CLOSED BLOG NOTIFICATION

Centre Name: NORBURY MANOR BEC
Centre Number: 14343
Candidate Name: Paula-Nytah Graham
Candidate Number: 9515 
Unit: G321

FRONT COVER

CONTENTS PAGE

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

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

Prelim Magazine front cover

Prelim Contents page

Final contents page

Final front cover

Final double page spread

Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Above are some of the different media forums I have learnt to use, since starting this media course. Using Web 2.0 for this media task has really helped me a lot. Whilst making my product I have used many different tools too assist me, the main one being blogger. I used a camera to take pictures of my artist and a scanner to help post my flat plan and signature on to my blog. Before starting this task I had never used things such as glogster, or animoto before, so they were new to me. Having done media for GCSE I already knew how to use some of the tools on photoshop, but now I am faster and more equipped to it. Using Imovie then transferring it to YouTube, helped me make my videos look more professional, whilst at the same time I was learning how to use it. Using a high quality camera such as the canons one, allowed me to take the photos I wanted without having to make many changes. Before posting things on the blog, I would type them up on word first to make sure my grammar, punctuation and spelling was correct.

Question 5: How did you attract / address your audience?

Question 4: who would be the audience for your product?

Question 3: what kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

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

Double page spread feed back

This is the feedback I got for my DPS;

Nicola - Lacks wholeness and is not as good as the first two pages. The images used could have been better and this is not as strong as the other pages; however a clear colour scheme has been used.

Marwa - Linking to your contents page, you have stuck with the same font and colour scheme on your dps. They look as if to be both from one magazine; which is good because it gives the effect of your genre even more. I especially like the layout on your dps and the use of colours with your questions and answers

Shari - All the colours link and good placing of images. I like the quote "it was me vs. me",  it draws me in straight away and makes me want to read more.

Double spread link to conventions

Double page spread interview

Shaniya - formally known as Shaniya Purchase is one of the UK’s most popular young female R&B artists. Rising to fame at the age of 14 in late 2011, Shaniya begun by performing songs she had written and posting them on social networking sites. After seeing her videos on YouTube, she was contacted by a small Indie record label and asked to join. She was there for 3 years and already was a major hit with the 12 – 20 audience. At the age of 17, early July – Shaniya got the most important call of her life, which would change everything and lead her to world wide fame. After receiving a call from Roc Nation (Jay-Z’s record label) Shaniya up and went to live near their UK base.

How did you get into music?

Well, music has always been around me. Growing up with older siblings and parents that enjoyed music, I guess it became a part of me; like an arm or a leg and it got to a point that it would be all I could think about. As a child I would pick up on things really quickly so I always liked to try new things. At the age of five I decided that I would try out the guitar – I loved it instantly, that then lead to me learning as many instruments as I could. As soon as I was able to get a job I started saving up to make a studio in my room. It had microphones, tech equipment, instruments. There’s something else, though, about music, it’s a way of expressing emotion, feeling, motion. I always used music as a release because it’s the one thing that you can change during time, but also stays the same.

When writing songs what is your inspiration?

The songs I write are mainly based on feeling and what is happening around me. I've always just been able to write songs, I've never had writers block because the song comes together as I go about my daily life. When I put a pen to paper things just flow and it’s amazing what your mind picks up that you didn't notice before.

How did it feel being signed by Jay-Z?

I spent the early years of my life trying to make something of myself. Juggling school and work from the age of 12, so that I could make my dreams come true. When I got the call informing me that Jay-Z wanted to sign me, it was honestly the best day of my life; for that whole week I went round with a smile on my face and nothing could bring me down. Everything I had worked for was finally paying off.  What made this whole experience so exciting was the fact that it was JAY-Z that called to sign me; I idolised him and to know that he noticed me, was one of the greatest feelings ever and 4 years later I still don’t think I have ever recovered from that day.

What were your aims when joining the music industry?

I wanted to make the world feel what I feel, when I think about music. When I write or listen to music I feel as if I'm being transported to another world, where everything is perfect and peaceful and nothing could go wrong. I also wanted to be an inspiration to my fans, so many people in this world don’t have anyone and if myself or music can make them feel secure – it brings me joy and makes me feel as if I have accomplished something.

Was the pressure high, being a young star?

No one fully understands the level of determination you need to be able to make it in the music industry. You always have to be alert and ready for anything that is thrown at you and worst of all you have no say in the matter. Although there are many benefits of being signed to a major label, there are many disadvantages too. At times I thought as though my voice couldn't be heard or decisions about me were being made without my input. It is a consuming business and if you let yourself fall, you’ll fall hard. Trying to meet deadlines and please everyone can really break you; I barely slept or ate and honestly at times I felt to give up and let the hopelessness consume me. The hardest thing about all of this is that you start to lose yourself, having to be all these different people and changing your image to suit the trends. After a while it became a battle of me vs. me, I started to believe what that I was this talentless, selfish person just like the media and critics had portrayed. In this industry there are two people – people who see light and people who see dark. For most of the time I was in-between and if it wasn't for my fans, I would be consumed by total darkness and everything I had worked for would have been pointless. Fans are the most important thing and I have never been as grateful as I am, to have so many; they are family.

Now that you are back on track, what are your aims?

I feel that I need to give back and thank the people who helped me become who I am. I plan on starting a portable record label; going round recruiting young stars and helping their dreams come true. Being in their shoes 4 years previously, I think this would benefit a lot. 

DPS stages

These were the stage to creating mu double page spread. I started off by putting my images on the page first so I could work around them. I then added the text and moved it around to fit around the main image without blending in. I added a stand first so the readers that weren't aware of my artist would get a brief introduction. I later added the name 'Shaniya' which was the easiest part because it just fit in where ever there was space. Using the colour scheme to identify important stuff, I added a pull quote that overlapped the image to make it stand out.

Double page spread image, font and colour choices

Construction of my dps from Paula-Nytah

Double page spread research

Double page spread research from Paula-Nytah

contents page feedback

After my contents page was finished I sent it round to people within my target group to gain some information and feedback about what they liked and what I could do do improve my contents page. 

Marwa - contents page was well thought through as the colours also match to make the magazine seem more professional. I especially like the use of your main image , which makes it seem  more official and realistic. 

Nicola - contents page is clear to understand and nice clear image that is eye catching I like the font used and it’s consistent

Shari - I like the layout and the fact that you have used up all the space. I feel that your editors note should be smaller and your image bigger to state ensure that your audience know, that is the most important thing. 

Dawn - I really like how the contents page was kept consistent to the front cover; keeping the colour scheme and features the same. Your image clealy represent your genre and everything is of reasonable size. 

Contents final layout

This is my final contents page after making many changes. The colour scheme links in with my front cover as I have kept my white, pink, purple and black scheme. I have included a masthead, date, social networking features and the initial of my my magazine, which is Motion. The features are linked to all the text that where on my front cover. my features included things that are linked to music and the story lines on my front cover. Even the fashion feature is linked to artists of my chosen genre. Making sure that my features related to my target audience, I wrote about popular and recent stories that I know they would be drawn to. The R&B genre is clearly shown on my contents page through my image and use of language. I had my model wear a cold chain. rings and a fur coat - whilst holding the coat open. All these representing wealth and power within the industry. I broke down the contents masthead to make sure that it looked unique and took up some space because I felt that it looked to plain. 

Contents page features

These are the features I have used for my contents page. I have split them into three sections - Features, Exclusives and Fashion. The feature section consists of the cover stories that appeared on my front cover. I mentioned things that I had recently seen mentioned in the media, for example, Kanye west and Kim Kardashian's engagement is something talked about frequently within my target audience. The exclusive section consists of the two important interviews mentioned on the front cover a double page spread done on the model of my front cover, who was made to be my main story. Mentioning R&B artists and top events that link to the music industry are under features. I added a fashion column because most artists also have a fashion line, linking the fashion straight to the music industry. All of my features have clear information that links back to what was mentioned on my front cover but in more depth.

Contents page comparison

The image on the left is my finished contents page, gaining inspiration from the Vibe contents page on the right. Making sure that I stuck to same scheme of my front cover I tried to duplicate the vibe contents page. I did this because Vibe is such a popular magazine, that if I followed the same conventions it would make my magazine popular within my target audience. I put my image on the left hand side over the big 'M'. Just like the vibe contents page my 'M' represents the name of my magazine - motion. Unlike the vibe contents page, the image isn't taking up the whole of the left hand side, there are more features and I have added an editors note with a signature. I wanted mine to be unique, so I added social networking sites at the bottom. With the Vibe contents page it is all dark colours, whereas I went with bright, noticeable colours that would stand out to my target audience. Adding the editor's note links me to my audience because they feel as though I have reached out to them; I also scanned in my signature to add a personal effect. I feel that with the vibe contents page the main focus is Kanye West, meaning that the text isn't as important. With my contents page I tried to balance them out by not having too much of one thing. I feel as though my editor's note takes up too much space and that more could have been added.

contents page text choices

For my masthead I used the same font as I had done on my front cover, although i used a different font to for the 'M'. I stuck to the same pink colour. The font for the 'M' was Jersey M54 - I print screened the font and then edited it on Photoshop, turning it from pink to black and making it stand out more. I did this by using the magic wand tool to take away any white background. I then used the eyedropper tool to choose the colour from my front cover and using the paint bucket tool changed the colour to pink. Once happy with what I had done I added effects such as bevel & emboss, inner shadowing, inner glow, outer glow and drop shadow. All these things making it brighter and much more bold. For the contents I used the font Old School united - also off of da'font, editing it in the same manner that I had done for the 'M' instead not adding an inner or outer glow. 

The font I used for my headings such as the features, exclusives and fashion, was Gills Sans Mt Ext Condensed Bold; at font size 46. Sticking to the same fonts I had chosen for my front cover because these are bold and easy to read. I also wanted to keep my front cover and contents page consistent, so that there would be a clear link.  

For the subheadings I kept the font style the same but changed the numbers to a size 30 font and the text to size 14. I feel making the subheadings purple will draw the reader straight to it because it is eye catching. 

For the text I used the same font style but keeping it at a small size 12. The font size was 12 because the research I had done had shown that the font sizes on the contents page is really small. 

Contents page colour choices

For my contents page I went for the same colour scheme as my front cover - I did this because my research showed that through out a magazine colours are kept consistent so you are able to link each page. I went with 4 main colours; the colours being Pink, Purple, Black and White. I first got these colours from my first model on my magazine front cover. The Purple and the Pink came from different parts of  her lipstick using the eyedropper tool on Photoshop I was able to sample the colour and use it for my text. The Pink was used to identify the most important things on the contents page such as the masthead and the Purple was used for subheadings.The more frequent text is in black, I did this so that I was able to differentiate the subheadings from the text; also both my models are wearing black so it was easy to make a straight link with those colours. At first my research had shown that red, blue, black and white had been the most popular colours. I was going to go with those because of my feedback, but they didn't link very well and had no relationship with anything my model was wearing. I later asked my target audience what they had preffered and this colour scheme was the most popular.

Contents page flat plan comparison

The image on the left is my flat plan draft and the image on the right is my final flat plan.

The feed back from my draft was said to have too much space, so I moved everything to the left and added more features. Originally I wanted my contents page model to be a boy, but during the construction I made it a girl.

I feel that my final flat-plan has more information than my draft and the features are more relevant, It is much clearer and easier to read.It also links well with my front cover. 

Contents page masthead choices

keeping my front cover and contents page consistent, I used the same font for my masthead. I went with the one that my target audience went with for my front cover, changing that fact that my front cover masthead slants to the right and my contents page mast head is straight.  

For the 'M' I asked around to get people's opinion on what they thought would stand out but not divert too much from my original font for my masthead

Contents Image choices

Below are the images that will potentially show up on my contents page; out of these I will pick one. These images were taken in my schools photography studio, where I used different lights and angles to capture my model. The props I chose where a gold chain, a long black fur coat and gold rings. I asked my model to portray Kanye West in the way she stands, so she put her hands in her pocket or held her coat open, to show of the various 'bling'. In all of the pictures taken I made sure that my model looked straight at the camera, to hold a direct angle of gaze. I adjusted the lighting accordingly to make sure that a shadow was never cast in the background. For the high angle shots I stood on a chair and placed the lights directly below my model so that the image wouldn't come off as too bright. For the mid-shots I zoomed in on the camera. I tried my best to link my model to my front cover as best as I could; so I got her to wear chains and black, just like my front cover model had. 

I showed my images to people from my target group to see which one would best appeal to them and this is the image they chose. It was chosen because of the way her head is titled up, the lighting on her image and the fact the the jewellery is on show.

Front cover feedback

For my final front cover I asked for feed back from people in my target audience to see what I could change or what I have done well.

Shari - the colours go well together and the angle of gaze is good on the artist

Marwa - the genre of the magazine is obvious. I like the colour scheme and the way things are arranged on the page. I also like how the angle of gaze straight away attracts the audience to the magazine.

Dawn - I think you could have chosen a better bar-code and incorporated the price  a bit better. I also think the price is a bit too low for a magazine that you are trying to sell as high standard. I like the angle of gaze and colour scheme. I also like the positioning of the image and the props used.

Nicola - I feel that it needs to be more together, the price should be either below the bar-code or in the other corner and more discrete. The colours used are very consistent and the image is very clear and attractive, it makes me want to read it.

I am happy with the feedback I received because it is both critical and appraising. For example, Nicola mentioned that the price should be more discrete, so if given the chance I would change where the price and barcode are located. I am happy that I went for this colour scheme because I have gotten positive feed back for it 

Contents page research/deconstruction

Final front cover

This is my final magazine front cover. It was created using Photoshop and I included things that would normally appear on a R&B genre music magazines. I have included a pull quotes, masthead, banner, subheadings, and bar-code and sell lines. Looking back at the steps it took me to my magazine, front cover came together really well; matching most of what I put on my final flat plan. Changing the colour scheme and text font was a decision that helped improve my magazine.

Taking away unnecessary features and adding appropriate ones helped my magazine front cover stand out more to my target audience. The purple/pink, black and white colour scheme is clearly noticeable and it is easy to see the link between the colour scheme and the lipstick.

I think that my cover links to my research in different ways, for example my main image and masthead stand out the most because that was the feedback I got from the audience. Although I didn't go with the colour scheme of red, white and black as I had intended, the purple/pink, white and black colour scheme stands out better. I found it fairly easy to find magazines that I could gain influence from. I mainly referred back to Vibe magazine front covers because they are usually really bold and eye catching; they also hold lots of conventions for an R&B magazine that I could use.

On my questionnaire I asked "what attracts you most when buying a music magazine?" - from my results it showed that my target audience focused more on the artist on the front cover; so when making my front cover I made sure that my model was centralised, took up all the space and was the main focus of the magazine. I also made sure that my model held direct angle of gaze to interact and draw the reader in. Getting my colour scheme from my model was important, so the props I chose made her stand out and were easy to make work against a background. They still kept the black and white colours which were popular in my questionnaire, so I have reached out to my target audience.

 I also asked "How much would you normally spend on a music magazine?” The majority response for this question was £0.99-£2.00, from this I made my magazine £1.50; but after looking at more music magazines I have realised that it is too low of a price. I am likely to change the price to £3.00 because it’s not too pricey, but shows that the magazine is of quality.

I am happy with my front cover and with what I have done; I am going to put pieces from it onto my contents page. I will keep the colours and font consistent.

Front cover linked to research

My magazine

This is my music magazine front cover, I have used front covers from Vibe, The source and Blender as inspiration. The research I did prior to my magazine showed that red, black and white were the most popular colours that people would like to see on a magazine, but I went against that because I felt that it didn't go with my magazine and I wanted it to be unique. I made my artist the most important thing because research showed that people buy magazines more when they see who is on the front representing it.

Vibe music covers

These two magazines are the magazines that helped influence my decisions on my front cover. 
I used these magazines for my inspiration because they are very simple but eye catching, bold and everything on the links. You can tell where they have gotten their colour scheme from, for example, Kanye West has blue on his top so the main parts of  the magazine are blue. The colours used on both of these magazines are vibrant, the masthead is constant and bold in both. Linking these two to my front cover, I have made my model the most important thing putting her in the centre. She used angle of gaze to connect with the audience and I used colours from things that she was wearing to influence the colours on my magazine. I have also used up the space on the left hand side to announce new events. Also shown on these two magazines, I have kept my colour scheme consistent, sticking to a theme of Purple/pink, white and black. I feel that I have conformed to the conventions of the usual R&B based magazine. I have used graphics, sub headings and quotes. I have added a banner which is used in both of these and I have included a bar-code. 

Photoshop progress/ features

Here are the final transitional stages for my magazine. I started add features that would apply to my target audience. To do this I used artist names such as Drake, Jhene Aiko J.Cole and Nas. These are people associated with the R&B genre of today and appeal most to my target audience. Putting the most important things in pink/purple links them to the masthead, implying that they are important.

1. 'Beyonce's self titled album hits no.1' - I added this feature because Beyonce is a big part of today's music culture, especially for the target audience I am trying to appeal to. Having just released a new album that didn't have any promotion and was kept secret until it's release date, I feel people would be drawn to that the most, because they would like to know how she did it.

2. 'Nas and J.Cole lay down the #NewRulesOfR&B - I used a hashtag because I felt that it would appeal to the more social networking audience. I added this feature because J.cole has recently released a new album and it mentions Nas and how he let him down. That being a very spoken subject for my target audience, it will catch their eye and make them want to read the magazine.

3. The pull quote "I'm only telling my story once" is very powerful in the sense that the reader would not get another chance to hear the story, so it will draw their attention straight away. 

4. Stating that there is an exclusive interview with Jhene Aiko but not letting on any more, will keep the readers wanting more drawing them to the magazine. It also fills up the magazine making it look more full. 

5.   I wanted an issue that would promote one of the highly popular festivals that the UK holds, so I included the wireless festival. This will excite readers and have them wanting more information. 

6. 'Outkast are back' - this is the feature that is most likely to draw the readers eye the most because Outkast are a group that are associated with my target audience, but it is from when they are younger. Having it big and in bold purple highlights the fact that is an very important story

Photoshop progress

I have been working more on my magazine cover and have developed it further and have changed many things on the cover for example, the colour scheme and layout. I think that the cover is slowly coming along, however there is much more work that needs to be done in order to make the cover seem as if it is actually a music magazine cover.

1.Here I was focusing on how to enhance my picture by manipulating it's properties on Photoshop. I was playing around with the photo filter going between the warm and cooling filter. I also enhanced her eyes and made her eye liner visible.

2. Now adding lines around my front cover to make sure that all my text stays away from the edge. I also added some more text looking at vibe music magazines, to ensure that I was conforming to the genre of magazine I had chosen. I also played around with the lighting levels to try and make it look a bit darker but I didn't think it fit in well, so I left it normal.

3.I went with the lighter shade of pink and started manipulating my masthead by adding shadows and bevel and emboss which would raise each letter and make them stand out more. I also started working towards moving my text around and making sure they are the right size and font for their specific genre. 

4.Noticing that the 'Shaniya' did not look right in purple and didn't sit well at the top of the page I moved it to next to the quote and made the quote seem more fluent in font. I added some 3D effects by adjusting the layer style