1. Media Studies Evaluation

2. Products!
Front Cover Contents Double Page Spread

3. The first convention I followed was having a
I believe my magazine generally
pug in the top right hand corner. However
follows a very conventional layout. It
during the development of my magazine I
has four main colours (purple, black
decided to develop the convention of where a
,white & orange) which are used
pug should be placed, I developed this by
throughout. Limiting colours is
moving the placement of the pug by moving it
conventional for a professional
further down the right hand side of the page. I
magazine as it makes the colour
found however that challenging this would not
scheme consistent. I have over my
have any positive effect on the way my
development increased the amount of
magazine looked. So therefore I did not use
colours used due to the magazine
a pug on my magazine front cover. I decided
looking bland. My front cover uses a
to instead fill the space with stories which will
very conventional masthead; I believe
be featured in this issue of the magazine.
this is the case as the masthead is
the largest text on the page and is
placed at the top so it would be seen
The second convention I followed was having a
and instantly recognisable when
splash about the main story across the main
placed on shop shelves.
image on the cover. I believe I developed this
Another convention I have followed is convention by the splash just being the artist’s
having a main image which is a name and then underneath I placed text in a
medium shot. This is a conventional different font and colour which further explained
shot which usually covers the whole what the article was about. I did this so it was
background of the magazine. I believe I clear from the cover that the main importance of
have developed the convention of this the article was the artist who was involved not the
by cutting the background from this story they were telling. I believe this could also
shot and placing it on a black allow my magazine to look slightly different to
background, which I developed by other magazines of the same genre.
having the background lighter in the
middle to soften the block colours. I
decided to develop this convention as Finally, with my cover I kept a large number of conventional features including the
the original background of the image placement of a barcode, issue number and price. I kept these as they are seen in other
was unsuitable as it would detract from magazines so it is easy for the reader to find them. However a feature which I added which
the main focus. Also on my front cover I believe challenged some magazine conventions was what was coming up in the
I have followed another key magazine in bullet points on the left hand side directly under the masthead. I placed these
conventions; the splash being the here not only because they gave the best look to the magazine but also because it allowed
second largest text on the page. I people to see them when looking at what the magazine was, so therefore if a reader
believe this works well due to the wasn’t too interested in the main story they may see something else which interests them
orange used making the splash stand
in the rest of the magazine.
out further.

4. However within my contents page I decided to challenge
a convention. I decided to have a long shot down the side
of the contents, instead of several smaller images. I did
this as I believe it allows the main cover story to be
carried through. It also gave me the I did this to convey
the image that the artist was presenting the content of the
page. I believe challenging this convention went well as
it gave my magazine an edge and become different.
One convention I did follow was having an editor’s letter
on the contents page introducing the magazine. Before
placing the letter at the top of the page I developed the
placement but believed that the best placement for the
letter was the top of the contents page.
I also decided to carry the masthead font through to the
contents page to be the title, I carried this through so it
gave the magazine a professional look throughout. As I
believed if the magazine had too many fonts then it may
start to look too crowded. I placed the title across the top
of the page after trying many places. I also decided to
split up my contents into many sections so pages were
easy to find on the contents page. I also allowed pages to
be more separate making the page look less crowded.
I also decided to include a copy of the front cover which I
then labelled up to find key pages on the cover, such as
my double page spread. This was an important feature of
my magazine content as it allowed my cover story to be
promoted further.
With this page I also decided to break down the block
background making the contents page more pleasing to
the eye and also introduced some orange to the page to
liven the page and reducing how bland the page
looked, which targeted my audience further.

5. A convention I decided to follow was placing the main headline across the top of the double
page spread. However I decided to make half of the title in a slightly smaller text so my
double page spread was given a unique style. Also with my title I decided that one block
colour was not effective for my aim so therefore I decided to integrate another colour
allowing the title. Overall giving the title a attractive look to my target audience.
There was also a main
convention in which I followed
however this convention is not
seen in Q magazine which I
With my double page spread took my main inspiration form.
there were many This convention was using a
conventions which could or bold arrow to symbolise that
could not be followed. My the story continued on the
main inspiration for my next. I believe that this arrow
magazine was Q so works well as firstly it allows
therefore I decided to stick empty space to be filled giving
more closely with their a more professional look to the
conventions. One double page spread. I believe
convention I followed on my the arrow also allowed the
double page spread was the magazine to have a fun look
fact of having half of the which clearly showed
spread as an image and the information at the same
other half as a time, which I believe would
story, however in order to work well with my target
make this my own I decided audience,
to have the split on a slant.
Also with this spilt I decided
Within the story on my page I
to have to different colours
decide to develop the
to break the page down.
convention of quotes and had
However I found that the
larger quotes within my story.
block colours need breaking
I also decided to have the
down further to make the
words within the quotes to be
magazine look more
different colours I believe this
authentic. So therefore
allowed them to stand out
added softer light into the
further showing the importance
colours.
of the quote.

6. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
I decided to target my media magazine at 16-21 year olds who are interested in similar magazines such as
Q. I believe the magazine suited mainly teenagers who were interested in new indie music. I decided to
choose photos which I believe represent the group of new and young talent which is in the music industry
especially breaking into the indie music business. I believe the purple and white tones target indie music
lovers but with in that group mainly girls as this colour is associated with them more. However in recent
years this could has also been heavily associated with men making it suitable for both males and females.
However to make my magazine more appropriate to the younger end of my target audience I decided to
introduce a bright orange to make the magazine look slightly younger with a rebellious edge.
Throughout my magazine I have decided to use chunky and some times bold text which I believed looked
more clear on my page. I decided to do this to make reading the magazine easier but also I thought this
type of font was suitable for my target market. I believe that a looped or swirled font was not suitable for my
genre of magazine and that font would have been more suitable for a magazine targeted at pop music. The
articles involved in my magazine heavily involve looking back on music history which I believe suggests that
my target market enjoy looking back on old classic hits or events that have happened involving the artists
from these hits.
I believe that my magazine could suggest many things about my target audience. I firstly believe it suggests
that they are very interested in music and the artists that write and sing the tracks not just what is the latest
track in the charts. It could also show that they prefer a clear layout of a magazine which is just full of music
they wish to hear about and artists that may be entering the industry not just who is the most famous band
with the highest chart success. The main article in my magazine is about an artist re-entering the music
industry and the story she has to tell from it, I believe this suggests that my target audience would like to
see how the industry makes and breaks people. I believe the magazine also heavily suggests that the
people reading my magazine will be interested in going to local gigs and listening to new and upcoming
music, which is trying to make a break through.

7. What kind of media institution might distribute your media
product and why?
Magazines can be distributed in many ways this can either be digital or sold in a news agents. Now 17% of magazine are distributed digital.
With my magazine been aimed at a smaller target audience I may want to look at distributing this way in order to build up initial custom and try
and keep costs down. I believe that I may want to initial have a month’s free trail of my magazine in order to generate knowledge of my
magazine. And then after the months trail I will begin to charge £2.50, if the magazine gains success. I believe it will be beneficial to distribute
my magazine on the internet. I believe this will gain most success at the start and will reduce my costs so it is easier to make a profit.
Music mags is a online distribution website which specialises in music magazines.
Their website is www.musicmags.net . I decided to look at music mags because of
the deals they offered.
This is music mags home page on their website, when researching into music
mags I thought the website worked really effective as it the layout was really
clear and pleasing to the eye. When looking over the website I came across the
services they could offer and the deals they offered. When looking at the
services they offer one which caught my eye was the dealer zone which could
be accessed each day between 8-4. The dealer zone on the website is where all
magazines on offer can be seen, I believe this would be good for my magazine
as it would be seen each time some enter the dealer zone. However this means
that my front cover once again has to be my strongest element in order to stand
out on the dealer page. Also with in the dealer zone there are helpful tips in
order to maximise sales which I believe will be a greater support system to a
brand new magazine such as mine.

8. Who will be the audience for your media product ?
The audience I am targeting and trying to attract is mainly teenagers to young adults aged 16- 21. When
designing my magazine I didn’t initial want to target a specific gender but a music group, this group being
people interested in indie music. However after completing my magazine I believe it has leaned more
towards been targeted at young women (however not in the type of way a fashion or gossip magazine
targets young women), I believe this due to the colours I have used and what could be seen as a young
female icon as my main cover story. However I was also trying to attract young adults with a slight
disposable income as I would be charging for my magazine (£2.50). Earlier when talking about who I
wanted to attract to my magazine I talked about attracting a group of young adults which were interested
in indie music, however when looking into my magazine in further detail I believe that I am trying to not
only attract young adults interested in indie music but also interested in the history of that genre and
events that have happened. My magazine shows I am trying to attract these people by my main article
being about an artist returning to the music industry after a bad rocky past. Also within my front cover and
contents there are such editions as looking back at the 90’s and seeing what the genre of music was like
then and how successful it was.

9. How did you attract or address your audience?
I attracted and addressed my audience in many ways, I thought it was
important to attract them in a variety of ways to improve the appeal of
my magazine and hopefully improve sales. I also believe many
different methods may be needed when promoting my magazine to
also help boost sales. When trying to grab the attention of my target
audience I would need to use advertising methods in order to promote
the magazine. I believe that my magazine firstly only needed low key
advertising as it was new to the market and such things as television
advertisements would initially be to expensive. I believe I could firstly
look into where I believe major sale would be made (e.g.
internet/major cities) and then have a high concentrate of advertising
and marketing based there. I believe a major resource which could be
used in the advertising and marketing is the internet. This could be
used to show the front cover of my magazine and show major details
such as where it would be sold and how much it would cost. I also
believe a major internet advertising base for my magazine could be
social networking sites (facebook/twitter) as a high percentage of my
target audience would be using these sites.
When designing my cover my main objective was to include key
features which could then be used to address my chosen target
audience. The cover of my magazine has many features which
attract my target audience. I believe my cover story could
strongly appeal to my target audience as the main artist may be
seen as a role model or icon and therefore may want to read the
article inside.

10. I also believe that by changing my main cover shot I have allowed the artist
to have direct eye contact with the reader, drawing the reader in to buy the
magazine. Also with my cover I have used a limited amount of colours
giving a more professional look which could attract more readers as the
magazine will look like its worth paying £2.50 for. With my magazine and
mainly my double page spread I had to make sure that the written language
was appropriate and clear to the reader I was trying to attract. With my
target audience I believe it was appropriate to use a slightly informal tone
so they felt like part of the magazine team and at ease when reading the
magazine. However, I still thought it was important to maintain the
language and not use ‘slang’ or offensive language; this was to maintain
the professional image of the magazine. So overall with the written
language of the magazine I have decided to create a balance of informal
chat however avoiding using ‘slang’ words.
Also to attract my audience I decided through the
development stages that I needed to add a larger
range of colour however, I had to be careful how I
completed this as too many colours could make my
magazine look tacky. So I decided to keep my original
colours of purples and whites and introduced a bright
orange. I decided to introduce this colour as it allowed
a vibe to be added to my magazine and it also was
appropriate to the my target audience of indie. This
also allowed for my magazine to appeal more to my
target age of 16-21 year olds.

11. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
During the time I have spent on creating my magazine I
have under gone a development stage in order to finish
with my final products and during this development stage
I have learnt many new skills and expanded skills that I
already have. The process of the course work has seen
me use software which I have previous had little or no
experience with and push my skills with software and
programmes I have used. The first programme which I
had not directly used before was blogger, during my
coursework I have used the internet blog site to present
an e-portfolio of my work and the progress and
development within my work. Before starting my
coursework I had never complete a blog so this has
allowed me to work on skills of creating a blog.
This was the dashboard to blogger where I learnt how to
complete new posts and edit old posts or posts which
were unfinished. This was the main central for controlling
my posts.
It has also allowed me to build on writing skills as throughout my
blog I have had to describe and explain what I have undergone
in lesson in order for followers to understand the development.
Also when using blogger it allowed me to work with another
website/programme called slide share it was good to gain
knowledge of how to use this as it allowed me to vary the easy in
which I present work on my blog as it allowed me to upload
power points and many other files.

12. Within the construction of my magazine two main programmes
were used, these programmes were Photoshop and fireworks. I
have had a brief experience with both of these
programmes, however in order to get to the stage of my final
products I have had to develop new skills and work on old skills.
So my magazine both appealed to my target audience and
looked professional.
Within Photoshop I have gained new skills of cropping and cutting photos so
they are the right size and unneeded background is removed from the
images. These skills involved me using such tools as the magnetic lasso and
the eraser (and when block colours have been removed the magic wand tool
could be used). Having a range of tools to use allowed me to gain the best
finish of the image.
Within fireworks I had developed many new skills the main skill
being very basic, this skill was organising and judging the
layout and trying to fit all appropriate information into the
canvas size and maintain a professional image. Also when
completing the photographs needed for my magazine I had a
chance to develop my photography skills. From taking these
photos I learnt how to use backgrounds and how a white
background worked well when editing the photos. I also found
that if the photos were taken in natural light then the colouring
was more pure. I have also learnt from the coursework that it is
important to consider the Mise-en-scene and if it fits with the
image you are going for. For example when taking my photos I
needed to ensure that the setting and the outfit of the model
was correct for the theme of my magazine. And finally I learnt
how to angle my photo and where to take it from.

13. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have
learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Before completing my music magazine I The first improvement I can see is the way in
completed a preliminary task of making a which I have taken the photo for my cover shot.
school magazine. Between this magazine Although the clothing is correct on both I believe
and my music magazine there are major the general set up of the photos have improved.
improvements and a more professional When taking the photos for my music magazine
image can be seen. My school magazine I also used a higher quality camera which I
followed many conventions of a believe gave a better quality photo, however the
magazine, for example the magazine had main reason for the second batch of photos
a traditional masthead on medium close working well was my better understanding of
up on the front of the magazine and a angles and lighting and how getting these two
large masthead. However I believe the key factors right can dramatically improve a
overall construction of the magazine was photo. When looking back over my school
very poor. So from completing the magazine I believe the main reason for the
preliminary task I have learnt many skills cover shot not working well was my lack of
which helped me to produce a higher knowledge towards programmes which could
quality music magazine. When help in editing the image. On my school
considering the technology used in magazine it is very visible to where my photo
creating a magazine there is drastic has been cropped and erased. The main
progress in the way I have used this reasoning for this issue is the fact that the
technology. outline and background was erased by hand
using the eraser tool on fireworks, which meant
an uneven and sharp edge was left visible
around the image. However when my skills
improved over the piece of coursework I was
able to use Photoshop’s magnetic lasso to cut
around the model and remove the background
meaning that the image was cut much closer
and by using the feathering tool the edge of the
photo was much smoother and therefore lay on
the background better.

14. A difference between my
music magazine and my To conventions which appear on both
preliminary magazine of my magazine are a date and an
was the fact that I used a issue number I thought this was key
logo on my school as it allows the audience to see which
magazine. I believe it was magazine they have and have not
very conventional to use brought. As stated before both of my
a logo on a school magazines use a traditional
magazine so it was very masthead, however I believe there is
visible which school the great improvement with in my
magazine was mastheads. I believe my music
for, however I believe it magazine has an improved masthead
was not a main as it is shorter so therefore people will
convention for a music remember it easier. Also on my music
magazine as the magazine the masthead is in a much
magazine was not bolder and bright text so therefore
targeted so closely. would be more visible if I choose to
have my magazine for sale in the
news agents.
I believe that both of my magazines attract their audience mainly with appropriate images and colours. My school
magazine manages to use appropriate colours which match the school it is aimed at, however I believe the grey
colouring of the front cove gives the magazine a dull and dirty colour which may push people away from reading the
magazine. However I believe my music magazine has more professional colours so this may be more appealing to the
target audience. Looking back on both of my contents pages there has also been many improvements from my
magazine to my music magazine. I believe that overall my music magazine contents page has a better layout and more
useful information. However I believe one strength for my school magazine was the way in which the images were laid
out.