Evaluation

The mast head is located in the top left hand side of the page, the mast head on my music magazine is also located on the top left of the front cover as it is part of the conventions of a music magazine, as magazines are normally stacked so that only the left side is visible. therefore it is important to make sure that my mast head and be clearly seen so the customer will recognise it. My masthead uses the font called impact. it is a sans serif font, sans serif font projects a more modern image and the thickness and general style of the font is very bold and almost aggressive, as it is unavoidable because it is the first thing you notice on the page. My mast head is colour orange and black. The colour orange suggests vibrancy and energy, as well as a strong dominance and as the colour is too bright to ignore, helping to draw attention to my mast head. where as black suggests dominance and power, this helps to re- enforce the mastheads place on the page, stopping it from becoming lost in the background and making sure it is the first thing the reader notices.

 The mast head is a bright white colour with a dull Gary outline, as well as this the a and the s merge together. The bright white colour of the font acts in contrast to the dull earthy tones of the background, as well as this the Gary outline helps to make it stand out and helps to highlight the merged a and s making it more legible. The merged a and s add a more interesting dynamic to the mast head which makes it more pleasing to the eye and draws the readers attention on the name of the magazine. 

The font i used on on my mast head is called Impact, this is a serif font and it is a bold and loud drawing the readers attention to the Magazine, instead of the traditional red black and white colour scheme normally associated with an indie magazine I decided to use black, white and orange. The colours I used I throughout the magazine. I used the colour orange on my bold mast head to further draw attention to the magazine, which in conjunction with the style of font I believe it does effectively, as well as this I outlined the mast head in black, this gives the mast head a more professional feel

The other magazine used a serif font also. This gives it a more modern and young appearance, such as my own. However unlike mine they used the colour white it makes it seem fresh and has connotations of purity, although the font itself is futuristic in its appearance it is somewhat dulled down by the aged appearance of the image or Courtney love. 

There are two examples of a flash used on the cover of the magazine, the first is in the top left and says ‘win a guitar signed by David Bowie’ the text is white and highlighted with a chalky blue box around the text. Although the colours are not vastly different and Don’t give a really noticeable contrast the white text does still stand out and grab reader’s attention in a subtle way that doesn’t look out of place with the rest of the splash, the colour scheme ties in with the colour of the image, the second is in the top right hand side of the page and it says ’14 free downloads’ the 14 is in big white text where as the free downloads is in small white text highlighted by a baby pink box. Having the 14 in larger text is what draws in the initial attention from the viewer, however it is still subtle and not trying to dominate the image. This gives the impression that Clash is well known enough to not have to bombard there customers with offers in brightly coloured text to attract them to buy the magazine, as they are already well established within there market.

 My magazine also has an example of a splash in the top right of the page, the splash is circular and white, the white acts in contrast to the black paint splatter in the background drawing the readers attention to the magazine, as well as this the text says ' free leeds tickets inside', with the white splash and the black background drawing the readers attention, the offer on the cover will also act as an incentive to buy the issue. Inside the splash I added the word 'win' in orange writing which contrasts against the white background, this ties in with the running colour scheme used throughout the magazine. As well as this the font I used is also sans serif like the masthead, giving the front cover a feel of continuity and a more professional appearance

the image of Courtney Love more predominant further emphasising that it is the main focus of the magazine, as well as that Courtney love is an iconic figure and her image alone will sell the magazine. However the magazine does not entirely place to the conventions a magazine should and therefore is  not set out in this way. A magazine like clash can do this as it is an established music magazine. The bar code is located in the bottom left hand corner rather then the right in line with conventions, my magazine has the bar code in the bottom right in line with the conventions. The headlines are not in the left third as you expect and are instead on the right hand side of the page in small white writing, they also offer no explanation as to what the headline is about, the headlines are a collective of well known bands but it does not give an incentive to read on. This again shows that Courtney Love is the min focus of the magazine; however the fact that is does offer no indication as to what the articles may be about also may act as a tease devise making the reader curious. The main bulk of text is at the bottom half of the page in the centre and reads ‘Courtney Love. Rehab. Relationships. Redemption.’  The font for the words ‘Courtney Love’ is larger then any other on the cover therefore drawing attention to the focus of the magazine. however the use of alliteration is very effective in this headline and does in a way also act as a tease devise. 

My magazine has all the headlines in the traditional and conventional place of the left third. my magazine is no established enough to be able to be as elusive as Clash, and neither is the magazine a special issue so there can be no exemptions to ordinary lay out, the idea of re-arranging the layout for a special issue magazine is to make it more eye catching because it is not the ordinary layout the viewer expects to see there for this catches there attention. however because the magazines are normally stacked so only the left side is visible, i believe is is best to stick to conventions because that way the intended audience will see my headlines and if they can relate or are interested in the subject they are more likely to pick up and purchase my magazine. The font i used from the main headline is different to that used on the rest of the page. It is to draw attention to the main article in the magazine of that month and is also used through out the magazine for that artist. the writing is or a more and rendered style and gives the impression of been edgy but also more natural at the same time, the font is slightly disjointed and that gives the impression of rebellion. however the font is also quite rounded and curvy giving the innocent and natural feeling.

The contents page uses two main images of both Noel and Liam Gallagher, although they are related and are on tour together, this suggests a rift between the pair. As well as this the headline ‘Oasis kicked off their world tour’, this is an incentive for the audience to read the article as it helps to create an interest by both the headline and a short snippet of information that also can entice the audience to read further, as well as this with it been the dominant focus of the page it indicated that the main article of the monthly magazine will be based on Oasis as they one of the biggest most successful indie bands around at that point in time. 

My contents page also consists of a large main image indicating that that is the main artist featured in this months magazine, he image dominates most of the contents page and is outlined i black, this draws the readers attention to the artist and re-enforces who the magazines main article is about. as well as this under neither my article there is a short snippet of text that acts as an incentive to read on. the font is in orange, a colour used throughout my magazine to give the impression of 

continuity making the magazine feel more ordered. as well as this the more naturalistic disjointed hand rendered text that i used to make the main article on the front cover stand out is also brought through to the contents page. this also adds continuity and also acts as a motif for the artist. 

At the top of the page the mast head has the iconic NME magazine  name which also acts as a logo, this shows that they are proud of there magazine. Next to the iconic NME name/ logo there is ‘This Week’, this is a more interesting way of saying the contents page. The bold large black serif writing attracts the attention of the viewer as well as the serif font appeals to a younger audience of people as it feels more fresh and modern in comparison to sand serif font. On the left hand side of the page there is the band index, this informs the viewers if there favourite bands are in this month’s issue as well as this is shows the verity of quality music that NME offer in there magazines.

Following the conventions i also have my mast head located at the top of the page, this. like the NME magazine acts as a logo and shows continuity and a sense of ownership and pride over my magazine, i want this to resinate to the audience that they are reading something to be proud to be seen with. Mimicking the style of NME i have also put ‘ Inside this week’.  however i reversed the colour contrast using white as my font colour and black as my background. this makes the ‘this week’ a more visually appealing and young relaxed way of  establishing the contents page, as well as this it stands out attracting attention and appearing more alternative, like the audience. 

 On the right hand side of the contents page is the contents list. The contents list is divided into sections such as news and reviews, this is an efficient and organised way to find the articles the reader desires with ease and simplicity. As well as this is fills out the page making it appear to have more content then it actually does. 

My contents page is divided into efficient easy to read categories making the article of your choice easier and quicker to find. however my contents list is placed on the left side of my magazine mimicking the left third on the cover and in conjunction with the use of the same font and the same colour scheme gives the sense of continuity. the simplicity of the lay out gives it a more clean cut appearance where as the paint splatters in the background make it appear more grungy and unrefined. Re- enforcing the indie persona of rebellion.

The colour scheme through out the contents page and used predominantly throughout more cover pages on NME magazine is red, black and white. This creates and iconic continuity with the colour scheme through out all NME magazines. The only acceptation to this colour scheme is used on the subscription advert. It uses a vibrant yellow font based on a black background, the yellow acts in contrast to the black making the advert stand out, and this draws attention to it and can encourage people to buy the magazine via a subscription.

My magazine also uses a consistent colour scheme through out. it creates continuity and makes the magazine seem to flow better as a unit more effectively. it helps to create a more iconic look and the colours i have used have connotations of the genre i am music i am representing, this helps me to portray the correct impression about the music i am passionate about and am trying to represent. However my magazine does not offer a subscription as i felt it was more important to fill the space with content inside the magazine. The black boxer around the features categories ect, act in contrast to the white text drawing attention to the readers desired article. Where as the orange font used for the articles helps to create a sense of continuity as well as spark an interest.

The text on the double page spread looks as though it has been cut out and placed together, this gives the impression of rebellion and that they don’t care. This ties in with the genre of NME magazine as rebellion is part of the genre they are representing and is shown in the colour scheme and layout of their magazine. As well as this the white font against the black background of the lettering creates a contrast and makes it stand out, this is eye catching and will capture the audience’s attention. The black, red and white colour scheme as shown on the double page spread is consistent as it is also used on the cover that also features Lily Allen, this helps to maintain a professional appearance throughout the magazine even if the presentation of the font suggests otherwise. The image on the double page spread is that of Lily Allen, she is wearing a red, black and white checked shit this also ties in with the colour scheme of the magazine. As well as this Lily Allen is in many ways supporting the anti-image, this also ties in with the genre and representation the magazine, as like the genre Lily is rebelling against all things main stream by rebelling against conventional high street clothing. Although Lily’s name is not mentioned within the main headline we can tell that the article will be about her by the large image of her on the right hand side and how it dominates the page. Another indication of this is the links between the colour scheme used throughout the magazine to the clothes that lily Allen is wearing. The large title makes the article seem more visually appealing as it dominates the majority of the page making the text seem more manageable to read.

The text on the double page spread is disjointed giving the impression of rebellion and edginess, however the curved style also gives it a more naturalistic innocent and young feel. The text used follows through from both the front cover and the contents page, this helps to create a flow of continuity throughout the magazine. as well as this the same colour scheme is used through out also indicating continuity and giving the magazine a more professional appearance. the dark black paint splats act in contrast to the orange font and the white background. this helps the magazine to appear more rebellious and grungy in contrast to the image, although the artist featured within the image is wearing black, she looks more bohemian then indie rock. My double page spread has two examples of pull quotes. This s is to try and capture the audiences interest and encourage them to read. the fact the writing is taken out of context creates curiosity, and curiosity means they are more likely to want to read the article to find out what the artist is talking about.The double page spread also includes a big main headline drawing attention to the page as well as been informative. i have used a drop cap in my article to give it a more traditional article appearance, however i have used the impact font to represent the genre of music i am writing about as well as to create continuity through out the magazine as it is a font i also use for my mast head. The image of the artist features a woman who has hair covering one eye, this gives the appearance of mystery and allure thus tying in with the connotations of the colour black. as the artist is also wearing black i believe it is a fitting image for the article. 

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product represents my social group in a number of ways firstly through the use of its colour scheme. Traditionally and conventionally indie rock magazines used the house style colours of red, white and black. my magazine incorporates two of the three colours. the firstly colour is Black. The colour black is symbolic to the genre of indie rock. Black symbolises sadness, mystery and power. this relates to my social group as rock/ indie rock is often filled with sad lyrics with an upbeat tune, and depression and sadness in generally what is associated with the genre of music and its followers. The second colour i used is white. White has connotations of purity and youth. this is relevant because of the age group my media magazine is aged at and the stereotypical idea of the average indie music fan is considered to be young. as well as this you could say that indie music fans tend to be purists about the music they listen to and there music collection, un-tarnished by mainstream influences. As well as this my magazine features bands that are heavily involved n the indie genre and are accepted and liked by a large audience of indie fans, this will appeal to them and represents there music tastes and shows an understanding fir there likes and dis likes. For example having an artist such as Madonna would attract a large audience would be not a correct representative of the audience i am catering for, and more likely then not will attract a more pop orientated audience isolating my intended audience. The cribs are an English indie/ ‘punk rock’ band from wakefield, they are local english talent that are a success in the indie world however not in the mainstream world of radio stations such as Radio One, Capital FM or Viking. This appeals to my audience as they are all about the music, and not about idle gossip. They have a more selective taste in music rather then just following the majority. another feature my magazine has is a Flash. The flash appeals to my audience as it offers ‘Free Leeds Fest tickets inside’. Leeds Festival is a big event in the Indie festival calendar and attracts a large crowd of indie music lovers. This appeals to my audience as the average reader will be young and there for short of money or not in work at all. Therefore the offer of free tickets to one of the most prestigious indie festivals will appeal to them and encourage them to buy the magazine.

What kind of media institution might publish your media product and why?

I believe that Conde Nast would be a good choice of publishers a there is a gap in the market from there list of magazines they are publishing, the closest thing they are publishing to mine is GQ and even that has few similarities. For example GQ is a male orientated magazine that uses sex and seduction as a selling point; it is also not just specifically music based and is for a higher age demographic. Also I have every belief that Conde Nast would be capable of making my magazine successful because of the diverse range of magazines that they have already made very well established across the world. as well as this I would not want to be Produced by a Company such as IPC Media as they already have a magazine of the same genre that is very successful and I feel that their efforts would be more spent on that rather than my own which will always be in its shadow unless I directly compete, which is also why Bauer Media is also not an option for me as they have the magazines Kerrang and Clash two very well established magazines. 

Who would be your audience for your media product?

My intended audience are teenagers/ young adults aged between 17-25, both male and female however male been the slight majority. My audience fit into the Demographic band C1-C2 middle class and lower skilled manual workers. My audience are music fanatics who seek acceptance however all so wish to stand out and be an individual at the same time hence shying away from more socially liked mainstream music. They are interested in what is new and artists too look out for rather than sticking with the same reliable mainstream names such as Beyoncé or Madonna. However they often have a keen interest in music and artists that are not of their generation such as Johnny Cash, The Cure, Pulp and Led Zeppelin.

How did you attract your audience?

My target audience comes under the band C1-C2 (Lower skilled manual workers and the middle class). I priced my magazine at the lower end of my original price range at 2.00 pound. This is because my magazine is targeted at teenagers/young adults (17-25), and teenagers are often un employed or on minimum wage. Also with the current economic climate magazines are considered a luxury item, so to insure my magazine sells and is attractive to the customer it must be at the lower scale of the budget.

The psychographic of my target audience is young, male and female but more dominantly males as rock if predominantly male dominated. They are interested in new unsigned and non-mainstream music. What is likely to be important to my Psychographic group is the latest music, interviews clubs and gigs as they are of the age of going out to gigs in clubs with their friends and having a drink. And are interested in appearance, and are rebellious but what to appear cool and alternative, and actually care more about how people perceive them then they originally let on. It’s all about what is new and what is cool to be seen wearing, reading, listening to ect, and have more materialistic values. The idea of it been cool to be un cool.

My audience falls under the Psychographic of:

Esteem seekers             Acquisitive and materialistic, aspiring to what they see are symbols of 

                                        success, including things and experiences.                                            

Strives                           Attach importance to image and status, as a means of enabling
                                                            

                                      acceptance by their peer group, at the same time holding onto traditional 

                                      values.

  

 

Special offers also help to entice my audience as they are of an age where they are likely to be unemployed or on a low wage, so ‘Free Leeds fest tickets’ is a incentive to buy the magazine because one day ticket to Leeds cost 90 pounds, and a weekend ticket can cost 190, so an opportunity to win them for the price of a 2 pound magazine is an exciting prospect and likely to temp them to buy.

Special offers also help to entice my audience as they are of an age where they are likely to be unemployed or on a low wage, so ‘Free Leeds fest tickets’ is a incentive to buy the magazine because one day ticket to Leeds cost 90 pounds, and a weekend ticket can cost 190, so an opportunity to win them for the price of a 2 pound magazine is an exciting prospect and likely to temp them to buy.

To the target audience of my magazine it is important to feel accepted, although they shy away from mainstream music which is over all more accepted by a higher majority they have their own social group. These people like my target audience desire to fit in and stand out at the same time, hence shying away from more widely appreciate artists. The scene in which they fit into is about maintaining the image of been cool and have a higher knowledge and appreciation of music, they often fully endorse themselves in the style by wearing band tee-shirts ect, to symbolize the social group they are, Generally the middle to lower middle class. 

I started my planning process by looking at the formatting and conventions of magazines associated with the genre of music I am looking at. I did this by selecting a contents page, front cover and double page spread from the magazines NME, Clash and Q. I then did an L.I.A.I.R analysis of the selected magazines to establish a trend in colour scheme, layout and font style. In order to assess how best to present my magazine so it represents the genre of music I have chosen.

I then did a hand drawn draft and two digital mock ups. One using coloured boxes to establish a rough idea of layout the other using digital images and font, this helped to give me an idea of how using media conventions can help create a more professional look.

                              

I produced my text by taking a range of images on a Panasonic digital camera to improve the clarity of my photographs giving the magazine an overall more professional appearance as well as making the image easier to edit in the later stages of producing my magazine.

I then uploaded the images from the camera to photo shop to begin the editing process.

Skin Editing 

Firstly I started off with the skin editing. I did this by making 3 copies of the original image. The first copy was so I wasn’t adding any changes to the original background layer. The second copy of the original layer I named ‘Colour’, I then went to blur-> Gaussian blur and reduced the opacity to 2.0. I then changed the name of the third original layer copy to ‘texture’ and subtracted the background. After this I selected the colour layer and selected the duplicate tool and I set the expositor to 14% and began to create a more even skin tone. 

I then switched to the texture layer and selected the patch tool. And put a ring around any spots or blemishes and dragged it to a more clear area of skin. 

After removing all the blemishes and imperfections I then created two new layers and filled them with 50% grey. I called one dodge and the other burn. 

I then highlighted the dodge layer and selected the dodge tool and began by adding highlights to the pupils and the whites of the eyes. Then I began to lighten the bags under the eyes and down the nose and the edges of the face.

Following this I selected the burn layer and using the Burn tool I added back the low lights to the pupils, eye lids, eyebrows, cheek bones and the edge of the forehead near the hair line. 

Hair editing

To begin with I used the Quick mask tool to create a vector mask over the hair. I then used the magic wand tool to select the highlighted mask I created, after I have made sure all the hair colour is selected I went to. 

• Layer 
• Fill layer
• Solid colour
• Soft light 

And I then named the new layer hair colour. After clicking ‘okay’ a colour box appeared allowing me to change the colour of the hair, however I found that if you set your hair colour a few shaded lighter than you would actually want and then set it to hard light it gave it a more natural look. 

Lip colour 

I used the same process as above except I used the Quick mask Tool to create a highlighted vector mask over the lips. After I got the most accurate shape of the lip I could with the… tool I then selected the magic want tool and clicked on the vector mask. One it was selected I then went to.

• Layer
• Fill Layer 
• Solid colour

And then I named the layer Lip colour and set it to soft light, and after clicking okay the colour box appeared allowing me to change the colour of the lips. 

Background

To remove the background of my image firstly I merged my selected layers (original image copy, Colour layer, texture layer, dodge, burn, hair colour and lip colour.) After doing so I selected the newly merged original image copy and used the quick selection tool to select the background of my image. I then tapped the backspace button on my keyboard and the background was removed. 

I then created a new layer between the original image and the newly merged original image copy. I selected the new layer and called it background. I then selected the paint tool and began to paint the background white.

Blending

After removing the background and then replacing it, the image appeared jagged around the edges. To make the image look more realistic and natural, I firstly selected the original image copy and merged it with the background layer. After this I carefully used the smudge too to blend the hairline and create a more even and flowing appearance. I then switched to the blur tool but remained on the same layer and began to blur the lip line to make the colour I added to make it more natural. 

I repeater the process with the other images used throughout my media product.

I feel as though looking back on my piliminarty collage task that my magazine has improved in a number of ways. firstly i believe that learning editing tecniques such as skin editing and been able to cange hair colour ect, has helped me to improve the general appearance of my magazine. improving the quality of image throughout my magazine has overall raised the standard of work as i was producing. as well as this i feel i have got a better grasp of media conventions to do with layout and the genre i am representing. i feel that by sticking to the conventions (e.g the left third) it has given my magazine a more professonal appearance then the original collage magazine. as well as this using colours that are socially accepted as been associated with the genre of indie/rock has made my potrayal of an indie/rock magazine more convincing. On my collage magazine the masthead felt lost within the image. i found out that i could add effects to the mast head whilst doing my colage magazine, enabling it to be more dominant within the page and giving it a more visually appealing appearance. over all i am pleased with the way in which my magazine has turned out in comparrison to my piliminary college magazine.