Evaluation-Looking back at my preliminary task, what have I learnt in the progression it to the full product?

This was the final product of my preliminary task. I used Microsoft Publisher to create this. Looking at this now, the first thing that catches my eye is that it quite basic in the design and layout. It lacks colour and doesn't seem as appealing as I first thought. It still looks good, just a bit simple really. The image is dominating the page and makes it the main focus of attention here as well.










Now compared to my prelim task, my OFC looks more structured and professional. I used better programmes such as Picasa, Picnik and Photoshop to create it. It looks more appealing due to the contrasts in colours (the yellow with silvery-grey background). There is a good balance between the text and the images here too.











To summarise then, I feel that I have learnt how to use the technologies around me to good effect. Beforehand, I would occassionally use programmes such as Picasa and Photoshop, but now I find them easy to use and I want to use them.

I have also learnt how hard it is to keep to deadlines in the magazine industry. I never realised the full scale of the construction that goes into making a good magazine. Of course, magazine industries would usually only have a few days whereas we've had a few weeks. Then again, there would be a person working on each bit seperately on a real magazine, not just one person doing the whole magazine.

I also found it interesting to learn about the theories of media and in particular the memes and tropes in our society. To me, they had always been there but I would have never really thought about them-I just accpeted them. Now though I start to think about them in everyday situations.

Finally, the final thing that I have learnt is to alway proof read your work before saving it!

Evaluation-What kind of media institution might distribute my media product?

There are two main media institutions that distribute music magazines in the UK. The first one is the Bauer Media Group Inc. They distribute the magazines of Q, Mojo and Kerrang! The other one is IPC Media, which are responsible for distributing the NME.
Although the Bauer Media Group Inc. are probably the most popular choice, I think that IPC Media would be better at distributing my media product. This is mainly because the magazines at the Bauer Media Group Inc. distribute more glossy magazines. I feel that my magazine has more of a rougher edge to it, which is similar to NME. Also, the other magazines that they distribute (such as Look magazine) are aimed at a younger audience, which is my target audience. They also tend to deal
with weekly magazines, which again is what I would aim to do.























Then again, this conclusion was drawn from looking at my OFC and contents page. When I look at my DPS, it looks less rough. I still think though that taking other factors into account, IPC Media would probably be the best institution for my magazine.





My magazine would be distributed into shops and supermarkets as the front cover has been designed to stand out in amongst the other magazines on the shop's shelf. Would I have my magazine online or as a kindle? Possibly. There certainly seems to be a growing trend of books/magazines in this format. Although I personally like to have a paper magazine, I am trying to appeal to a wider audience so this may mean keeping up to date with modern technology trends.

Evaluation-How did attract/address your audience?

In answer to the question of how did I attract my audience, I bribbed them with money sweets!
I joke of course. What I have done though is asked people who I feel would be my general audience to give their opinions of my magazine to see whether they would attracted to it.

1. What do you like about my magazine?
Josh: There's nothing wrong with it.
Kirsten: Good use of imaging and interesting layout.
Matt: The colour contrast on the front cover.
Jemma: The photography, dark colours with the yellow on the front cover-it stands out.
Sarah: Love the background image on your DPS. Also loving the yellow font.

2. What appeals to you the most?
Josh: The guitar on the front!
Kirsten: Eye-cathcing front image and font.
Matt: Just the general layout-it's different but cool.
Jemma: Yellow font on cover, photos in the tunnel.
Sarah: The boldness of the text.

3. Is there anything that you don't like about my magazine/would want improving on?
Josh: Not really.
Kirsten: No, all works well.
Matt: I think the title (brand name) should be bigger, but that's my only complaint.
Jemma: No, looks very professional.
Sarah: Nope.

4. If this magazine was real, would you buy it?
Josh: Probably not but I don't really buy magazines.
Kirsten: Maybe, I don't read many magazines.
Matt: Yes.
Jemma: Yes, looks like it would appeal to people who like rock music, and I like music magazines.
Sarah: Yes! It looks like a good quality magazine that'd be good to read.

Evaluation-How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Above is a short humourous clip that I thought of on the spot really to outline who my target social group are. As I have mentioned on previous posts, my target audience belong to indie/rock social group. They are passionate about music and tend to stay clear from the mainstream pop market, e.g. Justin Bieber.

The main way I suppose I have represented my social group is through the brand name, 'Revolutions'. Linking to the speed of a vinyl record, RPM, it signifies that the readers of this magazine will be really interested in their music. The slogan tagline above indicates that the magazine will include classic rock bands as well as more modern music.

Of course as the social group I'm aiming my magazine at is aged 15-25, I've also made more references to modern bands as well more older ones throughout the magazine. I have also mentioned things that would appeal to a younger audience, e.g. the tagline "The UK's biggest gigs this summer" on the OFC.

Please remember no books or Bieber's were harmed in the making of this film! I'm sorry if you are a fan of Justin Bieber though. It was just to get my point accross that the social group aren't fond of mainstream pop such as his music and would prefer to read my magazine.

Evaluation-Who would be the audience for my media product?

This is Sarah. Sarah would be a typical reader of Revolutions magazine. She's has her own unique style but also likes to display her love music through the clothes she wears, e.g. the Avenged Sevenfold hoody. She is also stereotypical of a rocker-she wear bold make up, purple hair, nose piercing, etc. Sarah obviously follows the conventions of other indie/rock people.

Of course, with the penumbra effect, you never know who will read my magazine. For all I know it could be this man...

...then again maybe not!

Evaluation-What have you learnt about technologies from this process of constructing this product?

Above is a short presentation about what I have used during this process.

As far as what I've learnt, the answer is quite a bit. Before this experience, I did know quite a bit about the technologies but now I feel that I have developed my knowledge further.

Adobe Photoshop Cs, for example, was something that my Dad had used for years but I'd never looked at before because I was happy with Picnik and Picasa. I had to use it though to follow the conventions of the artists head being infront of the magazine. After a few trials though, I found the program surprisingly easy to use.

Blogger is another technology I have learnt to use. Again, I found this quite easy to use even though it was a bit confusing to begin with.

The only trouble I had was with fontspace.com. First it wouldn't let me download the fonts. Then when I finally got them onto my computer, they didn't work. Fortunately, I eventually found another solution. So I guess one thing I've learnt is that you should always have a plan B if things don't turn out how you wanted them.

Overall then, the technologies have been easy to use and have not been in the way of producing my magazine.

Final Contents Page

Here is my final Contents page:

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

The front cover is quite typical to the other music magazines on the market. Influenced from an issue of NME, the colour scheme is basic yet still has one/two bold colours to attract the audience. The artists head overlaps over the brand name as that draws attention to the artist and alos the brand name is already recognisable. The artist is not looking at the camera though, which is slightly unconventional as pretty much all the artists do with magazine front covers.















My contents page in the end has sticked to the conventional layout of a music magazine and I'd say I have followed the conventions of NME again here. The colour scheme is quite minimal with one major bold colour that makes the fonts stand out more. What I decided to do though was instead of having an "Editor's notes" section, I decided to have a "Editor's quotes" section. This is a bit more quirky and may want readers to read them. Personally, I don't look at the "Editor's notes" because some can just drag on, so a quote is easier and quicker to read but still gets a message across.











Finally, my DPS is quite unconventional compared to others on the market. However, it was influenced from an article in Q magazine. The body is laid out around the main image instead of being on top of it. This draws attention to Becky who is the "centre of attention" in the middle of the tunnel. I also added a mid shot photo of Becky with a vignette frame so readers actually know who she is. Again, the colour scheme has been kept very basic-white font on top of a black background. If I had enough room, I would have included a pull quote. However, when placed on the DPS, the balance of text and images became unbalanced.

Overall though, whether they're conventional or not, I'm proud of all three pieces of work.