A2 Media Blog

Hello,
 
Just checking in to say that my A2 coursework is on a separate blog. If you would like to view these posts, they will be at: http://gemsa2mediablog.blogspot.co.uk/

Music Magazine Evaluation Question 7

Music Magazine Evaluation Question 6

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

During the making of my music magazine, I used a wide range of different technologies.

The first piece of technology I used was the Mac computer, to do research for my magazine. I also used the Mac to create my magazine, by using software such as photoshop and fireworks. I realised that with these programmes, I could do alot of different things, which really helped me with my construction.

I also used the Fujifilm s2980 to take my photos with. I used a range of settings on the camera, to help me take the best photos.

I also used websites such as blogger, slide share, prezi and animoto, to show the proccess of making the magazine, and evidence for research. These were really good, as they all used different ways to present my work, making it more interesting to look at.

With out these technologies, I wouldnt have been able to make my magazine, or present my work in a suitable way.

Music Magazine Evaluation Question 5

Music Magazine Evaluation Question 4

Music Magazine Evaluation Question 3

I think that social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook would be really helpful while distributing the magazine. Due to the magazine being aimed at teenagers to people in their mid-twenties, there will be a large audience who will use these sites. This could help with the advertising of the magazine, and can also help the audience to become more involved with the magazine itself.

I also think that Bauer Media Group would be a good distributor. Bauer Media Group is currently the distributors of Q magazine, which is very close to the genre of my magazine, meaning that they would more likely be interested in mine. They are also well known distributors, and obviously already have experience with my genre, meaning they would be a great choice for the job. 

Money from my magazine could come from advertisments that would appear inside the magazine. These adverts will mostly be music related, but some could also be fashion etc.

My magazine would also be released monthly, like Q magazine, because when i did my research, i found that people rarely buy a music magazine. It would also go to many different stores such a supermarkets, music stores and newspaper agents. This is so it can be available from many different places fort he customers.

Music Magazine Evaluation Question 2

Music Magazine Evaluation Question 1

AS Media Magazine Evaluation Question 1 from gemabema

Albums

While designing my bands album cover and poster, I looked at some existing album artwork to get some ideas, and see what the general trend was. 

Some of the albums I looked at were the ones below-

Album Covers by gemabema on Polyvore

From these I saw that the designs were mostly simple, with either a simple picture or text. I also saw that they were mostly block colour with black and white.

I took this and applied it to my design for my album cover. I used a simple colours (white and yellow, as they fit in with the background image), and a plain black text with the artists and album name-

I really like the simplicity of my design, and I think it work well with the magazines layout. I also think that it fits the conventions of plain and simple, that the other albums display. 

Final Music Magazine

I have finally finished the music magazine! After long hours of work it is finally complete, and here for you to see!

Front Page-

Contents Page - 

Double Page 1- 

Double Page 2- 

Hope you like it!!

Coda

As some of you may have seen from my last post,  my magazine name is called Coda.

Coda is a musical term meaning 'the final section of musical piece: in some pieces of music, a final section that adds dramatic energy to the work as a whole, usually through intensified rhythmic activity'.

Now, although I don't know what that means, I know it's musical.

I came across this word as I was doing some research, and I really liked the name of it, so I used it! (I also saw it as a better, more unique name compared to Beat and Volume.)

So there you have it, how my magazine got it's final name!

My Drafts

Heres a link to all of my drafts that I have made. http://animoto.com/play/IGUB0g1Mrusq9RIR5WGzhQ

Music Page Layouts

I know I'm a bit late with putting this up, but I've been super busy actually making my music magazine!
These were the hand drawings I initially made for my music magazine designs, before I started to make anything. All I can say is that... it came out completely different.

 

 

 

Throughout the making of my magazine, I used these initial designs as a template, but as the magazine built up, it looked less and less like the first designs, as it just didn't work!

Watch out for my final magazine coming on my blog soon!

Action Plan 2

This is an update of my action plan.

Date	Task	Completed?
24/02/14	All research and planning complete with first draft of magazine work	Completed
10/02/14	All pictures of models taken and collected	Completed
17/02/14	Pictures chosen and edited ready for draft	Completed
10/02/14	Magazine layout ready for photos to be imported	Completed
17/02/14	Have all names for artists and magazine ready	Completed
20/02/14	Have magazine mock finished so there’s time for any changes	Completed

Some of these were done after the deadlines that I had set, but have now all been completed at this moment in time.

Photo Ideas

Here are some photo ideas that I would like to use in my photography for my magazine.

Photo Ideas by gemabema on Polyvore

These are they styles I would like to use when I take my photos. I like these ones because they are clear, and show detail. I hope the pictures come out alright!

LIIAR

LIIAR is the things that we look for in media. 

LIIAR stands for Language, Ideology, Institutions, Audience and Representation.

Language - Language refers to the terminology we use to deconstruct media texts. In magazines, we use terms such as masthead, cover lines and cover image.

Ideology - Ideologies are the values and beliefs of the magazine, what is important to them and their readers and what message they are trying to convey.

Institutions - Institutions are the companies which create media texts. They control the language, representation and ideology of their magazine.

Audience - Audiences are the general public who consume the media texts and what demographic the magazine is aimed at.

Representation - Representation is how are the groups, issues and individuals portrayed within the magazine.

Artists

The Main Artist

For my main artist, they are going to be an indie pop genre female. It didn't really matter what genre I wanted them to be, as the magazine is going to be a mix. I am basing this artist off of Lorde, as I am used to her style, and can corporate this into the magazine article.

This artist will be to attract the audience of young adults through to people in their 30's, as this is the age group my magazine is going to be aimed at.

Their fashion style is going to be modern and clean. It will be the latest trends, with the artists (models) oven twists, so she looks comfortable, and her in what she wears. This will be shown in the images of her.

The logo will also be modern and most likely black and white. This is only so it will work with anything that is put with it, and I have seen that there is a trend with black and white logos for bands and artists.


Secondary Artist

My secondary artist is going to be a young, up-and-coming male artist. I think their genre will be indie rock. 

This artist will be for younger audiences, i.e teenagers. Their clothing will be quite dark, and the type of clothing a young teenager would wear. Their logo will also be quite plain, and easy to read. 

These are what I am going to try and aim for with the artists, but this may change during the making of the magazine. 

My Music Magazine Pitch

Preliminary Task Evaluation

I have been given some questions to answer about my preliminary task-

Preliminary Task Questions from gemabema

Music Magazine Fonts

I have been starting to plan out my magazine in my head, and have started to look for things that I feel will fit in with my design. I looked at some different fonts to get a better idea in my head about where the text will go and what style I want it in. At the moment I have been focusing on the fonts for the front cover, and these are the ones I like the look of-

The ones that I really like are the ones on the first two lines. I like these because I feel like that they will always look neat wherever they are put, go well with other styled fonts, and look nice for a fixed music genre magazine.

What do you think about these fonts?

Action Plan

So the time is coming up for me to start getting ready for the making of my music magazine. This process will be long and hard so the make it a little easier, I have made an action plan. This plan will rule out when I would like to get things done by.

Date	Task	Completed?
24/02/14	All research and planning complete with first draft of magazine work
10/02/14	All pictures of models taken and collected
17/02/14	Pictures chosen and edited ready for draft
10/02/14	Magazine layout ready for photos to be imported
17/02/14	Have all names for artists and magazine ready
20/02/14	Have magazine mock finished so there’s time for any changes

 This will hopefully keep me on track, and make me motivated to get things done.  

Colours?

Recently I have been thinking more and more about what I want my music magazine to look like. My most recent thought is about the colours. I discovered that I haven't shown the results of the colours from my survey-

The most favorite colours picked are black, white, pink and red. I like the thought of using black and white with one other colour so it looks minimalist. I think this will make it cleaner and will work better with any images I use throughout the magazine, so it doesn't clash and look awful.

I will pick the final colours nearer the time of the production of the magazine, so I can see what looks best. Hopefully it will look okay!

My School Magazine Feedback

Erin Harper (erinsmediastudiesblog.blogspot.com)

I really like the overall layout as it looks really professional  and modern, this makes it 'easy on the eye'. The image is good as it's edited well, also the font is clear and easy to read. The colour scheme is very good as they work in harmony thus your cover looks complete. However you need more secondary leads so it looks less blank, also more secondary images are needed.

The contents page is good also as it follows the same colour scheme as the cover, also it used lots of secondary images and the information is portrayed
simply but effectively. However you need to show more editing skills.

Overall its AMAZING

Trish (Parent)

I think this is really well done. I like the style of it and it work well for the genre of a school magazine. It looks clean and very professional, and I like the way you have played out the front page with images and the school colours. I would read this, well done!

I am really happy with this feedback. I will also use the negative points as things to work on on my music magazine. If you have any feedback, feel free to leave a comment!

How I Chose My Magazine Name

So, I have now got to the stage of picking my magazine name. I chose from the names suggested to me from the survey, as I felt like it would show that I have used the feedback.

I hope you agree with my choice!