Evaluation

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

My media product uses the basics of any magazine, such as mastheads, kickers and strap lines. It also uses a colour scheme, a common feature in magazines, to provide fluidity and make the magazine recognisable from issue to issue to the consumer. My double page spread challenges the most conventional layout for a double-page spread seen in music magazines because it has the majority of text on one page and a full page image on the other page. The reason I chose to use this layout was because I saw it demonstrated in a previous double-page spread of 'Heat' magazine (issue 65) and thought it was innovative and eye-catching. I then developed and modernised this layout so that it would work in my magazine.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product is based around individuals interested in pop-rock genre, mainly people still in education (around the 20 age). The title of my magazine "Groupie" is a pop-culture reference to someone who sleeps with band members/celebrities so it is recognisable to the social group it is aimed at and the word Groupie suggests something behind-the-scenes which is exactly what my audience want.

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

A media institution such as IPC Media which publishes NME Magazine may distribute my product as NME is currently the only magazine that covers similar types of music to those of which my product covers. I could see the company running them alongside each other, with my product being a cheaper alternative with fewer articles that are more in depth, and NME running many articles to provide a wider scope of the week’s music news as it currently does.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience for my media product would be those of an age roughly around 15-24 as it is mainly this age group of people that are interested in the music that my product covers. I think that this is because this is the time when people are developing their preferred music taste and so some sort of regular media related to their preferred taste would be popular and useful.

How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract my audience I used a colour scheme that from what I have researched seems to be common in music magazines (red, black and white) so it will easily be recognisable for the type of magazine it is to my audience. I have also used a balance of images and text so that there is plenty of content as well as images to make the magazine more interesting. I have attempted to create my article in such a way that by making it look attractive it draws the reader in to read the smaller text. I have done this by using a large photograph and a large quote and title, I did this with the intention of making it look attractive and interesting.

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

After completing the preliminary task I believe that I attained a better understanding of what a magazine front cover should include in order to look professional. I also gained a better knowledge of what magazine features should be included on a front cover and also which ones can be left out in order to create a better page. It has encouraged me to develop my skills with desktop publishing software such as Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Serif DrawPlus SE, learning new ways of editing and enhancing pictures to give a more professional look. I also feel that it helped me develop my research and planning skills so that I was able to do this area of the task better in the main activity.

Research

The first magazine I am going to research is 'Q' magazine, a popular magazine with the age group that I intend to aim my magazine at (people still in education, around early 20's). 'Q' also focuses on the same sort of genre music as my magazine so i thought it would be useful to analyse a magazine that would be in direct competition with my own magazine.

"Q" was established in 1986, so the fact that it has steadily built a name for it self would make it hard to compete with, my magazine would have to have some "Q" doesn't. The magazine is released monthly, making it more exclusive, but also perhaps making it miss things out that happen in the month.

The issue I have chosen to anotate the issue of "Q" seen to the left. This issue demonstrates some of the key factors seen throughout every front cover of the magazine. A large masthead to the left-hand of the cover, in the conventional colours of red and white, that seem to be represented throughout all of the issues of this magazine. The colours red and white seem to be popular with music magazines, so I decided to use them in my magazine because they obviously work well and represent the genre well.

On this front cover is displayed another style I adapted for my cover, short titles that just feature a famous name that draws the reader in the want to know more. The reason I decided to use this is because I find it make's the cover look less busy, and more attractive because it is not cluttered.

Featured on this cover are also the things one would expect to see on the front cover of a magazine such as the release date, issue number, a plug for the website, a masthead and tag-line and also a photograph of a celebrity to draw attention to the magazine.

Music Magazine Blog

Throughout this post I will unpick and justify my decisions during the construction of my front cover, contents page and double-page spread. For my magazine I have done research on other magazines to help me understand what the audience of my magazine will find interesting and what they are looking for in my magazine.

The demographic audience I have decided to aim my magazine is teens to late 20's, males or females that are of a standard to low income level and in probably still in education. I have chosen this audience because I think it is a competitive group for music magazine's and because of this my magazine will have to strive to better it-self againt other competitive music magazines and will be able to use idea's displayed in other magazines.

The code's I have used for my magazine are the ones you would typically see on a magazine such as a barcode, a mast-head, front-cover, tagline, contents page etc. After making sure all the typical code's were there I have also added codes relavant to my chosen genre, rock-pop. A popular genre with people of the age I have chosen to aim my magazine at.

To create my magazine I have used the multi-media program 'Serif'.

Above is my front cover, in which I have decided to use certain codes which would be replicated from issue to issue to make my magazine recognisable to the consumer such as the colour scheme of red and black, buzz words such as "explode" and "rock bottom" which draw the audience in, and make them want to read more.

This is my final design for the front cover of my music magazine after many different stages of change to try and perfect my cover. I decided to place the masthead in the top centre of my cover, but overlapping it is my main photograph, so it does not take any attention from the celebrity's on my front cover but is also visible enough so at to make my magazine recognisable to its audience.The strap line of my magazine is the website, used as a plug to advertise the site. The masthead is the largest text on the page so that it is clear that it is the masthead and it is also in the colours of the magazine, to make it recognisable and eye catching.and stand out more.

On my front cover I have tried to use minimal text but still giving enough information to catch the eye of the consumer. I think after a lot of deliberation about what text would be appropriate and adding buzz words, I think I have achieved this goal.

My contents page has undergone a long process of fine tuning, and above is the final version. The reason I took so much consideration in my contents page is because I was trying to make it fit in with the theme of my front cover (e.g. colour and style) to provide fluidity, yet add all of the appropriate codes and information needed in a contents page such as page numbers and titles, a few images to keep it interesting to look at etc. I have also included an editors note, as I think it worked well in my previous project (my school magazine, "2 Cool 4 School"), and it gives the magazine a personal touch, helping the magazines audience address themselves with the writer.

I decided to place the contents list on the side as it is easy to read without taking up too much of the space available on the page. I also seperated the contents into different sections so that the different articles are easier for the reader to find.

When printing my magazine I experienced some diffuculties with printing the above contents page for the music magazine. When printed, through no known fault of my own, the editors photograph was of his shoes not of his face. I tried everything I could to correct this error such as cropping the photo the shoes where not even part of it but still when printed this error occured.

For my double-page spread (above) I have used a layout that I found in a 'Heat' magazine (issue 65). I think this works well because it looks attractive and because the look of it is appealing to the reader, thus drawing them in. I have been able to use a small font size to fit in all the appropriate writing onto one page. Other devises and codes I have used in this double page spread to make it recognisable and attractive as a magazine are page numbers and a large quotation taken from the interview.

School Magazine Blog

The front cover of my school magazine has undergone a long process of devolpment. Below is the final stage of devolopment my magazine has undergone. Throughout this post I will analyse the decisions I have made during the process of producing my front cover.

The decision to use the final picture is because it meets the criteria of the task well, and because it is colourful and eye catching. The way the girl in the picture is dressed, and the art work behind her make the school and the magazine look appealing. I also feel that the target audience will feel they are able to address themselves with the picture as it represent and reflects them well. The reason for this is because the girl in the picture is reading a sixth-form options booklet, making her decisions as to what she wants to do for her A-levels. This is a dilemma that would be facing the audience of the magazine.

The audience my magazine is aimed at is first year sixth-formers in my school, Emrys ap Iwan. The colours scheme I have decided to use for my magazine is purple and green. The connotation behind this decision is that these are the school colours, so students will immediately know this magazine is related to their school.

The tagline I have decided on using for magazine, "Your guide to sixth-form life", is straight forward and simple to understand. It gives the right message for what my magazine is about.

The way the contents page is set out is simple but eye-catching. I have again used the conventional colours of my school. The title "Contents" is at the top of the page in a large font so it is obvious where the reader is in my magazine. The stories used are all relevant to what the magazine is about. I have used pictures that are applicable to the stories featured in my magazine and the pictures promote the school positively.

The editors note is used to make it clear to reader what they are reading about, and to make the reader feel they are involved with the magazine.