EvaluationBy Courteney Black

3253

In what ways does your media product use develop or

challenge forms and conventions of real media

products?

My magazine mainly follows the conventions of magazines that are similar rather than challenging them, I done this to try and keep to the same generic conventions of a music magazine. It does this in the front cover where the magazine title is located at the top of the page in the masthead area. I have also placed the main image of the front cover centre of the page so it immediately connects with the audience, along with the photo, i have used the convention of a tag line in which is related to the image and the main story of the article to give the reader an idea of what they will be reading. There is also 3 other story headlines placed around the magazine front cover to inform the audience of other articles in which they will find without giving too much away. Like any magazine i have followed the convention of having a barcode, price, issue number and website for the magazine on. The double page spread has also followed the conventions, related to the person who is on the front cover of the magazine and there is not too much writing or overcrowding on the page. However magazines which are targeted at a similar audience tend to have more on the front cover, but i think this makes it over crowded so i didn’t want to make my magazine like this, this way I made my magazine slightly unique and different. I believe my magazine makes it apparent that it is a music magazine due to the magazine title being NONSTOPPOP which is related to the genre of the music in my magazine.

The similarities and differences show between these 2 music magazines and how i have followed some of the conventions of a magazine and also made mine unique to it.

I have set mine out in a similar way of question and answers throughout the double page spread. However on the Top of the Pops magazine the image has covered one side of the double page spread whereas mine i central and is more of a close up. However they both have quotes enlarged around the article of what they will read in the article.

Similarities of these ones are that i have included a message from the editor like what is in the top of the pops magazine, the contents page is also split up into similar sections. I included the double page spread on my contents whereas they have the front cover on theres.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I have attracted an audience of females between the ages of 15-19, and tried to represent this social group within my magazine. I have done this by the articles in which i chose to have in my magazine, the photographs and the language used. I have used a young teen girl as the main article which represents the social group so the audience can relate to who is involved. I have also used a stereotypical boy band of 3 boys, which young teenage girls usually take an interest in to appeal to them, which i believe was a good way to attract my target audience. I have also used catchy words which girls would remember such as ‘girls, gigs and great nights out’ which is more appealing to girls rather than boys. Having articles named ‘hunk’ also is more aimed towards females.

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

The institution i would want my magazine to be distributed by is Bauer Media Group. I chose these because they already publish 2 music magazines being Kerrang and Q. However they also have a lot of involvement with music, such as they have several music channels such as Smash Hits, the Box, 4Music, Heat. Which are all well known channels so it would be an ideal company to distribute my media product. I would also get large supermarkets and newsagents to sell my magazine as it is an easy way to access them especially as these shops are visited frequently, such as Whsmith, Sainsburys, Asda.

What would be the audience for your media product? How did you attract/address your audience?

The audience would be females, aged 15-19. I chose this audience because it has many things they would be interested in such as boy bands, girl advice, love stories and fashion. It is aimed at older teens as there isn’t much slang which younger teens tend to use and it is more of a mature magazine with simple colours for the colour scheme. It also attracts them because i have tried to make them involved with the magazine including that they can write in, tweet, visit the website and enter competitions. Along with this there are free gifts, such as free posters of their favourite celebrities. I have also used language that makes them feel more comfortable in a more chatty and informal way to address them, which I believed was a better idea than more formal.

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

My final product of my magazine was created on a program called Photoshop. Before i created this magazine i was unfamiliar with the program and it took a while to get the hang of it, but i realised there was plenty of things i could include in my magazine to make it more like a magazine. This is included the fact there was such a larger range of fonts to use which were much more appealing and would fit in better with my idea in which i created. Along with this there were so many choices to choose from to edit my magazine such as airbrushing and removing lumps and spots on photos to make it look better, which other magazines tend to do to appeal to the audience. Eventually i managed to use Photoshop well and create my magazine which turned out better than what i thought.

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

From originally creating my preliminary task of a front cover and draft of a contents page i believe that i have learnt a lot, including more of the conventions and what a music magazine is meant to look like and since researching and planning my idea of what i wished to create and the best ways to target my audience. Along with this i have more of an understanding of how it should appeal to them and the correct articles and words to make them interested. I have also developed a better understanding of Photoshop and improved from the preliminary task to my final task.

This is the photograph i have used on my contents page and it shows how i have used Photoshop to edit from its original photo, to smooth skin, get rid of spots and make the boys look in a better way for the magazine.

Here is the original image for the front cover and the final piece, you can see how i have made it more brighter and her stand out more and placed her on a white background and smoothed down edges, such as the her hair, to make it look neater.

This is the photo in my double page spread, before and after. I believe this one had changed the most. I have used different affects to make each side of her face different colours, i have used a smoothing tool to smooth over her face to look airbrushed; which most magazines do nowadays. I have placed it on a bright white background in comparison to the original one which had shadows in the background to make her stand out the most.

Overall i enjoyed making my magazine and testing out all the different things i could use to make it how i wanted to. I am happy with the outcome and think that it is similar to other music magazines.However there is several things i think could be improved, such a variety of more colours as they are quite dark and simple ones i have used and more photos for my contents to attract more readers. Along with as the double page spread is the most important page inside the magazine it is quite dull in black and grey with only a slight bit of colour from the sick. So with a wider range of colours i think this could be more vibrant and attractive to people rather than looking as if its a boring article before people have even read it.