Evaluation on Prezi
Thursday, 12 May 2011
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Monday, 9 May 2011
Expanding And Promoting My Magazine
Think about who my target audience is and how I can appeal to them I thought of many ways to promote my magazine. For example as many young adults are using web 2.0, I thought I could make a Facebook page for my magazine where people can ‘like’ and ‘comment ‘ on various things about my magazine, this will help me to gather feedback about my magazine and allow me to improve it. I can also make a Youtube page where I can post videos about my magazine and exclusive hints and previews; this again will attract my target audience to look at my magazine.
I also think it is a good idea to make a website which can be linked to Youtube and Facebook and show previews and up to date news about everything that has to do with my magazine. I could also expand this and take it further by creating an app which will display the same information but a mobile version of it, this app should be available on the most popular operating systems, such as Android, Apple and Blackberry. By doing these things it will give ‘Beats’ a bigger brand identity and make it more popular with my target audience.
Experimental Pictures
I have experimented with many different pictures to see what I like and what looks good, I started by trying out natural light and then I moved onto trying artificial light. I have also experimented with different compositions and a few effects. Evidently however I decided to use artificial light over natural light as I think that it gives me more control over how the picture will turn out. I have also decided against using any effects as I think that they distract the user from the image, without an effect you get a more powerful impact.
Introduction To My Flat Plans
I have created some flat plans after conducting my market research. This will give me much needed insight into how my magazine will look overall and how I can make it more appealing through the layout when designing my publication. Like many music magazines I will have a consistent house style, I will also have the institutional title and the page number on all my final products.
For the first front cover flat plan I decided to have a large clear title at the top which will stand out and grab the audience’s attention, furthermore I will also have a large picture with minimal writing as this is what my market research suggested would be popular. For the second flat plan I decided to have both a top and bottom skyline which I think will grab the audience’s attention as it stands out. I also decided to add inserts as I think it will help the magazine to look more professional.
For my contents page flat plans I decided to keep both of them simple and organised as this is what my target audience are looking for in a contents page. Both of the flat plans have a main and secondary image on them which I think should portray and image to one of the stories on the page. I think the second contents page is more simple and sophisticated than the first one.
For the double page flat plans I tried to use all the space effectively. In the first flat plan I have a huge picture to cover the whole page with a quote, I think this will grab the audience’s attention straight away. I article is all on the right side which is simple and easy to navigate. For the second flat plan I used a more complicated layout by having an article text, then the main image, two secondary images and then some more text, I think this may be harder to make and may not be as effective as the first one.
R&B Music Magazine Conventions
I then specifically started to think about the conventions of an R&B music magazine and how I could show them in my own magazine. Some of these conventions include minimal- clothing, sexual, attractive, jewellery and sophisticated. Knowing the key conventions of an R&B music magazine will help me to identify more with my audience and therefore appeal more to them. Here are my thoughts produced using Wordle:
Mood Boards
I produced two mood boards which I believe have codes and conventions of R&B. I got these images from 'Google' images and 'Getty Images' which will help me to get a better grasp of what I want to show in my own publication.
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Questionnaire On Facebook Reviews
These are just some of the answers I have received back. In total there were 20 people who answered my questionnaire on facebook, This brings my total of questionnaires answered to 50 which I think is enough. I will now be showing the results of the questionnaires in pie charts.
Questionnaire On Facebook
I then went and put my questionnaire on facebook as most of my friends are aged 14-20 which is my target audience.
Questionnaire Handouts
This is my questionnaire which I will give out in handouts to gather information for my own magazine. I have given out and received back 30 questionnaires. I think that this will help to shape my magazine in a way that will appeal to my target audience.
Framing - Elements Of Photography
Framing can highlight the most important part of an image within composition. It can also be used to show a lot of different things in an image, for instance it can show wealth or make a person look small and powerless. For instance in this image the buildings look very small because of how they were framed within the image:
Rule Of Thirds - Elements Of Photography
The rule of thirds, often viewed as one of the most important rules of photography states that pictures should be divided into equal boxes on the page. With rule of thirds your pictures become balanced and you can draw people’s eyes to certain areas of the page.
This is a rule of thirds grid. On a picture our eyes are usually drawn to where the lines meet. Magazines use rule of thirds often when they have famous people on the front of their magazine to draw eyes to the magazine. For example sometimes they have famous people posing and the lines meet on the artist’s eyes or the way there body is shaped. Sometimes they have the artist’s body creating a line with their arms or legs.
For instance, in this image the photographer used the rule of thirds to make the subjects face and eyes the focal point of the image. This gives the image a more intimate feel with the audience and helps to attract a greater range of people who like the artist.
For instance, in this image the photographer used the rule of thirds to make the subjects face and eyes the focal point of the image. This gives the image a more intimate feel with the audience and helps to attract a greater range of people who like the artist.
For my own images I am also going to try and make eyes the focal point of the image using the rule of thirds, this is a common convention for r&b music magazines and I think it will help the audience to identify the magazine quicker, it will also make the image more intense.
Composition - Elements Of Photography
Composition refers to the term that explains how images are set up within a picture; it can be used to show off a particular part of an image or a relationship with another subject. Many photographers use composition to have emphasise a particular body part in many front cover magazines. For instance in this picture they have a plain white background and have the subject standing in a provocative way, this attracts the audience and is also amplified by the white background as it provokes your eyes to only see the subject.
The Hypodermic Needle Theory
It stated that media was all powerful and that it directly affected the audience very strongly. It started around the mid 1920s and lasted until 1950s. The theory also states that people would watch the media and instantly believe it without thinking it over or asking for evidence, this is why they called it the magic bullet theory as if a bullet hits you, you fall, the same way as if the media advertised this information to you, you would fall for it.
There were many factors which contributed to this, they are television and radio as they were upraising in popularity and more and more people were buying them in the 1930s. Also various industries were using media to advertise their own theories and thus creating propaganda. Later on as technology became more developed, more and more people researched and realised that media had some sort of influence on some types of people.
Overall I think that the hypodermic needle theory is correct to a degree. I believe that media does influence you to a certain extent however I think that this theory was over exaggerated by some people at the time. Media can influence you in some ways, for example if Cadburys were making an advert, they would obviously want to make the chocolate sound really appetizing and really delicious, this would then entice the audience to then go out and buy the chocolate. In other cases, the BBC news for example, it shows us what is happening all over the world, sometimes it shows us people dying in Africa and do donate to them, this affects the audience as they feel sympathetic and are highly likely to donate to their cause.
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Feature Page Analysis
This is single page spread out of XXL magazine. It features Ron Browz, a hip hop artist. This page informs the reader all about him and his life.
The picture of Ron Browz takes up half of the page. He is looking straight at the reader to show that he has no more power than the reader does, this is untypical of artists as they usually show that they have more power. However Ron Browz is dressed typically like a artist would normally dress. We know that he is wealthy as he is wearing an expensive scarf, and jewellery. The way he is dressed with his jeans and jacket shows that is a typical; artist however the way he is posing in this picture contradicts this.
This picture was not taken in a studio as you can clearly see the background behind him. The picture itself is natural. The layout of this picture is also a traditional one where there is a picture and beside that there is writing in a long paragraph. I like these layouts as I think if there was too much going on in the pages, it would distract readers. The shot is a medium shot as you can see nearly all of his body, this helps the artist to relate to the audience as you can see he is dressed in a typical young and fashionable way.
The colour scheme of the page is mostly the background of the picture and then the writing has been written over it. The title is big and bold which grabs attention, the colour of the font is black however red is used as well. The font is a standard type font. The target audience of this magazine feature page is 16-24 year olds as they mostly listen to this type of music.
Double Page Spread Analysis
This is a double page feature page in the vibe magazine. In this feature page usher gets interviewed. Usher is a common rnb celebrity.
In the picture he is wearing a blue denim jacket and a plain white t shirt, the denim jacket is made by a company called G-star raw, this company produces urban fashionable clothing which helps to show the stereotype the artist is portraying. He also suggests he is wealthy as he is wearing an expensive looking ring and also a large watch; this is another common thing about rnb artists. Additionally the fact that he is smoking a cigar shows that he is also wealthy.
Usher is portrayed as being more powerful then the reader; This is suggested as he is not making eye contact with the reader but merely looking the other way. This photo was taken in a studio and there are lights which are in front of him, we can see his hand leaves a shadow on his jacket and his face looks almost shiny. The layout of this feature page is a conventional one, huge picture of someone to catch their attention and more information about them next to it.
Usher is portrayed as being more powerful then the reader; This is suggested as he is not making eye contact with the reader but merely looking the other way. This photo was taken in a studio and there are lights which are in front of him, we can see his hand leaves a shadow on his jacket and his face looks almost shiny. The layout of this feature page is a conventional one, huge picture of someone to catch their attention and more information about them next to it.
The picture takes the whole of the page however there is a quote that catches the reader’s attention as it is in the smoke of the cigarette. Moreover the word “greatest” has been emphasized as it is in capitals, this will immediately draw the reader’s attention to the word. Usher is trying to make himself better than the rest as he says “he wants to be the greatest entertainer alive”, this is stereotypical of most rnb artists which also ties in with his look.
There is a question and answer section next to the picture, the questions are in bold but the writing is normal. The font is also standard. We can tell that this is an informal interview because the artist uses slang words and also curses. This also shows that he is an rnb artist as he talks commonly like them. Genre specific names of other artists have been used which would appeal to Vibe's key demographic. The target audience would be males and females aged from 16-25, these are the people that listen to rnb songs, also females like to know about male singers, so his interview would be of interest for them.
Saturday, 22 January 2011
Introduction To Main Task
The main task is to create a music magazine front cover, a contents page and a feature page. The genre I have chosen to go for is an rnb music magazine. I have chosen this type of music magazine as I like rnb music and know a lot of music artists and famous magazines therefore this will help me to design and come up with my own one.
The requirements of the task were that it would have to be a music magazine apart from that we were allowed to choose our own genres. So far I am enjoying this project; I think it brings out creativity well in students. The overall idea of my magazine will be an interview of someone in the rnb industry. That will be the main feature however there will be other aspects such as latest news and upcoming events.
My target audience will be 14-20 year olds, male and females. I think this is the best option for an rnb music magazine as these are the people who are likely to listen, like and buy rnb magazines. I hope to attract my audience with latest news about celebrities and interviews of famous rnb singers. The magazine cover will also have bright colours which stand out and look funky, which will attract teenagers as they are my target audience.
The purpose of my magazine is to do both inform and entertain. As there will be latest information and timings of upcoming events, this will inform the reader and as there will be interviews of singers, this will entertain the reader. I think a magazine is more effective if it does both inform and entertain a reader. If my was real I think it should be distributed weakly as there is always something happening in the rnb industry and customers would like to know about it as quick as possible.
I will experiment with lots of different elements to reach my full potential. I will start by looking at different camera angles and different shot types and decide which one appeals the best to me. I would also use Photoshop and experiment with different layouts, both conventional and unconventional to get the best possible magazine cover there. Moreover I would be seeking inspiration from other famous magazines.
Thursday, 20 January 2011
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