AS Media Coursework Main Task - Alex O'Niell

Blog 10 - Feedback

I created a questionnaire to help me get feedback on the magazine which I created to help see if what my target audience think of the finish product. Below are the questions asked in the questionnaire and below that are 5 filled out questionnaires by my target audience.

Media AS – Questionnaire

Name:
Age:

1) If seen in a shop would you buy this magazine? Yes No (If not give reason)
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2) How much would you be prepared to pay for RNR? (Please circle)
£1.00
£1.50
£2.00
£2.50
£3.00
£3.50

3) What do you think are the strengths of the magazine?
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4) What do you think are the weaknesses of the magazine?
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5) What similarities does it have to other magazines which are in RNR’s genre?
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6) What differences does it have to other magazines which are in RNR’s genre?
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7) What would you change to the magazine if you could?
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AS Media Coursework Main Task - Alex O'Niell

Blog 8 - Planning and Evaluation of Article

NME -Article: http://www.cguy.co.uk/amy/MM/nmearticle.jpg

My first article which I will be looking at is from an issue from NME, at the beggining of the article it starts off being formal but in a humorous way, it goes on to stating a formal interview in a more serious way the further the review goes. The article is a review of Morrisey's new album. They tell facts whilst go on to mention some quotes about the album.



Q - Article:

AS Media Coursework Main Task - Alex O'Niell

Blog 7 - Photo Editing

Not needed as didn't make any changes to the ligthing or colour of the images, except from the main image on the front cover where I cut the background out and just had the frontman on his own so I could add him to my own background for the front cover.

AS Media Coursework Main Task - Alex O'Niell

Blog 6 - Photos

For my front cover main image, I took many shots of the musician and was left with a decision between three photos. As you can see the first image is the one I did choose and overall it was quite an easy decision. All three images as you can see have similar lighting, in all images you can see the musician clearly and see everything around him, the costume in the images are also the same, wearing a leather jacket and a buttened up polo shirt this look is able to give him a look of a young rock and roll/indie guitarist. The biggest strength of the image which I chose was the fact that he is facing the camera therefore you are able to see his facial expressions and the audience can see who it is straight away. The other two photos he is looking away from the camera, if these where used then the audience may not realise who it was on the front cover therefore not actually end up buying the magazine. The black leather jacket allows it to fit with the colour of the front cover of the magazine which is also black, with the polo shirt standing out. Due to the split of the musicians band it is important that he wasn't looking really happy therefore the images show him deep in thought and looking quite depressed. The musician is holding a guitar, this was done so that any audience who are unaware of who he and who the magazine is can see straight away that he is a guitarist and that the magazine is a music one.

For my contents page I also had three images to choose from, all three are quite similar with one taken from a different angle. All images show the frontman playing the guitar on his own therefore the audience know what the page is about if you turn to it in this case (page 9 and 10). Once again the images have similar lighting, with the main attention being shown to the guitarist. The guitarist is shown with the same costume for each of the three photos, this was done as I felt which the clothes he was wearing were suitable for the contents page and allows you to see that he is performing at a gig. The facial expression of the musician shows he is really concentrating whilst playing the guitar making sure he doesn't make a mistake. I chose the first image because I felt that angle worked best and the audience can see everything from the way he is playing the guitar, the facial expressions and the clothes he is wearing.

For the double page spread I took many pictures but found that this one was ideal. The lighting for the photo is bright, this is so that you can see everything going on in the image. The musician is wearing simple casual clothes, a sweatshirt and black skinny jeans, this is good as this fits in to something the target audience may wear. The appearance of the front man is of him with his guitar on his bed looking quite depressed and in deep thaught, there is also bottles of beers on the bed to show he has been drowning his sorrows sort of thing and also a notepad and pencil to show which he is writing new music.

AS Media Coursework Main Task - Alex O'Niell

Front Cover - https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B9lf8_zB0ij1NzU2MjI2NTAtMjliZS00OTQ1LWJiMTMtMjNiOTZmNzA2YzA1&hl=en

Contents Page - https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B9lf8_zB0ij1NTYwZGU1ZmUtMTg3MC00ZjViLThkNTAtOWZmMTBlZmFiYzc0&hl=en

Double Page Spread - https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B9lf8_zB0ij1NDU5OGRmZGMtYmZlYS00Yzc0LTgxMzQtZjllZjhiNzg1YjVl&hl=en

Blog 9 - Evaluation of The Finished Magazine

My finished magazine is similar to a lot of magazines, the biggest similarity is the fact which it has a front cover, contents and double page spread which all magazines have. My magazines front cover has many similarities to many other similar exisiting publications, here is an example of this. As you can see here there are many similarities, first of all the masthead is on the top left side of the page, this is done because this is the way readers read from therefore they will read that bit first. The main flash is also in the middle of the page along with the image and the subhead which is also very similar to mine, this is done so that it catches the readers attention. It is important that all magazines have main sells on the front cover to allow the reader to know what is going to be in the magazine and to intice them to buy it, this is also a similarity which my magazine has to other magazines. On my front cover I decided not to have any straplines this was done as I wanted the headline and the image to be the main story which catches everyones eye, so therefore there was not enought room for one, unlike most other magazines which do have straplines showing the reader what else is in the magazine. I've tried to make my magazine stand out to others by instead of filling it with loads of information on the cover i've made the image and the headline and subhead the most important bit leaving not a lot of room for any mainsells, this was done because this is the biggest news to come out of the music industry for a long time therefore the audience will see it and they will see that there will be a lot of information about the split of 'the noise'.

I researched many different contents pages to get some good ideas for my own one, I wanted my page to turn out simple so that the audience can see exactly where everything is and on what page it is on. The most important thing I wanted to get across is that the audience are able to see the biggest news/articles that the magazine has to offer therefore they can turn to them straight away. My contents page is very similar to others in my genre, for example they all have what features in this weeks magazine, this is basically telling the audience the best and most important things to read, it also has a section where it tells the audience other things which feature in the magazine in this case there is an album review, this can hopefully excite the readers and make them want to check that page out. The contents page like many others also tells the readers what is going to appear in next weeks mag, this is a good idea as it encourages them to go out and get it next week as well. For my contents page I have tried to make the main article of the magazine stand out so the reader knows exactly where to go to, I have done this by showing a large picture in the middle of the contents with a page number explaining what is going to be said on that page, many other magazines also do this for example.

Many different magazines design there double page spreads differently, for example like mine where one page is covered with a picture then the next page is full of the text some have the full two pages of text with small pictures around the pages. For mine I wanted a picture showing the artist and his emotions on one page and the feelings and latest reactions of the artist written down on the next page. I was able to come up with these ideas by looking at similar styles and picking out strong points which I liked about them. Here are a couple which helped me do this;

As you can see both double page spreads have their pictures on the left similar to mine with the writing on the right, i've made sure mine was like this because I wanted people to read the main text without getting confused by loads of pictures and different colours, this is because the article shares some exciting news therefore the reader will really want to read it. Similar to other double page spreads I have used what is called a stand first, I used this so it catches the readers attention so that it draws them in and makes them read the whole article. I have also used a pull down quote for the article, this is where it reveals part of the article in bigger font so once again it is the first thing the reader sees and allows them to be drawn in to the article.

My magazine is targeted at the indie/rock genre and 15-44 males. I have tried to keep my images exciting but also meaninful for example the image for my double page spread shows that Kieran Hall is in deep thought and looks depressed by doing this he has shown it by having those facial expressions and also with the beers next to him but it can also excite the audience as it shows he is writing new music because of the pencil and notepad he has beside him. Because the age range is quite a big one I knew I had to cater for everyone, the language used is actually quite normal and basic throughout the magazine, this was once again done so that 15 year olds could understand it going up to 44 year olds who didn't find the language too basic.

The media institution that would publish my magazine would be ICP, this is because they are a very successful publisher and have made NME magazine very successful and because my magazine is similar to the NME magazine I believe it would work well. Due to my magazine being similar to a lot of other successful music magazines such as Q and NME, I believe that a lot of shops would want to stock it, not just record shops but places such as WH Smiths and supermarkets etc, anywhere suitable to get more people to know about it and see it.

My audience for my media product was covered in blog 2 -http://sdcmediaasalexoniell.blogspot.com/2009/11/as-media-coursework-main-task-alex_03.html

Market research tries to divide people into types in a wide range of ways this is called psychographics, for my magazine audience this is known as a mainstreamer this is someone who goes with the flow and doesn't want to stand out.

I attracted/addressed my audience by trying to include the latest and most popular artists/bands in my magazine, this was done so that the audience were able to see that the magazine is in the know of the new bands just like there audience. All magazines from NME to Q also do this, if they didn't then the audience wouldn't be interested as they would have people in the magazine who no one knows off. I also tried attracting my audience by allowing them to be able to see the main image of the front cover clearly so they knew exactly who it is without having to look twice. The language used in the magazine also had to attract the audience as well, this was quite hard because of the difference between the target age group which is 15-44 therefore I had to use language which was easy for the younger generation to understand but then not too basic for the older generation.

I feel I have learnt a lot about the technologies from the process of constructing this product, I originally wanted to have a strap line on the front cover of my magazine with bands who are going to be in the magazine, I was unable to do this as there was not enough room on the front cover therefore I made sure that the image was the main focus of the cover managing to fit some main sells around the image making it fit nicely. Because the image is off a frontman of a band holding his guitar at the top of the page therefore it was hard for the masthead to be seen but I was able to fit it in just. With ideas in which In which I wanted to do but couldn't I had to adjust the ideas to ways which would make them work, for exampe I wanted all of the sub heading font to be red but as it was quite hard to understand it in that font I adjusted it to a more suitable colour in which the audience can read.

Since the preliminary task I feel I have learnt a lot and also progressed a lot further which is hopefully noticeable. A lot of elements have improved regarding things such as design skills, a lot more research was able to be done for the main task therefore I was able to look at magazines which are in the genre of my magazines and get a lot of good ideas, getting ideas for things such as the image, main sells etc, but for the preliminary I just made a magazine which I thaught looked acceptable. Simple things such as uploading images and changing the fonts become a lot easier the more I used indesign, the thing which I found I have improved on the most is the use of space, in the preliminary task I felt I just crammed everything on without planning but for the main task I made sure I planned it more effectively with the use of flat plans and obvious the main help which was time. The biggest thing which I found was the key to the main task compared to the preliminary task was the planning, regarding the preliminary not a lot of planning went in to it but as for the main task there was as much planning as there was creating the magazine. For the main task I looked at a lot of similar magazines that are in my genre to get ideas of what to do and what not to do, this helped me a lot. Also getting ideas of my target audience also helped me out on what they thaught would look good. The language used for the preliminary task was very basic but as I learnt more about magazines and the language used in them I tried to develop the language used for my main task a lot more, by using more stand out words which would attract the audiences attention.

AS Media Coursework Main Task - Alex O'Niell

Blog 5 - Fonts

For my front cover, contents page and double page spread I used a total of three fonts. Thesewere:

I managed to choose these fonts by doing a lot of research, this was mostly done by testing them out on the pages to see if they suited the magazine. The first font in which I looked for is one which could be used for the masthead and tag-line, this was Birth Of A Hero, I chose this font because I felt it fitted the genre of the magazine and one of the main reasons in which it looked the best in my opinion. The font is a bit different, loud and shows creativity therefore it suits the genre of my magazine as well, this will allow the target audience to like it as well. This font is able to appeal to my target audience because of this and it is also one which they will easily remember so each time they see it they are able to think of R ' N ' R magazine. I also looked at the magazines in which I chose to analyse earlier on in my blog and got good ideas of the, as you can see from below that the NME masthead is similar to mine although different font it is short and in the top left of the front cover, this was done as the NME target audience is similar to mine therefore people who are looking to buy the NME magazine may come across mine and also like the look of it.

The second font I chose is called Alte Haas Grotesk, this was used for things such as the main sells and the sub-head on the front cover and in the contents it used occasionally and finally in the double page spread it is used for the main text. I chose it simply because it is simple and easy to read, it's job isn't to stand out unlike Birth Of A Hero, it is their so that the readers can understand what is being said and so that they don't get confused and complicated. From the magazines in which I analysed earlier in the blog you can see which they also use this basic writing in which the readers are able to simply read it without them trying to be all fancy, this is where I got my idea from. As you can see the subhead and the strap-line all have basic writing.

The third font in which I used for my magazine is called Boris Black Bloxx, I used this font so that the information can stand out so it is the first thing in which the audience notices when looking at magazines. To choose this font I looked at many different big magazines to get ideas on what fonts they use for things such as the main flash, seeing that it needed to be a big bold font I decided that this one would be perfect. I used the magazines in which I analysed previously to get good ideas as well, as you can see from the image below, NME has used big bold writing for the information in which they want the audience to notice therefore making it stand out. This font will appeal to my audience as they will be able to see the big news and headlines straight away from looking at the magazine therefore knowing what they are going to get, unlike some magazines in where they could look at it and still not know exactly what is going to be in it.

AS Media Coursework Main Task - Alex O'Niell

Blog 4 - Flat Plans

The front cover flat plan is quite similar to the magazines in which I analysed in blog 3, I looked at many other front covers to get the right idea and the different ideas I could add to my cover. One of the main features of the front cover is the image, this is what will capture the audiences eyes as this will be one of the first thing they see, like the NME and Q magazines I analysed they make the image the main feature, so therefore this is what I have tried to do. Like the magazines I analysed I have made sure I've kept the main sells on the left hand side so it doesn't inervere with the image, this allows the readers to be able to read exactly what the main sells are and also be able to see the main image. Like all good magazines the main flash is in the middle of the front cover linking in with the image, this allows the reader to be able to look at the main flash straight away and know what it is about straight away. Another way in which my magazine front cover links in with the magazines is that the masthead is on the top left side, this is so that as you read from left to right it allows the readers to read the masthead easily, similar to the magazines I analysed is that there is a tag-line under the masthead, this will be done in every issue as it supports the masthead and the personality of the magazine, it also allows the readers to understand what exactly the masthead stands for. Unlike the magazines I analysed, the strap line in my flat plan runs along the bottom of the page, on the NME magazine I analysed the strap line is at the top of the page, I decided to place my stap line on the bottom of the page as it will be too crowded at the top of the cover and I didn't want my target audience to get confused.

The contents flat plan I have designed is also very similar to the magazine contents pages which I analysed and compared. As my magazine is targeted to younger males they would rather see images then loads of writing therefore I have made sure that there is a big image on the contents which allows them not to get bored of the page. Like the contents pages I analysed they both have what features are in the magazine, I also have that, this is obviously the main objective of the contents to allow te readers to see what is in that issue and exactly where abouts, I have placed that on the left hand side, this is so that it doesn't intervere with the image and so that the structure of the page looks organised and doesn't confuse the readers. On the magazines I analysed it showed the issue and the date on the front cover, I have decided to show this information on the contents page, this is so that there is varied information on both pages and makes sure the target audience will not be confused by either page. Also unlike the magazines I analysed, my contents page shows the readers what is going to feature in the next issue of the magazine, I have done this as it intices the readers into wanting the buy the next issue.

The double-page spread I have is designed to be suitable for the target audience. As said earlier for the contents page, my magazine is target for younger males and as researched they would rather have some images on the page then just loads of writing, therefore I have made sure that their is a big image combined with enough main text for the readers to get the full story. Over the main image of the page I have added a headline, this tells the reader what the double-page spread is all about, like the double-page speads which I analysed their is always a caption on the image, this shows what the photo is showing and also sometimes shows who the photographer was, I have also added that to my image. Like the pages I analysed their is a pull down quote in a mix of the main text, this is their so that the readers see it before reading the main text and it will draw them in to want to read it. Unlike some of the pages in which I analysed I have added a "stand first" this basically just explains in a few words what exactly the main text is about so the readers know what sort of thing they are going to be reading. The double page spreads I analysed all have navigation elements, on my double page spread the navigation elements it has is the page number and the logo of the magazine on the bottom right hand side, this will continue throughout the magazine.