Feedback

To get feedback on my finished magazine I created a Facebook group and asked people to give me details on what they thought of it. The link to the group is here:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=290653518681

The feedback is the comments on the wall of the group and on the photos of the finished magazine.

I think the Facebook group was really successful. Lots of people commented saying they liked the use of colour on the text to contrast the black and white photos which makes it stand out more from other similar magazines. Another comment said that George, the subject for most of the photos, looked Indie which is good as it appeals to my target audience.

Overall the people who joined and commented on the group where very varied, from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds. For example Claire Crawley is 21 and is a white female from the USA, which contrasts to Nathan Nuckhir who is a 17 year old Asian/British male. This contrast of people shows me that the magazine appeals to a wider range of people than I expected which is great.

Of the 83 members 42% are male and 58% are female. 87% are in their second year of college- 17-18 years old. 4% are in their first year of college - 16-17 years old. 9% are out of full time education and above 18 years old, no member is above the age of 32 meaning that 100% of the members are aged 16-40 which is what my target audience is. "I am going to aim my magazine at the 16-40 age group of predominately male but it will have appeal to any gender." Also while their are more females than males in the group it is quite close. This also shows the diversity of my magazine.

Evaluation of finished magazine

This is a link to my finished magazine front cover http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0By1M1ErXSrkAMGIzOTNkYzMtNDJkNy00MjQ4LWJmY2ItZWEzNjVkNGRjY2Rm&hl=en

This is a link to my finished magazine contents page https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1M_7vjfm84ZYzcxYzY3M2ItZTBhOS00YTRlLTlhMTctODJmYzk4NDAyOGQ5&hl=en_GB

This is a link to my finished magazine double page spread https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1M_7vjfm84ZZDEyNGU4ZTgtMmQwOC00ZTY1LWE4OTEtOTY0Mjg3YjgzYWFl&hl=en_GB

For my magazine i used some things that are similar to NME and Q because they have similar target audiences and are proven to appeal to them. things like my sub headings being contrasting colours to a block colour background like NME does, also like NME, i used bright solid colours. I liked the blue and white so i used those. I did this because it stands out and appeals to my target audience by giving them something nice to look at, it also makes reading the magazine easier if it looks good. A large masthead that is square is also something i took from both NME and Q. It is placed in the top left hand corner like in the two magazines as i think it looks better and more unique than just a title across the top of the page.

My media product uses similar conventions to other magazines while also challenging some. The mast head is in the top, there is one large image of a band or artist making eye contact with the camera and is the main focal point. The sub headings are on either side of the image as to not cover it up. The main heading is at the bottom of the photo in the centre and relates to the image it self. These are all similarities to music magazines and differences to other types of magazines which make it stand out and give it individuality. The main article challenges music magazine conventions as it is quite plain and the text is not gridded as much as most other magazines. it is similar in the way that it has a main image on one page and a smaller one embedded into the main body of the article.

The images and language used in my magazine are used to represent the target audience and social groups that would read this magazine. The images are of an indie, young male that contrast with the plain backgrounds, the articles and gigs listed are about artists that belong to the indie genre of music. Because this all is a part of the indie social group they can relate to it and let it represent them. The language is humorous and light hearted which suggests its for the younger generations but doesn't limit it to them. I don't think it represents any particular race or gender as anyone can be in the indie culture and like this type of music and style.

Elicit Music magazine could be stocked in any newsagents as it appeals to quite a large social group and therefore would be popular in bigger stores like WH Smiths. People like WH Smiths would stock it because of the money it could generate and it would fit it in the music section next to NME and Q. Other smaller independant news agents and music stores would find appeal in my magazine as it's eye catching and while it fits into any standard magazine section of a shop it would also jump out and get the attention of customers. IPC media might consider publishing the magazine because it handles a lot of different kinds of magazines and also ones similar to Elicit Music Magazine, like NME. This would mean it would fit in with the repertoire of magazines already being published by ICP Media while also differentiating it from competitors and resulting in high sales and prestige for ICP media. http://www.ipcmedia.com/. Also the publishers of Q might consider publishing my magazine as Q was a big influence in my magazine and Bauer Media Group deal with large scale publishing that would get my magazine widely distributed. While also dealing with Q they publish magazines like Kerrang and Empire which appeal to similar target audiences and would fit in nicely with them. Also they have radio stations under their control which could be used to promote my magazine.


The audience for Elicit Music would be anyone interested in the indie scene. People who listen to the music in the magazine and have the style ad culture of the people pictured in it. I covered most of this in a previous blog Target Audiences; http://sdcmediaasmorgangrant.blogspot.com/2009/10/target-audience.htmlarget-audience.html. The statistics in that blog represent the audience for the two magazines I looked and are derived from the information provided by the publishers. http://www.ipcadvertising.com/resource/va34k21vlftw4bazqkkngv6f.pdf1vlftw4bazqkkngv6f.pdf

To attract my audience I used magazine conventions to make it look professional while also challenging some to make it stand out. Specifically the masthead i used was used to attract the audience as it reflected the genre of indie by being two different, unique fonts that contrasted each other, one being elongated with thick short lettering in a font that makes it look like its been hand drawn and the other being more elegant and taller with less space in between the letters in a font that is more classy.



The sub headings are, like in NME, solid coloured average fonts with a solid contrasting background to make it stand out more. They are also not straight like you would expect a magazine to be like. This is to add uniqueness and reflect the genre of the music inside and also the culture of the people that would buy it. It attracts the audience by making it stand out and look different and kooky.


All the images in my magazine are in black and white. The front cover (Pictured) image was modified to make it look more indie and reflect the target audience while the rest of the images were not changed to reflect the more natural nature of the photos and to make it look indie by making them just raw photography and no editing. This all attracts the target audience by letting them relate to the subject in the photos, who obviously has an indie style and culture about them, and allows them to be more enticed to the magazine by the contrast between colourless photos and colourful text.


The language and layout of the whole magazine reflect the target audience and therefore make it so they can relate to the magazine and are far more likely to buy the magazine. The front cover's layout is like a NME front cover and i did this because NME is an established name and the magazine layout is proven to work, as well as aspects of Q are used for the same reason. The colour contrasts attract the eye of the audience and make it stand out amongst so many other magazines in a shop. The layout of the main article is used to relate to the target audience as well. It is basic and quite plain with only a splash of colour that matches that on the front cover and contents page. I used a simple layout for the article as i think that my target audience would appreciate the fun, kooky style to the magazine but that it might get annoying if it took away from the article and what the magazine is ultimately about; music. This allows the reader to read the article and enjoy the content which relates to the reader as they are very interested in music and want to get up to date news on their favorite artists.

The language throughout is fun and different to show the individuality the magazine has and that reflects the readers as they are all indie and appreciate different but fashionable trends. It has a more humorous tone throughout than many other music magazines. This allows the reader to enjoy the content and not get bogged down as it were in trying to read through very heavy content. The way its written all the way through the magazine is much like that of NME as it has colourful, fun, bubbly writing that sounds almost like a friend is just telling it to you.


From the process of constructing this product I've learnt a lot about photoshop and InDesign as i was using it for 3 hours a week for a while and got used to using the programs and what they could do. Both sets of software both allowed me to do things i had ideas about but also restrict me from getting some of my ideas on to the magazine. For my mast head i wanted to add to separate fonts to make a logo and Indesign allowed me to group the two fonts into a single logo that i could copy and paste. For my article i wanted odd shaped boxes for the text to go in, like what it looks like now. I wanted to be able to draw the shapes with a single tool but i had to do it with the line drawing tool which meant that it was hard trying to get it all to line up properly. Also i wanted the text to fill the boxes but text boxes only come in square so i had to do lots of text boxes so it looked like one continuous article. It just took a longer time than it should have. Photoshop also allowed me to edit my photos to the extend i wanted to make it look more indie which really help the overall look to my front cover.


After looking back at the preliminary task i feel like I've improved my design skills, such as colours used are far more effective in my music magazine. Image editing in the preliminary task were nil and doing that on my music magazine really improved the visuals of the front cover. The background colours of my magazine are much better now than they were then. I think just finding more inventive ways to do things like the sub headings and mast head improved over the period between both magazine. I think that my use of language has improved, i didn't really think about how i wrote on the preliminary task i worried more about what i would write and i think this changed a lot in my music magazine as i thought about what and how i should write every bit of text. The whole overall product is better quality because I planned everything more thoroughly. The use of images, language, layout, colour and magazine conventions were better understood by me and that improved the way i thought about and approached making my magazine.


I made some changes to my magazine in between the finished product and producing my flat plans. On the front cover and the article it was about a band called The Scene with 3 members. I thought it was far more indie and i could experiment with far more shots if i only had a single artist. Also it would make the article easier to write as i wouldn't have to try and fit 3 peoples opinions in a single answer. I also think that its more indie to be a solo artist trying to brake into the indie scene. Also in my contents page flat plan it says that a different artist 'Nathan Hide' needs you and i changed it to The Scene needs you which i think gave more of an identity to my band and also i could get more photos of my subject playing The Scene so could get a more suited photo. Also Nathan who was going to play Nathan Hide doesn't photo as indie as George.


This is a link to a presentation I created to illustrate the similarities and why these occur of my magazine to that of NME.
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1M_7vjfm84ZNTZiNzA5NDEtY2IyNS00NzUzLWEwNmMtMTZhY2I4NjMzOTBh&hl=en_GB
This is a link to a video of the presentation with me explaining it. The video has no audio if you open it with certain programs. Quick time player definitely works.
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B1M_7vjfm84ZYzg0Y2FiNDEtZDg2OS00NzI5LWEyMzctMDZiNmJjNDAxOWRh&hl=en_GB

Planning and evaluating the article

I looked at articles from NME and Q to examine the way they use language to appeal to their audiences.

Firstly i looked at NME and noticed that they use quite informal language to match the informal fun layout of the article itself. Its got an up beat tone to appeal to the audience and make it more enjoyable to read. In parts of the articles i looked at the language is humorous and makes the reader enjoy reading the witty comments as well as the content it self. Most of the articles in NME are either gig, album or single reviews, previews of upcoming albums, tours or artists and interviews with the bands themselves. I want my magazine to have the same fun, light hearted language to make the reader enjoy what their reading. I also want my article to be an interview with the band so i could have fun writing the questions and responses. I think it will be easier to make it humorous if its an interview with a band.

I also looked at Q and found that it has the overall same goal as NME to have light hearted language and make the reader enjoy the magazine but it contrasts in the way that it has a more serious tone. It's a more well designed magazine because of having a month to plan and create it instead of NME's week. Because of this i think they put more thought into the articles and make them more lengthy and more based on content then language. The articles are normally more formal and less humorous while still being enjoyable to read. They use a mixture of serious and fun language to please the wide target audience. Q has more reviews and interviews more than previews of tours and such. I think because of the older audience and the wider spread of music covered in the magazine, Q is more neutral as to appeal to everyone rather than a more specific audience like NME does.

I want my article to be an interview with my band and be more like NME in that its more humorous and fun so the reader enjoys it more. I want to do it like this because my target audience is more specific and i want to appeal to them more accurately.

Draft of article

In an exclusive interview with one of the newest members of the Indie family we find out what The Scene's favorite food is and when he wants to put us out of our misery and go on tour. We knew we were in for a treat when he came in with a cigarette and a guitar pick.

We started the interview by asking him about his new career and when he's going to take the UK by storm with his new tour.

Elicit Music = EM

The Scene = TS

EM: So you've exploded with your massive musical presence in the last 3 months. What are your plans for the future with this success?

TS: I guess I've been pretty lucky with all this and I'm pretty much just taking it one day at a time.

EM: In a recent article written about you, you said that after a gig some pretty odd things happened to you. Care to elaborate?

TS: After my first gig at the 02 arena i went to a massive party at a club near by and ended up passed out by 12. I woke up at 4 in the morning and was surrounded by a bunch of hippies on bikes.

EM: We've been running a poll for the past couple of weeks and we asked the public what they wanted to know about you most. The results are in and here it is.

What is your favorite type of luncheon meat?

TS: I'd have to say a bit of ham always goes down well with me.

EM: Now for what everyone really wants. When and where will this tour of yours be!?

TS: I can't say much but what i can say is soon.

Second Draft

In and exclusive interview with one of the newest members of the indie family we find out what The Scene's favorite food is and when he wants to put us out of our misery and go on tour already! When he walked in to the studio we knew we were in for a treat. He held a cigarette in one hand and a guitar pick in the other. That said it all.

We started off by asking him about his new career and what his plans are to take the UK by storm.

EM: So, you've almost exploded on to us with your huge musical presence in the last 3 months. What do you plan to do with this success?

TS: Yeah, well i guess I've been pretty lucky with all this and I'm pretty much just taking it one day at a time.

EM: In a recent article written about you, it says after your first gig some weird stuff happened. Care to elaborate?

TS: After my first big gig at the 02, I went to a massive after party at a near by club and to cut a long story short, by 12 I'd passed out and by 4 i woke up and found that I was surrounded by hippies. Not sure why, but i enjoyed the show they put on for me.

EM: We've been running a poll for the last 2 weeks to see what our reader wanted to know and believe it or not they wanted to know what your favorite luncheon meat is?

TS: (Laughs) umm, I'd have to say a bit of ham does tickle me in all the right places.

EM: Now, for what everyone really wants. When and where is this tour of yours going to arise?

TS: I cant say much but what i can say is, soon.

Photo editing

This is the photo i chose for my front cover but i felt that, because it is the front cover it needed to be more bold and stand out more. I wanted it to be an indie photo not just because the subject in the photo was wearing indie clothes but that the lighting, contrast ect were also indie.



This is the photo after it has been edited on photoshop. I Turned the contrast up on the photo to make it more dynamic. I think it also makes it look less ordinary and more indie. I also darkened it and made the shadows darker to add more depth and diversity to the photo, all of which i think adds to the Indie aspects of the photo.

Photos

These are the photos from my photo shoot with my friend George. I chose to shoot George as he is a typical indie kid. He actually fits my target audience criteria perfectly and looks indie as well so it just fit. I took one colour photo and after decided i wanted a black a white cover to compliment my vision of my cover and its limited colour scheme. I also think it related better to my target audience as black and white photos often look more indie. George also wore clothes that were more indie and that had potential for different things like hood up or down, jacket on or off or open or closed.

I experimented with different shots like up close and far away and also where he was and wasn't looking at the camera. I got him to stand and sit and lean to try and get all different levels. I also used a guitar in some of the shops to incorporate the music into the shot. Also the ones with the guitar could be used on the double page spread as a band photo. All these things were to try and make them as stylised and indie as possible.

For the backgrounds i chose bleak often urban back drops like bricks or walls but also tried to make it look light and exciting by choosing well lit areas as my target audience want to see the fun side as well. I tried to get George to have neutral faces in each picture as i think it makes it look more professional like in the Q front cover i analysed.

Fonts

These were some possibilities for fonts i wanted to use for my magazine. i chose these three because i think they appeal to my target audience by being quite simple and clean. I wanted my font for my title to represent individuality. As i fall in to my target audience some of the reasons behind choosing these fonts is that they appeal to me and therefore will hopefully appeal to other people of age and background.

I chose this combination of two fonts for my mast head but the top bit that says "elicit" will be elongated so it meets the music underneath. (Leading it) Also the 'music' will have a slightly larger space in between each letter. (Kerning it) I didn't use the other font, Oceania because i think its slightly too simple and too like an average font like times new roman.

For the main body of my text like articles and the different points on my contents page i will use a standard font of new times roman as its easiest to read and is proven to be clear and effective. For my sup headings i will use ones like that of the NME magazine i analysed in an earlier blog, with a block colour as the background then a font like Ariel over the top in a contrasting colour to make it stand out from the rest of the words on the page and appeal to my target audience.

I'm going to use this one for my main headings as it looks drawn by someone which you don't often get in printed magazines. I'm using this one as it looks indie as if its been hand made. This will appeal to my target audience of younger people interested in the indie lifestyle.

Flat plans

This is my flat plan for my front cover. I followed quite a conventional front cover layout, in particular NME with the logo in the top left corner and the two bands of text at the top and bottom of the page. I did this because my magazine has a similar target audience to that of NME and i wanted it to look professional so i used it as almost a template to base my ideas on.
It also has a conventional layout for the headline and sub headings, with the headline centred and related to the main photo while the sub headings show a taste of whats inside on either side of the main photo without covering too much of the photo up. I also did this because it relates to my target audience as its a younger audience photos are used to grab most of the attention. I will be using bright colours to do this as well. All the stories i used on the front are that of Indie artists to relate and give my target audience what would interest them. I chose the title of my magazine as i wanted something that could be related to the Indie music scene and be catchy and recognisable to my target audience. Elicit means calling forth emotion which i think most if not all indie music does, so elicit music is just another word for Indie music, also keeping the first letter of elicit in lower case was intentional as it shows braking away from convention and doing things more individually which is what indie music represents.


This is my flat plan for my contents page and i used this layout as i think it gives the pages for the stories clearly and in small segments for my target audience to digest more easily. Again i used photos to coincide with the related articles to grab attention and make the reader read more into the magazine making it more likely for them to buy it. I put a free music download and a competition for readers to participate in to engage the reader more. This appeals to my target audience and it includes them in the magazine and makes them feel more included. The stories i chose to put in are about artists my target audience could be interested in as they all belong to the Indie scene. I also chose to put in a gig guide as going to gigs is a huge part of indie music and without it, indie music might not exist. Also writing the catchphrase as the top includes the target audience and makes the brand more recognisable.

I chose the layout of this as it is much like that of the NME cover i analysed earlier. The large picture entices the reader and the article keeps them wanting more. A magazine is meant to be looked at so pictures are used a lot throughout my magazine. The title of the article makes my target audience want to read more as it asks a rhetorical question. The main body of the text is broken up so its easier to read by the reader and keeps the article light in line with the rest of the magazine. The quote in the middle is intended to catch the eye of the reader and give them a taste of what the article is about and also how its written. The smaller photo is the same as on the contents page to show continuity and also to show a variety of pictures of the band. This all relates to my target audience as its light and easy to read with fun pictures to relate to the article.