Message to the Examiner/Moderator

To the examiner/moderator,
I have worked really hard this year to produce a professional magazine that fits in with the indie rock genre. I have really enjoyed this year in AS media and I hope this is reflected in my work. I have included labels to make my blog easy to navigate. If you cannot see the labels and archive on the side pane, then they appear at the bottom of the page, even though it has been formatted to appear at the side.
Thanks, Rebecca Dickinson

7. Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task),what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

In the progression from my preliminary task to my final task, first of all I learnt about the 3 colour scheme and the rule of thirds.When I did my preliminary, I didn't really have much of an idea of the three colour schemes, or the rule of thirds. As I progressed into my final product, I picked up the skills with help from my teachers and implementing these into my music magazine.

Secondly, from my cover to contents pages in my preliminary,there wasn't really a consistent colour scheme or layout. This gave off an unprofessional image for my school magazine as it was very untidy and inconsistent and it looked like not as much effort was put into creating it due to the lack of time, only having a week to complete the prelim.  Although my cover does show some elements of a professional magazine, such as the large masthead at the top of the page and what looks like some rules of thirds which I didn't really notice or know of at the time, with the model in the middle, and the cover lines on either side.  There are too many fonts in use of the cover so it looks a bit untidy. I have learnt in my final product to stick to 2 or 3 fonts instead of the many on my school magazine. My cover lines are too high which meant that there is too much dead space around the masthead and at the bottom of the magazine.

I have learnt that dead space gives off an unprofessional look as it looks so empty and it is essential to be filled in a professional magazine, which has hardly any dead space. Looking at my coursework magazine compared to my prelim, there is much less dead space on my pages.

I have learnt that I should have also included a main coverline as it would draw the reader’s attention more. On the contents page, I felt that the numbers running down the corridor was an effective idea as it would look simple; looking at it I now feel that it looks untidy as the numbers aren't really in line with the wall and the alternating pattern of colours is lost halfway down the page.  Also, the lighting is too bright for the image, the cover image is pixellated and it isn't symmetrical. On my final product, it is clear and more symmetrical.

My contents page has a lot more structure than the preliminarytask as on the final contents page, I used the gridlines on Photoshop. I havelearnt how to use Photoshop to its full effect, and cut down on the number offonts that I have used.

Looking at the prelim and the final product together, I feelthat I have drastically improved on style as I have learnt more about magazinelayouts, as I did my prelim before any of my research and planning had takenplace. My knowledge was limited then. The masthead is in a more eye catchingposition and not as over the top as my prelim. I have changed from a mid shotto a close-up for my models as the eyes attract attention to the artist and thecover lines below, which it didn't before as they were too high up with no maincover line.

In the progression from the preliminary to now, I have learnt how to incorporate all of these skills in order to create a more complete, professional look. I learnt that  keeping the model relaxed is essential for taking images as if the artist is in a bad mood or a bit camera shy, this will reflect in the images. The artist will look awkward if they are not relaxed in front of the camera, which gives off an unprofessional look. This is reflected in the fact that the model on my final product looks more relaxed than the model on my prelim. A relaxed model will look more comfortable in themselves and it shows off their individuality in order to create a more natural look.

I also had more time to complete my final music magazine which is reflected in the vastly improved style. This is the main reasoning for my progression as the prelim was very rushed which is reflected in the messy style of my magazine, whereas in my music magazine, it was cleaner and looked like more time had been put into it. 

 

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

Photoshop CS6
I learnt quite a lot about using this program throughout the course of the year. Although I had a little experience of it from doing GCSE Art, I haven't used it on as much of a scale as this. I have been able to remove red eye using the painter tool by colouring the red pupils black again without having to retake images.i have learnt how to cut out the image using the magic eraser by adjusting the tolerance, lower means not as much cut out but more accurate, and high tolerance for larger areas to be cut out. That way you can erase the background of the image (layer) without erasing the rest of the image, and reduces the room for error with erasing which gives off an uneven and unprofessional look.  I can also move the text around on a magazine cover so it is easy to rectify mistakes in a text and alter the font, font size and font colour. i had difficulty learning how to link layers at first, but i learnt it eventually. I also learnt that you enter Ctrl T to move several layers at the same time, which I had difficulty doing before.

Camera (Kodak EasyShare C143)

I used this camera to take my images with. It has 12 megapixels which is quite sharp and provided clear images. I didn't learn as much from doing this as I have already had experience with using it. I have learnt that keeping the artist relaxed is essential for taking images as if the artist is in a bad mood or a bit camera shy, this will reflect in the images. The artist will look awkward if they are not relaxed in front of the camera, which gives off an unprofessional look. A relaxed model will look more comfortable in themselves and show off their individuality off. I found this difficult as I am not as creative with poses as I would like to have been as my knowledge of music magazines was limited before this project. Secondly, hair and make up is essential in creating a professional image for the artist. it is important to keep the hair sleek with no stray hairs which again gives off an unprofessional image as it looks like not as much effort has been put into the image. the correct makeup, especially eye makeup finalizes the artists image, and to keep it flawless which will reflect that the artist is comfortable in their own skin. I have learnt that camera angling is essential too, experimenting with different angles like closeups and medium shots is essential in order to get the right one. 

Laptop/School computers

I used the school computers and my Compaq laptop to do my work on. I didn't really learn how to use these as I have already learnt how to use it. It has been my basis for learning about a lot of the tools used for creating my magazine. I used it for my research and planning, and creating the magazine itself. it is also the main store for all of my work as it is enhanced digitally.
Memory Stick and SD card
I used this to carry my work on between computers. I didn't learn anything from doing this as I use memory sticks a lot.
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program ) 
I used this software to do my draft. Whilst I have used this I have learnt that it is not a good piece of software for major projects as you cannot move the layers or visibly see in in a side pane, which you can on Photoshop and it is difficult to put text in and move it around. Photoshop is better for these projects as it is easier to edit layers and erase things, whereas on here you only have one chance to do that, so if you make an error you have to start again. this was a major difficulty as my draft was rush and to do simple things such as moving text was very time consuming as you have to retype the text. This software was very dated and difficult to navigate as well.
Blogger
This has been used to document all of my work on this magazine project. I have learnt how to use this website as I have never had a blog before doing Media AS. I have learnt how to embed html documents such as Prezis, Scribd documents and YouTube documents onto my blog to minimize having several windows open to get my point across.  I have also learnt that it is easier to hand in without having to print all of my work off. It is easier to store my work on as well as it takes up less space than on paper and it is harder to lose.
Animoto
I used this for my 25 word pitch. I learnt that it is really easy to use but it doesn't allow a lot of time to present it, only having 30 seconds to present it in. it takes a while to export it as well which is very time consuming.
Google Chrome 
I had no experience of using Chrome before this project. I learnt that it is a lot faster than Internet Explorer and easier to navigate as the tab and navigation bar was simpler. I now use Chrome as a browser as it doesn't freeze as much. you can also access blogger from this browser as it is a Google service.
Prezi
This is a presentation software that I used for question 3. I have learnt that it is an intricate and unique way of presenting data in a more visual way than reading text which can be difficult to read and get the full point across without using imagery and videos. It is like a slideshow with animated effects on it which can be clicked through.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation q5

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Name: Florence Punkie

Age: 17

Originated: Bournemouth

Occupation: Studyin' Music, Biology and  Media at college, gettin' in touch with natural abilities y'know, gotta love nature and free livin' 

Hobbies: Singin' at awesome rock concerts, songwriting, partying, free spirit I am, shoppin' for new gear, have an endless supply of converse that need addin' to, Playing my guitar.

Life goals: Singin y'know, bein' as big as awesome bands. Still bein' grounded though and lookin' after my environment, my family.

What means the most to me: Family, friends, my music and nature.

Shops: Converse, Vans, New look, Topshop, High street stores. It's not about the money it's about expressing yourself! 

TV shows - Cartoons, Sitcoms like Friends

Favorite Colours, Green, Black, Red, White and Blue. Gotta love britrock!

Awesome Artists:  Muse, MCR, You Me at Six, Bloc Party, Florence and the Machine, Ellie Goulding, Lana Del Rey, Paramore, Linkin Park and Mumford and Sons. Mainstream aint got nothin on that!!

Me in a sentence: free livin' naturist who loves her environment and aspires to be a big singer - songwriter.

She would be the ideal audience as she would like to read about her favourite artists as listed above in a magazine so it would appeal to her that way. The types of artists that my ideal audience has listed will be the genre of artists included in my magazine. This profile is only focussed on my ideal reader of this magazine. The ideal age range will be a younger audience of ages 16-30 who are interested in the next big indie rock music artists. They are most likely to read these cheaper weekly magazines and learn all of the gossip about up and coming trends, in this case indie rock artists. Most music magazines are aimed at this audience and mine should be one of the chief competitors fitting in between Q and Kerrang!, like a combination of the two which my audience will look out for.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups ?

My magazine represents indie fans, such as indie scenesters (UK Tribes) as my artist’s hair has a boho edge with the little braid on the underside of her hair. Boho is often used with indie artists. They try and create an image that is distinctive to themselves. For instance on my covers, especially the NME, the hair is a main attraction as the red is the focal point of the magazine as it stands out, which that artist generally does. Her band’s music is unique.
All of the artists are similar in the fact that they have a distinctive feature in their hairstyle or outfits, for example Florence’s hair or Avrils outfit. The main difference on mine to the others is a background of the cover. Mine was taken in the dark to be out of the ordinary which is what indie scenesters like to do, be unique and show off their individuality. The fact that mine does not have a distinctive hair colour is because I wanted my artist to be natural and more realistic for the audience of indie scenesters can relate to her and see her as a positive down to earth role model which is usually associated with an indie artist.

My magazine also represents a rock audience in the sense that the background throughout my magazine is black which is often stereotypically associated with rock. Also the leather jacket that I have used for my artist is an example of black often associated with indie rock bands and artists.
Personally, I feel that the black background works for my magazine as it represents the rock audience with the black colour. It would stand out and look different on the shelf which is full of white backgrounds and attract rock readers as it is different and dark which is often the theme for their favourite types of music. The broken font that I have used throughout my cover, contents and spread represents the fact that my music is broken and out of the ordinary, as in breaking the stereotype of the usual chart music, as such breaking the rules which is what this audience tends to like to do. They don’t like mainstream things very much. 

Lesson plan period 1 and 3

period 1: I plan to complete question 2 and make a start on my prezi for question 3.
period 3: I plan to finish question 3 and 4.

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of music magazines)

Media Evaluation 1

The thing I plan to do to improve my evaluation

1. be more specific with terminology which is a recurring comment on my drafts.
2. Add more content into the posts as at the moment on a couple of the posts, there is not enough to mark.
3. include more images to back up my evidence.

DRAFT 7. Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

In the progression from my preliminary task to my final task, first of all i learnt about the 3 colour scheme and the rule of thirds. When I did my preliminary, I didn't really have much of an idea of the three colour scheme, or the rule of thirds. As I progressed into my final product, I picked up the skills with help from my teachers.
Secondly, from my cover to contents, there wasn't really a consistent colour scheme or layout. Although my cover does show some elements of a professional magazine, such as the large masthead and what looks like some rules of thirds which I didn't notice at the time, there are too many fonts so it looks a bit untidy, and my cover lines are too high and there is too much dead space around the masthead and at the bottom of the magazine.
On the contents page, I felt that the numbers running down the corridor was an effective idea as it would look simple, looking at it I now feel that it looks untidy as the numbers aren't really in line with the wall  and the alternating pattern of colours is lost halfway down the page. also, the lighting is too bright for the image, the image is pixellated and it isn't symmetrical.
Looking at my coursework magazine, there is much less dead space on my  pages and my contents has a lot more structure. I have learnt how to use Photoshop to its full effect, and cut down on the number of fonts that I have used. Looking at them together, I feel that I have drastically improved on style as I have learnt more about magazine layouts, as I did my prelim before any of my research and planning. the masthead is in a more eye catching position and not as over the top as my prelim. I have changed from a mid shot to a closeup for my models as the eyes attract attention to the artist and the cover lines below, which it didn't before as they were too high up with no main cover line.

DRAFT 6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Photoshop CS6
I learnt quite a lot about using this program throughout the course. Although I had a little experience of it from doing GCSE Art, I haven't used it on as much of a scale as this. I have been able to remove red eye using the painter tool, cutting out the image using the magic eraser by adjusting the tolerance, lower means not as much cut out but more accurate, and high tolerance for larger areas to be cut out. That way you can erase the background of the image (layer) without erasing the rest of the image.  I can also move the text around

Camera (Kodak EasyShare C143)

I used this to take my images with. It has 12 megapixels which is quite sharp and provided clear images. I didn't learn as much from doing this as I have already had experience with using it. 

Laptop/School computers

I used the school computers and my Compaq laptop to do my work on. I didn't really learn how to use these as I have already learnt how to use it. It has been my basis for learning about a lot of the tools used for creating my magazine. I used it for my research and planning, and creating the magazine itself. .
Memory Stick
I used this to carry my work on between computers. I didn't learn anything from doing this as I use memory sticks a lot.
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program ) 
I used this software to do my draft. Whilst I have used this i have learnt that it is not a good piece of software for major projects as you cannot move the layers and it is difficult to put text in. Photoshop is better.
Blogger
this has been used to document all of my work on this magazine project. I have learnt how to use this website as I have never had a blog before doing Media AS. I have also learnt that it is easier to hand in without having to print all of my work off. It is easier to store my work on as well.
Animoto
I used this for my 25 word pitch. I learnt that it is really easy to use but it doesn't allow a lot of time to present it, only having 30 seconds to present it in.
Google Chrome 
I had no experience of using Chrome before this project. I learnt that it is a lot faster than Internet esplorer and easier to navigate. I now use Chrome as a browser as it doesn't freeze as much.

DRAFT 5. How did you attract/address your audience?

First of all I interacted with my audience by advertising Facebook and Twitter pages in my magazine so readers can interact with the magazine online. 

Secondly, the Masthead on the front cover has a white font on a black background to make it stand out due to the high contrast. 

The black background in itself attracts the audience because it is unlike magazines that you see which have a white background. It stands out to the audience as it is out of the ordinary.

On the contents page, I have made the artist the focus by putting a large white reference to her on the black background of the image to draw the readers eye to it. 

Another large way of interacting with the reader is to have an editors paragraph to put his point across and tell the reader about the goings on and making of the magazine to keep the reader engaged with the magazine and to give them some humour which is attractive to most people. 

Another way of engaging the reader is to use pull lines that are witty with a lot of personality in them. this will intrigue the reader into reading the article to see what it is about, and to learn more about their favourite artists. 

DRAFT 4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Favourite bands/artists - Muse, MCR, You Me at Six, Bloc Party, Florence and the Machine, Ellie Goulding, Lana Del Rey, Paramore, Linkin Park e.t.c
TV shows - Cartoons, Sitcoms like Friends
Shops: Converse, Vans, New look, Topshop, High street shops.
They would read my magazine as they would like to read about their favourite artists as listed above in a magazine so it would appeal to them that way.

DRAFT 3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I feel that a distribution company advertises and distributes the magazines to the different shops

"Bauer Media Group is a magazine publishing company who have published magazines such as Kerrang! and Q magazine. They also have a 50% stake in the British Television company Box television who produce these music channels: 4 Music, The Box, Heat, Kerrang!, Kiss, Magic and Smash Hits.
I feel that Bauer Media Group will fit the genre of my magazine because it publishes a well known indie (Q) magazine and a successful rock magazine (Kerrang!). they also partially own a company that produces several music channels, one of them being Kerrang!. They have experience with both indie and rock magazines and so will provide the best experience for my magazine.
My magazine will be weekly as most of their magazines are weeklies. They will know how to tailor my indie rock magazine to its audience."

^^ this is taken from my research and planning page 

The distribution company for Bauer Media Group is Bauer Vertriebs KG so I feel that these would be the ideal distributor for my magazine as they are a subsidiary of Bauer so they will know how to advertise my weekly magazine. 

DRAFT 2. How does your media product represent particular social groups ?

My magazine represents indie fans, such as indie scenesters as the artists hair has a boho edge that is often used with indie artists. they try and create an image that is distinctive to themselves. 

my magazine represents a rock audience in the sense that the background throughout my magazine is black which is often a colour stereotypically associated with rock. Also the leather jacket is an example of black. 

All of the artists are similar in the fact that they have a distinctive feature in their hairstyle or outfits, for example Florences hair or Avrils outfit. the main difference on mine to the others is a background of the cover. Mine was taken in the dark to be out of the ordinary which is what indie scenesters like to do. 

DRAFT 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of music magazines)

The title of my magazine is called 'Breakout' in which I feel the indie rock genre represents as most of them appear to break out of nowhere to create great hits which are very popular with music listeners. it also represents that you don't really see many indie rock artists in the UK charts at all nowadays so maybe they intend to break into the charts.

I have used a kind of broken font to show the rock side of the magazine. It represents that the music is loud and broken. this challenges the fonts of indie rock magazines like Q who use bolder more monochrome fonts to appeal to my audience. this masthead was inspired by Kerrang! magazine. an exclamation mark is also used just like Kerrang! in order to add to the statement of the magazine.

I kept the Graphology and Layout simple and based on other magazines in order to portray a style similar to currently used indie rock magazines such as Kerrang!, Q and NME in order to portray the information in a professional way. This would maintain the attention on the artists and features in the magazine. I maintained the same colour schemes throughout the magazine to make it consistent like other magazines, but challenged these things by using a black background on the cover and contents to explore a darker side.

I dressed my model in an outfit that represented the aspects of both rock and indie. the outfit itself was more rock based with a leather jacket and dark jeans, whereas the hair was more indie themed, with a boho themed plait on the underside of her hair that was visible in the photos. Boho is often associated with indie music.
I stuck to natural poses and angles for my model following feedback that my photos were awkward and indie rock kind of poses are natural anyway.

I based my magazine on a mixture of magazines, Kerrang!, Q and NME in order to show elements of indie and rock magazines. 

The colour scheme is the typical for an indie rock magazine, black, red and white.  

Final Cover, Contents and Double Page Spread

Pages so far

Improvements that I have made following my feedback

I have taken a large selection of new photos for my magazine following feedback that my model looked awkward and unhappy in my previous photos, and the lighting was too dull. I decided to take pictures in the dark so the flash on the camera would light my model well, and it is easier than using camera equipment. my model was a lot happier in the photos which will benefit as the musician would look like they are more confident which is important as a musician. 

I have also removed the strokes as they are not a british band. 

Cover

I have removed banners following the fact that feedback explained that it didn't work very well 

I have changed from a mid shot to a closeup as inspired by the Florence NME cover that I analysed earlier in the topic in my Research and Planning. I was advised to take inspiration from a cover page. I feel that this has benefited my cover page quite a lot as it has more of a structure and less dead space. 

I have cleared the instrument section as it does not make sense according to the music magazine. it is about the musicians themselves, the reader would not care about the instruments. 

I've also changed the tagline to one with more personality as the other one was not as individual and was too 'soft'. 

In a nutshell, I have redesigned the whole cover of the magazine to make it look more professional. 

Made the Barcode smaller. 

Contents

Again, I have taken inspiration from another magazine, this kerrang contents page. I feel that this was more professional looking than the draft page that i did which had no structure, the font was too large and messy. 

inspiration picture: 

Spread

I have redesigned the whole page here as well. 

I have taken extra care on the margins on this page as advised by my teachers. I have also created a fold in the page that wasn't there before.
I have also made 3 complete columns so there is no dead space.
inspiration:

spread progress

spread progress

Progress - Contents and cover!

contents page progress

New Photos