Thursday, 19 February 2015
Tuesday, 17 February 2015
Research into similar products: Evaluation - Section 3
I am going to write about which company will distribute my magazine tomorrow. (Wednesday 18th)
Bauer owns and distributes Kerrang! magazine, which has a similar demographic to Rocksound and to the desired audience of Stone Cold. This demonstrates that Bauer would be the best company the market and distribute Stone Cold to the largest target audience possible because not only does it already have an established similar audience (Kerrang!), but it owns music radio and TV stations on which Stone Cold could be advertised on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauer_Media_Group
http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/brands
http://www.timeincuk.com/
Among the items in this list is NME which is the only music magazine that IPC produces. NME has a different target audience than Kerrang! and Rocksound, and more importantly Stone Cold so I think it would be inappropriate to choose IPC media as a distributor for Stone Cold.
I did seriously consider using Axel Springer as a distributor of Stone Cold because of the similar target audiences of Metal Hammer, but Freeway Press took presidency over these other distributors mainly because it is the actual distributor of Rocksound, therefore it is the most well suited distributor for Stone Cold.
http://www.axelspringer.de/en/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axel_Springer_SE
Bauer Media
Bauer Media Group is a large European-based media company, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany that manages a portfolio of more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations around the world. The portfolio extends to include print shops, postal, distribution and marketing services.Bauer owns and distributes Kerrang! magazine, which has a similar demographic to Rocksound and to the desired audience of Stone Cold. This demonstrates that Bauer would be the best company the market and distribute Stone Cold to the largest target audience possible because not only does it already have an established similar audience (Kerrang!), but it owns music radio and TV stations on which Stone Cold could be advertised on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauer_Media_Group
http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/brands
I have researched companies that produce/ distribute music magazines in order to establish why I have chosen Bauer Media:
IPC Media/ Time Inc
Time Inc. UK formerly International Publishing Corporation (IPC Media) is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the UK, with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. Here are some of the brands that Time Inc/ IPC distributes: http://www.timeincuk.com/Among the items in this list is NME which is the only music magazine that IPC produces. NME has a different target audience than Kerrang! and Rocksound, and more importantly Stone Cold so I think it would be inappropriate to choose IPC media as a distributor for Stone Cold.
Axel Springer
The creator of Metal Hammer Wilfried F. Rimensberger approached some of Europe's largest publishers such as Springer, Ringier and Bauer, but none were interested. This shows me that Axel Springer is open to a niche market. In addition to this, metal hammer seem to have a similar target audience to Stone Cold.I did seriously consider using Axel Springer as a distributor of Stone Cold because of the similar target audiences of Metal Hammer, but Freeway Press took presidency over these other distributors mainly because it is the actual distributor of Rocksound, therefore it is the most well suited distributor for Stone Cold.
http://www.axelspringer.de/en/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axel_Springer_SE
Sunday, 15 February 2015
Target Audience: Feeeback on contents page.
I found the feedback from my target audience about my cover very helpful so I decided to conduct a similar test of my contents page, as this is the section of my magazine that I am most unsure about.
I asked the same 10 people that are within my target audience range which part of my contents page they liked the least, and whether it was holistic with my front cover:
1. Age 15- You need to add more pages. I know you have 94 but if this is monthly it needs to have more than 100 pages. I wouldn't buy a monthly magazine with only 94 pages.
2. Age 16- The font is a bit overwhelming. I think you should choose a different font for the title or the stories. But don't change both or it wont match with the fonts on the cover.
3. Age 16- It looks good but there's not enough pages so the magazine would be bad value.
4. Age 15- You used Impact too much. Rocksound uses different fonts.
6. Age 19 - The stories are too long. When I used to buy rock mags like Kerrang the stories were short.
7. Age 15- I really like the the 'Regulars' has been put in a box because it matches with the cover. But the downside is there arent enough stories in the review section. Normally if Kerrang does reviews of albums there is more than 4.
8. Age 17- Impact as a font is too overused on the contents page. You should change the title into a different font.
9. Age 18- I really like that the background colour has stayed consistant because it helps the cover and contents page to match and it makes the magazine flow. The thing I think is bad is the amount of page numbers. Weekly magazines have about 50 pages and monthly magazine have like 100 so the numbers need to be bumped up a bit.
10. Age 22- The contents page and contents page does match but maybe a little bit too much. The font of the stories fits well together, but my advise is to change the title font because impact is used a bit too much when you compare it to the front cover.
I took these comments on and created a new version of my contents page that fulfils the needs of my target audience better than previous versions:
My target audience liked the continuation of the 'white on black' effect that I used on my cover and contents page. They also liked the grey background colour used as it was a continuation of the house style that was used on the cover.
The downsides were that I had too few pages for a monthly magazine, my story descriptions were too long, and my album review section was too short. These were the main issues that could make my target audience disinterested in Stone Cold.
I have bumped the page numbers up to 106, and the Redding festival set list would be 4 pages, so the magazine as a whole is now 110 pages instead of 98. This will convince my target audience to buy Stone Cold as they are getting better value for their money. In addition to this, I shortened my stories. They now entice the potential audience to buy the magazine, instead of explaining the content before they can even read it. As well as this, I added 'You Me At Six - Cavalier Youth' so that the Review section of Stone Cold is longer. As this is a regular feature, adding more content to the Review section will encourage my target audience to buy the next issue of the magazine because they will be receiving a sizable amount of content.
This is the contents page I will submit as my final piece.
I asked the same 10 people that are within my target audience range which part of my contents page they liked the least, and whether it was holistic with my front cover:
2. Age 16- The font is a bit overwhelming. I think you should choose a different font for the title or the stories. But don't change both or it wont match with the fonts on the cover.
3. Age 16- It looks good but there's not enough pages so the magazine would be bad value.
4. Age 15- You used Impact too much. Rocksound uses different fonts.
6. Age 19 - The stories are too long. When I used to buy rock mags like Kerrang the stories were short.
7. Age 15- I really like the the 'Regulars' has been put in a box because it matches with the cover. But the downside is there arent enough stories in the review section. Normally if Kerrang does reviews of albums there is more than 4.
8. Age 17- Impact as a font is too overused on the contents page. You should change the title into a different font.
9. Age 18- I really like that the background colour has stayed consistant because it helps the cover and contents page to match and it makes the magazine flow. The thing I think is bad is the amount of page numbers. Weekly magazines have about 50 pages and monthly magazine have like 100 so the numbers need to be bumped up a bit.
10. Age 22- The contents page and contents page does match but maybe a little bit too much. The font of the stories fits well together, but my advise is to change the title font because impact is used a bit too much when you compare it to the front cover.
I took these comments on and created a new version of my contents page that fulfils the needs of my target audience better than previous versions:
My target audience liked the continuation of the 'white on black' effect that I used on my cover and contents page. They also liked the grey background colour used as it was a continuation of the house style that was used on the cover.
The downsides were that I had too few pages for a monthly magazine, my story descriptions were too long, and my album review section was too short. These were the main issues that could make my target audience disinterested in Stone Cold.
I have bumped the page numbers up to 106, and the Redding festival set list would be 4 pages, so the magazine as a whole is now 110 pages instead of 98. This will convince my target audience to buy Stone Cold as they are getting better value for their money. In addition to this, I shortened my stories. They now entice the potential audience to buy the magazine, instead of explaining the content before they can even read it. As well as this, I added 'You Me At Six - Cavalier Youth' so that the Review section of Stone Cold is longer. As this is a regular feature, adding more content to the Review section will encourage my target audience to buy the next issue of the magazine because they will be receiving a sizable amount of content.
This is the contents page I will submit as my final piece.
Saturday, 14 February 2015
Organisation: Evaluation.
I will begin my evaluation over this half term holiday. I plan to start work on my Powerpoint presentation on Monday the 16th and I will do one area of my evaluation per day.
I plan to organise my time in this way so that no area of my evaluation is rushed and is explained thoroughly.
I have chosen to plan my time like this as even if I do not finish on the 23rd February I still have a few spare days to finish it before the draft deadline.
Monday 16th-
1.In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
- Cover - Influences from Rocksound
- Contents - Kerrang
- Double Page Spread - Influence from Kerrang
Tuesday 17th-
2. How does your media product represent particular social
groups?
- Women -role models
- Young people 15-24
Wednesday 18th-
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media
product and why?
- Research about Bauer Media, IPC and Axel Springer
- Suitable?
- Reasons for choosing Freeway Press
Thursday 19th-
4.Who would be the audience for your media product?
- Males and females
- 15-24
- Rock lovers
- Similar audience to Rocksound
Friday 20th-
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
- Link to SurveryMonkey
Saturday 21st-
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process
of constructing the product?
- Dicuss paint.net / page plus
- Easier/Harder
Sunday 22nd-
7. Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?- Compare covers
- Compare contents
Monday 23rd-
8.How successful do you feel your end product is in fulfilling the task? How well does it fit the brief?
In my opinion my end product fulfils the breif successfully
because it conforms to the vast majority of the codes and conventions of music
magazines, appears professional, has the correct attitude for a rock music
magazine.
I have chosen to plan my time like this as even if I do not finish on the 23rd February I still have a few spare days to finish it before the draft deadline.
Thursday, 12 February 2015
Drafting & Planning: Self assessment analysis of Stone Cold front cover
I have included a a large amount of the codes and conventions of magazines and I am confident that my piece resembles a real, professional-looking magazine.
I have also included the codes and conventions of Rocksound magazine such as free posters, exclsuive interviews and large, bold coverlines.
I plan to include this self analysis in my evaluation of the project because it demonstrates my learning, understanding, and fulfilling of the task.
Saturday, 7 February 2015
Drafting & Planning: Cover Improvements from Target Audience Feedback.
I decided to re-do my cover in a similar way on page plus instead of on a publisher file because the photo ends up being bad quality after its been copied too many times. It was particularly important for me to make sure my photo and text isn't pixelated because that was one of the criticisms when i asked my target audience.
Evidence of work in PagePlus:
Final Cover:
Evidence of work in PagePlus:
Using PagePlus gave me the opportunity to darken my photo and slightly increase the saturation. This made the white text on the front cover more readable and so made my cover more professional.
Friday, 6 February 2015
Target Audience: Feedback on Front Cover.
I have made many changes and improvements to the front cover of my magazine, but I need to make sure that it is pleasing my target audience.
I showed 10 people...
a)
and asked them to choose which one they liked best and why.
1. Age 15- I like that the colours are more varied. B looks much more like a cover of Kerrang or Rocksound than A.
2. Age 16- I think A is better because B is too pixelated. Magazines never have pixelated images.
3. Age 16- It's good that you're advertising free tickets but you need to add free posters in because its really hard to find a rock magazine with no posters in.
4. Age 15- The cover star looks like a real artist and the colours are good but it needs a lot more stories on the front.
5. Age 17-I think B is better than A because the model on the cover is bigger and its more realistic to what a music magazine would look like. I think the expression on the models face is good in both because most rocks stars pose like this in posters or for magazines.
6. Age 19 - A is quite plain and has too much empty space, but B has a much better layout. It looks like a magazine I would buy.
7. Age 15- B is really good. Its way better than A because it has lots of different colours and I think its eye-catching.
8. Age 17- I like both but the images for both drafts are a bit too bright and it makes it hard to see the white text on her arm.
9. Age 18- I like B better but both pictures are a bit pixelated. I like the layout of B better than the layout of A though - it has a lot in it without being cluttered.
10. Age 22- I haven't read Rocksound for a while but A is just too plain. It needs a lot more pictures and cover lines,
Most of the responses were much more posive about Draft B than Draft A.
Positive Aspects of: Good housestyle and expression.
Improvements: Needs more coverlines. Needs more secondary images. May need a bigger variety of colours.
This exercise was helpful for me because it showed me that I am reaching the goal of attracting the correct target audience of rock music lovers between the ages of 15-24.
It was also helpful because I was able to make some improvements on draft B, such as using a better quality image, to make it even better.
I showed 10 people...
a)
and b)
and asked them to choose which one they liked best and why.
1. Age 15- I like that the colours are more varied. B looks much more like a cover of Kerrang or Rocksound than A.
2. Age 16- I think A is better because B is too pixelated. Magazines never have pixelated images.
3. Age 16- It's good that you're advertising free tickets but you need to add free posters in because its really hard to find a rock magazine with no posters in.
4. Age 15- The cover star looks like a real artist and the colours are good but it needs a lot more stories on the front.
5. Age 17-I think B is better than A because the model on the cover is bigger and its more realistic to what a music magazine would look like. I think the expression on the models face is good in both because most rocks stars pose like this in posters or for magazines.
6. Age 19 - A is quite plain and has too much empty space, but B has a much better layout. It looks like a magazine I would buy.
7. Age 15- B is really good. Its way better than A because it has lots of different colours and I think its eye-catching.
8. Age 17- I like both but the images for both drafts are a bit too bright and it makes it hard to see the white text on her arm.
9. Age 18- I like B better but both pictures are a bit pixelated. I like the layout of B better than the layout of A though - it has a lot in it without being cluttered.
10. Age 22- I haven't read Rocksound for a while but A is just too plain. It needs a lot more pictures and cover lines,
Most of the responses were much more posive about Draft B than Draft A.
Positive Aspects of: Good housestyle and expression.
Improvements: Needs more coverlines. Needs more secondary images. May need a bigger variety of colours.
This exercise was helpful for me because it showed me that I am reaching the goal of attracting the correct target audience of rock music lovers between the ages of 15-24.
It was also helpful because I was able to make some improvements on draft B, such as using a better quality image, to make it even better.
Wednesday, 4 February 2015
Drafting & Planning: Further Improvements to my contents page.
I have added in social media links as most music magazines are also in an online format and are very interactive with the readers.
Secondly, I have changed the secondary image to one of the cover star on a red carpet. This image is a better quality and also fits into the house style because of the colour of the carpet.
I have decided to change some of the impact text to Calibri as I found the amount of impact used to be over whelming and unprofessional. In addition to this, I have added more articles to boost my page numbers up as they need to be around 100 for a monthy magazine.
As well as these, I have added in an article about film as more and more music magazines have begun to produce articles about books and film. I chose Unfriended because it is a horror film and people who like rock music are usually also fans of horror movies. The second reason I chose this film is because it is all about social networking and it adds synergy to my magazine, as my target audience spend a lot of time social networking,
New:
Secondly, I have changed the secondary image to one of the cover star on a red carpet. This image is a better quality and also fits into the house style because of the colour of the carpet.
I have decided to change some of the impact text to Calibri as I found the amount of impact used to be over whelming and unprofessional. In addition to this, I have added more articles to boost my page numbers up as they need to be around 100 for a monthy magazine.
As well as these, I have added in an article about film as more and more music magazines have begun to produce articles about books and film. I chose Unfriended because it is a horror film and people who like rock music are usually also fans of horror movies. The second reason I chose this film is because it is all about social networking and it adds synergy to my magazine, as my target audience spend a lot of time social networking,
New:
Tuesday, 3 February 2015
Drafting & Planning: Further Improvements to my double page spread.
I have re-written a large part of my interview as I felt some parts were a little bit irrelevant to the introduction. I have also changed the font size to 10.5 (from 12) so I can fit a larger amount of text in, and also because Rocksound usually has a font similar to this size.
I have made the choice to remove the picture of 'Micheal', because although it was deliberately staged to loom casual, it lacked musical mise-en-scene and sort of ruined the convergence of the magazine having attitude and being rebellious.
I have removed the added in movements such as (laughs) because it is unprofessional and music magazines in general do not use these movements in their interviews. As well as this, I have made sure that there aren't any word breaks in my article.
In addition to this, I have changed my pull quote fonts because they seemed a little bit unoriginal. I have chose an more edgy font called 'VIPER NORA' so that my double page spread can be original without straying too far from the housestyle.
New:
I have made the choice to remove the picture of 'Micheal', because although it was deliberately staged to loom casual, it lacked musical mise-en-scene and sort of ruined the convergence of the magazine having attitude and being rebellious.
I have removed the added in movements such as (laughs) because it is unprofessional and music magazines in general do not use these movements in their interviews. As well as this, I have made sure that there aren't any word breaks in my article.
In addition to this, I have changed my pull quote fonts because they seemed a little bit unoriginal. I have chose an more edgy font called 'VIPER NORA' so that my double page spread can be original without straying too far from the housestyle.
New:
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