1. 1. Evaluation of my Music Magazine Jagveer Bassra
2. 2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (Cover) Something very similar between my magazine cover and other magazines is that they used feminine colours like pink for example but also an attractive person on the cover. We have both put our artists in the hotspot which attracts the audiences eye at first glance which makes the magazine attractive to them as they first see the attractive person on the cover who is usually smiling in this genre of magazines which is pop music. I used a strapline advertising a chance to win tickets to a concert and the magazines I analysed done the same thing but with posters instead. I had another strapline which was promoting celebrity gossip and they have done that too. We have stickers on the covers also which is there to tell the reader what this issue is all about but the sticker also pretty attractive too. There are many cover lines on my cover and there's too, this is to help persuade potential customers to buy it as something on the cover could interest them for example exclusive interviews . The two magazines I analysed had mastheads that really stood out so when I made my magazine I made sure mine would stand out and it does as its golden with a light blue shadow on a claret background.
3. 3. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (Contents) The magazine contents pages I analysed were very much different to each other and I liked one more than the other. The top of the pops contents was designed in a clever and stylish way as they put the cover on the contents and highlighted cover lines with a page number which I really like so I elected to use that. The we love pop magazine had their pages in separate colours and I liked that so I also used that as well to showcase my less important pages on my contents. The we love pop had a photo of a star on there which I particularly didnt like as it reminded me of the cover too much. My magazine has taken quite a bit of inspiration from top of the pops as I am very fond of the way they use their cover to highlight pages. I used to the same colour scheme as I did on the cover on my contents page but in reverse order with it this time having claret boxes and a light blue background rather than the other way round. If I could do it again I would probably add faces of other stars on the contents.
4. 4. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (Double Page Spread) Both double page spreads I analysed were both from the Q magazine and they both focused on a pop sensation as one had Ellie Goulding and the other had Shakira. I liked the idea of having the double page based on a particular artist so I have opted for the same thing on my magazine too. Both double pages but a big picture of the star on side and the article on the other page with a little picture with the article. I thought that worked quite well however Ive decided to do a fans question page instead of a article to the star as the article is quite boring and long. I think a fans question page being answered by the star is good as it links quite well with the genre as pop music is usually coveted by teenage girls who obsess and fantasise over their favourite stars so the opportunity to write questions that will be answered by their idol in the magazine is great. Ive also realised that the side that has the picture has a quotation in big text on their which is a small extract taken from the article itself, I like this and have used it in my double page spread. The picture of the star on both magazines I have analysed shows them being relaxed but also they look very attractive so I will do that as well. If I could do it again I would probably get another picture of the star which I would use and put it in a box with a caption next to the text.
5. 5. How does your media product represent particular social groups? The genre I have chosen is pop and that is liked by teenage girls the most. The people who will want my magazine the most will probably be teenage girls as it is targeted at them. The main colour scheme I have used is claret and blue which I think works for teenage girls as the claret is very feminine but also attractive and the blue goes well with it. The blue I have used is very light and quite turquoise which is more of a female colour rather than a mans colour which is dark blue. Older women like more corporate colours so claret and blue is worked better for teenage girls. Furthermore many of these teenage girls like a young attractive handsome man on the cover as they will be their favourite artist but also their celebrity crush so on my magazine I specifically put a handsome young man on the cover smiling on a claret and blue background which works well. This makes the artist look friendly, popular and attractive which is well received to teenage girls.
6. 6. What kind of media might distribute your media product and why? Most magazines are sold by newsagents and supermarkets such as asda and tesco. Magazines can be sold in many ways though. They could be sold at a shop or bought in a subscription. If someone really liked my magazine they could buy a years subscription which would make the magazine be delivered to their house every time a new issue comes out for the year. The magazine could be used in a sponsor for a music film such as x factor, this would help enhance the name. The magazine could also be bought of its website or other websites. The magazine itself could have a YouTube channel which posts content which connects to target audiences on their internet which would then interest them to buy the magazine. Music magazines such as smash hits have a television channel which plays music all day and my magazine could have a channel like that which would play music all day but also gain fans with this and then they would start buying the magazine. The magazine would be seen on many places such as a shop, TV, YouTube, internet and more.
7. 7. Who would be the audience for your media product? My target audience is mass as the genre is pop and that stands for popular music so there will be a massive audience. Majority of that audience will probably be teenage girls from around about the age of ten to eighteen. The audience isn't really targeted at a specific ethnicity as any ethnicity would be interested in it but I would probably say Caucasian girls would be most interested in the magazine as there are many Caucasian stars but also because the magazine itself is westernised which makes it more for Caucasians however in the modern day you could say its for any ethnicity. There are many other music genres for other races for example reggae and Caribbean people, Bhangra and Indians people so the pop magazine could be aimed at Caucasians more than other ethnicities. Other people could be interested in the magazine as their celebrity crush is on the cover. These people would be my main audience.
8. 8. How did you attract/address your audience? My magazine connected with the audience quite well as the claret and blue background goes well with the genre and the attractive young male on the cover will be fancied by the audience. Doing this was a deliberate attempt to connect with the audience as it is specifically what they are after. My strap lines mentioned celebrity gossip and tickets to concerts which will be well received by teenage girls as they will be especially interested in that. My sticker and cover lines talked of exclusive interviews, top albums/songs and new releases which is everything a teenage girl wants to know. One of my cover lines said there was a free poster of the cover star inside which would attract the audience as they would buy the magazine and put the poster on their wall. My double page spread has a picture of the star which the audience will love but a section where the star answers fans questions this attracts the audience as some fans will genuinely be interested in their idol and what stuff they like and some people will be interested in it for the humour. This connects with the audience as they want to know everything about their idol but also that their question may have been answered which is every fans dream especially a teenage girl who will stereotypically obsess over their idol.
9. 9. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? Before constructing my product I had never used Photoshop in my life but now I have fully learnt how to use and use it properly. Before making my product I wasnt aware of specific camera shots but now I am so I knew which photos would work best with my product and the difference between shots became apparent to me which helped me greatly. When making my product the pictures I took were on my phone and some were on a camera, I used these as I needed more megapixels for my picture to produce a picture with better resolution so my magazine would look better. To get the pictures on my laptop I blue toothed the ones on my phone to the laptop and I plugged the SD card from the camera into the laptop to get them pictures; this really helped me as I understood how to transfer over pictures. Furthermore I never had a blog before either so it was a new thing to me but now I am fully capable of using it as it appears to be quite basic. Photoshop was difficult to use as there were many advanced tools and these tools were hard to use as well. Photoshop to me was an advanced paint but that was good as everything I made was made to high quality and perfection whereas on paint there is always room for error. I have learnt how t make media conventions such as a strong masthead and cover lines which I think will be of great aid in the future and that really benefited my magazine as well. Constructing this product also helped me how to use a mac as I had never used one before and now I know how to and it was very difficult. Learning the new technologies was hard work but self-explanatory.
10. 10. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? I have learnt how to use colour effectively as in the preliminary task I was randomly experimenting with colours but now I have chosen a colour scheme that works and stuck with it, this shows maturity and professionalism. The camera shots I have taken now are easier to cut and also shot better with high quality. I have also made the magazine itself look more professional and better as the masthead looks nicer and stands out more and the pictures I have used are higher quality and more attractive. I have also improved the contents page vastly as on the preliminary task it was pretty poor but now its clever and attractive and I got that inspiration from a music magazine I analysed. This time I have taken my survey into a lot of consideration whereas in the preliminary task I didnt really use it for my product. I have learnt how to make conventions looks a lot better and use the Photoshop software better which greatly aided me. The progression I have made is great because I had never done a double page spread before but because I had learnt the conventions properly and the software I was able to make it to good standard which I thought was great.