I have enjoyed the course and feel like I have gained and developed a variety of skills, to navigate my blog there is a "labels" section on the right hand side, and also an archive if you scroll down, from which you can access any of my work.
Thanks.
Friday 17 April 2015
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? (draft)
Since making my preliminary magazine, I have learnt about page harmony rules, and different page models. Looking at my preliminary magazine, it doesn't really follow any rules to the layout and so doesn't look professional. In general also, my ability to use different technologies has greatly increased over the duration of the course, I had minimal experience editing pictures and using photoshop before making my magazine. So throughout the process of making my magazine, I learnt the necessary skills required to effectively edit images and compile them along with my article into a magazine. My product was also improved from teacher guidance and peer comments, which helped finding flaws in my product that I didn't spot myself.
On my preliminary magazine, my lack of knowledge of the technologies and page design is evident, the page follows no real model, and the images are poorly taken and lit, with little/no editing. I had also carried out no research into what made a good magazine, so that also shows in my preliminary. During my research and planning I discovered colour schemes and different fonts, which make a far more professional looking magazine when integrated. I think my preliminary magazine is also a bit too cluttered as well, as the groups I am targeting appreciate a simplistic and clean aesthetic as opposed to the more "busy" look of more mainstream magazines.
I was also inspired to go from a typical gloss magazine to a print publication by the magazine "Loud and Quiet" which is printed like a newspaper. My improved understanding of photoshop helped me make a much more aesthetically pleasing magazine, through the use of tools like layers and editing the flaws out of pictures and adjusting the colour levels. My understanding of how to take a professional looking picture, has also greatly improved, with knowledge of things like where to place a fill light to remove shadows, and how best to position the main lights to get a fully lit picture.
Overall I think the main things I learned were the skills to effectively use the technology available, and the conventions of page design, as these were the things that allowed me to create a realistic looking magazine.
On my preliminary magazine, my lack of knowledge of the technologies and page design is evident, the page follows no real model, and the images are poorly taken and lit, with little/no editing. I had also carried out no research into what made a good magazine, so that also shows in my preliminary. During my research and planning I discovered colour schemes and different fonts, which make a far more professional looking magazine when integrated. I think my preliminary magazine is also a bit too cluttered as well, as the groups I am targeting appreciate a simplistic and clean aesthetic as opposed to the more "busy" look of more mainstream magazines.
I was also inspired to go from a typical gloss magazine to a print publication by the magazine "Loud and Quiet" which is printed like a newspaper. My improved understanding of photoshop helped me make a much more aesthetically pleasing magazine, through the use of tools like layers and editing the flaws out of pictures and adjusting the colour levels. My understanding of how to take a professional looking picture, has also greatly improved, with knowledge of things like where to place a fill light to remove shadows, and how best to position the main lights to get a fully lit picture.
Overall I think the main things I learned were the skills to effectively use the technology available, and the conventions of page design, as these were the things that allowed me to create a realistic looking magazine.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? (draft)
Photoshop
Photoshop was the editing software used in the making of my magazine, I had used it briefly before the course but since making my magazine I had to learn many more skills, such as editing a picture to remove flaws, how to change the lighting levels, aligning images and cutting images out using the different built in tools. It allowed me to create a professional, realistic looking final magazine.
Computer
I used a combination of the school computers and computers at home to complete my magazine, it was absolutely vital to making my magazine, as it was the hardware which allowed me to access the software and websites I used when making and researching my magazine.
Camera
I used a Nikon D3200, which is the digital-slr camera I used at school, during making my magazine I had to learn how to set up the camera to take my desired pictures, by adjusting exposure, white-balance and shutter speed. The use of the camera let me take high-quality, professional looking pictures, which helped contribute to the overall high quality of my end product. In conjunction with the camera I also learnt how to use a tripod, which let me take stable, blur free pictures, whilst also letting me take multiple pictures from exactly the same location/perspective.
SD Cards and USB memory sticks
I used a variety of different SD cards and memory sticks in the process of making my magazine, they were very useful in transferring pictures and photoshop files between computers as they were too large to send via email or conveniently upload to cloud services. Because they easily let me take work between home and school it allowed me to complete work much easier as I wasn't limited to only working at school.
Google Chrome
Google chrome was the internet browser I used whilst carrying out research or finding images, without it, researching magazines and target audiences would have been much more difficult.
UK Tribes & YouGov Profiler
These two websites were very useful in the process of making my magazine, as they provided invaluable information on different youth cultures and their interests, and they permitted me to effectively market my magazine.
Blogger
This was the website I used to post all my work relating to my magazine, it was incredibly convenient as it automatically saves work, and can be accessed from any internet browser, so it made working across multiple computers very easy.
Flickr
Flickr is an image hosting site I used to upload the high definition photos I took, it allowed me to easily display and backup work online, whilst also accessing them from any internet browser.
How did you attract/address your audience? (draft)
The main way I attracted my audience was my magazine cover, which features a large image of a musician, who would be recognisable to the target audience of my magazine. The cover layout is also fairly unconventional in that there is very little text on the page, which would draw attention to my magazine cover as it would stand out on shelves next to more conventional covers. Since the target audience for my magazine, as mentioned before, is young alts or hipsters who strive to not be mainstream, a magazine which looks alternative or different is more likely to be appreciated by them.
This "alternative" theme is continued in the fact that my magazine is a print publication, not a gloss magazine, which is something that would fit the whole "hipster" aesthetic of retro styled clothing and items. Whilst researching I found general aesthetic appreciation is something that applies especially to the youth cultures I am aiming my magazine at, so I tried to give my magazine an "edgy" appearance, with a smaller minimalist logo which is not dissimilar to popular brands such as "Supreme".
Also there is a bit of a gap in the market for a magazine which covers "alternative" or lesser known music in general, not just one genre, but everything from indie to rap, so I think if a product is made to fill this gap it would be popular among the youth cultures I targeted.
The tagline on my cover "the spectacular musical genius" sounds like something that wouldn't be amiss in a magazine like "Vice" which, according to UK Tribes, epitomises hipster culture, so the fact that my magazine has similar features and text means it would have a good chance at being popular with the cultures I am targeting.
In terms of creating a credible magazine, which would want to be read by others, I think I have done fairly well, so that in itself should attract my audience to my product, as they have the motivation and disposable income to buy magazines, so if an interesting product appears, it will probably generate decent sales. At £3.99 it fits well into the pricing of current magazines, so it wouldn't be especially expensive or cheap, so it would be fit into the current market.
Thursday 16 April 2015
Who would be the audience for your media product? (draft)
When making my magazine I decided that the target audience would be both male and females aged 16-25, who fit into the youth cultures "young alts" or "hipsters", who appreciate not only entertaining content but a well designed and aesthetically pleasing magazine.
When identifying the target audience for my I used a combination on the Channel 4 research "UK Tribes" and the YouGov profiler tool. According to UK Tribes, "Young alts" strive to distance themselves from the mainstream, and that is also something I tried to achieve in my magazine. According to the YouGov profiler, people who describe themselves as alternative are primarily 18-24 and then after that 25-39, the fact the majority of people who give themselves the alternative descriptor are within my target age range implies that they would be the audience for my media product.
I didn't specifically aim my magazine at fans of one specific genre, but rather alternative/niche music as a whole, which I believe is the sort of music a lot of young adults and teenagers are listening to in the modern day, most people don't simply like any one genre, rather a spectrum. This is backed up by the research I carried out on UK tribes, which speaks for the youth cultures of "young alts" and "hipsters" as liking "from heritage bands like The Smiths, to Scene Kid favourites Bring Me The Horizon and even the occasional urban sounds like Joey Bada$$ and A$AP Rocky."
I think its this variety of content and its popularity among youth cultures that allows me to target a relatively wide youth demographic, with overlap into the youth cultures of "skater" and "new casuals".
When identifying the target audience for my I used a combination on the Channel 4 research "UK Tribes" and the YouGov profiler tool. According to UK Tribes, "Young alts" strive to distance themselves from the mainstream, and that is also something I tried to achieve in my magazine. According to the YouGov profiler, people who describe themselves as alternative are primarily 18-24 and then after that 25-39, the fact the majority of people who give themselves the alternative descriptor are within my target age range implies that they would be the audience for my media product.
I didn't specifically aim my magazine at fans of one specific genre, but rather alternative/niche music as a whole, which I believe is the sort of music a lot of young adults and teenagers are listening to in the modern day, most people don't simply like any one genre, rather a spectrum. This is backed up by the research I carried out on UK tribes, which speaks for the youth cultures of "young alts" and "hipsters" as liking "from heritage bands like The Smiths, to Scene Kid favourites Bring Me The Horizon and even the occasional urban sounds like Joey Bada$$ and A$AP Rocky."
I think its this variety of content and its popularity among youth cultures that allows me to target a relatively wide youth demographic, with overlap into the youth cultures of "skater" and "new casuals".
Monday 13 April 2015
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? (draft)
My magazine would be fairly limited in terms of institutions that would wish to distribute it as I was aiming to and think I successfully, created a product that is fairly niche, or at the least targets a niche audience.
One such organisation which may distribute it are COMAG, which is one of the UK's longest running magazine distribution companys (since 1977), so they would have ample experience in how to best distribute my magazine. COMAG is co-owned by two larger parent companies (The National Magazine Company and Conde Nast) which mean that is has even more connections and experience within the industry. Another reason why I think COMAG would be a good choice is because they have a specialised division for niche or specialist magazines called "COMAG specialist", it's this sub-division which I think would make it such a good fit for my magazine.
Niche music magazines that COMAG currently distribute are some of the magazines that I found inspirational when making my own, such as Clash and The Wire, have a lot of parallels with my finished media product, such as targeting smaller more specific audiences and focusing on more minimal covers with emphasis on the photographic content as opposed to lots of text. They also feature, not necessarily the same music, but there is an overlap between the genres contained within each magazine.
I feel the foremost reason that COMAG would want to distribute my product is that they already have several successful niche music magazines, which I imagine turn them a good profit, so it follows that my magazine would do similarly well. Whilst it may be the case that they by already having similar magazines they may not want any more, however I think this is outweighed by the potential rewards of having a quality product and the resources to distribute and sell it.
Since the majority of most magazines revenue comes in through advertisement, it is important that the distributor of your magazine has connections to company's which would want to feature adverts in your magazine. This is indeed the case, with COMAG (Specialist) whose current magazines feature adverts from a mix of mainstream or more niche fashion and brands which wouldn't look amiss in my own media product.
Some other media institutions I looked at, but decided were not the best fit for my media product were the Baeur media group, and Dennis publishing. I reached this decision as Baeur doesn't really have any current niche magazine brands, they have KERRANG magazine, which whilst targeting alternative music fans, is more mainstream in its conventions. So therefore they may not have the correct experience to successfully distribute my product. Dennis publishing does not actually distribute any music magazines, so it's doubtful that they would want to choose a fairly non-mainstream magazine for their foothold into music magazine distribution. In terms of the type of presence my magazine could have online, there would be a partner website which could not only publish online-only content such as videos and downloadable content.
Some other media institutions I looked at, but decided were not the best fit for my media product were the Baeur media group, and Dennis publishing. I reached this decision as Baeur doesn't really have any current niche magazine brands, they have KERRANG magazine, which whilst targeting alternative music fans, is more mainstream in its conventions. So therefore they may not have the correct experience to successfully distribute my product. Dennis publishing does not actually distribute any music magazines, so it's doubtful that they would want to choose a fairly non-mainstream magazine for their foothold into music magazine distribution. In terms of the type of presence my magazine could have online, there would be a partner website which could not only publish online-only content such as videos and downloadable content.
Sunday 12 April 2015
Hows does your media product represent particular social groups? (draft)
The artist portrayed in the double page spread of my magazine is a fairly care free, reckless individual, with music that doesn't just fit into a specific genre but rather spans several, and is also the kind of artist that would be unknown to the majority of the public. I think my magazine targets, primarily, "young alts" and "hipsters" as they are described to be at the leading edge of youth culture, and thrive on seeking out interests that are not considered to be in the mainstream. They are also described as non-judgmental and "having their eyes and ears open to different genres and scenes", the fact my artist isn't pinned into a certain genre is consistent with the representation of the youth cultures that my magazine would be targeting, and therefore reinforces the representation.
The fact that my magazine is intended as a print publication, similar to "loud and quiet", helps reinforce the whole kind of non-mainstream/alternative feel of the groups it is aimed at, as it is a non-conventional way to publish a magazine. The cover of my magazine looks similar to a magazine like vice or i-D, with minimalist logo and focus on the model, the aforementioned publications epitomise the sub-cultures of young alts or hipsters and so in turn does my own magazine. The content of the interview on the DPS is neither entirely serious or humorous, which is an accurate representation of the way that young alts and hipsters want to be perceived. Instead the sub-cultures strike a middle-ground by dressing in expensive clothes and listening to underground music, but at the same time still being youthful and partying etc.
Overall I would say that the representation is positive of the social groups in my magazine, as a media product would not be best serving it's interests if it negatively represented the social group it was aiming itself at.
The fact that my magazine is intended as a print publication, similar to "loud and quiet", helps reinforce the whole kind of non-mainstream/alternative feel of the groups it is aimed at, as it is a non-conventional way to publish a magazine. The cover of my magazine looks similar to a magazine like vice or i-D, with minimalist logo and focus on the model, the aforementioned publications epitomise the sub-cultures of young alts or hipsters and so in turn does my own magazine. The content of the interview on the DPS is neither entirely serious or humorous, which is an accurate representation of the way that young alts and hipsters want to be perceived. Instead the sub-cultures strike a middle-ground by dressing in expensive clothes and listening to underground music, but at the same time still being youthful and partying etc.
Overall I would say that the representation is positive of the social groups in my magazine, as a media product would not be best serving it's interests if it negatively represented the social group it was aiming itself at.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (draft)
My media product has both challenged and conformed to convention, one way it has challenged it is by having an image which doesn’t fill the page, and also having very minimal type on the cover. Whilst this isn’t unheard of, it is the general consensus to have a larger image and more text. The masthead of a magazine is also usually the largest text on the page, whereas the artist’s name was the larger type on the cover of my magazine.
I largely followed convention in terms of page layout, as I had the masthead beginning in the top left of the page, and the rest of the type in the lower 3rd. For the general look of my magazine I took heavy inspiration from “the gentlewoman”, which could be considered to be unconventional in its design and ideals. I liked the idea of it being a print publication, similar to Loud and Quiet, as opposed to a glossy magazine. This being another way in which it has challenged convention as the vast majority of magazines are glossy and not print. The background is a kind of off-white colour, which I wanted to mimic the colour of a print publication like a newspaper.
The barcode and price are in a conventional place on the page, I kept them small so they would fit the margin better, and also because a barcode shouldn’t be a large feature of the page anyway. The masthead/branding of my magazine is conventional in many ways, the text inside a coloured box is a frequently used style by magazines, such as "i-D" or "Q". However, whilst I used this convention I would argue that I also developed it, as the typical "text inside a box" logo is usually much larger whereas I tried to create a minimalistic logo.
For my Double Page spread, I also believe I both largely followed convention, whilst in some ways challenging it or developing it. For example by making my magazine a print publication, it allowed me to have a picture spanning across the spine of the page. This wouldn't be possible on a conventional "glossy magazine" because of the way the pages fold inwards at the spine.
The rest of the page is pretty conventional in its layout, with it divided into 6 columns and featuring an enlarged quote from the article and the bulk of the article filling up the remainder of the page. Whilst following convention might sound boring conventions are usually there because they are effective.
I also followed convention with more of my double page spread, one example being that the page has page numbers and features branding from the magazine. In terms of the general look of the double page spread in terms of how the masthead looked and was layed out, I was inspired by a double page spread from alternative magazine "Loud and quiet" which featured a similar serif font for the masthead, similar picture positioning, and the colour scheme of the page (loud and quiet double page spread) as a whole is very near to the one used .
The ultra-simplistic look of my contents ways challenges convention slightly in the fact that it is so simplistic, as opposed to a lot of pop music magazines that have far more "going on" on the contents page, with a lot more features, sub sections etc.
However among modern alternative music magazines it is becoming a style in itself that the simpler a page, the better. For example i-D magazine has very little on the cover, and that which it does it very small, simplistic text. so whilst simplicity may challenge mainstream convention, it fits the convention of the sub-culture into which I was aiming my magazine.
In terms of the models used I think I largely followed convention with their appearance and clothing, in terms of modern alternative musicians. For the cover picture I followed convention in terms of having a more "studio" look photograph taken against a white background with 4 filter lights to eliminate shadows. With the picture for the double spread, i took the picture outside with natural lighting and a different background. I wanted my magazine to have a bit of a more varied appearance, as I felt that having all pictures took against a white background would not only would this be a bit boring, but also unrealistic as it is rare that magazines would stick to only one picture format. So I believe I followed convention by utilising a variety of different backgrounds.
I largely followed convention in terms of page layout, as I had the masthead beginning in the top left of the page, and the rest of the type in the lower 3rd. For the general look of my magazine I took heavy inspiration from “the gentlewoman”, which could be considered to be unconventional in its design and ideals. I liked the idea of it being a print publication, similar to Loud and Quiet, as opposed to a glossy magazine. This being another way in which it has challenged convention as the vast majority of magazines are glossy and not print. The background is a kind of off-white colour, which I wanted to mimic the colour of a print publication like a newspaper.
The barcode and price are in a conventional place on the page, I kept them small so they would fit the margin better, and also because a barcode shouldn’t be a large feature of the page anyway. The masthead/branding of my magazine is conventional in many ways, the text inside a coloured box is a frequently used style by magazines, such as "i-D" or "Q". However, whilst I used this convention I would argue that I also developed it, as the typical "text inside a box" logo is usually much larger whereas I tried to create a minimalistic logo.
For my Double Page spread, I also believe I both largely followed convention, whilst in some ways challenging it or developing it. For example by making my magazine a print publication, it allowed me to have a picture spanning across the spine of the page. This wouldn't be possible on a conventional "glossy magazine" because of the way the pages fold inwards at the spine.
The rest of the page is pretty conventional in its layout, with it divided into 6 columns and featuring an enlarged quote from the article and the bulk of the article filling up the remainder of the page. Whilst following convention might sound boring conventions are usually there because they are effective.
I also followed convention with more of my double page spread, one example being that the page has page numbers and features branding from the magazine. In terms of the general look of the double page spread in terms of how the masthead looked and was layed out, I was inspired by a double page spread from alternative magazine "Loud and quiet" which featured a similar serif font for the masthead, similar picture positioning, and the colour scheme of the page (loud and quiet double page spread) as a whole is very near to the one used .
The ultra-simplistic look of my contents ways challenges convention slightly in the fact that it is so simplistic, as opposed to a lot of pop music magazines that have far more "going on" on the contents page, with a lot more features, sub sections etc.
However among modern alternative music magazines it is becoming a style in itself that the simpler a page, the better. For example i-D magazine has very little on the cover, and that which it does it very small, simplistic text. so whilst simplicity may challenge mainstream convention, it fits the convention of the sub-culture into which I was aiming my magazine.
In terms of the models used I think I largely followed convention with their appearance and clothing, in terms of modern alternative musicians. For the cover picture I followed convention in terms of having a more "studio" look photograph taken against a white background with 4 filter lights to eliminate shadows. With the picture for the double spread, i took the picture outside with natural lighting and a different background. I wanted my magazine to have a bit of a more varied appearance, as I felt that having all pictures took against a white background would not only would this be a bit boring, but also unrealistic as it is rare that magazines would stick to only one picture format. So I believe I followed convention by utilising a variety of different backgrounds.
Friday 10 April 2015
Picture Gallery
I uploaded all the pictures I took over the duration of the course to a flickr gallery which can be found here.
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