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From my preliminary task to my main task I think I think my progress in Photoshop has improved and developed. I now understand Photoshop better and can do more things than I could do before, for example I know now how to edit pictures and how to change the colour of just the texts background and many more techniques.

The Photoshop device I used to most was the magic wand tool I learnt that this deleted the background of a picture and can mark out what you want deleted. I used this mainly to delete the backgrounds of my pictures so the pictures would mainly be the model with a white background to make her stand out more, so the readers don’t get distracted by the background image. Another Photoshop device I used was the clone stamp tool this removes any unwanted things on my image to make the things I want stand out. Another good Photoshop device is the text box this allows me to add text to my magazine to make it looked packed with information and interesting. I also learnt that another good device is the heeling brush this can get rid of any spots or moles I don’t want on my model in the pictures to make her skin seem smoother and better quality picture.

For my main task I researched more real magazines than I did with my preliminary task to find out what normal magazines layouts are like to give me some ideas and to make it more realistic than the first time I used Photoshop. The sort of magazine I researched for my music magazine was NME and Q because they both are interesting and stand out and that’s the effect I wanted for my magazine. I also asked for advice and ideas to my target audience which I didn’t do for my preliminary task, this improved my work because I found out what they actually wanted to read about and how they would buy it. My written skills have also improved since my preliminary task because I have researched more and have more of an understanding and an interest of music so it was easier to write information about it and also I am part of the aim of my target audience which helped me understand what I would like inside and what to read.

The target audience appeal made me choose my layout of a sort of edgy, different style of fonts on the front cover to make it look different and stand out from the rest I chose the ‘REBOARD’ font from Photoshop. For my featured article I wanted to have one side of pictures and one side of text to even it out and use as much room on the page to make it looked packed, the audience would attract to lots of information.

The programs I have used whilst making my music magazine was mainly adobe Photoshop and I used Flickr and Blogger for my evaluation of the magazine.

The advantages of using adobe Photoshop is that it was good for changing the effects of the pictures by making them brighter or changing the contrast etc., I also learnt by using this that you can add background colour to any text you want which is good by making it stand out. However the disadvantage by using this programme is that it can get complicated and confusing when trying to do a simple thing for example just a straight line sometimes wouldn’t show and if you want to move one thing on the page you need to find the right layer then move it, which takes up more time than just clicking the thing on the page. When using Photoshop I had to think about my pictures I was going to take for my magazine for example I had to think about the camera angle to what would fit with the page and went with the magazine pages, I used mostly mid shots and long shots. I learnt to consider the background to see what would be easiest to edit and what would go with the text, the shot distance so I know where to crop on the programme. I was pleased with the pictures on my featured article because I edited them to make them sharper and stand out more and went well with the range of pictures I put together on the page.

The advantages of using Flickr is that it looks neat and tidy by still seeing the whole picture and only seeing the boxes when hovering over a part to make it clear what part I was talking about, I learnt how to post my Flickr image onto my blog which is an easy and quick step. However the disadvantages of using Flickr is that if you want to look at the information in the boxes you have to keep hovering over the part which can be annoying and is hard to read all the information because they only stay up for so long, also another disadvantage is that you have to rely on an internet website which can crash or run slowly especially when there are lots of students of the same website at college. http://www.flickr.com/.

The advantages of using Blogger is that you can separate your posts into sections to make it more organised and so you know where to find some information, I learnt while using this programme that you can add images onto your posts to make it look more interesting for the readers so they have a better understanding of the information. However the disadvantages of using this is that it is again a free internet website and the website can crash and you could lose all of your text you was going to post because it might not load back up which means you have to start your work again. http://www.blogger.com/.

My music magazine speaks in the language of my target audience by using word such as ‘fresh’ and ‘massive’ which is slang words which the younger age would use rather than high class with an older age group. It also speaks in the language of my target audience by adding a ‘dear editors’ column, this is so the target audience have more to do with the magazine and can be a part of it, and also they get to hear what else people there age range think about the magazine as well.

The magazine will attract my target audience because I have used 2 main colours throughout the magazine (red and black) to make it look stylish and cool for them, I have also made the page sizes smaller than a real/regular magazine I done this to make it handier and useful for the readers, I have made the pages a ‘handbag’ size this is to have room to put it in their bag nicely. My target audience would like a smaller magazine because it is aimed for younger girls which are stereotypically ‘girly girls’ who are into their looks, so there would be more room for their makeup or other items in their bag as well as keeping the magazine in their bag. They would want to buy my magazine because it is reliable with the information by adding quotes from celebrities to show it is a big and good magazine and it is useful with fashion and workout tips which most people are looking for. They would also buy it because it is a trendy magazine for the target audience because I added in the magazine everything that would attract them and what sort of music and styles they are into.

On the front cover of my music magazine I have made it attract my target audience by adding 2 images of a trendy girl who is the same target audience as my magazine so people will be interested and want to look inside to find out more. I have also given them a chance to win tickets to the top big gig events, which my target audience and age group would be interested in because mainly the younger group attend to music festivals then the older group, I gave them the chance to win tickets so they will buy and look inside the magazine to find out how to win them. I have also added in a quote on the front cover saying ‘This should be massive!’ to attract them by making it seem really good for them to read it. The colours I have used are good for my target audience because the colours go well together and the red brightens up the magazine, I have used roses in one of the pictures to follow the colour scheme and showing red as a ‘sexy and attractive’ side for the girls. Also on my contents page I have made it attract my target audience by using a quote from a celebrity they would look and saying how good the magazine is to attract them into buying it because the celebrity said it’s good. I have also mentioned celebrities that my target audience would like and enjoy. On my featured article I have made the article about a new young artist who wants to be big and giving a profile information about her so people her age can relate and can get to know stars before they are famous and before they are big by having the first look, this will attract them because they would want to know first before anyone else.
I added all of these things into my magazine because I kept getting feedback and asking people who are my target audience and what they would like in the magazine to help me, to make it a good magazine for them and what sort of music and styles they are into, to make it the best magazine for their target audience.

My target audience for my music magazine is mainly for teenage girls to younger adults around the age 15-25 with a middle class background. The target audience is mainly ‘girly girls’ who are into their fashion and looks because my magazine contains a lot of fashion advice as well as music topics.

The demographic profile for my target audience is the age of 15-25 single females who live in a normal local area, who love fashion and shop as a hobby with a social status of B (middle class). The taste of music my target audience would be mostly interested in would be country, pop, hip-hop music; I believe this because girly girls are mostly into calm music rather than heavy rock music this is why I advertised all the pop artists in the charts in my magazine to attract them. The sort of films my target audience would be interested in would be mainly a romance or comedy type of film such as love actually and Americas next top model programme because it is to do with fashion.

Using demographics I think my music magazine matches to my target audience because there are many topics such as fashion and music which is more for females because there isn’t any clothes or fashion tips for the males and I have used all female models in my magazine so they can relate to the topics better.

A psychographic profile for my target audience it would be mainly aspirers because they want a luxury life style yet still haven’t got one as they are not as rich.

My target audience would buy my music magazine because I kept in mind what they would like and what sort of the artists they would like to see and there type of music by adding relevant artists to the magazine to keep them interested. Also I have kept in the mind the target audiences hobbies such as shopping and I have added topics to do with shopping to keep them interested. I have also thought about the price of the magazine, because it is aimed at a middle class audience I made the cost of the magazine in between cheap and expensive so it will be affordable for them yet not a waste of money so they would buy it.

The sort of products that could be advertised into my magazine would be mostly beauty products such as perfume, makeup, and clothing lines. And perhaps designer labels such as Chanel would be relevant because it is a high class so they could afford it and would attract them. This is because my target audience are aimed for people who take care of themselves and are into their looks and a girly girl, so advertising for a hoover or cleaning products would be completely unnecessary because that would be more for the working class.

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