Evaluation

I’m Tiegan Verran and this is my A2 media evaluation for my advanced portfolio. In this project I chose to create a front cover, contents page and double page spread. The direct genre for my magazine was regional, however I chose to base it more on surfing and the Cornish county as there was a gap in the market for a magazine of this type. I think people would choose my magazine because it includes a wide range of different topics and would appeal to a wide range of people.

In order to create a successful magazine, which fitted the hybrid target audience of regional sport I had to conduct primary and secondary research into pre-existing magazines and the advertising used in order to sell these products. The magazines that I looked at whilst conducting my research were: Wavelength, Cornwall Today, Carve and Surfgirl.

In terms of layout one thing I noticed was that all of these magazines have a modern design and a simple yet sophisticated layout, nothing over laps or clashes, and the colour palette includes neutral tones of blue, white, black and grey. From this I started gathering ideas about the design of my own magazine that would follow the conventions of all of these magazines. I also chose to look at regional magazines that didn’t include sport as these would also be competitors, what I noticed was that their layouts and styles were more fitting to an older target audience. Therefore I chose to go for a cleaner layout that would appeal to the younger end of my target audience but still include older people with the county information and stories.

Synopsis Of Own Ideas

When I first chose the magazine brief I didn't really understand how much that the audience research helps you find the perfect style and genre for your magazine. My initial ideas were mainly based on what I would like to see from a regional magazine, however now that I have conducted many target audience surveys and found out my niche target age I have discovered that between my age range both ends would like to see very different things. From this I had to experiment with different ideas and get feedback from different types of people which included a survey monkey that asked questions that both my niche and mass audience could give me feedback so that I could find the perfect level between sophisticated but not too boring for my magazine.

Shot Types & Lighting

Front Cover

The front cover of a regional magazine is typically of a rural landscape which would be an extreme or long shot of the cliffs and beaches. However depending on the region of the magazine scenes and covers may vary due to the locations. This image would fill the page and set a layout for the text.

For my cover I will be taking a series of beach/surfing images as this is the genre
that most relates to Cornwall which is the region I will be focusing on whils creating my own magzine.

Some regional magazines subvert this style of image and they use a close up or mid shot of someone who will be the main story within the magzine, for example "Kernow King" featured on the cover of "Cornwall Today" to advertise his upcoming show.

Contents Page

This page is made up of a mixture of images and text, therefore the images within this page are normally made quite small to fit in the important text and stories. The images are mostly of eye catching colourful scenes which relate to the story that they are accompanying.As a result the images featured on a contents page are mostly close ups of things relating to the style and theme of the region.

As my magazine kind of subverts the typical regional magazine as I will be more focused on the art and media within Cornwall. So when making my contents page I may also subvert the common conventions and use one single long shot of a surfer and make it look creating like the style of my magazine.

Double Page Spread

It is well known that a double page spread is made up of one image and then the rest is text. This will be the same for my magazine as I don't want to subvert and change the regional magazine style too much and it needs to be appealing for both ends of my target audience. Therefore I will have one long shot or mid shot on the image side of my spread, this image will relate to the theme throughout my magazine and work with the images already displayed in the other pages.

Lighting

For all of the images used in the magazine I will only use natural lighting as my photoshoots will be outside and at the beach. However if some of my images don't work I will use the studio lighting to get a mid shot image of the person I will feature for my double page spread.

Target Audience Profile

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3f5ByjCMC1rWTA4eXA2U2taQXc/view?usp=sharing

Genre Conventions: DPS

Genre Conventions: Contents Page

Target Audience Response

Genre Conventions: Cover

Target Audience Research

The main target audience for a regional magazine would typically be of an older person, however my magazine will be targeting a slightly younger audience because I will be re vamping the style and layout to interest a younger variety of readers. Within this task I will be researching the main colours used on a magazine made for younger readers but still keeping it so that older people want to read my magazine as well.


I will use primary and secondary research in order to find out how to attract my readers, and example would be to create a survey monkey and collect responses directly from both age groups. I will then find a medium between the expectations of the older and younger generation.


I will get my secondary research from online studies about similar types of magazines and what audience profiles they mostly have. Mainly I will be trying to appeal to both genders between the ages of 15-35. Although this is a wide range I feel like is I restrict myself to a small audience I can't experiment with different colours, typography and styles and older and younger audiences have restricted conventions.

Second DPS Analysis

This double page spread follows many conventions of a typical magazine company for example, the image covers both pages but the main part of the image has its own side, the test is then alternatively put onto the opposite page so that it doesn't all get too busy or mixed up. I really like this dos because the image compliments the text and sets a clear colour palette of blue, white and black.

When creating my own double page spread, I will also follow these conventions and when putting my text onto the page I will also put a box behind so that it is 100% readable.

Second Cover Analysis

I like this magazine cover because although it is simplistic it still has a structure which compliments the main image of surfer hidden in the wave. I think that the image is vital to a good cover as it is the starter of any magazine and it decides the layout through the colour and structure of the image.

The only thing I would change about this magazine is add a few cover lines on either side of the page to tell the reader what sort of contents will be inside. They would probably be black so that it matches the colour of the masthead. The cover lines would be fairly small in comparison to the masthead as that has to be the biggest part of the page other than the image.

Second Contents Analysis

I like this contents page because it uses geometric patterns in order to show the images that represents the articles. The only thing I don't really like is that it looks to plain and simple, there isn't really any colour that catches your eye and also typically on a contents page there would be an equal balance between text and images whereas this contents page only has one image and a little bit of text. If I were to use this as a reference guide to re creating my own page, I would maybe add either more text or more of an eye catching coloured photo.

Although this layout is plain,  like the fact that everything is tidy and in place. There is no overlapping images or text that distracts you from the main image or the sub story text.

First DPS Analysis

Double Page Spread

I really like this double page spread because it's visually pleasing and also it has a really structured layout which is key to any good DPS. I like the use of the image in the middle however I don't know if I would follow this as the cut line for the magazine would mean that the image would become distorted and miss out key parts of the photo, Therefore I will try and position my image somewhere that it won't be affected by the cut line.

I couldn't find a DPS from the same magazine as the other sections I have analysed so the colour palette doesn't match the contents and cover, however my magazine will feature a re-ocurring colour palette to support the theme of my arts magazine. I will also have one main image and no other sub images as I think this looks more tidy and represents my magazine theme better than loads of images on one page.

I will put pull quotes into the text to give this section more of an exciting look rather than just the block of text. I'm choosing to do this as my magazine has the theme of arts so it needs to be exciting and not too plain. 

First Contents Page Analysis

Contents Page

For my contents page I used this magazine for reference. It has a clear colour palette of; blue, white and peach, I like this colour palette because it's pastel theme enhances the visual appearance of the plain black and white image in the corner of the page. Typically on a magazine contents page you would find 4-6 sub stories that tell you what can be found in the magazine, they may also have images to support and relate to the stories.

Personally I think this contents page is slightly too plain as it doesn't really have something that your eye is drawn to, however I think they have gone for the simplistic theme in order to represent the "fashion show" they are advertising. If I were to change something about this it will be that I would add a few images to make the page more exciting.

When I create my own contents page, I will follow this structure but I will change the colours to more of a brighter colour rather than the pastel look they have gone for. I will also include pictures to represent the stories I am featuring, I will also add more of shape to the contents page through the images as I will have them in a hexagonal shape along the bottom.

First Cover Analysis

Front Cover

This cover doesn't follow the common conventions of a typical magazine front cover, however for an arts magazine it's a good reference as it has a good artistic structure and has shapes that I can re create and infuse my own colour palette in order to make my own front cover. This cover doesn't have sub stories that tell readers what will be included inside so I will add this down the side to fill blank space. On some front covers they include a few images to go along side the sub stories but I think in order to keep it tidy I will just use the artistic main image with shapes to structure the page.

I will look at pre existing arts magazine front covers to get a good understanding of the common conventions they use so I can follow them, rather than the standard magazine conventions and adding an artistic style to them. I have already established a colour palette of pink, blue and white therefore I will experiment with different layouts that will work well to use my colour palette in a way that will enhance my main image.

Impacts Of Technological Advances

Technological advances have had a massive impact on print media. For example in the last 10 years the industry has changed a lot because magazines are now available through online platforms which has taken away some of the profit from the printed versions, and now getting a magazine has never been simpler. All you have to do is subscribe to the magazine and they will send you the online version upon release, meaning you don't even have to get out of bed in order to purchase this magazine. Although this is a very popular way of viewing the media platform, more people choose to stick to the printed copies, personally I would rather hold something in my hand and read it rather than view it online. For me it just gives it more of a real feel to the magazine.

Advances have also seen the rise in celebrity involvement, as they can now be advertised online for everyone to see not just the niche audience a printed version will attract. This work both in favour of the celebrity and the magazine company as the celebrity will bring more reader through their fanbase and other readers that have maybe not heard of them before now know who they are and may follow their career. 

Technological advances have also had a negative effect on the magazine industry because it has seen a massive decrease in how people spend their time for example a study showed that people spend around 5% of their media time reading magazines, whereas they spend between 30% - 50% of their time on phones, watching television and listening to the radio. Which consequently has seen a decrease in shares within the media platforms with magazines, books and newspapers being the lowest on the list.

Gauntlett (2007) goes as far as to say that new media (and new media technologies) erodes the boundary between producer and audience to the extent that it makes little sense to talk about media audiences at all anymore. It now means that anyone who knows anything about media creation could become a producer as technological advances has made it the easiest its ever been.

Initial Thoughts On Regional Magazines

With reference to the research I conducted in my previous task, I now understand the genre to be targeted mainly at the younger generation therefore I would mainly have to create content that excites and involves males and females of the social class C1-E.

The common conventions to an arts magazine include thing such as; Large masthead that fills the top of the page, one main image that clearly represents the genre, content teasers and a clear colour palette.

For one of my products I will be creating a website, I have chosen this idea because I think that in order to make my magazine attract younger readers I will have to make it available to view online as this is how most of the younger audience would read my magazine. In order to attract a sub audience of older readers I will also do a lot of primary research in order to find out what kind of articles and stories they would like to see appear in my magazine. For example things such as; art in music, galleries, and new artists. I will conduct my research using social media and websites such as survey monkey.

When I have looked at a variety of art magazines in my area such as DigitalArts, print and Digital Artist, I have noticed that they all have a conventional target audience of 18-25 of mixed gender in the social bracket of C1-E. Therefore this will be the primary target audience I will aspire to reach. For my main task I will be creating a Creative arts magazine, the main distribution will be to the UK. 

Legal Restraints

Within the print industry there is many legal constraints that magazines publishers have to take into consideration especially magazines that talk about celebrity news/gossip. The reason behind this is because it is very easy to represent a person in an inappropriate or negative way. Therefore there are rules that editors must follow in order to stay within the legal requirements.

The people who decide what can and can not be published is the 'Press Complaints Commissions' (IPSO) and the 'Advertisement Standards Agency' (ASA). These are both situated in the UK and are regulating bodies for publishing and advertising. The ASA control what can and can not be published on magazines along with dealing with complaints received in this subject. For example, if someone was to complain about an advertisement in a magazine, they would have to raise the issue with the ASA. The second regulating body, IPSO, have an equally important role as they decide what content in the magazine can and can not be published. In order for this to happen they set up an editors code which simply says that that editors can't distort images or stretch the truth of any stories. The editors must be as completely accurate as possible and deal with any cases of inaccuracy. Magazine companies also have to take into consideration peoples privacy such as their homes, personal life and names. Again if anyone had a problem with this they could bring it up to the ASA.
Privacy can play a huge part and is a big legal constraint that all magazine companies have to be very careful of. A lot of "gossip" magazines can be quite close to breaching this legal constraint as they constantly publish news about peoples weight loss, pregnancy or even just their personal life and some people may not want this information being exposed to the public without direct permission.

Institutional Research

After researching several distribution companies I have chosen Bauer Media to distribute my regional magazine. Bauer Media Group are a large European-based media company, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany that manages a portfolio of more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations around the world. It’s one of the leading Multinational Magazine publishers in the world and is privately owned. Bauer Verlagsgruppe has been managed by five generations of the Bauer family. Originally a small printing house in Germany, Bauer Media Group entered the UK with the launch of Bella magazine in 1987. Under the name of H Bauer Publishing they became Britain's third largest publisher.


The other distribution companies that I looked at included Archant community Media which are a privately owned media company that creates geographical and specialist interests communities across a wide range of media and employing 1,600 people as part of their team. Currently they are the fifth largest printing publisher in the UK, they publish 1.6 million copies a week and reach 6 million readers online a month. It's portfolio of about 50 titles does feature one of the magazines named Cornwall Life that I will use as inspiration as its based in my target area. Their target audience are people of the C1 social bracket and primarily people who live in the country rather than big cities however they would be part of their secondary target audience.

Another publishing company I looked at was IPC Media Ltd who are a consumer magazine and digital publisher situated in the United Kingdom, with a large portfolio and selling over 350 million copies each year. IPC Media also produces over 60 iconic brands including magazines such as NME, Ideal Home, Country Life, and Housebreaker. In the 1800's IPC had a primary target audience of upper class middle aged men, this was evident as they produced magazines such as; Horse & Hound, Shooting Times, Yachting World, Amateur Gardening. However since the start of the 1900's IPC has started to target woman by producing magazines such as ‘Woman’s Weekly, Woman & Home and Woman’s Own’. In the modern era they continued to expand there target audience with more titles such as: Sporting Gun, Motor Caravan, Wedding & Home, Country Homes & Interiors and so on. From this list of titles its clear that IPC continued to grow and focus on two main target audiences which is middles aged men and middle aged woman.

Regional Magazine History

The first arts magazine was founded in 1959 by Richard Coyne and Robert Blanchard, the magazine's coverage includes graphic design, advertising, photography, illustration and interactive media. This was a magazine that released issues bi-monthly, and featured things such as gallery reviews, new artists and information about the genre. The magazine was published by an Author/writer named Patrick Coyne. Since his time the magazine industry has changed a vast amount, for example one of the most common magazine genres now are things such as celebrity and fashion as society feels a sense of importance to stay up to date with the celebrity world rather than the arts world and how things are progressing.

A typical Arts magazine would be released monthly and would include information and events of the up coming month in relation to the type of art found in the area or country the magazine is available in. Because of the amount of information and offers they include they are introduced via a monthly subscription and send straight to the reader.

Although most arts magazines feature the same type of contents they all vary slightly because some of them are mainly focused to the area in which the magazine will be released, however most of them are broad and include articles that attract and inspire upcoming artists all over the world.The main target audience of this magazine would be mixed gender between the age group of 18-15 within the social class C1-E as they are mainly steered towards the younger readers.

A2 Advanced Portfolio

I have chosen to create a regional magazine as I feel most suited to this brief. The main genre of the magazine will be creative arts, such as photography and graphic design, therefore I will go out to exhibitions and discover the arts within Cornwall. I will also take a chunk of lifestyle and revamp it with a creative twist.The main target audience I will be reaching is people of mixed gender between the age of 18-25 in the social bracket of C1-E.

I am also looking forward to creating the website for this magazine as it will give me a chance to improve my skills and learn more about digitally creating. I will also be able to use these new skills in my other subjects.

Verran Evaluation

https://youtu.be/McN6Pk86GUg

Verran Final Cover

Verran Final Contents Page

Verran Final DPS

Verran Cover Construction

The construction process for my front cover was one of the easier parts of making my 3 media products. I liked experimenting with the different positioning of text and images, when I finally found the perfect composition of text I made sure the colours were right to connote a "bad boy". I chose to have everything either in the centre or to the side because I feel like in order to keep my magazine sophisticated yet stylish I couldn't have a magazine that wasn't neat and tidy.

Verran Contents Construction

I didn't really have to do a lot of work in order to make this contents page, however I had to use the grid tool in order to get the text in the right positioning and all in place. I planned this image so that the layout of my contents page would be image on the right and text on the left, I didn't really plan where my images and masthead were going to go but I easily found a place to put them. I'm happy with my final contents page but I don't think that it is the best I could have made it with the time that I had.

Verran DPS Construction

The main part of this task was the text, therefore I used the grid tool in order to align my text and make sure that it filled one half of my page. The layout that my primary target audience chose in my survey was one image that filled one page and then the other page had to be filled with text. However in order to keep my magazine looking appealing to the younger end of my audience I took quotes out of the text to catch the eye.

Verran Cover Flatplan

As you can see from this flat plan I will be using 1 main image that fills my page and then having teaser stories along side it, the colour pallet will be shown through the text as my masthead will be outlined with blue and the pug with be completely blue so that it catches the readers eye.

Verran Contents Flatplan

Although my drawing is really bad you can see that the main image will be on the far right side as its a side on image so it will work as one half text one half image. I chose to include smaller images at the bottom as my target audience don't want it too be heavily text based so they also have a visual concept of the featured stories.

Verran DPS Flatplan

Again with this flat plan you can see that I followed common conventions in relation to the layout and style of double page spread however I also subverted the typical bright colours and switched them for a more sophisticated blue, black and white. Throughout my flat plans you will be able to see a consistent colour pallet which I feel makes my magazine stand out more as the reader will be intrigued to see what is different about my magazine compared to other pop magazines. I chose to go for one single image that takes up one side of the page and then have the rest of the space filled with text, I did this because during my primary research I asked my audience what they would like to see and this is what they chose.