The document summarizes what the author has learned from creating a preliminary magazine task and then developing it into a full magazine product. They note improvements in targeting an audience, creating an eye-catching cover using striking imagery, developing an effective color scheme and house style, and designing an attention-grabbing masthead. The author feels they have gained skills in creating a finished, professional-looking media product through this process of refining and improving their work from a basic preliminary task to a full magazine.

1. MEDIA EVALUATION PART 2

2. HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL
GROUPS?
Images of the social group I am aiming my product at

3. SOCIAL GROUP/AUDIENCE
The social group that my magazine is aimed at are young males and females. They are mainly C2 & D, or students, and are
between the age of 17 and 23. They take a strong interest in music; they don't just listen to it when they are waiting for the
bus. They are passionate about how the music is made, the skill behind the music, the live playing of the music, the quality of
how they listen to it, and they may also play instruments themselves and be in their own bands. They care a lot about going
to gigs and festivals, as they want to appreciate their favourite band's music in the flesh. Their lifestyle is laidback, as they are
either students or work an average job as they are quite young, and they like to have a good time as well as working hard.
They have a good knowledge and range of music, liking many rock genres both old and new including classic rock, metal,
punk, alternative, indie etc. They don't care about keeping up with fashion and mainstream things, or the newest music, but
just wear and listen to what they want. They may feel different to a lot of the people around them, which is why they may
use websites like Tumblr to connect with people who like the same things as them. They also use Facebook and Twitter
because a lot of their friends are on there and it is a good way to keep in touch. They may have other hobbies such art &
photography, and are interested in a lot of films as they care about the arts and music. They appreciate good films and
recognize the classic directors instead of just watching any old film that comes out in the cinema, and they would have a wide
DVD collection and may have Lovefilm, but they wouldn't torrent films similarly to the way they buy their music. They would
drink energy drinks and fizzy drinks such as Red Bull and Coca Cola because they tend to not go to bed early, instead they are
on the internet or with friends. When they are drinking, they would drink beer like Peroni and spirits like Jack Daniels and
Jagermeister. Instead of going to nightclubs, they prefer to go drinking in pubs, bars and at house parties/friends houses and
they would pick a gig or festival over a club or party. They shop in some high street stores like Topshop/Topman and Urban
Outfitters, but they also like retro stores like Beyond Retro where they can get leather jackets etc, and they also shop online
for some of their clothes like band t shirts. They wear boots such as Dr. Martens and other shoe casual shoes such as
Converse and Vans. They like to buy CD's because they care about the music quality and paying for the music they
appreciate. Similarly, they use over ear headphones which are good quality, instead of the bad quality free ones you get from
apple. They listen to their music on iPods or iPhones, which most of them own, or just an ordinary phone instead of
Blackberry.

4. HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL
GROUPS?
I have represented the audience and
social group through my images, The mast head and name of my magazine represent the
using clothing, setting and model. I audience as the name, Legend, links to the genre of music as
used clothing typical to my audience, they see the music and the people as legendary and
with band/print tshirt, skinny jeans, timeless, as they're music lasts forever as opposed to one
boots and a leather jacket. The hit wonder pop stars. The design of the mast head also
colours are also quite dark in the represents the genre, as I have said it links to logo's in the
colour images, which reflects the feel rock genre such as band logos like Metallica, and games like
of the music. The setting was a bit Guitar Hero.
rough and dark, like the audience like
to think of themselves. The model is
young and has dark eye make up and
hair, which the social group also has
a lot of the time. The images
throughout my magazine represent
the audience by making the
band/models look cool and a bit dark
The bands I have used in the and rocky, as they would be their According to my
magazine represent my audience idols and what they aspire to look questionnaire results, my
as the range of bands reflect what like. audience would most like to
this social group listen to. On the This story represents the audience attend Reading festival so
plus section on the cover for and social group as having a wide here I am representing
example, there are a mix of old knowledge and love of music, saying them. I am also representing
and new bands. As my audience “chosen by you” showing the the social group's lifestyle,as
like classic rock, current rock and audience have picked the music. It they like to attend festivals
alternative rock, I have reflected also shows they are not just and gigs regularly in their
their taste in the stories and interested in Classic rock, as it is spare time and as their
bands I used. My sell line also songs of “the 21st century”. I have lifestyle. Also for this reason,
reflects this, saying “the past, also included a free CD, representing I have included a mention of
present, and future of music” the genre because this is their the gigs of the month in the
showing the rock genre spans all preffered way of music, by paying for contents, and a live shot.
generations and eras because it is the CD because they care about the Also, the band's tour dates
true music. quality of the music and the people on the double page spread.
who make it.

5. WHAT KIND OF INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTIBUTE YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT
AND WHY?
Bauer Media offers 300 magazines in 15 countries with a wide range of interests such as women’s
gossip magazine Closer and men’s magazine FHM. They are Europe’s largest privately owned
publishing group and employ around 6,400 people. They product around 38 million magazines
per week. The music magazines from Bauer Media are Kerrang!, Mojo and Q. They also have
radio stations and tv channels such as Kerrang tv and Kiss. By producing my magazine with Bauer
Media, there would be advantages such as they have experience with marketing the rock and
indie genre through those three magazines and also distribute the products via TV, Radio and
online. This would be beneficial because my target audience, being young, would like to access
products via these technologies. On the other side, with three rock based magazines, my
magazine may not have a place in their company and may blend in with them.
IPC Media produces 60 magazines and prints reaching around 26 million UK adults. They produce NME and
Uncut, but NME is their only massive music magazine, as Uncut is not as popular. They also have the
competing magazines for Bauer media, such as Nuts and Look. Their magazines are aimed more at women
than men, as almost two thirds of women and 42% of men readers.
They also have NME TV and NME Radio, which would mean it would be benificial in the same way as Bauer
Media would be. IPC Media do have a classic rock genre magazine, but the target audience is much older
and my product would stand out against it for young people, especially my target audience. NME is an indie
rock genre magazine, and does not appeal to my audience the same way, as they are a slightly different
social group and the music is not represented in the same way as my magazine. Overall I am deciding to go
with IPC Media, because there is less competition in the brands they have and they have a gap for a
younger audience rock magazine, and they would market my magazine succsessfully with NME being the
same age range, which is a hugely popular magazine.

6. HOW I WOULD DISTRIBUTE MY MEDIA PRODUCT
I would use some other ways of distributing/marketing my product than selling it in the supermarket. I would still do this, as
it is a main seller of magazines. However, due to the age of my audience and according to the results of my questionnaire,
almost all of my audience use twitter, facebook and tumblr regularly, so I would use the internet and social networking in
order to market my magazine further. Similar to Classic Rock and NME I would have a twitter account for the magazine,
tweeting news, stories, music and things from the magazine to appeal to the audience and make them want to buy the
magazine. I would also have a facebook page, where fans/readers can like the magazine and see news and stories similar to
twitter, and their friends would see they have liked the magazine, meaning it would gain readers and interest as they would
have similar social groups on their facebooks.
I would also have a Radio and TV
channel like NME, as this gains more
of a readership and allows fans to
feel involved in more than just a
magazine, but a range of medias
making them feel accepted with
their ideal music taste in all these
forms. This also appeals to the age of
my audience as they can listen to the
music on the go with the radio and
TV of my magazine.

7. WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?
The audience for my media product are 17-23 year old, almost
equally male and female, and are C1&C2 or students. They like to
express individuality through their music, clothing, and general
lifestyle. They attend gigs and festivals, and some play their own
instruments and are in bands. They have a passion for the music, and
they are not interested as much in the appearance of the people,
unlike genres such as pop where is seems a lot more about
appearance than the talent. They tend to like other arts, such as
photography and film, and their love for classic rock and good music
is similar to their other hobbies; they are interested in both digital
and film photography, and some own their own film camera. They
don't just take an interest in any old film coming out in the cinema,
they have a knowledge of classic and current films, and appreciate
the directors and skills behind certain films. They may also like cult
films, unlike people who like genres such as pop music, who would be
more interested in mainstream current films. They like coffee, energy
drinks and fizzy drinks, and for alcoholic drinks they like beer and
whiskey/bourbon. They don’t care too much for their appearance;
they wear jeans, boots, doc martens, band t shirts, hoodies, leather
jackets. They prefer to be comfy and casual than keep up with
passing fashions. They would rather save their money and splash out
on festival tickets, good quality headphones, gig tickets etc.

8. HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?
My questionnaire results showed my
audience would most like to go to Reading
and Leeds festival, so to appeal to them I When I asked my audience which layout
included a competition to win tickets to this years festival. Also, they prefer and what attracts them
when I asked my audience they said they would be more likely to most on the cover, they said Image
buy a magazine if it had a competition to win gig or festival attracts them and they like a neat and
tickets, so this definatley would attract the attention of my bold layout. Because of this, I used a
audience. striking black and white image, which
has a lot of contrast, so this is the most
My audience said in the questionnaire they think eyecatching thing on the cover
the ideal price for a magazine is £2 - £3 so I priced hopefully attracting my audience.
my magazine at £2.70, which is half the price of the I also addressed the layout preferences,
current Classic Rock genres on the shelves, which not overcluttering the cover like NME
would mean my magazine would appeal more to but keeping it bold with lettering and
young people and students with less money. headlines standing out, but a lot of the
stories being in line and keeping the
cover neat.
The black and white image appeals to my audience as they see the genre
as timeless, and the black and white striking image lets them know straight
away the genre is rock. The colour scheme also does this; the black, white
and dull brown appeals to the audience as it is recognizable as Classic
Rock, and the dark moody colours appeal to the audience and represent
the music genre.

9. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS
OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?
The internet was a big part of my research and planning for my magazine, for example I used
google look research similar magazines and magazine publishing houses. I used the social
networking sites Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr to ask my audience to do my questionnaire,
which was helpful because it allowed me to target a specific age and group of people that I know.
I did my questionnaire on Zoomerang, which was a easy way of producing and using a
questionnaire, and made it easy for people to access/fill out as well as easy for me to have an
overview of the results allowing me to make better decisions towards my magazine.
I used publisher to do my preliminary task, which was good for using simple text and
pictures and creating a basic layout. It also helped with creating a rough draft for my
magazine cover, and helped me decide where to position things and which style I
would like to create my magazine in.
I used a Canon DSLR camera to take my shots for my magazine.
This helped me create a professional final product, rather than
using a point and shoot camera, I could change the shutter speed,
ISO number and settings on my camera in order to get more
effective images on my cover, contents and double page spread.

10. I then started using Photoshop to manipulate my images and start putting together my magazine. I learnt to make
my images look more eye-catching and professional, as well as appeal to my audience more. With the examples
below, the cover image was originally in colour but after changing it to black and white and increasing the
contrast, the image became more striking and effective for a front cover. The skin stood out more and the eyes
are more noticeable and this will attract the audience more. The background is also more dark, making it easier to
put text on. In the second image, I edited the colour and saturation levels, by increasing the saturation the purple
and blue in the photo stood out more, making it a lot more effective for a magazine. Using photoshop to create
my magazine gave a lot more range and ideas, and allowed me to create a professional looking outcome, using
skills on photoshop.
Using Blogger to present my work was helpful as it was easy to keep everything neat and
organized, presenting the work in chronological order and allowing me to edit posts and easily
include links and saved time for me, as when I had finished something you can just upload it
straight to the blog instead of having to present it in hard copies. It also helps me see the
progression through the course and easily look at any changes I need to make.

11. LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL
YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL
PRODUCT?
In the progression from my preliminary task to the
finished magazine, I feel that my skills in all areas of
producing media products have improved. I have learnt
how to effectively target a specific audience and create a
finished, clean, professional looking product. Looking at
the images on both products, I have definitely learnt how
to create a more striking cover using image; the photo
used in my preliminary task was supposed to the main,
eye-catching image on the cover but I hadn't thought
about how to draw an audience in and I didn't think
about composition or colour in order to do this. In my
magazine cover however, I have considered setting,
colour, clothing, composition, shot type and the effect it
will have on drawing in my audience and creating a
professional product. Unlike my preliminary task, the
front cover has a clear colour scheme, and the whole
cover looks finished and tied in together, like everything
is in the right place and colour. My preliminary task has
got a sense of
colour scheme, it doesnt seem to have a good or effective house style. I have learnt how to use colour to make the magazine look
like a whole product and give it a house style so it looks professional alongside other music magazines. Another noticeable
difference between the preliminary and the finished product is the masthead; the Negus magazine's masthead is dull, boring and
doesn't stand out anywhere near enough and even the headlines overpower the masthead. However, in my final cover, the
masthead is a lot more bold, centred and attention grabbing – you instantly know its the name of the magazine and it focuses your
attention to the two main things, the image and the name. It is also balanced with the puffs and headlines, not overpowering them
or being over powered. As well as these things I have used more professional design features like the barcode and the banner which
adds to the finished product. Overall, I have learnt how to successfully draw in and attract my audience, create a professional
looking style and make a similar product to real music magazines on the market.