Q1- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and

conventions of real media products?

The title of the magazine- Yellow masthead in bold large font, located central to the page acting as
the centre of visual interest, attracting the audiences attention. The 4 letter word on the contents
almost frames the image, almost complimenting Drakes face. The bold yellow lettering contrasts
the monochrome colour scheme.
Graphology/ Page layout- A very simplistic layout on all pages, with structured text, and simple
pages. This keeps the focus on the images and the headings, further complimenting the image.
The use of white text on the contents and cover, enables the text to blend in with the image so that
it doesnt stand out, and make the page look cluttered. But also stands out on the darker image
behind it, making it easier to read. The limited variety of fonts on each page keeps the simplistic
feel, making sure it doesnt become over complicated. The barcode is hidden in the bottom left
corner on the cover, making the page appear neater. Every page shows evidence of a pop of
colour, which compliments the image.
Costumes, props, iconography used to reflect genre- Costume is a variety of bold colours, used to
reflect the bold feel on every page. This bold look is used to emulate the genre.
Camerawork and framing of images- A series of mid/ closeup shots are used to focus on facial
expressions. The simple framing of the image keeps the focus on these expressions, by guiding
the attention through lack of colour. For example on the double page spread it shows Kendrick on a
simple white background, this initially keeps the focus on the image and text, similarly on the cover
where drake is located on a simple grey background.
Article, header etc font and style- The article is layout in a quirky way, with varying text box sizes, to
make the page look more appealing instead of conforming to the typical article structure. Headings
are written in bold, and the article title is written in a big coloured font (burgundy) guiding the
readers attention to the key words and phrases. The article is written in a simple font, keeping a
simple overall layout, making clear and easy to read. The overall style following this pop of colour
evident throughout, yet still conforming to the simplistic feel of the pages.
Genre and how the magazine cover, contents and spread suggests it- A consistent quirky colourful
colour scheme is evident throughout each page, which means they all follow the overall style of the
magazine. The typical R&B/pop styling is repeated throughout the magazine, including R&B styled
artists on each page e.g. Drake and Kendrick Lamarr. Which initially makes it clear what genre of
music the magazine is going to feature. Simple images also connote this R&B style by focusing on
key words linked to these artists.
How are the artist(s) represented- Drake is represented in a simple closeup, enabling the audience
to see his trademark facial expressions, the monochrome colour scheme further emphasises his
facial expressions by adding emphasis on his eyes and eyebrows (making his appear angry, or
serious). By making the image of Drake bleed to the edge of the magazine cover it shows
importance of his as an individual, emphasising the R&B influence of the magazine. The apparent
monochrome colour scheme further applies to the genre of music Drakes music fits into, however
the pop of colour could contrast this by bringing in the pop influence, attracting a wider audience.
Colour scheme- As ive already mentioned throughout the simple block colouring of he images on
each page, emphasises the distinct bold colours evident in the masthead and the article titles. This
bold colour scheme is repeated throughout, acting almost as a distinct trademark, of each page
having a bright electing title and a monochrome or simple colour schemed image.

My magazine-
The title of the magazine- the masthead of my magazine NEON follows the same codes and
conventions of other massive magazines such as Vibe and Clash on the basis that simple, short
word is able to be written in the big lettering, complimenting the image on the cover. The masthead
also has the same prominence on the page as a trademark or a brand name, acting as the centre
of visual interest so that the masthead is the memorable feature evident on every issue, and on
every page in the magazine. The specific font used for the masthead, is used to mirror a real neon
light, with interconnecting lettering. I felt that this was necessary as whilst the font replicated a neon
light, which was the idea behind not only the font but the name of the magazine, but it is also a very
contemporary typeface, befitting a magazine on contemporary popular music culture. The design
of the typeface fills the entirety of the masthead area, due to the use of all uppercase letters. The
lack of ascending and descending lettering means that the masthead appears clean, filling all of
the space. Whilst the font is bold and strong, it is similar to other music magazines such as Clash
and Vibe which both leave sufficient space for creative photography behind the masthead, enabling
the audience to see the entire image. I felt that this was appropriate on the basis that the apparent
white lettering almost contrasted the overall meaning of the word neon, as the word neon means
colourful. However, the bold coloured filters used on the image, added colour to the page,
achieving the appropriate electro pop styling, that i wanted each page to include.
Graphology/ page layouts- I decided that I would have a variety of fonts in my magazine all of
which would complement each other, the fonts that i used NEON,Aaux ProMedium, Impact and
Avenir. I chose these fonts as i thought that although they were all different and almost contrasting
each other, I felt that they worked together as the theme of my overall magazine is quirky, sleek and
bold, all of which are features of all 4 of the fonts i picked. Although the overall theme of my
magazine is a simple layout, i though that the contrasting fonts would add a different feel to every
page, making each page as exciting as the previous, which still made the magazine appear
professional. The sizing of my masthead and cover lines decrease in level of importance, as i
though this was important so that the audience could distinguish the important pieces of
information, finding certain information easier to find. For example on my cover, its evident that my
masthead is the biggest piece of text as this is common for every magazine masthead. I chose to
follow the common features of a magazine so that my magazine develops forms and conventions
of a real music magazine or magazine in general. Next is my cover lines on my contents, I varied
the sizing of the cover lines and stories on the basis that some headlines were more important than
say other. For example, i chose to make Downing and Electro pop the biggest headlines, on the
basis that Pria Downing was the artist and Electro pop was the genre of music. I decided to make
all of the text on my cover and contents white, as I though that the simple white text would
compliment the colourful image, also enabling it to stand out on the darker background. Although
nearly all of this text is white, I decided to highlight a variety of words in red, which emphasised to
specific words, however also adding more colour to each page. I think that my colour choice of the
text complimented each other well as the red was almost a direct contrast from the simple
monochrome black of white text, as red usually connotes danger and excitement whereas white
connotes simplicity and cleanliness, both messages something that I want to convey in my
magazine, and portray to the audience. I decided to locate all of my text on the left hand side on
the basis that it drew the readers eye to cover the entire page, moving from the masthead to the list
of headlines on the left hand side. I also wanted my text to be minimal, almost working together
with the image, as I wanted my magazine layout to be fairly simplistic and minimal with all of the
emphasis on the colourful filters applied to the images. I wanted my barcode to be fairly small and
located in a place where it didn't stand out as I didn't want it to take the minimalistic theme that was
apparent on the rest of my pages, I thought that by making the barcode seller the overall
composition of my page would look far neater as I think that the largeness of the image made the
cover look full in itself and no space therefore needed to be filled with a bigger barcode. Even
though I loved the styling of the V magazine, I thought that the 1 word masthead wouldnt look right
with the overall theme of V magazine also tend to make their masthead coloured and their images
monochrome however i did the opposite, as I though that the styling would link more with my
electro pop theme.
Costumes, props, iconography used to reflect genre- My artist Pria Downing was specifically
styled in order to cater to the electro pop style. I dressed her in a variety of different outfits in both
of the photoshoots that took place, which showed variety of different aspects taken from the electro
pop theme. During the first photoshoot the electro pop theme was evident through my artists
makeup instead of say her clothing. I chose to emphasise her makeup as I knew that I was going
todo a variety of closeup and medium shots where the majority of the shot was taken up by her
face. I chose a simple colour palette for Prias makeup as I though that this style would be most
effective after adding the effects to the images. By using a simple colour palette, I though that it
added a new spin on the typical expectations of an electro pop artist, however my artists makeup
was heavily influenced by electro pop artists such as Rihanna, who also use simple colour palettes
on occasions. I decided to use off the shoulder items during the first photoshoot on the basis that I
wanted all of the emphasis to be on the artists face rather than her clothing, and i though that the
lack of visible clothing would mean that I could feature a greater variety of colours in the text,
instead of through the clothing and makeup. I though this as the magazines like Clash also did a
similar thing, by dressing there artists in very minimal monochrome clothing so that the emphasis
was on the artists face or expression. However, I decided to slightly twist this idea by adding a few
neutral, pinky tones, instead of simply creating black and white images, as i further wanted to
include more colours to my magazine pages. Although, there was a lack of bright colours in the first
photoshoot, I decided that in my second photoshoot that i would look at electro pop inn a different
way. My artist in the second photoshoot was specifically dressed to look like an actual electro pop
artist. I dressed her in a pink fur coat and emphasised this look further by giving her a bolder colour
palette, including blue eyeshadow. Both of the photoshoots linked due to the apparent reoccurring
pink colour palette, providing a seamless match between each page however the specific clothing
and different interpretation of makeup, give the second photoshoot a different spin. I chose this
specific look as i think it was heavily influenced by Rihanna (an existing electro pop artist) however
it also provided a quirky, cool look, which could connote danger, this enabled my artist to fit in with
the genre and not look out of place for the styling that was adapted for my audience.
Camerawork and framing of images- my magazine follows the code and conventions of typical pop
magazines it features mainly closeup/ mid shots, focusing all of the shot on facial expression.
Furthermore, my artist is located centrally on my front cover, making sure that she is the centre of
visual interest, meaning that this is the first thing that people look at, this follows the common
conventions of magazines like Clash. However, on my contents and both of my double page
spreads, i have located my image off centre (either to the left of to the right), this also follows the
thirds rule in photography. Because these rules have been taken into account whilst taking the
images, a professional image has been created, making my magazine look realistic due to
including common features of magazine, due to the fact that i have manipulated the levels of all of
my photographs, making the images more interesting and making each image different from the
last, adding originality to each page. I was heavily influenced by Clash with my images on the basis
that the simple white background meant that all of the emphasis was on the clothing and the colour
palettes of the makeup etc
Article, header etc font and style- Although my article does include features evident in other
magazines e.g. the location of my image, the use of drop quotes etc I decided that i would layout
my article in a way that magazines dont do. I chose to have a lot of space on my article and carry it
onto a second double page spread as i felt that it would reinforce the simplistic theme evident
throughout. I didnt want my article to appear cluttered so i spaced it out and included a variety of
gaps. Because of this i felt that my article was more interest got look at and also making it easier to
read. Which would further connote the simplistic look i wanted my magazine to achieve, in order to
reinforce this, i decided to use a simplistic font Aaus ProMedium as i felt that this fonts the best
font for small text. By reinforcing this font, it also linked the cover to the double page spreads. I
chose to have no significant title ace though it would guide the CVI away from the image, also
providing the page with a more clustered look, something that i didn't want to introduce in my
magazine. I chose to do all of my text in a simple black text colour as i though that it would contrast
well with the light grey background, helping the text further stand out.
Genre and how the magazine cover, contents and spread suggests it- My magazine is heavily
influenced by typical pop magazines, due to its colourful, quirky style which is heavily influenced by
its bright colour palette and its unique layout. Because of this, the target audience is instantly
intrigued due to the originality of the magazine, as although it includes features of magazines such
as Clash, it also includes features that aren't apparent in any other magazine, making it individual.
This individuality means that the audience would be more likely to purchase the magazine as it
arguably would stand out. The use of coloured filters (heavily influenced by Petra Collins) would
attracts the audience, by standing out o typical magazines that share a similar colour scheme.
How is the artist represented- I have decided to portray my artist as a quirky, cool teenage girl
interested in bright colours e.g. blue, yellow and bright pink. I chose to portray her as being like this
as i feel that she connotes other female electro pop artists such as Lady Gaga and Rihanna. This
was my initial aim to highlights the need for female electro pop artists as the genre is mainly
dominated by male DJs such as David Guetta, Calvin Harris and other artists such as the Weeknd.
I tough that by challenging the common electro pop scene and catering towards a common pop
scene (as where females mainly dominate the industry) I felt that my magazine would cater to a
greater variety of people, targeting both male and women (through the use of the Male Gaze). I
posed my artist in very confident poses as I wanted her yo appear a strong female character
(which also contradicts the common expectations of women) by doing so it also supports her article
in where she talks about her confidence.
Colour scheme- My magazine colour palette was heavily influenced by magazines such as Clash
and V magazine, on the basis that its apparent that both of these magazines use very bright colour
palettes. Although the majority of my images and text included a limited amount of colour, and
followed a simple colour palette i included a variety of different image filters that added blue and
red to my images, making them cater to my overall Neon theme. As notes on previous posts the
majority of the colour on the page tended to be through the colour schemes of the photography
filters, and after doing so determined the overall colour scheme of my page. As apparent from my
magazine the colour themes on each page tended to be in the style of a 3D image, with a
reoccurring blue and red theme. Not only was this theme evident in the images, but i also matched
the red from the image to make a seamless match of the red text colour, making the text and image
correspond. I decided upon blue and red as they contrast each other however they complement
one another, making it appear quirky yet aesthetically pleasing together. I also featured lots of grey
as i felt that white would make the page look too sparse, yet grey would fill the blank spaces more. I
also did this as in my research and planning I found that typical pop magazines such as V
magazine, tended yo fill the pages with either images or text, and having a white background would
make the page look blank and out of place. Because of doing this i was following the forms and
conventions of real magazines, making it look more realistic. Besides the red, blue and grey, i also
included a bright pink colour scheme, this colour scheme is also apparent in magazines such as
Clash, this further widens my audience, as it caters to a variety of people. I feel that the overall
colour scheme highlights the femininity that i wanted to highlight, yet still attracting the target
audience through the neon colour scheme.
Cover inspiration- My magazine cover was not inspired on a particular magazine, but instead a
photographer. I chose to compose my image like a famous Petra Collins photo, by applying a
condemnation filter on top of the image.I really liked the way that the image came out, i also
included a similar colour palette behind the image, as i though that the dark image wouldn't link
with the colourful images on the other pages of the magazine. Because of this i used a neon colour
palette of colours such as pink, yellow and grey. This added a POP to the cover, making it moralise
the Petra Collins image. Although the image was heavily influenced by Petra Collins, The layout of
my cover was heavily influenced by Clash. The location and sizing of my masthead was specifically
measure to mimic the Clash masthead, giving it a recognisable look. I loved the way that clash
used a simplistic styling of all of their magazine issues, and there reinforcing colour palette. I also
like the common shots used in these magazines, and similarly i used the reinforcing mid/ close up
shot in my magazine. As the emphasis on my magazine was on the face.
Contents inspiration- I decided to do a double contents page on the basis that i wanted my
magazine to include features of other magazines it to differ from typical magazine layouts. I
decided to do big page numbers on my contents as i though that the sizing and font of both the
Contents title and the page numbers would compliment each other. I think that this also decides
the page into 4 distinct sections, which emphasises the biggest section (which includes both shots
merged together). I didn't have very much influence from another magazine for my contents, as i
wanted it to challenge the forms and conventions of a typical magazine as i wanted to make this
page unexpected. As this danger is the overall theme portrayed throughout my magazine through
layout and colour palettes. However, i did show features of V magazine through the use of a plain
background.
Double page spread inspiration- Similarly to my contents i didn't have a specific inspiration for my
double page spread, however some features are evident on other magazines. Such as the location
of the image, by allocating a single image that bleeds to the edge of an entire page, this links my
magazine double page spread to other magazines such as V magazine. I also used boxes to
highlight and emphasise not only the image but also the text. This feature is evident in magazines
such as Loud and Quiet and Clash.
Q2- How does your media product represent particular social groups?

During the creation of my magazine, I conducted a variety of different research methods which
gave me information about my pop/ electro pop target audience. I was able to refine my
audiences interests and lifestyle as a whole, through these research methods. Due to the fact
that during my research and planning section, I was able to create a clear representation of
what my target audience was like, which then enabled me to cater their hobbies and interest
and appearance and put it into a suitable magazine format, including things that this audience
would enjoy reading and therefore a magazine that they would buy. One of the most useful
websites, that enabled me to do this, was UK Tribes on the basis that it was a website that took
into account peoples interests and allocated them into a tribe, which meant that finding the
specific target audience wasnt as difficult as say other research methods. Through looking at
different social groups I decided that my audience would split between the Stylers (which are a
younger demographic, that are influenced by music and fashion) and the Creatives (which are a
modern social group that enjoy bending the boundaries). I decided to categorise my audience
to these specific groups as I thought that the description showed me that both of these groups
are looking for new and modern things, both features that I wanted to include and interpret into
my magazine.

From this research, I felt that my artist has to be quirky, cool and different to usual artist in the
industry, as I thought that this would attract my target audience. I also think that fashion is a
massively important factor, on the basis that up to date fashion trends were evident for both of
the groups and todays society as a whole, not only would this attract my target audience.
Which is why my artist Pria Downing is represented and dressed in the way she is, as it is
apparent that she is influenced by big, modern pop artist such as Rihanna, wearing quirky
outfits (big pink fur coat, knee high boots) which is similar to other pop artist that are portrayed
in cool, up to date outfits. Her overall style, is fairly out there, showing her quirky, big
personality, she tends to wear bright colours and big statement outfits like say Lady Gaga
(another electro pop artist), conforming to the latest trends and also being respected on the
fashion scene because of her bold clothing sense.

As mentioned before, Pria was heavily influenced by big pop/ electro pop artists such as
Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Ke$ha as I felt that all of these women has a clear presence on the
pop/ electro pop market, which is what I wanted to achieve through my magazine and artist. I
also think that all of these women provide an established look, whom inspire others with their
fashion and confidence. Which is what I wanted my artist to be portrayed like, as its evident that
these artists are all aspirational inspiring todays generation and a younger demographic (my
target audience). I think that by using these qualities featuring in the electro pop female artists,
the target audience will arguably be more attracted to the, magazine on the basis that they will
recognise these traits and instantly be interested in the artist and the magazine as a whole.

My magazine overall represents the particular electro pop/ pop social group of people with a
thirst for current, up-to-date fashion and music. Their creativity is displayed through their quirky
style, following statement trends and bright colours. My magazine mainly targets a female
audience however I have applied element of a male audience through the male gaze, however
it mainly caters towards a female audience. I think that despite my magazine being aimed at a
pop genre, once it grows in popularity and status, it will cater to all audience types.

Q3- What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I have decided that the type of institution I want to distribute the magazine that i have created has
to be experienced in magazine publication and be able to give me the knowledge and guidance to
make my product have the biggest audience and the most amount of profit as possible. In order to
achieve the success I want my magazine achieve. The decision of the chosen institution is one of
the most crucial decisions as it determines wether the magazine is a success or a failure.
Magazine publishers are responsible for making their publications a success. They are responsible
and are ultimately in charge for the content and stories of the magazine. Because of this, they have
control on the: Direction- Publishers establish a direction and market position for the magazine so
that it conveys a clear identity to readers and advertisers. Content- The magazines content must
reflect its editorial position. The publisher recruits a team of writers, photographers and editors to
create entertaining, informative and newsworthy articles that appeal to the target audience.
Advertising- Advertising is a critical source of income for magazines. Publishers recruit an
advertising sales team to sell space to advertisers or their agencies. They oversee production of a
media kit which includes essential demographic and lifestyle information on the magazines
readership, in addition to circulation figures, editorial policy and case studies of successful
advertising campaigns. Financial control- Publishers must balance revenue from subscriptions,
retail sales and advertising with staff, production and distribution costs to ensure the magazine
makes a profit. They set budgets and make decisions about ways to improve profitability by
increasing revenue or reducing costs. They may decide to produce an online publication rather
than incur printing and distribution costs, for example. They may aim to increase revenue by
repositioning the magazine to appeal to a wider base of readers and advertisers. Profile-
Publishers aim to raise the profile of their magazine by representing it at conferences and public
events. E.g. promoting magazine at music festival or in fashion/ music stores (Urban
Outfitters to attract audience to create a successful profile

Magazines are publications, that are printed or electronically published. They are usually published
on a regular schedule and contain a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising,
by a purchase price, by prepaid subscriptions, or a combination of the three. As distribution is then
needed for the publication, a clear plan is needed to maximise profits. Magazines can be
distributed through the mail, through sales by newsstands, bookstores etc or through free
distribution at selected pick-up locations. The subscription business models for distribution fall into
three main categories.

Time Inc - IPC Media- publishing company (Formerly International Publishing Corporation and IPC
Media). Time Inc is one of the most influential and popular digital publishing companies (selling a
over 350 million copies each year). Some of the institutions most successful brands include NME,
Now, InStyle and Uncut. The company covers a variety of different genres and types of magazines
so that a wide variety of people are attracted to read the magazines. Due to the fact that this
company is well established in the industry, this means that it would be a great institution to have
publish my magazine for my electro pop magazine, as not only would the success of the publishing
company guarantee the success of the magazine itself, but the high coverage of different music
genres means that my electro pop magazine will stand out against the other magazines, on the
basis that it is a genre that isn't as well known, and attract a different audience, bringing my
magazine and the institution more publicity. As the company has published other music magazines
like NME, it shows that the institution has previous experience in attracted a music based
audience, meaning that they will entice the type of audience that I want and increase my sales.

Where might the money come from to publish my magazine?

Arguably, I think that I would follow the same method as a big magazine company or institution
such as Clash magazine. I would do this by trying to entice a selection of publication companies
into my magazine through different advertising methods so they can see that my magazine is
different from other magazines in the market. I would aim to attract the company IPC Media as they
have lots of experience with publicising successful magazines, and with their extensive experience,
I feel they would be able to obtain the profit needed for my magazine to be a success.
I would also get NEON out their by investing in a wider variety of businesses that would be
advertised in the magazine to benefit both parties, as success could ultimately be shared. The
magazine would begin with being available at big pop festivals and gigs such as V Festival in order
to attract the typical audience and start making a identity for the magazine. Another way of gaining
enough money from publishing my magazine would be to make free gifts a part of the magazines
ploy to attract an audience is a smart way in giving the audience something extra compared to
current pop/ electro pop magazines. However, this isn't evident in my magazine as i felt that this
would attract the wrong type of audience, in contrast to the intended young demographic of people
aged 16-22. Once a real status has been acquired for my magazine, it would be wise to make it
available on big magazine websites such as Stack- to allow easy subscription to the magazine
every month in the pop/ electro pop genre. This would be good on the basis that this is a big online
company so it would get the name out there however it would also guarantee free digital access
with subscriptions, to keep up with the modern, technological audience (the young demographic my
magazine is targeted at).

What your magazine is similar to 'institutionally' (name some magazines which would be released
in a similar way)
Clash and V magazine and are all institutionally similar due to their quirky, similar creative styling,
both of these magazines interpret bold statement colours and have a different look to usual
magazines, even though these magazines arent pop magazines, their styling is similar to my
magazine. Id hope to have the same success as these magazines by starting small, letting the
publicity grow.
My magazine markets at 3.99 which is average compared to the majority of music magazine sale
prices. This means that my magazine has room to grow in the industry as it isnt too expensive to
deter people from buying a new magazine, but it isnt too cheap for the audience to think that it is
poor quality and unpopular.

You need to refer to actual company names and processes so you will need to maybe do a bit
more research into magazine publishers like Emap
EMAP Ltd is a British media company, specialising in the production of business-to-business
magazines, and the organisation of business events and conferences. EMAP is part of Top Right
Group. It has connections with radio and television to branch out into other areas of the media
market. This company would be great to be published by as their connection across the media
spectrum is so wide that they would be able to attract an audience easily. Emap distributes the
fashion magazine Drapers, which is a successful fashion and retail magazine this would also be a
good company to have distribute my magazine, as they have clear experience in the field and their
experience would mean for a successful outcome for my magazine profits. As they have made a
variety of magazine over their time including Smash Hits, retail weekly, MEED and Eye magazine
this means that they havent produced a electro pop music magazine yet, which suggests that they
would be interested as this is a field that they havent published for, meaning they would gain a new
audience and my magazine would stand out against their previous publishing.

Q4- Who would be the audience for your media product?

From my research on my target audience for my electro pop music magazine, I came to the
conclusion that my target audience would be a younger demographic ranging from ages 16-22,
both male and female, but mainly catered to a female audience. I felt that this was an appropriate
age range as I felt that a younger demographic would be more likely to purchase a modern quirky
magazine, and would also be more likely to be mining and experiencing new types of music,
influenced by well known pop artists. As a way of understanding my target audience, i constructed
a questionnaire that gave me the ability to refine my target audiences interests, hobbies and
lifestyle as a whole. Because of this, I have based my target audience on the liveliness and
outgoing of people. For example I discovered that my demographic and target audience tend to go
to bigger concerts instead of small gigs, as pop artist tend to perform their music on a larger scale
due to their fame (its arguable that pop/ electro pop artists such as Rihanna and Lady Gaga, are
the most influential artists in this generation). However, although they do go to big concerts they do
so on an average of 1-2 times a year, as its arguable that they would rather listen to music on
modern technologies such as on the radio or on Spotify (or other online music streaming sites).
From this research I decided that a younger demographic of people ages 16-22 would be best
fitted as anyone older than 22 would arguably rather listen to live music, instead of online streaming
music, as this is arguably when people are in university so have a lot of week nights free, so are
able to go to concerts. Also a younger demographic is more influenced by say technology and the
internet. I also chose this demographic as i am a part of this social group and i therefore can cater
my needs and interests into the magazine, so that it appeals to my age group. I think that the sales
to each gender type would differ dependant on each issue due to the artist that will feature in my
magazine e.g. a male artist may attract more male attention, whereas a female artist or band may
attract more female customers. The genre of my magazine and music fits within the pop/ electro
pop genre, this means that its more likely to focus on a group of people that wear bold, statement
clothing e.g. fur coats and quirky outfits, as well as the way that they present themselves
(confident, big personalities, like already existing pop artists like Rihanna and Calvin Harris). I see
that there is a gap within the market for my magazine genre as theres no known electro pop music
magazines available. So from this, i am aware I have had to offer a larger range of artists and
information with in my magazine as not many people know about this genre. I have also had to
price it at a reasonable price, the price i decided upon was 3.99 as it hough this price would
convey it as being professional and well designed, instead of a low price that would make it look
cheap, not only this by i also constructed market research and all of the individuals i questioned
said that 3.99 was a reasonable price for a new electro pop magazine.
When designing and producing my magazine, i had to take into account this research to ensure
that everything catered to my target audience, and fitted the genre of music. I ensured that my
music artist Pria Downing was styled in an appropriate way that would appeal to my demographic.
As a way of doing this, i dressed Pria in a variety of different outfits, where i showed10 people in
my demographic and asked them which was the best suited to my genre. As i though that by doing
so, it would cater to my specific target audience. Similarly, i did the same with my magazine layout
so that my audience felt like i was listening to them and taking into account their criticisms. As well
as constructing my questionnaire, i also decided upon my audience by creating two audience
profiles, which have a large electro pop, quirky appearance to them, both of them also fit into my
intended target audience based on their interest and hobbies, and are both potentially customers of
my new, Neon, electro pop music magazine. I also asked the two individuals a few questions
regarding my new magazine which may be entering the electro pop/ pop music magazine market.
Would you be willing to purchase a new magazine which enters the music magazine market?
What would you expect of an electro pop music magazine?
What type of artists would you be interested in featuring within my magazine and why?

Q5- How do you attract and address your audience?

Cover Page-
I think that my magazine cover attracts my audience on the basis that it has a moderately minimal
layout, with a quirky, colourful image, which connotes the aura that my target audience has. My
artist (Pria Downing) is located in the centre of the page, acting as the centre of visual interest,
dressed in a very simple way (with very minimal clothing and makeup) however the filter that i
applied over the image, makes it appear colourful and cool, which connotes the features that other
pop magazines feature, such as Clash. I believe that colour is a vital component used to attract my
audience on the basis that it is something new and quirky, so their eyes will instantly be drawn to it.
My target audience, as mentioned previously, is a younger creative, stylish demographic that love
modern things, which is why it is so vital that i add i spin to my cover, so that it attracts this
audience. Despite there being a new spin to my cover as a whole, i decided to keep my artist very
minimalistic as i believed that this style is used on a lot of magazines, which would further attract
my audience as they will be familiar with this style, an will instantly have a sense of recognition with
my artist (despite her being an entirely new artist, on the basis that she looks like other pop/ electro
pop artists). The bold white masthead used on my cover follows the conventions of other
magazines such as Clash, who similarly used a simple white, bold mast head, simply located at the
top the page. The masthead also has the same prominence on the page as a trademark or a brand
name, acting as the centre of visual interest so that the masthead is the memorable feature evident
on every issue, and on every page in the magazine. This attracts the audience, as it almost
becomes memorable. The specific font used for the masthead, is used to mirror a real neon light,
with interconnecting lettering. I felt that this was necessary as whilst the font replicated a neon light,
which was the idea behind not only the font but the name of the magazine, but it is also a very
contemporary typeface, befitting a magazine on contemporary popular music culture. The design
of the typeface fills the entirety of the masthead area, due to the use of all uppercase letters. The
lack of ascending and descending lettering means that the masthead appears clean, filling all of
the space. Whilst the font is bold and strong, it is similar to other music magazines such as Clash
and Vibe which both leave sufficient space for creative photography behind the masthead, enabling
the audience to see the entire image. I think that this attracts the audience on the basis that it is an
unusual font, not commonly used on magazines, as it doesn't conform to the simple bold blocky
lettering used on the majority of the magazines on the market, which further attracts my audience
(a demographic striving for new, modern things). With the cover lines descending in importance,
this means that my audience can easily pick out the important information ad move directly to it,
meaning that they will have an instant attraction as to the other stories inside that match the
interests associated with the genre. I decided to make my first cover line my artist name, on the
basis that it answers the initial questions running through the audience's mind as to 'who's that on
the cover'. This makes the cover more appealing as they dont have to question anything on the
page, its all there decided to also have Pria's name in white on the basis that i wanted the text to
stand out on top of the darker background, acting as a contrast to the image. However, it was my
intention to make the majority of the text the same colour so that the overall aesthetics were
pleasing to both sexes and attracted my audience which mainly is interested in stylistic value.
Despite my masthead being located at the top centre of the page, i purposely made sure that the
image was the centre if visual interest as i think that the image portrayed the theme as a whole, the
use of colours further attracted the audiences eye, in contrast to the white masthead that didnt
stand out as much. Because of the statement image and the descending cover lines, it meant that
the audience looked over the entirety of the page going from the centre, to the top and down the
page subconsciously. I also attracted and addressed my audience through my mid shot, i made
sure that my artist was looking directly into the lens of the camera so hat the audience felt that she
was looking personally to them , breaking the barrier between the reader and herself, this therefore
creates a closer relationship between the two and causing the audience to be attracted easier due
to the iconography. My magazine isn't heavily influenced b any particular magazine however the
layout of my cover is influenced by Clash magazine, as it is a popular magazine in the music
industry (despite it not being a magazine that caters to my genre) and by following the conventions
of the page, my magazine is guaranteed to be a success.

Contents page-
I did a variety of things on my double contents page, which attracted my target audience. The first
being the detailed descriptions of what features in my magazine, by being concise the audience
was able to personalise their reading as they can pick what interests them, as all of the information
needed is located on the page. Also with the synchronicity of featuring the masthead NEON at the
bottom of both of the contents pages, the reader had the ability to because more familiar with the
new magazine, meaning that they become attracted to it at a quicker rate, increasing and
guaranteeing success through word of mouth. Not only this but the initial bright colour palette is
repeated on both the cover and the contents. Its evident that a 3D effect has been used, where i
have layered a red image on top of a different blue image, this effect not only attracts the
audiences eye, due to the bright colours. But this also shows a high level of professionalism and
experience as it shows that the magazine is cool and quirky, highlighting the smart style of the
magazine. This would attract a larger audience as the quirkiness would cater to a younger, modern
demographic however the evident professionalism would cater to an older audience that enjoy
conventional magazines. My cover page wasn't particularly influenced by a specific magazine, as
the look that i wanted to portray wasnt evident in any other magazine contents. I decided upon a
double contents page as i thought that it looked more pleasing to the eye as the text didnt have to
be squished onto one page, and could be evenly spread across two, by having two pages it also
meant that my image could bleed across an entire page. Not only did bleeding the image to the
edge of the page look aesthetically pleasing, (due to the page looking less space than say cropping
the image into a box)- but it is also a feature evident in quite a lot of magazine contents such as
VIBE. This adds familiarity to the magazine, making it more likely to be purchased, on the basis
that todays generation likes to be able to predict what somethings going to look like. Despite V
magazine being a lifestyle magazine and not a music magazine, i decided to use their use of
statement bold colours, as i loved the quirky feeling the magazine creates. This similarly attracts
the audiences eye as the bold colours stand out and guides the readers eyes to the images and
the key words highlighted in the same red colour used on the image. Not only does this make the
key words stand out, enabling the reader to find the key information even easier, but the perfect
colour match between the red tones is also aesthetically pleasing, attracting the readers eyes
directly as it has the stylistic value that most people enjoy. I decided to duplicate the text to create a
red shadow to reinforce this 3D effect, this took the readers eye across the page, so the entire
contents work almost as an image instead of separate text boxes, as all of the features worked
together, making it nice to look at. To further portray this i decided to make the numbers and the
contents text appear like its glitching, as i thought it would make the page look quirkier, it also
gave me a reason to include this perfectly matched red colour, that is aesthetically pleasing to the
audience. Another way of attracting the audience was through the disordered page numbers on the
contents page, this was a quirky way to attract the readers attention on the basis that the numbers
are one of the largest things on the page, therefore they're one of the first things that the reader
sees, and because its expected that numbers are ordered chronologically on a contents, it will
attract the readers attention.

Double page spread-

The first thing that I did, in order to attract my audience, is through my chosen images. Although
its evident that both of my images are of the same artist (Pria Downing), i decided to use two
completely different images in the sense of framing and mise en scene (with how she's dressed
and how her makeup is done). One of the images used is a long shot of Pria sitting on a chair. By
using this image this attracts the audience, through her quirky fashion sense, as the reader may
look at her modern, cool outfit and aspire to dress in that way, in order to follow the typical modern
fashion trends (that heavily influence my target audience). Not only does this attract the audience,
but it also addresses my audience in the sense that they can look at a new, famous artist and will
aspire to purchase the pieces of clothing, or find replicas of what she is wearing, due to fame being
such an important thing for a young demographic (its more likely that a younger demographic
would purchase a designer brand if they knew somebody famous has it). Besides the clothing, i
also attracted my audience through the long shot due to her specific makeup, i decided upon using
big, bold statement makeup, that made a point. As I though that this quirky look instantly attracted
the audience, due to acting as one of the statement colours on the page. Although its less likely
that a young demographic would wear big blue, cat eye makeup, it could similarly act as a trend,
attracting my target audience further. Another way in which I attracted my audience was through
following the conventions of the Oh Comely magazine, as this magazine allocates one of the pages
on the double page spread entirely to an image, with the main feature on the other page. By
bleeding the image to the end of an entire page, it adds a smoother and more modern look, that
appears to be more aesthetically pleasing to the readers eyes, which is the main reason why i
chose to use this effect, in order to attract my audience. I also did this as through the feedback that
i got back from my draft (despite the layout being slightly altered) it was evident that they preferred
a more conventional look. The alterations, meant that my double page spread was less cramped
(due to all of the content being spread over 4 pages instead of 2), meaning that these pages had a
more modern, cleaner look, meaning that my audience will be pleased with the recognisable layout
and would be attracted to it. Even though Oh Comely magazine isn't a music magazine, i still
thought that it still had the stylistic value that i wanted to convey in my magazine, so it was still a
valid piece of inspiration. By acting upon feedback that my target audience had given about the
draft, it would also address my audience as not only are they seeing something that they picked
and therefore something that they think looks best, but they will also recognise that their opinion is
important, making them want to purchase the magazine (as they felt that they had a part of the
creation of the magazine). I decided to decrease the amount of white space by applying the same
glitch styled 3D font that i included on the contents, almost linking both pages together, making the
magazine synchronised. This attracted the reader in a similar way, as not only did the letters spell
out Prias name (providing a good visual image of the artist herself) but the 3D letters were
scattered across the entire double page spread which took the readers eye across the page, so
that the entire spread work almost as an image instead of separate text boxes, as all of the features
worked together, making it appealing to the audience. This effect was similarly done with the 3D
effect image effect, that was evident on all of the magazine pages, as it linked the text with the
image, furthermore due to the fact that the image and the 3D text were the biggest things on the
spread, they had a significant effect on the reader as it was arguably the first thing that they looked
at. I repeated both of the effects evident on the first spread onto the second spread, where i wrote
Prias last name (Downing). I chose to do this as i though that it would further link the pages
together. Another way of attracting the readers attention was through the use of a quote, I decided
to have a variety of quotes in my article however i made the rational decision to make the heading
of my article a quote, as i thought that it gave the reader an inside into what the article would be
about. This would instantly attract the audience as not only would the slightly larger font initially
draw their eyes to it, but it would also make them want to read on and find out more. I made
another decision based on the feedback i got back from my drafts, which put forward the variety of
fonts on my spread. I thought that to further make my quote stand out, i should write it in the same
Impact font, that was used on my cover, almost to link all of the pages together. The layout of my
article was adapted after deciding that my feature looked far too cramped, I felt that the layout
replicated a traditional newspaper and that didnt fit the modern aura that i was trying to portray,
and because of this i decided to include a lot of negative space, on the basis that i felt that it would
spread the article out a bit more (making it easier to read) but also made the page more quirky, as
it didnt follow the conventions of a traditional magazine. I decided to embed a variety of different
drop quotes into the article however through questioning my target audience, i decided that the
quotes should all be written in a slightly different size, as it was apparent that my demographic liked
to look at the quotes before reading the entire article, as it almost refined the article in a couple of
phrases. As a way of emphasising my spread, i decided to highlight the feature and the images in a
black box, as i feel that it made the page look more conventional, however still giving it the modern
look that i desires, this instantly attracted the audience as it almost framed the images and the
feature, instantly drawing their eyes to the specific parts on the spread.

Q6- What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this project?

Camera and tripod- For my initial photos I used the Nikon D3200 camera as it was said to be very
good quality, in where it would capture a very crisp, clear image. This camera was very good, as it
created the almost a replica of what i had in mind. And due to the fact that the camera was kept in
the college, it meant that it was easily accessible in the day and conventional to use, as it meant
that i could straight away put the images into photoshop on one of the school computers and begin
editing them. I was very pleased with how the images came out in the sense of composition and
overall image quality of the shots that i took in the studio, however i decided not to feature these
images on my final magazine. During the beginning, i began trailing different ways of presenting
the images, but i found that the model i had chosen didnt really fit my overall theme. In the school
photoshoot, i had decided to use a tripod that came with the camera; i decided that i should use
this as it allowed me to achieve a sturdy image, enabling me to perfectly position the camera itself.
However, after looking at my initial images i decided to reconsider the framing of my images, as
well as the model, in order for the images to perfectly fit with the electro pop genre. So for my draft
images and my final magazine images I used the Canon EOS450D, as i felt that the settings on
this camera enabled me to be more creative with my images, allowing me to trial things like double
exposure and long exposure. This camera (similarly to the Nikon) took really good quality image,
allowing me to achieve exactly what i wanted. I decided to experiment with the images by taking
photos in the dark and with natural sunlight, in order to achieve a variety of different effects. Due to
using the tripod in the initial photos, i decided to hold the camera instead of placing it in a set place
as i thought that it gave me more flexible movements, enabling me to achieve a variety of different
angles. I felt that by doing this it made the images look very professional yet quirky (the style that i
wanted to portray).
Lighting- When taking my initial images I decided to use the studio, in where i chose to use an
artificial light source. I did this so that i could achieve a full light coverage across the entire face of
my model, providing a very clear image. I experimented with the positioning of the lighting to find
the best possible positions that the lights could be places, i tried achieving shadows by turning on
specific lights but also tried experimenting with all of the lights on. From experimenting with the
lights i decided that the artificial lighting didnt properly suite my electro pop genre on the basis that
it made the images too bright (something that i didnt want my images to look like), i wanted my
magazine to be almost grungy with imperfect lighting in order to portray the quirky look that is
conveyed through my magazine. Not only this but the artificial lighting highlighted the blemishes
and imperfections on my models face, due to the large light coverage it had. Because of this i
decided that natural light would be better suited as i could experiment during different times of the
day in order to achieve the perfect saturation and brightness. I used the natural light as i wanted to
manipulate the late to create shadows and highlight certain areas on my artist. I had a lot of light
inspiration from artist Petra Collins as i experimented with coloured spotlight in order to highlight
certain areas of my models face in curtains colours, i did this as i wanted to incorporate the neon
theme through my images. i then began experimenting with coloured flash filters, i thought that red
and blue filters would best fit with my theme as they are both quirky colours that would best suit the
electro pop theme, giving my images a unique look. I feel as though i made a rapid progress, as
my knowledge of photography increased dramatically, due to the fact that i understood the
importance of lighting and framing, in order to achieve the perfect image.
Photoshop- During the process of creating my magazine I have used Photoshop Creative Cloud. I
have never used this software before, so i had no initial ideas of how it worded. however, through
the process of making my magazine, i excelled and learnt the whys and wherefores of what this
software had, meaning that my knowledge is now very broad with photoshop including editing,
resizing, colour advancement, colour replacements, duplicating and etc I showed a good
knowledge of the software, when i applied a water condensation filter on to the top of my image
and changing the contrast and brightness to make it fit the cover page and the overall electro pop
theme. In addition to applying this filter i also experimented with the so called 3D effect in where i
duplicated the same image and changed the colour (one blue one red so that it looked like a 3D
effect) i though that both of these techniques showed skill in the software. in addition to the filters, i
also used a variety of tools in order to edit, resize and crop my images, the most significant being
the spot treatment tool, i used this tool a lot to edit out things like bobbles on wrists and blemishes
on the face, i found this tool very effective and useful. Furthermore, i experimented with some of
the different editing filters, with brightness, saturation and contrast in order to ensure top quality
images, that convey the right aura. I have learnt that it is crucial to fully understand the software in
order to excel beyond your expectations, i conducted a variety of research in order to do so-so that
i knew how to use the software and create a professional and clean end product. Photoshop was
key to putting all of my layers together so that i could achieve the same look as existing magazines
(in my genre or in a different genre).
Blogger and Microsoft Office(Word and powerpoint)- Throughout the entire course i have
documented all of my coursework on blogger as a way of being able to locate all of my posts and
progression throughout the course. I have used Powerpoint and word to create the majority of my
posts due to the fact that both these softwares were easily accessible (at school and at home).
Both of these programmes enabled me to add images and text, convert it into slide share and put
them onto blogger as individual posts. I chose to do it this way as i wanted all of my tasks to be
kept together, making them look smart and uniformed, creating a professional looking blog. I feel
that this process has allowed me to achieve this, as the majority of my posts have the same
dimensions, fonts and boarders, meanings that all of the posts are linked.
Google and Pinterest- I used google extensively throughout my media coursework in order to
research and collect data and images regarding my electro pop genre. In addition to google i also
used an app called Pinterest, which helped me a lot with the layout and convention of my
magazine, providing a variety of quirky ideas that i could include on my magazine for example- the
double exposure 3D image that i used on my contents. This app heavily influenced the overall
design of my magazine.
Presentation- As mentioned before, i have used a variety of different presentation formats to show
some of my posts and evaluation on my blog. All of these programmes highlight my range of skills
that i have developed over the course of the coursework, providing a more interesting was of
presenting my information and research. I decided to make my coursework an interesting viewing
experience for people looking at my blog. I have kept an apparent style throughout all of my posts,
keeping each post synchronised with the previous, but they all give something interesting to my
blog and have expanded my skill range.

Q7- Looking back at your preliminary task (the school magazine task), what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Cover- From my preliminary task to my final product, their is a clear distinction between the mise en
scene used on the cover. As during my preliminary task I only took images in the school studio as I
didnt think about the effect that mise en scene would have on my target audience. This meant that
my preliminary images were fairly simplistic, showing no evidence of style and thought. Because of
this it made my overall preliminary cover look very minimalistic, showing no signs of skill and
understanding of the conventions of photography. This further links to the overall image of my
model on my preliminary magazine, because i chose not to style my model (in a way which suited
the school magazine), this meant that she looked out of place. This was due to the fact that she
wasnt wearing a uniform nor wearing formal clothes (something usually associated with school)
which meant that she didnt look like a typical school student, this was also reinforced through my
models makeup, I similarly hadn't done her makeup for the specific images, meaning that she
didnt fit the generic image of a school girl. Whereas in my final cover its evident that I've taken into
consideration the conventions of photography, looking at mise en scene, lighting and framing the
image. I chose a naturally beautiful model for my final images, as i though that this styled artist
would perfectly fit my theme. Due to the fact that my model has very prominent features (dark
eyebrows and big eyes) I decided upon using very minimalistic makeup. This was because by
picking a natural model (that had these big features), she didnt need to accentuate any of her
features through makeup. I felt that this was crucial for my artist, as my electro pop magazine uses
fairly bright colours, text and image filters. Which means that the colours almost spoke for
themselves. Therefore, if i decided to use bright, bold makeup it would clash or almost draw the
attention away from the model herself and the expression shown in the closeup. I decided to focus
on expression as I though that this was important for attracting the audience. It was evident that i
took into consideration all of these aspects whilst framing the image and deciding upon how my
artist would be portrayed. As mentioned before, my artist had very prominent features however she
has very fair skin. This issue wasn't raised to my mind at the beginning however, it became a
problem when taking images on the basis that she almost bled into the white background. So i
thought of a contingent plan that enabled the image to show a more distinct outline (due to my
artist having her hair up in the first couple of shots). As mentioned previously my model is very fair
so by keeping her dar hair off her face it was difficult to have a distinct silhouette. However, by
considering ways to do so, i decided that my model should have her hair down in the cover image,
as it almost finishes the image, drawing the audiences attention to the image itself. I thought that
this was a direct contrast to the steps taken in the preliminary as none of these features were
considered, i simply just took a mid- shot, which showed no sign of though or creativity. In addition
to this, i also considered my research and planning by styling my cover in a similar way to how
Petra Collins presents some of her photography, i progressed my photoshop skills when i applied a
water condensation filter on to the top of my image and changing the contrast and brightness to
make it fit the cover page and the overall electro pop theme. these were all steps that weren't taken
during my preliminary cover, i simply took an image and placed the image and inserted text over
the top, showing no skill or understanding of conventions of a magazine, taking into account no
consideration of what a magazine should look like. The conventions and layout of my magazine
was heavily improved in my final magazine cover, after taking into account my research and
planning and looking at the conventions of typical pop magazines, it was evident that the text had
to be located carefully and skilfully. This skill was not evident during the preliminary task, where i
located the text unsystematically, making the page appear clustered and untidy, however it was
evident that this was taken into account on my final design. Not only was the text layered unskilfully,
but the font was also the same for all of the cover lines, making the cover look very childish and
minimal, the same font was also used for the masthead and for the large text at the bottom at the
cover. In my final design it was evident that the conventions of a typical music magazine cover was
taken into account, due to the fact that I located all of my text on the left hand side of the image, i
specifically did this so that the white text would stand out on top of my artists dark hair, as i
understood that this would attract my audiences attention. I also used a variety of fonts, as i
wanted to make the cover interesting, in order to portray the quirky aura evident throughout my
magazine. In addition to the text location and font, it was evident that colour was also taken into
account in my final cover. The majority of my text is white, on the basis that i decided that a white
text would directly contrast the 3D effect image and Prias dark features, almost making the words
stand out and pop on the page. However its evident that the use of coloured text is also
incorporated. After analysing my initial cover designs, it was obvious that all white text was boring
and almost unskilful, so after trailing a variety of colours e.g. orange, green, yellow, it was evident
that another bright, bold colour almost clashed with the image, so i decided that i should
incorporate the colours on the image by creating the same effect with the text, almost linking the
images and text together. This showed a good understanding of conventions of a magazine. As by
simply using white text (like in my preliminary) it was evident that no skills were apparent, however
by trailing different colours, it shows that you're thinking about the conventions of magazines and
taking into account a new modern look instead of simply using black or white text. Although in my
preliminary, i did use more than one text colour (a khaki masthead), the colours were not striking or
likely to attract a potential reader.

Contents- My preliminary contents was extremely basis, showing no real sign of professionalism or
skill, this was partially based on the fact that it was very rushed, giving me no time to sit and
evaluate the initial preliminary contents and make it better. However, the lack of knowledge on
photography and editing in photoshop, at the beginning of the course, also meant that the majority
of the attributes on the page are done at a very insufficient standard, showing no evidence of
thought. The first piece of evidence showing examples of progression would be the overall
conventions of the contents as a whole, after observing the preliminary contents its evident that no
knowledge of layout was apparent, i had sectioned the images and text into simple grey boxes. In
itself, this technique isn't substandard, however the execution of this technique was done
inefficiency. The text box isn't located evenly in proportion to the images, meaning that the gutters
arent the same size, this is very unprofessional and looks unsuitable for any magazine. However,
the conventions of my final magazine contents was clearly measured, meaning that all of the
contents attributes are professionally positioned in the correct spacing. Its evident that all of the
numbers are spread evenly across the page, with the same spacing above and below them, this
makes the page look polished. In addition to this - after looking at my preliminary contents- i
decided that my page wouldnt incorporate any boxes, this was heavily based on the execution of
my initial designs, i decided that boxes didnt give off the modern, quirky aesthetic that i was aiming
for. After trailing a variety of different layouts with boxes and filled text boxes i decided that they
made the page look clustered and messy, so i decided to incorporate the text by layering it over the
image. Similarly to the preliminary cover, the images were done at unsatisfactory standards, on the
basis that mise en scene wasn't taken into account during the photography nor was any other
aspects e.g. lighting and editing. The photographs (like for the cover) were simply taken in the
studio with artificial lights, this didnt work well on the basis that the lighting wasn't specifically
positioned to achieve full light coverage meaning that there were a variety of shadows evident on
both of my models faces. In addition to this, the lack of knowledge on artificial lighting and the
positioning of lighting meant that one of the models makeup look very discoloured, and due to the
lack of editing skills i had at the beginning of the course, these imperfections couldnt be fixed, as a
result of this the images looked bad quality and were at a poor standard. In contrast to this, the
images on my contents were very carefully displayed, showing real evidence of thought. It was
apparent that mise en scene, lighting and editing were considered and done at a far better
standard, which shows the progression of my skills. Due to never using photoshop before starting
the course, it took me a long time to get to know the software and learning how to use certain
features, because of this it was far harder to edit however through persistence, i did a lot of out of
school research where i learnt how to do a variety of advanced editing techniques, like the 3D
effect evident on the contents page of my final design. I decided to use a different light source as it
was evident that the artificial lights didnt accentuate makeup, on the basis that it made it look
orange and discoloured, so i decided that natural light would be best suited for my theme. However,
due to natural light being harder to cooperate with (on the basis that you couldnt pick where it
would be) the light coverage wasn't as good as in the studio, however my improvement in editing
meant that these issues weren't a problem as they could later be altered in photoshop. I also
decided that a two shot (which was used in my preliminary) wasn't as effective as a single shot on
the basis that it was harder to successfully execute a mid/close-up two shot, and the emphasis
throughout my magazine was on facial expressions and detail (something that was harder to see in
a long shot). I also decided that a single model would be better suited for my magazine as its
arguable that having two people on a contents page isn't as conventional and modern as layering
two images of the same artist over each other successfully. Another issue evident on my
preliminary contents was the use of text, the first problem being the font of the text. Similarly to the
preliminary cover, all of the text was written in the same font showing no evidence of creativity or
skill. The font that i used was called Impact, despite this being a nice font, it didn't work with the
overall school magazine aura, as it was too bold, which meant that it didnt connote anything
relevant to school. I did choose to use this font for key parts of my cover, as i thought that it was a
modern font that went with the quirky aura that my cover was portraying, however it didnt work with
my contents. Over the course of the project, i have improved in picking fonts suitable for specific
pages, this is vital as certain fonts convey certain messages, however this technique wasnt evident
whilst creating my preliminary. In my final contents page, i decided upon using Aavnir and Bebas
i chose these two fonts as they were very modern, sleek fonts that portrayed sophistication and
professionalism, both aspects i wanted to be interpreted when reading my magazine. In addition to
simply using the fonts, i decided to experiment on the appearance of the text, by duplicating the
text and rasterising and moving the text (the Contents heading and the page numbers) making
them appear to have glitched, this shows progression of skills as i was able to adapt the font to
make it more suited to my audience as it adds a fun, quirky aspect to the text. Additionally, i also
decided to create the same 3D effect evident throughout my magazine on my text, not only did this
further add this quirky aesthetic but it also links the text with the image, making it look more
professional. In my preliminary contents, I decided to write the majority of my text in black, as i
thought it provided it with a sophisticated feel, however, it made the page look cheap and clustered
due to the dark grey box surrounding the text. As a result of this, I took this into consideration whilst
creating my final magazine, I decided that white text had a more modern feel to it, which is why the
majority of the text on my final cover is written in white. Not only des it make the page look more
professional but it also emphasises the red on the page. In addition to the white text, I also decided
to highlight key words in red, I did this so that it was easier for the reader to pick out key
information, this conveys my progression as it shows that im taking anti account the readers
needs, in order to achieve success. In addition to the progression of text arrangement and font
choice, I have also progressed in the use of page furniture. it is evident that in the preliminary
contents, there is a lack of page furniture, with no real aspect on the page looking remotely
attractive. Due to my lack of initial knowledge on the conventions of a magazine I found it difficult to
layout my contents page, meaning that my preliminary was extremely basic. however in my final
cover, it was evident that i had taken into account the overall appearance of my magazine contents,
understanding the need for page furniture. I therefore did this by adding additional features such as
page numbers, the magazine name (almost like a trademark icon) as well as a variety of different
lines used to split the page up unconventionally and almost at random. Despite this sounding
unprofessional i decided to include a line on my contents page as 10 a way to incorporate some
more colour into the contents page 2)to divide the page, making it appear quirky and not like a
typical magazine and 3) as a way of framing my models face in the image. I applied all of this page
furniture, as it makes the page look less bare, yet still keeping it minimal. In addition to all of this, it
was also evident that in my preliminary there was a significant amount of white space. Although
this white space could be used to make the page look quirky, this feature wasn't successful due to
the lack of knowledge at the beginning of the course, it just makes the page look bare and
unfinished. I decided to fill the entirety of my pages in my final magazines with an image or a
matched background, as i felt that white space didnt fir the overall theme that i wanted to convey in
my electro pop magazine. Because of this, i fit that my magazine looked very clean, and the lack of
white space meant that i could use a lot of white text, due to the majority of the background being
fairly dark.

Double page spread- Although my preliminary didn't include a double page spread, due to only
being given the instructions to creating a cover and contents i can show my progression through
the amendments made from my initial draft magazine to the final double page spread. In my initial
draft i had lay it out my feature article like a newspaper article, i chose this layout as i though
putting my entire article into columns would make it look quirky, however instead it made my article
look too formal. Because of this it didnt fit the overall modern, quirky style that i wanted to portray
on my double page spread. It was evident that in my initial drafts all of my text was too squished
and ended up looking unconventional, so i decided to completely redesign my spread, as a way of
re-designing the feature. The first improvement made was bleeding the image to the end of an
entire page, I did this as it adds a smoother and more modern look, that appears to be more
aesthetically pleasing to the readers eyes, which is the main reason why i chose to use this effect,
in order to attract my audience, this shows my progression as it shows that I'm making decisions
dependant on the reader instead of simply what i think looks right. I also did this as through the
feedback that i got back from my draft it was evident that my audience preferred a more
conventional look. The alterations to my double page draft, meant that i had put the contents from
one double page spread onto two, by doing so my double page spread was less cramped,
meaning that these pages had a more modern, cleaner look. Because in my final spread i had 4
pages, i was able to utilise the space by spreading the feature onto 2 pages instead of 1. By doing
this i was able to make the spread look more quirky and modern by including some white space,
despite white space not working on my preliminary, i felt that having white space my spread worked
really well. This shows the progression of my skills as, i was able to use features of parts from my
preliminary in a more successful way in my final magazine. In addition to these amendments, i also
included a lot more page furniture, i similarly added page numbers and the magazine name at the
bottom of the page, not only did this make the page look fuller but it also adds consistency to the
page. As a way of emphasising my spread, i decided to highlight the feature and the images in a
black box, as i feel that it made the page look more conventional, however still giving it the modern
look that i desires, this instantly attracted the audience as it almost framed the images and the
feature, instantly drawing their eyes to the specific parts on the spread, despite mentioning that
boxes looked old fashioned, i adapted the use of a box by applying it as a layer over the top of the
image instead of cropping the image into the box, i feel that this effect made the page look modern.
In addition to this i also repeated the same glitch font, in order to fill some of the white space, ass
despite some white space being effective, too much made the page look unconventional so by
adding these glitch styled font not only did it link the pages but it also made the page look more
quirky. After looking at my initial drafts of my magazine it was evident that i only included close-up
and mid shot, although this was still positive as it portrayed the detail and expression that i wanted
my audience to see, i felt that a long shot was needed, so i also included another image so that i
had a variety of shot distances, this shows my progression as it shows that I'm analysing my own
work and improving it. A long shot was very effective as it also One of the images used is a long
shot of Pria sitting on a chair. By using this image this attracts the audience, through her quirky
fashion sense, as the reader may look at her modern, cool outfit and aspire to dress in that way, in
order to follow the typical modern fashion trends (that heavily influence my target
audience).Besides the clothing, i also attracted my audience through the long shot due to her
specific makeup, i decided upon using big, bold statement makeup, that made a point. As I though
that this quirky look instantly attracted the audience, due to acting as one of the statement colours
on the page. Despite stating that bold statement makeup would clash with the neon colours i felt
that this image really worked. Overall, i feel that i have really progressed, there is a distinct
difference between my preliminary, drafts and final magazine. This not only show that my skills
have improved but it also shows that i was improving my own work and understanding the
conventions of a magazine.