1. Media Evaluation
Oliver Snowdon
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

2. 1.Inwhatwaysdoesyourmediaproduct
use,developorchallengeformsandconventionsof
realmediaproducts?
The first convention I aimed to replicate when designing my
music magazine was having an eye catching cover
image, which draws the attention of the target audience to
my magazine. I used Shiz’Le’Dog’s artist Burnsy for this, as
his direct eye contact seemed fitting for the design I was
aiming for. I chose to have stories on either side, as this
works well on the front cover of Vibe magazine, and makes
the magazine look busy, with lots of music content, rather
than a magazine that is lacking in substance. I chose my
colour scheme, that encompasses three main colours, red
black and white on the basis that more is less, and too many
colours may take some attention away from the articles
themselves, or even Burnsy, the focal point of my magazine. I
also kept this colour scheme for the rest of my magazine, as I
felt it worked well on my cover page, and keeping one colour
scheme gives my magazine a nice flow, making it look like
real magazine. One of the conventions I challenged of the real
magazine is that I didn’t zoom in directly to show Burnsy’s
shoulders and face, this is because his tight shirt and evident
chest muscles further represents the “power” image that
both him and Kanye West possess. Showing Burnsy’s upper
body also attracts a different target audience other than just
fashion and music loving teens, girls. This is because the
sexualised image of Burnsy would appeal to them, and they
may buy the magazine just for this factor.

3. 1.Inwhatwaysdoesyourmediaproductuse,developor
challengeformsandconventionsofrealmediaproducts?
This Vibe magazine featuring rap and music icon Kanye
West gave me a basis on which I could build my own music
magazine, the way Kanye dominates the front cover and
even covers the masthead is something that I felt I could do
with Burnsy, as he has a similar dominant image. I
particularly like the distribution of the articles around
Kanye’s head, either side. This further gives of the idea that
he cant be touched, and represents his egotistical status. I
used this idea with my magazine, as Burnsy has stories
around him, whilst covering the masthead, and displaying a
persona of dominance and masculinity. The choice of a tri-
colour scheme also works well within Vibe Magazine’s
cover, as it represents simplicity, and doesn’t take anything
away from cover star Kanye, further demonstrating his
control over the front cover. I replicated this idea with my
cover page, by using three main colours for text and a
simple white background, so the main focus will always be
on my enlarged masthead and popular artist, Burnsy. One
of the conventions of this magazine I did not like however
was the closeness of Kanye’s face in the cover image, as
zooming out slightly and showing his upper body would
add to the “power” image I am aiming to display in my
magazine, one which I have used by showing Burnsy’s
upper body, exploiting the idea that girl’s will buy the
magazine due to the sexual attraction of Burnsy.

4. 1.Inwhatwaysdoesyourmediaproductuse,developorchallengeformsand
conventionsofrealmediaproducts?
My contents page follows the conventional three grid layout, with three grids for different stories and articles. The Q review
section also stands out, with the white, red and black working well together to draw the readers attention. This is what I
did, as this keeps to the overall colour scheme in my magazine. The use of pictures within a contents page is key for Q
magazine, as this attracts the reader to the main stories. I replicated this with my contents page, having pictures of both the
Shiz’Le’Dogs and J Drew. They are the two main stars of my magazine much like Lana Del Rey and Rihanna in Q.

5. 1.Inwhatwaysdoesyourmediaproductuse,developorchallenge
formsandconventionsofrealmediaproducts?
Within my double page spread I aimed to keep
Burnsy as the focal point, so before planning my
double page spread I looked at a real magazine
that had an attractive cover star the audience
would be drawn in to. I also liked the idea of
having the main text to the left of the main
image, so emulated this withy my double page
spread. Another convention that is prominent
within double page spreads is the drop
capital, the large letter at the start of a paragraph.
I used this idea, as it shows the reader where the
information they are looking for is within the
double page spread, and gives a better format
than just all lower case small text.
The colour of the clothing that Burnsy is wearing was
also an important choice, as he needed to stand out from
the background and the rest of the text. The dark blue
against a creamy white background worked similarly to
the black and white in the magazine I was looking at, and
although the artist in the magazine I aimed to replicate
wasn’t making direct eye contact with the camera, from
wider research I realised this is a convention that I
would have to conform to.

6. 2.Howdoesyourmediaproductrepresentparticularsocial
groups?
My cover page represents the social groups
such as trendsters, teenagers and young adult
males, as this is the social group it is likely to
appeal to. Every artist included in my
magazine is male, and I have included the
header above retro saying “For men who love
music”. This directly targets this social
group, as they will read it and want to see
why it is for them.
I have also represented these social groups
through my contents page, as teenagers and
young adults are most likely to listen to the
charts and be interested in what their
favourite artists have to say, or the latest
news about them. Teenagers and young
adults are also very fashion conscious
compared to categories such as 50+, so this is
why I included fashion related articles, to
represent the taste of youngsters for hot off
the block new trends.

7. 3.Whowouldbetheaudienceforyourmediaproduct
The audience for my music magazine is mainly 16-25 year old males, who like and can relate to most of the
artists featured in my magazine. They will also be interested in the fashion element of my magazine, as
both music and fashion go hand in hand when looking at the target groups of Indie, Hipsters and Trendies.
I have further explained my audience, and how my magazine will appeal to them in my YouTube video.

8. 4.Whatkindofmediainstitutionmightdistributeyourmediaproductand
why?
I would use Spin Media to distribute my media product, as they distribute Vibe, a magazine I feel is
similar to my own. Vibe magazine has a look that promotes strong, and popular solo artists, as well as
groups rap duos, however the cover image always focusses on a single person, as does Retro magazine
with Burnsy. Spin Media will know how to distribute Retro, as they have successfully distributed
Vibe, and this is why I feel they would be the ideal choice for getting my magazine out to the masses.
Both Retro and Vibe also focus on similar music tastes, such as rap, R&B and also chart music, this is why
I feel Spin may see Retro as a good venture, and will feel able to make sales off Retro. I think that if Spin
didn’t feel my magazine was right for them, I would propose my magazine to Bauer Media Group, as
they are the company that distributes Q magazine, which I have looked at when creating Retro. Q is also
a very well known magazine, as I hope Retro could be with the backing of a big media institution.

9. 5.Whathaveyoulearntabouttechnologiesfromtheprocessofconstructing
thisproduct?
I have used different technologies in the process of constructing my magazine, but I mainly focussed on using
Adobe InDesign and also Adobe Photoshop. The layout of my magazine was constructed in InDesign, where I
formatted the layout and text, however I used Photoshop to edit my photographs that I shot at an earlier date.
I changed the overall colours and contrasts of my photos, and took the background away from the photo, to
make sure my text was readable on a variated blank background. I have learnt how to construct
good, structured photo shoots, ensuring I have photos to work with and edit. As you can see, my edited
photograph of Burnsy gives me a brighter background to work with, and the colour correction makes him
clearer for the reader to see. I have also learnt how to upload clips to YouTube of myself evaluating and
speaking about my magazine, something which previously would have been alien for me.

10. 6.Howdidyouattract/addressyouraudience?
I firstly attracted my
audience with my bold, red
masthead. This allures the
reader to read my
tagline, “For Men Who
Love Music”, this instantly
addresses my audience.
My story on Burnsy
Also attracts the
audience, as he is my cover
star and focal point. Fans
of the Shiz’Le’Dogs will
recognise Burnsy, and
therefore become
absorbed in the magazine.
My two articles at the
bottom of my magazine
present another factor that
the reader will be attracted
by, chances to win music
gear and also discounted
products from a popular
fashion website. This
addresses my audience as
my target audience includes
trendies, people who are
looking for the latest
music, and secondly fashion
which ASOS promotes
The “Fashion Special”
element of my music
magazine is something
that my audience of
trendies, and also hipsters
will be attracted to
instantly, as they are
always looking to change
their look and embark on
new visual ventures.
I have included popular
artists in my
magazine, with a diverse
range of sounds and
images. With this I aimed
to appeal to a wide range
of music fans. I also aimed
to promote some smaller
artists, as Krept and Konan
will appeal to a smaller
market of music
listeners, that are
synonymous with smaller
music magazines.“Girls . Music . Fashion”, these three elements of
my music magazine address my target audience
by not only showing that my magazine
promotes music, but also fashion and
“Girls”, giving it a slight “Lads” magazine
feel, encompassing a further group that will
possibly by my magazine