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

I have put on this final post my preliminary task which was my college magazine cover and a copy of my music magazine cover. When I look back at my preliminary task I see a great improvement made in how I have used my photoshop skills and how I have used the conventions I know are included in the music magazines i researched. 

The preliminary task was basically a way to see how well I was able to use photoshop, when i have now looked closely at my work at the beginning of the course I can instantly see from my preliminary task what I need to improve on and that i could only use the basic of photoshop whereas now from my music cover I see that I have improved greatly in the way that photoshop was used for my music magazine front over. Through a lot of research I see that it helped in order to create my research product. I used different tools creating different effects for my front cover image instead of just using a black and white image i find that the use of the black and white image on my preliminary piece made my work look a lot less appealing to an audience and would have worked better if i had used colour which I have found from learning the improvements of making my most recent piece of work. Also I have found that i could have improved my first piece (the college magazine) by incorporating more feature stories in order to attract more of an audience along with a background to my image linking the magazine cover more to a college instead of just a blank background. When I look closely at my college magazine I can see that I only had basic understanding on how making a cover and photoshop even worked. The way the font did not stand out and was not eye catching was another way that this piece could have been improved on. However there is advantages which came from creating this first magazine cover these include the way in which I was able to successfully realise how the music magazine I have created would turn out better in using multiple different tools and really putting effort in to researching important ways of making a product which went with the genre, looked professional and appealed to a mass audience. From doing the preliminary task my knowledge of computers and software to create pieces like I have done as my knowledge of these things has improved greatly and has been used to then create my final piece of work which are my front cover, contents and double page spread. 

I think that if there was any part of my magazine I would change it would be the front cover image as I feel that the image would work better if her eyes were showing as it would mean the audience would possibly find it more appealing but on the other hand from asking people their opinions of my cover I have found that people,think there is an air of mystery to the way the image is on the cover. Also I would move around the placing of the feature stories to both sides of the front cover to make the left side look a bit more open and give the right side a bit more on it however again this may include changing the image which is mainly on the right side. 

I find that this part of my coursework has worked out a lot better than my preliminary task as the preliminary task did not go as well I had planned due to my lack of knowledge using photoshop. But even though there are multiple mistakes I made in my preliminary task I think the mistakes have helped me improve in order to create the higher standard of a cover that I have now making my music magazine cover. I learnt how to follow the conventions and colour scheme, how to make the cover really stand out and appeal to and audience and I have improved the way I am able to use photoshop.

In order to create the music magazine I have brought together my research and knowledge which I have recently learnt to create a final piece which shows larger understanding of the music industry. Also looking at fashion and make up has makeup has made the way that i have made my final piece really work especially when choosing the way my artist was going to dress and do their makeup in order to make the images look more like an alternative rock artist. I feel as if I have learnt a wide range of new skills from both of these tasks either computer knowledge or knowledge about the music industry itself.

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

How did you attract/address your audience?

Who would be the audience for your media product?

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

I based my magazine on research of the magazine KERRANG!. This magazine is a Uk based magazine devoted to the rock genre, it was published by Bauer Media Group. In the early 2000s it became the best-selling British music newspaper.

BAUER MEDIA REACHES OVER 22 MILLION UK ADULTS EVERY WEEK.

Bauer Media UK reaches over 22 million UK consumers

every week through a portfolio of world-class, multi-platform media and entertainment brands including heat, Kiss, Grazia, Empire, Magic and Absolute Radio. It creates and curates entertaining media content that audiences love whenever, wherever and however they want through a multi-channel strategy and a focus on product excellence and audience insight. It is a large European-based media company, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany that manages a portfolio of more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations around the world. 

I would want this media group to distribute my product as they are such a large company which distribute to multiple countries therefore meaning a larger mass audience for my media product. 

The benefits which I would gain from being associated to this institution would be reaching over 20 million UK customers with my product as the association reaches over 22 million a week.  It is a large European-based media company meaning that my product would also be sold around to people all over Europe. 

In order to find out why this distribution choice was a good choice i had to research multiple facts about them. Including sales figures etc.

The places in which I would distribute my product would be in large shops such as Tesco, Asda and Morrisons because these shops are really large and dotted around the country meaning that there is more of a chance that my product would be purchased in one of these shops than in a smaller store. This is helping me distribute my product to a wider audience. 

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

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

Evaluation questions

1)In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? 
Copy and paste your front cover, contents and double page spread so they are all on one page next to each other.  And write a brief summary about how you have used CONTINUITY by creating a HOUSE STYLE through out your product:

-Same font throughout your magazine.

-Same colour scheme using 3 colours.

-Making sure page numbers match contents features.

-Same artist on your front cover, contents and DPS

-How does your lay out match or challenge conventions (a brief description) etc.

2)How does your media product represent particular social groups? 
•When discussing how your product represents stereotypes and age groups link back to
your research.
•How did you make the choices you did in relation to content?
•Look at your research in to demographics and your social economic table, how and in what
way did this help you?
•Look at your reader profiles, how do they show how social groups are represented.
•How did you stereotype your audience? Think about the types of bands featured and
competition prizes offered.
Consider assumptions made in relation to bands featured and mise en scene chosen.

3)What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Look back at your research some students will have already covered this aspect in their
LIIAR analysis.
Look at what magazine you have based your magazine identity and genre on. Look at who
publishes and distributes that magazine. (Bauer, IPC media)
State: Who you would want to distribute your product, why you would want them to
distribute your magazine, what benefits would you gain from being associated to this 
institution? What advantages would you have if your product were to be distributed by this
institution. 

4)Who would be the audience for your media product? 
•Talk about your chosen audience and why you targeted that audience.
•If you created your own reader profile show a deconstruction of your choices in your
evaluation. What made you put certain features on to this? What type of audience were your
trying to re create?(show this in your evaluation.)
•What other research did you carry out in relation to target audiences? How did your
research help i.e. your videoed focus groups.
•Construct a secondary audience feed back video with your final product to see if it was
successful for your targeted audience.

5)How did you attract/address your audience?
•What is it about your magazine that will appeal to your audience specifically?
• Any special offers / plugs . . .
• The importance of feeling like part of ‘the scene’
• Audience feedback (graphs, charts and video clips, questionnaires etc.)
•Artists featured, imagery, and meeting the requirements of an audience. 

6)What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this
product?
•Think about EVERYTHING you have done in / learned about using Photoshop
•provide proof via before and after pics if you have them or by slideshows as some students
have already created.
•Imagery is important. You could also video your self with an over the shoulder shot to show
how exactly you created certain effects (to reach higher grade bands)
•Use your print screens you have used in your planning and research and talk about the
tools you used.

7)Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the
progression from it to the full product?
•Print screen your preliminary task: front cover of your college magazine along side your
final front cover.
•What have you learnt?
•How have you developed?
•What would you change?
•Why was it useful carrying out the preliminary task?
•What skills and knowledge did you learn in order to produce a music magazine?

Finished Drafts

Conventions of a Double Page Spread

Main Image

Stand First

Pull quotes

Article text is in columns

Drop cap

Who has written the article

Page numbers

Title

Do not place text or images down the centre fold