Rachel bownes candidate number

Rachel Bownes Candidate Number: 0141Centre: 33435 Aquinas CollegeAS Media StudiesOCR G321: Foundation

Portfolio

Evaluation

1.What would be the audience for your Media product?

INDIEPeople who love Indie Fashion

IInfluences

Gender

People who love People who

love Films

People who like Band

People who go to gigs

What would be the main audience for your Media product?

My magazine would be aimed at teens and young adults with an interest in certain elements of the Indie genre for example bands relevant to the particular genre. Artic Monkeys, Two door cinema, Miles Kane and the strokes as well as many others. There will be no fixed genre so there will be a range of articles posters. My cover feature band The Criminals will appeal to people of my chosen genre the more laid back indie style

What would be the main audience for your Media product? The main audience for my magazine would also be fans of such magazines as NME and enjoy the bands that they include. I would take influences from NME magazine as well as more mainstream fashion magazines for ideas on a different perspective when including things to do with fashion, I would also look at the latest celebrities popular in the genre who have good eye for the fashion and the lifestyle, celebrities such as Sky Ferara. I would include things to do with fashion to give a fresh perspective on the genre and what goes on in the genre. I would want both genders to read my magazine so I would cover all elements relating to specific interests of each gender.

2.How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Ideal Reader My magazines links to the ideals of a typical indie reader, with a laid back style I am able to appeal to the younger demographic. The way I use key indie themes throughout will ensure that my magazine is relatable

My cover stars the band The Criminals are placed in the centre of the page with direct address, the laid back pose of the band with them leaning on each other illustrates the ideals of the indie genre and how the band embodies that.

How does your media product represent particular social groups? In order to appeal to my particular audience I

had to make the band something that the reader would want to aspire to. The stars would show traits that the reader would be able to relate to and feel like they could be what the band are. As well as being distinct in the indie genre the cover stars must show that they are accessible for a mainstream audience also in order to appeal to as many consumers as possible.

My Magazine followed the convention typical of the Indie genre. My magazine appeals to teens and young adults who have an interest In things specific to the genre bands, films and clothes. Therefor in my magazine I included articles and features with existing bands like Two Door Cinema Club and Jake Bugg.

Fever Magazine will be the latest outlet for indie teens and young adults so it will need to be appropriate for the age group and gender specifics I will include things for both gender for example bands that can be enjoyed by both male and female readers.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Secondary Cover story for readers interested in the

solo artist Jake Bugg ‘How he feels the industry has changed’ this giving an

insight into Jake Bugg and his opinions for readers and fans of the singer.

The Jack White cover story offers another fan group a chance to gain a new perspective on this

particular band.

The Kings of Leon cover story offers fans of the band a

chance to get their take on there time away from music.

3. Looking back at your preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression to the full product?

The transition from my Aquinas magazine to my indie music magazine is a big transition, I have drafted and redrafted my front cover for my music magazine to ensure that I met the right criteria for my specific genre. My final draft included a change of colour and styling shown here

For my improved version I chose to get rid of the banner at the top of the screen and have my picture set on plain whit background, I also changed my colour scheme to Red, White Yellow and Black, I think my chosen colours are much more edgy and appropriate for my magazine. The colours now stand out and catch the readers eye. I also chose to change the text of my Strapline the new and improved text is genre appropriate and links in with the themes and ideas of my magazine.

Looking back at your preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression to the full product?

For My Aquinas College I used:Digital Camera Publisher Altering and manipulating photographs


Bold Masthead

Bold Cover lines to entice reader

Free gift inside- reader is encouraged to look in the magazine to get

more details.

A chance to win in Competition inside aswell as the free gift will appeal

to the reader the most.

Direct gaze shows the magazine is addressing the audience

because it would be all things relatable to an Aquinas student.

Overlapping of the text onto the picture to show

anchorage.


The use of Black for the promo links to the

competition inside also with the red Writing the

idea of the chance of winning in the red or black challenge. This helps show anchorage from the cover

to what's inside the magazine.

The Pull quote used as the Cover line on the front cover is showing the kind of magazine

people will be reading an upbeat and this will make

people want to read more.

The Picture shows Emma looking

straight into the face of the reader

showing confidence and ease. Also the

direct gaze of Emma is addressing the

reader and making them want to hear

her story.


In order to decide which picture I was going to use for my front cover I took four images and two centred and 3 off at an angle I found that the image of in the centre of the page was much more appropriate for my Aquinas magazine. I found that this image was much more direct and would be able to readers.



For My Aquinas College I used:Digital Camera Publisher Altering and manipulating photographs


Main feature image Emma posing with her

hand on hip facing sideways this is

portraying Emma to be girly and relaxed.

Contents highlight where we are at in the

magazine. And date showing a weekly

publication

Headings to show the differences in

the weeks topics and what is regularly in

the Aquinas magazine and what is weekly included.

Editor’s letter letting you know what new things

are included weekly.

Pages Number to show where

everything is in the magazine.


For My Music Magazine I used:Digital Camera Publisher Adobe PhotoshopAltering and manipulating photographsDaftfont.com

•


For my Strapline I used the website daftfont.com this allowed me to choose from a different range of interesting fonts and pick the most appropriate style for my magazine.

The bold red stands out and helps to show what is the most important part of the front cover and goes alongside the main image to highlight this weeks cover stars and their role in that weeks issue. When readers and fans of the band see the name The Criminals they will immediately want to read about their comeback and how to get tickets to their comeback concert.


To begin the course my analysis of the NME front cover helped me to identify all the conventions of a magazine front cover so that I had the understanding for when I made my front covers for both the Aquinas Magazine and my Music magazine.

The transition between my to attempts at the front cover for my music magazine I feel is big my second attempt is more professional and looks much more like an appropriate choice for a magazine to represent the genre than the first.


Colour scheme – red yellow black and

white

StraplineBarcode

Cover line

Promo

Main Image –

direct gaze

Masthead

Quote

Date and issue

Number

Banner


My DPS for my Music Magazine consists of my main image of my two cover stars the band The Criminals. The analysis of the my chosen Double page spreads featuring the lead singer of the pretty wreck less Taylor Momsen is showing how the layout, style and colour scheme all link to the personality of the star. The Headline ‘Wild Child’ links to the public image of the cover star Taylor Momsen her rocky style and her Wild image. The colour scheme of Black, red and white links well to this also as the red connotes danger and the black connotes darkness and fear. The stand first gives a deeper insight into the personality of Taylor Momsen something which the readers will use to work out weather they want to read the article or not.


Grey Box Stand first

Pull Quote

Page Number

Main Image

HeadlineDropped Cap


Overall I think I have progressed well throughout the two projects and I have allowed for my work to progress. I have done this buy learning new skills for example using the DSLR Camera and using photo shop. For instance also using Photo shop to edit pictures using the magic eraser tool.



• The previous slide showed all my production pieces 1st 2nd and 3rd draft the progression for each has changed for example

Looking back at your preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression to the full product?• The pictures in the previous slide show my Front cover, double page spread and

contents page alongside my Aquinas magazine contents page and front cover This shows the gradual progression of my work. The fonts I used for my Aquinas magazine were basic fonts from the font list on word.

I used Calibri in Italic for my Aquinas magazine and Birth of a Hero for my music magazine The colour red I used fits in well with my Indie theme.


• Other Indie magazines such as NME and Q use the colour red for their mastheads and I chose to do the same as it showed a key branding identity between my magazine and More established brands.

I also used White and Yellow coloured fonts for the secondary cover stories on black backgrounds this made them standout to the reader.



• The progression from my Aquinas magazine and my music magazine has changed a lot for example:

I used more cover stories on my music magazine than I did on my Aquinas magazine.

Also I chose to crop out my picture and put borders around my stories so they were easier to read against the background.


For my contents page I included a lot more content. I included a band index within my music magazine and a subscription as an extra. My Aquinas has much less in regards to articles and interviews whereas my Music magazine is article based.My Music magazine content is straight and inline therefor making it more professional looking.

4. In what way Does your media product use, develop or the challenge the conventions of real media products?

In what way Does your media product use, develop or the challenge the conventions of real media products?

The three examples on the previous slide offer typical examples of an indie magazine both stylistically and with content. The three chosen magazines NME, Q and Indie are very different in a lot of ways and I feel that my magazine Fever is most like NME magazine. I think that my magazine and NME magazine show similarities in layout, colour scheme and in their themes. For example the cover stars on NME Arctic Monkeys are shown to be very cool and laid back meaning the image reflects accurately the personality and the style of the band and its music, which is what my magazine is also trying to do. The cover stars on all three of my example magazine covers. Have a common style they are all shown to be laid back and relaxed, I recreated this with my magazine cover. My cover stars are


The NME cover on the left sows The Arctic monkeys at the beginning of their music career. The strapline ‘From the rubble to the Ritz shows how the band have found fame an stardom because of their music.

The NME cover on the right shows how the band has changed after a break in music. The new look highlights the change the ban as gone through and that the band are back with a new sound and a new look.


1st Draft


2ND Draft


My magazine uses a unique font to catch the eye of the reader the magazine’s masthead ‘Fever’ I used font style Birth of a hero which complimented my genre well. The red colour I chose is bold and will stand out to readers and fans of Indie. Like Magazines NME and Q I used the colour scheme of Red, Black and White. Using a plane background all the key conventions standout for example the Pull quote fro the Article inside ‘We’re Back', the ‘Promo’ and the ‘Secondary cover stories.’


Main Image The Main Image shows to the reader that it will be the main story in the magazine that week and the biggest image entices the reader to go straight for that particular article.

Like NME Magazine I included a band index in my contents page this show all the other bands that have been included in that particular issue.

The Masthead is included again in the top left corner of the page included on every page it is a crucial part of the magazine.

The headings included in the contents ‘NEWS’ ‘ARTIST’ and ‘COVER’ all make it easy to find what you are most interested in reading.


The date is, like in other well known music magazines included as a key convention.

I also included a chance to subscribe to my magazine so that readers can get monthly additions of Fever magazine. form of Branding my magazine.

I chose to put the page numbers in a red so that it would stand out to the reader so they can choose easily what they want to read.

The editors letter is also a key feature in a magazine contents page and I chose to put it in the centre of my page under the image of m two cover stars.

In what way Does your media product use, develope or the challenge the conventions of real media products?

The Stand first gives information to the reader about what is to come in the article this has given an insight into the bands history talking about the break up and the reformation of half of the band.

The pull quote from the interview is used to break up the article ‘We talk about the good times its like therapy.’ This quote is used to catch the readers eye and make them want to read on.

The page numbers are use as anchorage and link to the contents page. Also The use of the magazine name is a branding across the magazine

I included the grey box as a one of the key conventions.

Instead of using a quote for headline of my article I chose to use the name of the band to allow for a link to the front cover and the contents page.

5.How did you attract/ address your audience?ATTRACT◌ Direct gaze / Eye contact with the audience

◌ Straight faced a relaxed but serious look on their faces

◌ Unique selling point – the weekly stars the Criminals

◌ Birth of a hero font used throughout giving the magazine an individual identification

◌ Magazine name FEVER the biggest font on the page to show what is the most important thing on the page

How did you attract/ address your audience?I used bold colours red, black and white to ensure that my magazine was eye catching also I used colours appropriate to my chosen genre. The blocked colours give off a certain theme to my magazine from the connotations of colour the red symbolising the boldness of my magazine enticing people who embody those qualities. From my main image my cover stars give of a laid back relaxed vibe which shows how my magazine would be different each week with each different cover star. However the cover stars are portraying this image to show people what their music is like and Fever magazine is promoting that image.

How did you attract/ address your audience?• I used the font Birth of a Hero this as my main font throughout. I felt

that this particular font embodied the style I wanted for my magazine edgy but not to over the top I want it to be simple and easy for the reader to associate with my chosen genre.

I also chose the name fever because I thought this would again be edgy and something different for the reader and would help to make my magazine stand out.

How did you attract/ address your audience?• I used colloquial language that the reader would understand. This

then made the magazine much more relatable for its target audience and much more interesting to the reader, so that they wouldn’t get bored reading it and go and look for something else. The language used also is a lot more in keeping with the tone of the magazine this way, it doesn’t sound like it isn’t well suited. It suits the genre the style and each weekly story.

The Secondary cover stories are all relevant to my specific Indie audience.

How did you attract/ address your audience?

Would you buy this magazine?

YES NO

After completing a survey I collected my information and learnt that overall as a result of content and style more people would choose to purchase and read my magazine. This meant that my magazine brand could branch out into other fields and become even more popular.

6. What kind of institution Might distribute your product?

I feel that my magazine would benefit for being a weekly publication. I think that by using this avenue to get magazine out to the masses I would create a larger fan base than something which is Monthly I feel that more people would here about my magazine because more people would be reading it and would be able to spread the word.

What kind of institution Might distribute your product?

For the distribution of my magazine I would use a sister company I would start of with something like mix mag then with a little more time and recognition would want to branch out to something more relevant to the theme like NME.


. I would price my magazine at around £2.50 with an ideal of gaining I large fan base straight away. Therefore keeping it cheap will ensure this.

I would also put advertising in the magazine for things like concerts new film releases and upcoming summer festivals.

What kind of institution Might distribute your product?• I researched Different Indie Magazines such as NME to get inspiration

for my publication. IPC MEDIA is a leading production company with more than 60 media products, online on mobile and printed magazines.

It is also the publisher of NME magazine. My magazine being on the same media distribution platform as NME would allow for it to become a well known brand around the world like NME.


• The Magazine’s statement is Everything Indie right here. This is showing that with my magazine is key in the Indie genre and that everything you need to know is in this magazine. The fact that it states all you need to know is in this magazine shows how it can attract readers and build up a fan base.


I would sell Merchandise with Magazine logos on them. Things like wrist bands headphones and T- shirts . Also I would create an app for tablets and iPhones that will take you straight to the website. This would help to inform people who may not already know about fever magazine.

FEVER

FEV

ER


FEVER

FEVER

FEVER

Merchandise

What kind of institution Might distribute your product?•APPS

FEVER

FEVER

7. What have you learnt about Technologies from the process of constructing this product?

• Photoshop:

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

This was my finished version of my main cover image. I cut out the background using the magic eraser tool. This allowed me to have a white background on my magazine frontcover. I then overlapped the image with the masthead.

I overlapped my cover stars and my Masthead to show that they are the most important part of that particular issue.



• I used a DSLR Camera to get my images for my magazine. I tried multiple different shots for my pictures before I settled on my chosen images.

Image 1 I thought was more appropriate for a secondary image on my DPS because it illustrates a more fun side of my cover stars ,a photo which illustrates them more out side off being a band.

This image is very similar to the one I chose but the positioning is different. In this one Emma is on the left instead of the right and much closer to him.

Social Media

Rachel bownes candidate number