Evaluation

Positive aspects:



I feel that this project has gone really well. I think that my time keeping has been good and has kept me well on track for a good mark.



My research in the begginning helped alot for me to understand the conventions of my genre of music. Without this research i would have not have completed the task to as high a level as i have. I followed the conventions of the drum and bass and dubstep genre precisely modeling my magazine front cover on the way ATM magazine had modelled theres. This is clear from my front cover.

The similarities within my front cover and ATM magazine can be seen when put next to eachother like so.

During this project i took into account that the conventions of the magazine are quite simple and not flashy. (click on conventions to see this in visual form)This is what i applied to my front cover and throughout.

When constructing my contents page i looked through magazines of the same genre to see how they looked. They were also quite simple and i chose the black background through out too keep the same colour scheme. The pictures that are included on my contents page i photographed myself on nights out and i included the logos on the pictures to add a professional touch. I think that the banner going across the bottom of the page breaks up the page a bit and draws in the attention of the reader. All of the writing on the contents page relates to the genre of music and everything fits in well.

My media product uses the conventions of real media products by being very minimalistic and sticking to the same fonts and colour schemes. I havent challenged any of the conventions i stuck to them to ensure that my media product was realistic. The only convention that i could say i have challenged would be that i used one person on the front cover instead of two, but if i did use two people i would have used the stance shown in the refference above from ATM magazine.

My magazine has is designed for people who love to go out to events around bristol and love drum and bass and dubstep music. Everything written in the magazine is written to appeal to the target audience of 16-25 year olds and has represented my target audience as edgy and very informal.

A small local publisher would distribute my magazine along with a group of individuals that would support the printing ect. The reason why a small local publisher would distribute my product would be because dubstep and drum and bass are very Underground types of music that are not main stream yet. These sorts of magazines dont make alot of money because they are quite unknown of and still expanding as a genre.

The audience for my magazine would be 16-24 year olds who are intrested in drum and bass and dubstep. Everyone dresses quite differently who listens to drum and bass, but i looked at ATM magazine and the models on the cover were wearing plain t-shirts and poloshirts so i dressed my model in a plain t-shirt and jeans to follow the conventions of the genre.

I attracted my audience by using a famous well renowned drum and bass act, and i wrote this on the anchorage text on the front cover. This was to draw in the attention of the audience because when they see 'chase and status' that automatically creates appeal to reader and would push them to read on. I also attracted my audience by including big names within the drum and bass and dubstep industry underneath the anchorage text so that they would also adress the reader. I also used very informal language to address the audience so that the target audience was not put off by formal language that they cannot relate to. (To view how this was done, please click the link) I think that because i used informal language it makes the reader feel like the magazine was designed for them imparticular and they feel targeted in a good way.

Technology has influenced my project throughout. I have learnt about blogger.com and that it is an efficient way to publish my work so that it is easily accessable to others and my teacher. Also it makes it easier for me to view powerpoints from my teacher and i can also access my blog from anywhere and can add to my project whenever. I have used the SLR camera's during my project which have helped my understanding of photography alot better even though i am currently doing photography AS it has helped me to gain a better understanding. My understanding of photoshop has exceeded my expectations as i wasn't very good at all when i began the project, but throughout i have kept learning new skills to add to my understanding of different technologies. (click new skills to see what i have learnt)

Some of the things that i have learnt how to do are:

• How to adjust the brightness of photographs
• How to change the colours of images so that they fit into my magazine better
• How to crop and enlarge images correctly to add better effect to the magazine
• How to put a mask onto images so that it is easier to cut people out of backgrounds, this enables me to create a very neat image

Looking back at the preliminary task, i have progressed alot. (To view the change from preliminary task to final project click the green link)My preliminary task has no real structure, it is just words on page because i didnt know the conventions of that genre of magazine. Also my photoshop skills were not half as good as they are now, so all the writing is different fonts and colours and nothing matches. Also the main picture on the front is tiny and needs to be alot bigger. I have learnt how to use photoshop, what conventions represent the drum and bass and dubstep genre and also that all fonts need to be the same throughout the magazine, and they need to represent the target audience. I have gained a true understanding of the target audience and what they want from their music magazine. I think that my magazine appeals to the target audience really well.

Double page spread COMPLETE!

This is my finished double page spread. I changed the title that reads 'events 2010' from a normal font to one with a shadow and a glow because i feel that before it did not stand out enough. Now i feel that it catches the readers attention and also creates the sence of a second page within the double page spread.

Main points of the page that i feel work is the big picture of adam that i added a colour overlay too. I feel that this makes the double page spread come together and i also like it because he is pointing to the title of the page drawing attention to it.

ideas continued

I decided to use a colour overlay on the image instead to make it stand out and give a creative touch to the photograph.

Ideas

This is an image that i am putting on my double page spread. I have put a layer mask ontop of the image so that i can remove the background easier. i am going to place this image behind the text of the interview. I may possibly add a fade to the image so that the text is more visable.

plan for shoot

Plan for shoot for double page spread

I am going to take photos of my model possibly with some decks and then some more images up against a brick wall. I think these will work well on the double page spread better than in a studio because then they look more realistic. Also this follows the criteria for my magazine.

In the process of my double page spread

This is my partly finished double page spread. I have decided to do two different pages because i thought afterwards that the interview would work well but not over two pages. I think that having an events page is good because it links in with the whole magazine and also it is relevant. I also chose to use some different colour schemes on the inside pages because i think it was looking a bit bland.

Planning Double Page spread

For my double page spread i think i am going to include a section on the best events to visit in bristol and also and interview with Chase and Status including things like up and coming events and tours. Also i will include a few questions from fans and pictures to make it seem as if UNDERGROUND magazine connects with its readers on a personal level. I may use some of the images from the shoot for the front cover but i am unsure at this time whether that will work.

Contents Page finished

This is my finished Contents page. I like the use of the white banners with the black stencil writing on top because it gives he impression that the writing has been highlighted. I also like the lay out of the contents page because although it is very simple it works. Drum and bass magazines follow a simple layout so a busy contents page would look out of place and not follow the criteria. I like the white line dividers inbetween each different page. I think the white banner at the bottom of the page really catches the readers attention and also by including a free giveaway online it is promoting the magazine, making it more well known but also the fans are gaining something too.

Contents Page planning

For my contents page i am going to continue to use the same font as i did on the front cover. This has to be done in order for the magazine to look professional. I think that for my contents page i should use a black background and use the white stencil font. I am going to list in a artistic way whats inside the magazine. I think that i should include some sort of banner along the bottom to grab the attention of the reader. Also on this page i will introduce my double page spread. The pictures that i am going to use are ones that i have taken and set up when out at different events. To have pictures from real events i think works better because it makes the magazine seem more real and also the DONTSTAYIN logos on the photos make the photos apppear mroe professional.

Front Cover Finished

This is my finished front cover. When i look back at what i planned for the cover it is very similar to the plan. I have used the font i chose at the beginning and also followed the same colour theme. I think this cover resembles ATM magazine alot and i think it looks professional.

I think the fact that it is not a very busy magazine cover draws the reader in even more and i think it serves its purpose. The only aspect that my front cover lacks opposed to ATM magazine is that it doesnt have a free CD attatched to the front.

I think that the photograph i chose for this cover works really well because of his yellow top standing out on top of the black. I kept all the colours quite matte like in ATM magazine so that they were similar.

Plans for front cover

On my front cover i think i am going to follow a colour theme of black and white. The font i have decided to use is called stencil and it is a font from photoshop. I have decided to use this font because i think it works well with the magazine and also its quite edgy. It stands out and grabs the attention of the reader. I am going to follow how ATM have done their front cover and do mine very similar so that the magazine follows the criteria that other drum and bass magazines follow.

Shoot for front cover

These are my thumbnails from my shoot for my front cover photograph. I used the studio because that is how all the other magazines from my

genre have done it. The image below was the image that i chose to use on the front cover.

This is because he is directly looking into the camera and this photograph follows all the criteria for a drum and bass magazine. I decided to use the headphones so that it was clear to the audience that he was a DJ.

My intentions

Through my analysis i understand the conventions of a Drum and Bass / Dubstep magazine to have quite a plain front cover. Using the same font for the Mast head for each issue. Also the direct adress always looks directly into the camera so that is directly adresses the audience. Also if there is a two shot included on the cover then there is always one person stood behind and then the other stood infront and possibly turned to the side so that they appear more 3d and create more of an impact on the audience. Also there are always a list of other artists underneath the anchorage text. The magazine uses quite dull colours but it uses contasting colours to make things stand out. I plan to meat my conventions by going to Raves / Events and taking photographs of DJ's whilst doing sets for my front cover and for thoughout my magazine.

Questionnaire results

As i can see from looking at the survey results all of the people that i questionned were male and between the ages of 16 and 19. There was a total of 6 people who took my survey. The music that they all listened to was drum and bass and dubstep. They all selected both catagories. The survey also shows that the most favoured artist is EmalKay with 3 votes. The artist who they would like to see on the cover is either Nero or Benga. I also asked another question that was what font would you like to see used on the cover? The results were as followed:

questionnaire

Questionnaire

Objectives- gain quantitative and qualitative information about desired target audience for DRUM AND BASS / DUBSTEP MAGAZINE!

What is your gender?

Male Female


What is your age?

12-16
16-19
19+

What music do u listen to?

Drum and Bass
Dubstep
Dance / trance
Commercial (radio tunes)
Indie/rock

What font do you think would look good in a drum and bass / Dubstep magazine? Please tick

This font (hobo std)
This font – (rose wood)
This font – (stencil)
- (da font.com)
- (da font)

What is your favourite drum and bass / Dubstep artist?
What artist would you like to see on the cover of my magazine?

It seems that all the drum and bass magazines follow suit. They are very plain and bland. The direct adress is quite pixelated which is an effect i can create in photoshop. Also

The anchorage text that reads HIGH CONTRAST links to the direct adress (the model). The font style of the anchorage text and the mast head are very similar. Also the sell lines are in the same font as the anchorage text. The skyline at the top is put there to draw the reader in. The whole cover follows a colour theme. This is based upon what the direct adress is wearing. Also the background of the cover is green, this works well because the red and yellow stand out ontop of the green.

The way they have layed out the magazine cover is so that direct adress is staring into the camera therefore looking directly at the audience. The target audience is obviously drum and bass fanatics.

In each issue there seems to be a free CD with a exclusive mix on it. I could possibly include this in my issue. There is also a bar code inclued on the front cover.

As a magazine they also change the colour of the outline of the mast head so that the front cover is colour co-ordinated.

january 22nd
next week have all 3 covers done and have finished 2 inside spreads.

The anchorage text 'hype and hazzard' link the text to the direct adress. By having two renowned drum and bass artists on the front cover, the consumer would already be being drawn in. The skyline at the top offers the consumer extras of what is inside without them opening the magazine.

The masthead is in the same place as always. Also the writing of the anchorage text and the mast head are the same colour. Each issue there is a colour theme and this time it is yellow black and white. The white of the text stands out on the black.

The sell lines underneath the anchorage text are put there to draw the reader in a bit more. They are the names of the rest of the dj's included inside the magazine. These are put there incase the consumer isnt interested in 'hype and hazzard' and they are interested in the others listed on the right.

The colours that have been used are quite dull and arent really there to draw the reader into the magazine because the reader is already drawn in by the contents of the magazine and not the cover.

Magazine Analysis - ATM

The language used in ATM magazine is very informal because their target audience is teenagers.
The direct address of this magazine are Chase and Status. They take up most of the space on the magazine cover which will gain them alot of publicity. Because drum and bass is making its way up to the surface and becoming more and more commercial publicity like this is good for both the magazine ATM and Chase and Status. The masthead is at the top left where it is on every issue.

The anchorage text is the 'chase and status' across the middle of the page to attract the customers attention. There are not any more texts linked to the image. I think this is because the band are so well known in the drum and bass industry that they sale themselves. Also the people reading and buying the magazine would know who they are otherwise they wouldnt buy the magazine. Also in the direct adress (the image) chase and status are looking directly into the camera, Therefore looking directly into the eyes of the audience.

The sell lines that are 'London ELEKTRICITY' down to cotti are names of other bands featured in the magazine. These are there to show the reader what else the magazine holds inside. By including the big names of what they can find out about inside will draw the reader in and ensure a purchase.
This magazine doesnt use any buzzwords to entice the reader.