The Finished Products

Evaluation

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



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








Please clink the image to see the my animation

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

Question 3 from paigearmstrong

Question 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

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



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



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

Final Double Page Spread

Double Page Spread Progression

In order to start creating my double page spread I first needed to split my landscape page into two sections using Photoshop. I did this by using the Rulers tool and then divided the exact image size into two and finding the centre on the ruler at the top of the page. As you can see there is a blue line running through the page that will become my double page spread - this is the ruler I have used so that I know where the centre is.

 After organising where the centre of the page would be I inserted my main image accordingly. The image was placed on one full side of the page so that if the page were to be folded then it would not be creased and look distorted when the reader is looking at it. I have also added a drop shadow to the image so that it looks the same as the images on both the front cover and the contents page, and also added a drop shadow so that the image stands out against the white background and allows the page to look a lot less boring.

The third step I took was adding some details such as the page number, headline and the magazine web address. I also added the models name so that the reader would know who they are reading about. I added this in the corner of the page so that it would be easier for people who are just flicking through the magazine to locate this article specifically as it would stand out by the colours that are used.

 After inserting specific details I then added the main pull quote. This is because this tells the audience what the article they are about to read is about so that they can make an informed decision on whether or not they wish to continue reading. I used different colours for different areas of the text so that it looks a lot more eye-catching and also emphasises the word 'nothing' in the way that it would be emphasised if they heard it being said. This gives it a more personal feel and makes the reader feel as though they are part of a conversation rather than just reading words on a page. Stroke effects have also been used on the majority of the text on this page as it helps them to stand out more among the rest of the features on the page and also makes it look a lot more child-like and therefore helps to determine my target audience.

 I decided to also add a USP in this article that tells the audience it is an exclusive interview that no other magazine would have in their featured articles. It is positioned within a flower design which also determines the target audience as it is something that younger people would be interested in and also very feminine.

 I then added the Facebook, Twitter & Instagram icons with a 'Tell us what you think!' headline, which is used to connote the idea that the audience can get involved with the article and with the story. This helps attract audiences and the young audience I am targeting my magazine at are the most likely group of people to use social media and so this indicates which target market it is aimed at.

After I added the social media icons, I started to add more text. I used a different font for this part of the text as it is not insanely important and also means that it won't take any focus from the main text that is on the page.

I then added the outlines the the columns I would be using for the main body of text. This is so that I know where the text needs to be and also that each column will be spaced evenly on the page and will be the same size. This is so that it looks more professional and neat which would make it a lot more aesthetically pleasing. I also added the 'Questions by Paige Armstrong' just above the text boxes in order to give credit to the writers in the same way that a real magazine would.
I then added my main text. I used a drop cap to emphasize the professional look that I was attempting to achieve and also I added a second pull quote in order to attract the audiences attention. This is because these are typically used so that the audience will read the pull quote and then continue to read the full article in order to put the quote into context and this is exactly what I was trying to achieve. I also left a space just above the text in the middle column for a secondary image. This is so that the text area becomes more visual and keeps my young audiences attention. I also added another piece of text near the bottom of the page which gives credit to the photographer for the photos that were used, in the same way that a real magazine would.

I then added the image and a small caption in order to tell the audience what the image is from and why is it relevant. Another element I added was  a pink box behind my drop cap so that it highlights the beginning of the text even more and adds another visual element so that the text area doesn't look as boring. 

Finally, I added in the anchorage text which tells the reader something about the image that has been used and names the model too. I also added a dotted line with a scissors icon which would suggest that the image can be cut out and used as a poster. I thought this would be a good idea as my target audience are within the group that are most likely to have posters up in their bedrooms etc. and so this emphasises who my target audience are.

Conventions of a Double Page Spread

• Main image
• Pull quotes
• Columns
• Stand first
• Text - main story
• Headline
• Credits - Photographer, Editor, Writer
• Drop cap
• Page number
• Logo
• Website
• No images or text on the centre fold

Final Contents Page

Contents Page Progression

 When creating my Playlist Contents Page the first  step I took was creating the title. I have stayed with the same style as I created my front cover masthead in to create this title so that there is continuity and a link between two pages. I have also made sure that the magazine logo is in the same place as it is on the front cover so that it becomes a house style for this magazine.

When making this I had to consider the colour scheme and as I was working towards creating a colour scheme and house style, I stuck to the same colour scheme I had chosen for my front cover. Black, pink and yellow.

The contents title is yellow because it is the brightest colour within this colour scheme and so will stand out against the pink, whereas if it was a yellow background colour and a pink title then the page may seem too bright and subsequently off-putting.

I then started to place boxes so that I could plan my layout. The darker pink boxes were used to highlight where photos would be placed so that I could begin to add other things onto the page without taking up too much space and allowing less room for my images.

The dotted line is used to highlight the area that the features will be shown, for example my stories along with the page numbers that are relevant to that specific story.

I also added a subscription area where I will eventually add in prices, a description and some other images on my Google Mock Ups that I made during the Research & Planning period of creating this magazine - this is so that they look like other editions of this magazine and will therefore look a lot more professional. Another addition to my contents page was the page number, the social media icons and the magazines website. This is because it is very conventional to have these features so that the reader can navigate there way to this page but also find the magazine and talk about the magazine over social media sites.

After creating the things stated above, I added text to the subscription area of this page and the Google Mock Up images I had mentioned previously. This was added so that the reader knows what they would be paying monthly to get exactly what is written in the description that has also been added.

The Google Mock Ups that have been used work well with this magazine as they both have the same masthead and the same logo - which suggests a house style for the second time in this magazine.

I also added a small box to highlight where another image would be going. This image would be supporting text for the Editor's Letter.

I then wrote and added the Editor's Letter and the image to go with it. The letter is something that I found through research to be quite conventional in all genres of music magazines and so I planned to use one of these from the beginning so that it reinforce this convention.

The letter is basically just something I have wrote the briefly tells the reader what the whole magazine includes, and where they got their information from.

I then added images into the boxes I had previously provided. Each of these images are original and are placed as to go along with page numbers and a brief description or quote so that they display the conventions of the main stories within a magazine - which is to have the story along with an image rather than just text in a list.

 After placing the images into the contents page, I added the text needed for a contents page to fulfil its purpose.

The text also coordinates with the colour scheme with the exception of "tweet us" as this particular part of the text refers to a social media site and so I thought it would be a good idea to use the colour from that site in order to spark some comfortability within the page as the target audience specifically will understand this reference and will recognise it instantly.

The page numbers have also been included, with the ones alongside the images highlighted by a yellow square so that they stand out to the audience more and so they will not have to put a lot of effort into finding the page number for the story they are looking for.

After the text had been added I noticed that there was certain areas on the page that blended into the background they were placed on. This is why I decided to add some effects - mainly drop shadows. This is so that they stood out from the background and also looked a lot more professional.

I also added a gradient effect onto the background colour so that it wasn't so bold and in the audiences face. I think that this made it look a lot better as it is a lot easier to look at and also the colour of the 'Contents' title isn't as bright and striking but sits nicely at the top of the page.











The last effect I added was on the Contents Title as I decided, last minute, to add a stroke effect to make it look more bold on the page. This is because all of the other bits of text on the page had an effect such as the drop shadow added to it and so took attention away from the title of the page, which I think is an extremely important and very conventional feature.

Contents Page First Draft

On my first draft I made sure that I had the essentials and the outline of where I need to add certain elements. On this draft I am currently missing images, text and my page numbers. Although, this does outline where these elements will be placed.

Conventions of a Contents Page

•          ‘Contents’ Title
•          Page Numbers
•          Masthead
•          Images that match your feature stories
•          Featured/Regular Articles
•          Brief descriptions of the stories
•          Letter from the editor
•          Columns/boxes
•          Social media and web address
•          Date and issue
•          A realistic amount of pages for the price
•          Supporting images
•          Subheadings (weekly, cover stories, regulars, featured etc)
•          Main feature near the start of the magazine (Pages 10 – 14)