Friday 15 April 2011
Magazine Evaluation
In the brief we was to create a magazine cover, double page spread and a contents page for a fictional music magazine. For this magazine we had to take our own pictures and make up a fictional music artist to accommodate the pictures and double page spread. As we did this we had to research the codes and conventions of typical music magazines and house styles they used, this was done by looking at a range of different genre of magazines and different styles focusing mainly on the double page spread, contents page and front cover in order to acquire a wide range of styles. Each magazine featured similar elements such as recurring colours, fonts and taglines which suit the genre of the music it contains. From this I then began to develop my ideas, by creating mock ups of what I wanted my magazine to look like. I then took my photos of my friend, who happens to be a real life musician, which allowed me to base my magazine around him. I then created my first drafts, then used the feedback given to change and improve the work until the final draft was created. The magazine I created conforms to other magazines, by following similar conventions as them such as having the logo in the top left hand corner, having bands listed on the front cover and images of the artists on the contents page.
My magazine would be best suited to a D-E in the Socio-Demographic which primarily consists of students and semi-skilled people. Due to the content which is mainly content in which students would be interested in, I feel it would be best suited to these catagories. Also including the price to I Alexander’s EP to be available to online retailers such as iTunes strengthens this as students are likely to use iTunes and the price being £3.99 is reasonably cheap to a typical student or other people on the D-E Socio-Demographic income.
Through audience feedback I have managed to confirm that I have got a strong identifiable style which is recognisable to my audience. I have also found that my content is relevant to my target audience due to the way it has been structured and the inclusion of reviews of singles, albums and gigs, along with upcoming gig dates.
I think my magazine would be best suited to Bauer Media, due to the magazine following similar styles to NME magazine, since Bauer Media only have Q which is often aimed at a more upscale market and Kerrang which is of an alternative market, CNM would help target an indie market which Bauer Market doesn’t have a strong hold on, with both Q’s and Kerrang’s readership profile not acknowledging the Indie scene at all, and Q being the closest to CNM not making a statement on students at all.
In my magazine I decided to focus on a teenage/student audience, mainly listeners of the Indie genre. I feel my magazine has targeted that role well, by using typical red and black colours, while reminiscent of NME magazine, it’s a tried and tested colour formula which is a popular variation with teenagers and along with the ripped paper effect these often used to represent rebellion which is a common element within teenage culture. On the front cover I have included a variety of bands and artists varying in genre in order to attract a wider audience. The price was set at £2.99 and set as monthly with over 60 pages, as teenagers are often short on cash, making £2.99 a reasonable price for people at this age. The contents page consists of elements which strengthen the image I’m trying to portray by including original images of fictional artists Mr Tsang and Sarah and the Cage which are based on artists Mistabishi and Florence and the Machine. I also based my regular features on other magazines, such as Q, NME and Mojo. On the double page spread, I think that by using the recurring use of fonts, strokes and colours I have managed to create the house style that I am looking to achieve. The magazine title being CNM is easy to remember and similar to other magazine’s titles meaning that it will be immediately linked with them making it easy to tie in with the genre. On the double page spread I decided to keep a colloquial writing style and use popular slang in order to maintain the readers interest. My model for my magazine I had dressed in a long black winter coat, black gloves and red jeans. I had the model stand on a park which was filled with snow, this was to emphasise the individual indie look which usually consists of this style, and also to show that even though the weather is cold, it is possible to wear warming clothes and still look good. Overall I had taken 21 pictures, I decided to use a medium close up with the models hand reaching out in order to give the effect that I Alexander is reaching out to his audience. On the double page spread I had picked a similar image from a different angle, this was to establish a trademark pose for the artist.
While making my music magazine I feel my skills with programs such as Adobe Photoshop have developed strongly, allowing me to learn more advanced techniques such as Masking. I also developed a lot in text adjustment, due to the strong nature of text within magazines I had learned how to adjust it, to make it more visible, stronger and easier to read. Also using Photoshop has helped develop a skill which would be handy in a professional field as Photoshop is often considered to be of industry standard. The capability of using layers on Photoshop has been one of the most helpful features allowing me to arrange and organise my work in a way which is easy to work with and comprehend. The ability to use the website Blogger has been extremely helpful for being able to refer back to, keep track of and keep focus on the task at hand. Also by having to take pictures, I have developed my photography skills which was an initial problem due to me having a lack of model photography experience, by taking pictures at particular angles and positions in order to give the picture extra meaning, and change the way in which we are seeing the model which in turn improved my camera skills.
Looking back from the preliminary task, I feel I have learned and managed to progress extensively, learning far more media terminology, the purpose of media institutions and what each one produces, how to target things more specifically at an audience by using things that they are familiar with, and by having a strong understanding on conventions due to researching existing magazines on the market. My skills have also developed on creating the magazine itself, by having a wider exposure to Photoshop, which upon initial use was a struggle, but by experimenting and trying different methods I have learned how to use it to a higher standard and I am now capable of creating higher quality work from the program.
My magazine would be best suited to a D-E in the Socio-Demographic which primarily consists of students and semi-skilled people. Due to the content which is mainly content in which students would be interested in, I feel it would be best suited to these catagories. Also including the price to I Alexander’s EP to be available to online retailers such as iTunes strengthens this as students are likely to use iTunes and the price being £3.99 is reasonably cheap to a typical student or other people on the D-E Socio-Demographic income.
Through audience feedback I have managed to confirm that I have got a strong identifiable style which is recognisable to my audience. I have also found that my content is relevant to my target audience due to the way it has been structured and the inclusion of reviews of singles, albums and gigs, along with upcoming gig dates.
I think my magazine would be best suited to Bauer Media, due to the magazine following similar styles to NME magazine, since Bauer Media only have Q which is often aimed at a more upscale market and Kerrang which is of an alternative market, CNM would help target an indie market which Bauer Market doesn’t have a strong hold on, with both Q’s and Kerrang’s readership profile not acknowledging the Indie scene at all, and Q being the closest to CNM not making a statement on students at all.
In my magazine I decided to focus on a teenage/student audience, mainly listeners of the Indie genre. I feel my magazine has targeted that role well, by using typical red and black colours, while reminiscent of NME magazine, it’s a tried and tested colour formula which is a popular variation with teenagers and along with the ripped paper effect these often used to represent rebellion which is a common element within teenage culture. On the front cover I have included a variety of bands and artists varying in genre in order to attract a wider audience. The price was set at £2.99 and set as monthly with over 60 pages, as teenagers are often short on cash, making £2.99 a reasonable price for people at this age. The contents page consists of elements which strengthen the image I’m trying to portray by including original images of fictional artists Mr Tsang and Sarah and the Cage which are based on artists Mistabishi and Florence and the Machine. I also based my regular features on other magazines, such as Q, NME and Mojo. On the double page spread, I think that by using the recurring use of fonts, strokes and colours I have managed to create the house style that I am looking to achieve. The magazine title being CNM is easy to remember and similar to other magazine’s titles meaning that it will be immediately linked with them making it easy to tie in with the genre. On the double page spread I decided to keep a colloquial writing style and use popular slang in order to maintain the readers interest. My model for my magazine I had dressed in a long black winter coat, black gloves and red jeans. I had the model stand on a park which was filled with snow, this was to emphasise the individual indie look which usually consists of this style, and also to show that even though the weather is cold, it is possible to wear warming clothes and still look good. Overall I had taken 21 pictures, I decided to use a medium close up with the models hand reaching out in order to give the effect that I Alexander is reaching out to his audience. On the double page spread I had picked a similar image from a different angle, this was to establish a trademark pose for the artist.
While making my music magazine I feel my skills with programs such as Adobe Photoshop have developed strongly, allowing me to learn more advanced techniques such as Masking. I also developed a lot in text adjustment, due to the strong nature of text within magazines I had learned how to adjust it, to make it more visible, stronger and easier to read. Also using Photoshop has helped develop a skill which would be handy in a professional field as Photoshop is often considered to be of industry standard. The capability of using layers on Photoshop has been one of the most helpful features allowing me to arrange and organise my work in a way which is easy to work with and comprehend. The ability to use the website Blogger has been extremely helpful for being able to refer back to, keep track of and keep focus on the task at hand. Also by having to take pictures, I have developed my photography skills which was an initial problem due to me having a lack of model photography experience, by taking pictures at particular angles and positions in order to give the picture extra meaning, and change the way in which we are seeing the model which in turn improved my camera skills.
Looking back from the preliminary task, I feel I have learned and managed to progress extensively, learning far more media terminology, the purpose of media institutions and what each one produces, how to target things more specifically at an audience by using things that they are familiar with, and by having a strong understanding on conventions due to researching existing magazines on the market. My skills have also developed on creating the magazine itself, by having a wider exposure to Photoshop, which upon initial use was a struggle, but by experimenting and trying different methods I have learned how to use it to a higher standard and I am now capable of creating higher quality work from the program.
Saturday 12 March 2011
Sunday 19 December 2010
Thursday 9 December 2010
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