AS Phillipa Collier: January 2010

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Evaluation - Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

I did a number of different things to address and attract my audience I used on main image on my front cover of a male playing the guitar. The male was looking at the camera this is making eye contact with the audience and is inviting them to buy because of direct address. Also my main image is against a plain purple background so there is only the main image to focus on as the background is not distracting just like other published magazines this is an important feature to most magazines.

I used an effective relevant title name called strum which relates to guitars and music as well as the stand first (simply guitar) this catches peoples eyes as it invites the audience into a world of guitars and music .I used relevant cover lines such as top 10 legends and how well do you know music? Etc this addresses my audience as they enjoy music and gives a sense of the magazine genre my coverlines also offer variety i.e. free CD, quiz interviews and advice. Variety is found on most magazines to keep the audience interested in the magazine and for their enjoyment.

The font that I have used may attract my audience as it is the width of my magazine with a big, bold font called brittanic bold as my main cover line Mellow d. I used little subheadings under my cover lines to give my audience an insight to the article i.e. “test your knowledge!”

I included popular bands and artists to help attract my audience such as Coldplay. I got this information from my questionnaire. The artists stand out at the bottom of the page with short words such as PLUS which makes the audience feel involved and getting good value.

I used included a free CD as people like to feel they are getting good value and feel part of the magazine so I included a free CD to make people feel like this.

I used popular well known colours including red black and white because my questionnaire told me that it gets my social groups attention and magazines with these colours appeal to them.
I spoke to my audience throughout my magazine with simple language and short sentences as music magazines are aimed at any audience who enjoy music so anyone can read and understand the magazine.

I also attracted my audience by making my magazine a certain price which is suitable and affordable. My questionnaire told me that on average people like to pay £2 to £3 for a magazine so I made my magazine this price and it appeals to my target audience as it is an ideal price.

Evaluation- Question 6

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

I have learnt lots about the technologies from constructing my product as I have gained more skills in certain areas including Adobe Photoshop, quark express and my camera skills. Firstly when it came to using abode Photoshop I only had a little experience about the things it could do but throughout this project I have learnt that it is a program which is capable of doing lots of different things like creating shapes and boxes, it contains lots of different fonts and blending options to help you create an effective font and cover lines with added tools i.e. gradient overlay. I have learnt that Photoshop can manipulate images in a number of different ways i.e. different size or with a patterned background or you can crop an image or use the different lasso tool which can change any image.
When I had to use quark express it was completely new to me but I found it quite easy to use as it had a simple layout of everything that I required i.e. text box/image box. I found quark express easier than Photoshop as it has a simpler layout and is more straight forward. It took me a little time to find all the different things that I needed and to get the right setup on the pages then I found it quite easy. When I started my preliminary task I found using the camera quite hard as I could only do the basics but when I started my evaluated work I experimented with the camera and found all the different shots and effects that could be added compared to just the normal images I was taking at the start of the two tasks.

Here are some images of me using these programs including Adobe Photoshop quark express and Mircosoft word along with some images of the different programs and the tools i used to help me create an effective media product.

Evaluation - Question 7

7. Looking back on your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learned from it in the progress from it to the full product?
· Creative skills
· Writing skills
· Photography
· Meeting deadlines
· Coming up with ideas

I feel that I have learnt a lot in the process of my media coursework because my skills have developed and I have learnt to widen my knowledge in certain areas. I have also learnt about desktop publishing and the roles of different people whilst creating a magazine. I have taken on the roles of 5 different jobs including being a journalist and a photographer.

My creative skills
I wanted to create a media product which contained lots of variety and provided an essential fun magazine that my audience will effective and interesting. to do this i had to work on my creative skills this includes the fonts i have used,images,colours,relevant coverlines and titles.
I had lots of different Ideas whilst deciding on my magazine including taking a variety of different photographs i.e. my first idea was to take a photograph of somebody sitting on the grass playing guitar surrounded by flowers. This was my original idea of a hippy music magazine. My second idea was of somebody sitting by the fire surrounded by candles playing guitar. This would have added to the effect of an acoustic magazine because the picture suggests calm and relaxing music. When I looked at other magazines I realized that the images they used where not so complicated and are of a close up of a certain person or band so I applied this to my own work of a close up of a male playing guitar which suggests the magazine genre to the audience. when creating my media product i tried a number of different fonts including IMPACT,BRITTANIC BOLD,WIDE LATIN AND FINALLY MYRIAD PRO. When i used some of these fonts they looked to complicated and did not suit the genre of my magazine.

My writing skills
I feel that my writing skills have improved as I had to think of my own cover lines, contents articles and double page spread. I looked at other magazine to get ideas but the work was my own including my double page spread which I had to use my own knowledge and research skills to create an effective article with instructions and give advice to my audience and make it sound professional. Within my double page spread I had to imagine I am a journalist and write to an audience and include myself and the audience in the article. i feel that i have learnt to gather information more easily and effectivly by creating questionnaires to ask my audience questions.
Firstly i created my double page spread text on mircosoft word where here i can spellcheck it etc here is some screenshots of my work in mircosoft word;

Here are some screen shots of the audience research for my double page spread;

I have learnt to write in the style of magazines producing lots of different articles for my contents page that involve music and guitars including my coverlines with intriging article insights.
Photography
When I started my preliminary task I was not sure how to use the camera properly but when it came to taking my images for my media product I was more aware of the camera and the things It could do therefore I have gained more knowledge as I had to take lots of different photos and learned by getting experience from my preliminary task. Here are some photographs of my preliminary exercise;

The types of photographs i was taking whilst working on my preliminary task to the quality of the evaluated work photographs have changed because when working on my evaluated media product i have learnt to take a variety of good quality relevant photos i.e. getting a clearer image and focusing better.

Here are some photos i used for my preliminary task and some i have used for my evaluated media product,

Here is an image that i used for my preliminary task as you can see the image not very good quality and slightly unclear.

Here is an image that i used for my contents page and you can see the difference in the quality.

Meeting deadlines
When I was doing my preliminary tasks I missed some deadlines as I did not organise my time properly but with this task I have meet most deadlines I have organised myself and used my time wisely including free periods, lunch times and at home.

Coming up with ideas
Whilst working on my media tasks I had lots of different ideas like front covers images and cover lines. My first idea was to create a hippy music magazine featuring old popular bands as a special edition but the photograph I wanted to take was really complicated and if the photo was not taken right the image would not look effective and professional. The second Image that I wanted to take was of somebody sitting by a fireplace surrounded by candles playing a guitar but again the image is quite complicated. At this point I was looking for some new ideas so I looked at a range of different music magazines to see what type of images they use and I found that mostly it is one main image of a band/singer looking straight at the camera. So I applied this to my work as the close up looking forward shot invites the audience into the magazine. Also when it came to taking the photo it could not go wrong as it is quite a simple photo then I just edited it on Photoshop without the background using different tools including the lasso tool and crop tool to create a smooth image for my final front cover.

Here is the photograph i have edited;

I looked at the background on other magazines and found that the background is mostly plain with some colour so I applied this to make work as it makes the image stand out to the audience as the image is the main thing to focus on.

I created a number of documents in Mircosoft Word to help me with ideas here are some screenshots,

Here is my preliminary front cover and my final front cover;

There you can see the difference betweenmy preliminary cover and my final music front cover.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Final images used

Here are my final images from all the images i have taken these are the final ones used.

The front cover image;

I decided on this image as it meets the codes and conventions as it is one main image giving the audience direct address.

This image is relevant and relates to my magazine genre also it is eye catching to my audience as it advertists a band/singer holding a guitar. This is what people from questionnaire like to see.

Contents Page;

I used this image for my article Mellow .D. Melting Charts on my contents page as it is the same person as my main front cover image and it represents the main headline.

I used this image becuase it relates to my article 20% off any guitar chord books. this image is relevant to the article and the image shows two of the artists featured on my front cover which are KT Tunstall and Coldplay.

This image is used becuase it relates to my article beginners guide to guitar. this is an effective image and gives the reader an idea instandly of what the article contains and features.

This image reflects my article top 10 guitar legends. this image is relevant and catches the audiences eye becuase it is a guitar.

double page spread

I used this ine main image as the reader with focus on it more than a page with lots of different images. this images shows somebody holding a plectrum to a guitar. this image suggests a number of different things that involve guitars i.e. The strings the plectrum the guitar and finally the hand which suggests involving another person which is the reader.