Feedback

For personal feedback I thought I would post my magazine on Facebook: I myself still believe that I could have included more information within it, especially the double page spread, I think it lacks information in comparison to the NME.

Two negative and two positive comments I got back were:

Positive -

" I really like it Kris, the band members are HOT!!, definatly appeals to me, I would buy it"

"Awwww this is really good Kris, I like the colours and the pictures you used, the effects are cool as-well, I like the bands also mentioned such as Bloc party! I love them!"

Negative -

"Kris it looks as if you've spent a lot of time on it, but I reckon you could have put a little more effort into the double page spread, I don't think you've put enough information in, which makes it not look as realistic as it could be, but all the rest looks good :D"

"Kris I love the band! Looks awesome, you've hit the 'indie' style perfectly, but I think you could have spent a bit more time on the double page spread, and just touched up on some things."

_____________________________________________________________________________

*self reflect*

From the Feedback it helps to show me that people are enjoying the magazine, but I could have placed a lot more information within it, this would have improved how realistic it is.... But the band members got compliments and it looks as if I've represented 'indie' very well through my pictures etc.

Another Feature article I wanted to include: The Prodigy.

Invaders must die! (Special) – Live Review

Vulgar, loud and perfectly old skool: Keith, Liam and Maxim are back and as fire-starting as ever!

We’re under attack. An incredible onslaught of noise. The sound of missiles, choppers, shelling: boom boom boom. Strobe lights disorientate us, the smell of smoke and adrenaline thick in the nostrils, hellish screaming all around. Bare-chested men stomp and charge in all directions while women wriggle as if possessed. It’s like a massacre of death in here and the only way out is to mosh to Hell. It’s gloriously diabolical, and the three shamanic men at the centre of this mayhem have the look of hellhounds feeding on good Christian meat. “Invaders Must Die” is the fifth studio album by the electronic act The Prodigy which was released during February and March 2009 on the band's new label "Take Me to the Hospital"... The gig had been set up and choreography/rehearsals had been practiced endlessly for weeks – The Prodigy knew this one is going to be one of the biggest sets they ever have played.

NME caught up with lead vocalist + dancer Keith Flint 4 weeks prior to hear what he had to say on this gig.

“Well Brighton knows how to create an atmosphere, last time we played their, it was insane! This time we hope to double that. Basically we have done this gig for a little Christmas present to all our English fans! We love em! Each gig is an hour of madness, and afterwards I'm absolutely exhausted, shaken to bits. The adrenaline charge and energy needed are shattering. But this time it’s going to be longer, faster and more intense! LETS HAVE IT!”

The Prodigy are undoubtedly in a league with the devil. Their new album, ‘Invaders Must Die’, was an unexpected triumph and sold 200,000 copies within two weeks. Within 4 days of Brighton tickets going on sale it was sold out,

Standing/seated were filled to the brink. Massacre of congestion was on the floor, textbook definition of overcrowded, anyone suffering from a weak heart or claustrophobia would be in their worst nightmare. As the blinding lights beamed down on the stage, the band came out, the shriek of the crowd roared as Keith Flint greeted the crowd by yelling out “Brighton we want to cause some F****** Mayhem!!” They kicked it off with the popular track ‘Omen’ and it’s addictive fury took hold of the crowd, immediate impact, people jumping up and down, hands in the air, with eye blinding lights flashing from all range of colors to the beat of the song. Strobe effects to send anyone into an epileptic fit! Keith Flint meanwhile bounced and zig-zagged across the stage front in what wasn't so much a dance as a visual elemental of what The Prodigy sound like.

The first track encapsulates the whole night – Leaves you in utter awe of drum and bass music! The encore of ‘Invaders Must Die’, then ‘Warriors Dance, then ‘Smack My Bitch Up’, has the crowd jumping out of their skins. They end with the pure rave of ‘Take Me To The Hospital’, which brings the euphoria again. But it’s aggression and violence which defines The Prodigy now, and watching gigs like this, it’s no surprise that The Prodigy are one of the biggest bands at the moment. Keith Flint and the other members of the band stood at the front of the stage, blood red beams shining down on them, Keith gave a blunt speech of “Thank you Brighton, we came, we hope you enjoyed, because we for sure delivered, have a F***** good Christmas!!”

I wanted to include this within my piece as many other magazines do reviews on gigs etc, but I did not have enough time to put it in, and as it's a very long piece I wanted to post it on my blog showing that my magazine would have many of these just on all different bands I listed would have reviews such as "Foals + Hadouken's live tour"

My Google links of the documents of my magazine

Contents page

http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B0nnDb4gQpvvYTAxNTcxYzEtZjU3OS00YmU1LTkzZWQtMTZhOTc0NjVkOGNm&hl=en_GB

Main page

http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B0nnDb4gQpvvNDcyZWU4ODEtY2VlMi00MDdlLTgyNmQtYjk0ODZjODRlMDc1&hl=en_GB

Double Page

http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B0nnDb4gQpvvNTQwOTY3YjItZWE2My00NDUyLTk5ZTEtOTExZjM2ZDI3OTBh&hl=en_GB

Evaluation of the finished magazine

My finished magazine, is very similar to what I wanted it to look like in my flat plans. It introduces colour, vibe and information on the band + other articles. This is similar to my NME article's that I based my ideas on and it looks as I wanted it to be, NME targets young hip teens/young adults as does my magazine. I put illustrations in my magazine to show the audience what they look like so they can relate to the band, I.e see what they wear, how they act, what they look like in basic terms. The magazine has many positive and negative factors within it.

Positive -

Looks like a real magazine.
Colour brings attention
Information within it keeps the reader interested and wants to read more.
Pictures show the audience what the band look like.
Consistent layout/font-style/graphic style that is pleasing to the eyes
Relevant information that makes a difference for the reader
Well-targeted content that makes it an effective marketing medium for the advertisers


Negatives -

I believe I could have included quite a lot more information within my text, in some aspects I feel their is not enough content which means it loses validity. Especially with my double page spread I could have put much more information in about the band, I just lacked the time.

Mainly I think, that my double page could have been focused on. But my contents and main page are well presented, and layed out. Drawing the readers eye.

Because of my magazine being an individualist magazine, it means that I had to make a few things different such as the titles etc in big and bold headings, with A different font.


I asked myself a few questions such as:

1. what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? I believe that my magazine has many aspects towards a 'real' magazine such as a masthead at the top resembling the magazine name, and also the image of the band staring directly into the readers eye is a common feature within magazines - I use this. I put a teal colouring effect into my magazine just to create an eye catching feature Other magazines might use vibrant colouring to reflect the bands mood/vibe.

2. • How does your media product represent particular social groups? My magazine is for the 'indie' category therfore I have to put things within my magazine that would be classified as 'indie'. This is the style of music they play, the clothes they wear, general appeareance, hair etc. I did this by dressing my band in indie clotes - this helped emhpahsise there 'indie' appeal. The Social group I intended to represent was 'indie' and I think I did this successfully

3. • What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? I think that as it is not a specialist magazine such as magazines that would specify on certain bands, mine is a feature article on 'Moonbase' but has many other features on other big/popualr bands such as MGMT, Foals etc which means that it could appeal to lots of people, but specially 'indie'

4. Who would be the audience for your media product? When looking at this question I considred, race, gender, socio economic group, and to me I think that it can appeal to anyone. R&B can be to anyone but it is intended to black people, this is because of the high percentage of black artists. Sex wise anyone who likes this music will enjoy it, it appeals to both genders and is not specified for a certain sex, just feel good 'indie' music. The Socioeconomic group that I've intended to put my magazine in is targeted at younger generation/middle class.

5. How did you attract/address your audience? As stated earlier - I put my band into indie clothes that would appeal to the 'indie' population, this is checkered clothes etc and a laid back approach.

6.• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? I've learnt to include a lot more information within my piece, and to make sure that you know and have a full understanding on what your target audience want. You've got to be careful you don't include any offensive material in your piece, such as racism/sexism...This could result in a high lack of profits from your magazine as people will just find it offensive.

Main Page

Contents

http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B0nnDb4gQpvvYTAxNTcxYzEtZjU3OS00YmU1LTkzZWQtMTZhOTc0NjVkOGNm&hl=en_GB

Double page spread.