Conclusion To The Coursework.

Finished Music Magazine.
THE NOW!

To conclude on This media coursework piece, I enjoyed exploring the different ways music magazine present different genre's, I enjoyed learning different graphic work and writing articles, I have learnt alot of media terms and ideas through this Coursework.
If I were to do it again, I would change the Software that I used to create the magazine itself and get more familiar with the designs that are necessary to create a professional looking magazine. But in a final statement, I believe that overall, this piece of coursework went well.

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

The top two images are my front cover and my contents page from my preliminary task of which I had to compose the front cover and contents for a school magazine, I started the project with not much practice in this sector of work, I found that my work was amateur and lacked substance.

From the preliminary task, I realised that I had to add some character too my work, but then again I found it hard too put character into a school magazine. I found that my School magazine looked a bit too much like a Prospectus, with far too much of a formal look, although with the old school buildings I believed that an old fashioned look would be appropriate.

In the progress from the preliminary task to the final cover and contents, I added it's own style, I went for a personal indie look that I have discussed in previous blog posts, I used appropriate pictures to get my own look, i designed my own Masthead logo on Microsoft Paint, and encorporated it on there, I designed my own theme for the front cover and for the contents, both are different but they use music as their theme, the contents being that of the theme of an Ipod Touch, and the front cover being my own theme making it look like it was being held together by Cellotape.

Looking back I have encorporated a more developed theme to my final front cover, the school magazine cover has lures in the same sort of theme as that of my music magazine, such as the abstract squares, trying to obtain an informal look, I took it a few steps further however with my final piece.

I have also added an information bar and more advanced graphical techniques.

With the contents page you can see that I have completely changed the theme, in the preliminary task, I used a very basic and original theme, this I felt lacked character, so I designed a template of an Ipod Touch and filled it in with text and pictures to try and replicate the theme of the Ipod Touch, I am happy with the originality of my contents page, because that was one of my aims to create an original magazine.

Since my preliminary task I also created two double page spreads to fit my article in, however because I did not do an article for my school magazine, I do not have anything to compare it too that I have done.

Comment.

Although I started this project working with a partner, I eventually branched away and did my own independant study.

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

I used a range of software, the majority of which I had never used before, I slowly learnt how to use the software as I went along, but also the tutorials i found online were useful too.

This is the software that I used.

The software I used was Serif Page Plus 11, this was the main software I used for the project, however I found that at times it wasn't that user friendly, and I would preferably chose to use a better software like Adobe Photoshop given the chance to do this again.

I also used Microsoft Word and Powerpoint 2003, these programmes were used mainly for my blog posts, but also to write my main article.

Blogger was the software we used for writing the blog and Slideshare was the software I used for uploading Powerpoints, Microsoft Paint was used too make collages like the one above.

 My camera was used to take the pictures for the magazine, I found it easy to use, fortuantely I did not come into any problems whilst doing the project, however I learnt how to improve on my photography skills.

 My memory stick was useful for carrying the information of my work on, the only problem I had was the difference between my laptop at home and the school computers, some of the settings kept on changing, for example the fonts on my magazine pages.

 My laptop was where I did all of the work, except some of the research, I ran a new range of software on it, therefore I learnt how to use my laptop differently.

My Ipod touch was mainly used too get the design of my contents page from, however due to it's internet browsing skills it came in handy for research.

I have learnt too use different softwares within the space of time, I found this a challenge at first, but after some practice i found it to be quite easy, the programmes and technology i used were all fairly familiar too me, apart from the Serif Page Plus 11 software, that I had the most problems with, however after a while I managed to over come these issues.

How did you attract/address your audience?

First of all i did a survey over the half term and collected the results, this way I was able to find out what the majority of my audience had going on in their lives to do with music, I posted this on a previous post, but this is the results of my survey.

1.)Are you male or female?




Male: 8

Female: 7



2.)In what age range are you?



12-15: 4

16-23: 6

24-35: 2

35+: 3



3.)What is your favourite genre of music?



Indie: 5

Rock: 2

Dubstep/Drum 'n' Bass: 5

Rap: 3





4.)What do you look for in a magazine?



Good customer feedback: 6

Pictures: 4

Lots of articles: 5





5.)What genre of Tv do you watch?



Comedy: 7

Drama: 8





6.)How do you purchase music?



Itunes: 6

Shops: 4

Online such as amazon: 5





7.)How often do you buy music magazines?



Once a week: 3

Once every two weeks: 8

Once a month: 4





8.)Do you have an ipod/mp3 player?



Yes: 11

No: 4





9.)Do you go to gigs/concerts?



Yes: 12

No: 3





10.)Have you ever downloaded music illegally?



Yes: 8

No: 7



In conclusion to my research I have discovered that the majority of people that read music magazines are in the 16-23 age range, prefer Indie rock and/or drum and bass or dubstep type of music; look for good customer feedback the most in music magazines, prefer to watch drama over comedy which can relate to the type of music they like too listen too also. I have also discovered that people in the majority purchase music of itunes due to its practicality, this is good to note because it could influence free gifts available in a magazine. Also i discovered that people would prefer to buy a music magazine over buying one every week or every month; it is a good middle value. The majority of people that i asked also have an ipod or another form of mp3 player, this shows that people are more keane to listen to music on the move, i also found out that most people go to gigs or concerts, to see their favourite band live but the majority of people have admitted to downloading music illegally online.
 
 
I addressed my audience in this manor, and then began to plan my magazine around this, for example i found that the majority of people had an Ipod so i set my contents page in the theme of an Ipod, because of the majority of my audience would appreciate this.
 
I originally attempted to make a contents page that was simulating that of an editors desk, I however did not finish it because I believed that my audience could not relate to this as much as the Ipod themed contents page.
 

As you can see the differences between the idea of the editors desk as a contents page and that of the completed Ipod contents page are quite drastic, so I had to choose which one to develop and in the end I believe that the Ipod was the good choice to go for.

To appeal to the audience of 16-21 year olds I used the main band in the same age group, We Fight Dinosaurs, who luckily I am very close too, I used pictures of young bands to promote the young readers too purchase the magazine.
I then addressed the audience by doing a questionnaire after I had finished my pages, asking for their feedback, overall I got a popular review.
To conclude with the use of imagery, such as colourful rave colours and existing media products and the use of the modern slang in my article, I managed to attract and address my young audience.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

As I stated before the main audience for my media product would be the Stereotype of the Indie genre.


As you can see in this picture of myself, I am dressed in the indie style, sort of going for a vintage look, with the long hair, ear piercing, braces and a fully buttoned up shirt, this is the sort of audience I am aiming for.

The particular audience I am aiming the magazine at is people that go to gigs alot, enjoy the music and have the taste in music that include bands such as Foals, Kings Of Leon, The Libertines etc.
I have aimed for an age group of 16-21 which is roughly that of the NME magazine since I have roughly based my magazine around that of NME.
I have aimed for both genders, as too not single out the audience and not too gain a wider appeal, people that purchase or download regular amounts of music and want too keep up to date with the current music scene.
I have also tried too appeal to the audience with my Ipod themed contents page, so they can relate the menu to something they own or have used.
I have also tried to target it too students

To conclude I have gone with the stereotype of the indie scene, aiming at the young generation, both genders and those that have a big interest in current and old music.

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

The Media institution IPC MEDIA might distribute my media product, because they are the publisher for magazine NME, although the company Time Inc. owns this IPC MEDIA.
 
The magazine NME is fairly similar to my own, so I believe that IPC would choose my magazine too publish. The company however also publish the magazines What's On TV, NME, Country Life, Marie Claire and Nuts.

The company offer a wide range of selection when it comes too magazines, I feel that my although my magazine is a music magazine, it also tried to push the boundries, therefore I believe that this will be acceptable for the company too take on my magazine.
The corporations main target audience are males but it also has magazines that will appeal too women such as Marie Claire, I feel this is important to note, because it shows that the company are trying too appeal to both genders, much like my magazine is trying too.

A company I am also considering is Bauer Media Group , the reason for this is that they also produce magazines such as Kerrang! and Q, these magazines are fairly different, so therefore are aiming for different stereo types of an audience, which could also come into my favour because my magazine as stated before is trying to stretch itself too as many possible audiences as it can.

I am going to choose to go for IPC MEDIA however, because The NME magazine is the most similar to mine, and has a wider audience range, which I believe will benefit my music magazine.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine mainly aims to appeal too people who like the Indie-Rock sort of music, artists in this genre include bands like Kings Of Leon, here is an example of the sort of music my magazine is writing about...



I have aimed to please people who like this sort of music, I have aimed to do this because this is the social class that I believe I fit under, This is the sort of music i enjoy too listen too, therefore I thought that this would be the best way too create an effective and personal feel too my magazine.

As you can see on my front cover, I got the band members too dress up in an indie style, so that it represents what the music is about, the sort of fashion style I am talking about is button up shirts and / or polo shirts accompanied by Jeans or shorts, again this is the sort of clothing that I wear, so I thought it would be appropriate. I would not find it appropriate for my band members too be wearing clothing such as tracksuits because that would represent the stereotypes "Chav" style and that is not the look I have gone for with my magazine. The bands I have advertised on the front cover are all Indie music bands.
My magazine is a uni sex magazine, meaning that it has no preference towards boys or girls, the genre of music I have targetted is liked by both male and female audiences.

Also I may also add that The Indie Genre of music is widely liked, so it will attract a good range of customers too purchase the magazine.

The cellotaped look I have given my front cover and my article also relates to the "Indie" look.

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

My media product uses forms and conventions of real media products in quite a few ways.

I have encorporated a media product, the Ipod touch into my magazine, as I have used it as the theme for my contents page.

The Ipod touch is used for viewing media products and are generally associated with music and as the magazine I am producing is a music magazine, I found this too be appropriate because most people who listen to music regularly will most likely own and Ipod or an mp3 player of some sort, I found this out in my research that I undertook at the beginning of the course.

My magazine en corporates traditional media conventions that will help my audience realise that it is a magazine, these features include the Masthead being at the top of the magazine as you can see in the picture below...

I have also used a main image to fill the entire page, this again is relatively common for the magazines to have one main image, therefore it again can be recognised as a media product and a magazine. I have challenged this in the sense that I have made it so that the band members are not giving the audience a direct address, instead I have made it so they are looking at the lures and the extra information bar. I have also overlapped the Masthead to give a form of third dimension effect.
I have challenged a normal theme and given it my own unique theme, I have made it look like it has been kept on by cellotape which makes it look like it is being held together "roughly", this represents the sort of music that this magazine is aiming to appeal too.
On my Ipod contents page as well as encorporating the theme of a media product, I have also challenged the usual look of a contents page, I have gone with a design that isn't usually encorporated onto contents pages, I feel that the difference is a good thing though as it gives my magazine some originality, overall though I got positive remarks over the look of the contents page.

  
As you can see side by side my contents page and the contents page of The NME magazine look different, I used some of the same conventions, such as having a recurring article every week, such as Now News on my magazine is the monthly news update, whilst NME has a similar service just called News as can be seen in the picture.
I have used pictures on my contents page, to replicate the feel of the Ipod Touch, but too also make it look more appealing, such as NME has done.


Too compare my front cover with the Front cover of Kerrang!, you can see that I have gone with a fairly similar look, I have encorporated the information band at the bottom, and the lures, but I have also challenged the image here, for example I have added a more of a busy background too my picture, but I have also encorporated the image to not have direct address which is what the lead singer of Green Day is doing on the cover of the Kerrang! issue. I have added a bar code this will replicate the look and feel of a real magazine. I have also given my magazine its own theme, which is similar too that of Kerrang! that have gone with a "messy" theme.

As you can see, I have taken a risk with my article, I have gone for a theme that I discussed in a previous post, it has similar aspects too, such as the shout outs and the rough style, I have gone with an indie look, giving some uniqueness into my page, I have challenged the fact that my theme is unlike many others, and I have also had too go over over two double pages to fit in my amount of writing. I have used images like the other article. Like the other article I have used a main title and then a subtitle explaining what the article will be about.
To conclude I have challenged a lot of the normality found in music magazines, but I have merely tried to develop it and not change the overall formula. I have also used some of the same conventions found in media products.

Evaluation

Now that I have finished my media product, I can now start to evaluate it.

Online Survey Results

I used the online Survey programme called Survey Monkey to gain feedback for my media product, The questions I used for the survey were open ended and not closed, by open ended I mean they were not leading in any way, for example if I asked
"What did you like about my magazine?", the answer wouldn't be as fair as
"Can you comment on my magazine?"

The questions I used involved the user to put in their own comment, apart from the first question where I used a multiple Choice question.

1. Do You Like My Music Magazine?


Yes           No          Unsure

2. What is your opinion on the theme I used for my front cover and double page spread?


 
3. What was your opinion of my article?
 


4. Are the colours I have used in my magazine appropriate for the style of music genre I have aimed for?



5. Is there anything you can comment that you especially like about the magazine, if you do like it?



6. What could I have done to improve on my magazine?



I asked six people for their response, the results were this...

Question 1.)
Yes  ✔ No    Unsure

Yes ✔ No    Unsure

Yes ✔ No    Unsure

Yes ✔ No    Unsure

Yes ✔ No    Unsure


Yes ✔ No    Unsure



Question 2.)

I enjoyed the theme, because I felt it represented The music genre well.

I thought the theme that you used was cleverly put together, it was a good attempt at trying to recreate what you were aiming to create.

I thought that what you did was good, The colours also went well with the theme.

I believe that the theme you aimed for was pulled off successfully.

The theme was good, and applied cleverly.

I liked how unique the theme was.


Question 3.)

I enjoyed reading the article, because it was entertaining and well written

The article was written well.

I liked how you made the article personal, you are a good writer.

I thought that article was funny and well written

The article represented what would usually be found in music magazines

The article was enjoyable to read.


Question 4.)

I liked how the rave colours were used.

I thought the colours stood out appropriately

I liked how the colours represented the rave scene

I thought the colour scheme was good

I enjoyed the colour coordination

I thought the colours were appropriately used


Question 5.)

I thought the Ipod contents page was a clever addition

I thought that the theme of the main article was clever

I enjoyed the pictures and the front cover

I found that you captured the genre of music well within the pages.

I enjoyed the overall look of the magazine

I really enjoyed the article.


Question 6.)

There were a few graphic problems, but other than that nothing really

I thought that the article was a little bit too long

If more time could have been speant on it, I would improve on the graphics

I feel that the magazine was satisfactory.

I thought the contents page could have used a little bit more to replicate the Ipod

I thought the article was a bit too long.



So to conclude my feedback, i recieved mainly positive reviews and the only criticism that I seemed to have really got was that I could have improved on the contents page and the length of the article.

Online Survey

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Items That I got Ideas From

The Picture placed to the left is the real Ipod Touch that I designed my contents page around, the picture placed to the left is that of my contents page in the same design as the Ipod Touch, if you look at the simularities you can tell that I have kept the feel of the Ipod, but to stop any copyright reasons I have named it The NOWPOD.

The Picture placed to the top is a chalk board with brightly coloured notes attached, that is the type of theme I tried to get with my double page spread, and also that of my front page, you can see the similarities if you look, although mine is far more developed than the picture of the chalk board to make it look more appealing to the audience.

Main Article Final Draft

This is my final draft of my double page spread, because of the theme i went for and the length of my article it was not possible to fit the entire article onto one double page.

For the first page I have done it in the same theme as the front cover, I have made it look like notes and pictures have been stuck onto a cork board. I have done this to represent the theme of the band, they are a bunch of young and unorganised boys, I am fortunate to be friends with the members of this band, so I have attempted to catch their personality within my media product, I have made it look like the labels and pictures have been just stuck onto the page, this is again to go with my point that the main theme for this is of messy teenage lads.
The second page i decided to do a bit different, I went with a plain look to compliment the beautiful looking picture that was taken at the bands slot at the B festival gig, I put the writing at a slight slant though too still relate to the original "messy theme" that I have given too my other page.
I also believe that both that the contrast of a plain coloured page, to a brightly coloured page work relatively well. I chose the colours of luminous green and pink for the labels because they stick out like colours used in the rave scene this is the genre that the band We Fight Dinosaurs represent.
I added a collage of pictures stuck together to look as if it has just been roughly disregarded and stuck onto the cork board, I added it to also signify a rave sort of environment, with the messy and the uneven arrangement.
I used a pull quote that says "Well I'm Leaving the Band", I didn't add the "held on by cello tape" look because I felt adding too much would over do the theme and cause it too look over used and over the top, I also used the Sub-Title in this style, without using the cello tape look, for the same reasoning.
I used a black and plain font, so that it would put a contrast with the boldly standing colours, also because i wanted to go for a sticky tape sort of look, the writing on it would be formal, and not a font that stands out boldly.
To conclude I believe that my double page spread fits in with the necessary requirements, it en corporates the type of media genre I am trying to appeal too, which is the target I was aiming for with this piece of work.

Ideal Reader

I have produced a small collage of the possible things my target audience could like, I have gone for a young group of people, that like quite rebellious music, therefore have chosen a rebellious lifestyle, hence the packet of cigarettes, the beer and the energy drink I have put on the page, I have also added social networks too it, because most of the younger generation are a member of a social networking site, such as Facebook or Twitter, I also added the Ipod and the guitar to represent the musical influence the young audience has.

Magazine Proposal

During a previous lesson, we pitched an interview to the class proposing the magazine, in the style of proposing it to real publishers, thankfully I am quite confident with speaking in front of audiences, so I managed to pull through with this task.
I proposed that the magazine would be about the sort of music that is related to Indie style music. We had to say what the big selling point of the magazine would be, we decided that it would be to differentiate itself from other magazines by having articles written by the audience included, the benefit of the task was that it allowed me to review over the magazines target audience.

Preliminary Idea For Contents Page

This was a prelimary idea I had for the contents page, it was essentially supposed to be an editors coffee table, however i found it hard to place the writing around the page, and again I couldn't find the appropriate software to help me edit the pictures, I found it quite a problem when trying to discover the software packages in such a short period of time, this was a problem for me, because it meant that the ideas that I had were not able to become a physical creation.
I added an ipod and headphones because that would be what most music magazine editors would have lying around, I also added a cup of Coffee too simulate the tiredness that goes along with being an editor, I also added a packet of ciggarettes because ciggarettes are often related with the music scene. I deliberately placed the items messily around the page, to try and simulate the messiness of an editor in a rush.
This went over a double page spread, however i did not finish it off because the software would not work well with me and also I found that my Ipod Touch themed contents was a better idea.

Contents Page Final Draft

I have gone with a different approach to most with my contents page, I have done it in the layout of an Ipod, which is a device used to listen too music, so I thought that it would be appropriate.
I have used the main menu of the Ipod touch as the main theme for my contents page, using pictures too replicate the part you will press of the ipod to select what you want to view.
I have used pictures that I have taken for the pictures, I have tried my best to replicate the Ipod feel with my contents page, although it is hard to replicate, the software I used was quite resistant to letting me move the page around freely, so if I had the chance to do this again, I would have used a more simple to use programme.
The pictures i used are that of the bands in groups, mostly in gig shots, I am lucky enough to know alot of local bands personally, So it is easy for me to gain pictures of them all together.

Front Cover Final Draft

This is my final draft of my front cover. I have attempted to make it look like it has been held together by cellotape, giving it quite a unique look, I have also used this style on my main article.
I have designed my own logo for the magazine that has been encorporate onto my cover, which i have made slightly transparent so that it blends with the picture.
My picture is not of direct address, I have made it so that the members of the band are looking at the banners, so it makes it look like the people are reading the writing I have put onto the cover.
I have added a bar code, and a price tag. I used the software Serif Page Plus 11 too make this cover.
I have made sure the band are wearing different coloured clothing, too make it look more interesting, I put a fence in the back ground and trees and a house too make it look quite casual, this will compliment the overall look of my magazine.

We Fight Dinosaurs Interview Article

With my main article now I shall now post it on here, because it will be too difficult to read on my print screen pictures that I will put up onto my blog.

We Fight Dinosaurs Interview.


The sun shone through the windows as the cold autumn wind clashed lightly against the windows, we sat there anxiously waiting for the four boys to walk through the aged wooden door of the small Victorian building that was the last minute chosen location that would host the interview.

First impressions are key to developing a strong band between people; however these lads obviously have no care for making a good first impression. We were greeted with a four man mosh pit as the boys pushed each other through the door way, completely oblivious to our team sitting down with cups of cold tea and stale biscuits.

“sorry we’re late, overslept” said the bands lead singer Wesley as he straightened out his Topman hoody. The lads all looked fairly similar, with a reasonably mutual liking of chequered shirts and skinny jeans.

The band We Fight Dinosaurs appears to develop upon the electro scene, trying to follow in the footsteps of the highly successful St. Albans born band Enter Shikari. Although it is clear that this band is in early days and is still attempting to find their correct “sound”.

Three of the band members are born from a reasonably small market town called Hitchin, situated in Hertfordshire, the fourth member Luke, who plays the bass guitar for the band is from a small village located just outside of Hitchin called Ashwell.

Although the band is fairly new, they are already going through a significant change. When we asked what the issue was, we saw the boys hesitate, after a wait of about ten seconds of the lads arguing about who should admit to what was wrong we got a reply from Luke.

“Well I’m leaving the band, I am not passionate about playing the bass anymore and I’ve been offered a place in another band for playing the drums”

The other members looked awkwardly at us; however after a long five seconds the drummer of the band Max butted in to break the silence and to save his friend from feeling even more shameful for leaving the band,

“We’re all being supportive of Luke however, he’s helped us establish who we are and helped us come this far, we can’t blame him for not being passionate about playing the bass.”

His sentence was quickly followed by Wesley to back up his statement

“The bands he is moving too, The Monaco Bears are a band we’ve played with many times, we are on good terms with them, so we wish Luke the best.”

We saw a gleam of a smile on Luke’s face, it was obvious that the weight of feeling down and awkward had shifted after the reaffirmation of his friends supported.

We offered them a cup of tea and some biscuits, although we drunk too much tea in the waiting for the band that the thought of having any more repulsed us.

After a short break we asked the guys if they had found a replacement for Luke.

“Well we have two candidates at the moment; both are experienced bass players who we are good friends with too; however we’re not revealing who they are.”

This band is however not so traditional to other teenage bands, they do not hold the tendencies to take illegal substances, they are straight up lads, that are not in it for the reputation, but are in this band so that they can create music that appeals to them and that also appeals to their audience.

We’ve seen the lads perform on various occasions, mainly around their home town, supporting larger bands, however the boys’ recently got a gig at Camden, which was a good success in their eyes, it was their first real leap out of the Hitchin area and in their eyes they are proud with how it went.

Aren’t you guys?

“We could have played better if I’m honest, the organiser of the gig let us down yet again by delaying sound checks and what not” Wesley claimed,

“We just need a new person to help us get ourselves of our feet fully”



After some off topic banter that is far to explicit to be featured in our article, we convinced the lads to play us one of their songs, we sat there in slight boredom as the set up of the instruments seemed to long out longer than it needed too, but finally we were there, and our ears were met with the sweet orgasm of electro work produced by the synthesizer with the heavy clash of drums, singing and a bass guitar. It’s an odd mix that works well.

Although as the classic Now journalists that we are, we took no hesitance to join in with the singing and ultimately put the lads off, but the odd three minutes that we heard from the band where of course brilliant, we wouldn’t interviewing a bad band now.

The lads have a very child like persona, with a lot of joking around, we can really see the hope and promise in these guys, they are themselves, but when it comes to producing music they are dedicated to their goals, this is the promise that lacks in many new bands, and that’s why the music industry is now full of talentless people that rely on computers to make their voices sound almost bearable with terrible sound effects that seem to amuse today’s youth. We Fight Dinosaurs represent what we are missing from the charts of the 21st century, they take on a futuristic tone, but their heart and passion are in the same place as some of the greatest bands in living memory, stayed tuned for these lads, they’re getting bigger by the day, despite slight hold backs we know we’ll be seeing this band again very soon, perhaps back for another interview in a few years, but this time talking about their big successes.



The lads packed up their equipment, we said our goodbyes and they left.

We lay back with a cup of tea and think to ourselves. That was one weird half hour.

 
 
 
 
Because of the layout of my page and the size of the article, it has had to take up two, two page spreads, which is not particularly what i wanted, but I cannot make my double page spread look acceptable on just one sheet.

Brief Note.

I have now taken part in annalysing my work over the Christmas period, I have also taken the oppurtunity to speak to the band that I have done my main article on, They have told me that they find what I have done acceptable and are happy with me using it is how it is