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

In my main task the quality of the main cover image is better than that of my preliminary, it has been well edited so that there are no shadows present, however in the preliminary task the picture still has shadows. There is more variety in the font style and size in my music magazine with the sell lines varying in colour and size with particular words being made to stand out which shows that I have progressed. Also the sell lines in my preliminary task are positioned down the left hand side only. For my music magazine I placed sell lines on both sides of the page making it look professional. Another way in which I progressed from the school magazine to the music magazine is by using a wider variety of colours and by using colours which stood out more, meaning that the magazine would be more eye-catching. There were also vast improvements in the quality of my contents page. The contents page for my preliminary task had no images and contained information on very few features. In my main task the contents page now contains more images and features along with an editors letter. I also had to construct a double page spread for my main task meaning that I used more journalistic skills. 

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

During the construction of our music magazine we had to record our progress as we went, to do this we used a website known as www.blogspot.com, I had never used this kind of technology before and whilst creating my magazine I learnt how to use it however it is not a technology that I will use after the production of my magazine as I did not enjoy using it.

I have used Microsoft Publisher on many occasions but never to create a magazine, I found that it was quite a good programme to use for creating the magazine and I had no problems in using this technology as I have used it before.

When taking my photo’s I started by using an Alba 8 megapixel digital camera, once uploaded on to the computer I saw that they were not of a very good quality therefore I changed the camera I used, the next time I took the pictures I used a 12 megapixel Alba camera and found that the quality was much better suited to that of a magazine.

When editing my pictures after taking them I firstly used ArcSoft MediaImpression which I have on my home computer. I edited the brightness and contrast of the images on this programme and re-touched some parts of the model, once at school I used Photoshop which I have not really used before to edit out the shadows on my images. I found this programme quite confusing to use and don’t think I will be using much after making my magazine. I also used Microsoft Office 10 in order to edit some of my images. This was a programme i had not used before but it as simple to use and worked well.

I also used a programme known as slideshare which i had never used before. I used this programme to upload my powerpoint presentations so that i could post them into my blog. I was new to this programme and have now learnt how to use it efficently.

Peer Evaluations

5) How does your product attract/ address the audience?

On my front cover I avoided the use of bright colours as I felt that bright colouring would not reflect the target audience and would therefore not attract them. The model used for the front cover image is wearing clothing of a darker colour also to draw attention more towards her face, I also chose for the model to wear bright coloured lipstick to help draw the attention to her face, the model has eye contact with the camera and is of a similar age to that of the target audience making the magazine more appealing to them. The sell lines I used all relate to the genre of music the audience would be interested in, the sell lines are short and to the point and address the audience in a chatty manner.

My contents page is also designed in order to attract a young, female audience who enjoy the Indie genre of music. My editors letter uses chatty, colloquial language in order to engage the audience. The use of the images would  attract the audience and make the magazine more appealing to them. By once again using models who are the same age it reflects the target audience and encourages them to purchase it.  I continued using the same colour scheme throughout the magazine to keep it continual. By using features that the audience would enjoy such as features about live music and the Indie genre of music it will interest the reader.

Throughout my double page spread I used light-hearted language in order to keep the reader engaged as it is reflecting the language they would use on a day-to-day basis. The music act featured inside is once again the same age as the target audience, this would appeal to them as reading about the act could inspire them and possibly encourage them to try and achieve their wants in life. The images used of the act differ from the colours used for the colour scheme. The colours in the images are vibrant therefore catching the readers attention.

4) Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my media product is mainly females from the ages of 14-18. It mainly addresses the female audience by the way it is written and the images used (which are of female artist).

My typical reader can usually be found listening to Ellie Goulding on her Ipod and planning the next live music event she will be attending along with her friends. She spends most of her school days doing photography and her weekends are spent shopping for clothes and shoes in Topshop. She is very down to earth and enjoys to play the acoustic guitar also. In the holidays she is rarely seen around her home town as she can mostly be found at music events such as Reading and V. Her wardrobe is mainly packed out with summery clothes and floral dresses accompanied with a straw hat ready for the festival season.

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

As the publisher for my music magazine I would choose IPC Media as they are the publishers for NME and I feel that this magazine is the closest to mine however mine is more for a female audience. IPC also publish UNCUT another music magazine which is also of a similar genre. They also produce magazines for a wide range of hobbies and interest covering areas such as fishing and horse riding.  I would choose IPC Media as they already publish a similar magazine so they are well established in that area however they do not have a music magazine which is mainly for the female audience therefore it would add to the company.

2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My music magazine represents the reader as being keen and regular music listeners as on the cover it shows the sell line of ‘20 greatest albums’ which portrays an interest in music and shows they often listen to music. Along with this sell line I have also mentioned live events such as ‘T4’ and ‘Reading’ which represents the reader as being someone who enjoys live music events and festivals. I targeted regular readers and this is presented through the sell line of ‘This weeks top 10’ suggesting that the reader is up-to-date with the charts and regularly buys the magazine. I also included a competition on my front cover once again showing the readers interest in live music events as they can win tickets to a concert at the O2 arena.

My contents page shows that the readers are regular as it mentions ‘last months winner’ and answers questions asked the previous month.  Also by including articles such as ‘music news’ it represents the reader as being interested in the whole music industry as well as just listening to the music. By including an article on ‘unsigned acts’ it represents the reader as someone who may want to start a career in the music industry and also as people who are interested in new artists as well as already established artists.

On the double page spread the artist is presented as being new to the music industry and not yet very established however she has already been successful with her single reaching number one. She is someone the audience can aspire to. The audience are represented once again as being interested in starting up their own music career, this is shown through the questions asked in the interview, the artist is asked how she finds her new career and how she balances school life with her music career. The artist featured is in the charts and this represents the reader as being someone who is up-to-date with music and what music is in the charts at the time.