Foundation Portfolio Retake

I have decided to retake my foundation portfolio giving me the opportunity to increase my AS grade and therefore secure a university course placement. I have made many changes to my blog in terms of production, planning, drafting, research and also my evaluation. I have placed the new posts created in the order they would appear on the blog as if created in order.

Updated Evaluation

For my AS Foundation portfolio production I had to create a new contemporary music magazine in which I chose to focus upon the Rock Indie genre. In order to fully understand the coursework task and expectations of a magazine I completed generic research into media terminology, different target audience’s (including demographics and psychographs) and the specific conventions of a music magazine themselves. I mainly focussed on using the website BlogSpot to present my findings in date order however I also used other applications to both create my magazine and present other research such as Photoshop, Microsoft Word, Paint and Microsoft PowerPoint.

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

(Power Point - Point 2)

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The emphasis placed upon the rock genre of my magazine through conventions such as puffs and cover lines immediately represents the stereotypical audience member as rebellious and young. Arguably this could connote a negative impact on this social group however I strongly disagree as these fundamental characteristics appeal to other social groups showing the exciting and fun quality of the magazine. I specifically included rebellious features through the conventions, for example the sexual innuendo “69” as one of the cover lines. This again adds to the representation of the magazines audience as badass and living life to the full. This youthful experience exaggerated through representation would attract different social groups as expectedly older generations would desire to regain their youth and have fun. I attempted to make my magazine suitable to target both a wide female and male audience. The front cover does portray more of a masculine image as the colour scheme follows a more darker tone and the main image is a male model. The audience would make the assumption that the magazine was male dominated likely due to the stereotypical link with between the male gender and music equipment such as guitars. Arguably males are the iconic image of the rock genre therefore my magazine does represent the male gender as dominant. This could be successful as it relates my model with rock legends such as rod Stewart. This ideology has been further promoted in my double page spread when my model is wearing orange sunglasses to impersonate the iconic rock celebrity “….”. With clear comparisons between rock legends and the audience of the magazine the social group is represented as the young generation of rock legends showing their potential in the industry. Finally I have included the puff “WIN” on the contents page to add detail to the main image of “Demi Lowe” combined with a further explanation that the audience have the chance to win signed band merchandise. Clearly I included this incentive specifically to attract the target audience of the magazine. This would appeal to the audience as their favourite rock bands are included and this is what music style they are interested in.

What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?

Importantly I intend on my music magazine being a national and perhaps international success therefore I must choose a large distribution agency to make my brand recognised and local in the country for the audience. An independent or local publishing company would not be suitable as there would be limited financial advertising to promote the product. Perhaps in the first few months of publishing the magazine a small agency might be a good idea to basically understand the magazines popularity on the market. I intend on using the distribution agency “Bauer Media” to benefit LEAD and promote the brand through multiple media channels. The only slight issue regarding this thriving company is that one of my magazines major competitors “Kerrang” uses this company. I want my magazine to be unique while widely available to the public. It could be suggested after a certain amount of time, if the magazine is very popular and financially in an excellent position, the magazine company could create its own distribution agency making it vertically integrated. This would be beneficial as then the magazine would be completely independent and make clear its national success. 

Who would be the audience for my media product? And how have I managed to attract/address my audience?

Previous posts on my blog demonstrate the research and planning completed to decide on an appropriate target audience for LEAD. Considering demographics and psychographics was very important to understand the current trend of different social classes buying certain music magazine. I researched existing music magazine such as NME and Q to analyse how effective the directors have been when targeting audience members. Basically I understand the majority of the decisions made in terms of audience by the both of the magazine companies, however the audience group is very specific and niche. I am to target more of a generic audience including all aspects of the rock/indie genre. NME’s reader profile makes clear the inclusion of students as part of the target audience. Clearly this has been very successful however my magazine is better suited for a mature audience therefore I have imposed the target age group of 18-26. The magazine contains minimal graphic language and sexual innuendos which is not suitable for members under the age of 18. Although this does narrow the audience group for my magazine it is important to include these added aspects of the magazine to connote the rebellious nature of the magazine as the genre is specifically rock. Also the inclusion of these features does target the age aspect of the target audience as the conventions are well suited to the personality of the audience group.

In terms of gender my magazine is male dominated however this is a convention of rock music magazines in its self as males are specifically related with a rebellious nature and musical instruments. NME’s reader profile states 74% of the audience are male clearly there is a gap in the market to target a female audience however this would involve breaking the codes and conventions of a music magazine as males are specifically related. Although a rock magazine is likely to always be male dominated, I do want to make my magazine generic therefore equally suitable for both males and females. I have successfully targeted both males and females in terms of audience in my magazine by fundamentally including images of both males and females and including a wide range of topics through my cover lines. Stereotypically darker colours which I have used such as red and black are associated with males therefore on my contents page I introduced yellow into the colour scheme to highlight areas of importance and make the page brighter and more appealing to a female audience. To target females I also attempted to include an almost gossip tone within the text for example “rex goes solo” this is very intriguing and specifically relates to females who again, stereotypically have this feature of conversation.

Finally previous initial research into demographics has influenced my decision to target the social groups C1, C2 and D. The middle class would provide the main source of finance from buying the magazine; also this includes the more mature audience members previously mentioned who would be at the end of the age group being 25. It is important to include students within my target audience as this category specifically relates to the targeted age group. I made the decision of making the magazine the price of £3.00 from considering both areas of my demographics making the magazine available to both social classes. The ideology of rock and roll as rebellious and youthful has been specifically included in my magazine to target the student members of audience. For example the mise-en-scene used in the image on the front cover of my magazine promotes an independent and wild image. The combination of the red and black checked shirt and chaotic images on the guitar the model is using as a prop, promote how rebellious ordinary life can be for audience members of the magazine and how to theoretically live life to the full. The location makes clear the purpose of the photo shoot and gives a professional and appealing appearance to the magazine. To specifically target the E segment of my demographic data I have included the cover line “MTV” to attract the youth as this is a social normality programme for customary owners of a TV. Meaning people who watch MTV do not have to pay extra money for the programme package therefore are likely to watch the programme and relate with it. The subscription offer on the contents page also offers a similar purpose- to influence customers with a lower income to but the magazine. To successfully evaluate my music magazine I created a number of audience feedback videos giving their opinion on the overall image of the magazine. Their response proved to be both credible and useful.

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

(Power Point - Point 6)

Looking back at your preliminary task, what have you felt you have learnt in the progression from it to yyour full product?

The most crucial aspect regarding the finished music magazine is undoubtedly the clarity of the messages promoted as part of the magazines ideology; this can be achieved by making the overall appearance look professional and suitable to be nationally sold. In terms of the academic skills gained from my foundation coursework; my knowledge on the conventions of certain media texts and genre has greatly improved. This extended knowledge has allowed me to make appropriate decisions when creating my music magazine in terms of deciding whether to use, challenge or develop different forms of magazines. Foremost by experimenting with the programme Photoshop I have been able to physically decide which conventions specifically work well with my magazine. For example during my preliminary task I experimented editing the photograph by using the adjustments tool, my practise using the programme extended allowing me to actually enhance the quality of the image during my music magazine by using tool such as Gaussian Blur and Spot Healer.

I have also adopted basic skills from the process of creating my college magazine to my music magazine including simply deciding which colour scheme’s work well for the purpose of different media texts. With my college magazine I followed a purple theme as this specifically iconic with the college I chose to focus on, also it connotes a loud atmosphere, therefore targeting the youthful audience I intended to aim the magazine at. Alike this ideology I focused on the colour of red throughout my music magazine as part of the house style to connote the rebellious representation of the target audience. The main issue regarding my college magazine is the layout and lack of articles on the page. Clearly in terms of this factor my magazine shows the artistic growth of my skills as my music magazine is by far more technically advanced than my previous attempt. The textual detail on my music magazine is also specifically related to the rock genre by including related articles and direct incentives to persuade the audience to buy the magazine. This seems obvious however I now understand that the specific text on the magazine is as important as the overall appearance and layout of the magazine. This knowledge has developed since creating my college magazine as previously I was concentrated more on continuing the colour scheme and making the text bold rather than the content itself. Although this feature still does have much importance on the page. Even this concept has improved, independent research into the correct conventions of the front cover has helped me make decisions when creating my music magazine about which features are appropriate and which are not. 

Updated Evaluation - Point 6 (Powerpoint)

It seemed appropriate to include this power point answering question 6 of my evaluation onto my updated evaluation as it still describes the procedures I went through using the programme Photoshop to create my foundation portfolio. These stages contribute to the production of my first attempt. I have included screen shots explaining the process of creating my updated portfolio on the process of "recreating" posts throughout my blog. 

As you can see the programme Photoshop greatly enhanced my skills regarding technologies and will be very useful for the future. However I also used other media technologies during the construction of my portfolio which are very important to mention:

Camera

I used a still camera supplied by the media department to actually take photographs of my models and different background choices providing me a basis in which to use photo shop and begin creating my portfolio. I already had some experience using this device from social activities however it was challenging ensuring the quality of the images was excellent and suitable for my magazine. I used the camera in different locations therefore I also had to consider the lighting factor. In the shooting room I had to alter all of the lamp shades to make the lighting accurate, leaving no shadows. Also for my outside shoot, I had to position to camera in different ways using the tripod to ensure the sun did not interfere in the overall quality of the image. 

Paint

I used this programme not necessarily for the production and creation of my media texts but the presentation aspect. The programme gave me a place to paste all my print screens during the production stages of my portfolio allowing me to post them onto my blog. From using this programme I have also learnt how to edit images using different options using the tool bar on the left. 

Microsoft Publisher

The work on this programme I completed mainly involved the creation of my double page spread. I created the whole format of my article using this are, allowing me to include features such as; drop cap, pool quotes and conventionally formatted text. This has been very beneficial to my knowledge on the programme and has influenced me to use it more often for other tasks as it is so rewarding. 

Updated Evaluation - Point 2 (Powerpoint)

PREVIOUS Evaluation (First attempt at magazine)

For my AS Foundation portfolio production I chose the print brief.  In order to fulfil the task I planned out the different points I needed to consider before beginning to create my actual product. I began by examining existing media texts of the same form to give me ideas and inspiration for my magazine coursework. I am going to use both word and power point to present my findings which will allow me to easily analyse the different aspects of my final products.

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

     From previously analysing NME’ front cover and considering the typical and more important conventions of a magazine cover I found the masthead must be bold and original as it is the main selling point of the magazine. For example the masthead is an indent for the magazine and represents the magazine in many different types of advertising (virally, posters, on other magazines etc.) I wanted to use a bold but simple format for my masthead so it didn't confuse the reader and would be easily recognisable by the audience. Alternatively I could have used a separate logo which would be placed next to the masthead however I chose not to use one as I didn’t want to make the layout of my magazine cover too busy. NME have used 2 basic outlines with a red background on the masthead to make it stand out, following this effect I have used a white outline also. The slight difference with LEAD and NME’S masthead is that I have placed mine in front of the overall article image unlike NME who have placed theirs behind. I feel the masthead is the most important convention on the front cover therefore felt it should stand out as much as possible. NME have used the sell line “new music express” with the price situated next to it, I have also included a sell line however the difference being I have also included the date in this position on the page. Not adding a barcode on the front cover of the magazine is not necessarily un-conventional however is expected to be at the bottom of the page by the audience. Also the positioning of the barcode visibly of the front is useful as the unique barcode shows what stage the products are on at the production line and useful when actually selling the product itself in shops.

      I do not think NME’s magazine demonstrates any clear cover lines as they are not conventionally positioned in the left third as the customer would expect. However the producers have used the form of a puff/flash to advertise the different articles throughout their magazine, although this is not conventionally correct it does make the different “cover lines” or articles stand out more to the audience from their contrasting colours following the house style. My magazine clearly follows the more conventional aspect of using cover lines; although my colour scheme is different I think the ideology of using NME’s layout does make the splash more interesting and fun to the audience however it could appear too busy and confusing. I could have further improved my magazine by making my cover lines stand out more so they look more exciting to the audience. Alike NME’s technique both of the magazines have a main cover line on the splash which relates to the large image situated in the middle of the page. I chose not to include a skyline on my magazine cover as I wanted to dedicate the top left of the page for the bold masthead and did not want any emphasis to be taken off this convention. Finally I included a flash in the form of a teasing content to entice the audience, this would increase the chances of them buying and reading the magazine. Clearly NME has this feature in common with my magazine through the many articles situated on the page. I took inspiration from previous magazines in the early stages of my research to include a plus section at the bottom of the page which would feature a list of artists related with the Indie/rock genre of my magazine. As extra research I created a questionnaire for customers in my market and I had a lot of positive feedback as “it helps the audience define the music taste or genre of the magazine to see if it’s appropriate for them”. The layout of this section differs in NME to LEAD as it takes the whole length of the bottom page unlike mine which is a small section following the diagonal shape of the image itself. I do think my style is more appropriate however to improve I could have included another advertisement or teasing content to add next to the feature to show its importance.

     At first glimpse at the overall look of my magazine compared with NME’s it is clear I maybe should have included more information or images to make the page more crammed and interesting however the articles I have included are appropriate for my magazine and shows a clear music magazine style. It is conventional for the contents page to include a news, features and reviews section to promote the different articles available within the magazine. Instead I have created 4 different section headings which are more unique and suitable for the articles in my magazine. Regarding the whole features section of both LEAD and NME, LEAD has uses a much smaller text and a more appropriate font which connotes a professional look, (a very important aspect for a popular music magazine). I did not include an editor’s letter on my contents page as I felt it would be better suited on another single page within the magazine, also my previous research when analysing 3 music magazines I found it was not common for a editors letter to be situated on the contents page. I have included 2 images of different artists on my contents page to give the audience a visual variety of the different artists related to the magazine, influencing them to buy the magazine against competitors in shops. I do think my images are both stronger than NME’s chosen image which could confuse the audience as they could relate the image to film production and the cinema rather than music and the Indie/rock genre the magazine is trying to achieve. Also the image itself is boring and doesn’t make the reader want to find out information about the article related, however the layout of the image on NME’ contents page is effective as it is positioned in the centre giving it much importance and the readers full attention. The article information below does not support the image at first glimpse so not fully attracting the reader’s attention which also if improved would create a successful contents page. NME produces could have improved the image by giving it a special effect, for example an eye catching border (following the their colour scheme) to make the image itself stand out on the page.  

     Alike the ideology of my masthead I believe the large headline on a double page spread is equally very important as this is what catches the audience’ eye when reading the magazine. NME have very successfully made their double page spread very noticeable and bold which would attract the customer. This is connoted from the block outline of the quote headline which contrasts against the background making it stand out. Similarly LEAD magazine has a bold  title “ready to ROCK” however the title I chose directly addresses the music aspect of the article unlike the chosen quote from NME (which although does entice the reader) is more personal and doesn’t attract the readers music interest. In terms of mise-en-scene I think my double page spread is much more suitable for the music magazine as it is important all the images have reference to the actual music element which is clear on page. I have purposely used drumming equipment in my double page spread image to promote the artist featured in the article. The denotation of my main image on my front cover is another example of a picture in which I carefully constructed the setting to make the genre clear. Also the splash must have a clear music reference as this is what the audience will ultimately buy the magazine for therefore it must show its ideology to grab the reader’s interest. When analysing the text in the article itself NME have successfully used a conventional drop cap alike LEAD however there is so use of a pool quote. This may be because the double page spread has already included a quote as the main headline however I still think a pool quote is useful as it separates the text and make the articles look shorter, less daunting and time consuming to read which I found out from my questionnaires can be an issue with some customers and result in them not buying the magazine. The Lead of the article has also been given a red format, again to break up the large text chunks making it easier for the audience to read. I included the convention of a strapline  Although the Large headline and main image is more eye catching on NME’ magazine the customer may not read the related article below as the format is too small and there is too much text unlike my magazine. I have not included a by-line and photo credit on my double page spread as I wanted to completely promote the magazine as an institution which creates all aspects of the magazine. To ensure the audience realises the magazine has been created purely by LEAD I have used an indent (a small image of the masthead) at the top left and right of the double page spread.

      How does your media product represent particular social groups?

     The Indie/rock genre of my magazine immediately influences the representation of the audience of the magazine, stereotypically this audience group are rebellious, loud and young. This stereotype is further promoted through the mediation of the colour scheme and certain conventions throughout my magazine which making the splash connotate the audience as unruly people who have a bad attitude. For example the one of the points on the features section of the contents page “hate chavy twats trying to steal our scene” – this represents the young audience as quite aggressive and foul mouthed. I did not intend on creating this negative public opinion of the target audience however loud and expressive text is more appealing to the customer as it draws their attention. As stated for part of my research I wanted to target an audience similar to those of my competitors involving the top 3 classes of the Socio Economic group. The stereotypical audience of the magazine are expected to be rebellious and generally the lower class of society however from previous research into NME I found they actually aim to target the top 3 Socio Economic groups which generally are higher class citizens. As this is the representation we get, I do not think NME are accurate in their target audience. I think the representation of my audience (same as NME’s) has been targeted much more accurately as the more calm colour scheme and images I used alike previously stated connotate a professional appearance therefore my magazine represents a more mature and higher class audience. During the planning of my magazine I included the C1 and C2 SEG groups (as well as my higher class audience) as some customers in this group may find the magazine appropriate for themselves. Also stereotypically people in a lower class are likely to always aim to achieve that class higher and reading LEAD which represents higher class civilians may make them feel of more importance which could result in them buying the magazine monthly. In this circumstance I think In terms of Socio Economic groups I have targeted my audience much more successfully than my main competitor NME as my magazine effectively targets a whole mass audience, instead of just a higher class.

     I do not think my magazine targets a specific generic audience as there are different conventions used which appeal both male and female customers, however my first impression when looking at the splash is that a more masculine image is portrayed. I am disappointed with this representation as part of the planning I stated I wanted to create a dominant female audience as there is a gap in the market. I think this male audience assumption is made due to the stereotypical link between men and band with drums and guitars ect.

     What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?

     Alike my competitors I want my magazine to be a national success therefore an independent and local publishing company would not be suitable as there would not be enough financially backed advertising to promote the product. Bauer Media is an example of a thriving publishing company which would benefit the LEAD magazine brand through its multiple media channels, however my only concern is a major competitor Kerrang also shares the same publishing company. If my magazine company was to have its own financial resources I could suggest the media company creating “LEAD publishing company” which would make the magazine and business completely independent from its competitors.

     Who would be the audience for my media product? And how have I managed to attract/address my audience?
    As part of my previous research and planning (pre constructing my music magazine) I had to consider demographics and psychographics which would allow me to target a specific audience suitable for my music magazine. During this planning stage I independently researched the target audience of existing media texts of the same form and genre (NME and Q magazine). From the data I found (presented on the demographics and psychographics research on my blog) I found the focus audience of my magazine was between the ages of 18-26. I did not think the age group 15-21 would be appropriate for LEAD individually as the few references of graphic language makes the magazine unsuitable for readers under the age of 18. I do think my magazine product addresses this target group as I have included certain conventions which directly address the +18’. For example I have included few tease devices like the subscription offer and “win free concert tickets” in which young adults may need parental guidance. I did not want to use an age restriction on the magazine as the whole ideology of the music in my magazine connotes freedom to be different and listen to alternative indie/rock however including these conventions makes the magazine more prone to be bought by the age group targeted. Also I used a more subtle colour scheme than, for example than NME’s front cover  to connote a more professional final magazine appearance which would attract the pure music lovers interested in reading the articles within the magazine, not only customers Intreged by the appearance of the magazine.

    When previously researching the most suitable generic target audience I independently researched NME and Q magazine as both of these magazines are similar media texts therefore will have a similar target audience. I found both magazines have a dominating male audience, for example 74% of the audience are male (using NME’s statistics). I pursued these findings and decided on mainly targeting a female audience as clearly it is a niche market and I will have an advantage over my competitors. This female market proved more difficult than anticipated to aim for as the majority of magazines I researched have a dominant male market therefore I have had to create conventions and article purely from my questionnaire output. I wanted to use a darker and more subtle colour scheme which would allow me to easily contrast certain text I wanted to emphasise however stereotypically we associate these darker colour like grey and black with the male gender which clearly would impact my ideology to attract a female audience. In the contents page I included certain articles which may attract the female audience, for example “the long blondes” article has a gossip tone which you would expect to find in a celebrity magazine. I specifically included this article as it does have reference to the music but also recent celebrity news, stereotypically women in general are more sociable and enjoy reading about recent news in the music world therefore I thought this article may be appropriate. As just stated this dominant female target audience has proved difficult to connote therefore I have changed the ideology and target audience making it suitable for both male and female.   

     By considering demographics in terms of segment groups I appropriately have a chosen target audience in the groups C1 and C2. My chosen age group has helped influence this decision as it includes ages 18-26 therefore the majority of my audience are students at university and the employed with low wages so my customers are likely to lack funds making them middle class fitting in with the C groups in terms of Demographics. Using this information I have priced my magazine lower than its competitors at £1.50 to influence the audience to buy LEAD magazine. I have excluded the E group from my SEG choices due to the lack of finance that they receive so it is likely they will not be able to afford my magazine anyway. As I have this specific target audience who are likely to have limited funds I included some plugs to specifically attract this particular market. I included an advertisement which was based on winning free concert tickets as this may particularly make the audience buy the magazine for the chance of gaining free outings which they may not be able to afford in reality. I think my splash does directly attract and address my target audience as the overall appearance makes the audience feel part of the scene. This is clearly promoted through the indie/rock genre of the magazine and the main images (the model holding the guitar) which makes the audience feel they must buy the magazine and become involved in this music style to be considered “cool” or “fashionable” ect.  

     Finally I have two sources of audience feedback which were recorded using a video camera to make the response from the different individuals more authentic and a reliable response to what they actually thought about the product.

    What have you learnt about tecnologies from the process of constructing this product?  (On Power Point document)

     Looking back at your Preliminary task, what have you felt you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

   












    


The major improvement made from my previous college magazine to my current music magazine is the overall professional and final appearance of the magazine which would be now suitable to be sold in a shop against competitors of the same content. This is mainly due to my experience using Photoshop which has allowed me to create many different effects which attract the audience and make the magazine have an overall enhanced appearance. Although I had researched the conventions of a music magazine prior to creating my college magazine I still found it difficult understanding the different terms and understanding which aspects of the splash suited the magazine better improving the overall appearance. Comparing both of the splash’ I still have the opinion my bold college magazine connotes the wild and crazy student youth of my target audience from the denotation of the contrasting colours used and the conventional cover lines which influence this ideology. However my music magazine front page clearly has a much clearer appearance and connotes specific textual detail of music that the publisher wants the audience to read and engage in, to influence them to buy the magazine.  There is a large contrast between the two images in that the music magazine is very conventional which is very good as it follows the typical expectation of music magazines featuring this genre. Although the cover lines featured on my college magazine are bold the text is conventionally too large and there are not enough featured articles to attract the reader’s eye unlike my music magazine. The mise-en-scene of my college magazine is appropriate as the setting is the actual college in reality that my magazine is trying to promote however the image did not have to be altered and modified on Photoshop unlike my music magazine which was time consuming in using the different tools to make the image look presentable for my magazine. The music magazine also demonstrates a good use of mise-en-scene as the images include props and the costume of my model clearly shows the Indie/Rock genre of the magazine. The process from creating my college to music magazine has also improved my understanding of the music industry and the different aspects when creating the magazine you need to consider (target audience, drafts, audience feedback ect).

Magazine Feedback 2 - (First attempt at music magazine)

Magazine Feedback 1 - (First Attempt at music magazine)