Double page spread Final

Had to re upload due to problems with exporting

FINAL CONTENTS: READ NOTES

FINAL FRONT COVER: READ NOTES

For some reason it wouldnt get rid of the box outlines.

Question 7

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

Throughout the task, I have noticed my understanding of the codes and conventions has improved, thus making my product seems better than my original College Magazine compared to my new Music Magazine.

I feel that as I have stuck to a strict plan of what I wanted to do, rather than making it up as I go the along and following a very bare and unhelpful plan, have made this product improve dramatically. Also knowing who I my audience was and doing thorough research on a certain audience which have a very niche set of interests rather than having a wider audience where the only thing in common is there age and occupation. Whereas my music magazine allowed me to go deeper into whom I was making the product for and how I can make it more appealing to them.

Being an amateur, I felt it was vital for me to get to grips with software such as in design and Photoshop and try playing around with different editing styles such as the images and font I used for the text. I only had basic knowledge of both of the editing software so I felt it was vital to keep the product basic and to not over do certain things as this may lead to the product looking over crowded and ‘tacky’.

I felt that the design of the contents went well as I used very little in terms of design and used contrasting colours to get the contents, normally a very dull and un-interesting part of any magazine, to look vibrant and alive even though it is a very basic design. I tried repeating the same ‘Less is Best’ idea to my double page spread. I originally wanted to have the band parodying another famous-ish album cover (I was thinking either London calling by the Clash or Morden World by the Jam) but I was unable due to time restrictions and meeting deadlines. I also believed it would be too time consuming in terms of editing the images. Instead I went with simple the simple route with nothing to fancy and it has come out as I have hoped.

Looking through existing magazines played a large part of my research; this allowed me to make my mind up pn what I was trying to do and how I was going to do. I felt that the minimalistic approach that Q magazine went for looked professional but I didn’t want to take my magazine too seriously so I added more vibrant colours to the cover. Also understanding WHO my audience was played an equal, if not more important, than looking at examples. I felt that I had to get into the head of my audience, this lead to asking members of my target audience of people what they would want to see in the magazine rather than what I felt the audience would like to see.

Question 6

Question 3

Sorry, I didn't feel comfortable talking in-front of my camera. So instead enjoy looking at my desktop.

Question 4 & 5

I filmed my self answer both question numbers 4 and 5. I hate talking infront of the camera and sorry for any stuttering of the like.

Question 2

The answer to the question is presented in a prezi which can be found here.

Question 1

Question 1: In what ways does your product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Magazines in general follow tight codes and conventions such as:

• ·      A large dominant title
• ·      Extra promotional features such as puffs and other images
• ·      A dominant background image
• ·      A bar code on the right hand side along with an issue number and a date

Normally a music magazine goes along with the same codes and conventions as other magazines but I decided to experiment with some ideas to make my magazine seem different and more appealing to my audience.

To start with, I decided against using a large title going across the cover. Instead, I used the top let hand corner to put my simple title of OI!. I did this because it not only parody’s OK! magazine (which, in a way, is the binary opposite of my magazine) but to make it eye catching on the magazine rack. Also the name OI! Can be addressed as the magazine yelling at a passerby to pick it up and look at it.

I have also decided against using puffs, I wanted the magazine to be like the punk music and be completely stripped down and be only built up on the would basics and what’s important to the magazine, so in this case it’s the 3 main articles that I feel are important and be interesting to the reader. I also chose to put them on the left third to make it appealing to the audience and it allows them to see what’s in the magazine at just a glance.

Another feature I added was the banner going across the top of the cover. Most magazines have some form of banner going across the masthead with a slogan, I choose to follow this convention because it gives the magazine something to be remembered by and show what the magazine is there to represent and do something for its audience.

I chose a different approach with the main image as I didn’t want it to take up the whole of the cover. I felt that it was appropriate to make the image black and white because it shows the rawness of the music genre and it also goes well with the colour scheme of the cover. Furthermore it gives the cover an old school Punk/DIY feel, which I think would be appealing to members of my chosen audience.

To conclude, even though I have chosen to go against the normal codes and conventions, I feel that my product works because it’s so different in terms of aesthetic looks. Also by looking different it stands out from other products and goes hand in hand with the genre of punk which I was trying to recreate to attract my audience.