1. A Level Media Studies
– Evaluating my
Coursework
Jessica Foster

2. FINAL PRODUCT -

3. COVER PAGE

4. CONTENTS
PAGE

5. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

6. Task 1 – Audience Feedback

7. Audience Feedback
As part of my audience feedback, I questioned my
cousin, as she is a 10 year old girl, and therefore fits
the criteria for my target audience of females aged
10-16. I chose to interview her in order to gain some
valid feedback on anything done positively within my
magazine, or any possible areas for improvement. I
also used this person when carrying out my initial
audience research in order to find out the wants and
needs of my target audience. This connection is
useful, as I can now discover whether I have met or
exceeded her expectations.

8. What did you like about the magazine?
“I thought it was really good because it looked like a real magazine. I normally buy
magazines like Top of the Pops, and it reminded me a lot of magazines like that. I would
definitely buy it if it was in the shops.”
Do you feel there was anything missing or anything that could have been improved?
“Some magazines have a free gift, so you maybe could have had one of them. Other than
that, I don‟t think so.”
Did you feel everything in the magazine fit in well?
“Yeah. That‟s what made it look real I think. There wasn‟t anything random looking,
everything looked like it had been put together really well and thought about.”
What did you think of the look of the magazine? Things such as colour, layout,
pictures, etc.
“I really really liked the look! It looked really real and really girly! The colours were
all bright and summery and looked good together, the layout was fab because
everything fit well together and didn‟t look to busy or too plain, and I loved the
pictures! They look like
they were done in a photo shoot!”
Is there anything else you would like to say about the magazine that you haven’t
already mentioned?
“I don‟t think so, just that I really liked it, and I would definitely buy it! I loved how it
looked like a real magazine you would see in a shop!”

9. Task 2 – Evaluation
Questions

10. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
I have used an incredibly large variety of factors in order to represent a particular
target audience of females, aged 10-16. These factors include –
Colour Scheme
The colour scheme I chose for my magazine is bright and bold colours, not only to
reflect the teen, female audience, but also to reflect the season of issue, being
summer. The colours I used continually throughout are mainly yellows, pinks, and
purples.

11. Images / Photographs
From my analysis of various existing teen pop magazines, I concluded that the people in the
featured images tend to be popular, current female music artists, as well as young, attractive
male artists. Therefore, I chose to photograph young males and females, and give them the
appearance of current music artists. When photographing them, I chose to remain simple, only
photographing them with plain backgrounds and no distracting surroundings. I found this was a
common feature of other photographs when conducting my analysis of other existing
magazines. I used Photoshop to edit my images, by altering scales such as the
curves, brightness and contrast, and hue and saturation. The images shown below are ones
which feature in my magazine, and shows before and after being edited.

12. Language / Diction
When constructing pieces of text to use in my magazines for features such as cover lines, or
perhaps in an interview, at times I resorted to using mild uses of slang, as this is the kind of
language that my target audience would use, such as „gig‟ and „hey!‟.
Content
I wanted to ensure that the content of my magazine would be highly appealing to teen girls. I
ensured this through my use and analysis of questionnaires and current existing magazines.
For example, I have included pieces on celebrity gossip and music tours, both seen as highly
appealing to teen girls, as well as celebrity stories, and features of young, current male artists.

13. What kind of media institution might distribute your media
product and why?
I feel my magazine would be highly appropriate to be published
and distributed by a large institution such as Bauer or IPC, due to
the fact that other existing magazines of this genre have a high
share of the music magazine market. I do not feel my magazine
and its genre is niche enough to be published and distributed
independently. One factor that contributes towards this idea is the
fact that the majority of people who buy magazines tend to be
females, and that is who my magazine is aimed at. Also, pop
music is obviously a very popular genre, and therefore is likely to
appeal to a large audience.

14. Who would be the audience for your media product?
I chose to aim my music magazine at girls aged 10-16. My cousin happens
to fit this criteria, and so I decided to use her as a part of my audience
feedback.
How did you attract/address your audience?
Once again, I ensured that the target audience is represented through
many factors within my magazine, such as colour scheme, content,
images/photographs, and the language I used. My audience research told
me that the majority of people I asked were attracted to many of the
features, and found them highly appealing and suitable to them. I wanted to
make sure that I addressed my audience in a way that was clear, engaging
and attractive to them.

15. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
I have used a variety of different technologies in the process of creating
my final product. These consisting of both Quark Xpress and Photoshop
cs. I felt it was necessary to create my layout using Quark Xpress, as I
found it far simpler and more appropriate to operate for this in particular.
Whereas I preferred using Photoshop cs for more technical, complex
editing of images and fonts. For example, I chose to edit my front cover
masthead using Photoshop cs, as I found there was a wider range of
editing tools. I chose to bevel and emboss to create a 3 dimensional
effect, as well as adding touches of light on rounded edges. I also used
Photoshop to alter the colour balance, brightness and contrast, and curve
levels of photographs, in order to make them look more professional.

16. PRELIMINARY MATERIAL

17. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the
progression from it to the full product?
I have developed a great number of skills since producing my school magazine. I
feel my preliminary material was very basic, and I feel my gain of a greater
knowledge of technology has contributed towards my ability to create a more
advanced appearance for my final piece. I feel that I have a greater knowledge and
control over the technology I use, hence, resulting in a more professional looking
final piece.