Real Media Comparison: Vogue China

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/26/china-super-rich-demand-luxury-brands

On the website above, I came across an article about Vogue China.
Too many fashion companies want to advertise in the magazine. It has been suggested that there will have to be two issues. They are jam packed with advertisements. There are 960,000 millionnaires who live in China, all of which are keen readers of Vogue. The management consultancy McKinsey predicts that, as middle-class consumers acquire the designer habit too, within four years China will become the world's largest luxury market, worth $27bn (£16bn), up from $10bn in 2009.
Linking to my magazine, Venew, if advertising requests became too much then I shall consider companies being able to advertise on the website or maybe suggest that advertisements can only have a certain amount of space in the magazine. However, this may decrease the advertising income. If this fails, the biggest companies will have priority and smaller ones can take it in turns to be published within the magazine.

Convergence.

Convergence is extremely popular in the media industry - every single magazine institution have produced websites to partner with their magazines. Other forms of convergence includes iPad apps, facebook and twitter pages and mobile wallpapers. Big magazines, mainly fashion and lifstyle, are mostly interested in Convergence. Cosmopolitan is a prime example - the convergence that they have used have been creating a website, a mobile site, apps for iPads and iPhones, facebook & twitter pages, a dating site ("The One"), a Cosmo shop, eBook market, mobile wallpapers and a 3D edition magazine.
My magazine will have a website but it won't be like a second edition to the current issue, as this can decrease market sales. Instead, Venew's website will be a chance for unknown bands and artists with talent to upload their music and videos to receive feedback from readers and the institutions themselves. The website can also be a way of advertising the magazine and expanding on the ideas of the content in the current and next issue. Similarly to real media sites, my website will also have access to "contact us" and "about Venew" etc. so that the target audience can learn as much about the magazine as they wish.
Producing iPad apps may be a form of convergence to be considered later on in my magazine's success as my target audience don't neccessarily seem like the type of people to own an iPad. However, audience research and questionnaires will become useful for finding out whether or not apps will be successful for my magazine.

Pimp My Blog - Evaluating

- Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
The preliminary task was a good learning developing project so that I could practice researching, planning, designing and evaluating a magazine cover. With this knowledge, I was able to expand ideas onto my main task for my cover, contents and double page spread. Without taking part in the preliminary task, I wouldn't have gained the skills I had for the main task so my results wouldn't have been as strong. I learnt how to annotate real media magazines, how to research and how to create an attractive layout.

- Have you reflected on the use and impact of digital technology?
Digital technology such as Photoshop was extremely useful for my main task as I wished to edit the photos for my magazine. As a photography student, I enjoy editing my images so it definitely was beneficial when it came to producing attractive documents. Another piece of software I used for producing my magazine documents was Pages on an Apple Mac. This enabled me to use many different techniques and affects that could only been done on Pages.

- How did you use media technologies in your construction, research, planning and evaluation.
My camera that I used for my photo shoot was a Nikon. Other media technologies used throughout my project was Photoshop, Pages, other published magazines such as Kerrang and NME. The internet also came in use for websites about grids and other techniques I can use within my project.

- Audience feedback?
I printed my final products and shown people of my target audience (ages 16-20, both genders, like Indie music, preferably play instruments and attend music events). The feedback I received was that they would be willing to purchase the magazine, due to its reasonable price and it's uni-gender colour scheme etc. They also thought that my convergence with the website was a very good idea as it will bring a wider market to become interested in the magazine. Bands and artists are able to kickstart their career by uploading their music onto the website. This was a feature that my audience were particularly satisfied with.

- Did you use, develop and challenge forms and conventions from real media products?
I "used" forms and conventions from real media products such as the cover of music magazines as they involve alot of captions and text to try and sell the magazine as much as they can. I kept to this idea as I quite like the affect of a busy cover, it seems much more attractive and seems like the magazine will be better value for money with lots of content inside.
I "developed" forms and conventions from the idea of creating my magazine title. Not many magazines use puns or semiotic connotations: Kerrang, for example, gives connotations of rock sounds (to me), Q has no connotations what so ever, NME are initials but I don't feel like there are many magazines with the technique of producing a pun as a title. The only magazine I can think of that has some form of a semiotic approach, is the fashion magazines, InStyle. Because it suggests that if you read the magazine, you will be in style. So the fact that I have used a pun of "Venew", rather than "Venue" which is the correct spelling, suggests a semiotic approach to the magazine, suggesting that my magazine specialises in new bands and artists.
I have "challenged" forms and conventions from the composition and layout of my DPS. As you can see, the centre of the DPS isn't in line with the separation between the main image and the interview. This is because I simply thought it didn't need to be and it was different. Magazines are so determined that double page spreads must not be interupted by the fold in the middle, but my DPS shows that it doesnt matter and doesn't always get in the way.

- Brand identity: is there one created? audience? what else could be done to secure it?
I think Venew is quite unique in its purpose. The purpose is to bring a popularity to new bands and artists with an Indie genre by enabling bands to post their music onto the website and have the chance to be mentioned within an issue of my magazine. No other magazine has this USP (unique selling product).

- Representation issues in work?
The only representation issues in my work is the theory about males becoming more feminine. I have used a male model that cares for his appearance, to support this theory and attract both genders for my target audience.

- Editing: what purely descriptive and 'light weight' sections can be cut/improved?
I edited my images by adjusting the contrast and brightness and deleting the background so that it was white. After printing my final drafts, I noticed that the contents page had been cut off at the bottom so I have cut and improved this area by deleting some of the text and moving it upwards.

- Does your blog have a blend of technologies/video and other media/new media/web 2.0 technology?
I have used other media publications as research and planning for my project. I have done some research on new media and learnt that the band, Arctic Monkeys, are successful after publishing their music on MySpace. This is a form of becoming famous that my website can present. My magazine website will be a chance for new talent to share their music with readers and my institution to receive feedback, and if Venew thinks the band are good enough, they can be mentioned within the magazine. This can either be a small mention of the band, to an interview, depending on how the Editor feels towards them and whether they deserve making it big or not etc. This illustrates the power of New Media to reach audiences. It also demonstrates why traditional media institutions feel threatened by new media. Companies such as MySpace, MTV and The Guardian have set up so many blogs and talkboards to encourage audience participation, so that New Media doesn't take over.

- How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My magazine represents social groups of older teenagers and early adults (16-20) of being more interested in their career (links to my website convergence idea of being able to upload their music). At these ages, guys AND girls are thinking about their career, and if they are interested in a music career then my website is a good place for them to go to kickstart it. It also represents the social group as lively and active - wanting to attend music events frequently.

- What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I would mostly compare my magazine to NME as they are both purely based on Indie music. Therefore, the institution, IPC Media, may be interested in my media product. NME's target audience is ABC1, aged 16-24 and mainly males. This is fairly similar to my target audience. IPC Media may be interested in my media product because it attract both genders which is something that NME doesn't.

- How did you attract/address your audience?
I took on a questionnaire for people that I thought would be interested in my magazine. I used the results to use features on my magazine to attract that target audience.

level 4 checks- excellent understanding of the forms and conventions of media used in production
- excellent understanding of the role and use of new media in stages of production
- excellent use of ICT in evaluation (includes new technology)
- excellent ability to communicate - punchy? clear? too much?
- excellent understanding of importance of audience feedback

The Art of Immersion - Frank Rose

Here I am going to refer Frank Rose's book to my coursework.

Audience
Web 2.0 comes under audience terms - online sources connect people and put their collective intelligence to work. The theory of the 'hive mind' has key components of randomness, spontaneity, emotion, urgency and the readers' participation. My readers can participate with my magazine by speaking in second person, which makes it look like the magazine is speaking to the reader directly. So the reader is more likely to respond their thoughts, therefore participating in the magazine. Online sources such as Flickr, You Tube, Wikipedia, My Space, Facebook and eBay connect people. Some magazines mention these sites within articles, and some even advertise in magazines (for example, eBay advertise in fashion magazines to attract a more fashion influenced audience). eBay could advertise in my magazine, to try and sell their music software and technology. The other online sites that could be mentioned within my magazine is You Tube because it involves a lot of new music artists which is what my magazine specialises in. Also My Space because a lot of artists publish their music on this website so that record labels and the public can listen to their music. It is known that people like to be immersed, get involved and carve out a role for themselves when interacting with the media. It's not easy for my audience to directly get involved with my magazine, although there are options of questionnaires within market research that can be taken place where my target audience can get involved with the magazine, in terms of informing the company of what content they would like to see and read about.

Subdural Messaging
In 2001 there was a global problem with people being so media saturated. There are media forms where ever we go, whether its advertising, posters, technology, reading forms etc. and if people were taking in every single piece of media, "they'd go crazy". My magazine may be an item within this, as it will be published to be sold in shops and it may be advertised in certain places.

Cover, Contents & DPS First Drafts.

During the day of 06/04/11, two University of Western England (UWE) teachers visited our media class to discuss the students' coursework so that they can provide us with some feedback and improvements. The teachers, Rowland Cowley and Stephen Priddell are experts in the Print and Design division. I shown them my first drafts (shown below) - they generally liked the layout of my cover, contents and double page spread but they did give me a few improvements to make:
- make the cover image a little smaller, so that the left column text wasn't over lapping with the image.
- reduce the font size on the DPS.
- create a larger space between the columns on the interview as it wasn't completely clear that it was a column.

You will be able to see that I have taken on these improvements in my final products. Also, for the contents page I must make the text a little higher as the printer has cut off the bottom text.

I realised that I hadn't added the name of the cover artist, but just inserted a large caption with a quote from his interview in. So I considered putting his name above, but it was decided that it didn't need it and it appeared that it fitted with the caption above it - "Gerard Way talks lyrics, life and love!" so I chose to name the artist Gerard Way so that I didn't have to add any more text into the cover, as it may have looked too much.
Magazine covers generally have a rule of thirds grid - I have used this layout plan for my cover as I think it looks the most professional and perfectly laid out.

You can see that I have kept within the same colour scheme throughout each page, which is purple. I chose the purple colour scheme from the colour of the model's shirt. You can also see that I have stuck to a grid layout within each page as it is all columned and has rule of thirds. I did this so that my products looked tidy and professional, not messy and out of place.

Representation
I think my representation of an Indie teenager is accurate as the props and costume were considered well. The model wears skinny jeans and a checked shirt and holds an acoustic guitar. All of these factors support the Indie theme. The colour scheme is not too boyish or girly, so attracts both genders which is my target audience.
In recent media, it has been known that men are becoming more interested in their appearance and looking after themselves. I think my choice of model supports this because his hair and skin is well looked after. Here are some scans of articles about male lifestyle magazines becoming more popular as evidence for my point:

Flatplans.

At the time of drawing my flatplans, I wasn't sure what I was going to call my magazine so I used the name 'Musik' for my masthead. However, that isn't what I have decided to call it as I have currently chosen to call it Venew.

Flatplan One

The right side of the double page spread is a side profile of the model with writing on top of the image. The image will have a low opacity so that the text is easy to read.
The contents page sketch was inspired by the February 2011 issue of Elle magazine. They have used a collage background of images that are features within the magazine so that the audience can see the content before flicking through. Here is a scan of the contents page:

Flatplan Two

Flatplan Three

The guitar will have a low opacity underneath the text so that it works as a background and the text is easy to read.

Overview of my Magazine.

- Indie music magazine: Venew
- Target audience: both genders, ages 16-20 interested in the music business, enjoy listening to indie music, preferably play instruments such as the guitar, drums or bass and attend gigs and/or festivals.
- Content involves posters, information on gigs and festivals coming up, interviews with the cover artist, news in the indie music industry, competitions, new albums and singles.
- Advertisements may include ticket sellers, band merchandise, music systems such as i-pods and mp3s and music shops.
- The magazine will cost £2 as this is the price that my target audience are happy to spend on a magazine. I found this out from my audience research questionnaire.


QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS

Here are the questions I asked for my questionnaire and the results:

1. How much are you willing to spend on a magazine?
£1.50 |
£2 ||||
£3 |||
£4+ ||

By these results, I know to price my magazine £2.

2. Do you attend any gigs or festivals?
Yes, both ||
Just gigs ||||
Just festivals |
None |||

I know what music events to focus on within the magazine. The most popular result, gigs, can be advertised within the magazine too.

3. How much do you spend a month going to live music events?
Only go occasionally |||||
£0-10 ||||
£10-25 |
£25-50

Live music events can also be mentioned within the magazine, and could even focus on persuading the audience to attend more music events.

4. How much do you spend on music CD's or downloads per month?
Nothing |||||
£0-10 ||
£10-20 |||
£20-30
£30+

I could perhaps focus on advertising or writing articles about CD's and downloads.

5. How do you buy your music?
CD's ||
iTunes Downloads |||
Illegal Downloads |||||
Other

As illegally downloading seems to be popular, my magazine could focus on trying to put the audience off downloading illegally and make CD's and iTunes Downloads more approachable.

6. Where are your favourite shops for clothing?
Topman & Burton |||||||
JD Sports & Bank
Free Spirit & Fat Face |||
Next & River Island

Clothing for Topman and Burton could be mentioned and advertised within my magazine.

7. Who are your favourite bands?
Muse, Stereophonics |||
My Chemical Romance, Escape the Fate ||
The Fray, The Calling, The Script |||||
Splipknot, Bring me the Horizon

Bands such as The Fray, The Calling, The Script and other similar genres can mentioned and advertised within my magazine.

8. Do you play any instruments?
Yes |||
No |||||||

I could perhaps write about playing instruments and make it attractive and interesting to the audience that don't play instruments.

9. What do you look for when purchasing a magazine?
Images |||||||
Captions ||
Colour Scheme
Price |

I need to focus on the images in terms of the composition and the model to attract my audience.

Masthead Designs.

I have designed a few mastheads for my magazine to suit my target audience. Here are the designs:

Photoshoot Edits.

As you can see by the images, the photos weren't taken in a studio - they were taken in a room with a contrasting carpet so the raw images don't look very professional. However, I am going to edit the images I am using so that the background is white - so the plug and the different coloured carpet won't matter when it comes to editing the photos. Here are a few of my favourite images from the shoot:

Name Ideas.

I came up with some name ideas for my Indie music magazine. Here are the options:

- Embrace
- Major
- Rhythn
- Dynamic
- Noise
- Venue
- Underground

I have decided to go for Venue as I think it sounds the most appropriate. I also asked for people's opinions, and they thought this was the best option.


After starting to design my mastheads, I got told that Venue was already a magazine name. But I really liked this name so I decided to develop it by spelling it a different way - Venew. I could then link it to my magazine by saying that my magazine focuses on new artists and bands. So the definite title for my magazine is Venew. My magazine title is now a pun! It is a pun because it is a play on words - the word is correctly spelt "venue" but by spelling it "veNEW", links to the purpose of the magazine.

Photoshoot Images.

Here are all of the images from my magazine photoshoot. You can see that I experimented with different camera angles during my shoot to try and create images that I was satisfied with and work with the my ideas for the magazine.

Photoshoot Planning.

Shoot date and time
I shall take the shoot during free periods in school.

Image ideas
A solo artist posing with an acoustic guitar. He would be the cover guy, pretending to be an Indie music artist. I will experiment with different body languages, but also take some close up on the artist. I found some images from previous music magazines which have been an inspiration to me (below).

I really like the side view image here. The model has a tattoo which is what makes this composition so affective but my model won't have this feature. However, I still think it is a nice image to have so I will take some side profile images of my model.

Shoot location
I am going to take the shoot within a music room where there is access to an acoustic guitar. These rooms also have plain walls which is preferable for a shoot as there isn't a unrelevant background that is going to get in the way.

Model
The model I have chosen has an Indie appearance to suit the genre of the magazine. He will be acting as a solo artist who plays Indie music with an acoustic guitar which will be shown within the images.

Props
I will be using an acoustic guitar for the model to hold to show the type of music the magazine is advertising. A stool will also come in use for when I am taking the side profile images so that the model can sit down.



Plan of shots
I simply want to take shots of the model holding the guitar, playing the guitar and a few portrait images.

Magazine Research: Q

(click to enlarge)








Media Institution: Bauer Media

Q target audience: Open minded experience seekers, the Q audience don’t define themselves by the music they listen to. Music is an important passion, but their love of music will never be to the detriment of their other passions, such as film, sport and comedy.

Q Convergence: Radio, website, TV channels, Q Awards and Q Twitter account.

Music Magazine Research: Rolling Stones

(click to enlarge)



The choice of model on this issue is quite surprising as he specialises in R&B and Rap music, rather than Indie which is what the Rolling Stones focuses on.





Media Institution: Wenner Media

Rolling Stones target audience: Ages 20-40 who are interested in rock music.

Music Magazine Research: Kerrang

Kerrang is the first music magazine to spring to mind. Here is a cover, contents page and DPS which caught my eye. (click images to enlarge)

Institution: Bauer Media

Kerrang target audience: Individually minded, independent of though and musically experienced, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty. Ages 15-35, males.

Kerrang convergence: Kerrang Radio Station, Kerrang TV Channels, website, Kerrang Awards and Kerrang Twitter account.

Real Media.

How many real media products are you comparing your piece with?



What have you made of the conventions surrouding this area of the media?

New Technology Two.

Whilst on the course, what developments have been made in the wider field of new technology?

iPads, created by Apple, have definitely made an impact in the real world of media, as recently there has been news of new apps such as Vogue and Marie Claire with a moving front cover. Here is a link for the article, informing the public on this new feature. (www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1339398/All-magic-Emma-Watson-moving-magazine-cover-wouldnt-Hermione-pleased.html) Other magazines are beginning to produce iPad editions, such as Empire (www.mediaweek.co.uk/news/1048601/Bauer-launches-first-iPad-edition-form-Empire). Empire have also decided to cut down on advertising - which is usually a big factor in terms of magazines making their money. This is to allow for more in-depth advertising and integration with editorial.
Another new media gadget that was released in the year of 2010 was a Kindle. It is an electronic device for downloading, storing and reading electronic books, known as e-books. It was developed by a company called Lab 126 which is a subsidiary of Amazon. The Kindle has instant wireless access to Amazon.com and their hug number of e-books (over 115,000 and growing). You can read newspapers, subscribe to magazines and blogs, and play audio files such as MP3's or audio books. The Kindle is compact and lightweight so it is easy to handle. It can be every useful if you are going on holiday and you don't want to pack lots of thick books. Then you can download e-books and read them on your Kindle.
Online magazines are also becoming much more popular due to the less amount of money that people are able to spend on luxury products, such as magazines. www.onlinemagazines.com provides a list of new online magazines. Some on the list involve Arabella, Glamour and GQ. Due to the financial crisis, people are more likely to just read online magazines where they can receive information on their given topic for free. However, this has its disadvantages. Most people enjoy to sit down on the sofa or in bed with their magazine. But if you don't have a wireless laptop, then you can't do this. Also, this actual magazines, you have access to taking it anywhere with you and it isn't hard to carry around, especially now that you have the option of buying a small or larger version.

How might you build those into your product/s?



What is forecast to really take off this year?

It is predicted that social media is going to take off during 2011. Social media budgets will rise in marketing as it plays a huge part across all areas of any business from customer service, product development, sales, HR etc. Brands are now aware that participating in social media on some level is a must and therefore marketing budgets will be shifted to incorporate it.


(media predictions)

New Technology

What new software and hardware have you employed to date?

During the half term, I was lucky enough to be able to borrow a MacBook which gave me access to software such as Pages. Pages was a required programme needed to produce my magazine cover. Another form of software that I own at home, is Photoshop. I usually use this software for my Photography coursework but this media task was obviously a suitable opportunity to use Photoshop. I edited some images from my shoot to use for the front cover so that the overall presentation appeared professional and to perfection. Although I didn't learn much from Photoshop because I've known alot of the processes for a while, I definitely developed skills and techniques with Pages as the software was all relatively new to me, although I had practiced on it a couple of times before, I hadn't gone to the extent of creating a magazine cover. I learnt alot along the way of the process, identifying many new fonts and photo affects.

What developments and changes has this enabled?

Pages definitely introduced me to a new, wide variety of different techniques, settings and options for my magazine cover. These enabled me in creating a unique, professional looking cover that couldn't have been produced in the same way through any other software, which makes it unique. The developments and changes that Pages produced was the masthead font and the faded border of the images. Photoshop changed the images into making them look sharper, brighter and more contrasted. I also created a depth of field affect to highlight the focal point of the images.

What kind of difference has it made?

These pieces of software have definitely enabled me to produce professional looking documents, resulting to being proud of my own work. Without the software, my magazine cover would be pretty average with no unique affects or fonts, which is what Pages gave me access to. Without Photoshop, my images used wouldn't look as affective and appealing as they do now. As a photography student, I am used to the process of editing images to make them look even better and eye-catching. So the difference that these software programmes have made towards my project, is that I have been able to create professional work to my satisfaction. I am a big fan of new media so when iMacs were released, I was eager to try them out. Therefore, Pages was a big inspiration for me. This is also because I took a weeks work experience at a magazine company where everybody used Pages to produce their work, so the programme has always intrigued me. I also wish to perceive a magazine career in the future, so developing knowledge on Pages will definitely help me in that department.

Evaluation

Considering this pliminary task was my first major piece of coursework, I feel I did quite well in terms of presentation and planning. I found it hard finding school magazine covers in the beginning but after a while I realised different processes into finding them. Using google, I would search 'school magazines PDF' and there would be lots of results. My flatplans are all a little different to my final cover but I have taken techniques and bits of presentation from each one. As photography is a huge hobby and interest of mine, I particularly enjoyed shooting for the magazine and editing the images. I used Photoshop to edit them, creating professional looking photos and making them look perfect and affective. On the shoot, I explored the school and took many images of students working (experimented with different subjects) and some of the activities that were taking place on that day (such as the Christmas Fair and the opening of the new astroturf). I borrow an iMac during the Christmas Half Term so that I had the facilities to create my magazine cover on the programme, Pages. I enjoyed designing my front cover because I like the design and presentation side to media, such as magazines and CD covers etc. I was also quite proud of the title I came up with, I think 'Over to You' is a very relevant and appropriate name for a school magazine. I decided to do an audience research at the end of the process to see if it would be successful in the real world. The result was that it would be successful.

Audience Research

I asked twenty people of the same audience if they would see this magazine cover and be interested to read it. Here is a chart to show my results:



The results show that my magazine cover is likely to be a success in terms of attracting the correct audience and achieving the purpose.

Final Cover

I chose this layout because it gets to the point and is clear it is a magazine cover as it has a typical magazine design. I like the composition of the images and text put together. I only added one caption because it has quite a busy composition and so I didn't want text to over-do it. I think the one caption sums up the content of this issue of the magazine anyway. 'How we Celebrated Christmas this year' suggests that the magazine will consist of information and images of the activities that the students took part in, in connection with Christmas.
The main image is of a textiles student working (you can see he is doing practical work rather than written, which makes it unique because most school magazines just have a student doing written work). In terms of costume, the student is wearing uniform with an amusing Christmas hat on to symbolise the date of this issue. I also like how the word 'Christmas' is visible on the hat, emphasising the Christmas factor more. The three small images at the bottom have a faded border on a scale of 63%. The images are all of different subjects too - art, resistant materials and textiles. The fading of the images symbolise that all of the images belong together at school, including the main image. The textiles image is of a sixth form student working on her dress that she has made. The position and composition of this small image shows good, A* work. It also adds my own personal touch to the cover because I like fashion. The art image is of three year eight students, smiling and showing off their work against another bright piece of work. The image is colourful and brings in more red (which links with the text colour and the christmas hat). The smiles add happiness which is different to the other images because they all show students seriously working whereas this one is students showing off the work that they are proud of. Linking the image to famous magazine covers, it would be refered as 'super-smilers'. All of the other image don't fit in with any of the other categories; 'romantic', 'invitational' or 'chocolate box' so I decided to make up my own name to suit models who aren't looking at the camera - 'individualists'. This is a suitable category name as it suggests students they are on their own, doing their own thing. The resistant materials image show the students looking up at the teacher, as if he is their idol.
The colour scheme is mainly red which is a bold colour and stands out. Green is also a common colour on the cover, which links with the colour of the uniform. Coincedentially, red and green are christmas colours, which, again, links to the theme of the issue. The lighting is all natural/available light which is realistic. Studio lighting has connotations of being setup, planned and false.
The audience of the magazine are teachers, students and parents. The synthetic personalisation talks to the audience to attract them. The audience would be classes E-C1 families. Anyone in the higher classes are more likely to attend private schools whereas my magazine cover focuses as a secondary school.