Question 6 - What have I learnt about technologies in the process of constructing my product?

• Blogger - when using the online website Blogger I was able to create my own blog where I posted all the things that I had constructed for the music magazine, this meant that I was able to upload different sections of the magazine such as the front cover which then showed the people looking at my blog the developments that I had made throughout the time of being able to construct my product. 
• Prezi – I used PREZi to make presentations which were then able to portray information to the audience about certain things such as how to appeal to a certain audience. Being able to use prezi made things more interesting to make as I had never used that program before, this then allowed me to learn more things about how to create an engaging presentation whilst being able to collect information to include in the presentation. 
• Digital cameras - I had used digital cameras before I started the coursework, however when using the cameras in my media to take professional photographs of my models to include into my media products I was then able to teach myself new things about the different effects that you are able to add on pictures and also how you are able to adjust things in the photo to make other things such as the front model of the image stand out more from the background, thus then creating a stronger image as the model is more on display. The cameras were very fun to use as I was able to experiment with things that I hadn't done before on a camera such as using a tripod to hold up the camera to take a selection of different photos as well as then being able to include my own photos into my work. 
• Flickr - Whilst using Flickr it gave me the opportunity to upload all of the images that I had taken of my models onto one page which the public was then able to see. Due to having all of my photos in the same place I was then able to visually compare which photos would work best on my products and which photos I thought would suit my target audience more than others. Flickr was a very simple website to use and was very helpful when I was able to increase my own knowledge of what websites I was able to use to hold and store my photographs. 
• Online picture editors and software such as Photoshop and other online websites that provide a service for me to be able to upload my photos and then change them to make them more suitable for my target audience, such as being able to change the colour of the picture as well as then being able to change the brightness of the image to make it blend in more with certain things included in my products. For example on the double page spread that I have created I changed all of the photos along the bottom of the page so that they were in black and white so that they weren't as obvious on the page but the image was still clear for the audience to see. 
•  Fireworks – to create all of my media products I used fireworks which then allowed me to use a variation of different techniques to make sure that my products were up to the highest standard that they could have been. Fireworks allowed me to create structure on a page as well as then being able to change things and make them look more professional, being able to use fireworks helped me improve my skills when working on a computer as I was able to make a product on a online page which I hadn't done before – I can then use these skills in later life to create further media products.
• Online font sites such as dafont, this then helped me create a masthead for my magazine which was then used on all three of my media products. Dafont was very simple to use and helped me look at other peoples font ideas so that I was able to choose the best and most suitable font for my products as well as making sure that it stood out from the rest of the things on the page.  
• Padlet - Allowed me to make an online wall where I was able to present my products to my audience whilst being able to recieve feedback on the things that I had done, due to the wall that I had made being public allowing people to send me notes on the things that they liked and the other things that I could of improved. The program was good because of how simple it was as well as then being able to help me learn things about the types of people that I wanted to target my products at, I also used paper questionnaires to ask questions about the things that they would like to see included in the music magazine. 
• Thinglink – I used Thinglink to create ways to present the information that we had found out to the audience, using this method of making a page meant that I was able to give information in a different format to my audience.
• ·         Scribd - I made a powerpoint about the institution that I would choose to distribute my media products if I created a paper version of them. When making the powerpoint I used the internet to research things about different music magazines and the companies that distributed them, when looking at the different companies I created the powerpoint to explain why I decided to chose the company that I did which was IPC Media, once I had then finished the presentation I put it on Scribd which is a website that you are able to read books and presentations on so that I was able to show the public the ideas that I had about my media products and the companies that I would want to distribute them.   

Flickr Account Showing All Photos Taken

https://www.flickr.com/photos/111029335@N07/with/14100293073

Question 7 - Looking back at my preliminary task, what do I feel I've learnt in the progression from it?

When making my school magazine I didn’t use as much technology then the things that I used to make my music magazine which meant that the quality of my school magazine wasn’t as good as it could have been due to not understand the technology as well as I could of done at the time. Throughout the construction of my media products I was able to learn many different techniques and learnt more about the different parts of a media product (which in my case was the music magazine). With my school magazine it was very basic and things on the page such as the structure were in a very more basic layout plan as I wasn’t very confident on the different things that I was able to do to the page to make it look better.

When looking back at the past work that I have done and the products that I created to the ones that I have done now have improved all the way through as I was able to make more improvements to what I have done, whilst being able to try and use new different programs such as fireworks and PREZi to make sure that my work is up to the highest standard. My newer media products show more skill and precision then the older school magazine. When I first started my media blog and posted the posts of my products you can see everything that I have done in my planning, research and the actual reconstruction of my products and skills. My ideas of how I am able to structure things and put things on a page has allowed me to then learn new things which I am then able to now use in the rest of my work for school to make presentations and things more interesting to see as I was able to learn things through research. When being able to create plans and layouts then it meant that I was able to make basic ideas and change them which I wasn't able to when making my first media products (the school magazine) which then helped me change smaller things that I didn’t like or wanted to make better. I was able to address the audience more with my music magazine as I was able to make things more suitable to my audience which I was then able to choose and change when I needed to make things different then other peoples products so mine stood out from the rest, whereas my school magazine was addressed to a certain audience which I wasn't able to change which meant that I then had to focus on a group of people that I knew a lot of things about meaning that it was abit repetitive. To choose my audience I asked the target people questions about what they wanted to see and then I used their information to make my products the best that I possibly could. The differences in my products are very different for example the photography is better in my music magazine as I was able to ask for tips and learn things about what makes a better photo whereas with my school magazine I was stuck for backgrounds and the things that I was able to use in the images such as props and costumes. My media products have changed and improved a lot since I started which has improved all of my own skills as well as meaning that I was able to then see the own things that I had made, my products have got better since I started and look more professional and structured then when I started the course.

   

Double Page Spread - Background Changes

These show a variation of different backgrounds that I could use for my double page spread, I tried to use different images so that it gave the audience something else to look at on the page. I took away the grey background and then replaced it with a blank screen, a background image of a concert crowd and then a watermark which follows the same colours as the rest of the house style. When using other colours and backgrounds than the plain grey solid colour it makes things stand out less on the page as the grey background is very dull and blank, whereas using a coloured background makes the text show on the page that there is something important there. I tried a range of different things that I could use on my background but then I decided that the grey from the original image worked well with the rest of the things on the page and changing the background image to something that would have been slightly more technical (as it would distract the reader from the article onto the background image) would have meant that I would of needed to move around the things on the page so that they still stood out from the page in the same way that they stand out now. Most magazines that I have looked at such as NME and Q use solid colour backgrounds so that the other things on the page stand out more from the page as things are more simple.  

Question 5 - How did you attract/address your target audience?

Question 5 - How Did I Attract and Address My Audience? http://www.thinglink.com/scene/509720824182210561 http://www.thinglink.com/scene/510375680903479298 http://www.thinglink.com/scene/511107864983502849

My Final Products

Question 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

The ideal user for my media product (music magazine) is someone that is of the ages of 13-18 that enjoys mainstream pop music artists, as pop music is a popular genre of music that people enjoy listening too. My target audience are females that enjoy learning things about old artists and also upcoming pop music artists. The type of person i imagine to be reading and purchasing my music magazine are teenagers and young adults that are individual in the way that they are and confident with being themselves (as this is the kind of message that I want to portray to my audience that they don’t have to pretend to be something that they aren't for them to be liked by the public eye), the message is then shown through all of the images in the magazine where the model is a strong independent female who is making it in the music industry.

My audience is aimed at females due to the fonts that were used being very bold and clear as well as the colour scheme and house style being more suitable to the stereotypical girl of being pinks, white and black. I expect my audience to be in education or working with a part time job, as they are then able to be able to purchase the magazine using their own money rather than their parents however they also are able to buy the magazine as a reward for working hard in education and being able to push themselves mentally and physically to be the best that they can be in their work, this then gives them the skills to be confident with themselves and appreciate all the work that they manage to do for themselves. I want them to be someone that isn't afraid to be themselves so they are able to wear things that make them individual and unique (as I don’t want my readers to all be the same person I want them to be able to live their lives happy without following a crowd).  The females reading my magazine would be likely to have all different types of hair colour as my magazine is suitable for people of all ethnicity and races, who have a girly fashion sense (of flowers and patterned jumpers) as well as being someone that keeps up to date with the latest fashion trends so that they are able to feel more accepted in a community even though my magazine aims to stop this mind set of fitting in. My audience will shop in all different types of shops and look for the best deals when they are trying to purchase something new for example if looking for branded shoes (such as converse or vans) they will look around for the best deal before making a choice on the things that they want to buy. They will still be living with their parents /guardians so will be in a range of housing from houses to flats all over the UK and will value the happiness that they have in their lives more than anything else, as happiness and their family means everything to them (I want my audience to value the little things in life).  The music that they listen to will be from a range of different genres however they will enjoy listening to the pop genre and being able to let themselves go when they listen to this type of music as well as being able to relax when it is played, they will be someone that buys albums and buys there music from online stores such as the app store and play store etc, making sure that the people that create the music are the people getting the correct profit for their music (not illegally download music). Along with this they will then be someone that owns a smart phone so that they are able to keep dated with all of the Social Medias such as twitter and Facebook as well as being able to use internet and WiFi. Even though they own smart phones I don’t expect them to be high in the JICNAR scale and be in the social class of E with their parents/carers/guardians being in the social group of B to C2.  

 I then don’t expect the audience to be someone that drives as most of the audience aren't old enough to drive and the people that are old enough will be people that just need a cheap car to be able to get to work and back, but they are people that want to drive girly sorts of cars such as Mini’s etc. They will socialise at youth clubs and at school as well as being able to maintain close relationships with people that they have similar interests with (this will then help the sales of my magazine as the more people that are friends with one another they are then able to spread positive feedback about my magazine for example how it was constructed and company brand).

When asking people there own personal opinions on my products they were able to give me honest feedback on what they thought, everyone was able to give me positive feedback on the media products that I had created whereas they were also able to gave me small improvements on the things that they would like to see on the rest of the magazine. I was able to target the correct audience for my products and the feedback that I got was very helpful in helping me think about the things that I had done well and the things that I could of done better. The good things that I had done were being able to stick to a good colour scheme for my products and audience as well as being able to make the things in my products structured and make sense.