Evaluation

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

Firstly, I began deconstructing the covers of a variety of music magazines all with different genre’s and target audiences. This helped me to understand the different layouts and techniques sued to attract certain social groups and what features which are best suited for an up and coming music magazine.

Both the magazine covers I deconstructed had their name partly covered. This is because they are well known music magazine companies and therefore people do not need to see the whole name in order to know what magazine it is. At first, I thought that if I were to partly cover the name on the front cover it may attract more customers because they are used to seeing this technique used with the well-known brands. However, I decided not to go forward with this as it would be deceiving and many customers may be confused with what the name of the magazine actually is. Because of this, I used a bold font for the name of the magazine and made sure there was nothing blocking it.

Another way my magazine uses forms and conventions from existing music magazines is the layout of my contents page. A variety of fonts have been used on the page and some text overlaps some of the images and decorations. This is to make the page look interesting and draw readers in. The variety of fonts used is very similar to the contents page for the magazine I deconstructed ‘Mixmag’ where the size of a few of the page numbers have been enlarged. The layout of the images are also very similar to the ‘Mixmag’ magazine, as there is a very large image on the top left corner which takes up most of the page.

The double-page spread consists of text in columns. This is used a lot with magazines and especially newspapers to create the impression that there is not as much to read, and helps the reader to read the text easier. This has been used with the double page spread in ‘Mixmag’.

I used shapes to decorate the page such as grey lines and a black banner which runs across the first page. I got this idea from the lines used in the double-page spread in ‘Mixmag’.

On the far left of the first page of my double-page spread, a series of pictures of my model have been placed underneath one another to make the layout more interesting. I got this idea from the double-page spread in ‘Mixmag’ but added to it using more than just 2 images.

Lastly, the layout I used for the interview is the same as the layout in ‘DJ’. This is the question being above the answer.  This makes it easier for the reader to understand who is who.

How does your media product represent particular social groups? 

My magazine is targeted towards younger social groups. I chose my sister to be my model and portrayed her as a rich and famous young singer. The double page spread is mainly about being a teenager and growing up. Many people from young social groups can relate to this because they are experiencing puberty and growing up to even though their lifestyles differ to the character I made. My model is represented as a very intelligent, hardworking and confident young girl which may flatter other teenagers which will further persuade them to purchase the magazine or aspire them to be the same.

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

The publishing company I would use for my magazine is IPC media.

IPC media is a leading media institution in the UK and publishes other music magazines such as NME which has a similar target audience to my music magazine. The company is very successful and around 26 million adults read something published from IPC media everyday. As it is a well known publisher, it would be much easier and cheaper to advertise my magazine. Therefore, I think it would be best for my magazine to also be published by this company.

I would chose to distribute my copies of ‘Trash’ magazine by putting them in popular retail shops like WHSmith and newsagents. I would also sell them in large supermarkets such as Tesco and Asda as many people go to them places to do their weekly shop.

Not only would I sell the magazines in store, but also online, where people can either buy one magazines, or 12 magazines which would be sent to them every month.

I found that with many of the double-page spreads, the first letter of the paragraph was in a larger and bolder font. Therefore I did the same with mine.

 Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for the magazine will obviously be very up to date with the new songs and will have a passion for music.

The ages the magazine is aimed towards at varies between 16-25.  This is because my magazine is based around new music in the charts, which may not appeal to older generations. It will also have quite a lot of text in it , which may put those younger than 16 off. Also, the magazine will have references to things which are unsuitable for younger people.

The gender of the audience will be both young males and females as a mix of genre’s and performers will be included in each issue. However, because I am a female myself, the presentation of the cover, contents page, and double-page spread may be slightly more feminine. For example, the pastel colours used on the front page may suggest that the magazine is aimed towards female’s.

I asked my target audience what they thought of my magazine and this is what they said…

 ‘It looks really professional, especially the pictures!’

‘The colours go well together but are quite girly.’

‘I like how you have edited it, it looks like a real magazine!’

‘The double page spread could have been more colourful. It is just a plain white background.’

‘Good use of colour scheme through out!’

‘Attractive model but too much white.’

‘I like the variations of angles and shots in the images.’

‘Good layout, and colour scheme.’

How did you attract/address your audience?

I tried to find a model who was in the same age group as my target audience and made her seem like a friendly and confident person. I felt that this would flatter my target audience as it is showing them in a positive light.

The double-page spread discusses problems and issues which some of the audience can relate to; growing up. This addresses them as it is easy for them to understand and they can understand what the model is going through.

Another way I attracted my audience was trying to chose suitable colours. I felt that the bright colours I chose would be appealing and draw them towards the magazine, especially the cover.

I used sub headings with informal and casual registers so it was similar to their way of speaking. I also used exclamation marks to make some text stand out.

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

I have always been very interested in Photoshop and have enjoyed editing photo’s in the past. However, whilst constructing this product I learned many different techniques which can improve the original photo. An example is using the blur tool to make the skin of my model more even and clear.

Not only did I blur the skin, but I also blended the skin underneath her eyes where there were dark circles and faint wrinkles. This made the edited photo look professional. I also did a similar thing with her cheeks, lips, and eyes. I made her cheeks slightly brighter to create the illusion that she has high cheekbones and give her a healthy glow. I smoothed out her lips again with the blurring tool and made them more pink. For her eyes, I took away some of the colour to make them seem more white.

I learned how to crop pictures effectively without taking too much off and also change the lighting and other setting for the whole image to make it look professional and attractive. I also learned how to use the spray tool to make the background look white but natural instead of cropping the model and placing her on a plain white background. I found this to be more natural and look much better. I also then used the blurring tool so that it blended in. These are a few of my images before and after they had been edited.

When taking the photo’s of my model I decided to use the school’s camera as I firgued they would produce better quality images than the ones I had at home. Therefore, I had to learn how to take pictures with their camera and also apply make up and style my model appropriately.

A program I had learned to use is publisher. This is because this was the program I used to construct preliminary magazine and also my final.

Lastly, I had never used a blog before so when I first had to use blogger I found it very complicated. However, after a while I began to get used to it and found it very simple and straight forward.

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

As you can see, I lacked knowledge of conventions of magazines when I had first constructed a magazine cover. The use of colour and different fonts was not well thought out and very simple. However, with the final I picked out the colours carefully.

I also used a much better image for the final. This is due to the fact that my Photoshop skills were limited before. The preliminary involves a close up of my sister and is very dark. Whereas the final is completely different and very bright. This is because it would be more appealing if it were on a shelf. Other factors such as the bar code, price, and website underneath also make the final magazine cover more realistic.

I feel that I have improved my communication skills with my audience as I have had to ask them to fill out my questionnaire’s and their opinion of my work. When I first asked them to fill out the questionnaire’s I was unaware of who to ask as many people did not take it seriously, however the second time I knew who were sensible and trust worthy.

I have also learned to present my work in a more neater and appealing way. This was very important when constructing my magazine as it had to attract customers.