EVALUATION

MAGAZINEMUSIC

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My music magazine uses forms of real media products in several ways; one way is by using mastheads, cover lines and barcodes as seen here.

One way I have developed an element of a real media product is by keeping all of the main text on the front cover to the left third; however I have also included the picture montage in this section as well which not a lot of real media products do.

A way I have challenged real media products is by using lyrics on the front cover, but stylized in a way so that it could look like they were written on the dress from a far; this brings personality to the front cover and helps the reader make an immediate connection to the person in question. I have also kept the front cover clean and easy to read, which contrasts with magazines of the same genre (i.e. Top of the Pops magazine) so that it will appeal to a slightly older demographic.

One way I have challenged conventions of real media products is by condensing the majority of the information in the lower third of the page. This helps to bring more attention to the feature that the main picture is advertising, and also makes the page seem more professional and gives off the impression that the magazine creating team are confident in their ability to leave most of the page to a single image. I’ve also managed to advertise the magazines website which has developed off other magazines, and using all possible space, and I’ve also carried on the use of stars to advertise features within the magazine, which was originally used on the front cover, which is used in similar magazines.

I’ve used features of real media products by allocating the left hand page to a picture and the right hand page to the interview. I’ve also used a “badge” with a question and answer from the interview in it as this carries on the style of the stars shown on the previous pages and also fits in with magazines of a similar genre, however the use of pale colours and the cleanness of the page layout would hint towards it being aimed at higher demographic once again.

How does your media product represent different social groups?

I created my media product with the intention of it not being made to represent any particular social group, but rather representing the views of many different people in society. Due to the intended nature of my magazine, which is pop and chart music, this means that people who listen to genres of music which are contrasting to that, such as heavy metal or classical, are generally not interested in this magazine. I feel it would be accurate to say that my magazine was created with the intention of not attracting particular social groups as opposed to attracting a particular section of society. This would explain the clean image given throughout the magazine, with no garish colours and where contrasting colours are used they are generally a pastel colour so that the colours all blend well regardless. I feel my magazine represents a large section of society, who are simply interested in pop music and current trends within music, and who generally don’t see themselves in a specific group. I feel this will assist in successfully selling my product to a wide demographic, though the majority of people who listen to pop and chart music are teenagers and young adults which means that this section of people are likely to make up the bulk of the sales. This could also mean that it would be easier for the magazine to be distributed digitally as these young people have grown up in a digital world. The magazine was created with the intention of attracting a slightly older demographic than similar magazines (such as X Factor magazine) but with the intention of being flexible enough to highlight different genres if necessary and if the music charts themselves show popularity towards these genres.

What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?

One area I would like my magazine to delve into is digital distribution. A website such as Issuu could become a distributor for my product, giving a free preview of a feature in each edition and where you have to pay the price to see the full magazine. This would allow people to access it in a more accessible way, due to the emergence of digital devices in everyday life. I would also enquire to see whether Apple would consider a magazine distribution service, as their iPad product is a perfect devices to download and read magazines on; it would also allow the direct transferral of downloadable features, such as songs and mix tapes, onto iTunes. However, if this were to be the only way the magazine was distributed it would require a hefty advertising campaign to raise awareness in a growing but still infant industry; therefore I would consider allowing the magazine to be physically distributed in stores such as Tesco, ASDA, HMV, W H Smith and independent newsagents. I would also consider an exclusivity deal with one of the larger companies, similar to deals which took place with magazines in the same genre as mine, such as X Factor magazine which was distributed exclusively by Tesco. However I would want the distribution plan to be flexible to capitalize on current trends, with a future plan to eventually move to completely digital distribution once a secure audience has been established. I would also want to explore new digital areas such as satellite television distribution, game console distribution and smart-phone distribution.

Who would be the audience

for your media product?

How did you attract/address your audience?

Bright Colours

Pastille Tones

Picture Montage

Information Bar

This shows quite clearly to me that the front cover would need improving before going to print. This allayed my original fears that it wasn’t striking enough, and an improvement I would make is to make the masthead more striking and to use a stronger image.

I am pleased to see that the magazine was aimed towards the correct genre which would help the consumer on initial viewing. The price issue could easily be reviewed in the future with the magazine starting off at a lower price to attract customers before increasing the price alongside increased contents.

This shows to me that the magazine was accurately created to the correct demographic, which is teenagers and young adults. It also shows that they are more likely to be using digital devices and the internet because the survey itself was digital based; this is important to consider when deciding how to distribute the product.

Similar colours and contrasting

colours used to bring

effect and attention

I decided to use a blue theme for the contents page which would later tie in with the colour theme of the double page spread. I decided to split the page into two sections, with an advertisement for one of the features in the magazine located in the top half with the rest of the contents page located in the bottom half. I’ve also used features which are commonly seen in professional magazines, such as Editor’s comments and credits to the production team. I decided to use reversed out style on the headers on the contents page in order to carry on the style which was used on the front cover. I’ve also used the same star which was used on the front cover to give continuity and to hint towards the fact that it despite being aimed at a higher demographic it is still essentially a pop and chart magazine. My readers said that the contents page does everything they require, with the only criticism being that the fonts are possibly a little hard to read; this could easily be tweaked before print and I would personally improve this further by using the same fonts that were seen on the front cover. I would also change the colour of the background for the bottom half of the page to a more similar colour to the one seen predominantly on the front cover. 5 readers said that they felt there was a “house style” which was effectively carried over from the front cover, with 2 readers suggesting this was partially the case, however I’m confident that if the improvements previously suggested were made they would change to a Yes answer.

Q&A away from

main interview

Whole Page for interview

Similar Tone throughout – aesthetically

pleasing

This is positive and shows that my decision to allocate one page an image with lesser text and one page to the rest of the interview was justified, and that the text was well integrated to fit the colours and theme of the image.

The one criticism of my presentation of my artist was that more glamour was needed on the front cover, which has been previously alluded to and a solution given. The rest of the feedback says that the images were used appropriately and that the way my artist was presented was easy to read and aesthetically pleasing.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

•Photoshop Skills – I have learnt how changing the hue and saturation can change an average photograph into a great photo, learnt how to use effects and styles minimally to enhance a photo and also learnt how to import fonts to the operating system in order for usage in Photoshop.

•Photo shoot Skills – I had to think where to stage the photo shoot, what I wanted my model to where and which photo’s to take. I have learnt how to do all of these effectively in order to create some good images which look great and do their job well enough on their own, but can also be easily changed and modified to suit another need.

•Magazine Construction Skills – I have learnt and understood the fundamentals behind constructing a professional looking magazine, including using a grid system and the creation of mastheads.

•Colour Co-ordination and Contrast – I have used knowledge gained about different colours, using things such as a colour wheel in order to find contrasting colours.

•Using websites - such as Issuu, SlideShare and Blogspot to upload my slideshows, magazine pages and to research about different ways to distribute magazines.

•Importance of audience feedback – I have learnt how to use SurveyMonkey to create a digital questionnaire to gain audience feedback and also recognised the importance of audience feedback in analysing and assessing my final magazine.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Similar page layout – majority of information

down the left third.

However, I feel I’ve learnt to place features on other sides of the page also in order to make the magazine look more professional and realistic.

I’ve also learnt to use a better system than just using strong, block colours. I decided to use colours which are similar to the ones present on the image in order to make the cover better on the eye and a pastel colour scheme will help deter a younger demographic which will be attracted to more garish and attention seeking covers. I have also learnt about how to create a more effective masthead and also about creating other common features of magazines of the same genre, such as badges located on the cover and stars which advertise features within the magazine.

This was pleasing to see that the contents page was viewed to be more professional rather than amateurish, which was a concern I had when reviewing my preliminary task. This shows that I’ve taken all the criticism of my preliminary task into account and have also researched into how to create a more realistic and professional magazine.

Clearer page layout and non-conflicting colours

Use of colours in photo in text and used more specialized fonts – more aesthetically pleasing &

professional

From looking at published magazines I have learnt more about the page layout of an effective contents page, which is easy to read but still contains a lot of

information. I have also learnt and developed my skills in carrying on a house style throughout the production, as evidenced by the star that was also present on the front cover. I’ve also learnt and analyzed about other features of professional magazine contents pages,

such as the Editors comments section and the credits located on the right hand side.