I asked people for audience feedback so that I could see how I need to improve my product so people would want to buy it. Audience feedback is important because you might think your product is good but others who are actually going to buy it might think it could be better. Asking my friends for audience feedback helped me to improve my magazine and helped me with my ideas for my final product as they didn’t just tell me it was rubbish they gave me suggestions on what I should add to it or take off it and why this would improve it.
Monday, 11 May 2009
Friday, 8 May 2009
Evaluation
Frances McGrother
Media Studies
Evaluation
My magazine doesn’t challenge the forms and conventions of a pop magazine for young teenage girls as it is very like Top of the Pops magazine. I have based my magazine on Top of the Pops magazine as I my target audience and genre were the same as that magazine. It uses colours like pink, purple and yellow which all have connotations of femininity.
Front Cover
The fonts I have used are pink, white and yellow which again have connotations of femininity and young girls like girly colours. The font I have used for my mast head is Tabitha which I made white with pink and orange on. I think it is a font that young teenage girls would like. I think it also looks like the Top of the Pops magazine masthead because it is a simple, readable font. On the front of my magazine I have used pugs such as a barcode, release date, price and the issue number so that the audience know when they are buying it. There is a banner across the bottom which tells the reader what other bands and stars are going to be in the magazine as well as the one on the main cover image. The photo I have used for my front cover has a very stereotypical teenage pop star look and looks like a front cover that you would get on magazines such as Top of the Pops.
I have put this on the front of my magazine to help sell it as young teenage girls would be attracted to it if it had a competition where they could win free signed gifts from a well known good boy band.
Contents Page
I have used the same colour theme throughout on my contents page as I have for the front cover; this is so it all matches and so it looks feminine. I have used a picture of my main cover image on my contents page as it is the main story in the magazine. I have also used photos of the other bands/artists on the front cover. I have used split my magazine into clear sections such as ‘On the cover’ and ‘News’ this is so the reader can find what they want to read quickly and easily. I have put a big advertisement for subscribing to the magazine and made it clear that it would be cheaper to do this rather than to buy the magazine every fortnight, it also gets delivered straight to their door on the day of release so they don’t have to worry about missing an issue, this would with how many copies of the magazine I would be selling each fortnight. I have used generic elements of a contents page. I had a ‘From the Editor’ section, an ‘on the cover’ section and had pictures of the main stories that would feature in my magazine. In my ‘From the Editor…’ I have written a small passage about my magazine so that I feel I am connecting with the readers of my magazine and they feel I am talking personally to them.
Double Page Spread
I have used three photos for my double page spread so that it showed the different types of poses I used in my photo shoot and because I think it looked better than just having the one photo. I have put boxes around my images as otherwise they would look like they are floating. I have used a pull quote as the main title of my double page spread; this is so the reader knows more about what the article is about. I made the word the word “bigger” bigger than the other words, bold and underlined it, I thought that this went well with the quote I had used. At the top of the right hand page I have written a small paragraph about who I am interviewing and what the interview is about, this acts as an introduction to my main article. To start my article off I have used a drop cap, which makes my article look more professional as most magazines that are sold in shops use drop caps at the beginning of their articles. I have split my article into three columns and made the text white so that it was clear on the pink background, I also tried it in black but it wasn’t as clear as it was in white.
My magazine is a stereotypical representation of a young teenage magazine for girls because of the colours I have used throughout the magazine and also the pictures I have used. My main cover image is a teen pop star and young girls who read the magazine would see her as an ideal self. Richard Dyer (1979) wrote his book ‘Stars’ where he identified the importance of a star persona, I have made a star persona of my star in my magazine as that is how I want her to be represented to the readers of my magazine.
I think that my magazine would be distributed by a conglomerate because it is a girl’s pop magazine. I think a conglomerate like BBC Publications or Front Line Productions would distribute my magazine as they already distribute Top of the Pops magazine. I think that I would have a large circulation and an even bigger readership because there isn’t many pop magazines aimed at young teenage girls anymore as they don’t produce Smash Hits magazine anymore and there is only really Top of the Pops magazine that is created for this target audience and that is only produced monthly.
The audience for my product would be 12-16 year old girls who like pop music who enjoy music by Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift as well as bands like JLS and Jonas Brothers. Ien Ang’s (1991) theory of imaginary entity, when a product is put together the producer has a stereotypical audience member for whom they create their media text for. When I put my magazine together I had a stereotypical audience member in mind as a young girl who followed fashions and loved music by young teenage stars such as Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers.
I attracted my audience to my magazine by having a bright front cover with lots of feminine colours on it. I used an ideal self image for my main image as well as having a smaller image of a boy band that could be seen as ideal partners. The “free posters inside” would attract readers to buy my magazine as they would think they are getting more for their money. My magazine is also fairly cheap at £1.80 in comparison with some of the magazines I researched into; this would also help me to attract buyers.
To create my magazine I have used a number of programmes on the computer: Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0. I used this to cut photos out using the magic wand tool, the crop tool, the magnetic lasso tool and the paintbrush tool. Once I had cut these photos out I edited them by using the healing brush so that any blemishes on the faces were no longer there, this made my images look more professional. I also made there teeth whiter and the whites of their eyes brighter by using the dodge tool. To create backgrounds on the photos I used the fill tool and the paint brush to make sure the edges were smooth. I also used the shape tools to create my banners across the bottom, the hearts in between writing on the banner. I added effects to the boxes behind my masthead to make them stand out more. To create the text on the front of my magazine I used the text tool and was able to change the colour, size, boldness and its positioning.
I also used Quark Express to design the layouts for my contents page and double page spread. I used the text tools to add text to my pages. I used the picture boxes to added picture where I wanted them, I could then add a border to the picture my changing the size of the border to 4 so the pictures didn’t look like they were floating in the middle of the page. I found a text that looked like a signiture which made my “From the Editor” section look more professional.
CamStudio was another programme I used, this was to show how I had created things on Photoshop and Quark. To take my photos I used one of the Cannon Eos, I put it on a tripod to take my photos as it kept it steadier and was easier just to press the button. I took my photos against a black background; sometimes this made them hard to cut out when their clothing was dark.
Media Studies
Evaluation
My magazine doesn’t challenge the forms and conventions of a pop magazine for young teenage girls as it is very like Top of the Pops magazine. I have based my magazine on Top of the Pops magazine as I my target audience and genre were the same as that magazine. It uses colours like pink, purple and yellow which all have connotations of femininity.
Front Cover
The fonts I have used are pink, white and yellow which again have connotations of femininity and young girls like girly colours. The font I have used for my mast head is Tabitha which I made white with pink and orange on. I think it is a font that young teenage girls would like. I think it also looks like the Top of the Pops magazine masthead because it is a simple, readable font. On the front of my magazine I have used pugs such as a barcode, release date, price and the issue number so that the audience know when they are buying it. There is a banner across the bottom which tells the reader what other bands and stars are going to be in the magazine as well as the one on the main cover image. The photo I have used for my front cover has a very stereotypical teenage pop star look and looks like a front cover that you would get on magazines such as Top of the Pops.
I have put this on the front of my magazine to help sell it as young teenage girls would be attracted to it if it had a competition where they could win free signed gifts from a well known good boy band.
Contents Page
I have used the same colour theme throughout on my contents page as I have for the front cover; this is so it all matches and so it looks feminine. I have used a picture of my main cover image on my contents page as it is the main story in the magazine. I have also used photos of the other bands/artists on the front cover. I have used split my magazine into clear sections such as ‘On the cover’ and ‘News’ this is so the reader can find what they want to read quickly and easily. I have put a big advertisement for subscribing to the magazine and made it clear that it would be cheaper to do this rather than to buy the magazine every fortnight, it also gets delivered straight to their door on the day of release so they don’t have to worry about missing an issue, this would with how many copies of the magazine I would be selling each fortnight. I have used generic elements of a contents page. I had a ‘From the Editor’ section, an ‘on the cover’ section and had pictures of the main stories that would feature in my magazine. In my ‘From the Editor…’ I have written a small passage about my magazine so that I feel I am connecting with the readers of my magazine and they feel I am talking personally to them.
Double Page Spread
I have used three photos for my double page spread so that it showed the different types of poses I used in my photo shoot and because I think it looked better than just having the one photo. I have put boxes around my images as otherwise they would look like they are floating. I have used a pull quote as the main title of my double page spread; this is so the reader knows more about what the article is about. I made the word the word “bigger” bigger than the other words, bold and underlined it, I thought that this went well with the quote I had used. At the top of the right hand page I have written a small paragraph about who I am interviewing and what the interview is about, this acts as an introduction to my main article. To start my article off I have used a drop cap, which makes my article look more professional as most magazines that are sold in shops use drop caps at the beginning of their articles. I have split my article into three columns and made the text white so that it was clear on the pink background, I also tried it in black but it wasn’t as clear as it was in white.
My magazine is a stereotypical representation of a young teenage magazine for girls because of the colours I have used throughout the magazine and also the pictures I have used. My main cover image is a teen pop star and young girls who read the magazine would see her as an ideal self. Richard Dyer (1979) wrote his book ‘Stars’ where he identified the importance of a star persona, I have made a star persona of my star in my magazine as that is how I want her to be represented to the readers of my magazine.
I think that my magazine would be distributed by a conglomerate because it is a girl’s pop magazine. I think a conglomerate like BBC Publications or Front Line Productions would distribute my magazine as they already distribute Top of the Pops magazine. I think that I would have a large circulation and an even bigger readership because there isn’t many pop magazines aimed at young teenage girls anymore as they don’t produce Smash Hits magazine anymore and there is only really Top of the Pops magazine that is created for this target audience and that is only produced monthly.
The audience for my product would be 12-16 year old girls who like pop music who enjoy music by Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift as well as bands like JLS and Jonas Brothers. Ien Ang’s (1991) theory of imaginary entity, when a product is put together the producer has a stereotypical audience member for whom they create their media text for. When I put my magazine together I had a stereotypical audience member in mind as a young girl who followed fashions and loved music by young teenage stars such as Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers.
I attracted my audience to my magazine by having a bright front cover with lots of feminine colours on it. I used an ideal self image for my main image as well as having a smaller image of a boy band that could be seen as ideal partners. The “free posters inside” would attract readers to buy my magazine as they would think they are getting more for their money. My magazine is also fairly cheap at £1.80 in comparison with some of the magazines I researched into; this would also help me to attract buyers.
To create my magazine I have used a number of programmes on the computer: Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0. I used this to cut photos out using the magic wand tool, the crop tool, the magnetic lasso tool and the paintbrush tool. Once I had cut these photos out I edited them by using the healing brush so that any blemishes on the faces were no longer there, this made my images look more professional. I also made there teeth whiter and the whites of their eyes brighter by using the dodge tool. To create backgrounds on the photos I used the fill tool and the paint brush to make sure the edges were smooth. I also used the shape tools to create my banners across the bottom, the hearts in between writing on the banner. I added effects to the boxes behind my masthead to make them stand out more. To create the text on the front of my magazine I used the text tool and was able to change the colour, size, boldness and its positioning.
I also used Quark Express to design the layouts for my contents page and double page spread. I used the text tools to add text to my pages. I used the picture boxes to added picture where I wanted them, I could then add a border to the picture my changing the size of the border to 4 so the pictures didn’t look like they were floating in the middle of the page. I found a text that looked like a signiture which made my “From the Editor” section look more professional.
CamStudio was another programme I used, this was to show how I had created things on Photoshop and Quark. To take my photos I used one of the Cannon Eos, I put it on a tripod to take my photos as it kept it steadier and was easier just to press the button. I took my photos against a black background; sometimes this made them hard to cut out when their clothing was dark.
Thursday, 7 May 2009
Bauer and IPC Research
Bauer and IPC Research
Bauer
The magazine company Bauer own music magazines Kerrang, Mojo and Q. Kerrang’s main sub genre is rock metal, Mojo’s main sub genre is rock/pop and Q’s main sub genre is rock/indie/pop, because these magazines are aimed at mainly rock music fans they are niche magazines. The three magazines cost between £2.10 and £4.10 this is a reasonable amount as they are aimed mainly at a middle aged audience and most people who buy these magazines have jobs and can afford to pay for these on a weekly/monthly basis.
The ABC Circulation figures show that; Q magazine, had a major relaunch in the autumn of 2008, they managed to make an extra 10% of its readership and gain an extra 10,000 sales. In the months July to December 2008, Q sold approximately 103,017 issues. This could result in a huge profit for the Q magazine, if they go back to selling their magazine at £3.95, like the issue in October 2008, they will make a huge profit of £406917.15 in Britain alone. Q targets its demographic audience with a reasonable price tag. With reference to the content of the magazine, Q has a house style of black and red in a serif font, which they use on every issue of the magazine. The images of indie bands such as Oasis, The Courteeners and The Arctic Monkeys that they use on the cover and in the magazine appeal to the audience as ideal selves as they have a good job and lifestyle.
Kerrang recently lost approximately 30% of their readership, a loss of over 8,000 sales in the last 12 months means that the price of the magazine is at its highest in order to regain the profit it has lost. The magazine costs £2.20. In July to December 2008 Kerrang sold 52, 727 issues. Kerrangs house style is continued throughout the magazine each week, the masthead is black with a smashed glass effect. The name Kerrang is onomatopoeia for the sound a guitar makes, rock and metal bands usually have guitarist in them so the name fits with the genre of the magazine. They also give away a free product with most issues, usually a Kerrang CD, if people like the free product they are giving away with the magazine it makes people more likely to buy the magazine and therefore attracts more readers, giving them a bigger readership.
IPC Media
IPC Media is a magazine company owned by the Time Warner Group. IPC Media own music magazines such as NME, this is an abbreviation for New Musical Express, this magazine is a huge success and even has its own music awards. The sub genre of the magazine is rock/indie/pop and it is a mainstream magazine. The magazine costs £2.20 and is aimed at 15-25 year olds.
In July to December 2008, the ABC Circulation Figures show that the NME magazine have sold 48,459 issues per month, However NME magazine have had a loss of sales over the last six months and have lost over 8,000 sales. At the moment NME are making £106609.80 which is not a bad profit, however they are loosing £17600 which is a lot of money to loose, as their over all profit per a month should be £124209.80.
IPC Media also own Guitar and Bass Magazine, this is a music magazine that costs around £3.95, it is a niche magazine aimed at audiences who like alternative pop and rock. They also own Uncut magazine which is music magazine that costs £4.30.
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Example Fonts
These are some of the fonts that I researched into that I could use for the masthead of my magazine.
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