Final front cover

Here is my final front cover for my music magazine.

Final contents page

Here is my final contents page for my music magazine.

Final double page spread

Here is my final double page spread for my music magazine.

Evaluation 7

I used movie maker to upload this video to youtube.

Evaluation 6

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

A massive part to the production of my magazine was using different technologies.

I expanded my knowledge of websites that i could used t upload things t my blog such as go animate, voki, sliderocket, prezi, flickr, youtube, surveymonkey, movie maker etc. Sites like this have made it easy for me to upload my work through different social media to show my process. This was good because I got to find out about new social media sites.

I also gained knowledge of technologies that consist of Photoshop, indesign, picasa, blogger, SLR cameras and the Mac computer compared to the windows pc. I used such technologies to capture the images i needed for my magazine, edit them and and produce the actual magazines. there were some difficulties as this was the first year of the media students using indesign which meant that they didn't know the program as well as they knew others such as Photoshop. I had to learn how to use it myself.

The technologies I have learnt to know when constructing my music magazine has improved and expanded by a great amount which has helped me to produce a good quality music magazine.

Evaluation 5

Evaluation 5 by Ellesha on GoAnimate

Video Maker - Powered by GoAnimate.

Evaluation 4

Evaluation 3

Evaluation 2

Soul being the type of genre it is, doesn't really get as much recognition as other genres such as pop and rock do. Which is why I believe this genre has its own separate social group. Here is a voki of how I think my media product represent particular social groups. The reason I did this was to make my magazine seem more realistic, and then yet again relating it back to music as the grammys is a music award show. Looking back at my reader profile I can say that my magazine does fit its social group and target audience as it meets everything Isabelle wanted. As a young person that loves music the magazine offers her a chance to get free studio time and she is eligible to win things also. One thing she did say was that all she cared about was the music and I think my magazine truly represents just that. from the topics and features to Josh Lavaly’s interview, everything always balls down to the music.

Evaluation 1

Here the evaluation process starts.

During the course of the next 2 or so weeks I will be writing  up an evaluation for my music magazine using the following questions:

1. What ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

More decisions - DPS

When talking to Afreen (a class mate) about my double page spread, the first thing she said was the blue circle didn't fit in with the theme of my magazine. I 100% agreed with what she said and so I used the same gold colour for the box as it shows conventions of colour schemes throughout my magazine. She also spoke about adding some colour to the text - I also thought that would be a good idea so I did and I think with the help of her advice it has benefited the look of my magazine.

Decisions decisions - Contents page

So I've nearly finished my contents page but I had a few minor things that I needed to figure out. These are as follows:

I like the gradient look for the contents page but when I asked my peers and teachers none of them liked it, because of this I've chosen to take it of because if my target audience doesn't like the way the product is its best if I change it so I can produce a successful music magazine. I also took it off because after looking at it for a while it had a poster-like effect to it and through research of magazines none of them had gradients for a whole page.

 After that change Mr Varguese said that I should try putting in lines to separate the columns. I did this as shown, however I didn't like the way it looked, nor did my teacher or some of my peers so I decided to take the lines off.

Lightening the front cover picture

When making improvements to my magazine i noticed the front cover image was a bit dark and so i used the curve function on Photoshop to make the picture lighter.

So far.. Nearly finished?

I have made many improvements to my magazines from the last pages I posted on here.
I've shown my changes by using the drive on my Google account.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/195yFDDg67kZcRVC7ueUkMCTfHH7Lseuz9kagHQ9bOvU/edit?usp=sharing

Were I'm at so far.

I haven't posted on here in a while, probably down to all my hard work :)
It's been a long journey and creating the pages for this magazine hasn't been easy.
Here are the first three drafts I gave in to my teachers. There very rough and as you can see, annotated everywhere with red pen. from looking at the feedback I got for this I was then able to improve my pages which is shown by the ticks. after every change I made I ticked so I knew I had done it so when it came to handing these pages in again it would've been closer to finishing.

Barcodes

In my media lesson I asked Mr Varghese about the barcode on my magazine and he told me it was too long and it wasn’t a magazine barcode. So I went on the internet looking for magazines barcodes and I noticed that most of them start with a 9 following a 7. When I tried to generate my own barcode in the same way, it wouldn’t let me so I had to look for one on the internet that looked as similar to a magazine barcode as possible.
I found a website called www.barcode1.co.uk where I found the new barcode for my magazine.

 

In my research about barcodes for soul music magazines I found out that some soul magazines have ISSN numbers with the barcodes, however looking at other soul magazines and different genres, I noticed most magazines have the barcode I’ve placed on my magazine.

                                                   

 

 

 

 

Process.. Front Cover

I'm in the process of making the font cover for my magazine and I needed to put a barcode and a QR code on it. Through searching on the internet I came across the website called http://www.barcodesinc.com/generator/index.php and created my these things.

Playing around with fonts.

Finding fonts for my magazine was really hard because I needed something to connect well to the genre of my magazine. To help me decide I looked a various different examples of magazines and noticed that the fonts they've used are quite plain and simple but still effective. Looking through websites like dafont and fontspace, I found some fonts that I may of liked to use then came to a decision. The image below shows the two fonts I'm going to use for my front cover and content page titles along with some of the ones I was contemplating upon.

Interview Answers

I've done the interview for my magazine with Josh over my HTC Desire mobile device. I recorded it on my phone and also on my laptop on a programme named audicity.
The Questions and answers are as follow.

Do you think being from Sierra Leone and growing up in London, has influenced your music? How? 

Yes a lot because I’ve been brought up here all my life, but I've still got that African heritage side to me which can explore the afro beat section. There are many different genres of music that England has to offer, I’ve adapted all of that, so essentially it ranges but I would do more western music, more British music.

When did you first find out that you can sing?

Erm, my first memory was when I was in year 3, like 7 or 8 in a school play and I got a pretty big role, when I sung all the teachers were crying, I had parents crying and coming over, telling my mum how great I was and it all started from there.

Do you sing in the church as well?

Yes, I've been in the church all my life.

It's been said that you sing like a cross between R.Kelly and Ne-Yo. The readers want to know, who inspires you?

R.Kelly because I grew up listening to him from childhood, he is one of my influences.

Are there any other people?

Tyrese, loads of people tell me I look like Tyrese (laughs) but also people like Marvin Sapp, Fred Hammond, I'm more inspired by these people because I believe that I'm more soul than R'n'B.

What would be your dream collaboration?

Erm Wow that’s a hard one, there’s so many people but if I could it would have to be Richard Addams

Would you ever consider branching out to different entertainment like acting or dancing?

No, It’s all about the singing for me right now, but I can dance, I wouldn’t do it for a career but I'll always have a go at something.

You seem like you’re full of life and exuberance, what keeps you motivated to get up in the morning?

The fact that I'm still alive, the amount of things I’ve been through, just living another day is enough for me to be thankful and make the most out of things like staying out of trouble, me having another chance is enough to try and meet the force of my beliefs.

You look very stylish [I try, I try], where do you get your dress sense from and how important is your image when it comes to your artistry?

I have an older sister, back in the day she used to pick out the stuff I wore, she styled me, her style was classy, and I got that bit from her. My image is everything; I think that’s one of the major things that can make or break you so I have to always look on point.

So all the ladies want to know, are you single?

Am I single? No I'm taken, for like three months now.

Tell me something you've never told someone before?

I'm not really a secretive person; I'm pretty much an open book.

What is one thing people don’t know about you that they should?

Erm, nothing really what you see is what you get with me really.

Do you play any instruments?

Yeah, I play the drums, I try to play the piano, I have a guitar and I try to play around with it. I also have a violin but I don’t play it.

Are any of your family musical, or is it just you?

Everyone in my household is musical my mum and dad were in a choir, my sister sings and my little brother tries to sing. [Laughs] So everyone’s musical in my house.

What are a few things do you want to achieve by the end of this year?

I want to get my provisional done, I need to make an EP/Mix tape, and I want to finish college.

This year I'm travelling with my church, they made an album and a couple of us would be going to Ghana for a concert out there and I would also be going to the Caribbean, and America as a backup artist for a gospel artist.

What do you think about the music industry right now?

The music industry is a bit mad because everyone wants to be a singer these days but its all about marketing because they look at what they can get out of you and are looking for money. The music industry now is a different and difficult game but if you follow through, you might not get to the stage that you want, but if music is is what you want and performing, you don't have to be the most famous person to be a performer, because if music is what you do, people hearing your music alone would be enough for you to feel happy, that’s your job done. In terms of being famous and being on T.V shows, I don’t really want to go down that road.

Do you have anything coming up that people need to know about?

I’m in a concert called confused in April; live gospel concert in Holston and you can find me on twitter at www.twitter.com/J_Lavaly and on Facebook www.facebook.com/JoshuaArtistLavaly for more details

What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you?

I was at my cousins 18th birthday when I was 15 and I tried to dance with one of her friends, everyone was watching me and I got turned down.

What separates you from other musicians in the industry?

I've got a bit of everything; I’ve got a bit of jazz, soul, gospel, R’n’B I can switch it up anytime. A couple artists only stick to one genre of music, I can change it up if I wanted to, I bring something different to the table, I’m unpredictable.

What is your dream?

My dream is to be a legend, when I’m gone I want people to remember my name, my music and what I stood for.

Thank you for coming

Thank you for having me.

QUICK QUESTIONS

Favourite food: Chinese

First CD: Craig David

Favourite CD: Chris Brown; Fame

Favourite item of clothing: Pumas

Jordans or Pradas: Jordans

Snapback or Beanie: Snapback

Suited up or a tracky: Suited up because I'm a big boy now

Most expensive thing you've bought: True religion jeans

Beyonce or Rihanna: Beyonce

Favourite Soul singer of all time: Marvin Sapp

Flatplan Imrovements

Improved flatplans with Josh Lavaly.

Manipulating pictures - Contents page

In my lessons I have been manipulating pictures for my magazine. Here is one of them. The circles are the places where I've used photoshop on places on the models face in detail.

 

Picures for the contents page maybe?

Here are a couple pictures that I've taken over the past month. (Including some from the gig at Mau Mau Bar) I am contemplating using some of these for contents page.

Shotlist

Interview Questions

Today in Ms Burne's lesson we discussed writing interview questions

Josh Lavaly is my chosen artist that I will be interviewing on Thursday, the following questions I will ask are:

1. Do you think being from Sierra Leone and growing up in London, has influenced your music? How? 
2. When did you first find out that you can sing?
3. It's been said that you sing like a cross between R.Kelly and Neyo. The readers want to know, who inspires you?
4. What would be your dream collaboration?
5. Would you ever consider branching out to different entertainment like acting or dancing?
6. You seem like you’re full of life and exuberance, what keeps you motivated to get up in the morning?
7. You look very stylish, where do you get your dress sense from and how important is your image when it comes to your artistry?
8. So all the ladies want to know, are you single?
9. Do you have anything coming up that people need to know about?

QUICK QUESTIONS

Favourite food:

First CD:

Favourite item of clothing:
Jordans or Pradas:

Snapback or Beanie:

Suited up or a tracky:

Most expensive thing you've bought:

Beyonce or Rihanna:

Favourite Soul singer of all time:

Bye bye Joel, Hello Josh.

So Joel Baker can no longer do my magazine due to loads of work (awwww)

So, I've found another and my final person by the name of JOSH LAVALY!!!! (wooo hoooo)

 

Deciding colour schemes for my magazine

When I did my focus groups I noticed that many people said they looked at colour schemes when they first saw a magazine and that they liked bright popping colours. However soul magazines do not normally have a massively popping colour scheme. So to choose the colour scheme for my magazine I will use a colour wheel to show me what colours work well together and don't.

Collage of Male Soul Artists

Doing more research into Soul music I realised that most of the artists’ pictures have been taken in black and white. I think this is mainly to do with the time period soul music was about, there weren’t many coloured pictures being taken. In the 21st century soul artists still use greyscale in a lot of their pictures. Apart from greyscale soul artist take pictures using sepia and earthy colours like greens, browns, reds and oranges. Most pictures seem to be in a photography studio or sometimes on a stage or by an instrument.  From this I collected images of male Soul artists and made a collage. This will benefit me when it comes to posing my feature artists, the location and the colours schemes I am going to choose.

Flatplan Draft

Yesterday in class, Ms Burne made us peer assess each others flatplan designs.
We marked each others work on a mark scheme with the scores of Minium, Basic, Proficient and Excellent
The results were as follows.

• Appropriate material for target audience - Proficient
• Understanding of conventions of layout and page designs - Excellent
• Awareness for variety in fonts and text size - Proficient
• Accurate of language and register - Proficient
• Integration of text and image - Excellent
• Planning of the phoot - Proficient

After these results I know that I need to improve all the points that say proficient to excellent so that I can achieve a successful magazine.

Focus Group

Here is the videos for the focus group I uploaded.

Reader Profile - Isabelle

Hi, my name is Isabelle and I'm 17 years old. I live in Bermondsey with my parents and little brother and I go to college in London. I'm studying AS music, drama, sport and English lit. Music is my life and I write and play my own music. I absolutely adore Jessie J. I've seen her twice in concert and she was amazing, my favourite song of hers is entitled 'mama knows best'. I would say my favourite genre of music would be R'n'B/Soul and I love buying magazines such as Vibe which I have subscribed to and get monthly. This magazine features artists like Rihanna, Chris Brown and Melanie Fiona who I also like. I love to go to events showcasing up and coming artist around London, and I've also had the privilege of performing in a couple. I am 100% focused on my A levels as a year 12 student and hope to achieve the best I possibly can and music helps me do that. With music I can escape to a different place and let it all still relate to my exams which is why I love it.

Results and analysis of online survey

Flatplans

This week I am going to be designing my flatplans for my magazine
What I MUST do are the following

·         It must be as detailed as possible with text and colour completed. It should look like your completed magazine will do (apart from your interview).

·         I should show how your research has influenced the design of the flatplan and should include a minimum of 4 different images.

·         The design can and will change and adapt but you must always explain and justify these changes

·         At the end, the finished magazine should be recognisable from the flatplan

My final feature artist.. hopefully!!!!

So on Friday 11th January 2013 I went to a gig where I saw many up and coming artists perform their music. I took a whole lot of pictures and met with my feature artist in person.

JOEL BAKER.

His set was amazing and to top it off he agreed to doing my magaine.

RESULT!

I will upload some of the pictures I took at a later date.

DPS

On Thursday Ms Burne showed us a double page spread in Grazia magazine with the feature celebrity being Fearne Cotton. In this lesson we analysed both the picture and the text of the DPS to understand what key features and linguistic techniques I could use in my own magazine.

Image - The image had carefully been taken so that there was enough space around it for her name, the pull quote used, the standfirst and the text. The look they went for was a sepia, vintage looking look which went very well with the clothes she's wearing from her clothing line which is what the article is about. This shows the link between the image and the text. Also the way she is placed and her facial expression says a lot in contrast to the background as she looks quite seductive and provocative whereas the background is in a nice, natural and rural setting. This links well to the pull quote 'I'm not so nice - I can be a bitch' and the 'F' in her name 'Fearne' being in red shows again, a seductive almost dangerous side to her.

Standfirst - Very short, only two sentences which engages readers to read. This standfirst uses linguistic techniques such as:

• rhetorical question
• alliteration
• rhyme
• rule of three

Using these language devices helps the reader feel more connected to the feature celebrity and the article.

Main text - The beginning paragraphs of the text are informal and chatty before the interview starts. The article is more of a story based interview than a question and answer interview. The text uses linguistic techniques such as alliteration and personification. Punctuation is also used well.

What I understood from this DPS is that in order for everything to link, work well together and have a finished complete look, every aspect needs to be thought about such as:

• image
• text
• colour scheme
• font
• type of shot used
• headmast
• pull quotes
• font sizes
• the way the artist is placed and how much room I need to have around them
• language

Now because I know all of this, I believe that I can accomplish putting all of these things in my magazine so that it turns out to be the same standard as a real magazine.

Focus Group

A couple of days ago, Miss Mottram told us to create a focus group analysing music magazines of my chosen genre. I've chosen 'Contemporary Soul' however, due to that being really specific, I've chosen to analyse 'R'n'B & Soul' magazines.

Here are the questions I'm going to ask the people taking part in my focus group.
The video will be uploaded soon!


 

Contemporary Soul

Questions

Front Covers

· When you look at this two front cover what genre do think this is?

· What attracts you to the front cover of a magazine? Is it the image? Pull quotes? Colours? Font?

· What does the price mean to you? Do you feel that you will buy magazines for this price. If not what is the maximum you will pay?
 

Contents

· What attracts you to the contents page of a magazine? Is it the images? Pull quotes? Colours? Font?

· Do you read the text on this page? If not what do you want on there to make you more attracted to reading it?
 

Double Page spread

· Do you prefer seeing a lot of text or a big picture on a double page spread

· How does a double page spread draw you in? Through images or text

· Do you know the genre of the magazine from looking at it.

· How does the way the artist is dressed and the location of the image help you understand the genre? Does it?

· Are pull quotes and standfirsts important to you? Does make you feel connected to the artist or magazine more.

· Do you prefer to read these other than articles?
 

This will help me wih my magazine because I am going to review what the people have said and try to use their likes, dislikes and thoughts to guide and direct me to producing the best magazine I possibly can.

Online Survey

I did a survey asking people what attracts them to different pages of a magazine and how much they would pay for one. I've done this so when it comes to making my music magazine I will have an idea of how to produce my magazine. For example knowing how much people would really pay for a magazine will affect how much I will price my magazine.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

I'm still exploring possible features...

Perhaps I got a tad excited before, when looking for people to feature in my magazine. Anyways, I was searching around twitter for more people in different genres of music and came across this amazing new artist by the name of Joel Baker. He's incredibly talented.
Let's make his music do the rest of the talking for him.

Q magazine

Here is the other one. This is more of a mainstream magazine.

What I like about this one is that it is so colourful it attracts me instantly. However some people may find it too much. Also I like the fact that the use different stories inside the magazine to lure people into reading it. This is something I want to do in my magazine. This magazine is very good at advertising itself - where it says Q it also says "MUSIC MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR" and "THE WORLD'S GREATEST MUSIC MAGAZINE".

The one thing I would take away from this contents page is the way the images are placed on the left place instead of in a straight line. They also had a place where they were advertising the magazine by proposing subscriptions which I thought was a good idea.

This double page spread is an example of what I don't want to do for my as it doesn't look uniform.