YaYa91's Blog

Week one – Section B: Institutions & Audiences – The Music Industry

yaya91 — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:37:49 +0000

A record label is the brand name for a music release. Record labels are responsible for the manufacture, distribution and promotion of a particular recording. The major labels today are all 4 media conglomerates that operate a number of specific label imprints – the actual company logo stamped on the recording. Within the music industry their products vary depending on the genre of music preferred. In these modern times there are many forms of products that cater to audiences with music in mind, for example ipods are devices that are created for the storage of music, videos, and so on. also there are games consoles which can not only be used to play games but also to play music. Adding to this is laptops, internet, Bluetooth, clothes, accessories, memorabilia, which is used to transfer music as well as other things to other people. these are all different ways that music is played, downloaded, and consumed by its audiences. The internet is now the most effective way of gaining access to music and the artists that produce it, as well as gaining the access to the products that are distributed by the the preferred genres.

These products vary according to its genre, for instance rock music products are generally seen with dark colors and skulls, and so on whereas r’n'b are more adventurous.

1. Universal Music Group

The Universal Music Group sells more music than any other major label. The group’s well-known label imprints include Geffen, Interscope, Island, Motown, and Universal. Key artists are:

2. Sony BMG Music Entertainment

Sony BMG Music Entertainment is the second biggest major record label in music sales. They accounted for 21.5% of the market in 2005. The company’s well-known label imprints include Arista, Columbia, Epic, J, Jive, and RCA. Key artists are

3. EMI Group

The EMI Group is the third biggest major record label in music sales. They accounted for 13.4% of the market in 2005. The group’s well-known label imprints include Astralwerks, Capitol, EMI, Mute, and Virgin. Key artists are:

4. Warner Music Group

The Warner Music Group is the fourth major record label in music sales. They accounted for 11.3% of the market in 2005. The group’s well-known label imprints include Asylum, Atlantic, Lava, Reprise, Rhino, and Warner Bros. Key artists are:

These record labels all differ as they all exhibit different forms of genre of music within the label. They are all record labels set out to sell their artists and their music. They have sign artists that they know are going to be successful in a certain type of genre and utilize their elements to make sure that this is effectively done. Their companies are represented by multi millionaires who share the same interests as them , and therefore know that with the unification of the two brings good results. for example A record label by the name of Young ‘Money records uses their artists to represent them. artists such as Drake and Lil Wayne who are both wealthy artists that represent ‘Young money records, and not only do the artists benefit from the selling of their music, but also the labels benefits as they are becoming more recognized and gaining more status and credibility, increasing its audiences and so on.

Week one – Section B: Institutions & Audiences – The Film Industry

yaya91 — Fri, 07 May 2010 12:02:04 +0000

Film: ‘The Princess and the Frog’.

Production year: 2009
Country: USA
Cert (UK): U
Run time: 97 mins
Directors: John Musker, Ron Clements
Cast: Angela Bassett, Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Jim Cummings, John Goodman, Keith David, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard

Film: James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’.

Production year: 2009
Country: USA
Cert (UK): 12A
Runtime: 161 mins
Directors: James Cameron
Cast: CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Michelle Rodriguez, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Zoe Saldana

Walt Disney Animation Studios presents the musical THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, an animated comedy set in the great city of New Orleans. From the creators of “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin” comes a modern twist on a classic tale, featuring a beautiful girl named Tiana (ANIKA NONI ROSE), a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again, and a fateful kiss that leads them both on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana. The Princess and the Frog marks the return to hand-drawn animation from the revered team of John Musker and Ron Clements, with music by Oscar®-winning composer Randy Newman. –© Walt Disney

What are examples of media products within the film industry?

For this particular family, animation film, it has many different products that promotes it for examples as it is a Disney film they are particularly children orientated films and therefore will have products based around these key categories. Toys, Home, Fashion & Accessories, and Beauty. This particular film utilized these categories and distributed products such as soft bodied toys and dolls associated with the characters of the film. Colors are normally bright when looking at childrens films as it is an effective way of capturing the attention of the kids to which the merchandise is aimed at. These types of products contrasts to that of the like of ‘Avatar” as they would more likely produce toys in the forms of figurines as they are more appealing to the older child, rather than soft bodied toys which are child friendly and are more safe for younger children to use. Also it has fashion accessories aimed at female children as well as dress up costumes and health and beauty products such as bath lotions and beauty gift sets. Also included are the DVD, soundtrack CD’s, wallpapers and themes for the PC. These products have greatly aided the promotion of the film as well as the industry. In addition to the film being promoted through the previously stated elements it has also been promoted through at both the Disneyland Resort and the Walt Disney World Resort, with a live parade and show called “Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee”.

Other films such as Avatar which are aimed at the older age group will rather have things like clothes i.e t-shirts linked to the film, and hard plastic figures that come in sets relating to the characters in the film. As this is a form of action, adventure, fantasy film these forms of merchandise will go down well with its potential consumers. The insertion of blu-ray DVD’s as well as video games and computer games also are a main attraction with these sorts of adventure, fantasy films.

Find out about film producers. Which are the major studios/film industries around the world?

Today’s Big Six

Conglomerate	Parent division	Major studio subsidiary	Arthouse/”indie” distribution subsidiaries	Genre/B movie distribution subsidiaries	Other divisions and brands	U.S./Can. market share (2009)^[1]
Time Warner	Warner Bros. Entertainmen	Warner Bros. Pictures			New Line Cinema, HBO Films, Castle Rock Entertainment, Turner Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation	20.1%¹
News Corporation	Fox Filmed Entertainment	20th Century Fox	Fox Searchlight		20th Century Fox Animation, Fox Faith, Blue Sky Studios, New Regency (20% equity)	16.1%²
Viacom	Paramount Motion Pictures Group	Paramount Pictures	Paramount Vantage		Nickelodeon Movies, MTV Films	14.3%³
Sony	Sony Pictures Entertainment	Columbia Pictures	Sony Pictures Classics	Screen Gems	TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Destination Films, Triumph Films, Stage 6 Films	14.1%⁴
The Walt Disney Company	Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group	Walt Disney Pictures/Touchstone Pictures (unified business with separate brands)			Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Hollywood Pictures, ImageMovers Digital, Disneynature	11.9%⁵
General Electric / Vivendi SA	NBC Universal	Universal Studios	Focus Features		Universal Animation Studios, Illumination Entertainment	10.0%⁶

^1 Warner Bros.: 20.1% (Prev. totals: 2008—19.4% [primary—18.1%, subsidiaries—1.3%]; 2007—20.5% [primary—14.7%, subsidiaries—5.8%]; 2006—14.9%; 2005—21.7%; 2004—17.7%)
^2 20th Century Fox: 13.8%; Fox Searchlight 2.3% (Prev. totals: 2008—13.2% [primary—10.6%, subsidiaries—2.5%]; 2007—11.9% [primary—10.5%, subsidiaries—1.4%]; 2006—17.0%; 2005—16.5%; 2004—11.7%)
^3 Paramount: 13.7%; Paramount Vantage: 0.6% (Prev. totals: 2008—17.2% [primary—16.3%, subsidiaries—0.9%]; 2007—16.1% [primary—15.5%, subsidiaries—0.6%]; 2006—11.0%; 2005—9.8%; 2004—6.8%)
^4 Sony/Columbia: 13.4%; Sony Classics: 0.5%; Screen Gems: 0.3% (Prev. totals: 2008—13.4% [primary—11.1%, subsidiaries—2.3%]; 2007—13.4% [primary—12.9%, subsidiaries—0.5%]; 2006—19.3%; 2005—11.1%; 2004—16.8%)
^5 Disney: 11.4%; Miramax: 0.5% (Prev. totals: 2008—11.4% [primary—10.5%, subsidiaries—0.9%]; 2007—15.3% [primary—14.0%, subsidiaries—1.3%]; 2006—16.7%; 2005—14.6%; 2004—16.5%)
^6 Universal: 8.5%; Focus Features: 1.5% (Prev. totals: 2008—12.9% [primary—10.9%, subsidiaries—2.0%]; 2007—12.7% [primary—11.4%, subsidiaries—1.3%]; 2006—10.9%; 2005—13.2%; 2004—10.8%)

(Wikipedia) – Extract

The Princess and the Frog was produced by Peter Del Vecho who has also produced other Disney films such as Chicken Little, Hercules, and The Emperor’s New Groove . The Princess and the Frog is a 2009 American animated family based on E. D. Baker’s novel The Frog Princess , which was in turn inspired by the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale “The Frog Prince”. As this was a Disney film it was created in the Walt Disney Animation Studios, which is the largest entertainment and media conglomerate corporation in the world, as well as one of the biggest Hollywood studios, and perhaps the most recognizable.

Who are the primary audience for these industries?

Due to the fact that this film is a creation of Disney, it is most likely to be emphasized to a young audience probably around the ages of 3-6 and this is done by creating an animated film with extravagant characters made up of bright eye catching colors, which Disney know are a hit with their target audience. .

What techniques are used to target specific films at audiences?

Disney used a hand drawn technique when creating the characters, rather than the normal use of computer generated images. they include the elements of fun and excitement into this film as this is who young children are, fun loving individuals. Usually Disney uses COmputer generated images for their films, but with this movie, the choice by the animators was to use hand-drawn images to add a unique effect to the film.

On the other hand with the film ‘Avatar’ it was made to be appealing to its target audience by using fantasy like characters with added adventure. also because it was available in 3D it also caused the target audience to feel a part of this fantasy world. This was a real hit with the viewers as their reviews reflected this. Elements of mystery and adventure were also included into this movie , which was also another way of attracting its older audience, compared to that of Disney who catered to the younger generation.

These techniques from both of the film were very effective in its appraoch to its audiences, as it not only attracted its target audiences but it also was able to capture the attention of other audiences. for example as the film ” Princess and the Frog” was aimed at young children but it also managed to drawn in the the slightly older audience.

AS Media – Main Task – Evaluation

yaya91 — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:05:09 +0000

For our main task we were given the assignment of constructing a magazines front cover, contents page, and a double page spread. I thought that completing this task would be very achievable as I had a quite a few ideas on what it was that I wanted to do after completing my preliminary task. Since i have all the response questionnaires that was taken from my preliminary task, I now know what areas of the magazine i needed to improve and do differently so I had confidence that this project would turn out exactly how I expected. I had to decide on what genre of music I would be representing in my magazine as well as the audience I intended to target. I decided on creating an R’n’B and Hip Hop magazine, which would target an audience of females between the ages of 16 and 21 who embrace the genre and like to keep up to date with the artists and music within it. The target audience would be generally be individuals who are currently students at college, uni, or have part time jobs and will have disposable incomes, with no worries of bills, loans etc. These individuals will range in various ethnicities and will also be part of the working class bracket. They will generally be based in the areas of london as this is were a lot of this type of genre circulates. This is the audience that i feel will have the most interest in the magazine that i will be producing for my main task in media. I have confidence that this will be a hit with the audience i have targeted.
The choice of genre was based on the fact that I like this type of music and therefore would find it relatively interesting to do. I found that it is something can relate to and would be able to produce pieces of work that reflected this. In the duration of my research and planning I looked at magazines of similar genres as well as others because although I was aiming to produce a magazine with a hip hop genre I thought it is necessary to look at contrasting magazines to provide me with an insight into what general magazines possess. I looked at front covers first s this would be the first page I would be creating, and I found that most if not all the covers had very large and bold mastheads, which would be one of the main focuses on my front cover. Also I found that many of the colors and themes of the magazines were bold and bright, and this is what firstly caught my eye so I felt that this should be an element I would include into my cover. At first I thought that the front covers of magazines had to be filled with exclusives and loads of writing, but in actual fact many of the covers I researched and found didn’t really have that and I thought that sometimes simple can be better than flooding the page with unnecessary writing. This was an element that I included in my final front cover. When researching contents pages I wanted to pay quite a bit of attention to it as in my preliminary task I had a layout that was busy and confusing, which wasn’t effective in its approach. I needed to make sure that this would not happen to my final construction of the contents page because it may have the same effect.
The layouts of the contents pages I analyzed were simple in its layout and didn’t really bombard the page with irrelevant information that would cause the reader to become confused and unsure of what is going. This was an aspect of my magazine that I desperately wanted to portray as this was a prominent criticism in the response I received for my last magazine assignment. I finally started my research on double-page spreads which were once again very simple in its displays. Again I thought that I would need to create an article discussing a specific artist or topic, but the research showed that double page spreads can consist of many things for example a large main image with writing on either side of the page, an interview between the magazine and an artist, also the spread may have an image on one side of the page whilst the other has the article. I decided that for my double page spread I would create an interview with an artist for the double page spread, which used one color for the questions asked and another color for the interviewees responses as this I felt would work well with how I wanted my magazine to look. As my target audience were females of a fairly young I wanted to keep the layouts of the pages simple but captivating, as this is part of what will draw them to the shelves and cause them to want to buy and read it. After conducting the research of all the different types of front covers, contents pages, and double page spreads, I felt that I had made a good foundation of ideas that would ultimately aid me in producing my final pieces as I now had all the information and made the necessary plans that would help in making this goal possible. I also researched poses within images as this would be things that i wanted to focus on in my magazine, rather than just having plain images. I had to make sure that the images i took were ones that would be easy to manipulate and edit for use in the magazine pages i would later create. The process of taking the images gave me an in depth insight into how the technology of the camera worked for example, the best form of picture that is to be manipulated is in good light and not in dark places as the colors and objects in the picture will become difficult to refine. All information concerning the processes and stages of the construction of my magazine, including production logs, screen shots, and final images can all be found at my media blog www.wordpress.com/yaya91
The next step after conducting my research and planning was to progress onto creating mock up pages which would be small representatives of what I would want the three pieces to ideally look like. This task was made possible with the use of Photoshop. I was able to take images from the internet, which were similar to the original images I would later take for my final pieces. In the process of creating my first mock up page, which was the front cover, I began in choosing a color which in a way related to my target audience as it ended up to be a pale shade of pink. This color was chosen, not just because it is a color commonly linked with girl, but also because it fitted well with the theme I wanted to use. I created a large rectangular box on the top of the page and this would contain the masthead of the magazine, which was later called ‘SWAGGA’. I placed a smaller sized strip along the bottom of the page which would include the barcode, price and website. For the main image I edited and adjusted an image, which was scaled to fit the middle of the page, just enough so that the image would not become obscured and blurry. I also included an issue number and date. I thought it would be nice to add a small circle onto the page which had gave the reader the opportunity to win something. I found this to be effective because small elements like this may draw the potential reader’s attention to the magazine and its exciting features. After adding these final things to the magazine I felt that I was now in a position to save and move on to the creation of the next mock up page as I was happy with the layout and general setting of the page. The next page I began to construct was the contents page, which was a fairly easy task because I knew what colors I was using to keep continuity with the first page and also the rest of the magazine as this was a key aspect of the magazine a whole. I began with placing an identical rectangular box at the top as this would contain the contents title. I then placed a smaller sized box at the bottom and included the issue date and page number along with the name of the magazine, these were common aspects of magazines that I found during my research and planning. After doing so I moved my focus onto the middle of the page which was currently blank. I inserted and image of a music artist standing upright, whilst brushing off her trainers. I thought this will look good with the layout I aimed to have for my final piece. I found that after placing the image onto the page I had quite a bit of empty space to fill, and decided to add a small circled box which I would use to break up the writing so that it wasn’t just a block of writing alone. I then made two text boxes which contained the contents for the page. I placed one of the boxes into the smaller box and the rest I placed underneath it and without a box. I found that again that there was space, but within the small box that needed to be filled as it looked like it needed something extra. So I placed an image which I scaled to fit the small box into it. I was satisfied with how the contents page looked so I moved saved it and moved onto the next page. The double page spread was a challenge as I didn’t quite know how I wanted the layout to look, whether it was a large image across the page or just again something simple. I decided at the time to have a large image on the first page which slightly crossed over to the next page. I left enough space on the right hand side of the page for the article of the artist featured on the other page. I kept the background of the double page spread white as I felt that having it plain would make the main image and text stand out a lot more, instead of adding a main background color which would take away from the image and writing. Once I had the main image a text in its rightful place, I had some extra space and I chose to add in a small rounded square to the bottom right hand corner into which I wrote a quote that I made that the artist stated. I also inserted into that same box a different image of the same artist, one that still tied in with the colors and general theme of the page. I ended with placing a page number alongside the name of the magazine and issue date to keep continuity. I was pleased with outcomes of all three of the mock-up pages. I felt that I took most of the critical response and projected the improvement into the main task. I feel that I have made a huge progress from my preliminary task as I have become more confident in the use of the Photoshop application and its many elements.
Upon completing the mock up pages of the magazine (front cover, contents page, and double page spread) I was now at the stage of beginning the process of constructing what would be my final pieces. I wanted to make sure that my mock up pages exactly how I wanted my final pages to like, I was in a position where all I really needed to do was replace the temporary images with my original ones and possibly make a few minor changes to make it better. By constantly referring back to my response questionnaires and research and planning, I was able to make take the all the elements that would attract my target audience as well as improvements to the areas that were not so great in my preliminary task so that the magazines was something that the the target female audience could relate to as this was what the whole purpose was, creating a magazine for a specific type of audience that they can relate to otherwise what is the purpose of creating a magazine for someone if they cannot relate the elements within it. After considering all of these aspects I finally started the process by taking my original images which were somewhat similar to the previous images used in the draft pages and editing them accordingly, this involved cropping, scaling, and refining the images to make them suitable to go into the magazine. One problem I had with the images is that I couldn’t get some of the pictures to resemble those used in the mock up as closely as I wanted to, and therefore had to change some of them, which was slightly disappointing and wasn’t necessarily how I wanted them to look, but still fitted in well with the layout and its overall theme. After dealing with the images I started off with the front cover and took out the images previously used and replaced it with my original image, which didn’t resemble the same pose as the temporary one but again still went well with the layout. I then continued by adding in different features and exclusives onto the page, and changed the writing within the opportunity to win stamp on the cover. I was happy with what my final front cover looked like and was happy enough to save and move on to the next page which would become the final contents page. The next step of the process was to begin working on the final contents page which came with a few problems. the first problem in encountered in finalizing the page was that the large image that i had placed in the right hand side of the page was of a female standing whilst brushing off her trainer. I realized that the closest original image i has was of a female standing with her hand on her hip. As this was the closest image decided to use it because it didn’t really take away from the layout , but i would of nicer to have an image with similarity to the temporary one. Once this was completed i then changed some of the text within the text boxes i.e the article that was going to be included on the double page spread, so that it would be match the page number and also the topic of the article. I replaced the small image within the small box in the left hand corner with my original image, and i was happy with this because the colors within the picture linked into the theme of the layout. Little was needed to do with this page because again i wanted to make sure that everything produced in my mock up pages were exactly how i wanted them to be in the final product.
Once i felt that the layout and format of the contents page was of a suitable standard i began to saved this page and then continued on to my final page which was the double page spread. This was a page that i was sort of excited about as i have never made a spread like this and was eager to start it and finalize my ideas. I kept the background color white as i wanted to stick to the idea of not taking away the focus from the main image and text. I felt that white was a suitable color and would fit well with the current theme and layout of the previous pages. After referring back to my research and planning I decided that having a decent sized image rather than allow it to take up most of the page would be more effective, and would provide me with the space in which i will be able to add more writing for the article. I was going to write about the female artist who had recently become a big hit in the music scene. I decided, after looking at my mock up of the double page spread that i would have a large heading instead of a large picture. This conclusion was based on the fact that if i was to scale the image any larger it would become blurry and obscured, which would then make the page look weird. I created a large pink square box, which i added into it the heading. The article i create was about a young female artist who had recently released a song that had gone straight to the top of the charts within its first week of debut. Also had the heading align to the left of the page, because i didn’t really like the look of it across the top of the page. I had already had my idea of how i wanted the article to be, I wanted to have an interview between the magazine and the artist which would be a series of questions directed at the artist to give the magazine and the readers a small insight into the goings on in the artists busy life and hectic schedule. I felt that this would be successful with the target audience as they are not just reading a plain article on the artist, but getting direct feedback from the artist themselves and this is a popular choice in most of the music magazines i researched. I wanted to insert the text into the page after i had finished creating the title as i wanted to know exactly where i would have space and what i needed to do to fill it in. I placed the writing on the right hand side of the page as i had a large heading along the top left hand corner and i wanted to have the image if the artist underneath it so the writing would have to be on the right hand side. Below the heading i wrote some text that would speak briefly on the artists recent success and the fact that ‘SWAGGA’ wanted to catch up with her to get the latest news. This text box was aligned to the left underneath the title, and next to it i placed an image of the artist which was scaled to fit in bet ween the bottom of the title box and the bottom of the page, this made it look like she was leaning on the writing on the left of the page. Once this was completed i moved my focus onto the right hand side of the page which had the interview and the small box at the bottom which included the quote by the artist. I wanted to keep in there as i felt that it would be encouragement to the reader who had similar interest to that of the artist. I placed a line which separated the pages in two as this would help me keep everything in proportion and also because magazines pages are normally halved. I had to split the text box containing the interview into two text boxes as the space was sufficient enough to keep the text in one column, so it was divided into two columns placed beside each other. I replaced the temporary image with my original image into the small box at the bottom right hand corner of the page. Finally i ended with adding in a text box below the the writing, which had the name of the journalist who wrote up the article. As this was the final touch to my page i felt that it was ready enough to be handed in for the deadline. After reviewing all three of the pages i felt that they were all pieces that were of better quality than those of my preliminary task and this was a goal that i really wanted to achieve. I felt that i had more of an understanding of my target audience and what they wanted to see in the specific genre of music magazine i chose. I am really pleased with the outcome of the pages and felt that i made a significant jump from my previous media assignments.
In conclusion i decided to ask a few of my peers who were interested in the type of music genre i chose for my magazine to look at it and give critical feedback,which would allow me to have a deeper insight into how they really feel about the layout and overall look of them magazine and i could of done to make it better or whether it was fine how it was. In doing this i was able to find that they liked the look of the magazine and felt that it was suitable for the type genre i picked. I was happy with the feedback and it gave me confidence in knowing that i have indeed made an improvement front he last task and that it was generally a hit with he target audience and caught attention well. The only critical piece of feedback o had was that the colors were really good , but i could of made them that much more bright as this would attract them more. This was an element that i would take into consideration, and aim to improve on. I feel that overall this magazine is very relevant to the genre and target audience i chose as it is targeted to females, the colors are well fitting and the images can be related to the genre also. The magazine choices i have made have been similar to that of the magazines, but i felt that i didn’t need the magazine to be the same as the others so i made slight changes like instead of having a traditional heading for the double page spread i aligned it to the corner of the page, and these small changes to the layout of the magazine made it more effective in my eyes rather than just sticking to what everyone else does. I wanted my magazine to stand out and be attractive to my target audience as it is a magazine created by a person who likes R’n’B music for people who share the same interest in the genre. I think that the layout an themes represent the genre well as its eye catching with little hints of edginess, and that is an element of the R’n’B urban magazines. This magazine can be distributed by many institutions, for example news agents, and the big grocery stores that have the small magazine sections in them. I feel that if the magazine was to be distributed into different stores and corner shop, colleges etc it would be successful and may even attract those who do not generally read these genre specific magazines. This magazine would also be distributed in music labels such as Sony and L.A records as these companies share the same interest in their choice of genre of music. I have learnt that using the different image applications, i can manipulate an image to become suitable for use in a magazine, and have therefore strengthened my confidence. In the process of looking back on my preliminary task i have discovered that i have made a significant step forward and have been able to improve on the areas of my work that were not so great, and in the act of referring back to my previous pieces and feedback i am very pleased with the outcome of my main task pieces. I have become more aware and confident in the use of photoshop and the different aspects of media.

Production Log – 19.03.10

yaya91 — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:34:25 +0000

In todays lesson i have completed all of my magazine pages (front cover, contents, and double page spread). In my pages i have gone over all of the pages, and made sure that all the feedback from my last magazine was taken,revised and used to make theses pages better in its appearance, layout, and overall look. The final page i gave the main attention to was the double page spread, which i found easier to do produce than the rest of the pages i previously created. I made sure that the colors and themes used was kept in accordance with the previous pages to keep continuity present. I decided that for my double page spread, instead of having the typical article on the specific artist, i would conduct an interview, which in my research and planning found to be popular. I included page numbers at the bottom of the page for realism, and i also added a little box in the bottom corner of the page, which included a small quote that the artist made during the interview. The name of the article tied in with the name of the artist which found in alot of magazines in the research. I also included an image of the artist as this was key, because the readers will want to see the face of the artists they are reading about.

With the Contents page I kept it simple with small elements to make it look more presentable for example, i added a rounded square around the top text box to make it more appealing, rather than just keep it plain. I also added a small image into the small square to add to the layout. I kept the contents fairly simple as my first magazine in my preliminary task was busy and confused the readers, which was not an effective aspect of the magazine. I found that after i revised the feedback about the contents page from the preliminary task i was able to extract the crticisms and make the necessary improvements to create an effective layout for the audience i was aiming the magazine at. The readers of the magazine should now be able to look at the contents page without being confused to what it is they are reading and looking at.

The front cover I created had slight problems as i wanted to ensure that it was suitable in its layout and contents as this is the first page the reader will see and what they see will depend on whether the consumer will want to buy and read it. I had some issues with the main image for the cover as i wanted the cover to be apealing to eye so that the consumer would consider buying and reading it. After tacklng that problem i was then able to progress and begin creating the text boxes with the headlines and exclusives. I wanted to make s ure that th etext did not obscure the image and block any unecessary elements of the cover as this would take away from the effective layout. I included the necessary elements onto the cover for example the barcode, price, issue date, and website, which are the main elements found on thefront covers of magazines. Once all of this was accomplished i was able to move on to the next page, this beng the contents page.

Main Task – Final Magazine Pieces

yaya91 — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:16:47 +0000

Final – Front CoverZRGS Final Contents pageZGG Mockup Double Page Spread copyDFH

Production Log – 12.03.10

yaya91 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:39:27 +0000

Production Log – 05.03.10

yaya91 — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:59:40 +0000

I have completed my 3 mock up pages for the magaizne i will be creating and am now ready to start working on my final pieces. Although i am a little behind with the work i have now got all my resources and materials need for my final magazine and will be able to proceed swiftly with the construction of the final piece.

PRODUCTION LOG 26.2.10

yaya91 — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:12:25 +0000

Todays session began with my contents page which has taken longer than i wanted as many of the ideas used at the start were no longer suitable as they strayed from the element of continuity. I then brought a more simplistic approach to the contents page as i felt that this would be more effective seeing as last time my preliminary contents page was too busy and sort of confused the audience, this was also shown in my preliminary feedback questionnaire. So I reviewed the feedback and was led to the decision that simple seemed best for this page. I kept continuity in this page by keeping the colors and font of the masthead similar. I proceeded to use an image of an artist which i had scaled to fit vertically along the right hand side. I then continued with writing up the contents for the page which originally was in one text box, but i then split it into two texts boxes as i found that having it one box would lead to the page having a gap which need to be filled and it also made the page look boring. So i split the box into two and positioned one in the top left and the other in the bottom left hand corner. This caused the page to become less squashed and more orderly which i felt happy with. After doing this i then noticed that both text boxes seemed plain so i decided to make a rounded squared shape and place the text in the top left box into it. this gave the page a better look and spiced it up a bit. i placed an image into the same box aswell because i thought that it seemed empty and need to be filled. Finally i placed the magazines website in a strip along the bottom of the page. After constructing this page i felt happy with the outcome and showed it to my tutor who said it looked good. All in all i feel that this page is very much different to my first page and this is what i wanted to achieve because I didn’t want it to have the same feel to it. I noticed that the preliminary contents page weakness was that the layout was really busy and confusing to the reader so i wanted to make sure that this weakness was not transferred to my main task as this could confuse the target audience again, which is not what i want. I have yet to complete the double page spread mock up which is the last of them, and then i’ll be able to move on to the production of my final pieces which will be handed in by the 26th of march.

Production Log 12.02.10

yaya91 — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:13:47 +0000

In todays lesson I continued the production of my mock up front page, which after a few moments of thought i decided to change a few things and re arrange objects and images, texts etc

i made changes with the main image by moving it more to the left of the page so that there was no text on the left side as this would cause the page to look confusing. all text is situated on the right and also the barcode is on the right. i have added a website and issue number to the page .

I feel that this is completed and i have now started to create the mock up of the contents page.

Production Log 5.02.10

yaya91 — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:56:35 +0000

In this lesson i began to construct my mock up page of the front cover which I added white boxes to various areas on the page as little markers of where I would like images and texts to be placed. I then started out with a blue background with an image of a female artist centred on the page.

After making this page i decided that the color was not a suitable color and decided to change it and start again using different images and another color for the background.

This is the second attempt of the front cover which i am pleased with and i find that the colors and images are matched well as well as the text.