To the examiner: Welcome!

Hello, my name is Sian Lynes and welcome to my AS Media Studies Coursework Blog 2011/2012. I hope that you enjoy the work that you see and the hard work I have put into it. Use the label bar to the right to navigate to the each section or  navigate through 'older posts' at the end of the web page to see my weekly progress. Thank you!

Final Product: Cover, Contents, Double Page Spread

Final Evaluation Question 1

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


After looking extensively at the variation in genre conventions of mainstream pop magazines such as RollingStone, Billboard and Q Magazine I picked several elements to expand on for inspiration for the overall look of my magazine. Firstly, I used a serif font for my coverlines to conform to the conventions of typography during the time period my magazine takes inspiration from which is the 1950s. However this challenges modern mainstream pop magazines such as Billboard who typically uses serif fonts consistently to appeal to their mass audience; but will create a unique look against the popular magazine market. The masthead on my cover also challenges typical real media conventions as I use two separate font styles to create a vivid logo as well as using a low filled orange photo screen overlay on the text to create a soft tone to both colours and give it a retro look. In my draft, I did not adhere to the conventional banner that many magazines I had researched adopted to either sell the particular issue or draw in on exclusive as I felt it would take up too much space and wanted my cover to be simplistic in terms of coverlines and a spacious image.

This will stand out against standard magazine logos that use only one colour for the masthead. For my contents page I tried to imitate the layout of Billboard magazine by using some negative space between the image and text to give a clean and precise finish to the edge of the image. By also using one image that has been cropped using the polygon tool I challenge typical magazine conventions as the contents is not overcrowded with framed photos and bold text; allowing the house style to be simple and stylish to appeal to my female audience. I developed my contents title further by adopting a heart shape and implementing a light to dark gradient overlay on the hot pink colour to give a 3D effect.

 I decided not to visually implement a clear divide in the double page spread, such as a photo or shape division, as I felt that this restricts to spacing of the article text and the amount of images allowed on a page. Therefore, I resized several images using the grid across the top third of the page to balance to page and allow more images to convey the context of my article further. Although I did use several shape divisions in the form of three lines which would then tie in with my American theme of the page to give a clean cut it did not look unprofessional. I found on conventional magazine double page spreads that a realistic image of a persons in a natural scene or a or posing in a full studio shot that would span across the page. I did not think that staging a realistic scene for my artist was appropriate and did not fit into the fun theme; I felt it was also better to manipulate the image to give a professional look. It was important that I investigated the conventions of other magazines types of the same genre so I could be able to imitate similar layouts but adapt it so that it had a unique selling point in comparison to other generic magazines, such as Billboard.

Evaluation Question 1 on Prezi - Generic Conventions Explored and Compared

Final Evaluation Question 2

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

My cover artist shows a young female adult who is using a scarf as a prop to position across the end of the mid-shot by biting it in her teeth. This is used to represent my model provocatively but also show the fun characterisation of my artist. The scarf is used to imitate a style of Marilyn Monroe which appeals to the social group who are familiar with pop from the past as well as the future. The young female will allow my target audience of young female adults aged between 16-25 to relate to the artist and entice them into buying the magazine. It was important to use intertextuality by adopting conventions of media and art influences during the 50s/60s such as art deco and bright colours in order to embed them into my front cover particularly to attract my audience. By incorporating the social influence of 'Marilyn Monroe' onto my front cover and into the subject of my article within my double page spread I therefore adhered to the 50s/60s theme by using this as a selling point for my artist.

The cheerful yet emotive expression on my artist’s face allows her fun characteristics to be implied on the cover and will imitate the positive ideology of my magazine and will connote that it is a positive purchase. I used an orange overlay onto the front cover so that it brightens to tone and levels of my photograph which makes it stand out. These bright colours of the pink scarf and the blush tone on the artist make it subtly appeal to my majority of female audience and women who enjoy using make-up and hair styling. I purposely increased the saturation of the image so that these stereotypical feminine tones would be emulated on the cover.  This look therefore represents a social group of females who have a disposable income and enjoy styling themselves and looking up to role models in the music industry.

I emulated my artist profile in the typography by incorporating a different style font for the ‘X’ called LeviBrush to make it appear as if a lipstick had been swiped on the cover. This also connotes the idea of my artist’s fun style and how she enjoys fashion and sexualising her image for her career. For the double page spread I transferred the personality of my artist profile through her posing as she is doing a cute salute which ties in with the fashionable American theme. I also used several photos at the top third of the masthead of different outtakes of my photo shoot so that my young, fashionable, female social group will like the artist’s fun and wild side.  Through my contents page it is evident that a social group who listen to music from the late 50s to present would enjoy my magazine as I devote a section to “Past and Present”. The type of person would also be interested in current chart music which is shown through the “In Every Issue: Charts”. Therefore it shows that the type of person would be a young female who enjoys a wide range of pop music from every decade and is not confined to just present music.

Similarities & Difference: Cover Artist
During the research process, I considered the genre, being a 50/60s magazine and then based the features of my cover star among this. For example by having iconic curly hair which was a popular style at the time and adventurous make-up with thick eyeliner and bright lipstick to emphasise the feminine side to my artist. In terms of age, I decided my cover artist would be 23 as this is a prime age for many other pop artists and my target market were more likely to buy the magazine as she would be seen as an idol at that age.

Here, my cover artist is similar to pop superstar Katy Perry. In terms of styling they are similar as they both have brunette hair with make-up and red lipstick. This makes them both more provocative and interesting cover star to feature. In terms of pose they are similar, however the mise-en-scene of my flag makes it more appropriate for my music magazine in comparison to the purpose of FHM. The styling of the hair is also similar as they are both curled which gives the cover artist a more attractive and fun style for the cover.

However they both have props, whereas I have chosen a flag, Katy Perry adorns a cat mask to make her seem sweet and innocent. The differences would be the angle of which the artist is facing. Katy Perry is facing forwards straight into the camera whereas my cover artist has a titled head slightly to show innocence and also make room for the prop position biten in her mouth.

Although they do have a mid-shot so that the reader focuses on the face and top half of body. I also chose Katy Perry as her pop music is the kind of music my cover artist, Sophia Fox, would create to give her a cute and mass appeal but have a unique selling point in comparison to other pop artists. I think they appeal to non-gender specific as well so they would have a young audience of females who would idolise them and males who would be drawn towards their appearance.

I made my cover artist appear on the cover, contents and double page spread. This was because the reader could then see the different poses and angles of her outfit because the flag covers her outfit, whilst the contents shows the long dress and heels and the double page spread focuses on the middle of the dress.

Final Evaluation Question 3

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


I think that the most appropriate distributor for my magazine would be IPC Media. This is because they already have a vast portfolio of magazines that range from different genres. This means that they have good profitable revenue so could invest in a magazine like PopHeart because it appeals to a more niche market yet still has a profitable wide target audience of young female adults aged 16-25. It also means that it will not be a financial risk to the magazine company. This is because their wide range of magazines such as 'NME' and 'Woman' suggests that IPC is a profitable company and can invest in new niche magazines. IPC Media is also a subsidiary company of Time Inc. (Time Warner) which has a large net income and so can invest in new ideas in order to expand their brand even more.

Similar to my magazine, IPC Media publishes 'NME' which also has their own individual niche market of a young audience 16-24 and has a specific genre they focus their music magazine on which is Indie/Pop. My magazine would have similar components but be aimed at the majority of female ratio, young adults between 16-24 with a lesser male majority and focuses on Pop music as well as past music and its impact on modern day music. This focus on both present day and past would be its unique selling point and would captivate their target audience and will retain a regular readership this way.

When observing magazines that IPC Media distribute such as ‘NME’ and gossip magazine ‘Pick Me Up’ I noticed that each magazine has either male or female majority appeal. This was clear when I looked at ‘Q’ magazine where males bought the magazine at a greater 70% majority. Therefore I decided that it would be more marketable if my magazine to a specific gender and chose that females were most appropriate for the genre of pop music that my magazine would be based on. The current music magazine industry is now moving changes to using technology to distribute their magazines. This is evident not only with the musical genre but the overall magazine industry too as readers look for quick and fast ways to source their information. IPC Media is moving at a moderate pace with these changes by incorporating apps relating their magazine or brands, for example the NME App for all Apple products. This will enable their audience to not only share an interest in their web based information, which targets the younger population of 16-40, but to then hopefully entice them into buying the magazines too or vice versa.

Transcript: 

A publishing company such as IPC Media deals with the process of production from creating the magazine contents to printing. This allows for the magazine to be available to the general public and especially their target market. My magazine would be best suited to IPC Media, which stands for International Publishing Corporation. The logo reflects to variety of magazine it sells by using different fonts for each initial; as the company ranges from sports magazine like Golf Monthly, to women’s gossip magazines like Pick Me Up and women’s fashion magazines such as Marie Claire and LOOK. These are all reputable brands in their genres.

A distribution company, of the same organisation or different, specialises in the dispersion of the magazines to other companies who then sell them to the general public. Therefore my magazine will be distributed to supermarkets and newsagents where popular magazines are sold. This is important as it results in sale increase, satisfied advertisers within the magazine and a more recognisable brand on the market.

The first stage would be briefing and planning, where the layout and content is suggested for the first and other issues. The second would then be the designing and writing process to create a fully formed issue that looks professional against other competitors. The sub-editing process would then be enabled in order to check that the content is ready for printing and distribution.

Once a business plan, market and niche to sell a new magazine have been obtained, money must then be funded for the publishing and distributing expenses. In this case IPC Media can invest in a new magazine by obtaining profitable revenue from other successful magazines such as NME or Marie Claire. IPC Media is also a subsidiary of Time Inc. (Time Warner) which is an exceptionally successful organisation in several roles of media, from magazines to film most notably. Therefore they would have a large net income and can expand their brand further by investing in new markets such as my own magazine. They can also afford to release the magazine for several issues to see whether it is profitable enough to have a long-term investment. Magazine promotion would then be organised, such as selling advertisements and launch parties and TV promotion. The company, such as IPC Media, would already have connections to advertisers who feature in their current publicly available magazines, and see which would be interested in the target market of my brand, of young females aged 16-24. This would also fund the costs of printing, employers and distribution primarily. My magazine would then be able to expand further as more revenue would mean more exclusive and specific content for my market.

Magazines similar to PopHeart would be NME because they both have a niche market. With my primary audience being young adults a multi-media platform would be essential to promote the brand, such as with its own website and radio based on the magazine genre of modern and retro pop. My magazine could also be promoted on these sites, especially on its own radio station. My demographic could then also use the website in order to place a subscription and enable a ratified readership. 

Final Evaluation Question 4

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


My primary audience who would purchase my magazine would be young female adults aged 16-24 who have a disposable income and share an interest in pop music from the past as well as current charts. I chose this age group as they are more interested in finding up coming as well as mainstream artists and also take interest into popular music from the past such as Michael Jackson to Elvis Presley. I also have a secondary audience of males who will share an interest in the genre and the style of the magazine. I reflected this in the colour scheme and tone of my front cover where I use a soft red and blue that is bright but stands out against other magazines. This red and blue colour scheme has a stereotypical unisex appeal but the majority of red on the cover lines and the larger ‘Heart’ masthead indicates a more feminine look.

To reflect the intertextuality by absorbing the media and social influences of the 50s/60s I made it prominant in my design as well as choice of artist etc. The serif typography that is prominent in the cover lines connotes a very stylish and retro look, since art deco was a popular form of art at the time, so my females will like the house style of the magazine and attract to it more on newsstands. I included this as it would stand out against conventional magazines who adopt modern typography on the present day.

The characterisation of the female artist shown through the mise-en-scene and poses on the photo shoot also allows my majority female audience to relate more to my product. It is important to convey to your audience a relatable and sophisticated layout which appeals to their liking otherwise they may be put off by the cover artist or font type simply because it may not be of their taste. My music magazines focuses on music from the late 50’s/early 60s onwards so it would right to exclude anyone born before that so those in their early 50s+ may not be interested in the magazine. Also this is appropriate because the content will be applied in such way that it appeals more to a younger audience as it will relate to new technologies such as the internet and discuss present pop music primarily. Therefore those of 50+ may not purchase the magazine if they are only intending to read content on the past music as it may not be worth their money.

On my cover I made clear that the tributing to Marilyn Monroe is a primary factor to draw in the readership. On my contents page I adopted features and subheadings that are appropriate to my genre, by catergorising 'past and present' music to the current charts in 'whats happening now'.

Above, here is a female aged 17 who fits in my primary target market of 16-24 reading my magazine. They would buy my magazine as they like the artist included in this months issue. She can relate to the artist because she is young and stylish as she reinvents her style by taking inspiration from the past and therefore very unique. The article appeals to her as it is very informative and she wants to know exclusive gossip and information that the artist is talking about, such as her single release and childhood memories. She also likes the features of it being past pop music from the 50s/60s which is an era which my reader loves as well as present pop news. Therefore she would buy my magazine is it uniquely focuses on two decades of music instead of just present which is a unique selling point that she loves.

Final Evaluation Question 5

5. How did you attract/address your audience?


For the front cover it was important to address my audience visually first so that is why I used a young pop artist on the cover which would not deter them from reading the content. I think the layout of my double page spread would appeal to my audience because I use negative space between the sub quote, columns and main picture in order to simplify but balance the page so it did not appear intimidating. By also having a cover artist of a similar age the reader would be able to relate more to them and therefore understand the social influences they will have on society.

I have assumed that my audience will be knowledgeable with past artists as well by paying homage to Marilyn Monroe by posing similarly to a famous shoot she had once done. I also used the American theme throughout my double page spread to appeal to my audience because it is a well recognised symbol and also a large contributor to pop music throughout the world. I applied it in a stylish fashion by using an American flag clipart and applied it as a pattern before increasing the contrast and saturation. I also used an italic font to reinforce the appeal to my female audience as it is stereotypically more fashionable font to use.

By also using a font called ‘Market Deco’ which I had previously tested for my house style (used in the masthead, title of contents and title and sub quote on the double page spread) this appealed to my secondary audience who share an interest in that era because the Art Deco style was particularly popular during the late 50s/early 60s and therefore could relate more to the magazine’s style. Particularly through the contents I devised sections I believed would be the most appealing to my audience. Therefore I used categories such as ‘Music’ for present music and ‘Past and Present’ to delve into music that is from the past.

COVER:


CONTENTS:


DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD:

Final Evaluation Question 6

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

Editing Technology/Software + Research Platform:

In terms of computer software, the main platform I used to construct my product was Adobe Photoshop CS5. Techniques I used that was implemented in my work was the use of new tools such as the magic wand tool to select the background instead of selecting the main image using the polygon tool as this allowed a more accurate finish when refining the edges. I learnt this from Youtube tutorials which demonstrated step by step guides. By applying a selective colour it allowed my magazine to look more professional by having the same colour tone across all three pages. It allowed me to construct and appeal to the genre of my own magazine by importing images that I had taken as well as the process of cutting them to give a professional look.

I also used Microsoft Word 2007 to construct the text to my article and contents before inserting it into my PSD. This helped me as it meant I had a secure version of the article and I could edit the layout straight away using the grid on Photoshop to achieve an equal distribution of text. I learnt that by forming my article first it was then easily transferred onto Photoshop and I knew which column proportion and amount of text would be needed in each space on the grid. It also helped me in the development of my research process by forming ideas in text boxes and embedding pictures to reinforce my ideas. 

I used the internet platform Google Chrome predominantly for carrying out research as I found it was more efficient to use than Internet Explorer 7. By using the search engine Google I found information on different research, such as magazine distributors and magazine history. Therefore this helped me then to expand onto my own genre of magazine and focus on what my target audience would prefer, which led me ultimately to my end product.

Practical Technology:

In terms of practical I used a reflective umbrella (like the photo above on left) with stand in order to reflect light directly onto the person I was photographing and gave a clearer image. I also used a soft box lighting (like the photo above on right) with automated to flash at ¼ speed which allowed the persons to have a softer outline and shadowing on the facial elements. I also had a 250W isolated lighting to fill light around and on my persons. These all had an automated shutter that reacted to my digital camera. These helped improve my photographs from the draft process as I did not depend on natural lighting. I learnt that it also aided in the quality of my photographs as facial features were more precise and easily visible to the reader.

I used a 14MP digital camera (like the one above) with flash that allowed an automated reaction from the lighting equipment to then light my image. To help my in the editing stages, I also added a white sheet on a background pole so that the image could be easily isolated. The higher quality of mega pixel allowed my photo to be of the best quality and give concise colour. I also learnt that by using a tripod (like the one on the right) all my images would be on the exact position so would make it easier when it came to the editing stages as well as avoiding blurry images. This improved the quality of my photos drastically from hand held shots during my draft as I was able to have positioning at a straight angle to the wall.

Presenting Platforms to display research:

Scribd: Scribd is an online publishing platform that allowed me to upload my word documents such as my evaluation and embed it onto my blog. It also helped me in uploading my Teacher Feedback which I recieved and could easily view it to conclude with what I could improve on.

Slideshare: Slideshare is an online publishing platform which specificies in the publishing of power point presentations as well as word documents. I used this to display my double page spread article as I found it was quick and easy to distribute and I could download it and access it from school and home or vice versa.

Prezi: Prezi is a software service that allows the imput of ideas on a cloud-based presentation that has features such as zoom and animation to move from one idea to another. This was an enjoyable platform to use as I could present my ideas that was more visually engaging and helped make my ideas fluent and could be emphasised easily with the use of pictures and diagrams.

Glogster: Glogster is platform that enabled me to create an interactive poster online which I could then share my embedding it into my blog. I used this in my evaluation question 5 and could display my ideas into separate text boxes and add pictures to reinforce similarities and differences.

Animoto: Animoto is a platform that helped me create a video for my pitch that allowed me to add music, photographs and words altogether to emphasise my magazine idea. This was embedded into my blog and also played infront on an audience and helped represent my magazine genre more effectively.

Final Evaluation Question 7

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

TEXT ARRANGEMENT AND EDITING: 

From my draft (left) and my current fonts (right) it is clear the improvement I have made by using the effects to my advantage. Whereas I only increased the kerning of the fonts on my school magazine draft, on my current music magazine I used shadows and text height. This allowed me to have the same style of font but control the different sizes and differentiate each coverline. I also improved on changing the colour of the font to contrast each other as well as abide to the colour palette. This is shown in the light blue and dark blue contrast on my second magazine. I learnt therefore that by adding simple effects like these of Photoshop I was able to improve the appearance to suit my genre, which the shadow and sans serif font imitated well (50s/60s theme).

MISE-EN-SCENE

In terms of clothing I have improved drastically. For my school magazine no clothing was used to indicate the school magazine genre (such as a uniform etc) whereas in my draft I used this scarf to represent the American flag in my final (far right). This makes my music magazine more appealing and is then easily recognisable for the audience as it conveys the style of music artists and fashion. The black shirt for my school magazine was very simplistic and does not portray any specific social group which is needed for a music magazine. Whereas I thought long about what clothing would be appropriate for my artist profile. In the end I went for an American flag as I was trying to aim for a pin-up inspiration and think it would also correlates well with the colour palette of red white and blue which I wanted to achieve.

However for all I learnt that the most successful magazines cut out their artists in order to get a clean and finished look to the cover. Therefore all images are cut out but I learnt from the tutorial (see previous post) on how to refine the edges more effectively by using the magic wand tool. By selecting the background and then refining edges it enables the selective tool on the hair line to be more accurate and realistic, especially when the masthead was placed behind her. Whereas in my draft, I used the polygon tool only and manually selected the edges of my subject. This was ineffective as some edges were straight and did not look natural; the process also took up a considerable amount of time which was not efficient.

MAGAZINE TERMS

I think I have improved throughout the progression of looking at several magazines and really analysing what makes a sucessful house style. For example, in my preliminary magazine the font size for the listing of the numbers, the sub title and the draw in text was considerably large. This made the contents page look empty and would easily put the audience off as it looked amateur and not full of enough information. Whereas on my final contents page this improved drastically. You can see that the font size is drastically smaller which allowed me to fit in more content. I learnt that I must include more content in order for it to visually appear more appealing. I also added bold and colour to the sub-titles to each feature here which made it stand out more. I also think my choice of font improved as I think that the serif font used for the information was more modern and look good when reduced in size. Whereas using a sans serif font for the information (on the right) made it appear more bulky and less professional. Therefore I only used sans serif font for the sub-heading here to conform to my 50s/60s era of my magazine and contrasted well with the more modern and present day font. There is also considerable difference in the amount of information given for each page number. For my draft I tended to use rhetorical questions and exclamatory sentences to engage my reader. However I learnt to balance this by making page subject interesting by using persuasive techniques such as alliteration "rebel rider" to make my content appear more interesting.

I also learnt the importance of magazine features such as pull-quotes. I adopted a pull-quote in my double page spread between my article to show that this was an interesting topic raised by my artist. This was important as it meant that my reader was more likely to read the article. I did not use any pull-quotes on my draft which I learnt afterwards could have done with some.

MAGAZINE SHOTS

I learnt the variety of different shots of my subject was important to engage the reader otherwise it would look repetitive and uninteresting. On my draft I had only decided to use mid-shots which allowed my audience to see the body language and emotions of my character. However, I improved from this on my final product by using a long-shot on my contents so that the personality of my artist was conveyed better and my audience would be able to form a bond with them. For example, on the left is from my draft. This was one of several mid-shots but the only thing varied was the camera angle to appear like a natural polaroid shot which I had scanned in afterwards and edited the picture into it. Whereas on the right, I incorporated the long-shot to reinforce the representation of my artist that she is innocent and sweet.

APPLYING GENERIC CONVENTIONS AND MANIPULATING THEM

For me personally, the advancement I had achieved in terms of creating generic conventions in my draft to then applying these conventions but then manipulating them for the genre of the music magazine was very significant. Like what has already been raised, the typography for my draft was bland and was suitably laid out but did not have any extreme interest to it. Whereas in my final product I learnt that my adopting more interesting fonts such as Art Deco style and hand-drawn style I was able to have a more unique magazine that would be niche on the current market. This was evident in simple features such as the developing in my border lines, such as on my contents page. Whereas I had only used a thin plain black line for my draft I used it in the same systematic way but changed it to light blue to match my house style and had a thinner width to match the Art Deco. There is a clear difference from the unmatching lines from my draft on the right, to the neat and clear line dividers on my final product. (See below)

Another convention which I had manipulated was my own house style through the use of selective colour and photo filter on my final product. On my draft I did not use any selective colour or photo filters so it is clear that the cover is very bland and that the photo does not balance well with the text. The only surface editing that I did to the picture was increase the saturation and levels to improve brightness and more vivid colour. However this does not entirely bring the photo out alongside the text. Whereas on my final product, I manipulated the selective colour so that the reds changed to a slightly hot pink/red and the dark blues to become a lighter shade of blue. The application of a photo filter then supplied a consistant tone across the all font colours as well as the picture so that they were fluent in their colour balance. This progress enabled my final product to have a professional look and made my colour palette more effective to match my genre. Here is my final product alongside my draft:

There is a clear distintion in the tone. My draft is certainly more neautral and does not stand out in comparison to my final product.

Technology Skills: Cutting Out

In this lesson I looked at several Youtube videos for the most appropriate and easy to follow tutorial so I can use it for improving the edges of my images. I found this particular tutorial which I think was best and noted down the appropriate sequencinused this g to use it in a simpler form. For improving my images and cutting out which evidently needed improving from the feedback I have researched this tutorial to allow me to have a more accurate cut on my images. Here is a step by step visual guide using print screens to show how I used the technique on my front cover. I will continue to use this technique on my contents as well as my double page spread. I have used an example photo here to show the process:

Teacher Feedback and Evaluation: Draft

As Draft Feed Back Sheet Sian

In terms of my cover, the issue raised was that the actual editing of my main image has remainders of a black outline which makes it appear less realistic. To over come this issue I have decided to retake the photographs on a plain background so it will enable me to cut out the person more effectively as well as neatly.

My contents also need several tweaks in order to produce a sufficient professional look. Firstly, my header on my contents needs further to the left of the page rather than being ambiguous in the middle as it distracts from the central image. In terms of the central image I need to reduce the size of the person so that it does not touch the contents header or come alongside it depending on the preference in the re-editing stage. My subheadings also need to be aligned with the page numbers so that it is more balanced and so there is no negative space above the page numbers. Personally, I also feel that more additions need to be made amount of text as I feel there is not enough text to fill the page and thus fit appropriately around different modes. The bold highlights that I used on the central features also need to be adapted to fit the colour palette from my front cover so that it represents my house style further. For my main image on my contents I also agree with feedback that it should be changed from black and white as it does not suit my genre. The coloured photo should represent the tone and style like other images used on my double page spread and cover. 

For my double page spread I firstly needed to adapt the kerning of the text "The new girl in town" as it may be too difficult to read especially with the shadow effect which may need to be edited to a lighter shade of grey. The top third of my page also is seperated into a panel area which needs to be shortened so it appears as if it is a constant reel of photos of outtakes. This will also add the characterisation of my artist and so my target audience can form a relationship through her fun and happy style. I will also retake my photos in order to achieve more angles and different looks to my artist. In terms of my text I also need to make sure that the columns of text are equal so I will achieve this by using a grid formation whilst editing to achieve a presice measurement. To also improve this I need to use a pull-quote in between the columns of text in order to draw in my reader more as well as making the text more digestable. To ensure that my artist profile is maintained I need to make sure I also add at the end of the text information about her latest single which is being promoted in the article.

Evaluation Questions: Full Summary

Evaluation Questions Final

Peer Evaluation & Feedback

In order:
• Activity 1: Music King Magazine, PM Magazine, Muse Magazine, The Beat Magazine, PopHeart self evaluation
• Activity 2: Garage, Indigo, 
• Activity 3: Pop Heart peer evaluation feedback

Evaluation feedback from peers for my magazine:

Becky's evaluation of PopHeart:

Jack's evaluation of PopHeart:

Peer feedback evaluation and summary
From the evaluation of my peers it is evident that my shooting material must be appropriate to the genre and focus specifically on the target audience of my magazine. I have decided to resolve this issue I will carry out a new model and photoshoot to adapt it to appease my target audience. I will do this by using a genuine American flag so that my american theme is fully implemented and that the new model will also suit my artist profile by being young and stylish.
Another issue which was raised was that I have not used a lot of variety of typography and font sizes. I could correct this by adding one more style font or lettering which is completely different to the serif font which I used reoccuringly on the cover. I think the problem is I used the same font but adapted the kerning and text width so it would give the illusion of different styles. Therefore I would need to change this so my magazine could also fit the conventions of other magazines such as Billboard who use two or three different style fonts but can then elaborate on them by using techniques like I have done such as adapting the kerning. I also need to add more text to my Contents page as it has been raised that it is too spacious and therefore might put off my target audience as there is not a sufficient contents to the magazine prize on the cover. To improve my Contents also I will also change the fonts to fit further around the full length image to fill the page layout more and reduce the negative space. Personally, I think that the manipulation of my photographs can also be improved if instead of using the lassoo tool to erase it through a reverse gradient system so that even the lines of hairs on my artist will be visible and look more realistic.

Draft: Cover, Contents & Double Page Spread

DRAFT COVER:

DRAFT CONTENTS:

DRAFT DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD:



Masthead: Experimentation

(In order)

1. 

POP: Hand written font with outer glow with thick spread and 0% opacticy. Pattern over lay used with scale 1000% to achieve 3D look. This Inner glow used to define blue against black outer glow.

HEART: Franlin Gothic Demi font used with inner glow and 90% spread to achieve a soft inner line (white). Outer glow of black with 90% spread to achieve smooth outline. Hot pink used as font colour.

2.

POP: Bebas font used with close kerning and dark blue colour. 100% spread of black outer glow to make it stand out. Pattern overlay used to achieve 3D/shine look with 1000% spread with a vivid light overlay.

HEART: Market Deco font used with a dim red as font colour. Inner glow of white used and outer glow of black used for retro effect.

3.

POP: Hand written font used with pink colour. Pattern overlay used with 1000% scale to achieve 3D/shine look. Slightly thicker inner glow of 40% spread to make the outer glow more distinguishable. Outer glow of 90% to achieve smooth finish line.

HEART: Market Deco font used with dim red as font colour. Only outer glow of 95% black spread.

4.

POP: Hand written font with outer glow with thick spread and 0% opacticy. Pattern over lay used with scale 1000% to achieve 3D look. This Inner glow used to define blue against black outer glow.

HEART: Market Deco font used with a dim red as font colour. Inner glow of white used and outer glow of black used for retro effect.

Digital Mock-up: Pop Heart Cover, Contents and Spread layout

COVER 

CONTENTS

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

COVER, CONTENTS AND DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD ANALYSIS:

I think this impression of my desired cover look to my magazine will appeal to my target audience of young adults between the ages of 16-24 as the interesting image of the cover will make them curious about my new music magazine. I used my three colour palettes of red blue and white to use as a house-style onto my contents page and double page spread. This consistant theme will give my magazine a balanced style to it and will also make this issue more recognisable on the market since the colours are all bold and compliment each other well. I chose for the central cover line that the 'X' in 'Sophia Fox' will be a descender to the other text as it is more feminine and connotates the signing of a kiss. I may have to adapt one of the three in the colour palette on my coverlines because the outcome of my image may have a different tone to it which I think will then match another colour such as red. This colour scheme will appeal to my primary audience of females as well as lesser male majority readers too because of the blue and red which can be considered unisex.

I chose the text within my contents to build around the image in the central third as it gives it a more stylish look and shows to my audience that my cover artist, Sophia Fox, is the unique selling point of this issue. I chose to have a heart implimented at the side of my masthead 'CONTENTS' to convey a cute feel to the magazine and will also appeal to my primary audience of females.

I used an italic font in lower case above my central title 'SOPHIA FOX' on the double page spread to set the context of the magazine. My columns will be initiated on both pages on the bottom half alongside one image of my cover artist to give balance and it will also be more simplistic. Also I will have my text black on the white background which makes it more appealing when reading and so my audience will not have any difficulty reading it.