Final Post

I have now finished my coursework or the making of my music magazine, so this is my last post.

Audience Feedback

I got a number of different views of my music magazine, some people thought that it was really good and told me that it looked very professional and fitted the genre of the mainstream audience very well. Others gave me tips on how to improve it, so how they thought I could make the magazine look better than it does at the momemt. I recieved all this feedback from the people in my class by what thye told me in lessons and from my parents and friends at home. The audience feedback helped me quite a lot and was of a lot of good use to me.

2nd Part of Evaluation

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have used a number of different technologies in the production of my pages for my music magazine. I used photoshop to make my front cover, at first i struggled with the editing of colours and the pictures, but when I started to get the hang of it I found it quite easy and fun to produce by front cover because I enjoyed playing around with the different colours, effects and fonts that were available for me to use. I used Microsoft publisher for my contents page which I had used before I started this project, but I did learn some new things to do with the software, for example I learnt how to fill a text box in with colour as I did not know this before. I generally enjoyed making my contents page as I liked playing around with different layouts and fonts to see what looked best, this is why we made drafts of our pages before we chose the final one. Finally I used InDesign to make my double page spread, which I found quite hard as the software is not the same as the other software that I have used before, I found it very hard to move my pictures around as they did not move very easily, they either zoomed in or zoomed out, but after enough practise I got the hang of it and then I found it quite easy.
I have learnt a number of different things throughout this project, I learnt how to use InDesign and Photoshop and the only prior experience I had of that was in the preliminary text that we made school magazines. I have also learnt how to use blogger and how to change the layout and style of your blog, how to add different tools such as polls and hyper links and finally how to upload pictures to my blog.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you fell you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I feel that I have learnt how to use the software that was required a lot more effectively to my advantage and how to make my pages look more professional. I feel I have learnt to use the effects that are on offer reasonably well to my own well being to help with the aesthetic look of my magazines. I feel that I now have learnt a better use of technology and feel I could definately use the software that we used again in other subjects or work if I needed to do it. I also feel I have developed more practical skills when it comes to technology.
I have also learnt a lot about the target market and what they look for in the product that they are buying for, I learnt how the style of the magazine can affect the price, for example a monthly magazine can cost more than a weekly magazine because it comes out less times and therefor should be of much higher qaulity.
Finally, i learnt a lot more about the magazine industry, and what is included in magazines for what reason, for exmaple a free cd or free posters are included in magazines to persaude the reader or target market to buy the magazine because they may feel that they get more out of the magazine.

Evalutation

Evaluation of my media coursework, the music magazine

View more presentations from carolinebirksatwork.

Final Contents Page

After looking at my contents page, I decided that the arrow that was originally there didnt look right and just didnt fit in with everything else that was there, so I made another one on publisher and put that in.

Final Double Page Spread

After discussing with my teacher I have made some changes, I made the writing in the arrow white and more central, took away the underlining from the questions and changed the colour to navy blue and the old blue looked a bit childish.

Final Double Page Spread.

This is my Final Double page spread after my teacher has checked everything that I have done. I made some changes from the second draft, I made more writing, deleted a arrow and placed a new one in and I changed the colour of my questions to blue instead of having them underlined.

Second draft of my Double Page Spread

This is my second draft of my double page spread, as you can see I have added some shapes, changed some of the fonts and moved some things around.

First Draft of Double Page Spread

This is my First Draft of my double page spread, I have all the pictures that I need on the double page spread. I am going to move things around and scale things down a little bit though.

Final Contents Page

after speaking with my media teacher, I made a couple changes to my page, I edited the picture next to features as she said it was quite weak compared ot the other pictures. Also, I changed the font to Calibri from Times New Roman as she said that Times New Roman was quite boring so I should change the font but still keep it plain, that is why I chose Calibri. Finally, I added a picture of my front cover to the page next to the large writing above the "P" and the arrow.

Final Contents Page!

This is my final draft of my contents page, I may still change this if I need to. Apart from that this is my final draft!

Making up the Interview.

We have got a interview with Hannah Martin today, we already know that she has 2 new singles coming out, she's started to design her own fashion range which we will talk about and she is also auditioning for a hollywood movie and she is only 19.

So Hannah, What age did you start?
well first of all, I was about 5 when i started my acting lessons, then i really got into it started auditioning for plays and musicals and everything really hit it off from there. I was in my first musical at the age of 6 and then I decided to take some singing lessons as I wanted to be the star of the show! I starred in my first musical at the age of 8 and then I just carried on really.

Is this what you always wanted to do?
Yes definately. I have always wanted to do this, it is very exciting, but i dont think anyone can prepare for what happens as my life has just become so busy, I have learnt to enjoy the small things in life, a quiet moment with a cup of tea and a blanket in front of the telly is the most relaxing thing that I could ask for! But yes it is what I have always wanted to do and it just proves that dreams can come true.

What Are you Most looking Forward to?
I am most looking forward to just being on the road with my band and playing at gigs. Hopefully I will make it that far! But no if I do get to that stage then I will be over the moon and would love to feel the thrill of being up there on the big stage in front of a lot of people.

So Hannah lets talk more about your album
Well my album that I am about to release is my debut album called "Meet Hannah" and its just a colaboration of a number of songs that I have written which sum up my life so far, as my life has been quite happy and easy, the songs are quite upbeat and happy as I want them to create a nice atmosphere.

Not only do you write your own songs but songs for other people, can you tell us more?
Well pulse, I originally write a whole group of songs and then I choose which bunch go best on my album but there are some that I really like and get attatched to but sometimes they just dont fit in, however with these songs we offer them out to other artists and this makes me feel happy as I feel that they have a new home and a new purpose to them.


Arent you a fashion icon?
Apparantly so. I do have my own fashion range that is included in quite a lot of magazine and sells to all the A-lists, but thats not what I want to be famous for. I want to be the next Pixie Lott!

Do you enjoy fashion?
Yes I have always been into fashion, I believe that most girls are or should be. But yeah I do love it and that is one of the things that inspired me to make my own fashion range, also that Pixie Lott has her own fashion range.

How did your fashion range come together?
well i sent some ideas off to a designer called Gok Wan and he arranged a meeting with me and then we ha dsome blank designs and we played around with different colours and tartans and stripes and then we both agreed on some designs and it all hit off from there! we just got together what I just wanted as my perfect collection really. Im really excited to bring out the spring summer range in just a couple of months which is inspired by my 2 fashion icons which are Bridget Budget and Edie Sedrick. I really hope that my line does well as it has been talked about. im really excited for it and cant wait!!

So, some say your the new pixie lott, what do you think of this?
Im quite shocked by this, as I really like pixie I think shes an amazing girl and we get along well together. This wasnt the actual style that I was originally going for though, however Pixie is a really succesfull girl and I am honoured to be recognised by this and I also think that this is a great image to have when I am currently just entering the market. I was inspired by Pixie Lott and I think that we both gave up a lot to do this.

What did you give up for your career?
Well, I was only 13 when I started going to the studio and writing my songs and albums so I went to the studio afterschool and on the weekends so I gave up a lot for this. I did go to partys with my friends when I was younger, but I did have to say no to a lot of things.

From what we have seen from your debut single, we assume you like to party?
Yes, I do love a good old party, where everyone is dancing and having fun, and this is the type of music that i actually want to produce, I want my music to create a good atmosphere and for people to be enlighten when they here it, I do like to dance, I actually went to school where we were trained to dance so i do find it quite easy to get up on the dance floor, lets just say that i dont lack in confidence when im on the dance floor.

Is there anyone that you listened to when you were younger that you would like to work with?
I used to listen to Stevie Wonder a lot when i was younger and I think that it would be such an honour to work with him as I believe that he inspires people as what he has achieved in his life and what he has gone through and what he has had to deal with is absolutely amazing and yeah just he inspires me as he never gave up.

Are you suprized at how fast your career took off?
To be honest yeah I am, I had no idea what to expect because I didnt know what was going to happen. Because it took me so long to make the album and get heard and to be recognised then it is such a big contrast to how fast it went when I released my first single. So yeah I didnt expect it to be so fast.

We heard that you might becoming a judge of X-factor, is there anything you can tell us?
Well I can say that it would be a whole new experience for me because usually I audition not audtion people, so I know how it feels to be up there on the stage but I think that I will really enjoy it and it should be really fun as all the other judges are funny and nice. I think that i will be quite generous to the contestents and quite nice, because I know exactly how nerv racking it can be up on stage infront of a lot of people I will feel for them and if I see a bit of potential in the contestents then I will be nice.

As most of our readers are still at school what advice can you give them?
Well if you want to look good at school, it really depends on how strict your school is, at my school I got away with wearing bangles, nail varnish, makeup and things in my hair. I think you should make it look like you didnt make than much of an effort when actually you did. Well people say that school is the best time of your life and I actually agree with them and still think it, you are with your friends everyday at school, you can run riot at school and can actually afford to make mistakes as you are still quite young, my advice would be to avoid arguments with your mates, live life to the full and just have fun. At prom we hired out a hotel and we all stayed there over night, we obviously had a partner to go with, but I searched everywhere for the perfect dress, I went to covent garden and I found a perfect dress, my advice would be to go to a smaller shop and not a big high street shop because everyone will have the same dress and you dont want to have the same dress as someone else because unique looks best.

What advice would you give to anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps?
I'd say to them to never give up and to follow their dream. No matter what anyone says to them if they really want it then I am sure that they can do it. It doesnt matter how late or early you start, if you have got the talent then you will know that you have it and you will make, but if its not meant to be then its not meant to be.

First Draft of Contents.

This is my first draft of my contents page, I have just been playing around with the size of the pictures, where they will go and the size of the titles and where they will go, so some changes will be made. Also i need to put my letter from editor and what i am going to include in the magazine.

Photos to use for Contents

From the results that I got commented on my post I have decided to use 2,3 and 4 as these were the pictures that everyone voted for.
I have already decided on my layout design for my contents page, I have also decided that I am going to use Microsoft Publisher for designing my contents as then I can use inDesign for my double page spread and this shows that I have a wide range of skills and can use a number of different software types.

Inspiration for Contents page.

I recieved my inspiration from this contents page, I like the way the picture is placed in the centre of the page and the way the section about what is included in the magazine comes down the side of the magazine. I also like the way that NME is in red but contents is in white. I am not going to copy the magazine though, I am going to make my own changes but ym design is based on this page.

PHOTOS FOR CONTENTS PAGE!!

1

2

3



4

  Can you please vote for 3 out of these 5 photos that I should use on my contents page.

5

FINAL FRONTCOVER

I think that this is going to be my final front cover, but I may come back to my title and tweet it a little bit if I have time. As you can see, I got rid of the circle in the left hand corner, made the font and the circle bigger in the right hand corner and finally added a issue number and price on top of my bar code.

FRONT COVER

Now I have added some coverlines, a new colour and a different font, I believe that I am nearly done. Im just going to make some finishing touches to it to make it look that bit more proffessional.

If you could please comment any tips or changes you should think I should do to my magazine then comment.

What I have done so far

I have added some coverlines, and some different adds that I need on my music magazine. I still need to add coverlines and a lot more. This is just playing around and seeing what I like best so I might change some things depending on what else comes up.

Choosing My Layout Designs

I have decided that I am going to use front cover design 3 as I think its the best and for the picture that I have it suits it best. I have decided to use contents page 1 as it suits my pictures best and also decided to use double page spread 3 as i think that it is the best.

Starting My Music Magazine

I have decided to use the Number 3 of my photos as I found that it is the best photo to use as I can fit a lot of coverlines in and is a good photo. I choose the plain font from my fonts and used a colour from my models dress and filled the font in.

Fonts For Title and Contents

 Colleged by imagex

Accents Varsity by Brøderbund Software

Universal College Draft by fonts-lab.com

Collegiate FLF by Casady & Greene

Varsity

Jersey Letters by Perry Mason

JimThorpe by Mickey Rossi

Photos that I took

1.

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10



11



12

With photos 1,2,3,8 and 12 I used my friend who models for storm, whos mum is a photographer so has her own studio and editing software so I used that on these pictures!

Choosing the name of my Music Magazine

I came up with four names for my Music Magazine, they were:

• Pulse
• ICON
• MBS
• Beats

Pulse received 2 votes, ICON recieved 2 votes and MBS received 1 vote. ICON and Pulse drew so it came down to my decision, and I'm going to choose Pulse as it sounds more like a name which is to do with Music and represents the genre of music that my Magazine is to be about.

LAYOUT DESIGNS

Planning Photoshoot

As I am making a music magazine I need to think about what type of photo suits mainstream music the best, I decided that I need to use a model wearing some fashionable clothes and looking good as my front cover, I need to think about:  

• locations
• people
• customes
• lighting
• angles

I am either going to use an outdoor setting in which a natural setting will occur due to using the countryside, or quite a run down modern area. I am either going to use a quite a normal angle so I can emphasise the focus on the model. I am going to use one of my friends as my model but I will have to ask them if I can use them. The photos for the contents page will be off the same person or a different person that I use for my front cover. The photos on the double page spread will be off the same person that I use for my front cover as the double page spread is going to be written about them. The customes that I will try and get my model to wear will be quite fashionable and something that most people will like. I want to try and make my model look like someone that people would aspire to be like or look up too.

Results of Questionnaire

From the results of my questionnaire I found that 2/3 of the people who filled it in do listen to music magazines which tells me that their would be a target audience for my magazine. I found that all of the people who filled in my questionnaire said that they would be interested in my magazine which backs up that their would be a target audience for my magazine. I found that 2/3 of the people who filled in the questionnaire said that they would prefer the magazine to be produced monthly but i decided because my magazine is quite short and includes a lot of pictures that it would be reduced every week. All the people who filled in my questionnaire said they would be more interested in the magazine if it had a free gift so I have decided to include a free poster every week. The genres that I gathered  from my questionnaire that my readers would want in the magazine are R&B and Hip-Hop and Rap. I got mixed results about the price and I decided to price it at £1.99 as it would be a good price for a weekly magazine. I received mixed results about how long the magazine should be but i decided that it is only going to be about 20 pages and the target audience may not much spare time to read it.

Treatment Sheet

Target Readership
Pulse magazine is a music magazine which is based on 18-25 year old's who enjoy to go clubbing and like mainstream music. Pulse magazine is not just aimed at people who like to go clubbing, people who like chart music would fall into the category as well because that is mainstream as well. The magazine would be aimed mostly at students as going out clubbing is all part of the student lifestyle. However some of the readers of Pulse may be working but still enjoy the music so Pulse can be aimed at them at will tell them how they can relax to music and what type of music would relax them. The magazine will be priced at £1.99 which is good price for students and young people in work as they might not have that much extra money for leisure items.

Form and Style
Pulse will be a full A4 colour magazine that includes lots of vibrant colours as they are normally associated which mainstream music. The cover of the magazine will be off either an existing or new mainstream artist that has entered the business or the charts. Each page will include different pictures to make the magazine not all reading as the target audience may not have much spare time.

Themes and Styles
Pulse magazine will include pictures of new or existing artists from the mainstream line of music. Pulse will include covers on the new artists and advise the readers whether they will like there music or not. Pulse will try and advise their readers what the good songs are from the genre and what the bad songs are from the genre. Pulse will keep its readers up to date with the charts and its expected number 1 of the week. Pulse will have to be interesting in order to keep its target market buying the magazine. Pulse will also include what the fashion is, what the best dressed celebrities are and also free posters each week.

Possible Advertisers
A range of different brands that are interested in fashion and targeted to the younger market will advertise their new clothes and their best range so Pulse readers can make sure that they look good when they are out clubbing.

Editorial Team
The editorial team will be made up of experienced people who know about mainstream music. Radio 1 presenters like Reggie Yates and Fern Cotton used to present top of the pops and are experienced in commenting on chart music so if Pulse magazine can find some people like them then that would be an ideal team.

Photography

Great photographers are always aware of the key visual elements and will make sure they are involved in the photograph.
There are a number of key elements:

• colour                  
• form
• line
• pattern
• shape
• texture
• tone
• framing
• viewpoint
• depth
• perspective

The photographer will need to consider whether they are going to use a landscape or portrait photos. You can change the emphasis of a photograph by simply changing the viewpoint. Overhead and low angles shots can create emphasis and give a more interesting result. Also we need to think about balance and proportion e.g symmetry.

Rankin Photography- he focuses on lighting, props and setting. He makes his models do weird facial expressions so he can capture them with this face.
                       

Questionnaire

Do you read Music Magazines?A)Yes
B)No

Would you be interested in a Music Magazine?
A)Yes
B)No

How often would you purchase the magazine?
A) Every Week
B) Every Fortnight
C) Every Month
D) Every Season
Would you be more interested in the Magazine if it had a free gift?
A) Yes
B) No

What type of Music Do you listen to mostly?
A) R&B
B) Hip Hop
C) Pop
D) Rap
E) Indie
F) Rock
G) Garage

How much would you be willing to pay for the Magazine?
A) £0.00-£1.00
B) £1.01-£2.00
C) £2.01-£3.00
D) £3.01-£4.00
E) £4.01-£5.00

Would you like there to be any Celebrity Features?
A) Yes
B) No
C) Not sure

How many pages would you like the Magazine to be?
A) 10-20 pages
B) 20-30 pages
C) 30-40 pages
D) 40-50 pages

Please comment your answers, thanks.

Internet Research

Sales of IPC Media’s music title NME fell 14.3 per cent to 29,020 in the first half of 2011.

Overall circulation figures for music magazines were up 22.6 per cent on the previous year, but this down to the ABC debut of free magazines The Stool Pigeon, Propaganda and DIY Magazine.

Bauer’s publishing director for Kerrang!, Q and Mojo, Rimi Atwal, said: “Bauer’s influential music brands continue to dominate in the UK, underlining the loyalty of our highly engaged audiences and our commitment to delivering the best content in a 360 experience.

“Our magazines sit at the heart of our multi-platform music brands, which have never been more connected with their passionate and influential audiences in print, online, radio, events, TV, podcasts, social media and our world renowned awards.”

Mojo ; Bauer Consumer Media ; 87,262 ; -4.8%

Empire Bauer Consumer Media ; 171,013 ; -4.5%

New Musical Express ; IPC Media Ltd ; 29,020 ; -14.3%

I have copy and pasted all this research from www.pressgazatte.co.uk 
The research that is useful to me is the "New Musical Express ; IPC Media Ltd ; 29,020 ; -14.3%" as i am looking to do a magazine just like NME and this tells me that NME sale figures have decreased by 14.3% so maybe i should change some things and make my magazine similar but different to NME as demand is falling.