Final Evaluation

This is my final product evaluation. With my preliminary i did a little research into similar products. I went into my preliminary not knowing what i wanted it too look like, and not knowing a plan for it or what it would contain. I realised this probably didn't help as if id known what i was going to include in my magazine i could of made it better. With my final task i went about it a completely different way. I had done alot of research into other music magazines and had thought of what my magazine would be (dance music). I had already put some thought into the story, and features which i could include on he front cover and contents, this way i knew how much content i had and how much space id have to play around with. This proved alot more effective as i was able to plan out my front cover more and produce a more effectively organised cover.

I feel like i managed my time quite well. Although i did have some technology problems along the way all in all i had everything done by their deadlines. The main problem i had with time management was the blog entries. I had the actual magazine done in good time and used my time wisely in producing it. However i became very focused on my magazine and at times forget to post an entry on my progress.

I manged my equipment and other resources well. I knew when i would have a chance to work on my product during school and so i mainly focused this time on research. In the beginning I used this time to do work on my actual magazine, however i soon found this caused me problems as i have a different version of photoshop on my home PC than that on the schools. I also had different fonts on my computer than to the schools and so i couldn't work on my magazine properly. It was because of this that i mainly used my time in school to draw up a magazine plan, do some research into other products, write a blog entry or two and find some decent tutorials on the Internet for when i was at home, this would save my overall work time.

Whilst creating my magazine i have had to make many decisions on problems i have had. One example of this would be when photoshop crashed. I was making my contents page and stupidly enough hadn't been saving my work along the way. Id nearly finished my work when photoshop crashed. I had a decision to make. I could either wait for to photoshop to to work again, which i didn't how long that would be or if It would at all, or i could close the program, lose my work and start again. I decided the best option was to lose my work and start again. I did get really frustrated at first but then i thought that i could sit and wait for an hour for photoshop to recover, which it might not of done, and then i would of lost an hours work time. Or i could start again and use that hour efficiently. I could of created half of a new contents page in that time, and so i started over again.

When doing my photoshoot i gave instructions on what should be worn, and how my model should pose. I said that he needs to wear a bright coloured t-shirt. I wanted this to show that it was dance and that even if the image looked cold, it brought some fun into it a little bit. I also gave instruction on how my model should pose. I knew what look i was going for, i wanted him to look slouchy and 'street'. I didn't want it to look upright and smart as this wasn't familiar with the dance culture.

I decided to shoot my photos at night and in the town centre. I felt this would give that street look, with the use of street lamps and such. With the costumes, i just told my model what to wear: Jeans and a bright t-shirt, luckily my model had some trainers with neon green features and laces, which helped as they went with the t-shirt and really locked good in the photo.

My preliminary task helped me to make some important decisions when creating my magazine. I knew that going into it without a real solid idea of what i wanted wasn't a good idea. Also a school magazine wasn't really something i knew alot about and so i needed to do research. I think with some more research my preliminary task could of been better. This helped me because i did alot of research into my final media product. I looked at different ways to attract audiences.

I'm very pleased with my product, and i think it looks very professional. I don't think there was anything i could of done better. I really like my front cover. I think the colour scheme works really well against the image.

The images i had to work with are how i wanted them to be. However i think i should of read the manual of the camera or taken the manual with me so i could of used different shooting effects for different looks. If id have read it before hand id have also known that cold conditions causes the battery to lose life quickly and i could been prepared for this.

Looking at my magazine i think i have encompassed a sense of belonging to my target audience. Throughout i have used colours that are very familiar to the dance culture and my target audience. I have also used language familiar to my target audience. It is informal, and in some places slang is used.

In conclusion i am extremely happy with my final media product. I don't feel there is anything i would change at all. I am now confident with photoshop and how to use it to my advantage. I feel i know more about the music magazine industry and have learnt alot from the constructing of this media product.

My Completed Media Product

(Click images to enlarge)

Conclusion

In conclusion, i am extremely happy with my work. I feel it looks professional and shows that my knowledge of this task has come a long way since the preliminary. I am now a photoshop addict! i find it fun using the programme and once i had got to know what to do and how to do stuff with it i actually really enjoyed making my final piece, it didn't feel like coursework. I feel that my knowledge is obvious looking at the preliminary to the final piece. I have learnt alot not just on the technology side either. I have learnt about publishers of magazines and the magazines they produce. For instance i was very surprised to find out that mixmag was published by development hell, a small publishing company who produces only two monthly magazines! I feel i have put a huge amount of effort into this work and i feel like it has showed through. It took me alot of time and effort and frustration to get this point and i am proud of myself for sticking with it and not just giving up and going for a simple look when it got tough. I persevered and created a good piece of work. If i was to do this again there isn't alot id do differently. I really don't think id change anything about my product as i really like it. I may have posted some more blog entries whilst creating my magazine. However once i got going i did tend to forget as my main focus became my products and finishing it on time and too a high standard. If Ive learnt anything really crucial in the construction of this product its that you should listen to your teacher when they tell you time will quickly slip away. When you see you have 3/4 weeks to produce it you think its plenty of time and it starts to go slowly, but before you know it the hand in date is near! Time management is a big issue when creating something like this, not necessarily with constructing the product but with the evidence and the blogging. You do really need to do 10 things at once and be able to cope with it. I felt i have coped well though, and and at times i did get worried that i wouldn't finish it or I'd have stuff missing, but its all here :)

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

As you can see here again i have come a long way since my preliminary. My contents for my final piece is alot more attractive. Ive kept a house style with my magazine whereas you can see with my preliminary that i tried but it didn't quite work out. My content of the contents page is very basic aswell. To me it looks as though i wrote the text and had a big space at the bottom so i chucked some pictures in to fill it up, i didn't think about using the space i had to play with efficiently and so it ended up looking empty.

I feel my contents for my final is alot better, it probably has the same amount or maybe less information but it looks more, its organised better although it contains images and shapes it doesn't look messy. I feel it looks professional and i am happy with it. Again i have learnt alot more about photoshop with this. Before with my preliminary, i didn't understand the concept of layers and this made me struggle with my work. This time i realised what they were about and why they were good when making pictures. One thing i have definitely learned with this is to save your work! Whilst making my contents i had near enough finished when photoshop crashed on me! It was only once it had crashed that i had realised i hadn't been saving it as i was going along which was a really stupid thing as it only took a quick tap of Ctrl+s. I had to start my contents all over again! The funny thing is that i didn't stick to the same layout that i had done before and i actually preferred the re-done version.

Things i have learned:

• Always save your work every five minutes or so, you can do alot more to your work in that time and so its worth it.
• Computers and software like to crash at the most important times! Because of this you should always make sure you leave yourself enough time to recover from it.
  

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

In the progression form my preliminary to my final task i feel i have learnt alot. I have learnt alot more about the program used to make the product, as you can clearly see. I have come a long way since my preliminary to my final in terms of knwledge of the software. On my preliminary i managed to do very basic stuff, and back then when i'd finished it i was really pleased with it but loking at it now there was so much more i could of done. If i was to re do it now i could erase the faults in the picture usch as the refelction in the glass of the background image. I could of made the headline text alot better, it all looks very merged as if its all about one story and i could of made my model look like he was actually in the background image. However for my very first time using photoshop i dont think its a bad effort.

Now i know so much more, not just in terms of the software. I did alot more research on other magazines with my final which enabled me to make a more valid judgement on what atrracts an audience to the magazine. I know about publishers and that many magazines are produced by the same people.

Things i have learned:

• Dont take the internet for granted, you may lose conneciton and so should always be prepared.
• How to be a good photoshopper
• How research into other music magazines helped the development of mine
• How to look back on my work and be critical of it
• Manage your time efficiently! Use every second you have!

What have you learnt about technologies used?

Before this task i had never written a blog. As a young adult i am a confident user of socail networking sites such as myspace and facebook but i had never written a blog and didnt really fully understand wha blogs were for untill i started this coursework. When first starting to use thi s program, blogger, i found it easy. Its easy to use, everything is there in front of you, its very easy to follow and i found posting my first ever blog entry was easy. However as i becam more familiar with blogger i learnt how to include pictures in my posts, and how to change text and its colour. I have also found out how to jazz my blog up. When i first started my blog looked very dull and boring. I worked out how to change the layout and its colours, so i now have a customized grren and black blog :)

The one thing that i did find caused me trouble was the fact that we had to record it all on the internet rather than handwriting or word processing. This is because the internet can often be a pain and not work, this caused me alot of trouble and nearly caused me to miss the deadline!

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

I have learnt alot about the technologies used in the process of constructing this product. At first i found it really frustrating, as i was not very good at all wit photoshop as i had never used it before. It really frustrated me and i woud have to take breaks to calm down. However i stuck through it and i brain stormed in my head what i wanted on my magazine and what i wanted to do and what effects i wanted to use. Once i knew what i was looking to do i then went on google and searched the inernet for some tutorials. After following a couple of tutorials i felt alot more confident with the software and even learnt how to do a few tricks on ym own.

One trouble i did come across was that i had to use two different versions of photoshop. I managed to acquire photshop on my home computer, however this was a different version being Photoshop CS3 comapred to the schools Photoshop elements. Alot of the tutorials were not desinged for photoshop elements and s i could only do basic stuff on my work at school. Howeve i learnt alot during the constructing of this product and have come a long way since my preliminary task as you can see. I learnt how to do many things, such as add shadows to text, make a torn paper effect, a burnt paper effect, remove red eyes, whiten eyes and teeth, maqke certain bits of an image more contrasting thatn others etc.

How did you attract your audience?

As you can see, like before i have carried the same effects through the magazine to attract readers. My contents features an easy to read layout, with images shapes and bright colours, very much like my front cover. It is easy on the eye, not too crowded and messy but still containing alot of information.

My double page spread again uses the same effects. I have a main image, which is around half an a4 page so readers could cut it out and use it as a small poster. I have used basic shapes to highlight text, making it stand out more rather than just having it on a plain background. This way it makes the page look more full, i feel with a plain white background and no boxing backing the text , the page would look very empty and boring, but the use of the yellow background against the black boxes for the texts really contrasts and pops. As you can see the same colours are kept throughout the magazine making it recognisable to the reader.

How did you attract your audience?

As my magazine is a dance music magazine i knew it had to use bright colours. Something familiar to clubbers is glow sticks which com in neon colours, so i knew i had to incorporate some of the colours to attract those readers. So as you can see i have used some of those colours, Ive used a bright yellow, and a bright aqua/blue colour. I have also added a splash of green in the top right hand corner.i like these colours because they are bright and i feel that they draw your attention to it.

I have also used intriguing taglines using emotive language e.g. Exclusive Look! This draws in the reader as it makes them wonder what the story will contain. I have also used some custom shapes to highlight some features such as "25 greatest tracks form back in the day". The use of shapes makes it stand out to the reader and not washed out onto the image.

My readers will also be attracted to the magazine because of its attractive low price. I have priced it at £.230. This is good for a monthly magazine as most other dance music magazines are around £4.50, my magazine would still be a good quality and sized magazine, making it more value for money.

Other ways i have attracted my audience is through the use of bold pieces, such as the headline and image. I added a drop shadow on the main headline making it more bold and making it stand out. With the main image i edited the contrast of just my model, so it makes the model look as though hes standing out form the background.

Lastly i have attracted audience by advertising a competition to win tickets to a dance festival. This would attract readers as it sells out quickly and the tickets can be expensive and if they can win them for free then they will want to do that.

Who would be the target audience for your media product?

As you can see my main target audience would be late teens to mid twentys as the magazine would feature information about clubs and such like and only 18 and over can get into clubs. Although this is my main age it will still be targeted at teens youngern than 18, around 16 years and above. Although the clubbing may not be of relevance to them it will still contain alot of information about dance music and dance acts. Its is aimed at your working calss person, who works all week and then at the wekend just wants to go out to clubs/raves probably get drunk and just generally have a good time and unwind. This magazine is specifically dance/prouduced music, not music made through use of instruments such as guitars, drums ect. My magazine is also aimes at people who make music such as dance music producers and also at DJs or anyone who is generally interested in how it is made and what equipment is used.

What kinds of media institution might distribut your media product and why?

The main distributors within the UK are Bauer and IPC. On looking at both of them i decided that IPC would be the best media institution to distribute my media product. This is because Bauer is a very big publishing company both in the UK and in Europe. Bauer owns magazines, TV, radio and online publications and i felt that as a new magazine to go with Bauer this would be a bit too risky as it may not sell lot. Also Bauer produces alot of big music magazines compared to IPC who produces 3/4 with only one main magazine, NME. It was because of this that i felt IPC would be best. IPC's other music magazines are more hobby based, NME is their only magazine that specifically targets music fans rather than music players/makers. I felt IPC was best because my magazine aims at both of these, with a small section of my magazine focusing on DJ equipment etc.

In waht ways does yourmedia product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My double page spread uses forms and conventions of real media products. It uses bold headings for the artist name. It also uses custom shapes to highlight extra information. Also both mine and the real thing highlight certain quotes from the text and enlarge them. Also both products of course use a largeish image of the artist. Also they both use small extra photos relating to the article or text, these are captioned. I feel my product challenges the forms and conventions of the real media product through the use of a coloured background. I did first use a white background but thought it made the page look too empty and blank. I feel it also challenges it by having a decent sized piece of text. Most people who pick up a magazine pick it up because of the artist on the front. The double page spread on the artist should then be a decent size. It should not be too long as magazine readers most likely will not want to read something really long but it should be at least one half to three quarters of a page. The real media product uses only a short amount of text, which could leave the reader feeling unsatisfied.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge froms and conventions of real media products?

As you can see my product is very similar to the real thing. Firstly both products are titled to indicate that this is the contents page. Also both products use images from to advertise stories/features within the magazine, these images include the page number on which the article can be found. Lastly my product and the real thing are similar through their use of headings for different categories e.g. events. I feel my contents page challenges that of the real thing. It does this by its use of bright colours and shapes and carrying the magazine logo onto the contents. I actually feel that my contents page is more appealing than the real thing!

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

As you can see here is my front cover compared against a dance magazine, mixmag which would be a main competitor. Both my logo and the logo of the competing magazine are placed behind the main image. This gives it a more professional look. Both mine and the the competitor use bold headings to promote the main story. I have used 3 colours through out my magazine and stuck to that colour scheme as using too many colours can make it look to busy and cluttered and messy. As you can see the competitor does this and it wasnt until find this image that i realised the colours are very similar!

Both mine and the competitor highlight features theough the use of custom shapes. I have used a circle, whereas mixmag has used an arrow

Evaluation

This is my evaluation of my final finished product. I will present this evalutation in two ways. Firstly i will go through a power point slide by slide with explanation of each slide. I will then post a written evaluation with my final front cover, contents page and double page spread.

Front cover

As you can see, after starting early and working all day! I have finished my front cover :)
I am very pleased with this and i feel it looks very professional and identifies with dance music, i shall post a full evaluation at a later date!

Attracting readers

I know that i need to attract readers. I have looked at other magazines and what attracts me to them. To attract readers i have used some simple shapes, like in the picture above. I have made it bright, and kept it simple by using only 3 colours, yellow, aqua/blu and black. I have made the majority of the writing black so it stands out on the yellow and is eay to read. I tihnk this will draw in readers.

Update

This is just a brief update as to how my front cover is looking so far. As you can probably tell it is not going to look like my original plan, When actually crating my front cover i felt my plan was too busy, and i needed to keep it simple. You can see in the top right corener i have created a torn page effect with a green background, on top of this green background i shall use a small image and som text to highlight a feature within the magazine. So far i am plased with this. I feel proud of myslef as when i first started this i really hated photoshop, i'd never used it before and couldnt get along with it. I let the fact that other people were good with it get to me, but then i really made an effort to get along with it, everyone is a novice in the beginning! I thoguht about effects and looked around the internet for some tutorials, this really helped me and i now feel quite confident with this software :)

Logo

1

2
As you can see above are two logos i have created for my magazine. At first i thought my logo should look bubbly and and bright and so i created the green one(1) you can see above. I thoguht this was really good as it looks plasticy and shiny and uses neon green a common colour associated with dance music. However after i thoguht more i felt the logo wasnt very good. This was because at looking other magazine logos i saw they are all very simple, mainly one colour and none have any special effects. This makes them easy to read and easy to repeat. I realised this as when i tried to repeat the green logo it proved to be very difficult as to make it look shiny and such like it consists of many layers. this made it hard to repeat as i had to copy each and every layer and then line them on top of each other.


I then created the blue logo(2). I liked this better as it looked simple and was easy to repeat. it still uses a bright coulour and still looks familiar to dance music.
From producing a logo i learnt that sometimes you want to try and use alot of special effects because you tihnk this will be the best and look impressive. However sometimes the simple and easier option is often best. Making things look too complicated can put readers off as they may get an impression that this is what the rest of the magazine will look like. I shall keep this in mind .