Question 1: In what way does your product use or challenge conventions of real media products?

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(Screenshots from Work Document)


(eMaze)

Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Question 3: What media institution might distribute your magazine and why?

Evaluation Question 3 from IndyaConway

Question 4: Who would be the audience for your magazine?

Target Audience Profile by Slidely Slideshow



Above is the Slidely I made a few months ago for who I thought I might want the audience to be for Countrypolitan. My TA is compromised of teenagers to young adults who enjoy going to concerts and appreciate the Country Music genre.



As shown by the colour scheme of Issue 83 (the issue I made), the TA might be slightly different than some of the other issues of Countrypolitan due to the cover story being about the life of Gabby Grills (a young woman), which might relate to and interest women more specifically. However if I were to create other issues I wold definitely center the pages around more of a female AND male audience.


Countrypolitan is quite obviously of the Country and Western genre which will attract a rural audience which could be compromised of those who like the music genre or are/want to be involved in the events mentioned in the magazine such as concerts or free song downloads.


I believe all three of the pages I made for Countrypolitan are stereotypically aimed at rural Country music fans due to the serif font style and content of the magazine. All feature stories on the contents page link to the activities or interests that a stereotypical Country fan likes. Not to mention how the articles would intrigue younger readers since they mention concerts and various events.


As the course progressed I made many polls and surveys as part of my TA research to ensure my TA would actually want to read my magazine. In a way you could say that I had an initial idea which my TA helped mold to create something that they liked and simultaneously buy themselves. Upon evaluation, I don't think I could've changed anything to make my magazine appeal more to my TA without having added more articles. So if I wanted to absolutely make certain that my target audience was strictly of a rural, male/female, eastern demographic I think I would have made a double spread contents page.


Intended target audience during planning:

• 17-30 year olds
• "Tribe Wired" people with access to technology
• "Struggling Singles" (I will have to think about the cost of my magazine)
• "Fun/Atics"
• Male and Female
• Western Audience
• "Aspirers" (I will try to make a positive impression on these people)
• "The Individual" (make synergy throughout my pages and have a strong house style)
• "Reformers" (include a story about charities or a benefit concert)
• Middle - High Class 
• European
• Any religion

Who are...

• Reading for entertainment
• Reading for information
• Reading for personal identity

TA after construction:

• 13-25: Countrypolitan had become slightly more youthful than what I thought it would due to the amount of photos of young artists. The colours used on my DPS would also lower the age category since they are more pastel and intended to attract a younger audience who would possibly relate to Gabby.

•  "Tribe Wired" people will probably enjoy Countrypolitan as I intended during the planning stage because it is available online. Just the pure fact that it is online accessible will spark their interest and encourage them to read it, especially if they are a country music fan. The social media icons will act as signs and tell them that they can find extra content on the internet and this will cause them to find Countrypolitan on these various websites.

• The TA's gender for Countrypolitan has slightly leaned towards more of a female audience due  the cover story and the colours predominantly used. As much as I tried to create a magazine which would compliment both genders I don't believe that men would appreciate reading an article called Queen of Comebacks. However this is a stereotypical viewpoint based on the assumptions of what I believe the majority of men like and dislike. Although some men might find this article and these colours to be appealing, stereotypically I think the number of male Countrypolitan readers will be less than I expected.

• The initial idea that Countrypolitan would have a Western audience still applies. This is shown by the type of costume that all of the artists are wearing in the magazine by being quite Americanised. The slang language is also quite conventional of a typical western conversation which a western audience would obviously notice and enjoy to read more than a formal article.

• The sexuality of the target audience of Countrypolitan is very hard to decipher as I believe homosexual and heterosexual will both enjoy the magazine just as much. I don't think there are any elements in my magazine that will put off either one of these groups of people so therefor I adhered to each group.

Question 5: How did you attract your specific audience to your front cover, contents page and double page spread?

Question 6: What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Question 6 AS from IndyaConway

Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you think you have learned in progression from it to the full product?

Final Front Cover, Contents Page and DPS

Draft of Front Cover, Contents Page and DPS

TA Research on my Latest Drafts

I conducted a quick TA research where I printed out my latest drafts of each of my magazine page to get some last minute opinions. I sent the copies around my class and told each table to write what they thought about them. Below are my latest drafts and what people had to say about them.

According to the responses I got back on this sheet they were all quite positive besides some few minor changes I may have to make. The first comment suggest having the barcode at the very edge of the front cover but I'm not sure how I would be able to do that without taking out the banner at the bottom of the bottom of the page. I could move it slightly more to the left but other than that I'm not sure where else it could go without changing the layout of the page. The shape of the social media (CMC) logos are just a minor detail and when I asked my audience if it would put them off buying the magazine they all said "NO".

As for the DPS, I think I am going to remove the red box at the top of the page which would indicate that this page is the cover story. It is not necessary as not every magazine has one, I just thought it would add a bit more synergy to my DPS and showcase the red 'house style' of Countrypolitan.
Another person said that they weren't impressed by the font of the title on my DPS. I might change this, however I personally really liked it since it is a handwriting font which is very unconventional for a DPS but adds a personal touch. It also adds synergy since the same font was used on the front cover.

I could tae away some of the text on my DPS however this would alter my whole layout so I might have to add another picture to make up for the lack of text and abundance of white space.

DPS Article

“It was just one of those cliché situations where I had to choose between my head and my heart”

You may not know her name but there’s no doubt about it, you’ve definitely seen her face. From touring with the Arctic Monkeys at age 15 to completely reinventing herself at 18 whilst on the road with Rhianna, she’s finally planted her roots where they belong, back home in the grounds of Country Music.

Gabby Grills was welcomed back into the family by huge artists like Blake Shelton and Willie Nelson who says he’s “so damn glad that she came to her senses” [referring to her decision returning to country music]. She’s ditched all of her previous glamorous stage names and is ready to show the world some of her raw Country talent.

Growing up in the small village of Ashbourne Gabby had no idea that her fate was to be dragged around the streets of LA in a cop car or singing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl just last year. Gabby sure mixed in with the wrong crowd but what do you expect going on tour with MySpace-made-famous Rock Band Arctic Monkeys. One of her friends told sources “Everything was all just getting too much for her, I could barely recognize her anymore.”

When she was younger Gabby was just like any other girl… singing in her church choir, staying after school for extra credit and riding her horse Dusty. Following her parents’ divorce back in 2006 she headed to Texas with her mother [Opal (51)] who became good friends with Ronnie Dunn and wife Janine whilst at a truck stop in Austen. Some people would think that this would be the perfect set up to launch Gabby’s career in Country Music but as Ronnie said “we don’t roll that way, if someone, anyone wants to be famous in the Country Music Industry they’re gonna have to work their ass off to get here. It’s not about who you know, it’s about how you go”. After following his advice for 5 years all it took was one person to film her practicing Elvis’ I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You and within weeks Monkey’s Alex Turner sent her family an e-mail asking for her to join them in their 2012 tour. A bit of an odd mix, but Turner said it himself that he “can really see her electrifying their concerts”, a huge compliment from the man himself.

Following the controversy of Gabby’s speech at last week’s American Music Awards where she mentioned that her “Rock Fans didn’t understand” who she really was and she felt like now she had to “strip it down to show everyone who she really is”

“I hated that image that people were putting on me, I felt like I had to live up to this crazy idea that people thought I was some kind of rebel when all I wanted to do was make music”

“Honestly those guys [the Arctic Monkeys] were amazing to me and gave me a massive platform to jump from but it just wasn’t the type of music I wanted to be making. I just got so enthralled by being on the road I was completely ignoring the fact that this wasn’t the type of music I wanted to be making”.

She admits to feeling guilty about ignoring her friends, her family and her heart’s desire to be a Country singer but the “opportunity was just too good to pass up”.

“I’m back and I’m here to stay. I’ve been working on my new album Boots & Strings, I have a few songs on there that I wrote with Amy A and The Lakes so I’m really excited to show you guys, and my new video for Sentiment is going to be released on January 5^th, and I don’t wanna give away too much but there might be a little appearance from my good friends Jace and June”.

We’re so freakin excited to hear what she has in store for us and I have a feeling Country Music isn’t gonna be the same again! She is renowned worldwide for having that powerhouse voice with a Tennessee twang so we’re all ecstatic that she’s making the switch. It never really felt like she completely belonged in the realm of Rock Music, especially when Countrypolitan sat down with her to talk about her swift switch of image. “I just got caught up in the hustle and bustle of trying to be what everybody else wanted me to be when all I wanted to be was free. Of course I love my fans, but they don’t love me, they love what the makeup team, editors and managers make me, and for once in my life I just want to be me, free”.

This bold statement was followed by a few tears and whenshe made her way back into the studio she never seemed stronger “I’m back, and I’m ready to show the world who I really am and who I was always supposed to be”.

Developing my Contents Page (ThinkLink)

At this point in designing my contents page my main focus was getting some sort of layout, so I added some temporary red lines which would act like a template. I measured them up with the gridded view on Adobe Photoshop so I knew that my columns would be equal in width. I selected some possible photos that I edited previously which I could use in my final design of my contents page. As you can see I also had to carefully cut out Gabby so I could layer her above the brown shapes in the background.

 In my second draft I typed out a list of page number which I was going to use, this also gave me an indication of how many stories I was going to write on the contents page. I adjusted and changed some of the photos.

TA Research 3 (Contents Page Shapes)

While constructing my contents page I realised that I was breaking conventions by having these brown shapes in the background which I wanted to resemble tire tracks and mud stains (which complies to the outdoor nature of the Country and Western lifestyle of being outside a lot). By adding them it will also create synergy between my front cover and contents gage since there is one behing Gabby Grills on my cover.

Since I am breaking conventions I decided to ask my class what everyone thought of the idea and the result was conclusive, I got a preferred reading which let me know that these shapes appealed to my TA and would work well on my contents page.

My Editing Journey (Front Cover)

Planning: Before and After of Joe's photo

Here is the original photo of Joe followed by the finished photo.

• I brightened the left hand side of his face.
• I lightened the shadows.
• I used the blemish corrector tool.
• I sharpened his eye, eyebrows and other significant features.
• I made the guitar more contrasted than the rest of the photo in order to show off the important reoccurring element of music throughout he magazine.
• I blurred the background a bit more.

    

Using the Dodge Tool

I've been using the Dodge Tool with the Range "Midtones" in order to get rid of any unwanted shaddows. I asked a few of my classmates which photo they preferred out of the two pictures to the left and they all said that they liked the bottom one the best. This is because the shadows took their attention away from Brittany's eye (which is the main feature of this photo).

Photo Shoot 4: Selection and Rejection

Rejections:

I wanted to capture some good long-mid shots of Joe but his facial expressions in some of the pictures weren't displaying the rugged, "tough-guy" image I wanted him to be portrayed as. In the photo above he looked more bored than aggressive and his posture in this pose wasn't my favourite.

At first glance I really liked this picture and I think it looks quite aspirational which would certainly appeal to the aspirers from my TA, but The neck of the guitar isn't completely in the shot and you can see a prominent glare in Joe's glasses which reflects everything from behind the camera. This would be very difficult to edit out in Adobe Elements and for this reason I won't be using it on my contents page.

This photo didn't fit Joe's image either as he looks too casual and doesn't really look like a well known star. I think this was due to the pose and camera angle which the photo was taken in. As it was a mid shot taken at eye level it didn't really give Joe the image I wanted. In addition the lights were not in the right position so one of Joe's eyes look very dark and you can clearly tell that this was just a rushed photo that I improved. I also did not use the rule of thirds, this could easily be cropped and fixed on Adobe Elements however it would take up time that I could spend on doing other things. It would be much better to choose a higher quality photo.

Selections:

My main goal with incorporating Joe into my magazine is to reach out to the Rugged Traditionalists in my TA so that they recognise that this is a serious multi-gender magazine which applies to them as well. In all of my favourite photos from this shoot I believe that the image Joe is portraying has made it apparent that this is also a "manly" magazine in which the male population can buy too.

The light on Joe's left has been set further back than the one on his right which created this amazing shadow effect and comes across as quite mysterious. I think this could make a great photo for my contents page which advertises another article within the magazine. Since only one half of Joe's face is distinguishable I think that this will add to his star image of being a perplexed man who people will want to read/find out about.

This photo is very dark (as of the rest of the photo's from the shoot) so I will have to adjust the light levels on Adobe but I think it works in favor of this image. It first glance, Joe looks like he's in deep thought which my TA would find intriguing and might like to find out more which will encourage them to buy the magazine to read his article.

This was one of the better long-mid shots I got from this shoot where Joe is making direct eye contact with the camera. His checkered shirt, brown belt, suede jacket and guitar are all typical signs of the Country and Western genre so it would be conventional to have it on my contents page. He is in a confident pose and my audience should notice that he is portraying a well known star.

Although this photo is similar to the previous in terms of lighting, props and his pose, I told Joe to look more serious and to turn his body to face the camera more. By doing these subtle adjustments it changed the whole mood of the photo, so instead of looking curious like the photo before, he looks slightly more dominant. This is due to the angle of his body and the direct glare into the camera. His hand is also clenched into a fist.

Research: TA Analysis of Survey (Focus Group)

Yesterday, I conducted a focus group made up of 10 (5 boys and 5 girls, ranging from 16 to 19 years old) people to find out what my TA think about my magazine and to gather their ideas on what I should do differently/change. I showed them my hand drawn drafts of each three of my pages to they could understand what feel I was trying to achieve with it. The results were as followed:

1. I’ve been told that Countrypolitan sounds very similar to the gossip magazine Cosmopolitan which has a target audience of women around the age of 30 years old, do you think this will discourage young people or men to buy it?

Yes = 2

No = 8


When I asked the "Yes'" why, they said that boys might be embarrassed to buy a magazine so similarly named to Cosmopolitan especially if they look alike. This means that I will have to make it clear that I have a target audience of both genders and show that there are a lot of awesome articles that they would enjoy too.

2. How does my cover image make you feel about the magazine? Who do think would buy it based on how it looks?

"The banner in the middle looks a bit random but it still looks better that not having one at all, 'cause it's pink girls will probably be more drawn into buying it"

"I like it and it gives off a positive vibe. It looks like it would be a Spring Edition"

3. I was thinking about having a banner going across Brittany’s shoulders but I don’t know what to put in it, what is something important that you would like to see in the magazine that could be put in the banner?

"Maybe a quote or a song lyric"


"Yeah I agree with Robbie, 'cause usually magazines have a slogan or quote next to the artist so it'd be cool"


"I like the idea of a song lyric"


"Concert information maybe? I don't know"


"Something relating to your DPS so it creates synergy... have it in the same colour or font too"


"Tour dates"

4. Do you understand what the cover stories are going to be about or should I change them so they all focus around music?


I understand them = 9
They confuse me = 1


The person who was confused by the cover stories said "I understand them but I just don't get what 'Life on the Plains' has to do with music, the same with 'Where to go and what to wear', it seems like they're titles that fashion magazines would have on them, not music magazines."

5. Is £5 too expensive for a magazine (taking into consideration that it is going to be very high quality)? What about £3?

"Obviously the cheaper the better"

"I don't want to pay a lot of money for something that I'm probably only going to read once"

"I buy Vogue and thats like £5, sometimes higher so if it was going to be chunky then yeah sure"

"£3 is more realistic to be honest"

6. Do you think that my contents page looks a little bit too blank and if so, should I have an actual photograph of a field covering the whole background instead of it just being white?




"I kind of like how simple it looks"


"Me too, I've never really read a magazine that has a contents page with an actual photograph as the background"


"It does look a bit blank, but I think when you get a bit more writing on it it should be fine"

7. Would you rather read something that is formal or informal?




Everyone I asked said that they would like to read informal magazines and preferred "conversational" articles because of how much easier and more encouraging to read.

8. What would encourage you to read a full double page spread? Large text? More pictures?

Large text = 1

Many photos = 2

Attractive people = 2

Well known bands = 5

9. Would the use of lace or wood look better on my cover, contents and DPS?

Lace = 4

Wood = 6

*NOTE: All of the boys said wood and all but one girl said lace*