Candidate Information

Candidate Name:

Sarah Biswell

Candidate Number:

 5016

Centre Name:

Wilmington Grammar School for Girls

Centre Number:

61119

Final Products

Evaluation Question 7

Look back at your preliminary task. What have you learnt in the progression from it to the full product?


From the preliminary task to the music magazine, I have learnt a lot of new skills and improved at those I already knew.

Time management

When making my preliminary magazine, I found that towards the end of the deadline I rushed to complete it as I had not put enough work into the product in the first few weeks. I took that into consideration when making my music magazine and managed my time much more efficiently. I found that it was most time efficient to develop my product and then blog about what I had done rather than leave the blogging all to the end; this also kept me organised and meant I knew what I was working on each lesson.

Developing skills

Throughout the course I have learnt many new skills. This includes my researching skills as I believe research for my music magazine was much more thorough than it had been for my school magazine. I benefitted from this as I constantly knew how I wanted my magazine to look from ideas from my research. Furthermore, on my first magazine I researched magazines but did not compare them very well to find similarities and traits that were constantly used. On my music magazine I compared my research to discover common fonts and layout styles which helped me develop my magazine. I have also found out a lot more about magazine designs and the different styles (e.g. rocky/ pop) which I used to create the right image for my own magazine.

I have also learnt about new computer software. When making my preliminary task, I was introduced to blogger, photoshop and indesign. As these programmes were very new to me, I found them quite hard to use and remember all the different features, however, when I began my music magazine I was much more confident in using them and have learnt different features, which I believe is reflected in my work. Using blogger I have learnt how to make labels and add animations, amongst other things while in photoshop I have learnt how to make a magazine and add text etc. rather than making it on indesign. Out of all of the new computer progammes, I believe I have learnt the most about photoshop. One of the tools I have found the most useful and used throughout is the lasso tool as this allows you to change/remove different parts of the image, without the rest of it being affected. I have therefore used it to change lighting in parts of an image, remove backgrounds and change eye colour.

Throughout the course of making my magazines, I took various photographs which I used a canon eos 7D camera for. I was knew to this camera which has lots of features and so found it very confusing but by the time I did photoshoots for my music magazines I was much more familiar with it and so took better pictures where I focused on the lighting/shadowing and angles of the image. This made the final outcomes more professional. Furthermore, I planned various outfits, rather than using just one as I did on my preliminary task which was successful as after looking back I decided some of the outfits did not suit the model, while others looked much more appropriate.

Evaluation Question 6

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

Evaluation Question 5

How does it attract/ engage your audience?

The target audience for my magazine is 15-25 year old females and so I have included various features throughout the magazine to attract and engage this audience.

Title Page

Throughout the magazine, I have contiunued with the same colour scheme as this is attractive to the target market and makes the magazine consistent.

Contents Page

Double Page Spread

(click on the images to enlarge)

Evaluation Question 4

Who will be the audience of your media product?

            

Evaluation Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product & why?

From this research I have discovered that Bauer Media is a large, well-known company that operates in magazine and radio, which makes it appropriate for publishing my magazine. If a large company like this publishes it, it suggests people will give it the benefit of the doubt and purchase it because they know a large company has invested in it and therefore believes it is as good as their current magazines (kerrang and Q). Decode magazine will also be on the same level as these magazines because they have the same publisher and so will have a high reputation. Furthermore, Bauer media has over 80 different media brands so if Decode magazine is unsucessful, the business will not suffer from a loss as it has other brands it can fall back on if necessary.

IPC media is one of the UK's leading consumer magazine publishers which makes it appropriate because it operates within the country which is where Decode magazine will be primarily sold. As with Bauer media, IPC has many brands and so should not be at a disadvantage if Decode magazine was unsuccessful. In addition, the publisher owns NME music magazine and so is already associated with music magazines. From research I discovered that IPC's target audience includes two thirds of UK women which is appropriate as the target for my magazine is 15-25 year old females. However, this publisher may be inappropriate as it mainly publishes hobby and lifestyle magazines and therefore Decode would be associated with this.

Conde Nast is also a large publishing company and so will benefit Decode magazine as the business is doing well financially and has a good reputation which will encourage potential customers to buy the new magazines they publish. However, Conde Nast predominantly publishes lifestyle and fashion magazines and so it is unclear if a music magazine would be successful if published by this company. Furthermore, Conde Nast is a worldwide business while the target market for my magazine is in the UK which suggests this is not the ideal business as it will not sell if introduced to other countries as they are not the correct target market. As Conde Nast is a worldwide business it would probably not be interesting in a product that is aimed at quite a small market.

Overall, I believe the best suited company to publish Decode magazine would be Bauer Media because it has the most experience in music magazines and is based in the UK so will be interested in magazine with a UK target market. Furthermore, Bauer Media is a large company and has a high reputation which will encourage people to buy their products; Decode magazine will have high expectations as it will automatically be associated with Q and Kerrang magazines.

Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Evaluation Question 1

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

I have researched various different magazines in order to make my magazine realistic and obtain typical magazine features. The name of my magazine is ‘decode’. I believe this name would be easily remembered as it quite short; the word means to transform something into an understandable form which is suitable for a magazine title as rumours and secrets are revealed and put straight in magazines. The font I used is ‘trajan pro' which is quite bold with serifs but also looks sophisticated, making it the most obvious text on the cover. The title is situated in the top left hand corner as my research showed this was a very common position for titles – it covers the first two thirds. The text about articles is mainly shown down the left hand third of the page as the image goes around the second and third. The angle of the photo, however, means more background can be seen at the top right hand side of the page, where I have put more text about the articles.

I have used four fonts overall. The title and name of the model are in different fonts to the other text on the cover as they are the main, most important parts of the page. Beneath the name of the model ‘Elle’ I have quoted her as this was commonly done on the magazines I researched. The other text is in a range of sizes so make it interesting and show which parts are the mot important.

The image I have used is of a teenage girl wearing quite a casual outfit; this consists of a black and white dress and denim jacket. The outfit colours are quite basic as I did not want it to take over the colour scheme. The main title is black, making it bold and obvious, while the sub-headings and other text on the page is grey or pink. These colours are also used on other features on the cover such as the footer and circle saying ‘exclusive interview inside’. The colours I have used are all found within the image, meaning it links together well.

For the image, I had researched magazines featuring celebrities such as Taylor Swift and Holly Willoughby and therefore wanted to use a similar looking model. The model is doing a casual, quite natural pose which consists of her looking at the camera with her hands in the pockets of her jacket. It therefore shows the magazine is not a really glamorous one but quite relaxed.

In addition, I researched different features of magazines which included a footer across the bottom, either quoting a celebrity or article and consequently decided to make my own but listing singers who feature in the magazine. I have also put the date and price of the magazine in the top right hand corner (on the magazines I researched, the position of the date and price varied so I chose this position as it was empty and looked appropriate). I also put a barcode in the bottom right hand corner of the page to make the magazine look authentic.

On my contents page I have continued with the same colour scheme and range of fonts to make the magazine consistent and show that it is all part of the same magazine. The title of the contents page is in the top right hand corner which differs from the title page; however, I found from research that the title is commonly situated in this position. Down the right hand third, I have made a grey column which lists the articles. The contents list is split into categories which would make it easier for readers to find a certain article; this feature was used in each of the contents pages I researched. The headings of in the grey column are in a bold, eroded font which makes them stand out from the rest of the text; along with the pink box around each heading, they are suceesfully the most obvious part of the column. The names of the articles are then in bold also so they are obvious and clear to read; the short description beneath tells the reader what each article contains.

Furthermore, I have inserted a picture of the magazine front cover in the top right hand corner which, from research, I found is often shown on the contents page. The main image of my contents page is in the bottom left hand corner of the page; I have removed the background to give the impression that the model is coming out of the page; though some of the photographs on the contents pages I researched had whole images, I believed removing the background made the image look more attractive and is the most common way of presenting a picture. I also decided to wirte beneath the title 'contents' a statement about subscribing to the magazine. Many music magazines do this but the way I have written it is slightly different - being under the title it would be seen immediately, rather than being written in the corner or under the contents list which I found from my research. I believe this was the ideal position for it.

My double page spread shows similar characteristics to those on the front cover and contents pages as I have used the same colour scheme throughout and continued with some fonts. The font 'trajan pro' can be seen on each page; on the double page spread I have continued to use it by writing the title 'Elle' as well as the writing in the left hand corner circle. Each of the magazine double page spreads I researched had a main image and most showed the model without the background. I therefore used this research when adding my image. The picture is on the left of the right half of the page, like the magazine I researched. However, I have also added 4 black and white photo's on the left hand page which I based on one of the magazines I had researched.

In contrast to the magazine pictures, my ones are outlined with a grey border. The black and white colour scheme stops them from taking over from the main image but the border makes them quite bold and obvious and links them all together well. Furthermore, I have added a pink circle with information about her album - this links to a similar feature I have used on the front cover, keeping the magazine consistent.

For the text on the page I have written an interview with the celebrity as these are commonly found on double page spreads; though most of the text is found on the left hand page, it continues to the other side of the main image so the text is spread right across the page. The text wraps around the image so it is not in straight columns and therefore uses the space around the image efficiently. The first letter of the interview is in a much larger font than the rest of the text to emphasise the beginning of the paragraph. I found this was used in each of the magazines I researched.

Between the interview I have added quotes from the celebrity. These quotes are found within the interview and encourage the reader to read the article. The quotes are in a larger font and pink colour. The page is otherwise black and white so the pink adds colour to the page, making it more attractive.

At the top of the left hand page, there is a short paragraph introducing the interview. However, unlike the magazines I researched, I have not put it immediately above the interview but instead it is above the black and white photographs as I believe this made the pictures look more involved in the page.

Editing double page spread

 Originally, in the top right hand corner I had written the name 'Elle' twice. However, the second word was hard to see as it went behind the models head and could therefore not be read easily. I have therefore changed the second word into a quotation saying "I say it how it is". I believe this is effective as it gives the audience an insight into the article and will encourage them to read it.



After editing my double page spread, this is the final design.

Contents Page Final Design

Making my double page spread

I have started my double page spread by inserting my main image and writing the name of celebrity 'Elle' down the side.

I have then added the black and white images in the top right hand corner but put a grey border round them to make them stand out more. The border colour can be seen in the images, meaning it all links in well.

I have written an interview for the double page spread. Looking at my research I have tried to make it as realistic as possible and have therefore began with a short paragraph in bold, introducing the interview. The questions are also in bold and a grey colour so they are not confused with the answers. I have also made the word 'Elle' smaller so it does not cover the image. In the bottom right hand corner is a circle promoting her new album (a similar feature can be seen on the front cover)

I have added quotes between the interview in pink. These quotes are found in the interview and from research I have found this feature is very common. They break up the interview and are bold to make them stand out and make the text look more interesting and realistic.

I have moved the initial paragraph from the interview above the black and white pictures to make them look more involved in the articel. I have also drawn a text box using the pen tool on photoshop (top picture) which means the text can go around the image which I have moved slightly to the left making it more centred. Without having text to the right of the main image made it look seperate from the rest of the page so I believe this has involved it more.

In the top right hand space above the main image I have written the name 'Elle' twice in bold black writing. I think this is more attractive than the previous title which was vertical as it was quite small in a large space.

Making my Contents Page

My research shows that each of the magazines had a column down one third, which I have recreated for my magazine. The left and centre thirds are in the same colour as the background of the front cover, while I have made the right hand third grey so it stands out. I used the rule of thirds on the front cover and so have continued onto the contents page.

I have then added the title 'contents' as well my main image in the bottom left hand corner. I have cut the image from the background as I found this is often done in the contents page. I have also placed an image of the front cover in the top right hand corner as Kerrang! magazine did this which I thought was a good idea and makes the contents page look realistic

I then wrote a list of articles in the grey column. I have used a font called Adobe Caslon Pro as I believe it looks similar the the title but adds variety to the page. The font can also be made bold which I have done for the name of the article, while the description is written in a regular style and in a pale grey colour, so it does not take over from the title.

I have written the featured articles (from the front cover) in first two thirds. Each title is seperated with a line to make it easier to read. Beneath the title I have added some text encouraging readers to subscribe which is in the same font as the text in the right hand column.

I decided to change the font of the numbers to match the text beside it as the original font did not link to any other font on this page.

Fonts

While making the magazine, I decided to use similar fonts to those on the front cover as I want the magazine to be consistent.

These include the font Trajan Pro which I have used for various parts of the front cover. I have also used the font 'capture it' for the word 'Elle' and the '+' sign and so have decide to use both on my contents page.

I originally wrote the headings 'featured' and the sub-headings in the font 'Capture it' as it is bold and clear like the fonts used for for titles on the magazines I have rearched. However, I decided to keep this font for the grey column only and made the font for 'featured' match the main title.

For the main title, I decided to use the same one that I used on the front cover to make it consistent and show that the contents page is from the same magazine.

Other features

I have written 4 article names under the heading 'features'. As they are the main features of the magazine I have put a star behind the numbers using the custom shape tool on photoshop. This makes the number stand out to the reader.

Next to the image of my front cover, I have written 'this week' to remind readers of the main topic of the magazine. Beneath I have written the issue number which is often seen on magazines.

Plan for Double Page Spread

Here is the design I have drawn out for my double page spread of my music magazine. 

Photographs for double page spread.

On my double Page Spread I have decided to have a main image. I have looked through the pictures I took for this magazine and decided this one would be appropriate:

The picture shows the model holding necklaces and a flower hair clip and I believe it almost looks like an album cover image. The angle of the picture means the models face is the largest part of the image while the necklaces are smaller but still a main feature. They make it unique and different to the previous images I have used which are much plainer. The jumper has a soft, casual look and the basic colours do not clash with the colour in the necklaces being held, making it appropriate. However, I do not want a background behind the model in the image so it will look like she is standing out of the page.

 I have edited the image to remove the background and also to emphasise the colour in the necklaces.

I like this feature of 'Now' magazines double page spread so have decided to make my own version, using similar pictures of my model. I will also make the images black and white and smaller than the main one so as not to take over.

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

I have used these 4 images and cropped them all so only the face can be seen. I have also edited the background so it is grey but smooth and I have then made the images black and white. This is effective as it does not take the focus off the main image but looks elegant and attractive.



This is the final series of pictures which I will put on my double page spread.