New Front Cover 25/04/13

Comparison of Old and New Front Page - 25/04/13

          

                                                                                                                                            Older Version

Newest Version

I have went for a completely different look for the front cover of my music magazine.

The sub-images I Firstly, I have used a different layout, and tried to use a similar look to tat of 'NME'.  I have decided that the NME music magazine is very modern and the layout is effective as it is appealing. I realised, after doing new research for current music magazines, that the aim I was trying to achieve was similar to the NME magazine.

The title 'Epic Music' was very unrealistic with my old magazine, and although it contained bright colours to appeal the reader', feedback from group members helped me realise that, a darker more simpler title would actually be more appealing. I have used in the top right of the music magazine are very modern. My old music magazine shows images on the left-hand-side that weren't particularly appealing to the teenage audience. Having less images, with a simpler caption was also more appealing.

Using a different colour at the bottom of my new product, made the story I came up with stand out. I used this purposely  for a variety of colours but also to have an impact on the reader. The blue background was used to contrast the main image. I wanted the main image to be stretched and be the first convention to stand out to my audience. With my older version, it was clear that my main image was too compact and needed to enlarged to create more  realism.

My masthead is one of the conventions of my media product I am most happy with. The change is very effective, in the fact that it is more simple, and also most importantly easier to read. I realised previously to my newer version, that my masthead was long and didn't attract the reader enough. The feedback from my teacher as well as my classmates, give me the idea that I needed to have a masthead which is short, easy to read, and stood out. This meant I had to use a contrasting colour to that of my background image, something I feel I have achieved.

The barcode, price and date are also something I feel have improved. I am happy that I realised this didn't need to be the main convention the reader had to see, when in fact the teenage audience want to know the price after analysing my media product.

Overall, I am a lot happier with my new media product. I think there is a vast improvement in the layout, the conventions used, but most importantly the colours I have used.

Social Groups Video (Extended Evaluation)

This is a video I have made, which is an extended version of my answer to the question; How does your Media product represent particular social groups?

This is not the full answer to the question, which you can see further down my blog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=920QFOkCajk&feature=youtu.be  - This is the link to the video have made.

Comparison of Old and New Contents Page

Updated Version                                                                                                            Older Version

I feel there is a dramatic change from my old and new contents page.

Firstly, the title is completely different in where it has a new style. When recieving feedback, it made me realise that you don't necessarily need to have the literal words 'contents page'. I done a lot of research for this as to get a clearer understanding of what modern magazines use as their title. My research showed many modern music magazines use logos or a replica of their magazine title. I think my new title is a lot more modern, unique and it relates to my front cover. I think that having the title 'contents' on my contents page made it look unprofessional and it wasn't realistic. I feel achieved a more  modern type of contents page with my updated version.

The image is also an improvement as it is clearer but also the overall effect of the picture is far different.  My old image didn't have any appeal and it lacked in clarity, and so from my updated version links heavily with the contents page and the artist is a lot more recognisable to the audience.

The layout is also something I feel I have improved dramatically. For instance, the gap between each of the page numbers and text to go with it is much further. I done a lot of research before updating my newest version, and realised that although it is good to have a lot of pages listed, the gap between each of the lines needs to be realistic. When comparing the two versions the main difference is the text used. I have updates my text to a simple black colour, but also i think I found added something unique in the start of each sentence. This can be found on my newest version where the start of each letter is a different colour to the information to go with it, something that is effective and appealing.

Although not completely different, the logo that is on the top of my page has been updated. I thought my older logo was not completely bad, yet I felt the feedback showed it could be modernised. Therefore, i went for something more basic but effective.

My newest version is a lot more realistic in the fact that it has a page number. I was frustrated that my oldest version was submitted with no page number and this was very unrealistic and the reader would not know the page number. Adding this adds to the overall look to my contents page.

At first, I felt (on my oldest version) the screenshot of my front cover was very unique and something I could later use to challenge Media products. Yet, I realised that there wasn't a necessary need for this, and that despite being a good idea it was only taking up space. I decided to remove this, and on my new version I have added section of an artist and come up with a realistic article.

Overall, I am very happy with the changes I have made. I feel some of the changes I have made have been modernised, realistic and are more appealing.

Comparison of Old and New Double Page Spread

This is my new double page spread against my old one. (The one on the left being the newer version) I think there is a much clearer difference from the two. I think having a main image taking up the whole left side of the page is much more appealing and intriguing. Furthermore the clarity of my older picture compared to my new one shows exactly how much more realistic my newer double page is. I feel the colour is highlighted specifically when comparing the two pictures in the fact that my older version looked extremely dull and boring. Having two bright but contrasting colours has made me realise that it is far better to make the reader want to stay on the page then be put off it. The feedback further helped me realise that colour is one of the most important aspects of a double page as the reader, especially my target group of teenagers, are more appealed to the style and layout then the actual detailed information.

This links in heavily with the text I have used. My older version was more of a story rather than an introduction to the information and so this had to be improved. My updated version shows a much smaller but relevant introduction, in where the reader can get an idea of what the interview will be about, rather than getting bored with the amount of text their is. Changing the story completely was also   something I had to consider because of the realism. Although original, talking about issues that are linked with some music artists, such as drugs and alcohol, was much more realistic. When sending off my older version I was extremely frustrated with how I failed to use a title. 

Although the quote helped supply this, there was not clear title that the reader could find and they would have no understanding of what the story was going to be about/ Therefore, changing this has made me much more confident in that it is realistic and also appeals to the reader. 

New Double Page Spread (14/03/13)

This is a screenshot of my new double page. I feel a lot happier with my new double page, especially the image. Previously, I used an image which had very little relevance to the story, and also wasn't c;ear enough to make out. I feel after realising this the image links to the story a lot more, and looks very professional.

The text is also an improvement that I am more confident with. Using contrasting colours at the top of the page makes it look effective but I also used this to make it appealing to the reader. I may ask for more feedback about the colours I have used for the more detailed information in which the story is presented.

 I used that colour to make the text stand out, but when reviewing it, I feel that it looks less realistic. As for the story, although it wasn't my primary focus, I am happy I have came up with something original. I think that this shows clearly what my thought was and how I wanted to represent the singer.

New Contents Page (14/03/13)

This is my new contents page that I have been working on. After getting feedback from classmates I realised that my previous contents was not modern enough and lacked realism. I think the colours I used were too strong and didn't invite the audience in a good way. Using this I now have a much more simple contents page, but I think that this is the most effective because the text is easier to read and the images are also easier to make out. I think that my title is modern and this is what I was trying to achieve. I am happy with my main image because it links with the music genre and it is evidence i have used my own photos.