Friday, 15 May 2015

Final Note

Hello Moderator, 

Below, since the beginning of my AS Media Studies year in September, you will find my Research and Planning posts. From then you will find my Evaluation Posts (1-7) and also my completed product - my music magazine.
I have attempted my present my blog in a neat layout, so that it is easy for you to read and understand easily.

I hope you enjoy scrolling through my blog!

Many Thanks,

Hollie.

Friday, 8 May 2015

EVALUATION: Question 7 - Looking back at your preliminary, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it, to the full product?

As you can see I have developed my skills in using photoshop and other technologies over the year. My college magazine is allocated on the right of the photo whilst my music magazine is placed on the left. I have developed skills such as using text in a better way, the colour schemes and the layout of magazines.
In my college magazine I used a medium long shot of myself and another student holding a piece of paper reading something off it smiling. It looks good but it was stretched out to fit the size. Over the year, I learnt a skill which I could make the image larger to fit the screen but not to stretch it. This was a good skill that I have developed because this way, my magazine didn't look out of place.
I named my college magazine "HYDE". This was something simple but I thought it looked good during the time. The black bold font has been changed to the "LISTEN" on my music magazine. This is a skill I developed over the year. By exploring photoshop and learning more about texts and the pen tool on it, it allowed me to play around and get feedback off social media till I ended up with this masthead.
I have developed how to change font sizes and have learnt about the typical font sizes of music magazines.  In my research I discovered that the font sizes on the front cover are all mainly the same size apart from the main coverline and the masthead. This wasn't something I knew whilst creating my college magazines so that meant that the sizes were different from one another. I had also learnt that you should have different fonts for your coverlines which I did in my college magazine so my music magazine looks much better in this light.
The positioning of my model wasn't exactly great in my college magazine whilst my music magazine uses great postitioning and it is typical for music magazines. I had learnt about positioning of the models whilst doing my research on other magazines such as the WE HEART POP.
I also developed my skills in the layout of the magazine. This was by making my music magazine something conventuonal to fit the target audience and the genre of the magazine. Whilst I had no idea how the layout should be for college magazines, this was developed to be much better knowledge in creating my music magazine. The layout has been inspired and developed from existing magazines which I believe is a great achievement.
The college magazine I had created had big gaps and looked unfinished whilst the music magazine I had created looked finished, although there are gaps within it. The music magazine I have created has a good layout because it doesn't look stuffed and is nicely presented. This also goes with the conventional music magazines which I believe was a good skill to have been developed.

Thursday, 7 May 2015

EVALUATION: Question 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?




EVALUATION: Question 5 - How did I attract/address my target audience?


EVALUATION: Question 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

Profile
Name - Amy Smith
Age - 16
Gender - Female 
Occupation - College Student 

Favourites
Film - Mean Girls and Legally Blonde 
TV Show - Gossip Girl
Book - The Fault in our Stars
Music - Katy Perry, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift
Genre - Pop and country

Social Media
Instagram, twitter and tumblr.

Amy is a 16 year old girl who loves to know about celebrity gossip, follow the latest trends and hear the latest music. She loves going to music concerts - such as One Direction. She enjoys taking selfles and posting them on Instagram  She wants to work within media so she can gain access to meeting the latest celebrities - such as 5S0S. She is always interested in different collaborations within the pop genres and enjoys going to meet ups.

My target audience are similar to the profile of Amy, since they enjoy the latest music, typically the genre of pop. They would enjoy signing up for the chance of winning concert tickets and the chances of meeting pop stars.

Since my target audience is based on middle class 16 year old girls, it is expected that they can afford £3.00 on my monthly issue of my magazine. However, I understand that my secondary audience will be working class 16 year old girls, therefore the price being £3.00 is more affordable for them to spend monthly as a luxury. To keep up with the celebrity trends within my magazine they are accessible through high street stores, which are both affordable and well budgeted.

Therefore, I believe that my target audience is 16 year old student girls such as Amy, who can afford £3.00 of their allowance on a monthly issue of my magazine.

Wednesday, 6 May 2015

EVALUATION: Question 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?

Screen Shot 2015-05-01 at 12.12.36

EVALUATION: Question 2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Front cover

Above I have made a GIF to show how my music magazine represents a particular social group.
Expression - 
Both of the models on the front cover of the magazine are smiling, showing a friendly attitude from the magazines. Even though, on my magazine my model isn't looking directly at the camera as the audience you would still feel intrigued and you would know that they are on the same level.

Hair and Make-up - 
Both of the models are wearing make-up on the front cover which is stereotypical as most teenagers wear make up from young teenage years and for many more years after that. Furthermore, both of the models are wearing their hair down, this shows that both the models take care of their appearance which is something nowadays that teenage girls care a lot about.

Posture - 
Both of the models have strong postures with each of them having their right (but left to us as the audience) arm raised but also at the same time they look relaxed. I think that the model on the real life magazine is looking confident, whereas my model has her head down which could show off a 'timid' feeling. This relates to my target audience because teenage girls tend to pretend to be shy or they are also not very confident. 

Shot Type - 
The shots on the front covers are both mid-shots. I think that this shot was the best type of shot to use as the audience will feel more involved. I think it is a good idea to have a mid-shot because most teenage girls enjoy taking pictures and I think it also stands out more.

In conclusion, both of the models look friendly and confident but the model on my magazine looks more timid. They both take very good care of their appearance including hair and make-up which represents my aimed social group as they take good care and time on their appearance.