The primary audience for my magazine would be sixth formers. It is written by sixth formers, has articles about sixth formers, so it makes sense that sixth formers would be the ones with the primary interest in the publication.
However, it would not be for all sixth formers. It uses slightly sarcastic, ironic humor. For example, the tag line of the magazine is ‘Camden’s Action News Source’. However the articles could be arguably far from ‘action’. An example is an article on ‘Top Ten Pens’. There is nothing ‘action’ about pens.
However, it is not a publication with a running joke, where the magazine itself ends up as this said joke and having no point to it all. It may be interesting to learn the top ten pens, just as a small matter of information. Many books have become very popular with this age group, books filled with many small, surprising but interesting facts.
Any advertisements in the magazine would concern only CSG and its student’s activities. All advertising would be free, and students could ask to put adverts in the magazine.
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
What have you learnt about technologies?
Most of the techniques I used I already knew about, and this shows, as I didn’t previously know about too many different techniques. The two pages, the title and contents, look quite flat. It would have been nice to have made them look slightly more shiny and 3d, while instead the color’s are block colors and the text very flat.
I did however learn how to blend color’s and images. Originally, the image had a very sharp line with the background, which looked rough and unprofessional. I covered the harsh line with words, and the bar code, to draw attention away from it. However, the barcode needs a white background for scanners to read it, and when a white background was added to the barcode, it drew extra attention to the harsh line. So I learnt how to make a slight blend from the image to the background, a gradual change. It ties the image in with the magazine and makes it look less super-imposed.
Also, I could then move the barcode to the bottom corner, a more conventional place which made it look significantly neater, and more like a magazine.
We had a website designer come to give us constructive criticism. She pointed out that the text was primarily one size. Although it didn’t make the text flashy or 3d, when the size was varied it did make it look less flat. It also enabled the importance of the different cover stories to almost be ranked in size, as the more important, audience attracting stories’ text was made larger and more central to draw attention to them.
She also commented on how having the cover photo take up half the front cover meant the cover could be perceived as though two separate halves. Moving the image down and adding the magazine’s tag line above tied the magazine together.
I did however learn how to blend color’s and images. Originally, the image had a very sharp line with the background, which looked rough and unprofessional. I covered the harsh line with words, and the bar code, to draw attention away from it. However, the barcode needs a white background for scanners to read it, and when a white background was added to the barcode, it drew extra attention to the harsh line. So I learnt how to make a slight blend from the image to the background, a gradual change. It ties the image in with the magazine and makes it look less super-imposed.
Also, I could then move the barcode to the bottom corner, a more conventional place which made it look significantly neater, and more like a magazine.
We had a website designer come to give us constructive criticism. She pointed out that the text was primarily one size. Although it didn’t make the text flashy or 3d, when the size was varied it did make it look less flat. It also enabled the importance of the different cover stories to almost be ranked in size, as the more important, audience attracting stories’ text was made larger and more central to draw attention to them.
She also commented on how having the cover photo take up half the front cover meant the cover could be perceived as though two separate halves. Moving the image down and adding the magazine’s tag line above tied the magazine together.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Camag would be sold at Camden school, as it’s a magazine for Camden school, and no one else would want it. This would mean the school would pay for the production of the magazine and distribute it. This is possible as the price of the magazine can pay for the production, the cost covering paper and color ink, while still making a small profit.
How do you attract/address the audience?
The content of the magazine is the most important thing for attracting the wanted audience. If the contents reflects the target audiences wants and needs, then the magazine will be successful.
The content of the magazine is therefore humorous, whilst informative.
However the target audience will never find out about the contents if they are not encouraged to pick up the magazine in the first place.
Therefore, the image on the front is very important, as it attracts the audience. Camag’s cover does this as it shows five students from Camden school. Furthermore, students of the school will easily recognize the wall the five students are standing against, so the potential reader can recognize this and become interested. The wall furthermore gives the magazine an urban feel, which reflects CSG and its student’s environments.
The price also helps to attract the audience. A questionnaire showed that students would not want to pay more than 50p for a product such as this, so the price is 50p.
The language used throughout the magazine is not too formal, but not patronizing, to address the young but mature target audience. So no slang is used, but neither are long words that readers may stumble over make the text hard to understand.
The contents page is split into ‘the usuals’ and ‘new stuff’, which replace ‘features’ and ‘regulars’. This gives a slight tone of laziness associated with teenagers.
The colours and the font work well together. The font used for the title is related to basketball, as it was used frequently on American High school basketball kits, which in turn gives connotations of youth and sport. The font used throughout the publication is bold and square, almost LCD, which also gives a sense of youth, but also of technology and modernity. The colors work well with the font to further give this feel. It makes the magazine look modern and flashy; a new publication. The font is written in italics to give a sense of speed, rapidness and flashiness.
The photo shows 5 pupils from Camden school for girls of the sixth form. So the target audience can immediately recognize the image. The five models show unity as they are all holding pieces of paper roughly the same size and because they are framed by the wall.
Each was selected to stand out from each other though, all dressed differently and with different ‘styles’ to give the photo a sense of individuality of students in the school.
The photo is also taken at eye level, to put the target audience on the same level as the models and gives a sense of equality.
Originally the photo was to be taken on top of a cliff at Skern. It would relate with the audience because they would have braved the cliff, and also they would be the ones who would immediately know what it was a photo of. However the picture turned out to be impractical to take there, so we decided to take it at the school. First we took a picture with in front of the CSG sign, to show that it was CSG, but because the people didn’t stand out against the gate, and the target audience would know the magazine was about CSG anyway, we decided a wall would be more suitable, and the students would recognize and relate to the wall anyway as it is opposite the school gate.
In the end it worked very well; the wall frames the people pictured in the photo, and changes what we wanted to change; they stand out against the wall. The white pieces of paper stand out against the dark brown wall, to catch the eyes of potential buyers.
The content of the magazine is therefore humorous, whilst informative.
However the target audience will never find out about the contents if they are not encouraged to pick up the magazine in the first place.
Therefore, the image on the front is very important, as it attracts the audience. Camag’s cover does this as it shows five students from Camden school. Furthermore, students of the school will easily recognize the wall the five students are standing against, so the potential reader can recognize this and become interested. The wall furthermore gives the magazine an urban feel, which reflects CSG and its student’s environments.
The price also helps to attract the audience. A questionnaire showed that students would not want to pay more than 50p for a product such as this, so the price is 50p.
The language used throughout the magazine is not too formal, but not patronizing, to address the young but mature target audience. So no slang is used, but neither are long words that readers may stumble over make the text hard to understand.
The contents page is split into ‘the usuals’ and ‘new stuff’, which replace ‘features’ and ‘regulars’. This gives a slight tone of laziness associated with teenagers.
The colours and the font work well together. The font used for the title is related to basketball, as it was used frequently on American High school basketball kits, which in turn gives connotations of youth and sport. The font used throughout the publication is bold and square, almost LCD, which also gives a sense of youth, but also of technology and modernity. The colors work well with the font to further give this feel. It makes the magazine look modern and flashy; a new publication. The font is written in italics to give a sense of speed, rapidness and flashiness.
The photo shows 5 pupils from Camden school for girls of the sixth form. So the target audience can immediately recognize the image. The five models show unity as they are all holding pieces of paper roughly the same size and because they are framed by the wall.
Each was selected to stand out from each other though, all dressed differently and with different ‘styles’ to give the photo a sense of individuality of students in the school.
The photo is also taken at eye level, to put the target audience on the same level as the models and gives a sense of equality.
Originally the photo was to be taken on top of a cliff at Skern. It would relate with the audience because they would have braved the cliff, and also they would be the ones who would immediately know what it was a photo of. However the picture turned out to be impractical to take there, so we decided to take it at the school. First we took a picture with in front of the CSG sign, to show that it was CSG, but because the people didn’t stand out against the gate, and the target audience would know the magazine was about CSG anyway, we decided a wall would be more suitable, and the students would recognize and relate to the wall anyway as it is opposite the school gate.
In the end it worked very well; the wall frames the people pictured in the photo, and changes what we wanted to change; they stand out against the wall. The white pieces of paper stand out against the dark brown wall, to catch the eyes of potential buyers.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real products?
I have attempted to create and use a slightly unconventional format for my magazine front cover. The main image incorporates the title of the magazine, ‘Camag’, and it depicts five students holding paper with the name of the magazine upon it. Furthermore, unlike most magazines, the image only uses half the front cover’s space, while on the cover of the majority of magazines the image uses all the space.
So my magazine challenges the conventional format of real products because the image is not the background.
Although this is one of the only ways my magazine challenges the conventions of real products, it has quite a strong impact. It creates a good effect, as it allows the title to be the first thing the potential reader notices.
It uses conventions of many other existing products, mainly color, and the attraction of both genders.
I wanted to repeat the use of 2 or 3 very strong base colors throughout the magazine, as I’ve seen this be put to very good use in many other media products. I used orange and black, two colors that compliment each other very well.
My magazine is aimed at both genders. Although many magazines target audience is one specific gender, so much so that they have been labeled things such as ‘Lad Mags’, school magazines are normally aimed at the students, so the magazine will reflect the gender of the students. In this case, as it is aimed at the sixth form students, the magazine is aimed at both genders, and in this way is quite conventional.
So my magazine challenges the conventional format of real products because the image is not the background.
Although this is one of the only ways my magazine challenges the conventions of real products, it has quite a strong impact. It creates a good effect, as it allows the title to be the first thing the potential reader notices.
It uses conventions of many other existing products, mainly color, and the attraction of both genders.
I wanted to repeat the use of 2 or 3 very strong base colors throughout the magazine, as I’ve seen this be put to very good use in many other media products. I used orange and black, two colors that compliment each other very well.
My magazine is aimed at both genders. Although many magazines target audience is one specific gender, so much so that they have been labeled things such as ‘Lad Mags’, school magazines are normally aimed at the students, so the magazine will reflect the gender of the students. In this case, as it is aimed at the sixth form students, the magazine is aimed at both genders, and in this way is quite conventional.
Introduction
Evaluation of magazine (Content and Format)
As a part of my media studies coursework, I have created a magazine for the sixth form of my school, called ‘Camag’. Its content will be humorous, informative, and give news of any upcoming student’s events to promote the community ethos of the school. Its format will be modern but simple, the magazine being easy to digest and navigate.
As a part of my media studies coursework, I have created a magazine for the sixth form of my school, called ‘Camag’. Its content will be humorous, informative, and give news of any upcoming student’s events to promote the community ethos of the school. Its format will be modern but simple, the magazine being easy to digest and navigate.
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