It's time to care about the questionnaire!!

I handed out a questionnaire to 25 females (as this is my target audience).

5 to 16-19 year olds
5 to 20-25 year olds
5 to 26-30 year olds
5 to 30-39 year olds
5 to 40 +

The questionnaire confirmed that my main target audience would be in the age range of 16-19 year olds and 20-25 year olds.

I have grouped the data for age groups 16-19 and 20-25.

60% of listen to the type of music included in my magazine - indie, anti-folk ect.

10% read magazines such as blag or bearded but 70% felt that there was not a magazine sutaible for them ... i am trying to fill this requirement.

100% of the group felt that interviews needed to be prominent in the magazine ... I have addressed this (see double page spread)

80% wanted a gig guide and reviews of bands ... both of these features can be found in my magazine.

100% said they owned some form of new technology. e.g. I-pod, Laptop or multi-media phone. This means that a internet site for the magazine could be established.

I am very happy with the questionnaire results as I feel that although my target audience is very niche - that market is there. I fell that my magazine really shows what that market want.

The results for the older age groups showed a very different type of data though there where some anomalies that would apprieciate my magazine.

It's all about the change and the challenge!!

I have decided to change my front cover as my old cover looked to depressing and people would not want to read the magazine!! So I have taken some new photos but now I have the challenge of deciding which one to use. To help me I have been looking at the back issues of blag and all their different covers.

http://www.blagmagazine.com/Shop.html

During this change I have also changed the title from capitals to lower case as this is less impossing. I have also changed the coverline to fit the pictures more appropriatly ... this also acts as a 'sneek-peak' to the feature making the audience want to buy the magazine.

The lighting ruins this image as one half of her face is incrediably dark. This is a shame as I like the flowers she is holding in the forefront and the ones around her head. I also like the effect the brick wall has on the photo ... making it more interesting.

The angle of the shot of this photo and the action of blowing on the dandelion are very spring like... this fits in with the eition of the magazine. The picture is also very striking so would attract an audience. The picture is, however, slightly out of focus for a front cover so not appropriate.


Both of these picture show the spring time setting but as she is looking away (and of the page) they would not work as a front cover ... as the audience would not connect with the photo. The photos as a whole also look overly styled and make the magazine look like a fashion magazine. I do like the black and white effect on the bottom picture as it makes the text stand out. I have, however, decieded to not use either of these photos.


I have decided to use this photo on my front cover for reasons I have described in 'S - hoot.'. But in terms of front cover I think this photo works as it it looks as if 'Lola Lemon' is looking up at the title of the magazine. It makes the image Jokey, approachable and will attract my target audience. The layout as it was earlier when I experimented with layout. Overall I think the colours the colours and the composition of the cover work. The picture has the colour of light blue which is repeated in the text.

National aeronautics and space administration ... (Evaluation)

What ways does your media product use, deveop or challenge forms and conventions of a real media product?
As I have already discussed my product is aimed solely at young women, this meant I had to challenge the conventions of music magazines (as they are usually aimed at a male audience). I wanted to lose the messy, overcrowded style currently used in music magazines. I opted for a white background instead ofthe usual black. My house colours were pastel blue and pink instead of the usual red, yellow and dark blue.

On making every page I had to think about what conventions I was going to use and which I was going to purposefully not use so I targeted my audience more. I have refered to them individually when discribing each page see ... 'Change...', ' Photos, photos, photos and a doublepage spread!', 'How I got my layout!!' and 'It's all about the change and the challenge'

How does media product represent particular social groups and how did you address that social group?
My media product represents and independent creative female audience. They will probably be University educated (if old enough) or full time students. They will be interested in discovering new things - I see my magazine as a magazine that people not only buy but will collect. I didn't want to copy current music magazines, I wanted to create something new and original. I did, however, take influence from other magazines as I needed to know what would actually sell.

My magazine represents them through the artists included, the layout that challenges conventions and the mix of formal and 'fun' language. For instance I have split my interview into 2 parts; the first asking serious questions related to the artists career and the second with more infromal questions (from the readers) e.g. what is your favourite cheese? ... this is more jokey and in the style of a popworld (tv show - see video bar for example) interview.

What kind of media instatution would distribute your product and why?
Having researched publishers of music magazines I have discovered that as my magazine is aimed at such a niche market many of the well-known publishes such as EMAP or Haymarket probably wouldn't publish it. I therefore looked at some independent music mgazines and found out who published them!! Many magazines such as Blag (that I have referenced) are self published, so this is an option. But I decided to 'look into' some smaller publishing companies such as 'Fleeing from Pigeons'.

'Fleeing from Pigeons' was origianlly a record label that has started a new publishing arm that now publishes music magazines. They focus on sustainable, recycled and affordable magazine publishing (this is something that will appeal greatly to my readers). They currently publish 'Bearded Magazine' (shown below) - this is an independent music magazine. I think that my music magazine would fit well into there collection.

It has just been announced that Fleeing from pigeons has bought NME from ICP media. Here is the article detailing the change.

Bearded magazine and its publisher Fleeing from Pigeons is proud to announce today that it has bought industry flagship music weekly New Musical Express from IPC Media.
The deal, finalised by Fleeing from Pigeons owner Gareth Main and IPC in the early hours of 1st April is set to regalvanise the struggling weekly, who has seen its circulation tumble over the past decade.
“This is a great opportunity for us to instill some pride and quality journalism back into one of the world’s most recognisable music magazine brands,” said Main in a statement today. “Bearded and New Musical Express have both always been passionate about supporting small, up-and-coming artists and it is a great time for the two titles to start working hand-in-hand to really give unprecedented coverage to independent artists.”
More information will follow in due course, but the first, Bearded NME, featuring a new logo also unveiled today, will be published on 26 August.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing a product?
To make this product I had to learn about several technologies. Firstly for the photographs I had to have the ability to take photographs (so use a camera) and then upload them onto the computer. Once on the computer I had to edit these photos using photoshop ... see 'S-hoot.' for more details. I then had to understand how to use many different aspects of Microsoft Publisher so that I could actually layout my mgazine as I wanted. I had to be able to intsert pictures, textboxes and lines. I had to be able to input my text and then format it into columns, change the font, the colour and the size.

We also had to obviously understand how to use blogger... As well as setting up an account we had to maintain a constant link with the technology (updating it regularly). I had to understand how to edit the layout of my blogger so it was easier to read, how to upload pictures and how to edit current post e.g. to correct spelling and highight changes.

I also learnt that technology can be inconsistent and you have to prepare for this. For example the fonts that I used to create my product were not available on the school system so I therefore had problems when it came to printing. I then had to start to save my work in several formats so that I could continue editing at home but could also print a current version at school. Also due to a lack of storage space on the schools system I had to become fimiliar with storing my work on a memory stick and transporting it between computers.

What have you learnt from the preliminary task to help you with the full task?
The preliminary task helped me learn all the skills I needed (mentioned above). From the preliminary task I learned that I had to focus more on who my target audience is and have a very clear grasp of what they will want. I also had to improve my understanding of layout - the school magazine looks too overcrowed in places. I also had to understand the importance of text size, as an audience won't buy a magazine thats printed too small to read!!

Design to final mag what happened?
When creating my final magazine cover, contents and double page spread I veered away from my original design. Part of the reason was that some of my ideas would have been too difficult to actually make look good and not tacky. I had to make sure that the final product actually looked proffesional - the design was not leading to this. So, I decided to stick to most of the basic elements of my design but change it were the result would lead to an overall better outcome.

When drawing on a page it is hard to envisage the restrictions created once you move it onto the computer. For example the inability to have pictures too close to text boxes without the formating messing up. Or that you didn't account for the fact the printer will cut the edges off your design. Also when moving a design to the computer often pictures will look smaller than you imagined, this didn't look good so I had to change the ayout to fit the pictures I wanted to use.

I also hadto change the design due to the pictures I was planning to take and the pictures I actually took. This was all due to the location of people I wanted to take pictures of. For example for my double page spread I wanted to have pictures of John Head in Liverpool town centre. But due to bad weather on the shooting days (and therefore awful light) it made more sense to shoot his pictures inside. We also had time restrictions as he had work commitments.

S - hoot.

While making my magazine I had to use original images. I am going to talk you through some of the images I chose to use and how I shot them and then how I edited them to make them better.

This is the image I used for the front cover. I shot it against a blue background I know you should usually shoot against white but I wanted to make it a bit more interesting. "Lola Lemon" is wearing quite plain clothes as I did not want them to draw attention. She is also wearing a 'Mimi and Marge' necklace a brand that is popular with celebrities see link.

http://www.mimiandmarge.com/bigshots

I edited this picture in several ways. I had to crop it and re-size it so it would fit well onto the layout of my front cover. I also increased brightness and contrast to make the light more obvious. As I increased brightness I had to add the blue colouring back into the wall as it had turned white.

I have used this picture on my contents page it shows Lola Lemon in a spring setting - she is surrounded by daisys and holding a dandilion. As it is shot outside on a sunny day the lighting is great. It should represent the type of music Lola is producing this picture shows that it is calm, bright, romantic music. It's place on the contents page will also remind and encourage readers to read the article.

This picture I took of John Head is in mid shot; I chose mid-shots as I used an image of him playing the guitar - the shot allowed you to see the guitar and his hands as they played it. I shot the images in his flat with all of the background showing a consentric repeating pattern.

To make this photo look more proffesional I edited the contrast and brightness on them all. As making it brighter obviously made them lighter, it made the skin look washed out. To deal with this is darkened the skin tone slightly. I also had to resize and crop the photo so that they fitted correctly on the page.

This pictue of John's son was taken in the same setting. He is showing his personality through his clothes - the top hat. I positioned this picture on the page below the pictures of John this made him look as if he is looking up at his dad.

I also used 2 pictures of John with a candle behind his head. Though they are in the same setting they are very different.

One I shot without a flash and John looking straight on at the camera. This cause the candle in the background to blur a create a great light. The candle also added some depth to his face as it lit one half while the other is dark. I did, however, lighten the image so half of the face wasn't completly lost. All these elements make it an interesting picture - I decided to use it on the contents page to draw people to read the interview.

The second picture was shot with a flash; John shows his shy personality by looking away from the camera and looking down. I had to lighten this picture as it was quite dark I also had to crop and re-size it so it would fit correctly onto my page. The candle was again positioned in the back but this time more obviously a candle - this added an interesting element to the picture.

I also used this picture of John playing live in the Zanzi-bar. This picture is interesting as it is lit by proffesional lights that give the image a dream-like quality. This is also enhanced by the fact that although the image in in focus there is some visable movement. He and his guitar are the focus of the image it was a long shot but was cropped for use.

I took this picture as a high-angle long shot. Intended to be one of the members of band Lacuna. The picture resembles picture of actual female artists as it is taken from an odd angle and the facial expression and hand shows a certain attitude. The yellow line that runs across the floor and all the lights that reflect off it adds depth to the photo. Before inserting into the magazine I increased the contrast so all the colours stood out more. I also enhanced the yellow colour on the yellow line, so it was bolder.

As I am trying to produce a music magazine I decided I needed some pictures of some gigs. I used 2 shots taken at gigs the one of Paul Weller (above) and one of The Zutons (below). The picture of Paul Weller was taken off of a big screen at the gig (as could obviously not get that close) this meant that the picture had to be cropped before I could put it into my magazine. The picture of The Zutons was a long shot as I wanted to include the whole band. The great thing about taking pictures at live concerts is that the lighting is great meaning that less editing is needed, great effects can also be created.

This picture shows fictional artist Isla-Boo - it adds contrast to the other pictures featured on my contents as it is a close up and shows a profile. The picture itself is quite simple but I wanted to edit it so it was more striking. To do this I increased the contrast this lead to the hair blending into a black background. I then increased the brightness slightly so that the facial features stood out and there was a light refecting of the hair. I then added a blue tint to the photo this makes the hair look blue and a blue line highlights the profile of the face. As in the photo she is looking left if placed on the page like this it would appear she was looking off the page. To solve this I flipped the image so on the contents page she is looking inwards ... it draws the whole page together.

Change ....

Having done my double page spread I decided to change my contents page so it looked more 'full' and resembled a contents page of a music magazine more. I also changed some of the pictures so that it looked more proffesional. I, however, did not want it to look messy like some music magazines can. I did follow conventions such as using columns, using several photos of bands (some of them playing live and some clearly publicity shots), splitting the contents into sections (cover stories and features), the use of the staple colours of the magazine, I list the issue of the magazine (March 2009), a letter from the editor that encourages you to read articles, each artists name is highlighted in bold so that they stand out, each article has a mini description of what the article is about and each article is obviously labled with the page number it appears on.

The contents page -

The letter from the editor -

The list of contents -

Photos, photos, photos and a double page spread!

Having done my interview with John Head I took some pictures of him so I can use them on my double page spread. As, I was aiming at a feminine audience when creating my music magazine I challenged some of the conventions already established in most music magazines. I tried to created clean lines and simple layout that is more aetheically pleasing than most music magazines. I also included a picture of John Heads son as this is not only informing but woman are more likely to respond to pictures of children (this is of course a generalisation but you have to establish a certain stereotype in your mind so your aim doesn't get muddled).

I also used the main colours of pastel pink and blue throughout the pages, I also included the signature pink line down the left side of the page - this also appears on my contents.

I, however, did not ingnore all conventions of music magazines for example; put my main title in the left hand corner, I put the artists name in bold and in blue so that it stands out, I pulled quotes from the text and the interview was organised into columns.

Here is my double page spread.

(page 1)

(page 2)

The Interview !!

I used the research about John Head to help me interview him. It was challenging to write questions as I did not want them to be to personal and therefore offend him, but if they did not tackle the issues the interview would be boring.

I split the interview into to parts a section that asked him serious questions about his life and carreer. The second section was more informal and titled 'The Favourite Five' - this asked him questions about some of his favourite things and memories.

Overall I thought the interview went well, it also shows the type of music included in my magazine. As I am specialising in music that is genuinely good and respected within the music industry but not necessarily commercially successful. This interview will atract my audience as it will allow them to discover something that they might not have known about otherwise.

Here is the main interview ;

Here is 'The Favourite 5';

Heads up !!

Before I did the interview for my double page spread I wanted to do some research on the artist.
Here are some of the websites I looked at !!

http://www.shacktheband.com/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool08/video/10/beat_john_head.shtml

http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-life-features/liverpool-arts/2007/10/05/shack-it-s-a-story-of-love-hate-and-inspiration-64375-19900885/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/1999/jun/14/artsfeatures

I then also went to see John Head record a session at BBC radio Merseyside !!
I have also inserted a video of him playing - see the video bar to the right !!

A picture of John Head and Mick Head in early shack days ... 1988? (I did not take this, just used for reference)

How I got to my layout !!

I made my front cover also using publisher I however changed my layout design several times trying to find the best result !!! I liked the staggered writting but the titles below are too much visually !!

I like the simpleness of this design but is it too simple ??

This cover has a change of picture and although i LOVE the picture i can't use it because he looks to young to actually be an artist !!!

i experimented with moving the sub titles to the top under the heading - i thought this worked well !! :)

I finally decided to use the design below as it included the staggered name 'Lola Lemon', the sub-titles under the name and also a new pull - 'an Exclusive interview...'


As my music magazine is aimed at women my colour scheme is based around pastel colours, with the title colour repeating throughout. I also added blue to the front cover to add some diversity. As I have already said my layout was inspired by W magazine and Blag magazine.

Below Ground ...

As one of my main pictures featured on the contents page was of a band called 'The Undergrounds'. I decided to grab a friend (Kip) and hit the underground to see if we could get some good pictures.

I didn't want the pictures to be overly styled I wanted them to be real and a bit 'gritty' !!

here are some of the photos ...


These photos were taken as a reflection in a rounded mirror - they give the effect of a bugeye camera. I really like the scratches that appear ontop of an image (if only it read the undergrounds). The ambient lighting in both photographs is creates a nice balance (especially the top one). Although I like these photos i don't think they are oppropriate as you can see the camera - this does not look proffesional.

This photograph is to busy (that does explain the underground perfectly), however, the line of glass across the front and the people in the background pull focus away from the artist. The light is also too bright and overpowers the photo.

We look more like dodgy police detectives in this one than a band !!! This photo has other problems as some of the face and head is cut off. You can also not clearly tell that this photo was taken on the underground - which defies the point of taking them there.

so I chose to use ...

I chose to use this photo as the pose looks natural, Kip is clearly the pull of the photo she stands out. The line of the light in the background and the line of the wall bring you directly to her. the lighting also reflects on the wall so the picture is bright. The people in the background sow you the atmosphere of the underground but they are not in focus so do not pull attention. Kips facial expression shows some anger but also desperation this makes the photo very interesting as it allows readers to see there favourite 'star' in a different way.

edit : I have decided to not use these pictures as the do not look proffesional enough.

Woop Woop !!

I used publisher to create my contents page!! I used my design plan but also took influence from my source below!!

I bring so much JOY . . . with this blog !!

I needed some pictures to actually put in my music magazine so I went to some gigs !! woopwoop!! Here are some of the pictures I took !!

Oh no!!!

Having started to creat my Contents page on publisher - I discovered that my design lead to the page looking boring and unproffesional. As I am aiming my magazine at young women I felt it was also not femanine enough. To attack this promblem I firstly tried to source some female oriented music magazines - there were not really any ?? The closest I found was blag pictured below.

Blag magazine is aimed at a similar audience as my own magazine. I am going to explore some of the techniques used on the front cover. The page appears to be quite 'clean' and not over-crowded - I aim to achieve this with my music magazine. The main arttraction (article) is made obvious with large printing of Rupert Grint - other sub-headings can be seen but are not as obvious as in some music magazines. Although the title graps your attention the main focus is the picture. The picture, however seems like a fashion shoot I want my picture to be grittier and represent the hard world of the music industry. Even though I will take some inspiration from this magazine there are some problems for instance the colour of the main font blends into the jacket and the shirt making it difficult to read.

I also decided to look at other magazines that are aimed mainly at woman for example fashion magazines. I looked at W magazine. It helped me a great deal as I was able to draw on some of the style aspects of the contents page and also pull some of the main coulours out for use. The descision to do this will mean that I will be challenging some of the boundaries currently established in music magazines.

If I combine what I have learned from both examples I will be able to improve on my magazine a great deal.

And now you dancing !! :)

Now I fully understand what is expected from a music magazine and who my audience is I can start to design it. To begin I drew my design on paper highlighting the colour scheme, layout and main features.

My Cover !

My Contents !

My Double Page Spread !!

and move your feet !!

Before we could design our magazine we looked at four front covers and analysed their aesthetics. This then gave us a greater idea of how to approach our own magazine based on our audience.