Evaluation Q1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

http://130035538.wix.com/evaluationquestion1

I made Question 1 on wix.com, please click the link to view.

Comparison of Flat Plans with Finished Products

Final Focus Group

Plan for lesson

Today I will be receiving feedback on my work both from my peers and my lecturer. I will use this to make improvements and I will also complete any work that is missing.

*UPDATE- REFLECTION*

I have been working on the feedback giving to me through the lesson and any missing work from my blog. Over the holidays I will continue doing this and I will be completing my evaluation.

Plan for lesson

Today I would like to finish my website so that my ancillary tasks can receive peer and lecturer feedback on how to improve. I also would like to finish today so that I can meet the deadline for the ancillary tasks of the end of this week (20/12/15). If I finish my website today I will work on improving my research and planning based on the feedback given to me by my teacher.

*UPDATE - REFLECTION*
I have finished my website and will be showing it (and my billboard) to my lecturer for feedback. I will also be receiving feedback from my peers on how to improve and I will use their comments to make any changes needed.

Wix Template Research

Plan for lesson

Today I will be continuing construction my ancillary website. By the end of the lesson I would like to have made significant progress.

*UPDATE - REFLECTION*
I am almost finished with my website, which I will hopefully complete by next lesson.

Home

Culture>Music

Contact

Plan for lesson

Today I am going to continue working on the construction of my website. By the end of the lesson I would like to be finished the home page and have moved onto to the second page.

*UPDATE - REFLECTION*
I have not been able to continue working on my website this lesson as there has been a problem with the college internet meaning sites such as Wix, Powtoon, Emaze etc. have not been working. Instead I have been making improvements on my magazine work based on the feedback I received from my teacher, which I have now finished (I will make and upload a presentation explaining the changes I have made either at home or when the college internet is working again). I am going to continue working on my website at home so that I can finish it by the deadline of the week beginning 14/12/15.

Comparison with Existing Products

Plan for lesson

Today I am going to compare my magazine work so far to existing products, and then I will start constructing my website.

*UPDATE - REFLECTION*
I compared my magazine work with similar existing products and have moved onto constructing the website. It was difficult to get the hang of at first however now I am more confident in what I am doing and will continue to work on it at home and during lesson. This is my progress so far:

Plan for December

Completed Billboard (Before Feedback)

This is my completed version of the billboard which is part of my ancillary tasks. I am going to show this to my lecturer who will provide me with feedback on how to improve.

I have kept this billboard quite simple because I have found when looking at existing examples, it is conventional to have a dominant image and text is generally very limited - only showing need-to-know information such as brand names and website addresses. As my billboard is advertising a concert organized by he magazine for their cover star in Newcastle, I have included any information I feel is relevant/necessary and have used my magazine's house style fonts to keep within its identity and make it recognisable. 

Plan for lesson

Today I am going to work on my billboard, which I started constructing last lesson. I would like to be close to finishing this by the end of the lesson. If I finish the billboard this lesson then I will use the rest of the time to improve on my magazine work and then begin constructing my website next lesson.

*UPDATE - REFLECTION*
I have completed my billboard, which I will soon hand in to my lecturer to receive feedback. I have been working on improving my magazine front cover and contents page, using the advice I was given. I will next move onto my DPS before I explain and compare with my first versions and next lesson I will begin constructing my website.

Teacher Feedback on Magazine

Finished DPS (Before Feedback)

Plan for lesson

Today I am going to finish off my magazine's double page spread. This means I will have completed all magazine work to meet my deadline of 29/11/15. Once I have done this I will move on to constructing my ancillary tasks (billboard and website). These will need to be completed by 20/12/15, so that all construction work is completed for Christmas break and I can move onto my evaluation.

*UPDATE - REFLECTION*
I have finish constructing my magazine, and handed in the work to my lecturer who has provided me with feedback to improve. I am simultaneously improving the magazine whilst beginning to construct my ancillary tasks so that I can meet my deadlines.

Plan for lesson

Today I am going to continue working on my double page spread as I have a deadline to have all magazine construction finished by the end of this week (29/11/15). By working on it this lesson, Thursday's lesson and at home when possible I should be ready to begin constructing ancillary tasks next week.

*UPDATE - REFLECTION*
This is what I have achieved this lesson. I have almost completed my DPS, as the only thing left to do is to add a pull quote wrapped around the image on the right hand side (which I will do next lesson). I am quite pleased with its appearance as I find it is quite similar to my existing magazine template/example and my flat plan, and has a conventional look.

Editing DPS Photo

I edited my image using Photoshop. I wanted to make only subtle changes, as I am not very confident with editing and if I tried anything to complicated it could be obvious I had edited the image. This is the before and after of the edited image:

ORIGINAL                                                                                    EDITED

I have airbrushed the skin slightly to remove blemishes, which I did by creating a layer mask   using a blur effect on the skin with the Brush tool. I also used the Clone Stamp tool to reduce the appearance of stray hairs to make the image look slightly tidier.

Layout for DPS

Plan for lesson

Today I am going to make the final touches to my contents page, and then move on to editing my DPS image. By the end of the lesson I would like to be finished editing the image so that I can get  started constructing the DPS to meet the deadlines set to complete magazine work by 29 November.

*UPDATE - REFLECTION*
I have edited my photo and have now started constructing my DPS. It is only in its early stages, but this is it so far:

Plan for lesson

Today I am going to continue with the construction of my magazine's contents page. By the end of the lesson I would like to be either almost finished or completely finished with it so that I can move onto constructing the double page spread.

*UPDATE - REFLECTION*
I have now finished my contents page, which is shown here.

Plan for lesson

Today I plan to continue constructing my contents page. I would like to be at least halfway through by the end of the lesson.

*UPDATE - REFLECTION*
This is my contents page so far. I will continue working on it next lesson and hopefully finish it so I can begin constructing the double page spread.

Finished Front Cover

This is the completed version of my front cover, though I may make changes to it later. I used some Bevel/Emboss and Contouring effects on certain pieces of the text to create a different texture that should hopefully look attractive to the reader.

Plan for lesson

Today I am going to make the final touches to my front cover. Once this is done I will upload the completed version to my blog, then I will start on my contents page.

*UPDATE - REFLECTION*
I have completed my front cover and have begun on my contents page. I have also been selecting and editing images.

Plan for lesson

Today I am going to continue constructing my front cover.

*UPDATE - REFLECTION*

I have almost completed the front cover, I will make the finishing touches soon. This is it at this point:

I have given my cover a different look than previously. Instead of using the original photo for my background, I have used the Magnetic Lasso Tool to cut my model out so that I can use different backgrounds and change the positioning of the model in a way that will look most attractive and concise.

I have used an effect on the background to create the appearance of texture. This was done by right-clicking the layer and selecting Blending Options. I used a Bevel/Emboss effect and an Inner Shadow. I feel this makes everything on the cover stand out more in contrast with the background.

I have also added an effect of using an outline around some of the larger pieces of text, such as the masthead and main cover line. This indicates an important piece of text and makes it stand out more on the page. I did this my right-clicking the layer and selecting Blending Options. I then used the Stroke tab and adjusted the thickness of the outline depending on the text it was being used for.

Plan for lesson

My plan for todays lesson is to begin constructing my magazine, starting with the front cover.

*UPDATE  - REFLECTION*
I am around halfway through constructing my front cover, which I will continue with next lesson. This is my front cover so far:

Calendar for November

Plan for lesson

Today I will be further reflecting and improving on my research and planning section so it is completed for its deadline of Friday 23 September.

*UPDATE - REFLECTION*

I will continue doing this in Thursdays lesson.

Plan for lesson

My plan for todays lesson is to look over my blog and complete work I have missed out and make any improvements where possible.

*UPDATE - REFLECTION*

I will continue with this task during next weeks lessons so that I am finished with my research and Planning section, and ready to start the Construction stage after half-term.

Audience Profiles

This research helps me as it gives me an idea of who the target audience are, what they do, what they like etc. From this I can put content into my ancillary tasks that I think they would enjoy/be interested in, for example if someone is interested in charity work I can promote charity events/work the magazine does for charity through my products.

Plan for lesson

My plan for todays lesson is to complete my audience profiles. Once I have done this I am going to go back over my blog to see if there is anything I have missed out and finish them off. 

*UPDATE - REFLECTION*

I have completed my target audience profiles which was my main aim for the lesson. I have been looking back over my blog and completing any research/planning posts that were missing.

Reader Profile

The reader profile is very useful as it allows me to see the target audiences hobbies, likes, dislikes, interests, general statistics etc. Once I have this information I can tailor my magazine to suit their needs through the use of colours, layout, price, content etc. 

Plan for lesson

Today my aim is to complete my reader profile and upload it to my blog. I am also going to begin on my target audience profiles.

Target Audience Interview

                             

I have found my target audience interview very useful as it has helped me to see the magazine from the readers perspective and understand what they are interested in. Along with my target audience surveys, I will use the information I have gathered from this to create a reader profile.

Plan for lesson

Today I am going to film my target audience interview and upload it to my blog. Once I finish this I will move on to collating my target audience data to create a reader profile.

*UPDATE - REFLECTION*
I have filmed my target audience interview, which I edited on iMovie then uploaded to my blog as a Youtube video. I am currently working on my reader profile which I will finish at home/next lesson.

Generic Conventions of Magazines, Billboards and Website

Target Audience Survey

Here I have uploaded my original questionnaire and some examples of the feedback I received after handing it out to members of my target audience. 
I have found that using questionnaires has been an effective way of finding out more about my target audience and has given me ideas to make my magazine appealing to them. From my results almost all would be happy to pay the £1.50 price I have proposed - one person thought it should be less as it is a regional magazine, however as this opinion was only in the minority I have decided to keep it the same. The majority of the target audience thought that the best way to portray regionality would be by featuring regional-based articles. This would support my views that features should be based around events and people in the cities of the region. That said, I would still want to include an element of slang/informal language in my magazine, as I feel it would create a sense of friendship and familiarity with the target audience.

The results have been interesting as they have showed a pattern of behaviour within genders. The majority of females asked said that they would fully read a magazine, whereas most of the males answered that they would skim read. This indicates I should try to interest females with the article content, while focusing on attractive imagery and eye-catching colours to appeal to males. In terms of magazine content, there was quite a range of answers as to what features should be included. It is difficult to find a definitive answer as to what I should include to to the range of answers, so I have decided to include all of the options to attract all parts of the target audience. The most popular answers as to what attracts the audience to a magazine is an attractive cover and a celebrity feature. This tells me I need to combine eye-catching features, attractive fonts and interesting sell lines with my cover image to create interest in my celebrity cover model and the magazine itself.

Besides giving me information as to what I should include in the magazine, I have found out more about the target audience which will help me to create a reader profile. I asked favourite food, music and hobby because I wanted the question to interest both females and males, as opposed to fashion, which is stereotypically a female interest, or sport, a stereotypically male interest.                          

Plan for lesson

My plan for todays lesson is to create and distribute my target audience surveys. These will help me get an idea of what my target audience really likes and what they will want to see in my magazine.

*UPDATE - REFLECTION*
I have created and distributed my target audience. I am analyzing the results and will finish this at home and upload it to my blog.

Calendar for October

Target Audience Interview - Update

I made plans to film my target audience interview today, however I am off college ill so I will not be able to meet this target. I have instead postponed the interview until Tuesday 6 October, as I should be better by then and it is a better time for my interviewee. For Thursdays lesson I will concentrate on producing and distributing my target audience survey.

Questions for Target Audience Interview

Questions for target audience interview from sienamatkin

Interview Storyboard Template

This is a storyboard of an interview given by Jeremy Paxman to Russell Brand. I am using this as a template for my own video, which I will film on Tuesday 29 September. It is useful as it gives me an idea of the type of shots I want to use in the video, for example a shot reverse shot of the interviewer and interviewee, as well as shots from different angles such as a two shot. I am also planning on using a title shot at the beginning and end of the video that will show my magazines logo. This will show the purpose of the interview and make it look more professional.

*UPDATE*
Due to being off sick from college, I missed the original deadline for the interview and so had to film it at a later date. I therefore had less time to film and edit it, so I decided to use a simple one-shot technique instead of the original shots I had planned.

Target Audience Overview

This is a basic overview of my target audience profile. It helps to give an idea of who my target audience is - what they like, where they live, their occupations, their general circumstances etc.

Plan for lesson

My plan for this lesson is to get more research towards my target audience. I am going to create and upload my basic audience profile, as well as planning for my interview with my target audience. I will storyboard a template for my interview and plan the questions I am going to ask in the interview. 

*UPDATE - REFLECTION* 
I have done what I set out to do for this lesson. Over the next few days I will prepare so that I am ready for the interview on Tuesday.

Pitch Feedback

Plan for lesson

For this lesson I am going to show my pitch and get feedback both from my peers and my lecturer. I will upload this to my blog and give my own thoughts on the comments I receive. I would also like to continue working on my flat plans and rationale, as I would like to finish those before I start my target audience research later this week. 

*UPDATE - REFLECTION*
I have shown my pitch and received feedback on it, as well as giving my own thoughts on it. I am working on my contents page and DPS flat plans as well as their rationales, which will be uploaded to my blog ASAP.

Website Flatplan - Contact Page

My contact page uses provides another outlet for readers to connect with the magazine. Instead of listing contact details for the audience to use, I instead decided to create a 'form' that they could type their own details into and could then be contacted by the magazine from then. I think this makes the service provided more personal as the magazine takes the time to contact them and can deal with their specific issue or query. The form will also give me another opportunity to include interactive features on the site - drop down menus they can use to select an option and text boxes to type their information. I think these features will help to make my website more conventional as it allows the user to be more active when using it as opposed to simply looking at different pages. It also could act as a way for the magazine to receive primary feedback about its products and suggestions on how to make improvements.

Again, the house style of the website has been kept the same as the other pages, with the logo, navigation bars, search bar and social media links acting as a template for each page. I will continue to use the house style of black, white, navy and red and plan to keep my fonts/text sizes etc the same to give the overall website a uniform, professional look.

planned colour scheme

Website Flatplan - Article Page

My websites article page will keep the same house style as that displayed on the home page - the structure will be kept the same, with only the page content changing. The positioning of the magazine logo/masthead, menu bar, search box, social media links and bottom navigation bar are all in the same place - I think it is important to keep an element of continuity to the website so that it looks professional and well designed.

As the main purpose of the website is to raise the magazines profile and further connect with the magazines audience, I have decided to create a page that provides a snippet of the current issues interview with the celebrity cover star. I will also include some exclusive photos not featured in the magazine article and this together should hopefully provide an incentive for readers to go out and purchase the magazine. I am planning on using a plug such as "To read the full interview, pick up a copy of the _____ issue in stores now!" - providing an extract from the interview on the website should pique visitors interests and make them more likely to buy the magazine to finish reading. My colour scheme will be mainly white and black, however I will also take the opportunity to use colours such as red, as I think as a bright colour it grabs your attention and should help create interest in the article when used on the article title. The extract from the interview will clearly distinguish the dialogue of the interviewee from the interviewer. I plan to do this by using a range of colours, or using bold or italic effects on the text - I will experiment when actually constructing the page to see what looks best.

*UPDATE* 
I have spoken with my lecturer who has advised me not to create an 'interview' style article as this is not conventional for similar magazines. Instead I will be writing a piece about the cover star for the DPS content.

Website Flatplan - Home Page

I have taken a lot of inspiration from living north.com, Living North's website, when planning my website. When I did my deconstructions, I thought that Living Norths design was much more superior and professional looking than ETC North East or Luxe - it made me, as a reader, want to explore it, which is how I would want my target audience to feel about its website. The website will have a lot of interactive features, such as a slideshow of scrolling imagery that will link to different articles, links to the magazines social media accounts. This allows the audience to connect with the magazine on other platforms and shows it keeping up to date with their interests. I am also going to place a search bar at the top of the home page, allowing the reader to explore the site and find a particular item they are looking for. The magazines house style will be used throughout the website - the colours black and white most prevalent, with red and navy being used to highlight important features/links. This, combined with the familiarity of the magazine logo (which will also act as a Home button), should be recognisable to the audience and act as a connection to the magazine.
The menu bar separates the websites pages into categories based on their content. This is another feature I took inspiration from Living North on, however I feel it is quite conventional for most websites to have a menu/navigation bar at the top of the page. I will use sub-images to create interest in articles etc. on the magazines website. Each sub-image will be linked to a different topic, however as a whole should create a sense of uniformity as I am planning on using the same colour (black) and font (Bodoni XT) for each. I have chosen this font for my website because it will also be used in my magazine, as I feel it has a professional and sleek look that will appeal to both genders.
I am also using my home page as an opportunity to advertise magazine subscriptions and the e-newsletter sent to all members. I think these are quite conventional for a magazine website as they present the magazine trying to further connect with its audience. I have also included a navigation bar at the bottom of the page providing links to the copyright information and terms and conditions etc. This will be featured at the bottom of every webpage to keep the overall appearance conventional.
I think this flat plan provides a good representation of the magazine and should attract the target audience, as I have kept it very gender neutral to accommodate for both males and females. On reflection, I could include the magazine slogan somewhere on the home page to further connect to the magazine and highlight its regional genre, however as all of my articles will be based in this area it hopefully should be obvious which location it is targeted at.

Billboard Flatplan

                Draft                                                                                         Final Version

My aim for my billboard was to make it look as conventional as possible, whilst still conveying its regionally  I took inspiration from fashion and music billboards when designing it. Though I did like my draft of the flat plan, I decided to change it after seeing this billboard advertising a new album by the band Sade. I liked the positioning of the text so that it fitted around the image, as well as the simplicity of it - the text contains basic information, but gives you what you need to know. I plan to use a close up photo of my model from my cover shoot for my billboard image, and when I looked back at my draft I realised some of the text may overlap her face. I then changed the positioning of the text slightly so that there is two sides; the left for any text on the billboard, and the right for the model.

I am going to to use the same colour scheme and font styles on my billboard as those used in my magazine. I think this is important as they make up part of the magazines identity and make it recognisable to the target audience. The magazines logo (in the font Dubiel) takes a centre position on the billboard and is larger than the rest of the text as it is more important and therefore should be more visible to the reader. The background will be white, and the text will be in black. This will make it stand out and easy for the target audience to read.

To portray the magazines regionality, I have included the magazines slogan 'lifestyle of the North East'. In addition, my puff/plug will be advertising an exclusive concert being held by my model (a famous musician from the region) in Newcastle. The use of the website will show readers where to go to get tickets.

I may make further changes when I am constructing the billboard, for example if I choose to use a different photo from the one I am planning on using the structure may change. Other possible additions I may make is adding the magazines social media information, however I do not want the billboard to look to crowded so this will depend on what looks better/more professional.

Double Page Spread Flatplan

For my double page spread layout I have taken inspiration from existing publications, using one half of the two pages for an image and the other for the actual article. The image will be a medium close up or a close up and will show my model either looking directly into the camera or slightly away, off into the distance. I think this imagery will give her an air of mysteriousness which may intrigue the target audience. She will be dressed casually, like the other pictures in my magazine to keep with the theme of the issue. 

The colour scheme that has been used on previous pages will be continued, although less prominent colours such as navy may be used more on the article title or similar. I am going to use the font Bodoni XT in keeping with my house style and because I think it is quite gender neutral, while still giving off a professional edge. The text will be an interview with a famous local celebrity, to highlight the regional theme, and will be quite informal as I feel the target audience will find that style of dialogue more appealing. I want the question and answer text to be clearly separated, so I will probably put each in a different colour, such as red for questions and black for answers. 

I think my magazine is going to be quite conventional. I have taken inspiration from existing magazines to try to make it as typical with the magazines style as possible. My pull quote is going to highlight an interesting quote from the article that should hopefully draw in readers who are flicking through the pages.I am using a plug at the end of the article to advertise the celebrity musicians new album, single or similar. This is often used in existing magazines to show the purpose of the interview. 

Contents Page Flatplan

My aim for my contents page is to look professional, clear and concise, but still interesting enough to draw in the reader. I will be sticking to the same colour scheme as my front cover, as I want the magazines house style to be obvious throughout its pages. The layout is quite simple, but when looking at examples from existing regional magazines I find that most kept the contents design to a minimum. 

My contents page will be organised into sections, with the top section highlighting the most 'important' articles that are shown on the front cover. This will make it easier for the reader to find a feature if they were attracted to its sell line on the front cover. The rest of the contents will be organised into sections further down the page, such as news, fashion and culture. Throughout the page my articles will be listed in chronological order so that it looks more organised. I am aiming to have about 150 pages, as I think this will be a good amount for my target audience - enough to keep them interested, but not so much that they get bored.

I have kept the top of the page for the contents title. It will be in large font as I want it to jump out at the reader and will likely use the same font as my masthead. For other text I am going to use Bodoni XT, a font I found at dafont.com. I find it fits in with my house style and the general look I ant for the magazine. 

The image I am going to use will be a different image of the same model from the front cover. It will probably be a medium close up or a close up, however I may decide to go for a different look and use a long shot instead. My model will be dressed casually, in a similar style to the front cover so that she is recognisable to the reader. I am going to overlay a page number on the image so that it is easy for the reader to find the page, presumably being the highlight of the magazine. The image will portray the natural, relaxed style that is the theme of all of the pictures.

In keeping with the regional theme, I will probably include my slogan 'The lifestyle of the North East' somewhere on the page. Not only does it highlight the genre but it also shows what the magazine is about and gives an idea of the article content. I am also going to use my contents page to advertise the magazines other platforms, such as Facebook ,Twitter, Instagram and their website. This will show the magazine is keeping up to date with the target audience, who are very involved with social media.

Front Cover Flat Plan

This is the flat plan I have produced for my front cover, the left showing the masthead in bold and the right showing without. The font is Dubiel, sourced at fontspace.com. I like it because I think it gives the magazine quite a professional, sleek look, reminiscent of Vogue Magazine or Living North. I have decided to use the bold masthead, because I think it stands out better and will still be easy to read when the cover image is displayed over or under it.

I feel that my front cover flat plan is quite conventional in terms of existing publications - I have arranged the sell lines so that they go around the image (which will take up a large portion of space). The only sell line that will be on top of my model will be advertising her article, which will make the cover clear and concise. As my target audience is quite young I want the cover to be interesting and relatable, so that it draws them in. I think using a popular local celebrity on the front cover should help with this, as they are up to date with popular culture. 

In terms of sell lines I have chosen quality over quantity. If there is too many pieces of information on the page it will look overcrowded and confusing, which may detract the reader. I think using four is the right amount, because I can make the most of the best articles in the magazine to grab the readers attention. I am likely to use a plug or similar within the sell lines, for example to advertise a competition or special event.

My colour scheme will be the house style of the magazine; black, white, red and navy. Black will be the dominant colour, with white used to make certain things stand out and navy/red used to highlight important points on the cover. These colours will suit both genders within my target audience but also stand out due to their bright nature, preventing anything from being hard to read.

My cover image will be either a medium shot or a close up of my model. She will either be looking directly at the audience or slightly away depending on which image I choose. In one sense, by using a photo looking directly, this could draw the target reader in as they may feel more connected to her and the magazine itself. On the other hand, however, using a photo of the model looking in a different direction may create an air of mysteriousness and pique the readers curiosity. The chosen image will have good, high-key lighting, so that the image is bright and attractive, bringing out the models best features. I am going to photoshop the image I choose so that the model looks as appealing to to the audience as possible, whilst also looking like a professional image. The costume is quite relaxed and casual, to create a sense of relation with the reader, but with attractive make-up so that the reader almost aspires to the image they see.