Evaluation Question Number 4

Who would be the audience for you media product?

When selecting an audience to be the main target for a media product, it evidently results in taking a very stereotypical view on social groups and people. Although stereotypes are most likely far from reality, once averaged out among all people from that specific group it creates an 'easy association' someone with qualities of that certain stereotype can then be categorised into that group. Although this can be deemed as a very harsh view it makes determining an audience for your media product a lot easier. My particular audience that I believe my media product is aimed at is;

THE ALTERNATIVE GROUP

Featured below is a Youtube clip I created showing different 'tastes' and interests this indie/alternative group would supposedly have i.e;

• Fashion
• Music Taste
• Shops
• Television Programmes
• etc

UK Tribes state numerous of facts and phrases that describe this particular group in depth;

Particular Brands that are associated with this Alternative Group and specific Media they consume are;

And lastly, the media consumption intake;

This particular image portrays that this specific genre/group is most defintetely interested in the media industry not just music genres but many other different types of media from cinema to magazines and so forth. Evidently illustrating how this social group is a vital target audience to the media industry.

'This segment ‘definitely agreed’ that they “like to share music with my mates” more often than all other segments (Index = 117 vs. all 16 to 24s)

They loved going to gigs more than most (47% definitely agreed compared with 29% of all 16 to 24s)

Only 9% saw having ‘a high powered job’ as ‘very important’ to their future. This contrasted negatively with the total of 16% for all 16 to 24s' View website here

Evaluation Question Number 3

What kind of media institution  might distribute your media product?

The two main publishers that were the most successful last year were IPC Media and Bauer Media, these are extremely well known publishers and publish many magazines that I have mentioned throughout my research such as 'NME', 'Q', 'KERRANG' etc. however, despite how successful these two publishers are there has been a slow decrease in magazine sales, all due to the internet. The public are now able to access these magazines online for the latest everything, and because websites are constantly being updated with the latest news as soon as things happen, it makes them more current than weekly or monthly magazines. Technology will continue to advance and these publishers in particular will most probably have to move more towards the technological side of the publishing industry as they need to do what's best for their company.


'IPC Media produces over 60 iconic media brands, with print alone reaching almost two thirds of UK women and 42% of UK men – almost 26 million UK adults – while our websites collectively reach over 20 million users every month.'  Website Found Here

'Bauer Media is a division of the Bauer Media Group, Europe’s largest privately owned publishing Group. The Group is a worldwide media empire offering over 300 magazines in 15 countries, as well as online, TV and radio stations. Bauer Media is a multi-platform UK-based media Group consisting of many companies collected around two main divisions – Magazines and Radio - widely recognised and rewarded as being industry innovators.' Website Found Here

Nevertheless, it will be an extremely long time before print publishing becomes extinct due to generations who have grown up around reading physical real life magazines and even the public in general like the 'realness' a print based magazine brings, a sort of thrill opposed to staring at a screen but being able to flick and turn pages just like you should be able to.

Mentioned below in a short Youtube video and sound recording is the recent circulation figures;
Circulation figures from here



I personally think the best publishing company to distribute my magazine would be BAUER MEDIA - looking at a variety of magazines and being a consumer myself I feel that it would be more suitable for my Indie/Alternative magazine and would embrace it due to Kerrang, Mojo, Q being very 'rock genre based with not a very unisex vibe whereas my music magazine is unlike these genres, as there aren't many indie/alternative magazines so I feel that this magazine could definitely be successful due to it being very unique as there are hardly any other indie music magazines that have been published and it is an extremely unisex product as I have have purposely made sure there is male/female models.

Evaluation Question Number 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

By researching into my chosen genre; indie/alternative I determined a particular social group I was going to target; that amongst students on and upwards to about 26. As I feel that my media product will successfully represent this this age category and social group due to how I put together particular images and photographs for my magazine that evidently represent the reader.

Below I have a Youtube Video that I create on Windows Movie Maker in order to present my ideas and thoughts in an alternative media style. I have simply chosen a photo from my contents page that I have taken with my own camera and compared it with a professional photo I found from a professional music magazine. I have concentrated on different aspects between these photos alike and dislike by overall because I think these images bear some similarity.

I have specifically cropped certain areas of the photo so I can assess and analysis in great depth of the similarities and differences in the way I have constructed the image due to many aspects such as;

• Posture
• Gesture
• Angle
• Shot type
• Lighting
• Costume
• Expression
• Hair

*Refer back to my research in all aspects of my music magazine(Front Cover, Contents, and Double Page Spread) Especially under DETAILED RESEARCH AND EXTRA PHOTO RESEARCH. I have specifically outlined the above areas of what I was looking for in terms of a professional photograph.

Both of these photos appear fairly similar however, there are aspects I have taken as inspiration and interpreted it into my own unique design.

Lighting/Effects

The overall distinct similarity is the fact that these are BOTH BLACK AND WHITE an important aspect of my magazine I have mentioned throughout. However, I have used this design feature and enhanced it as the professional photograph has a very murky effect whereas, I really wanted my image to stand out and appear very striking therefore, experimented with the brightness and contrast in order to get this effect. The lighting however, adds to this effect, the photo on the left appears very dull and not creating definition in the models face but creating the wanted rocky dark photo , nevertheless I wanted to enhance certain aspects of my models face therefore, used the LIGHT TO MY ADVANTAGE.

Angle/Shot Type

The shot used on both these images show the utmost similarity as they are identical; it is a very simplistic centralised mid shot however, it is very effective as there are no distractions in the background allowing the reader to be fully concentrated onto the model on the page.

Hair/Make Up

Something I saw as being extremely important; In my contents page extra photo research I analyse the make up I intended to use in greater detail, nevertheless, my photo shows similarity in terms of hair and makeup however, the overall make up on my model isn't as harsh, as I wanted my social group to be able to reflect and relate to the make up they would personally wear and I believe this innocent yet striking look of dark lipstick lips really represents my targeted social group. The hair is extremely similar just a little neater, but still has that edge that the indie style has.

Costume/Props

The costume used in particular on the professional photograph is more rockier than an Indie person would wear therefore, I had to acknowledge this factor and take into consideration that this social group will be the first to notice if the costume/clothing looked out of place or did not fit its correct genre. Consequently I put my model in a shirt fairly buttoned up opposed to being left undone and changed the jacket from leather to a cotton blazer to create that softer yet Indie look.

Nevertheless, I still wanted to incorporate the jacket as much as possible as a prop as in some way the jacket is being used in a very characteristic manner, it created depth in the photo and as if it's not just being a model photographed but in fact an action that has been captured and been turned into a still image. I want my social group to be able to relate as much as possible to my images as if they could imagine it being themselves, therefore, I want to represent them an extreme amount, as it'll draw even more interest

Posture/Gesture/Expression

The general stance and positioning of both these images can be deemed to be fairly similar however, there are minor aspects that do portray their differences. The professional photo is fairly sensual, and mysterious, looking down off to the side with her lips slightly parted and her arms up to the jacket with a slight arched back. However, I didn't want to illustrate that sort of message, so simply made my model to keep her lips closed, her head held high with a straight back. These simple changes can send out a completely different sign, and the sign I want to show is one that represents the reader and the social group it is being target at. 

Overall I feel as if my media product represents in particular my chosen social group due to these aspects being taken into account a great detail and in great depth in order to realistically portray and represent a successful social group. 

Evaluation Question Number 1

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

My music magazine has been particularly created through the guidance of the forms and conventions of real media products, a foundation to gain a realistic, professional magazine. I purposely carried out a large amount of research, to gather an accurate idea of what I was aiming for when creating my magazine in terms of the target audience, design, layout, colour schemes, fonts, and so forth.

Firstly the most important aspect of the magazine is the title. One of the vital componenets that draw the attention of the reader.

As you can visibly see I tried to relate my title to some professional magazines and use the forms and conventions of real media; this particular one being 'SPIN' magazine. Most titles; as seen in my previous research are extremely bold, simplistic fonts in order to stand out to the reader therefore, I applied this technique to my magazine title to gain the same effect on the reader in the hopes in it being successful on the market. I also used the placing of the title similarly to many magazines, by either laying the title behind the models head or in front. In this case I placed it overlapping, laying over the models head. However, I had to adjust  the style and colour of the font in order to make it to continue to be bold. However, my title does challenge the generic forms and conventions of real media products due to many titles being all capital letters. Instead I used lower case all because I wanted to emphasis the 'V' giving it that unique never seen before image I wanted; unlike any other image for it to be truly 'indieVidual'

Next, an aspect of a magazine that maks it presentable and appealing is the clothing and props used on the models that feature on the magazine. As clothing is an important part of portraying a certain genre/social target group, therefore, needs to be considered a great deal. using

I decided to use a numerous amount of props and very particular items of clothing. The main two props I used was that of a guitar for my double page spread aswell as music headphones to give it that musical element to the image. I used this particular forms and conventions from many front pages for example this NME magazine with an Indie band 'The Vaccines' however, I developed this idea and incorporated the use of the guitar into my double page spread. I also used this real media product for inspiration in terms of clothing as this group are wearing shirts, braces and ties/bow ties and so forth, I knew this was appropriate for my magazine as this is an indie band therefore, would be suitable for my magazine due to it being an indie magazine. I used similar clothing for my female model on my contents page, with a blazer and shirt, keeping the Indie style throughout.  

Another element that adds to the overall successful presentation of a real media product is that of the models, they in particular need to specifically reflect that of the genre the magazine is targeting, therefore, needs to be a careful selection in terms of their image. I chose to have two models one being male and the other female so that my magazine is unisex.

As you can see I gathered realistic and real media products and took the forms and conventions used on them and applied them to my magazine; as presented to the left is my photographed image of my male model which I then later photographed my female model to be featured on the contents page to show that unisex view of the magazine. I made entirely sure that they both had an 'Indie' image about them which is something I was conscious to address due to the genre of this magazine being so specific therefore, having to reflect it through every aspect of my magazine especially the models I used.

However, when it came to using a female indie model for my contents page I did again challenge the generic forms and conventions of real media products as it proved to be extremely difficult trying to find an image on a contents page that was centralised by a female model, most of them were male based, which could appear as sexist. This real media product to the right was the only one I could find that featured a woman, despite her face being quite covered you can still recognise it is the 'Indie Sensation' Lana Del Rey, nevertheless, I entirely focused it on my female model therefore, having that equal balance of being totally focused on the male model on the front cover and double page spread and having the female model featured in a few photographs on my contents page.

The mise-en-scene throughout all my images are fairly similar as I wanted to show continuity. However, I want to concentrate on one particular aspect of my magazine as I yet again challenged forms and conventions of using a BLACK AND WHITE SPECIAL EDITION I wanted to create a very unique piece, and something that wasn’t traditional and 'expected' of a typical music magazine, however, this proved to be very difficult as I had to find some sort of secondary resources and materials that would support my idea, and that it can in fact be achieved in the magazine institution. Nevertheless, I discovered various pieces of black and white style research, and although it is a very risky look to take, hopefully because of its uniqueness it would evidently work to its advantage in the music magazine industry.

My written content for my double page spread was kept to the basic forms and conventions of double page spreads, I used the research I found especially the one featured to the right which was an article on Lady GaGa; I interpreted those ideas into my own however, still kept it very similar of a real media product, as I particularly felt that a double page spread needs to be easily read with minimum distraction, therefore, I kept the exploration of ideas and new designs to a minimum nevertheless, made it my own and presentable as a real media product. However, in terms of my front cover and front page I also made a conscious effort to not overcomplicate the overall design, but still made it so it was informative and interesting to read. I used the generic forms and conventions in my double page spread in terms of;

• 
  Pull Quotes
• Quotes
• Differentiation between interview questions and answers
• An enlarged letter at the beginning of the paragraph
• A detailed article consisting of the artist's latest album, single and release date
• Variation of fonts and sizes

Some of these were also applied to the front cover especially the feature of quotes, aswell as the variation in fonts and font sizes to extend the creativity of the entire magazine making it interesting so the readers want to read it.

As mentioned throughout, I have clearly identified the genre I will be basing my magazine on; this being the INDIE/ALTERNATIVE. Forms and Conventions which would reveal that a music magazine would suggest this typical genre is simply by listing and mentioning numerous of artists related to that genre and that have been categorised into that name. Through my general knowledge of Indie artists and research I could name many artists that are of this genre and was sure that there were none from others. The image on the bottom right is one taken from my front cover I made sure that I inserted recent indie artists as subheadings with a minute information about them mentioned beneath, like featured in the NME image to the top right; aswell as this on my contents page to the left I inserted a whole list on the 'Band Index' of current Indie artists and what pages to refer to if they want to read about them. I used both of these ideas from the real media products however, interpreted the design of them into my own creation, nevertheless, they use real forms and conventions of areal music magazine which helps the overall appearance to look of a professional style.

The layout of all my products follow forms  and conventions of real media products, simply because I wanted my magazine to look as professional as possible therefore, by using real music magazines this would hopefully enable me to achieve this. My front cover layout is like the black and white NME image mentioned just above and same to my double page spread which is very similar to the Lady GaGa spread mentioned in my research. However, the major layout of all these pages would be that of the contents page. This particular page needs to be very uniformed and easy to follow and read due to it being a page the reader turns to when wanting to find a specific page to look up. A form and convention that many magazines use is the rule of thirds; when scaled back the page evidently has three separate columns that different information is inserted into. I applied this to my contents page as I wanted it to appear well organised and easily to view. I mainly based my contents page on this real media product in order to create the complete yet not crowded product.

Construction of Double Page Spread

Lastly, the development/construction of my Double Page Spread. Again the process needs to be shown in order to highlight my development of how I created it. Previous to this I wrote my article that will feature on the double page spread which is mentioned in my last post.

I selected my chosen picture for my main double page spread. I thought this suited my spread perfectly due to the picture being taken with the model offset to the left allowing space on the right for the article. However, although the way this photograph has been structured is acceptable the lighting on this specific day was not the best and was very dull and grey therefore, made the picture appear very dark and consequently has made the right side of his face very dark due to shadows. Therefore, needing some sort of manipulation to fix this problem.

I firstly began lighting the entire picture increasing the brightness and contrast where necessary and to the appropriate amount in order to hopefully lighten and disguise the fact that the lighting wasn't as good as it could have been. I also removed any blemishes from my models face, by using the cloning tool; like the mole above his upper lip and smoothed his face out in general to give a smoother complexion . However, despite brightening up the entire picture there is still a very clear shadow darkening his entire right eye almost making it not visible. Therefore, this is an issue that will need to be resolved.

Choosing the Lasso Tool I carefully selected the area of my models eye that appeared extremely dark and the part I wish to lighten. Using the lasso tool will give me an accurate selection therefore, should look fairly natural and not modified .

By selecting the levels this gives me the control to alter the lighting of that one area I highlighted with the lasso. Making it appear darker or lighter with altering the scale. With this simple feature, it fixes the issue of the dark shadow and lifts the whole face entirely.

I then began to concentrate on the entire double page spread. Once I had finished editing my main photograph I placed it into InDesign making sure the page was setup as a TWO PAGE SPREAD due to its default being one single A4 layout. Reflecting my research I decided to insert an oversized 'D' (the beginning letter of the artists names 'David Hall') I set it to a light grey matching the colour scheme of the photo. I also set it to a TRANSPARENT effect so that it FADES into the background.

Following on from my research I decided to insert the full name of the artist along the top of the 'D' in a 'Times New Roman' capital font, also underlining it to make it stand out off the page accompanied with a drop shadow.

I inserted a column of the article in black, and because everything is of similar colours the black doesn't stand out against the background and is practically unreadable. Therefore, the only way to solve this issue is to simply keep the 'D' however, crop the other half of the picture so that the writing is more visible as it needs to be easy to read for the readers otherwise it will not appeal to them due to the poor visibility.

To break the interview questions up from the answers I decided to make the font of the questions in red, following on my colour scheme throughout the magazine of black, white, grey and red. This colour separation in the article helps to break it up and make it easily readable.
I followed this technique throughout the whole article, and without the background it made the article a lot more readable than before.

However, I decided to remove the 'David Hall' from above the 'D' as I felt it looked quite pointless and something more meaningful could appear across the whole of the top of the spread.

A part of the text that needed to be inserted according to my research is the raised letter at the beginning of the article. This minute feature makes the article look far more professional.

 In place of the 'David Hall' that I removed I chose to insert a quote that was mentioned at the end of the article as it appears far more personal than just inserting his name at the top of the page. It really highlights that the article is about David Hall and is about what he has to really say. I created this by makings a text box, typing in the text, I chose a font that was mentioned previously and used on the front page to show continuity and as if
it has been written out by hand, I then underlined it to show its importance and finally added a drop shadow to emphasis the phrase and make it stand out.

I then carried on the quote however, set the line width slightly more to give it that bigger, bolder look emphasising every word that is being said, setting each important phrase beneath one another. Creating a variety in sentence structure and making it look more creative to the eye.


I lastly, followed the important codes and conventions of a double page spread and was sure to insert PULL QUOTES a very important aspect of double page spreads which make them look professional and break up the entire article so it doesn't look like a boring page of text. I firstly, created a text box and entered the required quote making sure the font was a fair bit bigger than the article font to make it appear different to the article text.

Double Page Spread Article

You’ve probably heard of the rumours surrounding the next big indie star David Hall after recently leaving the band Dystopia because it was becoming too ‘mainstream’ for his liking. Alleged fights and arguments lead us to believe this is officially the end of a great band and close friendships. We chat to David to finally bring these rumours to justice and uncover everything we have been anticipating to hear.

As I sit in a field. Two chairs separating me from the supposedly stuck up, arrogant, typical of an Indie sensation; David Hall. The only place he wished to meet is here. I must say this is one of the most peculiar places I’ve ever been asked to conduct an interview. However, as rumours state; he is a very peculiar person, many stories to tell and unravel and hopefully the significance of being in a field will be one he is willing to explain. He approaches me with surprisingly just him and his guitar not an entourage as I was expecting, just himself, aimlessly and casually swinging his guitar backwards and forth whilst tugging at the leaves on the bushes. He’s gone for the very simplistic yet unique look of jeans, a buttoned up white shirt, trouser braces and a red wine bow tie, presentable and respectful. I stand up to greet him with a shake of the hand and I am shocked by the genuine nature he portrays as he embraces me with a friendly hug. He surprisingly begins conversation with a cheerful, ‘Hiya mate, how’s things going!! Right so where do we start then?’

Firstly, to break the ice, may I ask why are we sitting in a field? There must be some significance? His crooked smile lets out a small chuckle which then follows with an ‘Ah I thought you may ask that, well it’s always been a place I’d come to when I had troubles and just wanted to think my thoughts over, and ever since the split from the band I’d often just come here with my guitar and indie it out.

So you’re going alone I hear, which is amazing! But something everyone impatiently wants to know is, are all these rumours true on the unspeakable break up?!
He raises his head to mess up his already shaggy hair that seems to have that perfect styling no matter how much it gets ruffled; I can’t help but notice his nervous self, as if there are so many emotions to unravel. He clicks his fingers and leans forward in his chair finally clutching his hands together. ‘Do you know what, I hate rumours, making you out to be someone you’re not. But I can justify that these rumours are not true, they are an exaggeration of reality. Okay I may have said I wanted to be more unique and different, but I wasn’t wrecking the music we had made together. Yeah mates fight and argue, but we’re guys, we get any disagreements out in the open then five minutes later settle it with a man hug.’

Ah well we’re all glad that’s settled then, people were making you out to seem an obnoxious selfish artist! That’s clearly not the case!
‘Ah yeah man I know. I get it a lot; so many people have these preconceptions of what I’m going to be like. Some say it’s by the way I walk or something? I walk quite upright with my head up and because I’m a giant people initially think I’m arrogant! Just by my walk! Dude its unbelievable! (He hysterically laughs to himself as his nervous states disappears instantaneously)

So it seems to not really bother you now then?
‘No not at all I’m a big friendly giant; I just learn to channel all the frustration, emotions and feelings into my songs now- it’s the best thing for it.

Of course your music!! I’ve heard your first release ‘Paperclips and Paperchains’ and I must say the difference of music from your previous band is insane! I love it! What inspired you?
‘Ah thanks, it means a lot. Well music has always inspired me; the ability to create thousands of melodies and songs with a simple strum of the guitar has always fascinated me. And combined with the natural sounds of the outside, it creates something beautiful.’

Wow I can tell it means a lot to you. So do you actually record in the field then?
‘Yeah stuff recording in studios; give me a field, a guitar, and I’m there. My granddad was the one who told me to embrace the outside he’d be like (imitating an old man’s voice) ‘you don’t need all this technological junk, use what you’ve got!’

Ah that’s great so your granddad has had a major influence on your work then?
‘Oh god definitely, I think he’s the one who made me realise; do you know what there’s more to life then becoming well known and mainstream,  I wanted to create something unique,  and never heard before, mixing the old with the new. For instance some from my granddads era the 60’s and the Indie/Alternative we hear today. And I think this really reflects my latest album.

Oh so a great collaboration of time era’s then! Lastly, what message do you want to put out to the public, through yourself and your album?
‘Simply embrace what you’ve got; your talents, your creativity and yourself.’

Thanks a lot David, I think you’ve answered many of your fans questions, and we’ll be eagerly looking forward to the release of your latest album ‘Visiting Hours Only’ on the 25^th of April.

Preliminary Drawing of Double Page Spread

Following on from my research I now have begun to plan my double page spread picking aspects and features out from each different research material will enable me to have some sort of idea of how I want my double page spread to look like. Nevertheless, I will also experiment with different ideas and concepts in order to gain a design that will reach its full potential once completed.

In this particular design I have chosen to have one main picture spreading across both pages. The casual nature of the model laying down with his hands behind his head and his guitar off to the side really is an aspect of this idea I really like. However, the layout of the columns and quotes is all about jumbled and not in a uniformed many with equal distance of guttering and length of columns and so forth. I would perhaps consider having this positioning of a photo however, the entire layout of the article would need to be re considered.


This design to the right is one of my favourites as it includes everything I wanted to have when looking at the research therefore, hopefully reflects almost every aspect of a good conventional double page spread. The photo is spread across both pages however, this is something I may want to reconsider due to a lot of my research having only one main image on one page, also another issue is that the background may overpower the writing and not be clear enough to read. The 'D' in the background is another aspect that I really like and hopefully if I fade it and make it fairly transparent this shouldn't affect the clarity of the writing. The columns are all equal length and size aswell as the guttering something that was not present in the previous drawing. Pull quotes have been featured and the layout matches what I want in a design. The only aspect of this I do not like is the three pictures at the bottom of the left hand page, something I will probably not include in the final product.

Again like the very first design the image spread across to pages however, I do not like the fact that the image is so far away, this means that there isn't any aspect of it that draws some sort of concentration making the entire image appear very vague and not of any importance. Also alike the first design the columns/guttering/ are all over the page and do not hold some sort of uniformed structure therefore, all making it appear very messy. All in all a design that I will not consider using leaving me to choose the strongest design of the second idea.



IN CONCLUSION I WILL BE USING MY SECOND DESIGN IDEA AS I FEEL THIS IS THE MOST CLOSELY RELATED IDEA TO MY RESEARCH, THEREFORE, FOLLOWING THESE SPECIFIC FORMS AND CONVENTIONS WILL HOPEFULLY  HELP IT TO BE A SUCCESSFUL DESIGN