Audience feedback.

It is very important to include audience feedback because it is a key element furing this unit of work. The feedback I recieved allowed to notice whiat i had did good, what needs changing and improving so that if i will make the magazine again, I wouldn't make the same mistake more than once. In order to recieve this audience feeback. I uploaded my product to the cocial network called facebook. Underneath the images as the caption I asked my friends and other people to say what they thought about my product and write down their opinion. I also uploaded my preliminary task, and asked them, whether they thought I had improved between the two.
Overall strengths I recieved back from the audience was:
-The front cover looks very eye catching, the image, the sell lines, the masthead all looks very effective and stands it
-It is a type of magazine, which they would buy as just by looking at the front cover, you can tell that inside of it will be very interesting
-The colour is very good, because it is not biased, it appeals to both genders
-The contents page looks colourful, its good that I didn't stick with just the main colours or it will just look very plain , where the colours are it stands out
-The double page spread article is very touching, a lot of them said they could relate to it, and feel that it is good because if people were to buy it, they could get advice from it
-There are no spelling mistakes, which shows that alot of care was taking when making it.
-Looks very realistic and they like the fact that i followed the rules and conventions of a real life professional magazine.
-They liked the thank you box on the contents page, which allowed them to think that i will be taking their ideas into account.
Overall Improvements/weaknessess
There wasn't as much weaknessess as strength, which is good as it shows that i did well, although the improvements and weaknessess that were said is:
-The double page spread could have had more images, and the interview could have gone into some detail
-The layout is not that different, it looks very plain. I should have made it more creative
-There is alot of different fonts on the contents page which makes it look a little bit confusing.
-The front cover could of have a bit more colours like that of the contents page
-The front cover could have had more styles and effects.

In addition to the question about whether they thought I had impoved, 100% of the feedback i recieved said that I had definatly made an improvement from my preliminary task, as my pages for that were very plain, but now it looks very professional. I was very pleased with these results. With the negative feedback I recieved I were to make another magazine I would take those points into considerations.
In conclusion I told them to put on a scale of 1-10, 1 bein g the lowest and 10 the hightest what they thought about ny magaizne and to my suprise, I did not recieve anything below 6 which I thought was very good
The questionnaire was the main thing that helped me create this magazine, as it allowed my targeted audience to say what they wanted to be in the magazine, this is what helped mecreate and build to make my own magazine.

Evaluation7

Looking back at the preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to a full product?

Before starting this coursework, I had to undergo a preliminary task. This task consisted of creating a school magazine cover and contents page, this was so that we could become more familiar and aware of using the programms and technologies, such as the digital camera, and adobe photoshop. The producing of the school magazine and contents page was very simple and basic, there was hardly any use the tools from photoshop, this is because was not familar with it, also it was the first time I had used the creative suite program.

As you can there is a huge difference from the shool magazine to the music magazine, this is because I had learnt so much different things during the duration of both of them. My school magazine lacked effectiveness, and when compared to the music magazines appears quite boring and dull. Especially the contents page, when compared to the main task you can see that there isn't anything very eye-catching and also appears very dull. To produce the both magazines, I used Adobe photoshop,but to give the best outcome for the music magazine I experimated with cutting out the figures, adjusting the brightness and adding effect.
I could say that my music magazine is extremely more appealing than the college magazine, this is because I added more sell lines, I included one plain backgound which allows the images and writing to achieve its boldness more and just made everything more eye catching such as the title being more clear and bigger and have more eye-catching images like the film strips with pictures inside of it.

I learnt that I needed to be a strict photographer as the models would not behave. I learnt this from when I did my college magazine, my models were very unreliable, they kept making jokes and not behaving properly, which is why for my music magazine, I made it clear that there ca only be playing when we have finished, also they most meet me at my house by 12pm, with their outfit, however if I did not improve of it, I went out to buy outfits for them, but to may surprise they brought the correct outfit.

Moreover, from collecting the audience feedback, I took into account all that they had to say which is what made me create my magazine like that, for example having a colour like brown, the genre being hip-hop and Rnb and the layout of everything.

There was two main problems. The first one was with the imagery. I had to keep testing the way the girls were standing and changing the background, for example having it in the morning or evening, to see which lighting would be better. I overcame this problem by taking different shots in the day, and when we had finished we will choose the best one. For example

The second problem was deciding how to do the front cover of the magazine, whether I would keep the background of the picture being used, however i overcame this by getting use to photoshop so therefore testing whether it would look better without it or not, which is how I came to the conclusion that the wall background had to be erased and replaced with a clear background.

My draftings were an inspiration to the development of my music magazine, I picked one of the draftings and developed more on it to prouce an end product.

When looking at the school magazine task and comparing it to the main task, you can automatically notice that there is a big difference in quality.The image on the main looks more realistic than that on the college magazine. Since completing the task I believe I have learnt so much and developed my skills with using the program Adobe photoshop CS3. I feel that I have become more creative and I am quite pleased with my end product.

Evaluation6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
During the production of my magazine I have learnt so many things, first of all I could not wait to start the main task; the music magazine because I felt that seen as when I did my college magazine a majority of things went well, However I had never made a music magazine before and my photos for my college magazine was not very professional so I felt that some problems may occur. I knew that this was my own product so I could be as imaginative and creative as possible, and try and experiment different areas and images.
During the duration of my music magazine, many products of technology were used for example: digital cameras, computers, Internet and programs (adobe Photoshop CS3). The first thing I began using was the digital camera. I used this to capture the images that I was going to use in my magazine. This was not the first time I had used the camera but normally I would just take pictures for the fun of it, but this allowed me to think about the image itself.
When I was taking the photo of the artist and images that would be used on each page, it made me consider how each person would be positioned, For example would it be mid shot, long short or close up, also it allowed me to consider how the lightening of the area would be best suited.The camera used was a Canon Eos 400d digital camera.

Once my images had been taken, I was able to use Photoshop CS3, this was a program that allowed me to edit and improve the appearance and quality of my work. At first I found it quite tricky to use, there was so many interesting tools and I wanted to test out all of them to see the effect it would have on my magazine, however after experimenting with it i started to find it straight forward and quite simple.I used this program to modify my images; it has a variety of tools which make changes to the images easier. For example I used the magnetic lasso tool this allowed me to go around the artists and erase out all the unwanted parts. I felt that it would be more professional if I erased the wall that Valentine was standing against. For the little bits that I could not take of using the magnetic lasso tool, I used the background eraser which was much easier. There was many other tools I used such as creating new layers, croping, magic wand tool, and adding effects such as blur, sepia, styles such as drop, inner shadow. This is an example of me changing the layer styles of my front cover.
Furthermore during the process of making this blog in which was used to publish my music magazine, I improved on my blogging skills, as until we did the college magazine I was unaware that blogger existed. It was very confusing at first but as I got use to it, I learnt how to make new post, save as drafts, change the colour of writing and how to upload images. Uploading images was the most confusing as in the beginning I spent a long time trying to upload, each time I tried an error will occur, until I found out that you could only upload files that are JPEG, but I was trying to upload them as PDF which is why it didn't work.
Overall during the production of my music magazine, I think I learnt a lot about different technologies and the way they work.

Evaluation5

How did you attract/address your targeted audience?
One of the ways I attracted my target audience was by having artists on the front cover, that had a similar age range to my targeted audience. These artists were new to the music industry; and use to live and struggle on the streets, but now they are making money worldwide. This would attract my target audience in many ways, as both genders could relate and understand that if they are having problems they do not have to fight or do anything bad, they can turn their anger towards something postive such as producing music.
In the double page spread article it is an interview with valentine discussing some issues in which they have faced in their life, about how they used to struggle, get into fights, not livng in a good enviroment and how they got to where they are now. Valentine make reference to many issues that youth today can relate to, for example gangs, stealing and living in dangerous and underprivileged areas. I feel that my target audience would feel much more comfortable reading about artists such as valentine. The interview may inspire and encourage the readers to never give up and try to succeed just as the group did.
In the interview, I did not use formal language, i used language that could relate to my targeted audince, i made it feel like it was the audience that was asking them questions and they were answering back.
When I did my audience research I found out that they do not like colours that are too bright, so i used colours that were not bright nor dull such as brown, white, grey,gold. This would appeal to my targeted audience as not everything would seem bright as that is not reality.
The younger generation would demand vibrant and striking colours, whereas young aults wouldn't which is why I decided to use those colours.
I also attracted my target audience by incorporating the buzz words 'Free' and Exclusive. When the anchorage text says Exclusive this makes the reader think that there is some exclusive gossip and latest artists in the magazine.And when they see the buzz words free it will be more appealing to the reader, as everybody likes something for free. This will also persuade the audience to buy the magazine as they have been assured that they will be gaining something more for free and will cost them nothing more.
The majority of people of my targeted audience said thay they would like the contents page to have images, therefore i incorporated images to attract them and make it more appealing.

The masthead of my music magazine, is the biggest font on my music magazine, this is so my targeted audience could see it clearly. I used black, silver and grey which are colours that contrasts each other, although the colours are not very bright, they still stand it in the magazine.
Moreover another way I tried to address my music magazine to my audience is with the cental image, it suggests that they want a relationship with the audience as they are looking directly into the camera with a strong poisture. This attracts the reader is it looks like they quite serious.

Lastly on the contents page, I made a little column saying how grateful I am to them for reading my magzine, and if they wanted to tell us anything, they could contact us. This makes the reader feel that they have a say in the magazine, and that the writer is sensible because they are saying thank you. Not all magazines do this which is not good as it may not create a relationship between them and the reader.

Evaluation4

Who would be the audience for your media product?
The targeted audience for my music magazine would be teenagers to young adults, both male and female age ranging from 25 and below. I decided to have this age range because of my audience feedback. Although the majority of people asked were 17, I felt that I should expand the age range to 25 as this will allow a wider range to see my magazine. The reason why it would not attract a younger generation for example 10 and under is because it contains no features in which they would be drawn to for example, free toys, also it contains no features in which they demand for or require.There is a big difference between a childrens magazine and an young adult magazine. For example you can see with the music magazine the colours are not as bright as that of childrens magazine. There is so many colours on the childrens magazine, this which is my product would not be aimed at a younger generation, as some of the contents inside it, they would not understand. My music magazine would not appeal to them. I know definite that people age range 16-25 would definitely purchase my magazine; this will assure to me constant sales as my audience will continuously keep buying it.

In terms of ethnicity, my magazine could appeal to all races for example, Black, Caucasian, Asian etc. However when I take into consideration the genre of music my magazine does, I would say that it moves more towards the young Black youths of today as the genre is of a black origin, so they would possibly prefer and associate themselves with this hip-hop and RnB genre. From m audience research it showed that the hiphop genre was what they were most interested in.

Nevertheless there is not a specific ethnic group that the magazine is aimed at.I would like my magazine to commence a relationship with the reader, this will make the audience/reader feel more comfortable when reading my magazine, as they could possibly connect with the artist and relate to their stories/interviews. I know that many young people will want to read a magazine which centres on them and includes an artist of a similar age range.
Furthermore my intended audience has to be able to afford my magazine, which will be £1.50 a month which is fairly cheap. If the price was higher my targeted audience might not be able to afford my magazine which would be a fail in my production as my targeted audience would not be able to get my magazine, which would result in me not getting any profit.

Evaluation3

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

I have done some research about the type of media institutes there are available. The media institution that might distribute my music magazine will be an institution that includes a variety of genres in their existing production. It will be one which has already distributed several successful magazines and will hopefully make the sales of my magazine acceptable. It will be good at distributing other magazines which are to do with music and other subjects; this should indicate that the sales of my magazine should do well. The institution will also need to be popular so those who see it straight away will be able to relate to my magazine and recognise the likely success. The media institution that I feel may distribute my magazine is I.P.C. I thought that this company would be the best as they distribute a variety of different genres; they distribute magazines about instruments, gardens, hair and more. They distribute well known magazines such as Nme and Marie Clair, which are sold worldwide. Since they have distributed many successful magazines I believe my magazine should join this success.I.P.C media does not produce my type of magazine, so therefore they should distribute my magazine so that the types of magazines they produce will appeal to a wider range of audience.Moreover as IPC are well known and distribute many different magazines, if they were to sell my magazine then the profit sales will be very high.In order for my profit to be high, I would need to encourage subscription to my magazine, so that it will be brought regularly. I would want my magazine to be distributed in corner shops because nearly everybody has access to one and it is a very local place, also because everybody tends to go corner shops, so whether the person is standing in the queue or walking around the shop they are bound to see the magazine and want to read it. I also think it should be distributed at W.H.Smith because students usually go there to buy books, stationary etc so it will easily be visible for them to see and therefore catch their attention to buy the product.

Evaluation2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My magazine represents a modern urban culture which consists of a multicultural social group. As my magazine is aimed at a wide age audience ranging from 16-24 year olds and also for both sexes, I made sure to represent this age group in the magazine in a number of ways.I already knew that this particular age group is already interested in Hip-Hop and RnB, and a majority of all races enjoy this style of music. I felt that producing a type of magazine in this genre will sell the most as it covers a wide range. The artists that feature on my front cover will be recognizable to the majority of young people as the artist themselves age ranges from 16-20 so the readers can connect with what Valentine have got to say. Moreover the price of my magazine is fairly cheap this is because some young people are not working and have a very small or no income at all coming in, so therefore if the price is relatively low then the audience have no excuse not to want to buy it.I tried to attract as many different types of audience as possible, this is because if my magazine were to be sold this can increase the profit sales and also will allow me to get a large amount of feedback from the audience, and this will help me to know how I should improve it in another issue. This magazine is aimed at both male and females, so I have included images and topics that both genders will appeal to. For example on my front cover I have not used the stereotypical colour blue for boys and pink for girls, I used brown as I felt that it is not bright nor dull and when I asked my targeted audience they said a colour like that will appeal to them. In my magazine I have included colours that can relate to both sexes. I used 4 main colours Brown, white, red and black, in order for the magazine not to look overcrowded.I tried to find out as much information from my targeted audience about what they would like to see in a music magazine. I therefore created a questionnaire which included a range of questions relating to making a magazine and what they would like to see on and in one. When I analysed my results I included their answers into the production of my music magazine, so hopefully it will appeal to my audience targeted.

During the design stage of my music magazine, I considered how I will be able to attract this audience. I eventually came to the conclusion that I will do this by including relevant information about Hip-hop and RnB, images, and an effective colour and layout. It will appeal to both male and female of all ages 25 and below who enjoy this genre. The picture on the front cover will attract males as the girls are pretty but also make it available to females, as it can motivate them to become a girl’s group as well. The price is also a way that I represented my social group; the price is £1.50 which will appeal to university, college and school students as they may not be working so it seems reasonable. Also from my audience research they suggested that this is how much they will be willing to pay.

I will appeal to this audience by including relevant images, graphics, information, so hopefully it will appeal to each person, by me including all possible techniques and features.