Audience's evaluation

Here is a survey I have asked people to fill out, which I have shared on Facebook along with screenshots of my magazine:
Click here to take survey

Here are the answers:

"I think that there is good continuation between the three sections in terms of style and content. There is a good continuation of colour and content between the pages. i think it is well representative of the indie genre with the style of writing and content, though i would perhaps expect more grunge style colours and a more indie and more shocking image of ella doshi on the double page spread. I think the pages are well representative of a shop bought music magazine."

"Cover image - very appealing and inviting , the photo makes you want to look inside the magazine and pick it up ,it gives the kind of Indie appearance , it is well presented and the format makes the most of space on the front cover contents page -The colour combination works very well it is not over the top yet neat and easy to read The use of space is very good and the font size is just the right size for the Ella Doshi interview - The interview is very interesting and full of intersting and exciting questions and facts , I really like thee way that the image surrounds the text , it is almost as if it is leading and drawing you into the interview , I love the colour coordination in the image as well as it catches your eye. The continuation between the 3 pages is very good , the colours follow on and the greens on the 3rd page really catch your eye , it really draws you in and makes you want to read more. I like the border around the edges of the pages as it really defines the text and images and makes it look very neat and professional. I really like the fonts used as there is a variey yet they still all look good and fit together."

"I like the colour scheme and think that it looks very eye catching, especially having the caption on the cover in the same colour as Ella Doshi's jacket. There is good continuity as the sections are all in similar colours with similar fonts, and especially as the artist on the third page is the same as the one on the front cover. The interview is very realistic, but it's also funny and entertaining. If there was one thing I think could be improved is to change the font at the bottom of the front cover saying "Mystery Jets" etc. I also think the contents page article is very realistic, and I liked the photo that went with it. Overall, very good and profesional!"

Target audience's reaction

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I have asked a few different people to come up with the adjectives they would use to describe my finished magazine and made them into a Wordle. I am quite pleased with the reaction to it, as a few people have described it using words like "modern", "young" and "striking, which is what I was aiming for when creating it. It also shows that it will appeal to the target audience, as words such as "youthful" and "teenage" have been used. I am also pleased with the reaction to the actual contents of the magazine such as the double page spread, which has been described as "contemporary", "independent", "targeted", "interesting", "topical" and "informative", which are more or less exactly the sort of words I would use to describe the genre and contents of it.

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

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

Since entering my magazine to be re-submitted I have started work on my A2 coursework, which has demanded different Photoshop skills and knowledge to what I previously used to construct my initial magazine. Primarily, I have learnt through experience that it is extremely important to do basic things like naming layers; going back to my AS magazine was tricky at first, as none of the layers were labelled, so everything was very difficult to access. Furthermore, the amount of layers I had didn’t reflect the amount that I was actually using; nearly half of the layers for my front cover, contents page and double page spread were hidden and were no longer in use, and should have been deleted. Although it seems very obvious, tidying up my layers palette made constructing my magazine a lot easier. Another thing that I have learnt since re-entering my coursework is that if I needed to manipulate several layers at a time, I shouldn’t merge them (unless necessary), but I should put them into groups. I was forced to completely restart on several of the layers that I had previously merged, as I was now unable to access or manipulate the individual layers that they were made up of. Grouping layers has made the process much simpler, and, although it can take longer if there are several layers that need to be grouped, it still allows the freedom to move and edit layers individually or as a group. This has been invaluable when creating things like the white text in the red boxes on my front cover; if I wanted to make the text smaller, or increase the size of the box to fit around the text better, I was able to do it without a problem. Something which I have used much more this time round is the ‘Magic Wand Tool’. Before I had relied a lot more on the ‘Lasso Tool’ and the ‘Magnetic Lasso Tool’, which, although sometimes necessary, took a lot longer and didn’t give results as professional-looking as I wanted, as edges weren’t as refined. I hadn’t really used tools such as the ‘Magic Wand Tool’ very much when I first submitted my coursework, and it was only when I decided to resubmit it that I researched and attempted to follow Photoshop tutorials a lot more thoroughly. This gave me a much better grasp of basic Photoshop skills, and also introduced me to tools such as the ‘Magic Wand Tool’ (which was invaluable when copying and pasting fonts off www.dafont.com in order to get rid of the white background) and the ‘gradient tool’, which I used on my front cover. The tutorials I referenced when making the album cover to go on my double page spread were extremely useful and interesting in terms of my knowledge of Photoshop; I had never before used the ‘Match Colour Tool’ or the ‘Convert to Smart Object’ option, and, although I will need more practise at using these things before I understand them completely, I am much more aware of how different functions of Photoshop work. Furthermore, although at first I did not always completely understand the tutorials (such as not knowing what a tool was, where to access it etc.), with practise I can now work my way around Photoshop much more quickly, and can remember where to find most of the tools I use and which come under each options list (for example, I know that under ‘Filter’ I can access options such as ‘Liquify’, adjust the Noise or add a Blur, among many other things). As well as Photoshop I have used the website www.picnik.com to adjust the brightness, exposure, saturation etc. of the images I used in the contents page, so as to improve the look of them. This was a useful website to edit the images beforehand in a quick and easy way, so that I could then put them directly onto my contents page in their edited forms instead of having to go through lots of different options on Photoshop to see what looked best.
Another thing that I have learnt in terms of planning, is to create in advance all of the initial blog posts that I know I'll need to write; this way, I have a clear list of the initial posts that I will write, which, although I can add to it at a later date, really helps with the organisation of my posts.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product? How did you address/attract your audience?

Contrary to my initial magazine, I feel that with the strong focus on indie style and music in my resubmitted magazine, as well as the layout of it, it would appeal much more to a younger audience ranging from mid-teens to late twenties, instead of simply being a music magazine for a broad age range of people who were interested in up and coming music. This therefore means that, as the target audience is smaller, I was able to address and appeal to it more by giving my double page spread interview a less serious tone, which is the norm in interviews in NME Magazine. The light tone makes the interview easier to read, as well as being amusing and appealing to a youthful audience. However, I have tried to balance it out by addressing more serious issues such as illegally downloading music; this is a very current and talked about issue, which is frequently debated over by bands and music lovers. Including this in my interview will appeal to my target audience, who will be interested to know my double page spread artist’s opinion on the issue, as well as giving them more information about it. The fact that many artists don’t earn a lot of money is something that I was made aware of through reading a lot of music magazines myself, and something that artists tend to address; recognising this in my double page spread interview makes the target audience aware of this, which might encourage them not to download music illegally in order to support the artists whose music they listen to.
Furthermore, the bright colours and fun, quirkiness of my magazine (such as the props used in the photoshoot and the answers in the interview) give off a very youthful vibe, and might be thought of as too young for an older audience.

3. What kind of media institute might distribute your product and why?

One institute that might distribute my product is IPC Media, which I have done a research post on here. IPC Media is a firmly established and successful distributor, and it's conglomerate company IPC Inspire already distributes NME, which has been massively successful. However, as IPC Inspire is targeted towards men, and IPC Media doesn't have a conglomerate company that distributes magazines targeted towards both men and women, it may not be the best choice to distribute my magazine as it doesn't have a niche for it to be marketed in. Furthermore, if it was distributed under IPC Inspire, it would have major competition with NME, as both magazines have a similar genre and target audience. An alternative distribution company that could distribute my magazine is Bauer Media Group, which I have done a research post on here; although it is a German company, it distributes magazines in 15 other countries including the UK. Although it does already distribute the music magazines Q and Kerrang!, does have a niche for a magazine like mine, aimed at people in their teens to late twenties who want to find out about all new up and coming bands, as well as popular indie music. While Q is aimed at older readers wanting to read about music, Kerrang! focuses on rock music; as my magazine has a different audience and genre to both of these, it would stand out and target the audience that neither Q or Kerrang! reach. I therefore think that Bauer Media Group would be an ideal distributor for my magazine.

2. How does the media product represent different social groups?

I think that my product represents the young, indie music scene well, using typewriter style fonts that fit in well with the vintage style that is extremely popular among ‘indie’ youth, as well as addressing music genres and artists (for example Best Coast) associated with indie music. Furthermore, the way I have styled and dressed both my front cover/double page spread artist and the artist on my contents page is inspired by clothes typically associated with indie style, such as the skinny jeans and denim blouse in the photo of my contents page artist. Furthermore, the props, such as the apples, are quirky, original and similar to props commonly seen in NME and Q magazines to add interest and humour to the images (such as the one below, which features an ice-cream).

I think the image I have used for my double page spread emulates this style well, whilst fitting in with the colour scheme and appearing eye-catching. Furthermore, I think I have also addressed the indie social group through the issues I have addressed in my double page spread interview, such as mentioning illegal downloading, musical inspiration and future tours. The small article on an up and coming artist in the contents page also takes inspiration from NME, another indie magazine, which features articles like mine in the contents page. This helps to attract an audience interested in indie music, as they would be interested to know about the artist. Overall, I think I have represented the indie music social group fairly well, as I have taken inspiration from other indie magazines as much as possible.