Course Work Power Point 1 Slide! and Evaluation!

8/6/2019 Course Work Power Point 1 Slide! and Evaluation!

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AS MEDIA

FOUNDATION PORTFOLIO

MOLLIE STONE


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QMAGAZINE

I have decided to base my music magazineon inspiration from Qmagazine, this

magazine is very successful and it suites

the genre of music that my magazine

features Indie pop.

It has a basic style and the

Front cover is very busy but is never

overcrowded with information its

layout is simple, but effective and full of

sophistication.

I like the continual style

that runs throughout, it

has a basic colour scheme

black, red, whitewhite and

grey.


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QMAGAZINE RESEARCHQmagazine is published monthly around the United Kingdom.

It has the hot topics in all Indie pop areas of music from that particular month.The magazine also features reviews such as new releases from music to film, radio to

television, including live concert reviews.

The interviews which feature are devoted to well known music artists.

It is published by Bauer Media Group, and since this company operates in 15 countries

worldwide, its language is English.The first issue ofQMagazine to be published, was in 1986.

Its is majorly popular, as since 2007 it has had a correlation of around 130,179!

QMagazine uses a star rating system which starts from one star being poor, up to five stars

being excellent. This was one of the features I have included on my front cover, to make my

inspiration more accurate.

One of the most famous features in the magazine are the lists which they produce. These

are lists such as The 10 top drummers, The 100 Greatest Albums, 50 bands to see before

you die. It is also well known for the quality of the photography and sophisticated printing.

QMagazine also has its own website which also shows the significance of its popularity.


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QMAGAZINE OVER THE YEARS...

19902000 2011 PRESENT DAY

1989 THE BEGINNING YEAR

The Qbadge has never

changed through the manyyears that Qhas been around,

only slightly with the tones of

red which have been used. The

badge has become a lot

crisper, this may be due to the

advance in technology.

The consistent House-Style over the

many years of making Qmagazine is

clear amongst these images. Qhas

always stuck to simple fonts and simple

colours black, red and white. This

makes the magazine more identifiable.

The images used on thefront cover are always

the central focus, they

dominate the page as

well as important

features in the cover

lines.


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NME MAGAZINE

NME formally known as the New Music Express,was also an inspiration for my magazine because it

too follows the Indie-Pop genre, it is a successful

and popular magazine also.

NME also features famous lists, such as 50

Albums of the Decade, 25 Greatest Rock Stars etc.

However, NME is published weekly instead ofmonthly, and it has been publishing ever since

1952, 7th March.

The magazine doesnt particularly

follow a colour scheme, it is a

magazine full of different colours.

NME has a circulation of 40,948

since 2009.


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BAUER MEDIA GROUP

Bauer Media Group are Europes largest privatelyowned German company of publishers.

They are based in Hamburg but operate in 15

countries world wide. They were founded as early as

1875, the company are still privately owned by the

Bauer family.

QMagazine is not the only magazine that is

published through this company, Kerrang! And Mojo

are also published by them.

Once calculated worldwide, Bauer Media Group

offer around 300 magazines in 15 countries which

contributes to around 38 million magazines titles

a week!

The company employs around 6,400 people and had a

2008 turnover of 2.08 billion Euros.

PUBLISHERS OF QMAGAZINE


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IPC MEDIAPUBLISHERS OF NME

International Publishing Company UK

is one of the UKs leading magazine and

digital publishers.

Their leading magazine portfolioreaches around 29 million adults in

the UK.

IPC Media markets 23% of the total

magazine category.


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CONVENTIONS OF A MUSIC MAGAZINE

Busy front coversColour Scheme/A range of colours

bright, strong, eye catching

Bold text

Strong/Eye catching images

Often a celebrity/band/artist

as the main picture for front coverTag lines

Cover lines Eye catching

make reader want to read on

Masthead

Left Third

BarcodesIssue number & Date

Image bleed

Splashes


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INSPIRATION FOR MAGAZINE COVERTo look for inspiration for my front cover image for my

magazine, I researched QMagazine. Although I

researched NME and QMagazine, I decided to choose Q

because I like the sophisticated and simple House-Style it

conveys.

The conventions such as red, white and blackwriting and

big bold images are some of the things that I wanted to

manipulate into my magazine.

I found this cover most interesting because it is busy

without being overcrowded, there is a range of white,

greys, blacks and reds used with every piece of font. I like

that it was devoted to the colour scheme it is famous for

instead of using a range of colours.

I like the image because its strong, bold, confident and

sexy. I like that it is not a natural pose of her looking

pretty like most magazines front covers have, she looks

fierce and wild, there is also rain in the background

which makes the shot different. She is also wearing dark

make-up and red lipstick which gives her a rock

influenced look. The picture attracts an audience

because it out of the ordinary.


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INSPIRATION FOR MAGAZINE COVER LAYOUT

This is a previous issue ofQMagazine

which also caught my eye when looking for

inspiration. Although it doesnt follow the

traditional Qcolour scheme, I like thatalthough other headings are on the page

Lily Allen is the main focus because of the

white writing. This is also something that I

wanted to manipulate.

I also like that there are features of the

magazine in shapes a circle, which gives it

a different effect, emphasising it is

something not to be missed.

This is also another magazine that influenced

me, I liked how the layout was simple, there

is a section which looks like a list of the

artists that are featured inside. I like the style

of this because the font is the same, it isnt

too much, it sticks to the point. It also allows

the central focus of the magazine the

person in the picture, to remain this central

focus, as this has the selling attraction.

I like that extra information andartists names are at the bottom of

the page in strap lines. I like this

because it doesnt overcrowd the

page and the picture is still the

main focus with the essential

information there. I wanted to

manipulate this into my own

magazine.


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ANALYSING CONTENTS PAGESHere are some contents pages from

previous Qmagazines.

I like both of these pages because they

are both simple, sophisticated but have

the important information needed.

They both follow traditional contents

pages because they have pictures that

show little snippets of what is inside the

magazine.

I think both of these contents pages work well

because they both follow the traditional Qcolour

scheme, of which are on most, if not all the covers.

This choice of colours red, white, black and grey

makes the magazine recognizable and to an extent,

easier to read through its simplicity.

Although the contents page on the

right is from a double page spread,

it seems to lack information as

instead the pictures take up most

of the room. Whereas the contents

page on the left also has a big

picture, there seems to be a lot

more information on the left third.


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IDEAS FOR MY FEATURE PAGE LAYOUT

I also like this double page spread

because the picture seems to be in

the foreground and the article in the

background, the main focus is the

picture which catches the readers

attention.

I like that she is in a natural shot and

she is not looking into the camera

this is different to what features in

most magazines.

I also like that it follows the white

black and red colour scheme this is

something I want to feature in my

magazine.


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IDEAS FOR MY FEATURE PAGE LAYOUTThis double page spread was the mostappealing when I looked for inspiration. I liked

this because it has a main picture of who

features on the right and there is a big chunk

of writing on the left. I like that most of the

article are questions an interview.

Personally I find when reading a magazine that

interviews are more appealing at first sight

than an article, it seems more interestingand

less boring to read.

This is what I want to do with my magazine,

although mine will start with more information

about the feature first. I would also change the

colour scheme, I would stick to the black, red,white and grey because I think it looks more

sophisticated and I want the same colours to

run throughout the magazine.

I would also like to use other forms of

the layout such as the big writing at thetop of the page to catch the readers

attention, and a segment of the

interview (usually an interesting part) in

bold in the middle of the page, to catch

the readers attention.


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FLAT PLAN FRONT COVER


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FLAT PLAN CONTENTS PAGE


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FLAT PLAN DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD


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PLANNING MY FRONT COVER PHOTOGRAPHY

On my front cover I planned to capture an image which would stand out from other

magazines, showing an iconic figure in a way in which maybe they havent before,

however making sure they are represented positively.

I want the person featuring on the front of the magazine to be looking straight into

the camera, as it shows fearlessness and confidence, I also wanted to make sure that

the background was a plain one preferably white, as this makes the subject the

central focus.

I decided to take a range of pictures including a more natural, day-to-day look with

subtle make-up and clothing, and a wild and rocky look which will include heavy and

fierce make-up. I aimed to make the lighting of the shot clear and this will either be

from natural lighting or a spot light facing down on the subject.


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This is one of my original

designs that I made for my

front cover, I liked this

image because I thought it

was an edgy picture.

However I decided tochange it because I thought

that the picture was too

dark and not very sharp, it

was different than the usual

conventions of a music

magazine.

This was my second original idea

for my magazine, I had spent a

lot of time editing the picture, bymaking a white background and

making the person black and

white while trying to make the

tissue paper around her red.

To begin with I liked my idea and I started to put

together the magazine by adding text, taglines, a title

and made her eyes darker, and the pieces of tissue

around her body red as well as the rest.

Eventually I decided I didn't like the idea because it

wasn't like the normal conventions ofQmagazine - my

main inspiration and magazine I wanted to manipulate.

Qmagazine normally has a picture in colour, and mostly

a closer image of the face, less of the whole body.


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FRONT COVER ANALYSIS

I chose this image for the front

cover of my magazine because I

liked the shot it as it was

different to the usual

conventions which are found onthe front on a music magazine,

this picture is more edgy rather

than pretty. I think its also

interesting because she has an

rocky look with big hair, dark

make-up and leather clothing. Ialso like that it looks as if the

tissue paper has fallen onto her

whilst shes lead there, it gives

the picture a different effect.


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I edited the make-up of the original image

(left hand side) by highlighting the

required area with the selection tool and

changing the brightness of it. I also used

the burn tool to darken the black of the

make-up, and the dodge tool to make the

white areas in her eyes lighter.

Cheryl Cole was an inspiration for

my front cover as I like her edgy

and wild look in her make-up. I

wanted to take it to the next level

by making the make-up in my

picture slightly heavier.


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FINAL

DESIGN

FRONT

COVER(ANALYSIS ON BLOG)

Masthead in bold

font and bright

colour.

Barcode

Pull Quote

Tagline motto for

the magazine

Date & Selling price

Album Feature

Main centred

eye catchingimage of the star

- main topic

Cover lines moreinformation of

features inside.

Tagline - features

for interest


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CONTENTS PAGEORIGINAL DESIGN FINAL DESIGN


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Date & Issue

number

Masthead

Page by page

numbered Index ofwhats inside

Cover star is

continued through

the pages

Every Month

features

identifiableconvention for

regular consumers

Exclusive special

different colour

Features covering

other media,

albums,

downloads, films,

podcasts etc.

Eye catching and

fierce image fits

genre

Second image -

softer


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This is the image that I was originally going

to use for my contents page. I decided to cut

the subject out and put her onto a white

background. I did this by using the QuickSelection tool and cutting her out of the

image. I then changed the brightness of the

background the white area, and pasted

her back onto it. Once she was pasted back

onto the background, I noticed that the

image didnt merge into the background asthere was a clear line where I had cut her

out. To smooth this out I used the blur tool

to soften the edges.

I then decided to feature this image on my

double page spread as I liked the softness

and natural posing of the image in

comparison to the front cover image I have

chosen. I decided to keep her looking rocky

and fierce on the front cover, but keep this

for the contents to show her in a different

light.


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DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD


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White

background

Follows

house

style,

simplicity.

Suitablelanguage for

the audience

- formal and

partly

colloquial.

Masthead

continued

Pull quoteQuestions written in

bold - clearerSofter image of

the star

Interesting title album mentioning Bands name


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IN WHAT WAYS WILL YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR

CHALLENGE FORMS OR CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

Throughout my research I have been inspired by the successful magazineQ. I have closely examined the conventions and key codes of this magazine

as I believe they are simple but extremely effective.

I plan to continue with the same conventions as Q, such as music genre

Indie pop, which will be the main genre of my magazine, the sophisticated

layout, house style, and colour scheme (black white red and grey)

I also tend to present my magazine to its audience the same way in which

Qdoes, including its language terminology and style.

My music magazine will challenge conventions of media products such

as my inspiration Q magazine because it has a similar sophisticated

housestyle.

Although the tone of the featured writing will still be sophisticated, it

will have a sense of a friendly and chatty tone. I have also focused onthe graphology of Q magazine and tried to interpret this into my own

design for example changing the Q badge to The One in a similar

style.

I have also included taglineswhich stand out from the main

picture/background, which encourages the consumer to read the

magazine.


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The core genre of music that runs through my music is Indie

pop, but I have also featured pages which share news about

different areas of music, which could appeal to all different

types of peoples tastes, these include all areas from R&B,

Reggae, Dance, Hip-hop, Classical, Rock, Drum & Bass etc.

This allows my magazine to have a larger target audience. I feelthat this is a good idea for my magazine because there is this

gap in the market as most music magazines focus on one

specific genre whereas my magazine has features of most, if

not all areas of music. This emphasises that profit is key with

my magazine, making music more of a business in the media

industry rather than an art.

IN WHAT WAYS WILL YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR

CHALLENGE FORMS OR CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?


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HOW WILL YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT

REPRESENT PATICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?I plan to make my magazine attract ages of around 16-25. However, because I

have different genres of music that feature in the magazine in parts, this

audience could broaden to maybe 16- 30 depending on the amount of media

that is consumed by older demographics.

I want the representations that feature in my magazine to be positive,

including representations on bands as well as individuals. I want to do thisbecause I feel like some magazines can portray a negative perspective which

encourages people to create an opinion as all types media has a very big

influence on opinions.

I also wanted my magazine to have a positive representation for women,

because I feel that this is unlike the media of today. For example this front

cover of Lady Gaga on Qmagazine does not convey a positive representation.

This is why I chose to feature a picture which was fully clothed, but still had an

edgy and wild look to it. It gives a message that isnt to provocative but is still

fierce to show authority.

My magazine will also convey a positive image about artists and bands

instead of what can happen in some magazines slating them with bad

press, as I believe a good magazine shouldnt include negativity.


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WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT

DITRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY?

As I am using Q magazine as my main inspiration, I believe that

my magazine will have the same sort of distribution company as

Q does Bauer Media Group.

The group will be similar to Bauer Media Group as my magazine

has the same conventions as Qmagazine. The company would

be large and European and would also operate in other

countries worldwide. It may also publish other famous

magazines, which means that it would have enough funding to

publish my magazine monthly.

I also think that distributors will benefit from

distributing my magazine because it has a wide

range of music which will mean a bigger audience

and which will gain more profit for the company.


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WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR

MEDIA PRODUCT?Blumler and Katz Usesand Gratification Theory

This suggests that media users have an active role in choosingand using the

media. It also says that the users are goal orientated in their media use and take

an active part in the communication process.

The media in which they choose depends on the best to fulfil their needs. This

theory suggests that users can alternate choices to satisfy their needs.

The sophisticated house-style and formal but chatty register of my magazine

enables the reader to escape from their daily grind and enjoy the media text.

However they can also be informed about the different genres, including up-

coming gigs, album releases etc. One of the key purposes of my magazine, like

magazines in general, is to allow people to escape from their daily lives, sit backand relax into the world of media.

Blumler and Katzalso has significant links with Maslows HierarchyofNeeds.

They are both about recognising what people want from the media that they

consume. These have given knowledge on adaption or crafting my media

product.


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WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR

MEDIA PRODUCT?I wanted my magazine to be aimed at both sexes, aged from around 16-25. It will be aimed at

people who enjoy Indie-pop music, however the audience may broaden as my magazine

features other aspects of music, different types of bands and artists and different genres which

can interest different groups and older demographics.

I wanted to make my magazine catch the readers attention by putting an iconic figure on the

front cover, styled in a different way in which people are used to untamed.

I also wanted to include the more famous bands on the front so that people would be drawn to

reading about them.

I think that a consistent style and colour scheme is key to a well constructed magazine, and I

have decided to keep mine simple and sophisticated so that it is immediately recognisable to its

audience. I also wanted the tone and register of my magazine to be sophisticated but chatty to

keep it friendly.

Throughout my pages I have used simple images to follow the simple style, but to still keep the

reader interested. I tried to show the icon that features in my magazine, in different styles to

show personality. I wanted to show personality because my magazine is friendly and I believe it

is important.


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WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES

FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS

PRODUCT?Before beginning my AS Media project I had never used Photoshop and when I started to use theprogramme it seemed very complicated to begin with. However, after creating my preliminary

magazine I became familiar with the programme and overall it was very helpful in creating my

magazine as it has made my pictures and layout look professional.

There are many different tools on Photoshop which to begin with was daunting, but I edited a range of

pictures to try out different tools and techniques to see which ones would be beneficial for my

magazine and with a bit of practice it became easier.

The specific tools that I used were ones such as

Brightness and Contrast which enables you to change colouring of the image, the Cropping tool which

enables you to crop the image down to the wanted size removing any unwanted background in the

image. I have also used tools such as Clone Stamp tool, which enables you to copy part of an image and

clone it onto another part, the Dodge and Burn tools which enable you to make the image lighter or

darker, and the Quick Selection tool which allows you to cut around an image. I have also used the Text

tool to insert text and also a range of Filters which enables you to give images different effects.

I attempted to use a website called DaFont which enables you to create text in many different styles.

However I decided to stick with the text on Photoshop as it was simple which is the style I wanted to

enforce.

Overall Photoshop has helped me make my magazine look professional and it was very beneficial the

programme to create my magazine from scratch, I have also learnt that making a magazine is very time

consuming.


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WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION

FROM YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK TO YOUR FINAL PRODUCT?

When beginning my preliminary task I had to do a bit of research on magazines as my knowledge

was very minimal. Although I am a consumer of magazines I havent ever taken notice of theconventions to what makes the magazine so after all of my research I feel that I have better

knowledge now.

For the preliminary task I created a school fashion magazine which was mostly aimed at girls through

its style. This was obviously a different content to what my music magazine features, and I think that

it was slightly harder to find content to feature in the magazine as it was very limited to school

fashion, where as music it is very wide topic.

However all of this has helped me, as well as with my research to identify and familiarise myself with

the conventions and key codes of magazines.

When I completed my preliminary magazine, I was pleased with the outcome because I felt like it

had the key conventions of a fashion magazine. I was pleased with the editing of my main picture as I

had changed it a lot, however, looking back at the preliminary in comparison to my music magazine,

its clear I have learnt a lot, including the conventions as well as using the programme Photoshop.

This shows in my music magazine as I have higher quality images, the layout looks more professional

and I have also used secondary images. Whats more, Ive included other conventions such as quotes

and album of the year in a circle conventions to attract the readers attention, and I have used

taglines, one being the ultimate music bible which is the slogan for the magazine. My text also

stands out on my music magazine than what it did on my preliminary, and I believe I have chosen a

colour scheme that works well.


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AUDIENCE FEEDBACKI printed my front cover, contents and double page spread and I showed it to 20

people. I then asked them to anonymously answer the following questions to receive

some feedback

What target audience is my magazine aimed at?

Would you buy this magazine?

What could I do to improve this magazine?

What do you think is the main music genre?

90% said Unisex aged 15-25

10% said Unisex ages 17-30

85% said they would buy this magazine

10 % said they probablywouldbuy this magazine

5 % said they wouldnt buy this magazine

90% said it doesnt need to change

10% said changes could be made

Example the feature picture could be changed to a more interesting shot of the

star

95% said Indie

5% said Indie Rock

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Course Work Power Point 1 Slide! and Evaluation!