Task 5B- Research of the distribution methods

Task 5A- Newsstand

For part of task 5 I had to look for a newsstand where music magazines were sold. I had to look at the front cover and how each magazine was displayed.

Where I found this magazine newsstand was in WhSmith, in the store they had sections with many categories of magazines. In the music section magazines were displayed according to genre, so POP, Rock etc were displayed in each of their own section. The reasoning of why they are like this is because, customers would most likely be interested in magazines in the same genre of the one they were looking for. To add to this, it would also mean that there would be competition between magazines of the same genre, therefore each magazine would have to stand out and be eye catching.

The magazines are all spreaded out displayed in a way that the masthead id the centre of attention on every magazine. Some magazines have only the masthead shown. This shows the importance of the magazine's masthead as it will give off impressions to possible consumers.

·         From the newsstand I can see that the more further away the magazine is, the less popular it is. Magazines which don’t sell as much as others might carry on selling at a low amount due to their placement on a shelf or newsstand. This would most likely be due to the lack of recognition from customers

·         Magazine models are all also looking at the audience; direct contact. Some models are even covering part of the masthead, this shows that the model has more importance than the brand. In addition, it shows that the magazine is confident that their brand is well known.

·         Most of the magazines have white coloured mastheads; this is very big and bold against the variety of backgrounds. As I can see from the newsstand the colour red is also used a lot on magazines, these colours are common because of it being eye catching to the eye of customers.

·         The magazine ‘NME’ is behind a lot of other magazines however, it still catches the attention of buyers due to the bright red masthead.

·         On the top shelf the magazine ‘SLASH’ has a bright yellow tag underneath it stating that it has £2 off. This promotion will attract customers as they would likely be interested because of the price; the colour yellow shows that its something which is of the centre of attention.

·         The popularity of magazines can be shown as on the newsstand the names of a few magazines are printed on the shelf it self.

·         Lastly, on the bottom shelf, the magazine ‘Songlines’ comes with a free CD. This is advertises the magazine as well as the artist of the CD. When consumers see that there is a free gift with a magazine they would think it has more value for money therefore, they would purchase that magazine. This competes with other magazines which have a better price however with no promotion.

Task 4- Evaluation and Audience Feedback

Evaluation & audience feedback

For my media assignment three my task was to produce a front cover and contents page for a college magazine. Before actually creating my LSC magazine I researched on how college magazines looked on the internet. I had found that many of them had images of happy students who looked very smart. I also found that the images of the model were not a full length shot; the creator showed a medium-close up image of a student. They focussed on how the student dressed and what he or she was holding. This would be if they were dressed smartly o dressed like a teenager, as well as books in their hands and I.D. badges around their necks. The images were of professional looking students and expressed how they would expect an ‘ideal student’. The models were also directly looking at the audience, direct contact.  To add to this from my research I have found that the colour scheme creators used represented the college’s logo.

I think that producing a magazine for the first time went well for me, the criteria was set for college students, and therefore I created a magazine for the target audience. To begin, I had to plan out how I would possible want my college magazine to look. I completed this by just creating a sketch on Microsoft Word, including all the aspects of a college magazine. To add to this, I think that this allowed me to have an idea of how I wanted my college magazine to look and also be organised. Secondly, I travelled around college to take photographs whilst finding possible models. I took a variety of photos with students participating in different activities. The places I took photos in were in the field, canteen and a classroom-look scene. The photographs that I took had to fit the specified genre and look of the magazine.

Front cover

On the task sheet the specification insisted on a body shots of model. My front cover had an image of a student who wore her college I.D. badge and folder. I made this image my front cover as it was a medium close up shot and it worked well with the colour scheme. The text (subheadings, sky lines, cover lines and masthead) were all on the top of the main image. This made my text and additional images stand out and eye catching. The reason why I used the colours yellow and white was to show the relevance of LSC’s logo. In addition, I place the barcode at the bottom of the page on the front cover so that customers will be able to see the price quickly without hassle.  

The set price my magazine would be sold for was at £3.99, I think that this is a fairly reasonable price and many magazines sold in stores are price similarly or at a higher price. I also put in this price as I have stated that the magazine will come with free coupons. I think that the free coupons would most likely draw the attention of consumers, this may also conclude that I will get more copies of magazine sold.

As I asked for feedback from my peers I had gotten a range of positive and negative views. They positive aspects were that the colour scheme look bold and bright therefore it was eye catching. In addition it matched with LSC’s logo, this was my aim. I had also been told that I successfully made it look like a typical magazine, this is good as this style looks appealing. The fact that I used different font types, colours and sizes is said to be good. The cover lines looked attractive and also referred inside to the contents page. Lastly, the ‘free coupon inside’ has also given me positive feedback, this is because the free coupons were good for students who are on a budget and appealed to everyone.

However, as I asked for feedback from classmates I have had criticisms as well as positive words. Criticisms of my front cover were that I will need experiment with different angles for photography, this will make my photos look better as well as appeal to the eyes of consumers. I do believe that I should have used the others photos I took as the main image however, I did not make them as medium close up photos. I have also been told that it did not look appealing as the face of the model was not shown. I have also been criticised for the masthead not being bold enough, I could agree that it went well with the colour scheme however the gradient made the colour yellow dull.

            The overall experience of creating the front cover of the college magazine was fun, although at first I did struggle with using Adobe Photoshop and I restarted a numerous amount of times. However, now I know that I have had practice and I can become better next time.  

Below is an image of the feedback which I received from students in my media class. 

Contents page

For the second part of my assignment I was told to create the contents for my college magazine. For this part I used the InDesign software which I have had little practice with. When I looked on the internet for contents pages of magazine they did not look too complex or too simple. They were still attractive and the colour scheme and texts referred to front cover. I had gained inspiration from them however I kept to my normal idea of a college magazine contents page.

The images I used were for the contents page were taken on different locations with students doing different things. These activities related to student life e.g. work in the study, friends and in a classroom. The contents page required sections, images, number of pages and the editor’s letter. I did include page numbers and images as well as make it look attractive but basic.

I asked for feedback from classmates as a task and I received many criticisms as well as positive words. I have been criticised for not including sections and not being organised. This is because of a typo and I had gotten the page numbers wrong. This cannot happen on a real magazine therefore the criticism has allowed me to reflect on my work for the future. I have also been criticised for the amount of text and images on my front cover. I have been told that there should be more of an input and more features due to the ‘empty’ look.

Advantages of my contents page was this it is easy to understand as its very simple. I have also received feedback for the colour scheme as it went well together as well as with the rest of the magazine.

Below is an image of the comments I have received from students in my class for my contents page.

Overall producing the front cover and contents page for my college magazine went well for me. Although i did struggle i did feel as though it was going well for me during the beginning with using all the softwares however, I did get used to it. I felt as the colour scheme i went for (yellow and white) worked very well with LSC's logo. 

     

College newsle

Task 3

I have created a contents page for my college magazine. This is nice and simple to understand, the colour scheme is also similar to the front cover. I have placed in images which show shows students taking part in different activities. 

The font that I used are different to each other, this is depending on the sub heading. I think that this may attract the attention of readers.

I have found creating my contents page easy, I know that I will be developing my skills on how to use the system over time.

Task 3- College newsletter cover

I have created my college newsletter in Adobe Photoshop, this resulted me in using a variety of tools which have allowed me to create my front cover. the colour scheme i have used is white and yellow; these come up big and bold against the background. 

Yellow is the same as Leyton Sixth Forms student ID badge therefore I have made it my centre colour scheme.

I have inserted a barcode with pricing, mini images and subheadings. 

the fonts of the subheadings are also in different sizes this is to show the importance of each story.

In addition the way i have written the text is relatable to readers.

Task 2- Case study analysis 2

Classic Rock

I have found a Classic Rock magazine which I have analysed. 

I have analysed how the magazine is displayed and structured for their target audience; their target audience would most likely be people aged 20-30 years old.

I have also compared and contrasted the colour scheme used and the text font and how it relates to the audience.

Task 2- Case study analysis

Front cover

Contents pg 1

Contents pg 2

Add caption

Induction assignment- File sharing magazine

I have completed task 1 which was set to me at a later date due to starting the media course at a later time. I have completed my magazine independently in my own time.
i found using InDesign quite hard however I think now my skills have expanded a lot.

I used images of Jessie J and Angel Haze who are quoted inside the magazine.
My magazine spread talks about both for and against music piracy, this will appeal to readers who take different sides of the situation.

File sharing-Music piracy

Insight to InDesign

An insight to InDesign was given to me explaining how to use the software. 

This lesson on how to use the software has helped me a lot and will help me throughout the media course. I have learnt:

• How to add and lock layers
• How layers are used
• How to place in images etc.

Just like Photoshop I was shown how to maintain the images shape but change the size on InDesign, I struggled with colouring my background however I have been shown how to do that.

I feel comfortable with using InDesign and I think that I will get better at using this software.

Tsk 3- College magazine planning

For task 3 I have been planning my college magazine, in todays lesson I created my plan for my magazine including all possible aspects i would like to include.  

So far I have planned the front cover and soon I will be uploading images of models who will be on the cover of my magazine.

In this plan i have included: 

• The masthead and where it will be
• barcode/price tag
• Sky lines and cover lines
• places of where images will be placed

This plan will help me have an outline of how I would like my magazine to look and anything additional can also be added or removed.

Magazine Planning