For my pre-production I created two front covers for two contrasting magazine genres. One is a fitness magazine, the demographic target audience is aimed at males aged between 16-25, the psychographic target audience are people interested in fitness, people interested in going to the gym and people that want to know the quickest ways to add muscle or mass. Another secondary psychographic target audience I have aimed my magazine at are males interested in grooming them selves, looking good and looking after themselves.
My second magazine for my pre-production is a current affairs / life style magazine on the region of Manchester with a demographic target audience of male and females ages 28-45, the psychographic target audience are Mancunians, people interested in current affairs, people who are interested in life hacks, safety tips etc. The problems my magazine discusses can relate to anyone in any region however in this particular case every issue is in the Manchester area so mainly Mancunians will be interested in it, another target audience are people interested in the Manchester or Northern region culture.
I decided to create a fitness magazine for my main front cover. I created the magazine covers my self and took all photography myself. The first bit of research I did was into rules and regulations, this helped me understand the regulations and the actual people who regulate magazines (IPSO) when creating and publishing a magazine. These were things such as being accurate and not publishing inaccurate, misleading or disorientating information. Another regulation I researched was discrimination, I learnt that the press must avoid comments to an individuals race, colour, religion or sexuality
My research into existing products, the products I researched an 'Empire' film magazine and a 'Muscle and Fitness' magazine, these magazines both revealed the key elements to which a magazine is made up of (the codes and conventions). This consisted of things such as the masthead, both mastheads had a large bold red title that makes the masthead stand out, both magazines had their masthead in the centre and positioned right at the top, this made them bold and easy to read. Another thing it revealed to me is that there should a feature article photograph, strap lines that cover the front cover providing lots of content which is a key factor when attracting a target audience. Both magazine had a barcode and a price tag. The fitness magazine I researched gave me an insight to as which types of articles I should feature, since it was a fitness magazine I created my front cover with lots of tips and tricks on how to gain muscle fast and different workouts, the research I did helped me come up with relevant and suitable content for my magazine looking at both magazines I also used a big bold red font at the the top of my magazine, I included a big image which both have and a variety of strap lines that cover the whole magazine. After researching magazines such as 'Mens Fitness' magazine and seeing that the mode of address is very informal and laid back it is clear to me that the mode of address for my magazine should be very informal as it is aimed at young males, it should be very chatty and laid back, I have done this by using language such as "rock solid abs" "New year, New body".
The audience research I conducted helped me in the making of my magazine because my interviewee was part of the target audience it was aimed at and therefore helped me create a suited magazine to that target audience. During the interview I asked questions about the aesthetics of the magazine and my interviewee responded by saying he would like to see a nice big picture as for him the picture is one of the first things you look at. My interviewee did not mind what model was used on the front cover i.e. using a celebrity he just wanted someone young and good looking to aspire to. I agree with this because it gives the target audience someone to relate to as he is younger than usual fitness models, this helped in my decision of image and sizing as my interviewee from my target audience suggested I used a very large image as the main focal point. I also asked my interviewee what colour scheme he thinks would suit the magazine and he said he would like blacks, reds and yellow mainly as black and red can promote power and energy which is a good thing to have on a fitness magazine, he also felt that these 3 colours together stand out the most out of all colour schemes. This helped me decide on the colour scheme as I went with what he suggested. The colours work very well together as they all stand out and all look harmonious together.
For my production I created a double page spread article, this featured a six-pack work out article, I feel like I have addressed my target audience because I have used the right tone and mode of address for my target audience I , the content produced is also for that target audience because a six pack is at the top the list when it comes to wanting a great body so I feel as though this is well suited to my target audience. The person used for the photographs of the workout (myself) is a younger person this allows my target audience to relate to the article more. I have followed the codes and conventions by researching other articles it has helped me see what kind of content should be included in mine. My product would be consumed at home, or as a weekly edition sent home as a subscription magazine, along with this I would have an online version set up along side, this is because I can include much more content such as links, this can not be done on a printed edition. This would allow my target audience to read my magazine where ever and whenever they want.
I have represented my young males as mature, fit and healthy challenging the stereotype of the youth being hooligans, binge drinkers and drug abusers. I have represented young males positively as being grown up, organised and committed to going to the gym instead of being on the streets. For my pre-production I used Photoshop to create the two magazine covers, I continued to use Photoshop improving my skills as I go along with the feedback from my teacher. My first draft of the production was successful however my text ran across the middle of the page where the fold would be my teacher informed me that text should be clear from this area so I changed the layout slightly removing the text from the fold line. After my first attempt I felt the white background was too plain so I added a slight green gradient that showed to be very effective.
I have represented my young males as mature, fit and healthy challenging the stereotype of the youth being hooligans, binge drinkers and drug abusers. I have represented young males positively as being grown up, organised and committed to going to the gym instead of being on the streets. For my pre-production I used Photoshop to create the two magazine covers, I continued to use Photoshop improving my skills as I go along with the feedback from my teacher. My first draft of the production was successful however my text ran across the middle of the page where the fold would be my teacher informed me that text should be clear from this area so I changed the layout slightly removing the text from the fold line. After my first attempt I felt the white background was too plain so I added a slight green gradient that showed to be very effective.
Overall, I feel that my production and preproduction were very good and very well made, especially my double page article. I feel as though my outcomes are both professional and high quality, my only issue is the model used for the fitness magazine isn’t someone well known, he isn't a fitness guru or a famous celebrity, he’s fully clothed and overall I don’t feel as though it is a very good picture to start off with. However the model used is an realistic image to aspire to be rather than a fitness guru or a very muscular man. I feel that I rushed the image when taking it when I should have taken my time to set it up and try a few different models and poses. However the photography for the double page article in my opinion is very well done, it gives a simple yet informative technique (along with the description) of how to do the exercises. Compared to a professional magazine such as 'Mens fitness' magazine my photography is nowhere near as good, this is because of the limited model selection, compared to 'Mens Fitness' I don't have celebrities to use or very expensive camera equipment I used a cheap home Sony camera. Compared to a professional magazine the lighting and printers used to make the magazine look more crisp and higher quality are also far more advanced than what I have available in college. However compared to again 'Mens Fitness' the strap lines and masthead are very professionally looking compared to the actual product and the inside pages are very professionally laid out, the only thing that stop it from being a masterpiece is the actual content and article itself, its not packed with information (value for money) as much as I would like it to be
I have learnt quiet a lot from the technology used such as Photoshop or an actual DSLR camera, how to use the camera and its different modes and mainly learning about composition and position when taking photographs. I have also learnt a lot about magazines and about publishing through research and me actually producing my own. The editing aspect of it was fairly easy I already had some knowledge of using Photoshop however I learnt more about layering, colour schemes and positioning text and images by experimenting a lot more than I did before. Although I had a slight knowledge of Photoshop I further learnt about what the different tools do such as the lasso tool, the magnetic lasso tool to which I used to crop images. I also learnt about different effects the main one being sharpening the image to make it more aesthetically pleasing and on my second magazine (lifestyle magazine) I learnt how to make an image black and white and keep some aspect of it in colour to produce an effective image.
I have learnt quiet a lot from the technology used such as Photoshop or an actual DSLR camera, how to use the camera and its different modes and mainly learning about composition and position when taking photographs. I have also learnt a lot about magazines and about publishing through research and me actually producing my own. The editing aspect of it was fairly easy I already had some knowledge of using Photoshop however I learnt more about layering, colour schemes and positioning text and images by experimenting a lot more than I did before. Although I had a slight knowledge of Photoshop I further learnt about what the different tools do such as the lasso tool, the magnetic lasso tool to which I used to crop images. I also learnt about different effects the main one being sharpening the image to make it more aesthetically pleasing and on my second magazine (lifestyle magazine) I learnt how to make an image black and white and keep some aspect of it in colour to produce an effective image.
