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?

When Looking back at my preliminary task and comparing the front cover of my school magazine (right) to the front cover of my music magazine (left), I can see how much I have improved and developed my skills. When I was given the task of creating a school magazine I didn't produce the right amount of planning of which I made when creating my music magazine. For example, planning of the layout and text content of the magazines which left me no choice but to plan as I created my pages. Also, I did not manage my time wisely with the School magazine which resulted in the contents page being extremely rushed.
Photography: I really liked the image featured on my school magazine as it had a huge impact on the page and represented the school very well. Also with my music magazine I really liked the image, it suited the style, the genre and attracted the TA. I also planned the shoot, and organised the appearance of the model in order to achieve a suitable image for the front cover. I also had several photo shoots in order to create more of a selection of images which was very use full as I could select the perfect image out of a huge selection. I also went to see a couple of bands play live, so I could feature images of live bands, which was asked of by my TA.

Layout: I didn't explore many layouts for my school magazine, due to lack of planning and poor time management. However, with my music magazine I created 2 plans for each page, my front cover, my contents and double page spread. I trialled and tested each plan but rejected some as the ywere unprofessional or messy etc.

Fonts: With my original preliminary task, I explored a whole range of fonts, however, the fonts I chose were very unprofessional and unattractive. I also only used way too many types of font throughout the front page and contents page. However, with the music magazine, I reduced the number of different fonts, I also introduced the design and fonts to a focus group in order to choose
the right font and found a suitable colour scheme which attracted the TA.

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

Hardware, I was familiar with the Apple Mac Computer as I have one, however using some of the programs on them was slightly tricky. I learnt that the Apple Macs are a lot easier to use when editing magazines as the programs on them are compatible with the user needs. I also learnt how to use the camera's in school to record my TA feedback, and for some of my images font on the magazine. These were very useful as they were portable and produced great images.

Photoshop: I was already very familiar with photoshop as i have needed to use if for my other courses, however I leant a few techniques when perfecting images and changing the file types. I also discovered how download new brushes and fonts off a website called www.brusheezy.com and www.dafont.com . I used these brushes on my background and the fonts for my mast head and headings.

In Design: Like Photoshop, I was very familiar with the program However this programme was really helpful as it enabled me to compose my pages, also, I was able to explore fonts through this program which was very useful as it gave me a variety of fonts to use in my magazine to give it a professional look.

I feel I have learnt a lot as I had never created a magazine before, however I feel I learnt more about the positioning and the names of the features on a magazine.

Software and Websites: I used www.brusheezy.com and www.dafont.com to gather some more brushes and fonts which I used on my pages, I also used www.flickr.com a website which you can upload images to, I uploaded a few of my images and annotated them, which I had never done before, I also produced a slideshow using Microsoft PowerPoint and uploaded them to a website called www.slideshare.net, this website allowed be to copy the HTML and post my slideshow on the my blog, another tool in which I had never used

5 How did you attract/address your audience?

I have annotated my pages to answer the question, Click the images to enlarge

4 Who would be the audience for your media product?

My target audience will be aimed mostly at males with a passion for rock/indie bands. The age group I have chosen are teenagers+ (18-25). As I am aiming my magazine at a thin range of age groups, I will sell less copies, however, I will have to plan my magazine so that it suites the life style of all the different ages that fall between 18-25. The TA will enjoy the genre 'rock' and will be fans of such bands as, Enter Shikari, Foo Fighters, All time low and Young guns. These bands fall into the category of rock and indie. My Ta will also be interested in up and coming bands and enjoy reading reviews on albums and gig reviews of not-so-popular bands such as Gallows, The Blackout and My passion. My TA will enjoy going to see bands play live and will use MySpace to search for gigs and events. They will love hanging out with friends and listening to rock music. As well as having a massive interest in all things rock related, the TUNE reader will enjoy other forms of entertainment such as films and comedy series.

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

I researched a few different distribution companies and found that the Bauer Media Group were publishing two of my rival magazine companies, Kerrang! and Q. Since I know that the Bauer Media Group are distributing magazines of similar genre I feel that they would be a perfect distributing company for my magazine. I looked a little closer at the Bauer Media Group I discovered that it has grown into a worldwide publishing company, publishing 282 magazines in over 15 countries. As well as this, Bauer also owns several TV and radio stations as well as its own radio station. It also has links to ticketing websites such as www.aloud.com which connects to live music shown throughout my magazine. Here I could sell copies at the Gigs and Festivals as well as advertising my magazine over the radio and TV.

I would distribute my magazine in a similar way to my competitors. I would start by creating my magazine, I would have to put together the pages by creating different articles and features, the magazine would then need to be proof read, in order to remove any mistakes/errors with in the magazine. The editor would also need to check the magazine and finalise everything. It would then send the mag to be printed and distributed by Bauer Media Group. At this stage I will be able to decide where I would want the magazine distributed to. It would be sold in supermarket stores (such as Tesco & Sainsburys) as these are two very popular supermarkets and small independent newsagents. We may also distribute over the web in order to appeal to the international reader. This would be useful as it is making good use of new technology and would reduce costs of distributing to distant locations.

2 How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Above is an image I have taken (on left) as part of the initial photo shoot for my magazine. On the right there is a picture of a previous issue of Kerrang! (who is a main competitor of my magazine Tune). The main image on the cover of the Kerrang! magazine is the singer and lead guitarist of Greenday, which can be determined by the anchorage text. The image I have taken of my model is in fact the main image for my front cover, as I think it is an ideal image to use in order to show how my magazine represents particular social groups and it fits in well with the style and genre of the music.

In both of these images, the costume used is not very visible. However, of what we can see they are similarly dressed. Both are wearing t-shirts of which match the colour of their hair. Both have brightly coloured hair, and heavy make-up which fits in with the grungy theme of the magazine.

The two images are very similar as both the artists have a very similar facial expression and are both holding their instruments. Also the two images are quite dark. The composition of the pictures are maybe the most similar, both of the artists are looking away to the left and have been shot in medium long range.

1 In what ways do your media product use, development or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The title of the magazine: The title of the magazine is "Tune". This has several meanings which links to the style of the magazine and the genre of the music within. The first meaning relates to tuning a guitar, which is essential for rock artists and guitarists, the second meaning describes a song, people often shout 'tune' when a familiar song plays at a club or gig, this links to live concerts and audiences which are strong elements in my magazine.

Mise-en-scene of images: All of the images throughout my magazine relate to music and the rock genre I have chosen. All of the images also relate to one-another due to the the colours used or the photographic techniques within them. A few of my images were taken at live concerts which really helped the images and mag seem more professional. This kind of photography is common in music magazines similar to mine, such as Kerrang and MOJO as live music is an important element. Also the lighting and composition of the images used are important in order to make them seem more professional, more visually entertaining and so they relate and follow a scheme throughout the magazine.

Artists: The artists featured in my magazine all represent the attitudes associated with the genre of music magazine I have chosen. with the use of clothing and stance, they suit the rock type genre. In the live concert images, the bands are wearing typical clothing, due to it not being a photo-shot the artists are also a lot more natural looking. These images are very similar to the images found in Kerrang Etc.

Title font and style: For my masthead, I have used the font "28 days later". This text is ripped and Goth like which fulfils the genre of the magazine. The masthead is the largest font on the page as this will attract peoples attention. I have also used the font "impact" a bold font with a lot of impact! Using a different font makes the masthead stand out from the rest which is also a bonus. I used the two fonts as they're both very easy to read and they fulfil the style of the magazine.

Music genre and how your magazine suggests it: On the front page there are two images of like event photography. This instantly suggests to views that live music is included and that it plays a lead role. Looking at the appearance of the artist featured on the cover, we can see they represent the rock culture and the main target audience can relate to this.

Visit Flickr to view my annotated front cover.

Target Audience

Here are some of the paint brush samples I downloaded from the internet, I used these paint brushes on the images in my magazine to blent the images into the background.

Here is my updated Titles page, here I have chosen a select few colors that fall into the color scheme. I have also chosen my favorite two fonts, depending on the genre, the most professional looking and the font that would suit my magazine best. I feel that white will be the best for my mast head color as it will have a huge contrast with the background image.

This is my first plan for my double page spread. I really like the layout, however I feel that the left page is a bit messy. I also think that the question's box is too small compared to the answers. I do however like the flash, "We play metal really really loud". I think it adds diversity to the page and it attracts the viewers eye. Nevertheless, I have rejected this plan as the plan shown bellow, looks more professional, it looks simple and clear.

This is my second plan for my double page spread. I chose this over the plan above as it follows the design of an existing mag double page spread, which clearly shows that it looks professional. I also feel the left page focuses on the band slightly more. Also the questions and answers boxes are the same width which better as I will be able to fit more information on the page.

This is my first plan for my Contents page. Here you can see where I will position the pictures, the text and the title. I like this layout, however I feel there isn't enough room for the 'list of page headings and page numbers'. This being the most important section of the page, the focus is taken away due to the list of artists and pictures. I also feel that the pictures are positioned in the wrong place. The pictures should be placed next to the 'list of page headings and numbers', like shown bellow. Despite all of these I like the list of artists featured as this will attract readers and make then to read about them.

This is my second plan for my content, again I feel this layout is more simple and professional. I also like the positioning of the pictures as they relate to the page numbers and the pages that can be found with in the magazine. However I was disappointed as I could not find a space to write about the artists that can be found within the mag. On the other hand, I have been able to give the contents a larger section of the page, which is beneficial as it is the most important section.

This is the picture I chose for the main image on the front cover. I chose this as it relates the the style, the genre and the theme of the magazine. I also like the composition as the artist, shown within the mag, is looking towards the left and not directly towards the camera, which could be argued that it takes away the drama and impact of the image, however the image has followed a similar style as none of the images feature the artists facing directly into the camera, which takes away the personality and the connection with the audience, which almost make the readers want to find out more. I also like how the artist shown is using props, like the microphone to symbolize music. I didn't do a lot of editing to this image as the lighting was perfect, not too dark that the artist himself is hard to see but enough so the text which will be written on top will have a great contrast.
This image is shown on my double page spread, I chose to remove all color as the text that will be written on top of the image would have clashed and made the text very hard to read. I also darkened the contrast using curves as the image was too light. Finally I used a brush found on the internet to create the barbed pattern at the bottom the of the image so that it blends with the page and follows the style of the magazine.

Here is a similar image that is found on the left page of my double page spread. I did exactly the same to the image shown above, I used curved to increase the contrast and I removed the color so that the text, that will be placed above, will be easier to read.

This image can be found on the contents page. I didn't remove the color as the color actually followed the color scheme. However I did use the burn tool around the left side of the image and the dodge tool around the right of the image. I also used the paint brush tool to create the barbed effect which follows a theme which can be found in most of the images.

Here you can see the images I edited using photoshop.

For this image I used the burn tool to create the darkened stripes and textured brushes on the image. I also used the paint brush tool change the color of the image, I used pink which followed the color scheme. I used tool such as levels, curves and lighting and contrast to alter the contrast and the brightness of the image.

Here I have taken an image I edited earlier on and applied the flare like brush to the bottom right of the picture, so that it blends with the mag background. However I didn't use this image in my final mag as i found the image looked better with out the flare.

Here you can see my background image for my double page spread. I used the flare like paint brush to create the intense color at the bottom right of the background. The problem I have found with this is the text that will be layered on top clashes with the color and makes the text very hard to read. To solve this is I placed an image on top of the flare, but below the text.

Front cover plans and layouts

This is my second idea, I decided to alter the bacckground, I used the star as it was featured in an existing magazine, I also thaught it suited the style of the magazine. The text and colour scheme will not change, pink, black, white and grey (explained bellow). However I rejected this plan as it didn't have much structure and I could not find a space for the main background image.
This is my first plan for my music magazine cover. The text for the Mast head will be, white and the font style will be '28 days later' a cracked Goth like font which relates to the genre on magazine. For the text body, I will use a mixture of colors such as, pink, white and grey to give the mag some colour, the text will be in the font style of 'impact' a bold powerful font. I will have 3 images on my cover, two live images of bands and an image of a local band, all of which feature within the magazine. The colver will follow a strict colour scheme of pink, grey, black and white. This will also be the main colour scheme for the contentce and double page spread.

Masthead designs

I will adjust the colour of the text depending on the colour scheme of my magazine cover.

I think the CRACKED font is the best as it symbolizes loud dangerous music. I think the font suited my style of magazine as i am aiming to achieve a rock themed mag.

I choose the name of my magazine by looking through 'technical' terms related to music. I found a couple of terms which I likes such as 'Eco' and 'Voce', I felt that Tune suited the style of music the best.

My Music magazine photos

This pic is too dark, however I could use Photoshop to lighten it.

This photo also shows the band The Dead String Brothers. I like the worms-eye view angle of this shot as dominates the guitarist over the viewers giving him power. I also like the contrast and depth of Field between the guitarist, the singer and the drummer.

A picture taken at Tingewick Hall 2009, the picture here shows the lead singer of the band Two Fingers Of Fire Water. The composition is accurate however I could lighten and rotate the image to make it suitable of my cover.

This is a picture of Richard Ashcroft playing at Stowe School 2009, I like the colours used here as the blue shines down on Richard illuminating him from the backdrop. I will crop the left of the image as this is disrupting the balance of the image.

This is a picture of the lead singer (Joel Pott) from the band Athlete, Again the lighting here is very vibrant which makes the picture stand out from the background, however it is unclear who the singer is and from what band.

Text

Relevant Information about written content for our covers

Anticipated Albums

Vampire Weekend-Contra, 12/1/09

Editors-In this light and on this evening, 19/1/10

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club-Beat the devil's Tattoo, 9/3/10

Linkin Park, 2010

Metro Station, 2010

Panic! At The Disco, 2010

(NME music awards take place in London in February 2010).

Rage Against The Machine, Number 1 Christmas single.

All Time Low, Young Guns, The Blackout and My Passion feature on the Kerrang! and Relentless energy Tour, 2010.

Analyzing the leading music magazine pages.

View more presentations from Chenderit School.

Target Audience

Here are the target audiences for similar music magazines:

kerrang! Magazine: "Individually minded, independent of thought and musically experienced, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty."

Q Magazine: "Open minded experience seekers, the Q audience don’t define themselves by the music they listen to. Music is an important passion, but their love of music will never be to the detriment of their other passions, such as film, sport and comedy."

MOJO Magazine: "Discerning and passionate music aficionados, the MOJO audience is predominately male (72%) and affluent (36% AB). These heavy consumers of music see their passion as discovery without boundaries, genre and decade being secondary to quality."

My target audience will male with a passion for rock/indie bands. The age group I have chosen are teenagers+ (18-25). As I am aiming my magazine at a thin range of age groups, I will sell less copies, however, I will have to plan my magazine so that it suites the life style of all the different ages that fall between 18-25.
A few facts about my target audience:
What do they drink? Alcohol, tea, coffee
How do they travel? Cars or public transport
Are they fashionable? Yes
What genre of music do they enjoy? Rock, metal, indie, electronic rock.
What films/TV do they enjoy viewing? Comedy, horror, sports.
Favorite locations? pub/club, with friends.
I have chosen a target audience of the ages 18-25, who are laid-back, funny, intelligent, fashionable and enjoy most types of rock related music.

Media studies magazine development.
Rock Mags:

Q magazine
A Different Take On Music
Q is a music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, with a circulation of 130,179 as of June 2007. Q was first published in 1979. Originally was to be called Cue (as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play), but the name was changed so that it wouldn't be mistaken for a snooker magazine. Another reason, cited in Q's 200th edition, is that a single-letter title would be more prominent on newsstands.

Kerrang magazine
Live life loud
Kerrang! was first published on 6 June 1981. During the 1980s and early 1990s the magazine placed many thrash and glam metal acts on the cover (like Mötley Crüe, Slayer, Bon Jovi, Metallica, Poison, Testament, Venom) but later discarded them when grunge acts such as Nirvana rose to fame.

Mojo magazine
Mojo is a popular music magazine published by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Mojo was first published on 15 October 1993. Often criticised for its frequent coverage of classic rock acts such as The Beatles and Bob Dylan.

Other magazines.
Classic Rock is a British magazine dedicated to the radio format of classic rock, published by Future Publishing, who are also responsible for its "sister" publication Metal Hammer. Although firmly focusing on key bands from the 1960s through early 1990s. It recently published its 100th issue and now has a higher circulation than the NME.

Raw Magazine was founded in the summer of 1988. Producers came together to create Metal Hammer magazine having split from Kerrang! The first issue went on sale on August 31 of that year as a fortnightly publication and steadily grew to become a serious rival to the more established Kerrang!. Rock Hard was one of the first songs released by the Beastie Boys, released by record label Def Jam on 12" in 1984. The song contains samples from the AC/DC song "Back in Black"; the Beastie Boys used this sample without legal permission.

Ray Gun was an American alternative rock-and-roll magazine, first published in 1992 in Santa Monica, California. The result was a chaotic, abstract style, not always readable, but distinctive in appearance. The cutting-edge advertising, musical artists and pop culture icons spotlighted were typically ahead of the curve.

Final pages

This is my front cover for my school magazine. Here you can see the image of my classmate and the images of the kids used as a background. I got a dozen chenderit students to run down the hill screaming at me while I took their picture. I used a variety of fonts here, cracked, impact, and georgia. I used red and white for the text as it relates to the school colors and it is easy to read. I have placed my mast head in the centre in-front of the image, I really wanted the text behind the arms of the kids, for this I would have had to cut the arms from the image then placed them directly over the old arms of the original image.

This is my contents page, for my school magazine. I created the background, which I am most pleased with, using photoshop, I stared by coloring the the background grey and used artistic tools, mosaic, to create the grid style. I then placed a text box over the grid and typed my text. I used white and red which relate to the front page, the school colors and they are easy to read with the black background, I created the black background by editing the text box and filing it in with black. I then created a glow, in back which fades the black out. I did a similar thing with the contents title. I created a glow 'red' and increased the radius to 3 cm.

Here is one of the images used on the front cover, I have used my classmate to pose as a Britain's got talent winner. I have photoshopped her face using curves, levels, brightness and contrast, the plaster tool and the dodge tool. I also used the paint brush to bring out the red in her cheeks. I have placed her over the top of a background created my using 'artistic tools' and selecting mosaic. I also used the gradient tool to create the circular patterns in the top and bottom corners. I blurred around the face, emphasizing the point of interest, which is her face.

School Magazine photos

This is the image I photoshopped and used as the Front cover of my magazine, I used curves, levels and the dodge tool to increase the contrast and to ensure the focus is on the children rather than the background.

I like the image as the kids are wearing the Chenderit school logo, which I brightened using the dodge tool, the image has also got a nice composition, almost like an arrow, which leads the eye to certain pieces of text. The image has a very strong impact on the front cover but does not disturb the reader from the text or make the page too messy.

This is one of the pictures I rejected from my final magazine cover and contents page as I had taken better shots which were composed slightly better. I found also that I had a similar image which had more drama and impact.

Using Photoshop; Image manipulation

This is my second montage of image modification using photoshop. I have focused on the contrast of the images, using curves, levels and brightness and contrast. I have also adapted the artistic styles.

I have experimented with a picture on photoshop, I have used a few artistic layers such as, pastels, sketch and neon glow. I have also liquified the image and removed the color to create a grey skate image.