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Welcome to my blog. Here you will find research and planning construction evidence and evaluation for my AS foundation portfolio.

Tuesday 31 January 2012

Flatpan Audience feedback

We worked in groups and presented our flat plans to each other and evaluated what was good and bad about the flat plans. We were told what was required to sustain a level 4 and we compared our flat plans to these requirements and how to improve our work so it is level 4 standard. We then take the comments on board to make adjustments and modifications to our own work as well as what was already good about our pieces of work (Flat plans). My flat plan needed modifications and changes so that it would reach a level 4 standard but it also had some good positive features which would go towards level 4.
For my front cover to improve i needed to make the image more imposing and one so that the audience can relate and empathise with the audience so they can create a relationship. Also i need to make clearer which is my main sell line and my sub headline.as the font size was similar so i would need to make the sub headline smaller or the main selline bigger or i could make the layout of the front page better. What was good about the front cover was that the colour scheme stuck well to the three colour pallete and also the three colours contrasted well to make other stand out. Also these colours related well to the genre of my magazine which was dance and dubstep style club music. My contents page needed altering too i found from my audience feedback that i needed to organise the page more and put it into collums and make it look more proffesional. On the left collum i could put list of bands which the magazine would feature and then on the right hand collum i could mention what features were in the magazine and in the centre i could put one or two images from the featured stories. Also the consistencty was good as i continued to use the same three colours of green, red and black which related to the genre . For my DPS (double page spread) i used one page for the image and one page for the text this way the image could be used as like a poster and its also a proffesional style which magazines like Q and NME have proved work the left page which will feature the image will also feature a quote from the text. My double page spread will be done in collums and make it easy for the audience to read i may also add a bit of colour to it. It will be in a cloud which if it comes off could be a succesful move. I also need to make sure that i make use the page to the best i can and make sure there is minimal white space as it doesn't look very professional

After looking at these peer assesments i have decided that my final product will need to make a lot of changes to make it look more professional and level 4 standard. These will include making it look more organised particularly the contents page where i will use collums so it is easier to read and understand. Also on my front cover where i need to make it more clear which one my main headline is so i will make this bigger. I need to also maximise the use of the available space and make it so that there is a lack of white space. I will also make sure my colours contrast well and continue to be consistent throughout. Also i will make sure i have a range of photos and at least one medium close up so the audience feel they can relate to the artist.

Monday 30 January 2012

Flatplans and rationales

For my front cover i decided to stick to the three colour pallete as i found that succeasful magazines kept to a certain level of consistency to make the magazine more eye catching. As my genre is for dance and dubstep style music i have decided to use a bright lime green with black as this could represent the lights standing out in the night club where the music would be listened to. Also the green is quite a vibrant bouncy colour which links to the type of person who would be interested in the magazine. I have also chosen the red for the main font colour as i have found from research that red seems to be a colour which is always succesful and stands out against most colours. Magazines i have looked at such as Q and NME have used red as its main font colour and it has been a success as they are two of the most popular music magazines on the market so i would be aiming to emulate their achievements. The red also contrasts well against the green and makes it stand out well. I have called the magaizne 'SOUNDZ' as it represents a type of hip and alternative slant mixing things up a bit like the genre of magazine as the dubstep style of music mixes things up and doesn't stick to the crowd, so this magazine is also going to stand out from the crowd. I have also decided that i will have one main image of the main artist related to the main headline so that it is clear to the audience who the magazine is talking about and basing its cover story on, the photo will be a medium close up so that the audience can relate and understand and empathise with the artist creating a relationship. I have also decided to put a banner at the top of the page so that the audience can see whatelse will be in the magazine as they may be more interested in purchasing the magazine and seeing more as well as interesting different people to the magazine. My headlines content are generally puns from the artists names as this is a clever way of engaging a reader to the story. My layout is also meant to be simple and not being too cluttered so that the audience is confused. My font will be bold easy to read bubble style writing as it links well to the genre as it is easy going and there aren't any sharp edges its all curved and no dark connotations could be made its a relaxed font just like the genre. I have decided to put a

For My contents page i have continued the theme of putting the 'Z' on the end of 'Contentz' like i did 'SOundz' this is to keep the consistency all across the magazine making it look more professional and also to give the magazine its own soul and identity. This is achieved by combining it with the same colour palette of three by using the 'fluro green' 'red' and 'black' that i used on the front cover by doing this people will associate this colour scheme with the magazine making it more recognisable and more memorable. This colour scheme also links well to the genre of music. I had originally planned to put two pictures on my contents page as shown. But i have now decided that i may use three and i have also decided to change the layout of my contents page. As the flat plans Contents page has an image in the top left next to my first set of stories and then another for the second half. But since conducting Primary and Secondary research i have since found out that using a column based page looks more professional and is easier to read. So what i have now decided to do is a list of bands or stories included within the issue at the left of the page and then in the centre i will use the images in relation to the main stories within the magazine. And then on the third column i will complete what story lines are included within the issue. The use of the ' Plus Much More' looks quite effective so i will continue to use this within my final product. I have used red on my font to keep the consistency and as with the front cover i have found out that red is often the most successful colour with magazines with examples being 'Q' and 'NME'. The Actual text continues the use of puns to continue the cheeky effect the magazine is going for to make it easy and more associative to its audience. One of my photos will have a fire flame surrounding the photo to represent the story which is 'feeling the heat'. Also my actual story lines which are regulars feature a 'z' on the end as it goes with the theme of the magazine this shows consistency and also adds consistency.


For my DPS i have decided that my first page will feature one large photo with a quote from the text as i have found from my research that it is a highly effective method in particular when 'Q' used this on their 'Lady Gaga' issue and the texts font colour will continue to run with the same theme the magazine has kept to keep it consistent. I have decided to fill the text within a cloud to relate to the main story that the DPS is related to as the group is called ' Skies don't lie'. The text will be in columns so it is well organised and easy for the audience to understand. And this article will feature a story behind the bands epic rise to the top and then an interview with the band. The page will start with an introduction then go into the main story. I have divided it up so that the audience don't get to bored by the look of a page of text so i have made it look like there is less when in fact there isn't. Also the SOUNDZ theme remains in the top corner to continue its identity. My photo used will be highly effective and will feature cinematography features such as rule of third to identify who has the power within the group. This is because the audience can then understand who is the main character and most powerful character also the image is important as the audience can gain a relationship with the band through this an understand what the band are all about. My text font will be easy to read and rounded and not too sharp or jagged as my genre is laid back and fun so i wouldn't want it to be sharp as this would represent a more rocky style genre and i don't want any confusion or misrepresentation as i want to make it easy for the audience to understand the style of genre. Costume i will use for all of the images seen on the three different pages will all be representative of the genre which is dance music, so my models would be wearing brightly colored clothing. The men and the women would have quite edgy hair dos or the men could be wearing props like hats or caps or they could have longish hair. The men might wear chinos or jeans if going for a long shot and the women quite edgy style leggins. As this would represent both coolness side and the edge side of the dubstep and dance genre.

Tuesday 24 January 2012

Primary Target Audience research

  • I conducted some primary audience research in order to: To find out what appeals to my target audience
  • To discover any flaws or potential improvements that could be made to my magazine genre.
  • To identify any gaps in the market and place a refreshing new twist on the genre

These are the chosen products that i conducted my research on these are the questions i asked my sample:
  • Who do you think the target audience is of this magazine?
  • What do you think the target audience is of this magazine and why?
  • What could be done to Improve this magazine?
  • Do you think the use of one main image that covers the whole front page of the magazine is effective?
  • Would you open and read this magazine soley off the front page of this magazine?
  • Is the contents page useful? Why?
  • Do you think the simple use of the colour scheme is effective in the front cover?
  • Do you think the use of a picture of one page and the use of text on the other page of a double page spread is effective and would it make you likely to read it?
From the research i did, with a selective sample from my target audience i found that:
The general consensus was that the magazines i used represented the younger target audience particularly between the ages of 16-25 and Q is of More of a mainstream target audience.. Also a key point which was brought forward was that the use of colour scheme was a major pull in trying to get the audience interested and focused on the magazine, as the use of colours is what the audience look at and the bright vibrant colours used in Q represents the artists being used and if i was to use dark and dull colours it wouldn't really appeal to and engage with the required target audience. Also consistency is necessary between the front cover and contents page and keeping an 'Eye Catching' display is crucial in making the magazine a success. The use of fonts is also important getting the right contrast between the colour of the text within the masthead and side headings in relation to the main image and theme of the magazine is important so that it looks professional, consistent and so that it will make the reader want to read the magazine. Keeping a simple structure to the magazine so that it doesn't look messy and un-organised is also important.

Below is a list of stylistic decisions ill make for my project following my audience feedback:
  • Consistent colour schemes and layout
  • Bright Vibrant Colours
  • Contrasting Fonts
  • Easy to understand and follow so it needs to be simplistic
  • Imposing main image
  • High eyeline on Main Image
  • Imposing Main Sell line


Monday 23 January 2012

Research into a potential target audience - Secondary

Q is owned by Bauer media and this is what their audience profile is and who they target their magazine for to consume their products. Q's audience is composed of passionate, engaged and open minded music fans driven to continually discover new music - and to use this lust for discovery to influence their friends. The audience is split 75% male to 25% female and is affluent (with 68% ABC1). http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/Brands/Q/ Friday 20th January 

This shows that Q magazine is a magazine which caters for a range of people both of class and gender. They are a music magazine who aim at the higher status and more educated audience as they aim for the ABC categories whom are people who tend to be in employment. They are a magazine which aim to please its current audience and attract further fans as it seeks to give exposure to new artists and bands and styles which are making it big.

Other magazines owned by Bauer media include Kerrang although this isn't my chosen genre of magazine i could use this to compare with Q. Kerrang's audience profile is Young, individually minded and passionate consumers, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty.  http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/Brands/Kerrang/ Friday 20th January

Kerrang is less of Mainstream magazine but more of a higher powered niche market magazine who focus on their specific field which is rock, and it closes itself off from other genres in which they don't represent so they are always going to be limited to the amount of people they attract unless they alter their target audience they will never really develop the way Q magazine has.

My Target audience would be similar to Q magazine as it gives my magazine more chance to expand and become more succesful. I would promote new music and give a fresh new feel to the music industry. My audience Profile is for people who are excited and engaged with music industry and are keen to experience the new experiences the music industry has to offer. My target audience would have an edge to it i would look to making the main genre of the magazine like dance and fresh music similar to example and calvin harris, so it would also feature like a dubstep type reference and audience, My magazine would be a feelgood uplifitng magazine.

The effect my research into other products will have on my product is that it will be aimed at 16-26 as this would tend to be the age range who would look into and follow the type of music magazine i am offering there would be no gender preference as that would limit the sales and chance of expansion my magazine would have. My music magazine will be made to suit a range of different music genres and not be a niche related magazine as it suit many different audiences as did Q. So my magazine will bare more resemblance to Q than kerrang as Q is a more mainstream open magazine. Bauer media should incorporate my magazine as it would give more exposure to new bands as well as an insight into how the music industry works. There would be no specific niche market to my magazine it would give most genres a similar amount of exposure to represent how all sides of the music industry are equal.

 Qs major rival is nme and here is an example of their reader profile:

Saturday 21 January 2012

Research into institutions that distribute similar products

Research into institutions that distribute similar products

View more presentations from DannyCarr17.

After looking into these products i have decided that my genre will be dance and club style music as there seems to be a gap in the market for this style and genre of music and i know that this music is highly acclaimed and succesful. So Bauer media could look into this magazine as it will appeal to a new audience and increase the company's appeal.

Friday 20 January 2012

Prezi- textual analysis


After looking at these magazines i have learnt that my magazine needs to be consistent in layout and colour scheme and should stick to a simple three colour pallete and to use colours that contrast each other so they make each other stand out. Also the layout needs to be simple and not to cluttered on the front cover i have decided i will use one main image and one main sell line but also use a sub headline so the magazine would appeal to more people. Also the contents page could feature collums so it looks more proffesional. The double page spread will be dividing into two different pages as the first page will feature a photo and an important quote then the second page will feature the text.

Zoom in prezi to find textual analysis on front covers.

Tuesday 3 January 2012

Brief

Preliminary exercise: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally candidates must produce a DTP mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of the program.

Main task: the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine.
All images and text used must be original, produced by the candidate, minimum of FOUR images per candidate.