Creative Risks

Risk: I took all of the photographs I used in my magazine at home or on an out of college location. The risk of my taking the photographs at home meant I did not have professional lighting and setting when setting up my photoshoots. Most magazines would shoot their images in a professional studio.

Cost: The images could have been of poor quality due to bad lighting as I had to control and set up a studio in my own house.

Benefit: Because I had full control over my photoshoot due to them being in my house I was able to spend as much time on the photos as I wanted but plenty of time to style the model before hand. I also was able to choose a suitable outdoor location out of college and chose to shoot the photos on a day I knew would have good lighting. I was very pleased with the overall look of my photos.































Because my aim was to create a rock music magazine, following the typical aspects of this type of magazine, I did not take many risks. I chose models, settings, costumes, etc that I knew would be effective and worl well to ensure I had a successful final product.

Evaluation - Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?
I believe that I have learnt a great deal throughout the process of creating my final product.
Looking back at my preliminary task I can see many aspects of my prelim that were not successful and that have been imroved on in my final product. I believe I have improved upon my mistakes and used my greater knowledge and experience to create a better product for my final piece.

Examples of this are:
The image I have taken for my prelim does not look particularly professional for a front cover as there is a dark shadow on the left hand side of the model, which I would not be happy with if it was to be used as my final piece. However my final product has a very successful and effective image on the cover where the lighting worked much better and created a more professional looking image.

The paragraphs of text on the sides of the prelim magazine are not justified, this would not be the case in a real magazine. I Improved on this in my coursework as I used guides to make sure all of my text was in line for a professional overall look.

When looking at the mistakes made on my prelim I noticed I had left a large space at the bottom left hand corner of my magazine. This would not be the case in a real magazine as it is a waste of printing space and would be covered up with text or an image. I took this on board for my final product and included text and images to make sure enough of the magazine was covered. I included an inside story in the bottom left hand corner of my magazine.

I have improved the use of fonts on my magazine since my prelim.

Although I used basic techniques on the headline of my prelim such as changing the colour and adding a stroke since then I feel the headline of my magazine has a much more professional and dominating look. The Font I have chosen for my magazine is very powerful and by applying outer glow, stroke and bevel and emboss it stands out much better on the page. I feel the postion of the 'Times' on my prelim looks quite childish where as my final product is much more professional. As you can see the stories on my prelim use a very basic, boring font which would not grab readers at all. The fonts and stories on my final product use interesting and eye catching fonts which follow the colour scheme and stand out to the audience, making them want to read the magazine.

Evaluation - Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
The computer was the main process of creating my product due to the fact it was a print piece. The main programme I used during my project was Photoshop Cs4, which I gained confidence using through the duration of my project. I learned techniques such as airbrushing my models, altering the overall quality of my images by altering the levels, curves, contrast and saturation of the images. I also became more confident with putting effects on fonts such as stroke, outerglow and bevel and emboss. An example of this is my headline.

I also used Microsoft Publisher to create the double page spread. This helped me manage the layout of the text and images much more efficiently

I began my document with a very simple layout as you can see above, I had to add the text boxes, columns, pictures, pull-quotes and drop-cap myself therefore I gained more experience with the programme by carrying out these techniques.

This is an image of my article. This displays my inclusion of a drop cap at the beginning of the article. I experienced problems with my columns because instead of using publisher to set and align the columns for me I had to make two seperate text boxes of the same size because the alignment of the text did not look effective. I have set out my questions and answers in different colours so that they are easy to read.

Here is a list of the different technologies I used throughout the process of creating my magazine.
• Photoshop

• Microsoft Publisher

• Camera - Canon DSLR 500D

• Lighting - I set up my own lighting at home. I used lamps with intense brightness aswell as flash photography for a better quality image.

• - I used this search engine to complete the research stages of my project.

• Blogger – I kept track of the progress of my project through my media blog. I was able to show the working stages and evaluate what was and was not successful as I progressed.

Evaluation - Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?
The Title:
The name of my magazine, “Viper” was to give my magazine a hard-hitting, bold and stand out look. I felt the name was creative and would draw attention to my magazine. I deliberately used a distorted and grungy font as this will attract and interest my readers as it gives the magazine a punk / rock look. I deliberately chose to have a red title as it contrasted really well against the black background with a stand out and eye catching effect. Red also is key in connoting power and danger, which is associated with the rock and metal music genre and is something I feel would draw attention to my audience and attract them.

The Cover:

The cover is the first thing the audience would look at before purchasing my magazine. This is why I chose to use a close up image of the models face to create an extremely dramatic and hard hitting cover. The model is showing a lot of emotion in the face which created a more dramatic cover. Her aggressive facial expression and dark clothing, makeup and facial piercing show her to have a rock style and show her to have a confident and rebellious attitude; all of these qualities were done deliberately to attract my readers. The model is looking straight towards the camera which would make the reader feel as though she is looking at them, making them feel more involved and interested in the magazine.
The inside story of my interview with Dominic James was also included to appeal to my target audience. The model has been captured with a confident attitude, he is showing off his tattoos which are very much associated with a rock image which will appeal to my target audience as this is something they are likely to find stylish and appealing.

I chose a simplistic yet extremely dramatic colour scheme that not only works well together, but is simple and easy to read. The colours red and black immediately associate a punk metal look which will automatically catch the eye of my target audience. I deliberately included artist names on the cover which I felt would appeal to the music taste of my target audience. I deliberately kept out large chunks of text so my cover remained simple yet effective so my audience could take in key information at a glance.

I have also tried to draw and attract readers to the main story of my magazine. I have used an effect pull quote to interest readers into what the artist has said in the article. I have also included extra features of the article such as ‘new and unseen photographs’ which I feel will make the readers interested in the article and believe it is worth purchasing it to see the ‘unseen’ photographs as no other magazine have them.

The Contents:

I have followed a very similar style contents to NME magazine, this is because NME have a very similar target audience to me and therefore the articles in their magazine would appeal to the readers of Viper.

The contents page includes various articles on rock bands which I feel would appeal to my target audience.

I have also included the fact my magazine features new and upcoming bands which I believed would be an interest of my audience profile. NME target audience profile describes the readers to have a high interest in new and upcoming bands therefore this is likely to be a popular feature for readers.

I have also included special offers in the magazine to appeal to my audience further. As the readers are likely to be much younger it is likely they will not have a high income so saving money on the purchase of the magazine is going to be popular.

The Double Page Spread:

I have included a very similar layout to a double page spread I found in Kerang! Magazine as I feel this is likely to attract the target audience as this type of magazine is likely to be popular with them due to the interest in rock/metal music. I have followed a consistent colour scheme of red black and white to give my magazine a definite look. The colours are very bold, dramatic and connote a rebellious dangerous look which will attract my readers. I have included various interesting and successful images of the model which will appeal to the readers due to the style and look of the model I have used.
I included a pull quote which is a common feature of these types of articles. It gives the target audience a feel for the article. The quote I used was one that made the artist seem relatable to the audience.

I have set the interview out in a question and answer format clearly indicating them in different colours. This is a clear layout and means my audience don’t have to sift through large paragraphs of text. I have set the interview out in a relaxed conversational style asking questions that I feel my readers are likely to be interested in.

Similarly I have included a separate box designed to ask questions which Viper readers have voted for themselves, this gives them a chance to get involved with the magazine and find out what they want to know about artists featured in the magazine which is likely to appeal to them and make them subscribe to my magazine.

The location of my double page spread strongly suggests the rock genre of my magazine. I held the shoot underneath a bridge in the local park which gave a very grungy feel due to the graffiti and grubby feel to the location. This relates well to the genre of music in my magazine and will therefore appeal to my target audience.

Evaluation - Question 3 and 4

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I have looked at the media institution who publishes NME magazine as this is a strong link to my magazine. IPC Media publish NME magazine and they are one of the leading media institutions in the UK which assures me they are a successful and effective institution.

I looked closely at the NME website as it revealed specific details and outlines to what the typical NME reader would be like and what characteristics they would have. NME targets a similar audience to my own magazine therefore IPC Media would work well with my magazine. The NME website gave me more ideas to what the audience of my magazine would be like.
The nme.com audience is made up of key demographic groups-
• 65% Male*
• 50% 16-24*
• 23% 25-34*
• 79% ABC1*
• 80% of NME readers feel that music is an important part of their lives
• 79% of NME readers like to listen to new bands
• 63% specially choose to listen to indie/guitar bands
• 49% specially choose to listen to live bands in studio
• 52% are interested in taking a musical course/qualification
• 36% are thinking of buying a musical instrument in the next year

Who would be the audience for your media product?

I believe my target audience would have similar qualities to the target audience of NME.
Here are some of the qualities my target audience will possess:
• The majority will be aged from 16-24 with a indie/rock taste for music and style. To the left is the general idea of what my target audience would look like.
• My target audience will have a main interest of music. Particularly indie/rock or metal.
• My target audience will have an interest in new and upcoming bands as I have featured various new bands in my magazine which will appeal to my target audience.

Evaluation - Question 1 and 2

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I named my magazine ‘Viper’. I feel it is a catchy and memorable name which also sets the tone of my magazine. The font I used to create the title of my magazine is also a key aspect of the final product. I used the font ‘Masterplan’ which I found on ‘www.dafont.com’.

I deliberately chose a distorted font to give the magazine a grungy, confident look to the magazine. I felt this would suit the genre of a rock/metal type magazine. I applied various effects to make the font stand out and grab attention. I chose a red font because it contrasted really well against the black background of my front cover and also connotes the idea of danger and power. I added a black stroke, outer glow and bevel emboss effect to give the font an edgier look.

This was a technique I picked up on during the earlier stages of research. Kerang! magazine was a key influence to my work and it also uses a distorted, grungy font to set a rock/metal tone to the magazine as this immediately attracts the target audience.




The Front Cover
The style of my magazine is similar to that of existing indie/rock magazines. I used a simple but effective colour scheme: black, red and white, the use of a model with a distinctive style and attitude that represented the type of music expected in the magazine and also the use of grungy fonts and images as this is also a common feature of rock magazines. Comparing my magazine with Kerang! and Q magazine shows these factors.


I chose my model carefully in order to achieve a successful shot. I was inspired by the Q Cheryl Cole cover as this is shot only showing the face and shoulders. This gave me the potential to make full impact with the facial expression. My model had the ability to do strong, confident and aggressive poses which was an important aspect as this is the image I wanted for the cover of my magazine. The dark, aggressive facial expression delivers a punk ‘rebel’ look, which is the image I wanted to represent. The use of a good model on the cover is important to the sales of magazines. I styled the model according to the colour scheme: black and red. I used dark, dramatic make-up and the aviator glasses give the artist a sense of mystery, drawing the audience in. The model is wearing a leather jacket which connotes a punk look. As the model had dark hair I was able to fade her into a black background. This meant the facial shot did not take away from other aspects of the magazine such as the titles of the articles.

I also included a photo of an inside story on the front cover. I again chose this model to convey a punk/rock look. The fact the model is doing a confident/cocky pose displays the type of attitude of my magazine. The artist also is showing his tattoos which again was to represent a rock image.




I kept the same colour scheme throughout my magazine, which is a common factor of the music magazines I have researched.

Setting/Location

To create a black background for these shots I set up a studio at home by using black fabric and dramatic lighting which I was able to alter in photoshop to improve the over all look of the images. The black background enabled the images to be focused entirely on the models themselves, it also fit in well with the colour scheme of my magazine as well as giving the models a more dramatic, powerful look. If I had used a white background I feel the models may have looked a lot more subtle. Black connotes an aggressive rock image which is what I wanted in my photos.

I used an outdoor setting for my double page spread. The location was underneath a bridge in my local park. I believe that this setting adds to the grungy, rock style of my magazine due to the graffiti and urban feel to the setting. The bridge is quite dark and dingy which created a good location for a rebel, confident, poweful look.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I believe that my magazine represents the fans of Indie/Rock music. The models, articles and overall style of the magazine would suit their own fashion sense and interests which I have consistently tried to keep up throughout my project.
The main model I used in my magazine was Jasmine Monet. I chose this model as she represents the genre of music successfully. She was able to create an effective indie/rock look through her dark clothing and make-up as well as her confident attitude which I tried to capture in my photography. Also as my magazine would target a younger audience she is more appealing to this audience as she is in her late teens.

The three models I photographed for my inside stories all fit into the indie/rock look. I have photographed the models to fit into the style of my magazine which again meant confident poses and punk styling. One of my models has tattoos which strongly suggest a rock image. I based this models image on Pete Doherty who I noticed featured in the type of magazines I was looking at such as Q and NME.

Creating the double page spread

Using Microsoft Publisher I created my double page spread. I used the interview I had previously typed up as well as the photographs I had taken in my second photo shoot. I tried to create a similar look to the research I had gathered on the Kerang! Double Page spread as I felt this was successful in fitting into the look of my magazine. I added a pull quote in an eye-catching font which I had chosen as it connotes a grungy, rock feel. I stuck to the consistent colour scheme of red, black and white to add consistency to my magazine. This makes my magazine more memorable as the colour scheme would stand out to readers. The main problem I experienced when creating the double page spread was the positioning of the text. Due to the large space taken up by images and the column running down the right hand side there was an uneven space left for columns. To ensure the text fit in the space I had to make two seperate text boxes of the same size in order to fit my text into it. This meant I had to cut some of the most irrelevant parts of my article out to fit it into the boxes. I set out the article in a question and answer format to give a chatty and relatable quality to the magazine as I feel this would relate most to my target audience.

Creating the Contents Page

To create the contents page, I decided to take more photographs of artists. Looking at other contents pages I picked up on the fact there is usually more than one image of an artist. It is important I use models that appear like the type of artists to be featured in my magazine.

The photograph to the right is one of the images I used in my contents page. I edited the photograph following the same techniques as used in photoshoot 3, to give a similar look and link in with what I had learned from my research. I chose to photograph this particular model as she has quite an alternative rock look, which is the type of artist which would attract my target audience. The lowered the levels of this image for a more dramatic, intimidating effect.



The second photograph also featured on my contents page. I believe this image was very successful in connoting a punk/rock look which would be successful in attracting my target audience. I chose to photograph the model with very dramatic makeup that also linked to the colour scheme of my magazine. The dark makeup, pose and clothing connotes a very aggressive punk look which I felt would be successful in the contents of my magazine as this would be a very likely artist to feature in it.

Final Contents Page:

I chose article names and featured artists that I felt would relate to my target audience and persuade them into buying the magazine.