Music Magazine Evaluation.

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

When I researched I found many conventions that I thought were good and decided to use them in my own way I found that Mast heads, Sell Lines, Coverlines, Main Images, Layout, etc. All seemed to have a lot in common in all different magazines.

Front Cover:

Masthead:
When I looked at the existing texts for the masthead all of them seemed to have the the font to be basic but it was bold and colourful so that it grabbed the readers attention immediately, they do this because they all want to stand out from the other magazine to make a noticeable name and logo. The mastheads all began in the top left hand corner of the page this has been done because it is a basic instinct to immediately read from left to right top to bottom, I decided to put my Masthead at the top left hand corner with bold basic font but with a bright noticeable colour, because if I did not do this I think it would not look as good, I also think that it would not appeal to my target audience as they may get lost with the other magazines on the shell If the masthead was not at the top left hand corner.

Sell Line:
When researching the existing text not many of then included a sell line this may be because it can be seen as out dated. I decided I still wanted to feature one in my magazine because it will make it more unique and noticeable, another reason would be if the magazine were to advertise this sell line can be used throughout. When looking further into sell lines I discovered that they were placed below the masthead, above the masthead or at the bottom the page it was rare to see it anywhere else on the page. From this research I then decided to place my sell line 'No1 music magazine' just beside my Mastehead, this is because it will make it noticeable and people are more likely to read it after reading the masthead. I also discovered that the sell lines were usually a very different colour to the mastheads so that the two texts contrast against one another making it clear and easy to read, from this I decided to make my sell line a different font and a black colour.

Cover Lines:
In my existing texts the cover lines were different all around from size, colour, shape, font, etc. Some magazines decided to use colours that contrast against one another to make it easy to read and show the difference between them, I decided to use all the same colour to make it unique I also thought it would look more modern and appeal to my target audience because there is nothing else much like it, by doing this I had to make sure that it was still easy and clear to read that is why I decided to do only four cover lines because I could spread them out. In my research the existing texts tended to use anything from the lowest of three cover lines to the most of six. The size of the text varied from the importance of it for example my main coverline was in bigger front from the other cover line, this is done because it usually relates to the image on the page this is what I did for mine. The font of the coverlines usually stayed the same on most of the existing texts I looked at but I decided to make the fonts different on the texts it makes it more exciting and it appeals more to my target audience as it makes it look more creative. In my research none of the cover lines had a number at the end that linked the cover line to the article in the magazine, once again I wanted my magazine to be unique and different to all the others and decided to place the numbers on my cover lines but I had to be careful again so that it did not look bad and ruin the effect I have done this by making the font smaller and changed the shade. The position of the cover lines in my existing texts all seemed to fit around the main image so that they didn't take the attention away from the image and so that it looked neat and modern, I took this on and placed my cover lines around the sides of the image so that is did not take the attention away from it. 

Main Image:
When looking at all the existing texts and researching more, the main image was always the main focus and grabbed the readers attention this is because when the audience look at the magazine they want to know who is on the cover and who they are because they must be good to be on the front cover, this is why it is crucial to get it right because it is basically the sell point of the magazine. The way this is done is by making the image attractive and appealing to the audience I believe the best way this is done is when the person in the image is looking straight into the camera, this grabs the readers attention and makes it look like they are looking at them,I took this on board and I decided that my image should be looking into the camera. The image has to be good quality if they use a blurred image it will not have a the same effect this was very important for me to make my image good quality. When looking at the existing texts they all seemed to have colour images and as I wanted my magazine to be unique I decided to use black and white images I think it gave a better effect and it defiantly makes it appeal more to my target audience.

Contents Page:-

Masthead
When I looked at my existing texts I saw the the mastheads for the contents page were quite plane and usually just took the name on 'contents' this is very basic but it get the point across with no frills this is good for the audience because it makes it plain and simple for then. I adapted this and decided to have my masthead 'contents' but also beside that the name of my magazine 'A' with the same font and style from the main cover, so that the theme is carried through as it makes it look modern and gives a better effect.

Images:
When I researched my Contents page I saw straight away that all magazines use images in the contents, some only had one image but some had as many as twenty. Most of the existing texts used images that were linked to the front cover in some way I have done this as well, it once again shows a theme throughout and it shows the reader that this article is good and it is top news. I decided to use two images for my contents one image related to the front cover and the other image was relating to a different artist. Both images had to be of high quality just like the front cover, as with the front cover i took on the black and white scheme of the image on the the contents page images, I thought it makes a link throughout and it gives it a better finish and makes it look modern and sleek. All the research that I looked at showed me that the images that are used usually have a page number that links that image with the article it is on. I thought this is a good and I took this on as it makes it seem professional and it also makes is easy for the reader.

Colour Scheme:
When I looked at my existing text most of them had Incorporated the colours from the front cover over on the the contents I liked this idea from the start and I took this on with the red shades, I think it gives a better more professional finish it makes the colour noticeable to the magazine which makes a house style effect.

Headlines:
The research for the headlines showed me most of them started with a number and then gave the name of the article and sometimes had additional information about the article. When I looked at this I didn't think it suited my magazine so I decided to use the name of the article but not to include any additional information, another thins was that I decided to show the number of the page at the end of the headlines ti give it a more unique look I also decided to show where the article started and finished (55-57) It makes it easy for the reader and I though no one else is like it and I want my hole magazine to be different and unique. The existing texts seemed to have kept the same type of colour scheme through the front cover lines and with the head lines I took this on and did the same. The font on the headlines in my existing texts all seemed to have different font that showed the different artists I like this effect so I decided to use is as well because I thought it appeals to my target audience.

Layout:
The research I did for the contents page layout was quite simple this is because they all seemed to have the same type of layout with the images all on one side and the headlines on the other in a column. I thought this looked good because it keeps everything simple and central which makes it clear and easy for the audience which is the main priority. So I decided to have my images on the right hand side and then the column with the headline so the Left hand side. The mast head of the contents was usually at the top left in my existing texts I thought this looked best so I decided to to this as well.

Additional Information:
When I was looking at existing texts I saw that they all seemed to have a website address at the bottom of the page and a little sentence usually says 'come visit us at...' I thought this was a good technique used so I took this on as well because it gives additional information for the customer.

Double Page Spread:-

Images:
In y existing texts most of them had one big image that took one whole page this effect is done to pull in the reader and give a professional look. I thought this would be a good idea so I placed one big image on my left hand page, I had to make sure that the image i chose was attractive and appealing to the eye to make sure that it does pull the reader in. The existing text also seemed to have a couple of other images that related to the topic on the other side of the page this just give additional information and get the reader to see more what they are this I thought this was a good technique and took it on so I decided to use two smaller images on the right hand side but to place them around my question and answer interview this give a professional effect and makes it look modern and I think this really suit my target audience.

Colour scheme:
The existing texts I looked out for the colour scheme on the DPS  all seemed to use the same colours from the front cover and from the contents this is done to once again make a house style and to keep everything together, I thought this was really good to I decided to use the different shades of red throughout I defiantly think this really appeal to my target audience. I also decided to use a colour scheme throughout on my photos and by making them all black and white I defiantly think it give it a better effect.

Layout:
In my research I found that all the DPS all seemed to have placed on main image on the left hand side of the page and then the contents of the article and anything else on the right hand side of this page this is don't to separate it all out properly and because if the image is on the right hand side of the page then this may make the audience concentrate more on the image and get detracted while reading because when reading left to right the image may keep grabbing the readers eye and it could become annoying for them. Taking in all these thoughts I decided to do the same and have my image on the left and my interview on the right. The layout of the interview was in three columns this is because all the existing texts I looked at had there articles in columns as it makes it easy and simple to read it also separates it out and makes it fill the page without overlapping, I decided to do this as well because it makes it easy for people to read a question and answer interview when it is in columns and it give a better finish look.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?



My magazine I have created represents a line of different types of social groups, there was many way in which I have done this and I will tell you how.

Age:

The way I have represent age was through the use of images and cover lines the way I have done this is by sticking to the brief and my images have been taken of students which shows my target audience that they are of similar age which tells them straight away this will probably be a magazine they will enjoy and a magazine that they can easily understand. It also shows a positive look for teenagers because as my images used do not shows the stereotype of a teenager they show a more mature look on things, this can persuade the audience to read as it makes them feel good to know they aren't going to be stereotyped. The cover lines on my magazine defiantly stand out to the age of my target audience as they all have a famous artist that is targeted at the teenager audience for example 'katy perry' so it was important for me to makes sure I kept the cover lines at the right age range.

Gender:

The way gender is represented in my magazine can be seen as sexist this is because I have only presented it with images of females. The reason for doing this was in my research I found that on average women are the main audience to buy magazine no matter what genre they are I took this on and I decided to be more targeted to women but not to put off men I still shows the interest of male artists on my cover lines and in my contents headlines.

Ethnicity:

In my magazine there was only I type of ethnicity shows in my images 'white British'. I had to make sure that this was not seen as racists, so I made sure that in my cover lines and in my headlines I had artists from all different types of ethnicity which shows that my magazine is not targeted at one ethnicity and I don't want it to single out anyone as it is targeted at all different types of ethnicity.

Social Class:

My magazine has the look of a upper class magazine with the formal font I have on my mast head and cover lines and throughout, the colour scheme of different shades of red make it seem very formal as well and the the good quality black and white images are very upper class, but my magazine is actually targeted to middle/upper class, I though the look of a formal magazine gives it a better professional finish but I had to make sure that in my Double Page Spread that my my question and interview had to be informal which is what I have done. So although it looks very upper class and formal it does have the effect of a middle/upper class magazine.

Regional Identity:

I decided not to show any regional identity the reasons for this is because I want it to appeal to all and if this was to be a real magazine on sale the likely hood of it just being sold in one region are slim and it would be really bad for the business and it would be hard for them to change the image. So I made sure from the start I had no regional identity.

Physical disability:

When I researched in the artists that aimed at my target audience I couldn't find any main stream ones that had a physical disability that is why I did not feature on in my magazine I do not believe that this singles people out with physical disability I think that I if I were to put someone with a physical disability in my magazine it could have been seen as stereo typing and tagging on someone.

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

When researching different institutions I thought that the best one that would be suited to my media product would probably be EMAP because this is a British company, and they distribute 'Q' magazine which was a magazine that I though was really good and had a specific target audience and it rarely changes. They also distribute other music magazine which all tend to be the same type of genre which is 'rock', my magazine is more 'pop/indie' I thought this may not go to well because I may be a hard change for them to focus on a 'pop' magazine after working with 'rock' But then I though it would be good because they would have so much experience with the 'rock' It would be a good business move to branch out to 'pop'. The reason I though this was because if I went to a distributor that focuses on 'pop' they wouldn't take as much interest in another 'pop' magazine it would be a bit like throwing it on the pile. That is why I though EMAP would be a great distributor of my magazine.

Who would the audience for your media product?

I think my audience of social group would be middle/upper class this is because the look of my magazine shows the features of being very formal but then the actual features inside can be seen as middle class but I don't think that stereotyping is good for a magazine company so I think that my magazine can be targeted at any social group. The gender audience for this magazine I would say is more likely to be women because in my research I found that on average women are the main buyers of magazine no matter what genre so I took this on board and decided to present women on my images which defiantly pulls the women reader in more and they will be more likely to buy it but I defiantly decided to keep some of the male aspect in there with the cover lines and headlines showing the features of male artists that are more popular with men then they are with women. Putting all this together I would say my audience is middle/upper class more likely to be targeted at women but it is also for meant and the age range would be anything from sixteen onwards and I have shown this through the images I have as they are sixteen and onwards I have also presented artists in the magazine that are more popular with this age range.

How did you attract/address your audience? 

I tried to attract my audience through the use of my cover lines and head lines and also through my images. My cover line all represent popular and well know artists which is a good way to pull the audience in as it will make them think instantly the magazine will be good and it will give the magazine a good name for its self this is especially important if it is just starting out. I made sure that my images were appealing so that they would pull the reader in because this is what the audience tends to look at when they are looking at magazines 'who is on the cover?' so my front cover image was the most important and the way I have done it to pull the audience in is buy making the person in the image look straight into the camera this instantly give the reader a sense of knowing the person, I then decided to make the person in the image make a facial expression that shows a sense of humour which makes the audience feel welcome and makes them want to read the magazine. Another way of attracting the audience was the use of bold colours I decided that 'red' is very bold and it stands out from the rest it also makes it easy and clear to read, this is a common feature used throughout my magazine.

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

The technologies I have used through the process of making my product are quite simple things; Internet, Microsoft, fireworks, digital camera. All these technologies I have already had experience using so I found it quite easy to use and pick up on through my process.

For my research of other magazines and there conventions I used the Internet a lot I found it easy but I did come across some difficulty's on finding the right magazine and also finding if it was a real magazine or if it was a previous magazine that had been made for a project what I learnt fro  this was to use a good search engine 'google'. Another thing that I came across on the Internet was 'picnic' this is a image modifier which has free trial on it so I through that was good to use to get the right colour and effect on my images this was quite easy to pick up on as it had a easy key to follow, I didn't need to change the background of my images as I liked the effect of the background still there.
When it came down to making the actual magazine I found that Microsoft was the best thing to use and it had many different tools which helped me get the right effect I did learn new thing for example there was new tools I could use to change the effect of my images. I thought the best for making the front cover and contents page was 'microsoft word' and the best for the double page spread was 'microsoft publisher' because you can get a A3 sheet and it is easy to work on.
I did actually have some difficulty with the computer this is because I had to wait for them to load some of them did not work on a regular basis and they always seem to take a while to actually turn on but I got around it.
The camera was easy for me as I decided to use my own I knew how to work it and get the right effect I wanted and at the end I was very pleased with the finished product.
The blogger was very new for me but with a little help I easily knew how to use it and how to put my work onto it.

So all together I found it quite easy to use the technologies and I didn't have any big problems.

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

From the preliminary task I learnt many different things for the main project. the layout of the magazine was a very big thing, i learnt straight away that for the front cover the masthead and the main image is the main attraction from this I took on that I had to make them very high quality and appealing for my music magazine. The layout for the contents was a big thing as well I had to make sure it didn't look to busy for my preliminary task I made it very basic, but for my musics magazine I made it look much more professional and abit more complex with more information, I also added photos this time that gave a better finish.
I learnt how to make the images look more professional and make then have a better finish how I did this was on the preliminary task I used 'fireworks' which gave a good look to the images but not the right effect I wanted so I was not very happy but when I did my main task I found the web site 'picnic' that gave me the perfect finish and the right effect that I was looking for and I was very please.
From the begin I found that 'cover lines', 'sell lines' and 'head line' are very important because they pull the reader in and they basically show the magazines genre and target audience. So on the preliminary task all these had to be school orientated, so on my music magazine they all had to music orientated and I had to make sure I put the artists that were popular and that appealed more to my target audience for example 'katy perry' this appeals to teenage girls.  

Double page spread Final piece

This is my DPS  I have decided to take the red shade colour theme throughout because it makes it look more professional I also this it gives a house style and makes the audience feel welcome I also think it makes it look more formal even though the interview is very informal but I think the contrast is good. The images are black and white just like the front cover and the contents this is what I have used throughout because it makes it look more professional and it gives a fashion vibe to it which appeals to my target audience.

Audience feedback- 

Hayley -  I like how you have used the red colour scheme throughout and the images look very professional.

Alex- I like the way that you have  used red, this could show passion or anger, but the fact that you it with hot looks really good, i also like the way that you have kept the original pictures making it look professional and quirky.  

shaheeda- I really like how you the images on the double page spread appear to be in black and white, this has given the article a retro and antique look. i also think your colour scheme is very effetive as  Red and Black go together really well.