magazine evaluation - question 6 and 7

evaluation from anakravcenko

magazine evaluation - question 5

magazine evaluation - question 4

magazine evaluation - question 3

magazine evaluation - question 2

magazine evaluation - question 1

feedback evaluation

I received feedback that I have correctly targeted my audience which is 18-25 year old R&B fans. My audience were who i targeted because it attracted my description of my target audience. Also they are gossip and fashion fans. Audience said i showed this by including R&B style such as hoodies and I clearly addressed R&B fans by writing the genre on the front page. They noticed that I included R&B gossip also which attracts fans, I was also told that since they are interested in R&B the teasers I used would cause them to buy the magazine if it was a real product because I used interesting descriptions which don't reveal the whole story.
This helped me because I wasn't sure if I had targeted my audience correctly and wanted some opinions of others.
Also from this feedback I realized there will be hardly anything I will have to change to represent the targeted audience.

The social groups I targeted were R&B fans, my audience say that although it is clear I have portrayed them in a positive way because they look happy (smiling and jumping) in the DPS. Different ethnic groups are in my magazine to represent a multicultural society, this is a positive way of representing social groups since it shows all races can enjoy the genre. The magazine is targeted at working class and middle class groups since upper class would probably not be interested in this genre because they prefer something more traditional.
This shows working class and middle class in a positive way since they don't have to be rich or upper class to be targeted by magazine editors. I also targeted gossip fans,audience said this attracts audience but portrays them in a negative way since they are entertained by someone being exposed and possibly humiliated which takes away the celebrities privacy.
The audience pointed out that gossip fans are portrayed in a negative way, this made me remove some articles which celebrities wouldn't want to be exposed in the media.
After all this is mainly a music magazine and revealing peopl'es lives for entertainment shows weakness of entertaining audience in a different way


DPS
The audience like the black and white picture along with the black background and white caption, they think it looks professional. I was told the journalism was creative and they liked how I made up ‘steps’ for entering the competition along with a unique code. They don’t like that the font is a little hard to read on a black background because it is bold, also they don’t like that the title at the top isn’t spaced out evenly however they noticed that I split it in half so that if the magazine pages were to be stapled together the middle of the page wouldn’t be easy to see. Also they said the background image can be made smaller since it isn’t that important in the article but the writing could be made bigger.
Their crticism about my font has made me want to change it however if i make it bigger the text won't fit into the pages and I think it isn't hard to read.
I have listened to their second criticism and I slightly faded the background more and made it smaller.

CONTENTS
My audience said they didn’t like that the editors note hardly fit in the box and made it look slightly messy, also they didn’t like that one of the black lines I used to separate the subtitles aren’t placed straight, this is because indesign wouldn’t allow me to rotate it at an exact angle. They said they like that I made the title blurry which looks effective because I wanted it to be seen but it isn’t the most important title on the page so I blurred it out. Also they liked how I used different colours to highlight important words such as ‘4 years’ and the fact that I used appropriate pictures for the articles (the teaser ‘rose tells us her story’ shows that this is an exclusive story because the model has her finger on her lips as if to say it’s a secret). They liked the main contents image I used and said it looked very attractive, plus it was slightly blurred to not focus all attention on that image, however they said some the images could be edited to appear more brighter.
I was planning to change the editors note however it is difficult to rearrange everything to make more space for the editors note, the text wouln't be as good if some was deleted.
One of the black lines looks slightly tilted but there is no way to fix because it wont rotate to be exactly horizontal.
Their comment about my contents page helped me because I didn't realize the smaller images could be better quality.


FRONT COVER
They liked how I Edited the front cover image of the model to make it more bright and also how how I placed a tie on her head of which the color slightly matches the models hair. They said the teasers on the left side looked very professional because the name Jane west is enlarged in a different color, however they said the writing on the right side can be improved because it looks too bold. they like the choice of fonts but said the masthead could have been bigger, I tried my best to fix this by removing capital letters from the masthead but it still wouldn't completely fit into the page.
I decided to change the writing on the right side cover, also i made the masthead bigger because i realized its nearly the same size as one of the teasers.
After trying different fonts for my masthead and using the 'sclae' transformation i realized i can edit my text to fit in the page even if the text is big.

Compared to the preliminary front cover my new front cover has a much better image. The shot is focused on model while model looks directly at camera and smiles, without unnecessary parts of the background as in the first front cover. Also in the new front cover it shows i have learnt to create space and align the text while giving equal space on both sides. I have used more professional images and all my own. I received feedback that there were too many fonts in the first front cover and the writing was scattered all around the page. In the first contents i was told the layout was good but obviously it lacked detail and looked rather unprofessional. In the actual contents I was told it was clear I improved in using in design (adding colour to text, blurring in text for effect) I used a variety of images, fonts and added different colours. Also I added images of black lines to separate teasers which makes it look more organized.

Choice of magazine cover

I was going to use this picture in my front cover but decided not to because firstly the model isn't looking at the audience and isnt smiling.
Some magazines don't have models smiling but for this issue i prefered to have the model creating a good impression of the magazine.
Also I used a photo with a tie that matches the models hair and makes it stand out more but this photo seems too plain.

audience feedback

-Have I correctly targeted my audience? (16-30 year old, both gender, interested in R&B also those who want to become artists)
-How are particular social groups represented- (fans of R&B) Are these representations positive, negative, mixed?
-Which elements of the magazine do you like?
-What could be improved?
-What has improved looking at my college magazine?

Images I didn't use

Images i used

music magazine

Construction of the magazine

After taking the photographs and using yellow writing i realized yellow is no good at all because its hardly visible, i decided to use a dark orange instead because it suits blue and can be clearly seen.
I also decided to use a tiny bit of red on the front cover to highlight the offer.
In the DPS i used white and red and although i didnt originally plan to do this i changed my mind because I ahd to use a bright colour to make the 'steps of entering the competition' stand out and the other colours didnt look as bright.

Photo shoot call sheet

Date: 20^th November
Time: 12.50-13.50
location: studio
Photographer: Anastasiya.k
Models : main model – Lucy.H
Other models:  Maryam.A, Derese.R and Julian.K

Planning : models instructed to wear R&B style, fashionable clothing.
Once in the studio test whether images are better with lights on/off

Items to be used: tie, white sheet to cover chair to create a fading affect with the white back drop.
Time planning: 12.50-13.00 – set up everything, practise shots.
 (Models will not need to change clothing as they will already be dressed in what they will wear).
13.00-13.20 - take close up shots of main model for front cover and contents page.
13.20-13.40 - take group shots of other models for DPS, single photograph’s of model pretending to sing.
13.40-13.50 – move photographs onto computer

photography lighting

Magazine proposal

This is my magazine proposal, however at this point i haven't finished planning some things such as mastheads and what i will include in the dps.

I decided to give my magazine the title 'music maniac' because maniac means crazy so the title would
mean crazy about music.
The mastheads i decided to use were:

Music Maniac

Music maniac

magazine newstand

In this newstand magazines are displayed so that the masthead of every magazine can be seen.
Equal spaces in the rack allow the magazines to be observed and seen separately before picking them up.
The magazine that seems the most interesting in my opinion here is heat and the magazine that says at the top ‘What does Stacey see in lover Brian’. This is not even because of the colours but because the interesting teasers make the audience want to read the rest.
The heat magazine has a teaser that can be seen saying ‘now I’m curvier I get lots more dates’.
Even though this article might not be so important it makes the audience want to read and figure out whether they could take this into consideration since it is usually skinnier girls getting dates.
The Cosmo girl magazine is bright yellow however it still wouldn’t be enough to attract my attention because I instantly think it’s just a nice layout with boring stories inside.
The other ones look completely boring because of the colour AND the teasers that can’t even be seen because of their dull colour.
The reason they are all displayed in clear view is so that obviously all magazines can be seen.
Also the interesting looking magazines aren’t together, instead they are placed in different rows, this might be because when a magazine is picked up the one next to it is most likely to be picked up.
If all boring magazines were in one row then there would be less chance of them being picked up and therefore bought because the audience will be thinking that they shouldn’t pay attention to that specific row.

Preleminary task

Evaluation

Front cover

Feedback:
Students have pointed out some bad and good points about my work.
Good points: Bright colors really liven up the image and the blue locker matches the blue text which looks quite interesting, rulers make the structure look neat, professional looking ,the cover image has a bright blue locker the same color as the blue text which makes the blue stand out, interesting promotion method, creative writing skills.
The leyton sixth form college at the top looks small and neat.
Bad points: model only fills up half the page which slightly ruins the magazine cover because about a third of the image is just the wall and ceiling which doesn’t make it look like a professional shot but a randomly taken picture.
Next time a more close up shot should be used.

What went well?
I took photographs for this task using a canon 12 megapixel camera, taking a variety of pictures placing my model in a college atmosphere (library, sports gym) I decided that a photo taken next to a college locker would be the best idea because such a simple idea can symbolize the enthusiasm of a student willing to learn, a locker associates with college work.
The photography was easy and quick; the flash made the picture look more professional because the color of the locker stands out, the light is reflected onto it causing the bottom of the locker to be a lighter shade of blue which gives it a glow.
I edited the contrast/brightness of the image, using the contrast to make it slightly darker but bring out the color and brightness to make it brighter.
The ayout of the page is accurate because of the rulers, all the text is carefully aligned.
For effect i wrote the ast head 'lsc times' in seperate fonts and different colours because it looks more lively and catchy.
All the text is either blue,yellow or white and only one part is red.
If i used more colours it will look unproffesional as if i was trying too hard to make it look good.
To catch the readers attention i wrote 'free coupon inside' this is so that the reader will purchase the magazine and the red colour is known to attract attention due to its obvious brightness.
As required i included a barcode, price and issue number.
Generally i think these just make it look more realistic, i chose my price to be 0.89p because its a decent price for students and a free magazine would seem like its only free because there is nothing good to pay for inside.
I think i was quite creative with the teasers and the coach joe teaser can appear amusing to some people. Its important to write teasers short but interesting because this is basicly what audience look at to determine whether it would satisfy them.
As students are into text messaging and emails i have included an @ instead of at to represent it as though it is targeted at young adults and will be interesting.

What do i need to improve on?
Alhough there it seems there is enough detail on there it still looks a bit empty if you look closely.
The model of the image doesnt take up enough space, it looks unprofessional because a big part of the cover is just the ceiling.
If i zoomed in enough for the ceiling to not be seen the model would be too close up.
There are some parts of the text where the end of the sentence is sticking out and ruins the whole
structure, i think something like this can ruin the layout.
Althought the masthead itself looks good I think it is too small because
the  font couldn't get any bigger, i could have thought of another way to make a masthead.
The text on the right hand side can't be seen clearly because the font doesn't seem bold enough and
the bright blue locker slightly fades it out.
The fonts are all the same size which makes it look boring, also some fonts should be bigger than
others to show which articles are most important.

Three points for development

-Next time i will take more pictures so that  can choose a suitable photo instead of one where irrelevent
 parts
are seen.
- i will practise making a more bigger, professional masthead.
- include more detail, a variety of font sizes.

Contents
Feedback:
Good points: looks simple and neat, interesting contents, good choice of images because they all show lsc as a friendly and good college, contents match well with the teasers.
"fiesta latina" is a real event from the lsc website which would be a good way to advertise it to students.
Bad points: could have added more colour and detail, big gaps between text boxes (looks like something is missing), not own pictures used.

What went well?  I chose a variety of pictures from the lsc website that portray lsc as a good college for e.g i chose the image of girls dancing because it shows students interest in extra curriclar activities, the bright picture at the bottom shows a beautiful view of the college.
I put these images together on indesign in seperate places to give space for the titles, i think
this made it look quite good.
The first image shows the lsc 'street' so it sort of looks like it is first bringing us into the atmosphere of the college and then showing the other parts of it.
The page layout looks plain but quite organized.
I made the page quite plain because i think contents should be easy to read without many colours.
Use of rulers made the text be carefully aligned with equal space around the perimeter.
The journalism was thought through because they all apply to the college not just random news that students would be interested in.

What do i need to improve on?
these aren't my photos which is a bad thing because it means half of my work isnt originally mine, the reason i didnt take no pictures for the contents is because i didnt realize i needed pictures for it until i started working on it.
I could have included slightly more detail in the contents page, maybe a few more teasers about lsc or  a teachers speech.
The title doesn't have to be bigger but the fact that it has such a large empty space around it makes it look tiny, also the title could have been a different colour to make it appear brighter.
11 pages doesn't seem realistic so i should have maybe included more lsc events.
The teasers are the same as on the front cover and although this shows awareness of articles that are going to be written it also looks pointless because i could have just written the page numbers on the cover, these teasers should have been in black bold with a bit of detail underneath in a different colour.
I could have included teasers that would make the college seem very educational and interesting such as 'scientific experiment with a crocodile' or 'students build a mini rocket'   so if someone outside of the college reads it, they will have a good impression of the college.

Three key points for development:
- I wont leave such massive gaps as this looks unprofessional as though it isnt finished
- Include more detail about the articles, otherwise they seem unimportant.
- make the subject of the magazine apply more to what is inside and at the same time interesting.

case study

Planning the project

Planning the project: production schedule – 26^th sept
At this stage I won't spend a lot of time n the production schedule but I will thoroughly think of what types of magazine images to look for (where there interesting techniques to point out)

Research / case studies (individual work) – 1^st October oct
on the 28th of september I will find images appropriate for my case study and I will look at examples of other case studies, while also remembering to look out for journalism, images, lighting and mis-en-scene.
on the 29th I will analyze two dps images I have chosen
on the 30th I will analyze two front covers
on the 31st I will analyze two contents pages

Preliminary Task: LSC magazine (individual work) – 8^th October
First I will think of how I want the LSC magazine to look like
I decided I want to use blue and yellow for my fonts so it would make the front cover appear brighter.
To represent student life I will take images of my model near a locker.
Then I will think of some interesting headlines and use this opportunity to give me a rough idea of how I would construct my magazine.

Audience feedback and evaluation- preliminary task / college magazine (individual work) – 15^th oct
For this task I will ask classmates to give me feedback

Magazine newsstand task – 19^th oct
on the 16th I will either take an image of a magazine newstand.
on the 17th I will analyze everything for e.g colors used and displaying techniques

Drafting and finalizing house styles, drafts and layouts (group / individual) – 22^nd oct
Proposals, house styles, draft copy, layouts and pitches need to be uploaded  before Friday 26^th October 2012.
I will make a presentation on the house styles I will use and make a draft of the DPS.

Audience research task – 29^th oct

Planning and shooting (individual work) – 9^th November
First I will think of props I want to use, costumes, models.
Then I will book the studio
I would have to represent my chosen genre which is R&B and also use a variety of models.

Construction: Desk top publishing and editing your music magazine (individual work) – 16^th nov
on the 9th I will upload and select images I will definetely use.
on the 10th I will start with the front cover, I will edit the front cover image and then test to see what colours/fonts look best, I will then do the same for the contents/DPS.
on the 11th I will construct the magazine, think of teasers and try not to use too much fonts.


Audience research- main task / music magazine (individual work) – 23^rd nov
I will collect feedback

Evaluation (individual work) – 14^th dec
14th december i will plan what technologies I will use
15th I will do half the questions on word
16th I will complete the rest
17th I will upload the questions using the technologies

upload to blog by 19^th dec

evaluation

                                                                           Evaluation
Research
Researching was quite easy, some of my strengths in research are:
- I always check several websites for the same information to ensure it is accurate (not fake)
- It’s easy for me to find any information I want
Some of my weaknesses are:
- I find it difficult to choose the most interesting/relevant information for my articles
- I didn’t do enough research, if I did I would be able to find more details, opinions of celebrities.
I could have research thoroughly to find more images but instead I used what I found in Google images when I typed ‘file sharing’.
Unfortunately I didn’t look at other magazine examples to get an idea of how I want mine but In the future I will.
Writing skills
Journalistic and writing skills require creativity, I found it interesting and a little complicated.
strengths in journalistic and writing skills:
- I think I have good writing skills because I have included facts, rhetorical questions , etc.
- from my point of view I think my writing is quite professional because I used different fonts (mostly bold) in order to attract the reader’s attention.
Also I wrote it in a way would interest people, thinking of what the readers would want to know.
- Good spelling, grammar.
Weaknesses in journalistic and writing skills:
- I could have made it slightly more interesting considering that readers not only like to find out facts but they also like reading an article where all their questions can be answered about the topic.
- My article is quite long and the second part of it is split into long paragraphs, this could bore the reader. Next time I will include more details about the topic.
InDesign
I found InDesign confusing at first because in school I was used to different software’s for editing.
Strengths and skills:
- I have learnt how to insert files and how to use the tools of InDesign.
- I got used to quickly without struggling much.
Weaknesses of using InDesign:
- at first I didn’t even know how to do simple things such as insert images because instead of ‘insert’ the tab I had to press was ‘place’
- I took longer producing my magazine article because the fonts kept automatically changing.
Web publishing
Strengths:  - uploading a blog is cheaper than selling magazines
- global audience, anyone can view it.
- The website can be advertised for audience for view for free instead of selling magazines across the world
weaknesses:
- some people may not have access to the internet
- an original magazine is known as pieces of glossy paper not just an online article, because of this people may not take online articles seriously.
- People wouldn’t be able to just search keywords in Google, for blogger the exact website address is required.

file sharing

file sharing

File sharing

Illegal file downloading is commonly used across the world by people who want music, videos and other files on their mobile phones or computers but aren’t willing to pay the price.
When music is illegally downloaded the artists don’t receive the money they should because there are less record sales.
The society realizes that illegal downloading is harming the music industry but they carry on illegally downloading simply because it is beneficial for them; what are they losing by downloading files that aren’t originally so cheap for free?
There is a balance in opinions as to why file sharing is wrong and why right, some of the obvious points of illegal downloading benefiting the society are:

- If it wasn’t for illegal downloading people may not be able to afford to buy music therefore wouldn’t store music on their mobile phones, share with friends and cause the song become popular.
- "I like what's going on because I feel closer to the fans and the people who appreciate the music... It's the democratization of music in a way. And music is a gift. That's what it should be, a gift." – Shakira.
The famous artist ‘Shakira’ has shared her views on file sharing and clearly stated that she isn’t against file sharing but actually it makes her feel closer to the fans because she knows people are willing to illegally share music just to listen to it.
- Famous celebrities are obviously more wealthy than the fans who illegally download so if that’s the case, why should rich people who already have all the money they need, expect fans to pay for albums just because they like a few of the songs from the album ?

Some points as to why file sharing is bad is because:

- Its very difficult for upcoming artists; they need to pay for producing their music and adverts however the money they should earn back for this isn’t given to them by record studios because people are illegally downloading for free.
-  Some celebrities unlike Shakira aren’t happy about file sharing, such as Lily Allen which shared her opinion on file sharing :"I think music piracy is having a dangerous effect on British music, but some really rich and successful artists like Nick Mason from Pink Floyd and Ed O'Brien from Radiohead don't seem to think so." To fans it might seem like celebrities will appreciate them more if they download their music but it’s the opposite, if fans ‘love’ the music their favorite artists produce then why would they want to make life harder for them?