EVALUATION OF

PRACTICAL WORKCHARLIE BARKER

PART 1

WHAT HAVE I LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PRODUCTION PROCESS?

Throughout the gradual production of my magazine, it has been required of me to adapt and learn how to use a variety of technologies. Many of the sites I utilised such as YouTube were of course familiar to me and provided little in the way of issues. However, I hadn’t used Photoshop and therefore had to learn how to in a short amount of time in order to complete the most substantial area of production. In order to do so, I spent a large amount of time watching tutorials on YouTube and reading instructions on how to efficiently use this program. From these videos and general exploration, I had developed a relatively detailed understanding of how the program works and have found many shortcuts along the way which have all contributed to producing the pages to the best of my ability.

A second aspect of production that I had no previous experience in was photography. For my pictures I used a cannon 550D. As it was completely new to me I had to gain knowledge on how to take the best photos by correctly formatting all of the camera different features. To do so, I watched a series of tutorials both directly from Cannon and from public users in order to gauge how simple it really is. Such videos enabled me to get aspects such as shutter speed and exposure to the levels I required.

Thirdly and finally, the use of blogger was required for the public access to my work. I’d never created a blog before and had a very vague understanding of how they function and what to expect when managing one. Step by step guides helped me to quickly learn the simplistic nature of blogging and also expanded my knowledge on work promotion by informing me of ways to best arrange and order my work. This was perhaps the most important of the lessons I had learnt as the blog itself would contain every piece of work I had produced in the build up to the final pieces.

WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR MY PRODUCT?

The target audience for my product was somewhat decided by my research into where the biggest market actually lies, what age group is most likely to be attracted to the product and finally where there is a gap in the product range. My research pointed towards a young audience aged between 18-24 and predominantly male. I found that magazines already in the market that shared aspects of my own theme were strongly aimed at this group. Magazines such as Kerrang!, RockSound and MetalHammer all displayed content targeted at the teen/student male population.

One key weakness I found in several of the magazines I researched was the narrowness of their content. Only a single genre was explored in many of them leaving the market for those mentioned extremely small and niche. By focusing on a type of artist as oppose to the genre of music they produce, I believe that a greater range of people would be inclined to endeavour into buying it. I think that by building on the strong fan base my researched companies are capable of constructing, the possibility of an unset target audience can be achieved. Although I have maintained aspects that would be visually stimulating and manageable to those with perhaps fewer years behind them, I have also tried to keep the content tasteful and detailed where necessary.

Conclusively speaking, my target audience is young people aged roughly between 16 and 25. With regards to gender, this particular edition would suggest that it’s solely a woman power magazine. However, from a broader perspective I would simply suggest that it’s actually aimed at both genders and depends on the markets interest in detailed yet visually manageable context.

LOOKING BACK AT MY PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO I FEEL I'VE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO MY FINAL PRODUCT?

TEXT/FONT CHOICE

PHOTOGRAPHY STRUCTURE/FORMATION

From my first attempt at design it’s clear to see that I had approached this task with very limited knowledge of Photoshop. The font is basic and without any colour. Furthermore, it’s positioning is poor and fails to grab any attention from possible audiences. Not only is it too high up on the page, but it is also narrow and not bold or eye-catching.

The skills I have learnt on my journey to completion are displayed in this piece of text. The title is both bold, colourful and unique. Effects such as drop shadowing have been employed to assist in it’s prominence and help with the overall look I was hoping to achieve. Another important factor, positioning, has been considered with the utmost significance. The fashion in which it cohabits with the central image fits in perfectly with my ideology.

This front cover is poorly structured. It fails to promote the product in an attractive fashion and has very little content. It isn’t at all informative and contains few visually stimulating characteristics. I shows very limited used of editing and features absolutely no evidence of effects being employed to improve the formation.

This front cover on the other conveys a strong and formal structure. The central image is nestled in between several small informative posts. The magazines title is worked around the image carefully not to spoil the prominence of the image. My research has aloud me to utilize empty space to the best of its ability accordingly with the already existing magazines.

At the time this photo was taken, I hadn’t watched any cannon camera tutorials nor had I ever taken photos for formal usage. This is made visible by the disarray within the image. The picture was rushed and the models are not in their prior informed positions. The exposure levels are poorly set and not at all how I intended them to be for the shoot. As a result of the misjudgement, the image had to be faded to cover the errors.

After learning how to actually use the camera I had decided to use, it was far easier to achieve an outcome similar to the one I needed. This image is in keeping with the themes portrayed in my magazine and fits in well with the general styling. This success was only made possible through the lessons I had learnt after making my initial mistakes on the preliminary tasks

WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTE MIGHT DISTRIBUTE MY MAGAZINE AND WHY?The most obvious choice for a publisher would be the Bauer Media group. Bauer is a multinational corporation based in Germany that acts as the publisher and distributor for a large range of highly commercial magazine lines. Upon researching this company, I discovered that many of the magazine brands that I have included in my initial research were in fact published and distributed by Bauer Media. These magazines include Kerrang! And Q. In addition to the previous success of Bauer, they also have a long list of nations in which they distribute and function. The Bauer Publishing Group comprises 300 magazines worldwide in 15 countries, as well as TV and radio stations. Bauer Media Group has a 50% stake in the British television company Box Television, the other half owned by Channel 4. The great variations in the areas managed by Bauer make it useful when considering expansion. Kerrang being the best example of this. Connections made through Bauer media group have contributed to Kerrang! Expanding and creating both a radio station and a Television channel.

Despite the clear benefits that come with working under the Bauer Media company, I believe that the magazines they promote are far too similar in structure to the magazine I have created. To avoid any risk of my magazine being overshadowed or buried beneath far longer running magazines, I would chose another distributer and publisher. One possible option that I would most likely approach is the London based publisher IPC Media. Although they no longer specialise in music publication, they do have a wide range of highly specialised magazines that all appeal to a vast array of people within the market. Such an institution might be ideal for me as not only do they lack a magazine with similar content to mine, but they also have ties with multinational publishers that may prove useful in the future.