Looking back at your preliminary task what do you feel you have learn in the progression from it to the full product?

I have learnt how to use many different programs over the course of my preliminary task including:

·         Adobe In Design

·         Photoshop

·         Blogger

Before I did this media project I had barely used any of these programs so was not very experienced at how to use them. I still do not understand In Design but I am confident that I can create a high quality piece of work using this programme whilst before I feel that I would not have been able to do this. This is particularly evident when looking at my agony aunt page, which was made using the same software but is definitely not of the same standard as my finished final project.

I have also learnt how to efficiently plan for a project and the amount of effort and research that goes into these projects, I regret not spending as much time on some aspects as I did on others but have adapted and learnt many new skills over the last few months.

When using Photoshop I learnt how to do a basic edit on some of my photos and practiced this for a few weeks before attempting it on some of my own photos. I regret not taking my photos sooner as this meant that I evidently did not have as much time on perfecting them as I could have but the time I spent practising on other photos meant that I was able to achieve a basic quality in little time.

Other skills I have learnt:

·         I have learnt how to analyse efficiently and effectively and see how it is not all about what is said but also about what text is used and how this also affects the target audience and the reader. When analysing both the agony aunt pages and existing music magazines I learnt that the type of font and type used can also have an impact on the reader, which smaller or harder to read font discouraging them from reading the article and bigger or more spaced out font giving the illusion that there is more writing but welcomes the reader in as it is easier to read.

·         The colours used in an article can also have an effect on the reader, manipulating their mood and the mood of the article. With red or blacks giving a darker and more aggressive tone to the article and lighter pastels colours making it have a friendlier feel. Pinks can also be associated with a more female based audience as they are stereotypically girly colours.

what have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Photography

For this project we had to use photography for a large part, this was because a magazine article would be boring and hard to read or process without the inclusion of photographs. This has meant that I had to learn how to do proper photography instead of just basic photography. Whilst I do not think I have learnt much (mainly due to the fact that I was using a pretty rubbish camera for my photography as I could not afford, nor get hold of, any decent cameras) I have learnt a lot about positioning of your model and light.

I have learn that to get a decent photo in harsh daylight you want your model to stand with their face to the sun, so that it is behind the camera, as this means it does not cast as much of a shadow over your subject.

It is also best not to stand them somewhere where shadows will be cast over them by the surrounding objects as this can distort or cause weird effects on your models skin.

The stance of your model is also very important and I have learn that just having them standing straight on to the camera is not always the best thing to do. In my case I did not give my model a specific pose to adopt but just let her mess around and I took pictures when I felt it looked best. This allowed her to look more relaxed and normal in photos instead of staged.

Photoshop

I have also learnt how to use a basic version of Photoshop and how to edit my pictures. I learnt how to use the following tools in Photoshop:

·         Brightness/contrast – this allows me to edit the light in the pictures and then change how it affect my model, I quiet often used this tool to make the light levels darker but my model more prominent.

·         Levels – this allows you to edit specific part of the picture, mainly the lightness still but you can target certain parts, like the model or just the sky.

·         Select colours – this allowed me to edit certain colours in my picture, make greens less prominent, the browns in my models hair more noticeable.

In Design

I then used in design to put my articles together, this is a basic editing site and allowed me to draw and place text where I liked with minimal effort. I’m still not 100% sure how to use it properly.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (contents page)

• I have chosen to use a more basic layout for my contents page, opting to put all the featured artists in a list down the left side of the page. whilst this means that they do not each have a tiny explanation of the article beneath them i feel that this makes it easier for the reader to skim over them and pick out and find which articles they want to read.
• I have also used minimal pictures on my contents page to try and draw attention more to the text. The only pictures i have used are of a few of the artists and of the author as this helps to give some visualisation but also draw attention to those particular areas on the contents page.
• The overall design of my contents page can apear to look quiet complex but is infact simple, i changed the design several times till i could find one that i felt look best and kept my magazine withing my chosen genre.

• I included a competition announcment and authors note on the contents page to help hold the readers attention but also give some background before they then moved on. By featuring a competition i also am able to hold the readers interest and give them incentive to visit the website and also buy the next issue of the magazine.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventiuons of real media products? (feature page)

• The colours used on my feature page link in with the colours on my front page, tying my magazine together and making it flow through the whole project. I used purples because they are a darker colour so add a bit of depth and interest into my article, but then opted to use greys and whites for the rest of my colour scheme.

• My article is introducing a new album released by my singer, but focuses mainly on her life now that she ios famous, I chose to do this because from personal experience i find it boring and tedious to read a whole article on why they made their album and what inspired them to think of the lyrics.
• The tone of my article is meant to be relaxed and gossipy, this is because I wanted it to be easy to read and keep the readewrs attention.

Feature page

Contents page

who would be the audience for your media product?

My target audience

I believe the target audience for my magazine is younger adults, of maybe mid-twenties to forties age. I believe that my magazine will appeal more to people of this age as it features many younger and more contemporary artists, but also that it is mainly during this age that peoples music tastes fluctuate and develop, meaning that whilst they may not be country fans they might be inclined to buy and read my magazine.

My magazine is colourful and more contemporary, featuring bigger (but less) images and very down to earth and overly chatty dialect. This appeals more to the younger audience as it is easy to read and can be read at a faster pace or a glance. By using pull quotes I also allow them to read what I feel is key information straight away. This is important when appealing to a younger audience as it intrigues them and causes them to want to read the rest of the interview to find out the context surrounding the speech they have read.

However I feel that my magazine could also appeal to the small majority f older people just due to my chosen genre of music, with country music often being thought to be a more wizened taste. This image of country is mainly due to artists such as Billy Rae Cyrus who is thought to be more ‘oldies’ due to his soul style. It is because of that stereotype that I feel my magazine might attract a slightly older audience, but I feel that the majority of my devoted readers would be younger adults (mainly female)

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My Artist

(Other country magazines)

My artist is meant to portray a more secluded and miss understood aspect of the society. Whilst the country genre is usually thought of as a more innocent genre, with artists who are meant to be withdrawn and private, only portraying their feelings through their music, I have chosen to present my artist as more passionate and open about her past life.

My artist is meant to show a more rough background and have a slight edge of rebellion to her whilst still appearing innocent and ‘normal’ through her image, style and the way she presents herself. She is not meant to fit into her allocated ‘group’ and is meant to have a different type of attitude to that of the same social group, but her music is meant to help her audience relate to her instead of her history.

I feel I have presented this slight edginess through the speech in her interview on the feature page but have captured the innocence and country aspect of her character through the pictures I have used on the front cover, contents page and feature page. The pull quotes I have used throughout my project also helps show this more innocent yet rustic side of my artist.

Most country music magazine also choose to display their artists as a more innocent type of person but then use their articles to display them in a more revealing light, often talking about past drug or sex addictions and their ‘teenage antics’. It is because of this that I feel that my chosen artist fits in with other, real, country artists.

(Females)

I feel that my artist fits into the target audience of younger females, her young life experiences help her relate to young females who have come from bigger families (which is often common in more rural families). I also feel that my artists body image also helps her to fit in with my chosen target audience as she has an hour glass figure so therefor does not give off the expectation to be skinny but instead comes across as a real life example of how woman look instead of a projected airbrushed fantasy or expectation of a woman.

 

My Magazine overall

(Other country magazines)

I think that my magazine is slightly different to the typical country music magazine; this is because it has a slightly different look overall and gives of a more retro than country look. However my choice of images and artist names helps to bring it back to a more country genre, with the actual artists not being too made up.

A typical country magazine uses more neutral colours in their magazines and often has a darker background or more stereotypical pictures throughout the magazines, choosing to go for a more basic look; unlike some more pop magazines which choose to go for a more stylistic image in their magazines. I feel that my magazine has a mixed a bit of both to help it appeal to a slightly wider audience, bringing it slightly out of the country genre.

By making a more stylised magazine, like this one of taylor swift, you are able to attract a wider audience but also focus your magazine more on the artist, making it more apealing.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (front cover)

• the eyeline of the artists in the dominant image makes the reader feel as if the artist is looking at them, this is important as it makes them feel a connection to the artist and want to buy the magazine. The fact that the artist is slightly slouched in pose also gives off a more welcoming look to the magazine as they look as though they are comfortable or of a more friendly image. This is more likely to attract a female audience as it makes the artist ,ore relatable to them.

• My front cover does not immediately suggest a country genre, but the clothing worn by my artist is wearing is basic and easily suyggests a soul or folk theme.
• The front cover of my magazine suggests a younger or more contemporary audience, with the suggested target audience being young adults of around mid twenties in age. The use of a female image on the front of the magazine might also suggest that it is more of a female orientated magazine, but it could also atrract males as they may be interested in the other artists mentioned on the front of the magazine.
 

• I havent used any strap lines on my front cover but have used a pull qoute, this is unusual on a music magazine as they often attract the audience with images of their favourite artists and advertising competions and articles through pull quotes and bold lettering. I decided to use a pull quote as it makes my article different but also gives you a bit of initial information about the artist.

Front cover