EVALUATION Kelsie Hatton

QUESTION 1

On every front cover they will have a main photo on it that is to do with one of the main features inside the magazine. I took a medium close up and framed it to the side of the magazine so that I could

have the text all down the left side. I made her wear festival/summer clothes as the genre of music my magazine consists of involves a lot

of festivals, therefore my model is connecting with the theme.

Main Photo

This is similar to Q’s front cover of having a

medium close up shot of Amy Winehouse

positioned to one side.

I created a headline across the front cover of the magazine just like any other magazine has. This gives the reader an insight into the context

inside the magazine and what one of the main features is going to be about.

In this case mine tells my audience that “Lucy B is taking the world by

storm” which is written in a different font and a larger one than the rest of the magazine except the masthead. It

also has the electric green stroke highlighting it which ties in with the

same colour scheme as well as giving an illusion of her name being in lights

to do with her fame.

Headlines This is similar to

Kerrang! Magazine’s

headline that runs across the front cover. However this one involves

different fonts and colours whereas

mine are all similar.

Many magazines consist of the convention of a ‘plug.’ A plug is used to persuade people to buy the magazine as it is making

them aware that it consists of something free. I used this both on the front cover as well as in the contents page using the electric

green to make it different to the rest of the page. It makes it more noticeable to the audience and makes it more appealing that

they will be getting something for free.

Plugs

Just like Kerrang! Magazine the plug is

in a circle which makes it stand out amongst the rest of

the magazine.

Coverlines are used in many magazines as it gives the reader an insight to what is inside it. I used different fonts

and sizes to highlight different parts of the text such as the Leeds Fest and Parklife logos.

Coverlines

Q magazine has coverlines that inform the

reader of what music (bands/artists) will be in

this edition.

Throughout my magazine I used the same colours creating continuity and a recurring theme of black, white and electric green.

Just like any other magazine e.g. Q colour theme always remains red, black and

white.

Colours By making the colour scheme consistent it makes the magazine recognisable and is a way of making it unique compared to other magazines.

Another typical convention of a magazine is a barcode this is

always accessible so it is easy to purchase. I placed mine

underneath the masthead so it isn’t big enough to draw attention

away from the front cover.

Barcode

I also used page numbers in my

magazine to make it clear to the reader which pages I am

directing them too on m contents page. However in the example here, Q have their page number

designed differently whereas mine is just

simple.

Page numbers

Headings for articles are always a

convention for magazines. I used different fonts to

show the difference between ‘ordinary’ and ‘extraordinary’

quite similarly to the ‘wild child’ here. This is so it differentiates itself from the rest of

the text in the article.

Headlines

In my double spread article it is designed in a conventional way of having three aligned columns. I designed it in a similar way to my research of having different coloured fonts to highlight different parts of the text e.g. the questions being in white.

Columns

Pull out quotes in double page spread is common as it picks out important information in the article that will be

one of the first few things they see about the article.

Pull out quotes

QUESTION 2

My magazine represents gender through many ways. As my target audience is mainly girls but can also appeal to some boys, therefore I mainly designed it towards them. My colour scheme isn’t directed towards one gender as it consists of black, white and electric green which are unisex. This way it could appeal to either gender and shows it is more about the music rather than other features.

However, due to what my models are wearing on each page in my magazine is quite feminine e.g. the flowery kimono and flowery headband which could turn away boys.

Purely having the main front cover of a picture of a girl makes it more appealing to girls as they connect to it more, whereas boys are unable to do this.

I challenge stereotypes by even though my magazine is aimed towards girls I don’t use stereotypical colours e.g. pinks or use fonts directed towards a female audience.

Unlike Q magazine which is very unisex as it appeals to both boys and girls. The fonts that they use of red, white and black as well as different celebrities on the front varying between boys and girls doesn’t make it as objective as my magazine.

Gender

AgeMy magazine is specifically designed towards teenagers and I do this in a few ways. Firstly, my front cover is designed towards teenage audiences as the masthead’s font is very techno and modern. The bright colours wouldn’t appeal to any other ages. Not only does the context of my magazine appeal to my target audience but my style of the magazine appeals to them such as the font I use on the title. As it is quite a techno styled font this wouldn’t appeal to other ages.

Q target audience is for young adults/late teens and similarly they show this by the colour scheme and simple font which wouldn’t appeal to anyone much younger. Also the main photos of celebrities and musicians are ones that a younger audience wouldn’t know about or be interested in.

My magazine wouldn’t appeal to many ethnicities other than white people as there isn't much multi-cultural content in whereas in magazines such as Q they use all variations of ethnicities making them feel connected and helping to build a relationship with the reader.

The style of my magazine only appeals to the working/middle class and not the upper class due to the context. It wouldn’t appeal to the upper class as it is quite common music and common subjects it talks about inside.

Social GroupsMy magazine is directed towards teens with he indie style as this is their stereotypical type of music and themes such as what my model is wearing with the boho flowery headband/festival styles.

Ethnicity

Class

QUESTION 3 – WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR

MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY?

This media institution is most likely to distribute my magazine as it is on a similar wavelength to the ‘Q’ magazine that they also publish. Q is a late teen/young adult magazine consisting of the charts music. The audience, style and some of the features inside of this magazine is similar to mind which is why Bauer would be interested to a point.

http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/Bauer M

edia

Group would

most likely

publish my

magazine.

Large, European-based media company Based in Hamburg, Germany Manages 600 magazines worldwide Over 400 digital products worldwide 50 radio and TV stations worldwide

However, it also offers something different which isn’t in the market making it unique and ideal to BMG to distribute it. But as my target audience is very similar to its other magazines it could be considered as a disadvantage as they would not be gaining any new readers. My style of my magazine would be unique as they don’t have an upbeat/electro music magazine which means the content would be different e.g. advertising and discussing topics to do with certain festivals.

QUESTION 4 – WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR

MEDIA PRODUCT?

QUESTION 5 – HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR

AUDIENCE?

Masthead – The masthead on my

front cover attracts to my audience as it is so distinct and recognisable. Due to the colours with the electric green ‘R’ in contrast to the black and white it makes it easy on the eye. Also, no other music magazines use similar colours which will differentiate it to all the rest

when purchasing it.

Photo – I attracted my audience by the photos and style of my photos in my media product. Each of my model

throughout my magazine is wearing summer, feminine clothing and styles. I based the clothing that the models

are wearing on the genre of music and context of the magazine so festival clothing. This will make it relatable to

the audience as this is what the are interested in.

Colours – The colours I used are more used to match up to the genre of music rather than anything else. The electro green attracts the audience as they are into

the electro music which is why they are buying the magazine.

Free posters – The free posters advertised at the bottom of my front cover as well as inside my contents page attracts the audience as it is

advertising something free within the magazine

Cover lines – The use of these on my front cover are to attract the audience by giving them an insight into what's

inside e.g. the headline for my main feature article. By having this in a different font to the rest of the text and in a bigger size it

attracts the reader and if it is someone they know then they will instantly want to know what it is about, attracting them to buy it.

Price – The price of my magazine is at £3.00 which attracts my target audience of late teens as it is fairly

cheap but still worth it for the content.

Layout – The layout of my magazine is very simple and not overcrowded. By having it simple it attracts my target audience as they

aren’t overwhelmed with information and pictures. Unlike Kerrang! Magazine which is mainly directed towards males it has a busy layout consisting of lots of different colours, fonts, coverlines and pictures which is more

likely to attract them. Whereas mine uses limited colours, similar fonts, one picture and few

coverlines.

I also positioned my main picture on the front cover to the side so I could align the cover lines down one side giving it a simpler structure. In

my double page spread I designed my text all on one side and my photo on the other side of the page so everything was straightforward instead of having the article placed randomly on the two pages. This would’ve been too confusing for my

readers as I want my magazine too flow.

Lexis - I used personal pronouns such as ‘your’ and ‘we’ which is trying to create a relationship with the reader and not keeping it as formal.

I used music lexis such as ‘festivals’, ‘gigs’, ‘line up’, ‘charts’ as well as fashion lexis such as ‘ styles and

trends.’ This is assuming that the audience are aware of what is being said and understand the subject. It even

suggests that they have been to ‘festivals’ or ‘gigs’ which is therefore relatable and personal to them.

I even used the Leeds Fest and Parklife logos

assuming that the audience knew what the

logos stood for and shows that this is the music that

they are into.

Photos - My photos were all taken in a studio which gives the connotation of a magazine that has had a

lot of money put into it by being able to have hired and used the equipment needed in the studio. Having the

bright artificial lighting and studio settings for the photos in my magazine gives it a professional look instead of having

realistic photos.

In my contents page there is a few shots of one of my models posing more naturally which is to give a relatable relaxed personality across to the readers, showing it is

about fun as well as my serious photos on my front cover and double page spread.

The pictures that I took for my front cover and double page spread are

very formal with both models looking straight into the camera with serious looks. This shows the audience that the articles are serious and that their

music is important to them. It also gives it a professional look to it as

they are both in studios which isn’t a relaxed setting as opposed to a different setting e.g. the streets.

I dressed my models in summery festival clothing and styles as a lot of my magazine revolves around festivals. Also, the indie styles that they are wearing connect with

my demographic as this is the styles that they wear. If my models were wearing something completely different it

wouldn’t appeal to my readers.

QUESTION 6 – WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS

OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?

Pre production: PowerPoint – I used PowerPoint several times in

creating my media product. I used it in pre-production to show my planning and my pitch. I

found it was a good way to show off and develop my ideas for my magazine in an organised way. I

also used it show my research into other magazines as I could split it down into different magazines and different features/pages. I think that PowerPoint was vital in creating my product as it is the only resource that allowed me to plan

out my magazine in an organised way that I could keep resorting back too.

Publisher – I used publisher to create my reader profile and mock designs of my magazines. This was the easiest programme to create these as it deals easy with combining pictures and text together. The only problem that I faced with using this was you are limited to what you can do with it e.g. get rid of white backgrounds. I found it wasn’t as advanced as programmes such as Photoshop which I used for my proper designs. I think I could have done without using publisher I only used it for my mocks as it was the quickest and easiest way.

Survey monkey – I have never used survey monkey before but this was the best way to find out information for my magazine. I created 10 questions and it allows you to share and send it out to as many people as you would like and receive response. It concludes your results for you developing them into graphs from which I could gather up my research and analyse the conclusions, sharing them in a PowerPoint. The only fault with survey monkey is that it meant I couldn’t receive my results immediately I had to wait for people to respond. Even though it gave me efficient responses it was a few days before I had substantial responses. Without the interviews I wouldn’t have gotten as much research into audiences as I did, however survey monkey was not vital as I could’ve done interview by hands it just wouldn’t have been as organised and efficient.

Something I learnt about using survey monkey was that you can choose alternative ways of displaying your results e.g. bar chart, pie chart etc.

Blogger – I have used blogger throughout my media product to display all my research, planning and product itself. I have never used a blog before so I have learnt new things such as writing a new blog and being able to design it in a way that I want. I found it an easy way to display everything and keep all my work together and in order. Without using this I don’t think throughout my project I could’ve kept my work in order and keep track of all my research and planning.

Slide share – I used slideshare so I could connect my powerpoints that I had created with my blog being able to share it. It is an easy way to publish your slideshow and hyperlink the site to your blog so when you are on your blog the powerpoint is already their.

Cameras – I used compact

cameras when taking my photos for my magazine. The cameras allowed me to take my photos and then link it up to the computer to allow editing and transform it into my magazine. I couldn’t have achieved my product without cameras as I needed photos for my front cover, contents page and double page spread as it would have been bare. A good thing about using the cameras was it was so easy and quick to link up and see the photos on the computer.

Photoshop –

Photoshop played a big part in creating my magazine and I used it on each page I designed. It allowed me to edit my original photos, add text and create effects. I learnt a few things as well such as getting rid of white backgrounds by using the magic wand tool, creating my own colour etc. Without Photoshop I wouldn’t have been able to have created my magazine despite facing some difficulties along the way such as technology problems e.g. crashing. This showed that technology isn’t always reliable.

Indesign – I had never used

indesign until creating my double page spread. I used it for my article and aligning it in columns and making sure it was all the right size. It was very similar to photoshop in that once you have the hang of it it’s a fairly easy programme to use despite technology problems. I also found whilst working on it the resolution was poor and once saved the picture quality wasn’t as good as when I first took the photo which was one problem I found.

Post production I used other media that intertwined parts of my work together. Such as my interview video I had to upload onto YouTube in able to link it to my blog as I couldn’t upload a video straight. However, the fact I already had I also learnt that when it came to editing and producing my media product any bad photos that I had took I couldn’t change it. I learnt that you need to make sure when you are taking photos that the angle and positioning of the camera was right as when it comes to post production their isn't much you can do with a bad photo.

I linked the photos that I took in the studio up to the computer which allowed me to use programmes such as Photoshop and InDesign to edit and produce my front cover, contents page and double page spread. Once it was uploaded onto the computer I was free to change and do what I want with, adding texts, putting on effects etc.

QUESTION 7 – LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE

LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?

Preliminary Task Front

CoverThis is the progression from the front cover that I designed for my preliminary task and the finished design for my front

cover for my music magazine. I didn’t use any advanced programmes on my

preliminary task and I just stuck to publisher which is why it doesn’t consist of any other colours than black or any

different fonts. I also didn’t have as much time to work on this design like I

did for my music magazine and so wasn’t able to plan and research into

what I wanted it to look like. Whereas on my music magazine front cover I was able to use Photoshop to create it as well as planning and researching into what would appeal to my audience.

Preliminary Task Front CoverThis is the contents page I designed for my preliminary task and the contents page I

designed for my music magazine. Similarly to my front cover, I was able to use other

programmes to create my second contents page whereas I just used publisher on the first draft. Without using Photoshop on my media product I wouldn’t have been able to

have achieved what I wanted as I learnt new techniques to be able to do what I

wanted to do e.g. using rulers to line my photos in order.