To the Examiner,
I hope you enjoy looking through the work I have produced over the past few months as I have spent many hours to try and make it the best I can. I spent a lot of time on research, planning and practicing my skills on the software programs that were introduced to me so I hope you can notice this when looking through my posts.
I feel my skills have improved immensely throughout this process and I hope that it shows when you look at my front cover, contents and double page spread.
Hope you enjoy
Thank You
Thursday 29 March 2012
Evaluation Question 6...
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Make a video of your own at Animoto.
Computer/ laptop - majority of work was produced on the school computers during lesson time or after if they were available as it meant i was able to access photoshop easily.
Photoshop - Where i was able to produce my product and edit it easily with the tools on the programme to allow me to make the desired affects on my magazine. Before taking media i'd never used photo shop before but with having a quick tutorial in the preliminary task, I soon became familiar with it and was able to make the product that i wanted. At the start i was constantly having to ask my classmates for help as i found photoshop very difficult to navigate round but nearer the end of the task i was at a similar standard to everyone else and was managing to use the programme with ease.
Digital Camara - This is the camara that I used to take all of my photo's with for my magazine. It isn't the highest quality but it managed to produce some good photographs which I then went and used in my magazine. By taking practice photos helped me develop skills with the zoom and how to position the camara to get the desired image.
Microsoft Word - I used this to write up my double page spread article/interview. This seemed the best place to write it up as it meant i would be able to keep an eye on the word count and also begin to structure it in some way.
Scribd - This is a website where you can upload word documents and embed them onto your blog. I used this to upload the drafts of my magazine and some analyzing work that i had done.
Flickr - This is a website where you can upload photo's onto it for people to see and then create a photostream slideshow which can then be embedded onto your blog. I used this to show my practice photo shots. I had never used this programme before but it was very easy to use and i managed to do what i wanted on it without any problems.
Animoto - I used animoto to create a short video of my 25 word pitch so that people would get a quick glimpse of what was expected to be in my magazine and what the genre was going to be.
Memory stick - I used this to tranfer documents and photo's over different computers so that i was able to use them on different pieces of software.
Internet - Google.com played a vital part in the research and planning for my magazine. It allowed me to find magazine exemplars and examples of articles/interviews which then gave me a better idea of how to structure my own. I learnt how to research certain areas of my magazine and found many websites to help me do so. Doing more and more research made me quicker at finding answers of the internet.
Evaluation question 5...
How did you attract or address your audience?
My magazine aims mainly at teenagers of a student age but can still fit well with younger adults. I have tried to design my magazine in the way that will attract them the most. It's not aimed at a specific gender as folk music is equally enjoyed by woman as it is men so I have tried to balance out the contents inside to try and match both genders. The cover lines on my front cover have a couple of male artists and a female artist. I chose to have these artists as I think they fit well with both genders as they are enjoyed by most. All the artists are British artists playing English folk music. This should again appeal more to people as it means that inside the magazine they will be able to find out where certain acts are performing and will be able to follow their progress throughout the year. One of my cover lines is about winning tickets to Whitby Folk Festival, I think this appeals greatly to my target audience as it is the most popular festival and students/young adults can sometimes find it too expensive so having the chance to win them would entice them.
My contents page is also aimed at my target audience as I have kept it pretty simple with short sections of writing which they will be able to understand as it's not particularly formal. The pictures I have chosen I think will work well with my target audience as they all relate to the genre. At the bottom we have an upcoming artist sat with his instruments looking very casual. In the middle we have an advertisement for Whitby Folk Festival and at the top we have a picture of 3 of the ladies from Mutineers Morris dancing team holding mugs of beers with big smiles on their faces. All these things relate to Folk and young Folkies would enjoy to see as it will want to make them read on. I think the artists I have used in my reviews and features will appeal to my target audience as they are all very well known artists that most young musicians aspire to be like so reading exclusive interviews are very interesting. I think by having the little subheadings on the pages makes a lot easier to navigate straight to the page the reader wants which would also attract the audience as it saves time which students like.
In my interview I have kept the voice of the artist sounding youthful which will relate better to the young reader. The photo I chose would also attract my target audience as it is the style that is used on many album covers of big artist such as Andy Cutting and Julian Sutton. With it being in a field it makes Folk artists think of festivals and camping. Having the quote from the artist 'There is nothing better than playing a home gig at your tiny, local venue...' I think will attract the reader as I feel they would see this and want to read about the situation he is talking about in the interview. The interview is completely just about music which is a very good aspect as some magazines will go off onto fashion or other subjects that are totally irrelevant. Having it purely on music will attract the audience because then they are getting exactly what they paid for.
Overall I think I have met the requirements well to attract my audience. I focused a lot on my audience profile to make sure I was on the right track of making it seem like a believable magazine.
My contents page is also aimed at my target audience as I have kept it pretty simple with short sections of writing which they will be able to understand as it's not particularly formal. The pictures I have chosen I think will work well with my target audience as they all relate to the genre. At the bottom we have an upcoming artist sat with his instruments looking very casual. In the middle we have an advertisement for Whitby Folk Festival and at the top we have a picture of 3 of the ladies from Mutineers Morris dancing team holding mugs of beers with big smiles on their faces. All these things relate to Folk and young Folkies would enjoy to see as it will want to make them read on. I think the artists I have used in my reviews and features will appeal to my target audience as they are all very well known artists that most young musicians aspire to be like so reading exclusive interviews are very interesting. I think by having the little subheadings on the pages makes a lot easier to navigate straight to the page the reader wants which would also attract the audience as it saves time which students like.
In my interview I have kept the voice of the artist sounding youthful which will relate better to the young reader. The photo I chose would also attract my target audience as it is the style that is used on many album covers of big artist such as Andy Cutting and Julian Sutton. With it being in a field it makes Folk artists think of festivals and camping. Having the quote from the artist 'There is nothing better than playing a home gig at your tiny, local venue...' I think will attract the reader as I feel they would see this and want to read about the situation he is talking about in the interview. The interview is completely just about music which is a very good aspect as some magazines will go off onto fashion or other subjects that are totally irrelevant. Having it purely on music will attract the audience because then they are getting exactly what they paid for.
Overall I think I have met the requirements well to attract my audience. I focused a lot on my audience profile to make sure I was on the right track of making it seem like a believable magazine.
Evaluation Question 2...
How does your media product represent a particular social group?
The social group that I am hoping to aim my magazine at are generally known as 'Folkies.' I have designed my magazine in the way that I think would attract this certain group. When people hear the word 'Folk' they tend to just imagine old men with beards drinking beer with bells around their ankles and waving hankies about. I want to try and get rid of that stereotype by creating this magazine which is aimed at the younger generation of Folkies in hope that other young adults may find it appealing. The style of my magazine is similar to magazines such as RollingStone and Spex. They aren't necessarily the same genre as my magazine but they both use similar photos and the same sort of layout. The colours I used on my front cover and throughout my magazine represent the genre well as most people associate folk with the colour green. I chose my cover artist as I think he has the 'Folk look' about him. He's not clean shaven with nice gelled hair and smart clothes. Instead he's got facial hair, fairly messed up hair and a creased shirt on which I think reflects the genre well as folk musicians don't tend to bother about their appearance too much. Also I chose the photo where he isn't looking at the camara which is usually a good technique to use as it draws the reader in however folk music isn't about drawing people in, they don't go out of their way to get noticed, it is all very laid back. Folk artists mainly just play the music they enjoy and hope that others will enjoy it with them. They don't choose to go out of their comfort zone to get more followers.
My contents page represents my social group mainly because of the colour scheme I have used and the props in the photos along with the models I chose in the photos. The writting is simple and to the point and the photos still focus on the music aspect with the instruments on show linking to the folk genre and the morris dancers in the top photo. A couple of the dancers may be slightly older than the age group I am aiming for but folk people look past the age and just see them as performers or musicians. Also as you can see in the photo they have great big smiles and are holding up their mugs full of beer which is a very common aspect of the Morris tradition. Again i've kept with the same colour scheme as on the front cover as green is the best way to promote a folk based magazine.
My double page spread definitely represents a folk social group I think mainly because of the colours and photo used. I think that because the artist would actually fit into the target audience, he represents the social group perfectly. I wanted to keep the interview very informal and relaxed in the way that the representative social group would act and speak so that they could relate to it a lot easier.
Wednesday 21 March 2012
Evaluation Question 6 Practice...
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Computer/ laptop - majority of work was produced on the school computers during lesson time or after if they were available as it meant i was able to access photoshop easily.
Photoshop - Where i was able to produce my product and edit it easily with the tools on the programme to allow me to make the desired affects on my magazine. Before taking media i'd never used photo shop before but with having a quick tutorial in the preliminary task, I soon became familiar with it and was able to make the product that i wanted.
Digital Camara (dont know the make at this time) - This is the camara that I used to take all of my photo's with for my magazine. It isn't the highest quality but it managed to produce some good photographs which I then went and used in my magazine.
Microsoft Word - I used this to write up my double page spread article/interview. This seemed the best place to write it up as it meant i would be able to keep an eye on the word count and also begin to structure it in some way.
Scribd - This is a website where you can upload word documents and embed them onto your blog. I used this to upload the drafts of my magazine and some analyzing work that i had done.
Flickr - This is a website where you can upload photo's onto it for people to see and then create a photostream slideshow which can then be embedded onto your blog. I used this to show my practice photo shots.
Animoto - I used animoto to create a short video of my 25 word pitch so that people would get a quick glimpse of what was expected to be in my magazine and what the genre was going to be.
Memory stick - I used this to tranfer documents and photo's over different computers so that i was able to use them on different pieces of software.
Internet - Google.com played a vital part in the research and planning for my magazine. It allowed me to find magazine exemplars and examples of articles/interviews which then gave me a better idea of how to structure my own.
Computer/ laptop - majority of work was produced on the school computers during lesson time or after if they were available as it meant i was able to access photoshop easily.
Photoshop - Where i was able to produce my product and edit it easily with the tools on the programme to allow me to make the desired affects on my magazine. Before taking media i'd never used photo shop before but with having a quick tutorial in the preliminary task, I soon became familiar with it and was able to make the product that i wanted.
Digital Camara (dont know the make at this time) - This is the camara that I used to take all of my photo's with for my magazine. It isn't the highest quality but it managed to produce some good photographs which I then went and used in my magazine.
Microsoft Word - I used this to write up my double page spread article/interview. This seemed the best place to write it up as it meant i would be able to keep an eye on the word count and also begin to structure it in some way.
Scribd - This is a website where you can upload word documents and embed them onto your blog. I used this to upload the drafts of my magazine and some analyzing work that i had done.
Flickr - This is a website where you can upload photo's onto it for people to see and then create a photostream slideshow which can then be embedded onto your blog. I used this to show my practice photo shots.
Animoto - I used animoto to create a short video of my 25 word pitch so that people would get a quick glimpse of what was expected to be in my magazine and what the genre was going to be.
Memory stick - I used this to tranfer documents and photo's over different computers so that i was able to use them on different pieces of software.
Internet - Google.com played a vital part in the research and planning for my magazine. It allowed me to find magazine exemplars and examples of articles/interviews which then gave me a better idea of how to structure my own.
Monday 19 March 2012
Evaluation Question 4 Practice...
Who would be the audience for your media product?
I am trying to aim my magazine at the younger folk generation. Ages from about 18-30. 95% of the time they would be musicians or somehow involved in the folk scene by morris dancing. They would enjoy attending festivals such as Whitby and Sidmouth and spend time in sessions and at ceilidhs. They 'd be very sociable as meeting new people plays a big part in Folk.
They would have all the usual big folk artists on their ipod such as Bellowhead, Show of Hands, Peatbog Faeries and Spiers and Boden. In their spare time they enjoy seeing mates, practicing instruments/dancing or being down the pub in a session.
They don't necessarily have their own fashion sense, just the usual highstreet clothes.
I am trying to aim my magazine at the younger folk generation. Ages from about 18-30. 95% of the time they would be musicians or somehow involved in the folk scene by morris dancing. They would enjoy attending festivals such as Whitby and Sidmouth and spend time in sessions and at ceilidhs. They 'd be very sociable as meeting new people plays a big part in Folk.
They would have all the usual big folk artists on their ipod such as Bellowhead, Show of Hands, Peatbog Faeries and Spiers and Boden. In their spare time they enjoy seeing mates, practicing instruments/dancing or being down the pub in a session.
They don't necessarily have their own fashion sense, just the usual highstreet clothes.
Thursday 15 March 2012
Evaluation Question 3 Practice...
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think the best media institution best suited to distribute my magazine would be Proper Music Distribution. This company publishes other folk magazine such as Froots and Maverick however these tend to have an appearance and contents designed for an older audience. As I am aiming at the younger folk generation there is definitely a gap in the market for my magazine. People would be able to subscribe online and buy in selected shops. I could also look into publishing it online for download as this would suit the age group i'm aiming at a lot more as they are more up to date with technology. Out of the possibilities of circulation I would more than likely choose paid circulation as this is what Froots seem to do. This way it will be easily accessible and available for subscriptions. I would only choose to put it in certain shops in the citys I choose as not everywhere has a big folk scene. Places like Newcastle, Sheffield and York would be ideal with a few others dotted about. As most magazines I would publish it weekly at a fixed price with the cheaper option for the reader of subscribing for a longer period of time.
I think the best media institution best suited to distribute my magazine would be Proper Music Distribution. This company publishes other folk magazine such as Froots and Maverick however these tend to have an appearance and contents designed for an older audience. As I am aiming at the younger folk generation there is definitely a gap in the market for my magazine. People would be able to subscribe online and buy in selected shops. I could also look into publishing it online for download as this would suit the age group i'm aiming at a lot more as they are more up to date with technology. Out of the possibilities of circulation I would more than likely choose paid circulation as this is what Froots seem to do. This way it will be easily accessible and available for subscriptions. I would only choose to put it in certain shops in the citys I choose as not everywhere has a big folk scene. Places like Newcastle, Sheffield and York would be ideal with a few others dotted about. As most magazines I would publish it weekly at a fixed price with the cheaper option for the reader of subscribing for a longer period of time.
Tuesday 13 March 2012
Evaluation Question 2...
How does your media product represent a particular social group?
The social group that I am hoping to aim my magazine at are generally known as 'Folkies.' I have designed my magazine in the way that I think would attract this certain group. The style of my magazine is similar to magazines such as RollingStone and Spex. They aren't necessarily the same genre as my magazine but they both use similar photos and the same sort of layout. The colours I used on my front cover and throughout my magazine represent the genre well as most people associate folk with the colour green. I chose my cover artist as I think he has the 'Folk look' about him. He's not clean shaven with nice gelled hair and smart clothes. Instead he's got facial hair, fairly messed up hair and a creased shirt on which I think reflects the genre well. Also I chose the photo where he isn't looking at the camara which is usually a good technique to use as it draws the reader in however folk music isnt about drawing people in, they don't go out of their way to get noticed, it is all very laid back. Folk artists mainly just play the music they enjoy and hope that others will enjoy it with them. They don't choose to go out of their comfort zone to get more followers.
My contents page represents my social group mainly because of the colour scheme I have used and the props in the photos. The writting is simple and to the point and the photos still focus on the music aspect with the instruments on show linking to the folk genre and the morris dancers in the middle photo. A couple of the dancers may be slightly older than the age group I am aiming for but folk people look past the age and just see them as performers or musicians. Again i've kept with the same colour scheme as on the front cover as green is the best way to promote a folk based magazine.
My double page spread definitely represents a folk social group I think mainly because of the colours and photo used. I think that because the artist would actually fit into the target audience, he represents the social group perfectly. I wanted to keep the interview very informal and relaxed in the way that the representative social group would act and speak so that they could relate to it a lot easier.
Monday 12 March 2012
Evaluation Question 1 practice...
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e of music magazines)
Looking at my magazine compared to a real one really let's you see how similar they actually are and it also helps to pick out the differences. First thing to look at would be the masthead. On the real 'Rolling Stone' magazine the masthead clearly goes across the top of the page which is the most common way to do a masthead as it makes it the most important piece of information on the page. It is layered over the image and has got a 3D font and is in a musty yellow colour which doesn't really represent what the magazine is most probably about. However as you see my masthead challenges the norm of having it across the top page. Instead I chose to have it just half way as I wanted to have the main focus to be on the name of the artist. I tried to pick a font that would also represent folk or atleast give of the right vibe so that is why I chose quite an old english style to give off the right effect.
The graphology of the contents page is the main aspect I worked on most to follow the conventions of other contents pages of music magazines I have seen during my research. Looking at both contents pages shows how similar they are. Mine uses a similar sort of layout at the real magazine contents page. My magazine clearly shows an 'F model' with the column on the left hand side and the column in the middle. Similarly the 'Rolling Stone' magazine uses a similar layout with the column down the left hand side and with a piece of writing across the bottom. Both magazines have the name of the magazine shown to let you know it's all part of the same one. I used the masthead whereas the other shortened it to 'RS.'
To represent the genre of my magazine I tried to pick the right props and costume to portray the right image. As you can see on my front cover I have got my model in quite a creased shirt with just a plain black top underneath. The creased shirt, beard and chest hair gives off a rugged sort of folk festival look which is what I was aiming for. Also on the contents page I have got the same model sat on the floor with an acoustic guitar and a melodeon, both which are popular within the folk community so I thought they'd be good to use.
I tried to get a variety of different camera angles throughout my magazine. My front cover uses a mid-shot of my model which is the usual angle to use on a front cover as it wants to be eye-catching and be clear to see if it was on a shop shelf. My contents page uses a variety of mid shots and long shots which again is the usual thing to do on a contents page as you want to keep it looking interesting. As you can see above on my double page spread I use a long shot photo so that you can see the guitar clearly and get a good size patch of grass to get the greeness.
I tried to fit a variety of different fonts in my magazine to keep it looking interesting. On the front cover I used a very old style english font to represent folk and to fit with the genre. I used that font throughout but only on the name of the magazine on each of the pages. I then use another 2 different fonts on the front cover to keep it from looking boring. On the contents page I use a new font for the title and the little sub headings and then another font for the page information. Again on my contents page I use a new style font for the artists name and another for the article. I used a nice, clear font for the article to make it easy to rea
I used a variety of different techniques to make sure the folk genre was being shown throughout the magazine. For the masthead like i've said before I chose an old style font to fit with the stereotypical folk look. For the front cover photo I had my model looking quite rugged to give off the festival style and to fit in with the typical folk lad. On the contents page I used a collection of photo's to fit with the folk genre and show it off. I have a model holding up a Guiness Bodhran over their face, as picture of a morris dancing team and then my front cover model with an acoustic guitar and a melodeon. All photo's connect well with the genre of folk as they all play a big part in it. Finally on my DPS I have a long shot photo of my model with his guitar in a field which is supposed to represent being at a festival or maybe just a photoshoot for an album cover. The colour scheme I chosen also I think fits very well with the representation of Folk. Throughout the magazine I used a range of greens, white and black. Green is the main colour focus I wanted to have throughout the magazine as most people stereotypically put the colour green and folk together.
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