Production - Magazine Advert Complete!!!

I now declare my Magazine Advert complete!

Below is my finished magazine advert:

As you can see from my magazine advert, my focus was on the maximum amount of synergy possible, as well as a great amount of promotion. Synergy was achieved through the use of colour scheme, font and the drawings, as they are all used on the other media texts (music video/digipak) thus achieving synergy and giving these products related to Newton Faulkner (the artist) a style that can be easily recognised. I also aimed to maximise promotion, through making sure that the audience knew what the album look like, allowing it to be easily identified online/in-store. Through giving the audience the websites associated with the artist, allowing them to learn more about him and his other music. Through giving the audience the name of the record label that is associated with the artists, allowing the record label to be promoted as well as other artists that are part of the label. And finally through using reviews to promote the album as a high quality product, and through making sure the audience knew the album was available both in-store and online, and that all editions include the music video for "Dream Catch Me", thus increasing the chance of sales since the audience knows they will be getting not only a quality product but one with an added extra too.

This post was mainly just to declare my advert finished, which I have now done, as well as give some insight into my aims whilst producing this magazine advert, which were to create a professional looking advert that maximises synergy and promotion of the artist, which I can gladly say I believe I have achieved.

I am proud of the finished product and am very proud to declare it finished.

That raps it up for this post everyone but be sure to follow my blog for my evaluation questions coming soon.

Until next time everyone.

Draft Magazine Advert Questionnaire Results

I gave the questionnaire to 9 people, along with showing them my music video and digipak, and below are the general results (since each response was unique as the answers wern't set answers, but spaces for people to give their own answers, hence why 'm giving the generals results instead of each result, which would make this post drag on for much too long):

In response to "Do you think there is anything that could be added to the Magazine Advert in order to make it look better?, and if so, what is it and why?", the response, in more or less words, was NO.

I was surprised that there was nothing that the 9 people questioned wanted to add, perhaps because I tried to fill the space without making it seem cluttered and thus people thought the space was covered well (this was in fact involved in 2 of the answers received; that the space was used well). I am glad I received this response as I believe the space was filled with all the necessary information, plus extras that added synergy and added quality to the look of the advert.

In response to "Do you think anything should be removed from the Magazine Advert that looks out of place/unsuitable?, and if so, what is it and why?", the response was, in more or less words, NO.

I was very surprised by this, as even though I tried to fill the space available without making it seem cluttered, I was worried some people still would find it cluttered, but surprisingly people didn't. In terms of why people thought nothing needed to be removed, they all mentioned they thought the layout was nice just the way it was, and some mentioned removing anything would leave space where the advert would seem empty/boring. I'm very glad this was the response I received as my biggest fear was that people would think the advert was cluttered, but to hear that they think the layout is good the way that it is really pleases me.

Finally, in response to "Would you do anything different to how I have presented the Magazine Advert?, and if you would, what is it and why?", the response was varied. Here I received 5 responses that said they wouldn't change how the advert was presented because they were happy with the layout, and 4 responses that said they would change the layout but the only reason was due to personal preference. Because of this, I am going to keep my layout the way it is, since the response to the first two questions was incredibly good, and changing the layout now may cause people to want to change things in the advert, as a change of layout can have that effect, since what is included currently may not work when laid out differently.

So, because of this response to my magazine advert questionnaire, I will not be changing anything else. This of course means I can declare my magazine advert complete, which I am incredibly happy about. So, in my next post this is what I will declare, that no more changes will be made and that my magazine advert is finished, and then after that the only posts that will appear on my blog are my evaluation questions and a final post saying that my coursework is complete.

So guys and girls, that raps it up for this post, but be sure to watch for my declaration that I have finished my magazine advert, and then after that, my evaluation questions and farewell post.

Until next time everyone!

Draft Magazine Advert Questionnaire

Now that I have completed all of my designs for my Magazine Advert, the only thing left to do is ask people whether they think anything should be added/removed/etc. , just as I did with my Digipak. If there is nothing to change then I will declare the magazine advert complete.

I have created a questionnaire in Microsoft Word that I will give to people, along with showing them my music video via computer/phone with 3G, and showing them my printed out Digipak, so that they understand the synergy between the different media texts.

This, like my Digipak questionnaire, will be short and sweet. The questions are as follows:
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Do you think there is anything that could be added to the Magazine Advert in order to make it look better?, and if so, what is it and why?
_________________________________________________

Do you think anything should be removed from the Magazine Advert that looks out of place/unsuitable?, and if so, what is it and why?
_________________________________________________

Would you do anything different to how I have presented the Magazine Advert?, and if you would, what is it and why?
________________________________________________

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I will conduct the questionnaire and then post the results soon.

So be sure to watch my blog very closely for the results of my questionnaire, and possibly any changes to my magazine advert as a result.

Until next time everyone :)

Production - Magazine Advert Second Draft Complete!!!

I have now completed the second draft of my magazine advert as you can see below, followed by an explanation of the changes made and how I made them:

As you can see, the changes I have made are the smaller hearts surrounding the larger heart, like the drawing in my music video (thus achieving further synergy).

I added these smaller hearts by first selecting the large heart using the Rectangular Marquee tool. I then used the Edit menu to copy and paste the heart. Next I made the heart smaller using the Cursor tool and then used the Edit menu again to copy and paste five more smaller hearts. Finally I rotated/positioned all six smaller hearts around the larger heart by using the Cursor tool.

Like the larger heart and characters, I believe these are good because they achieve synergy, are visually appealing, fill the space and finally, don't feel like they're cluttering the open space. I am going to keep these and I now can declare my magazine advert second draft complete.

I will soon conduct a questionnaire about my second draft and make changes accordingly.

That raps it up for this post everyone, but be sure to follow my blog for more posts coming soon, scuh as my evaluation questions.

See you all next time.

Production - Magazine Advert Second Draft Progress 4

Below is the fourth stage of my magazine advert second draft, followed by an explanation of the changes and how I added them:

I have now added the heart from the Inner Middle Pane of my digipak/music video.

I did this by selecting it from the Inner Middle Pane using the Rectangular Marquee tool and then using the edit menu to copy and past it onto my magazine advert. Finally I scaled/positioned it using the Cursor tool.

I like the heart because it not only adds synergy but is is a pleasant/cute space filler, much like the characters below the album title.

I have one more thing to add, which will be shown in the next progress post and then my second draft will be complete. I will then ask my audience questions to do with my magazine advert and if there is anything that the majority think should be changed, I will change it. If not, then I will be able to declare my magazine advert complete.

That raps it up for this post, but be sure to pay attention for the next post coming really soon!

Until next time.

Production - Magazine Advert Second Draft Progress 3

Below you will see the third stage of the magazine advert second draft, followed by an explanation of the changes I've made and how:

As you can see I have now added the artist's name above the name of the album.

This was done by using the Rectangular Marquee tool to select the name from the front cover of the digipak, and then pasted into position using paste from the Edit menu.

The name is vital as otherwise it's not completely obvious who's album this is, when it needs to be. So now that I have added this detail that I previously didn't add, I am definitely keeping this addition to my magazin advert.

That raps it up for this post everyone but be sure to follow my blog for more updates coming soon.

Until next time.

Production - Magazine Advert Second Draft Progress 2

Below is the second stage of my magazine advert second draft, followed by an explanation of the changes made and how I made them:

The changes made are that I have now drawn the two characters from my music video/digipak onto the advert.

I did this by using my graphics tablet and the Brush tool on the sidebar. Once this was selected I first drew my characters much bigger than they currently are, and then used the Cursor tool to scale and place the characters appropriately.

I like the change as it adds more synergy to my products and the characters are a cute space-filler without cluttering the space. So my verdict is that I am definitely keeping the characters where they are as I really like the addition.

That raps it up for this post everyone but be sure to follow my blog for more updates coming soon.

Until next time :)

Production - Magazine Advert Second Draft Progress 1

Below is the first stage of my second draft, along with an explanation of the changes I have made/how I made them:

1. I added the record label name through the use of the Horizontal Type tool, by drawing a text box and then simply typing the name of the artist's record label.

2. I added the record label's logo by first copying it off of google images. I then pasted it using the Edit menu and removing the background using the Magic Wand tool and the delete key on my keyboard. Finally I scaled and positioned the logo using the Cursor tool to where I thought it looked appropriate.

I will definitely keep these changes on the advert as I feel these, along with what is already present, is necessary information.

That raps it up for now everyone, but be sure to follow my blog for more updates coming soon.

Until next time.

Production - Magazine Advert First Draft Complete!!!

Below you will see the completed first draft of my magazine advert, followed by an annotated version where I will explain the changes I have made and how I made them:

The changes made since the last post are the reviews on the left and right side of the digipak. The reviews for the album were added by drawing a text box on the left and right side of the digipak and then typing in flattering reviews via my keyboard.

This is the first complete draft of my magazine advert. I am now going to add the other things that were on my draft drawing (which can be seen below) and see whether they look good or not, as I feel that my magazine advert now contains everything necessary and adding more may may it look worse (but then again it may also make it look better).

Until next time everyone.

Production - Magazine Advert Draft Progress 4

Below is the fourth stage of my magazine advert production, along with an explanation of how I created it:

The changes made since the last post is that I have now added information about the album.

I did this through creating a text box through the Horizontal Type tool and then typing the information that I felt was appropriate for the advert (i.e. that the album is out both digitally and in stores, and also that in either edition, it will come with a music video for "Dream Catch Me").

That raps it up for this post everyone, but be sure to follow my blog as always for more updates coming soon.

Until next time.

Production - Magazine Advert Draft Progress 3

Below is the third stage of the creation of my magazine advert, along with the details of how I created it:

As you can see I have now added the digipak title as well as the two website addresses for the artist.

The title was added by using the Rectangular Marquee tool to select the title from the Front Pane of my digipak. I then used the Edit menu to copy it and paste it onto this advert. One this was done I used the Cursor tool to scale and position the tile appropriately. The website addresses were added by using the Horizontal Type tool and then scaled/positioned appropriately using the Cursor tool. The font used for the website addresses was Century. I did play around with multiple fonts, including Times New Roman, Bell MT and Calibri, but I decided that Century was the perfect mix of formal (and legible) and informal (as in more relaxed).

That raps it up for this post everyone, but don't worry as there will be plenty more really soon.

Until next time :)

Production - Magazine Advert Draft Progress 2

Below is the second stage of my magazine advert along with how I created it:

As you can see, this clearly works much better than my previous background, and it also uses colours from the inside of my digipak, so it retains synergy.

To create this background I used the Rectangular Marquee tool to select a section of the background I thought would work well from the Inner Right Pane. I then used the Edit menu to copy it and past it onto this magazine advert. Finally I scaled and positioned it on the dimension through the use of the Cursor tool.

That raps it up for now guys and girls, but be sure to pay attention for more posts coming soon :)

Until next time.

Production - Magazine Advert Draft Progress 1

Below you will see the first step of my magazine draft, along with how I created it:

As you can see I have used the edit menu to paste on the lined A4 paper background onto these dimensions, and then used the Cursor tool to position it correctly. Afterward I did the exact same with the front cover of my digipak.

From looking at this I have to say that I don't think the digipak stands out well due to the use of same background for the magazine advert. I will definitely try something else and will put up a post very soon showing the difference.

That raps it up for now, be sure to follow my blog for more updates and I'll see you all next time :)

Magazine Advert Draft

Something I noticed with my digipak was that my draft, wasn't so much a draft as a finished product, and the flat plan was more like the beginning stages of the draft. My point being that here, as you will see below, the draft for my magazine advert I am staring out as a simple drawing.

I plan to make the dimensions the same as an A4 piece of paper as many magazines print in this size, also the magazine advert can be easily resized to fit any magazine but A4 is just the dimension I want to work to.

Below you will the very first draft of my magazine advert:

From this you can see some of my solid ideas, as well as some ideas that I will play around with while I am producing the magazine advert.

From this you can see that the element I am most striving to achieve is synergy across all 3 media texts (music video, digipak and magazine advert) through the use of the same elements such as colour scheme, animated characters, etc. I am also striving to achieve a great deal of promotion for the artist through the reviews as well as the record label he is associated with.

Anyway guys and gals, that raps it up for this post.

Be sure to pay close attention to my blog for all the production for my advert coming really soon :)

Until next time everyone.

Analysis and Research of Magazine Adverts

This post will analyse some music magazine as well as explain about what advert magazines are.

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Magazine adverts are, plain and simple, adverts that are seen inside of magazine (the name is self-explanatory). They can come in many sizes taking up entire magazine pages or only small sections, and of course their dimensions will also differ depending on the dimensions of the magazine itself. The main objective of magazine adverts, like with other adverts, is to promote the awareness of something and (assuming it can be sold) sell it to the viewers. I will be creating a magazine advert that advertises my digipack.

Below you can see some examples of magazine adverts, plus my analysis of them:

The magazine advert above is from a Blues music magazine called "BLUES MATTERS!" which focuses on real blues music without all the glitz and glamour.

As you can see from the advert, it's very simplistic; a black background with the name of the album/dvd, name of the artist(s), name of the record company, a short description/review of the album/dvd and an image of the album/dvd.

This simplistic approach ties in with the feel of the magazine, trying to show real down-to-earth blues music to its audience. Because of this simplistic approach to advertisement, the advert doesn't give a sense it is pushing the products on the audience, but merely making suggestions based on what the viewer likes (through the descriptions of the products). The images help to promote and sell the products through giving a picture to the name, thus allowing potential buyers to seek out the product they want from the list much more easily in stores, online, etc. The extra information given down the bottom right allows viewers to stay informed about other things associated with blues music, which may increase revenue should a viewer buy something, enjoy it and then look into the website address, possibly leading them to buy more, assuming the website informs viewers about more blues music/dvd's they approve of.

Besides these things, there really isn't much to say about this advert, thanks to its simplistic presentation and seemingly subtle sale tactic of letting the audience know about the products they may be interested in without pushing it on them. This sale tactic (selling without overwhelming) can actually have very effective results, as in some cases the public can be turned off a product by trying to hard, therefore an advert merely giving the public options about music they're interested in, offers a change, and may lead to greater sales as audiences feel in control and not pushed into buying products simply because those products are whats new, and if they don't they risk becoming social outcasts. Of course, that factor is also heavily related to the kind of music itself being sold (i.e. Pop - that which is popular). This advert, through it subtlety, embodies the music it advertises - Blues.

The magazine advert above is from "UNCUT", and is an advert for a re-release of 'The Rolling Stones' tour "Some Girls" in the form of dvd, blu-ray, dvd/cd and bluray/cd.

The advert heavily utilises the original "Some Girls" tour image to advertise this re-release. The effect of this is that viewers who are fans of 'The Rolling Stones' and were around during the tour will instantly recognise the image, thus catching their attention immediately. The lips and tongue image at the bottom of the advert is also something that viewers will be drawn to, as the image is so iconic that fans, including new ones that weren't around for the concert, will instantly recongise that the advert is something in relation to 'The Rolling Stones'.  It is catching a viewers' attention that is important for all adverts, and even if the original poster's image, and the lips and tongue don't, the colour scheme itself stands out. With the bright yellow colour, when readers turn the page their eye is automatically drawn to it, allowing a much greater chance of audiences seeing this advert and thus gaining greater awareness and therefore most likely increased sales.

The information displayed on the advert is incredibly important as well. It lists information such as bonus features, tempting the audience with the thought of all the content they will get from the product (real value for money and strong appeal to die-hard fans). As well as these bonus features it makes sure viewers know there's a vast amount of main content as well, by listing a number of 'The Rolling Stones' well known songs. These are of course all things that benefit the viewer themselves, letting them know how much the product offers and caters to their interest in 'The Rolling Stones'.

Finally the two images of what the DVD and Blu-Ray look like towards the bottom of the advert simply give a greater awareness of what the interested fans need to look for, allowing for ease when seeking out the product online, in-store, etc.

The overall feel of this advert is very welcoming to its audience, through its vast amount of content as well as the revival of an old popular 'The Rolling Stones' tour, with classic music from the band, which are often agreed by the majority of fans to be the best. It is this welcoming, value-for-money feel that is the main aspect that really sells the product to its audience.

the magazine advert above is from the "Q" and is an advert for an Ed Sheeran album.

The main appeal and hook of this ad is Ed Sheeran himself. Through the use of his image as the main substance of the advert, it catches fans' eye to it, as they will instantly recognise that the image is Ed Sheeran and is therefore something related to him.

The image of Ed Sheeran gives a feeling that he's a happy person, through the smile/laugh. This can be appealing to viewers who like artists who aren't completely about keeping a cool, calm and aloof exterior, as it these traits often show a lack of emotion, making them seem less human, and therefore cannot be related to. An artist who shows emotion suited to his style of music can be key, and this "down to earth", real personality that Ed Sheeran embodies suits his style of music well, giving a warm welcoming feeling to the fans who's eyes are caught by the advert.

The use of a strong review helps reinforce the quality of the album being promoted, since respected magazines are seen to quite often have reliable opinions on matters they specialise in (so here, "Q" and music). With this reinforced quality, it strengthens the chances of viewers looking into and possibly purchasing the album, bringing in money for those associated with its production.

The use of colours (mainly brown with some white and red) gives quite a relaxed feel to the advert. This can be comforting as it avoids the explosive colours used by some adverts that push the products being advertised on the readers. These colours therefore give more of a sense of control to the viewer, allowing them to make the choice whether or not to seek out the album, which can lead them into wanting to look into it more, since they don't feel pushed into doing so, which can put them off the product.

Listing popular songs allows viewers to know the album being promoted has some of the artist's best work on it, making the album seem to have a sense of value-for-money and also good quality, as the best songs are those that are liked by the largest amount of people, and therefore including them in the album allows it to appeal to the largest amount of people possible.

The logos on the bottom-right of the advert simply allow viewers to know who is associated with the artist Ed Sheeran. This is helpful though, as it may cause viewers to look into those companies, leading to new interests in other artists, etc. therefore leading to more sales for the companies.

The use of the album towards the bottom of the advert simply gives viewers an image so that they may find the album in stores, online, etc. so they can purchase the album/look into it further, with ease. This allows greater chances of the album selling, since interested viewers know what they are looking for.

Finally, the website address and twitter account address at the very bottom-left of the advert allow the viewers to know where they can go to find out more about Ed Sheeran and all that he produces. This leads to more promotion of the artist and his products as well as making it more likely that more products will sell, since viewers now know where to go to find out more, which is bound to inform them of other products Ed Sheeran has to offer (not to mention details about tours, signings and other events, all bringing in money for those associated with Ed Sheeran, e.g. the record label, etc.).

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Anyway everyone, that raps it up for this post. I hope you all enjoyed my analysis of various magazine adverts, and I hope you found it helpful for when you analyse your magazine adverts too :)

Be sure to leave a comment on the adverts you analyses when you've done them and give me a link so I can see your analysis :)

Until next time everyone :D