evaluation question 6 draft

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

Camera: 


I used this camera (Nikon D3200) to take the photos which feature on my magazines cover, contents and double page spread. Although i do have my own camera at home, i had never had the chance to use it properly so from this experience i learnt some basics in lighting and camera angles.

I used the computer to run various programs (see below) to import, edit and manipulate and then export the photos i had taken.



Tripod:
I used a tripod on some of my photos to ensure that the camera was steady to get a clearer and even photo. Using the tripod prevented the image to come out blurry which could've happened from an unsteady hand.

Lights:I used the correct lighting equipment to make sure the photos i took where well lit and had minimal shadows. I moved them about to get the right lighting for my model that highlighted certain parts of the face/body to create the best image.

USB-SD card:
I used a little USB-SD card stick to transfer the photos from the camera to my computer so that i could edit them.

Photoshop: 
I used Photoshop to edit and manipulate the photos, although i had a basic understanding of Photoshop, i have never used it to produce anything seriously before so learned a lot of shortcuts and tricks etc. I learnt the basics on how to add in images, crop them and how to arrange the layers and move them about.

Youtube:
I used youtube to upload videos such as my pitch. I learned a lot about how youtube can attract a wide audience for my magazine because anyone all over the world can view my video which could get them interested. When uploading the video, you can add word tags which means that my video will appear when the tag is searched. I made sure to include the word 'Download' in my tags because this will attract my target audience greatly.

Animoto:
Animoto is an online website used for making videos and powerpoints. I used this website when i created my 25 word pitch. From using a video to create my 25 word pitch i learnt that to get an audience to listen you need to get there attention and i believe a video with music will get them listening and the short sentences on each slide will allow them to keep engaged and not loose interest.

Blogger:
I used Blogger to upload all my posts to the internet so that my teachers can monitor my work. I had never used blogger before so had to learn the basics of how to use it such as the layouts, background and how to change/re arrange the blog posts,

evaluation question 4 draft

 Who would be the audience for your media product?

After using UK tribes i have been able to identify my target audience as 'ALTs' which are males and females that are very similar. The music my audience listens to is rock/metal/alternative which is a very wide range. Because of the wide range of music it comes with a wide age range, about 16-60. This is because the 'alternative' groups are more younger people who are new to the scene, where as the rock groups are more for the older ages as this was abut when they where young themselves. As this age range is too wide for a magazine, i needed to get a more specific target audience. I decided to go for the younger audience because i feels that they can connect more with the artists of new or young bands, they are more likely to be interested in concerts and are more likely to purchase a magazine in general. The age range that my magazine is now aimed at is 14-25.

evaluation question 2 draft

 How does your media product represent particular social groups ?

During the research and planning section of my work, i used UK tribes and my own knowledge to research the style and interests of my target audience. I had to make sure that my magazine fitted the right audience which was the 'ALT'group on UK tribes which i talked about in my audience profile. Knowing this information about my audience, i could figure out what kind of bands i needed to feature in my magazine and how they would need styling. Kerrang magazine is a very popular magazine for my target audience. So for this reason i looked at the artists on the cover of some Kerrang magazines and what kind of clothes they were wearing. As the 'ALT' category has a very large range of music styles, it was hard to get an idea of a style for my artist. To overcome this i picked the style of rock/alternative music i wanted my artist to be and i went off that. I decided to use a girl as my artist because there are not many bands with a female vocalist in this scene so more people will be interested in this. The girl i used as my artist falls into that 'ALT' group herself which made her easier to style. I asked her to bring a range of clothes to the shoots so that i could put together a few outfits with. In the photos she wears a lot of black or dark colour which is very much the idea of what i wanted. A black leather jacket with black jeans was the main look that i was going for. I got this particular idea from a current kerrang magazine cover as it had the same background colour as me and the black really made the artist stand out. My target audience has a really wide age range because of the wide spread of music within it which made it difficult to create a magazine for everyone. I chose to use a model who is younger because i feel magazines in general are aimed at a younger audience. I also chose to do this because everyone likes to hear abut new upcoming bands and a younger artist can connect more with the younger audience.

evaluation question 1 draft

 In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of music magazines)


Amy, this response is far too brief and lacks the required detail. You must follow the instructions on my blog closely in ordert to secure a passing grade. Using the words from the question in your response is essential, without identifying how you USE, DEVELOP or CHALLENGE conventions it is not possible for the examiner to award you any marks. 
This answer would currently secure no level.

My masthead of my magazine 'DOWNLOADER' was downloaded from a website called 'Dafont'. I made the font in the largest size so that it could spread across the width of my magazine and so that it is clear that it is the masthead. I chose  the title of 'DOWNLOADER' to that it is clear to the reader that the magazine relates to the festival 'download'. By doing this i can attract my target audience. I made my masthead very similar to the 'kerrang' magazine font because it is one of the biggest magazines for this genera of music, so for this reason i know that it attracted a large audience and did really well. I tried to keep my masthead quite simple and clear to read because my magazine is quite busy and didn't want to add too many distractions. As i know how popular the simple 'Kerrang' logo is, i decided to keep my masthead very similar and to challenge the way that Kerrang layout their magazine by keeping my magazine looking very similar to theirs.  

The graphology of my cover is very complex. I use a wide variety of font sizes across the page to either fit with in the space allowed or to look aesthetically pleasing. The fonts i use are 'groudyhvyface CN BT' 'Groudyhvyface BT' 'franklin gothic medium cond' and 'impact'. Most of these are very similar but the slight difference makes it more suitable for the use of what the text is trying to say but sticks to the theme. 'Impact' is the most solid font used on my cover which is why i used it for the main cover story as it attracts the reader and really stands out. I also put smaller headlines to the side of my magazine which will give the reader an idea of the kind of things they can expect in this months issue. The reason i use quite simple and easy to read fonts is because the rest of the magazine is busy so i need to keep the text simple so the reader can follow it. I tried to keep the colours of the text the same small amount of colours through out to stick to a theme. I decided to use a coloured background because looking at Kerrang, all there magazine have a colours background which instantly makes it look busier. I used an old Kerrang magazine as a template and tried to re-create it using my own images, text and fonts. I realized from researching into the Kerrang layout that it requires a lot of layers to make it busy. Just on my cover there is 60 layers. This includes every single bit of text, image and shape.

The model i used for my cover image was a girl called 'Beckiee Galvin' who is the lead singer of my main band 'Reckless in paradise'. I styled her in a way that represents the look i want her to have and that is appropriate for my magazine style. In every photo, her and a#everyone else are wearing dark clothes which makes them bold and stand out while still sticking to the theme. My artist appears on my magazine numerous times in different outfits which made her look different and like it was taken at different events.  

All shots taken.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/b9lxnt6itf7fvwj/AABwZZdiqrfna1AqAcWCOfOSa?dl=0

AFL task

AFL task

Draft magazine