of what the free posters will look like. I have then gave all those elements the effect of drop shadow to give it more dimension.

8) Finally I added the last little bit of details such as another tagline, the price and issue date of the magazine and also the bar-code.

Progression of Music Magazine Cover (1)

1) I began with this landscape photo, I like how the model is looking directly into the camera and the mise-en-scene was perfect for my magazine

2) I edited the photo to make it into portrait as well as altering the colour, contrast, and vibrancy to give it a feel of retro, which relates to indie-pop.

3) Then I typed out the masthead with the font "Old Press".

4) By erasing a portion of the masthead, it allows it to blend in with the photograph as if it is actually placed behind the model's head.

5) I created shapes with the transparency of 70% to be placed above the masthead and as a background to the main cover line.

6) I typed up some names of other artists in the genre of indie-pop that are featured in the magazine and I was choosing between the fonts "Arial black" and "Haettenschweiler" to be use for the main cover line.

7) In the end I went with "Haettenschweiler" and added a blue outline and drop shadow to give it dimension. I have also included the taglines for the cover line. I thought the taglines would look too simple even with the addtion of bold outline, therefore I decided to create small star shapes to make it more interesting and attracting.

8) Next I moved onto plugs and promotions, I first made a yellow box which the colour is linked to the image, then I created dots as the outline of the box.

9) I typed up "Free posters" in "Haettenschweiler" and added drop shadow.

10) I've also added two pictures of the posters to show the audience what they can have for free.

11) I added the final touch of another cover line on the left side of the magazine, as well as the date, price and bar-code for the magazine.