AS Media Evaluation

Jonathan Harvey

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

products?

This is an example of Kerrang! Magazine. I used several issues to draw inspiration and gather ideas about what sort of conventions I shall use in my magazine. The forms and conventions of Kerrang! Have been explored in more detail in my previous analysis. However I shall explain what one I have used specifically for each section of my magazine.

Some sort of competition or giveaway that shall be further explained in further detail inside. This is made to stand out on the cover to draw the readers attention, as this is a pull of the magazine.

All cover images are given a reasonable stroke weight to make it look more professional and doesn’t look as if the pictures are just simply placed on the cover.

Included in the barcode box are the date, issue number and price.

Along the left of some issues of Kerrang! Is a coloured panel that separates the inside articles from the main feature in the two

I have used a similar colour scheme to Kerrang! With my scheme revolving around black, red, yellow and white. I did this because these are suitable colours for both contrasting with each other to attract the readers attention, as well as having suitable associations with Metal genres.

I also added a reasonable stroke weight to my secondary image. This helps create a more professional look as well as defining the boundaries of the image.

Although I did not use a pug like Kerrang! I did include a pull on my front cover to attract readers. In Kerrang! Posters or merchandise are normally the prize, however in my magazine, I have used classic metal

Like Kerrang! I included the date, issue number, price and website along side my barcode.

I used the convention of a coloured band down the left-hand side of the cover to separate the information of the features inside from the main image. This allows the reader to focus more attention on as many features as possible.

A common feature of a magazine, including music magazines, is to include a quote from the main feature artist that acts as a pull to the reader.

After talking to members of my target audience, it was suggested that I add a strapline/ slogan that can be associated with my magazine. An example of this would be ‘life is loud’ from Kerrang! I opted to use ‘Metal at it’s loudest’, so it is clear to new comers, that my magazine is for the Metal genres.

This is my final front cover for my music magazine.

In every issue of Kerrang! Magazine there is the contents title in white, with the background being red.

As well as the magazine name and the contents title, the date and issue number are reiterated at the top of the contents page. This is a regular feature and acts a form of page furniture. To match the title, the font is also white for these features.

The section headings emulate the cover line found at the top of the cover; however the yellow writing on a background is a permanent part of the house style for the Kerrang! contents page.

Similar to the cover, another puff is shown, advertising a competition/ giveaway to the reader. Bright yellow is used throughout the magazine to draw the reader’s attention to important information.

A letter addressed to the readers

from the editor gives a more

personal feel and creates a better

connection with the reader.

A prominent section of the Kerrang!

Magazine, it the tour dates or ‘gig guide’

near the back. I know from personal

experience this I can act as a pivotal

point in helping someone decide to buy

or at least read the magazine.

Similar to Kerrang!, I added the date and issue number to the heading of the contents page. However, I also added the magazine’s slogan, ‘Metal at its loudest’ To help reiterate

it to the reader.

Keeping with the house style of the magazine, I also used a black background for the section headings, accompanied with red text, to keep in the theme of darker colours, that are appropriate to a metal magazine.

My final contents page.

Although Kerrang! Does not include a folio at the bottom of their contents page, it was suggested by members of my target audience that this would be useful as it acts as a running theme throughout the magazine, as seen on the double page spread by the page numbers.

I also included a brightly coloured puff on my contents page to advertise and draw attention to a competition, a permanent fixture of the Kerrang! Contents page.

I liked the idea of a competition on the contents page, as this encourages the reader to remain interested in the magazine.

I think its useful to create a more personal bond with the readers, ergo I included the letter from the editor, similar to that found in issues of Kerrang!

The double spread feature in this magazine was not the main cover artist. I shall use this idea, even though it is believed by some to be an usual lay out, as shown above, professional magazines do so.

In this article, a separate box out is used to help break up the page that has the main interview and thus a large amount of text on it. The box out is in a different colour to attract the readers attention to the area of ‘extra information’.

The main block of text in the double page spread is set out in a detailed ‘question and answer’ format. With questions being in a different colour to ensure they are distinguished from the rest of the text.

A bold, larger subheading is used to introduce the interview and the topics which may be discussed.

I included a large headline as opposed to a pull quote to introduce the double page spread.

Like Kerrang! I included a large headline that stands out at the top of the interview page, that also introduces the topic(s) of the interview.

The questions in my interview are in red to define them and make them easier to read. With more clarity, the reader is more likely to remain interested in the page.

After feedback from a sample group of my target audience, it was suggested a Twitter comment section be placed in the double page spread to help break up the text and create more of a bond with past and present readers.

I have included two pull quotes in the double page spread. This is feature of Kerrang! and attracts the reader, as well as informing them of important points of the spread.

Final Double Page Spread

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine represents the social groups associated with Metal in a quite stereotypical fashion. As you can see to the right, my headline was ‘FIGHT?’ with the accompaniments of “people don’t know what really happened”. Also, the by-line includes the term ‘infamous night’ . Altogether, this reinforces the stereotype that ‘Metalheads’ and Metal artists/bands are always getting into trouble and are quite aggressive or violent people. Although this is not necessarily true, magazines usually play on this factor to make more interesting stories.

Furthermore, The somewhat assumption that Metal artists often cause friction between one another is shown in the subheading introducing the interview. The idea that the album may never have happened was due to internal conflicts and differences, which is often a feature of Metal magazines, as artists and bands tend to have certain grievances with each other.

What kind of media institution may distribute your media product?

One publisher may want to publish/distribute my media product is Bauer Media Group. This is the publisher of Kerrang! Magazine and so I believe they would be interested in my product. With Kerrang! Being the world’s biggest selling weekly rock magazine, it is clear that BMG have a lot of assets that could be used to the advantage of Zerstören.

Another Publisher that may be interested in distributing Zerstören is TeamRock. This company is the distributor and publisher of MetalHammer, a very popular, monthly Metal magazine. Although MetalHammer tends to focus on the heaviest of metal, I still believe that Zerstören would fit in and do well under TeamRock.

Who would be the target audience for your media product?

My music magazine's primary target audience shall be both males and females aged between 16-30 who are passionate about the metal genres. The target audience will enjoy seeing mainstream bands at large arenas, but will still keep an eye out for any new and upcoming bands that may be worth seeing in smaller, more intimate venues. They will be the sort of person who spends their money on going to concerts, buying band merchandise and investing in the latest album of one of their favourite bands.

My Audience's favourite music may include that from bands such as Rammstein, Slipknot, Bullet For My Valentine or shock artist Marilyn Manson, as well as iconic classics such as Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath or Metallica. Some will prefer smaller bands such as Cancer Bats, Turisas or Airbourne.

How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract my target audience, I tried to emulate the features of popular Metal magazines Kerrang! And MetalHammer to an advantage. Also, I utilised the results of my questionnaire as it allowed me to have a further understanding of my target audience, such as them wanting a magazine to be £2-£3.

For my cover I made sure to use darker base colours, with brighter colours to make certain texts stand out. I also made sure to include big names in Metal and ensured artists where wearing appropriate clothing.

In terms of my contents page, I tried to make sure that the older sector of the target audience we’re covered, with the prize being LPs, I believe I did this, however this shall also apply to the younger portion too, as records are growing in popularity. Also, buzz words like ‘WIN!’ , are sure to attract any readers attention.

Lastly, for the double page spread, I used terms that are known to attract the attention of the reader. For example, mentioning that Oblivion had worked with ‘big names’ in the second pull quote, without actually saying they were, is likely to encourage a potential reader to read the article/interview.

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

For any manipulation of raw images, I used Adobe Photoshop CS6. Although only to change the brightness and contrast levels or to crop, in most cases, I learnt a lot about the software and techniques used by professionals to enhance their photographs.

To construct the final product, I used Adobe InDesign CS6. I believe that sue to the greater level of complexity, the end product was far superior to that if I had used a more basic programme such as Microsoft Publisher. Although I had some difficulties to begin with, I soon warmed to the programme, and fully understood how to create a pull quote etc effectively, to give the impression of a high level of professionalism.

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

Looking back at the preliminary task, I am pleased with the product...as a newsletter. I do believe however, that I have come a long way in making my final music magazine. This particularly applies to the IT side of things and the skill or seeing what looks suitable.

For example, the masthead for the newsletter should not have been black, and is in fact barely visible, with the newsletter on a whole having few layers and little unity.

Also, the connotations of Zerstören, improve the significance of the masthead, especially when compared to ‘Deyes News’, which was unimaginative.

Also, I believe that I have improved my photography skills since the Preliminary task. Previously, I failed to think about lighting requirements and what sort of poses I wanted the participants to do. However for the main task, I believed that these were less of a problem, with higher quality images as a result.

I believe that there is a clear difference, and improvement in the level of design and content of the contents pages, when comparing the preliminary task to the final product.

The prelim was very basic and lacked any real substance or colour for that matter. Whereas, the final contents page contains all correct sections, and was definitely constructed with more thought, time and effort, significantly increasing the level of quality.

Thank you for reading my evaluation.