2. Preliminary task-Print This is preliminary task we did before moving on to our main print talk. During this task I first learnt how to use a SLR camera and the skills needed to operate it. While doing this it was important to think about using different camera angles and what angles would be suitable for the front cover, for example close up , mid shot and long shots. It was also important to understand who you demographic audience are and what is needed to satisfy them when buying your magazine. While working on this preliminary print task I first came across the computer program ‘adobe Photoshop cs3’ . At first while using the program I found it hard to work with due to its many different applications, after a while and a lot of practice I found the program more accessible and familiar and started to form the basis of my magazine. I used Photoshop to create both the front cover and contents page. I choose a location for my photo shoot and used different areas of the space to create different looks, I also thought again about angles costume and effects. The connotation that the main image on the front of the magazine suggests light-hearted humor; the model is not taking himself seriously – this kind of tone would appeal to a rebellious and fun loving demographic. Due to the costume used , and the location of a school front also helps the magazine appeal to the demographic of school children
3. Final task- Print When designing my final magazine I had to think very hard about the genre of music I would represent and what that target audience would want out of a music magazine . In order for me to understand this I researched magazines that catered to this genera of music . For example Karrang and the Rolling Stones. With this magazine I wanted it to be unique but also wanted to look professional and of a very high standard so that it wouldn't look out of place on a shelf in a newsagents. I believe I have created this and feel my product is very successful. It was important for me to think about how I would make this possible while researching indie music magazines. I think that the pictures in a magazine are one of the most important components and to create the look I was going for I would have to ask and choose someone else rather than myself to feature. My friend Josh Zare was an aspiring model with a farther who studied photography part time, this was a perfect opportunity for me to create the look for my magazine and for a friend to get a new set of photos from the photo shoot. With the help of Josh’s farther to set up the equipment I could really get creative with the set, costume, hair and makeup. When taking the pictures I thought about the the angles I was using , I made sure I used more than one camera angles in my project to give the magazines photos diversity. When editing the photos and pulling together parts for my final magazine I used Photoshop to edit them together. With Photoshop I used many different components to create pictures text and graphics. It is vital that a magazine contains content that relates to the magazine type, genre and the demographic audience. For my contents page I researched information and news of different parts of the music industry, this was to find out the most important and latest insightful information so that readers would understand the ins and outs of the music they’re buying into.
4. Photoshop Photoshop was the main computer based program I used to construct both my preliminary and final print tasks. To make a magazine cover, contents and double page spread it would require me to be extremely familiar with the program so that I could get the best out of my product. I started off with a basic picture or blank page and used the different Photoshop tools to add different layers. Different layers I used included adding text , inserting pictures, text and graphics. I had to over lap some elements to create the different codes that appealed to my target audience and appeal to the demographic that would buy a Indie music magazine. I had to make my product of a very high standard and of a level that would match those of other professional music magazines. Now I have worked on the program for over 3 moths now I can easily navigate my way around the different application and can create different effects that are of a professional level I would also be very happy to work with this program on different projects in the future
5. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? It is important that the my products challenge these forms and conventions in way that makes the product different. This product must have unique selling point. The magazine must also be of a very high level and one that would not look out of place on a magazine shelf. When designing my product I decided to follow rather than appose the usual codes and conventions normally found in a music magazine. I chose to do this as I felt that by doing this my product would appeal more to the demographic readers and the publishers. Codes A code is something that is placed onto a product to covey a certain image or view, it was my job to get across these codes in order for my demographic to buy my music magazine. With the pictures I took I used different camera angles, costumes and settings to create a look that would relate to my audience. I chose a teenage boy to feature on the front of my magazine because my research indicated that my main target audience was of the same demographic. The picture I chose for the front cover represents teenagers well with the way the model was positioned. The model is sat on the floor slumped over with his head in his had, this portrays the message of laziness and rebellion, this is a convention and a stereo type of teenagers and helps to relate with the teenage boy readers. While choosing my other pictures to feature on my double page spread I tried to stay with the same theme and chose pictures that also showed this. the model is leaning against a wall and sitting on the floor again relating to this theme and I feel successfully represents and appeals to the demographic. Conventions While researching indie music magazines I looked at different convections that were typical of these products and tired to use them in both of my print tasks. While searching through the array of magazines I noted certain points that should be used while creating my own products. One of these conventions I noted was a colour schemes and decided to implicate the idea in my own task. The continuity of the colour scheme help with the magazines flow through the cover, contents and double page spread. With magazines I noticed a certain trend with titles and that the usually were named after the genre , a show ,a band or a sound. I chose to follow this trend by naming my magazine after the genera my product was representing. Other conventions I chose to copy in order for my product to match the professionalism of other music magazine were, camera angles, fonts, spacing , picture layout, barcode and price, contents , double page spread, front cover , sub headings , page numbers, date and many others.
6. How does your media product represent particular social groups? Before I knew what particular social group I was going to represent, I has to research different genres of music and find out what one I would chose. I tried to find one that I could relate to as a reader and and a theme I could represent as part of a demographic audience myself. I decided to represent music readers that followed the music genera that is indie as I felt I knew the theme through personal preference. Through my research I found that Indie music represents the main demographic of teenage boys. My product represents a particular social group through the images I used, how they portrayed teenagers (my main demographic) through stereotypical conventions. I used pictures that showed the model sitting down or leaning against a wall to show laziness , this is a relative pre conception of teenagers , therefore representing a particular social group. Also the colour scheme I used was continuous, the colure red used throughout represent teenagers and there rebellious side. When writing sub headings I used catching titles to attract my demographic to my product.
7. What kind of institution might distribute your media products? I took into consideration while constructing my magazine what shops would distribute. All content in my magazine is appropriate for all shops and store. My magazine represents part of the music industry and is a very mainstream product, all institutions should have no problem with selling my product along side other merchandise. My media product represents a curtain demographic and need to be represented by a well know publishing company for example IPC media, I chose this company because I feel they are in the for front of publishing music magazines. When I came to selling my products I feel that my magazine would be appropriate for sale in supermarkets, newsagents music stores and all other suppliers of magazines.
8. What would be your audience for you media project? Its very important to know who your demographic audience is when designing a product, I made sure I researched this thoroughly and made sure that the information I had collected was accurate. I constructed a survey with a verity of questions and asked 20 people at random (10 boys 10 girls) to fill out. The questions varied from, What type of magazines do you buy if you already buy one? To what is your favorite genre of music? This survey really helped me with the the understanding and evaluation of what people of my age wanted out of a magazine. I would most defiantly use this process again when It came to other projects. After I had tallied and charted the result I was able to find out that my main demographic was teenagers and the most popular genre of music was indie. This gave me a very strong indication to what sort of audience I would be designing for and what applications the magazine had to include. These are the results of my survey after that had been tallied and charted , this really helped my process of finding out who my demographic audience were. The audience for my media project would be teenagers with a preference to the music genre Indie, it was my job to make sure that the content of the magazine included subjects suitable for the genre.
9. How did you attract/address your audience? One of my main focuses for this task was to make sure that the reader was able to to relate to my magazine and everything init, this was my main tool in attracting and addressing my audience. One way that I feel I successfully did this was by using a model of a similar age to feature on the front cover. while directing the photo shoot I asked that he pose in positions that looked relaxed and even sometimes lazy. I used this stereotypical image of teenagers and used it to my advantage, this is a tool that I used to attract my audience Another essential part in addressing your demographic is by including content that is relative, while searching for subheadings I made sure I researched things that were happening the music industry at the moment. With this I created an attracted an eye catching front cover and contest page which in effect help me to attract my demographic audience successfully.
10. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? My preliminary task really helped me understand the technologies I used and gave me a greater understanding of computers before going on to my final print task. my greatest achievement I feel is how I have learned to navigate and use many of the different applications of Adobe Photoshop cs3, at first when I was introduced to the program I was completely incompetent at using the program and found it very hard manage with its complexity. After I some help from my teacher, peers and you tube tutorials I started to learn get the basics and was now to construct my product. After a while of using the product I became more and more familiar with its features and used them extensively to create my final magazine. Another piece of technology I was not confident was an SLR camera of which I used to take my photos, this piece of equipment can be a complied with many different add additional pieces. All the different parts sometimes took its toll and sometimes found my self very confused and frustrated. The internet was also vital for the research part of my project and thankfully I was already very familial with it. I was very comfortable with using this program and it really helped me with many aspects of this task.
11. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full project when creating my preliminary task I didn’t go into as much detail in to the research and felt this effected the final outcome of the project. when creating my final task I had to familiarize my self with the programs needed and felt I learnt a lot, especially with the program Photoshop. I also learnt that creating a magazine to a professional level requires a lot more work than I had originally thought. There were also many more stages to the process and found that a lot of planning was needed in order to be successful. Unlike the preliminary task I had to produce a double page spread that looked like one that could be found in a published music magazine. With this I had to carry out an interview. In this interview I tired to keep the questions light as some teenagers don’t like to read long winded paragraphs. I learnt that when appealing to the curtain demographic you need to be aware of language and content used.
