Evaluation

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

After looking at diferent music magazines and their conventions I created my own music magazine. My magazine follows many conventions of the magazines which I have analysed for example the mast head is on the top left hand corner of the front cover. This is so that the magazine title can be seen when magazines are stacked on shop shelves. Also, the mast head is a short one word title which is memorable. I have included the price and barcode which is conventional, purely for necessity rather than appearance values. The main headline is in the centre and right justifed. The text is, large and bold with some different colour backgrounds for emphasis. This headline text being the largest on the page is conventional of every magazine. And the word 'exclusive' is often seen on magazines as an incentive for people to buy this particular magazine, as the consumer believes that they are getting something from this magazine that they will get from no other magazine. Down the left hand side of the front cover is all of the subtitles for other articles within the magazine. It is a convention of other articles from within the magazine to be titled on the front cover, and are predominantly placed down the left hand side of the page. The image also follows the conventions of magazines as it shows the main feature artist and this takes over most of the page. However, conventionally magazines also have smaller images for inside articles. The magazine 'Rolling Stone' does not follow this convention and neither did my music magazine. I think that this would work better and not distract from the main article. Instead of having lots of images, like 'Rolling Stone' I chose to use more subheadings. The contents page is quite conventional as it contains an image that is not too distracting as the purpose of the page is informative. The lay out of my double page spread follows those I analysed earlier in NME. It is conventional in having a large headline and large focus image and then smaller text for the main article with a pull quote to give a rough idea of what is in the article. The pull quote almost has the effect of a highlight, giving a preview.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

This media product aims to represent those in the music industry within the genre of popular music, and also fans of this music. The aim of any magazine is to represent their particular social group positively. I have done this mainly within my double page spread with the topics covered within the interview. I have tried to portray the represented social group positively with the use of bright colours and topics suggested in the contents page.

Who would be the audience for your media product?
How did you attract/address your audience?

People who like this style of music and are interested in things such as new releases will also be the target audience. My magazine is predominantly targeting females who are possibly in there late teens. Unlike the majority of current pop magazines, I have chosen not to aim this magazine at younger teenagers as the market for this already appears to be quite saturated. Instead I have chosen to create this magazine which covers more mature themes yet still has quite a young, quirky appearance shown through the 'wobbly' fonts. This can be seen in the colours used on the front cover, the title 'melody' also seems quite feminine, as do the topics covered within the magazine. The colours of the magazine are predominantly reds and pinks which are stereotypically feminine colours, and also the female on the front shows how the magazine feature is going to be about a female. Having the main feature about a popular female when the target audience is females, could help attract the teenage girl audience as she may be there idol, they may be interested in her and aspire to be like her. Also they maybe able to relate to what she is saying within her interview. On the front cover of the magazine, one of the features is also quite a feminine topic with regards to pop stars personal lives rather than just there music.

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

The magazine would be distributed by a publisher which could include Bauer (formally known as EMAP), IPC or Future. I think that my magazine would be best suited to IPC as they have already have a range of magazines targeted at females, and they also have a range of music magazines, however they do not have a music magazine aimed particularly at females. Therefore they have a gap within there target markets. IPC therefore have experience in both areas of this magazine making them a suitable choice. Their current magazines are also well known and highly popular showing these to be good publishers.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of the constructing this product?
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

In the process of constructing this product, I have learnt a lot about the use of computer software such as Photoshop, Publisher and Word. I have realised how design choices such as layout, fonts, or colouring really can affect the final product and how the smallest thing can make a big difference. I believe that carrying out the preliminary task helped with my main task as it made me more familiar with the software I was using, therefore making my final piece better than if I were to be using the software for the first time.

After completing my final products and having them evaluated I decided to make a few alterations however due to computer restrictions this was possible. My magazine was designed and made on a free trial of a programme and the trial has since expired making it impossible to make any future edits to the magazine. If I had the option of making alterations I would choose to move the main image downwards slightly on the front cover to reveal more of the mast head. However, if this were a well established magazine, covering part of the mast head would not pose a problem as it would be easily recognised even if only partially visible. I would also change some of the fonts for the smaller feature articles to make them more feminine and rounded. On the contents page, I would have added more content to the magazine so that the magazine appeared more full rather than the current contents page which only goes up to page 22. This seems like very few pages of what a magazine should have, and not worth the £2.80 shown on the front cover.

Within the preliminary task I did not have this priduct after using a different programme. However within my main task I chose not to use the same programme as I did not have easy access to it.

Double Page Spread

This image shows my final double page spread. The image takes up the majority of the of the pages, covering one whole page and then spilling over onto the next page. The image has once again been edited as it has been brightened with contrast levels also being increased. This makes the colours brighter and more bold. Overall this double page spread is very red as colours from the image have been used elsewhere on the page to create a colour theme

so that the pages do not become too busy and overpowering with colour clashes.

The main title has a bright red backround with a thick black outline for emphasis. The sofa in the image is also red so these to colours connect. The text is then a bold italic black over the red so that it stands out with the subheading on the same background overlaying the main title.

Beneath this is a brief outline of the interview written in the problem secratery font and a deep red, once again following the theme.

Final Contents Page

This image shows my final contents page which is mainly based upon the example I looked at from the hip-hop magazine. The title of the page is in the bold 'rubber stamp' font to create continuity from the front cover. All other main titles on the page are also in this font however the text is smaller with a 50% transparent red background which is set out 'wonky'.

The rest of the text on the page is written in the font 'problem secretary' which is a mixture of both basic and unusual. Whilst the font its self is a basic typewriter font, the lay out of the wobbling makes it more attractive and fun yet still comprehendable. Each page number is also in bold making it more eye catching and seperating it from all other text.

The image on this page I like because it is like she is leaning on the edge of the page. The image has been editing a lot with the forground being cut away from a background and then brightness and contrast levels have also been edited. This makes it appear more pop art with bright colours and high contrast levels. The image also allows for all text to be left justified.

Final Front Cover

This image shows my final magazine front cover. It uses all the typical conventions of a magazine cover with the magazine title in the top left corner. The main title is written in a font called 'clementine sketch' in a deep red colour. It is almost like a logo which would be widely recognised and be a symbol easily noticed and established when people think of music magazine.

Above the title is a small strip of colour in a pale red with white text showing what the magazine contains, with the word exclusive in a bold font so that it stands out amongst the rest.

The main image is a medium close-up shot of a 'pop-star'. The image has been edited to so that it is brighter with more contrast which makes the image stand out and also appear more professional. The brightening almost acts like an airbrush as it removes any blemishes or imperfections within the photo.

Over the photo is the main article headline. This is written in a font called 'rubberstamp' which is very bold therefore stands out. Different parts of the text are in different colours, on different backgrounds, or in a completely different font. The word exclusive is written in a bold black with a slightly transparent red background which is not straight but slightly 'wonky'. This makes the word exclusive stand out which will make it more appealing as it shows how people should buy this magazine as an alternative to any others as this is the only magazine to have this story. The name of the artist is also written in the rubberstamp font however this has no background and is instead written in a deep red, similer to the magazine title. This shows how it is a name, like the name of the magazine and it also follows the colour scheme of the rest of the magazine. The words 'She's Back' is written in a basic 'calibri' font as it is not the main part of the headline and it slightly overlays the name of the artist which shows how whilst they are in different fonts, the text is still connected. The main part of the headline is also in the 'rubberstamp' font in a bold black but without a background making this text stand out. All of this headline is right side justified with the 'exclusive' beginning almost centre page which is a typical convention. All other article titles and information is left justified, in a smaller basic font and also in a lighter colour. This shows how these articles are not as important as the main article.

Also on the front cover is a barcode which all magazines need as well as a price and issue number. These are placed in the bottom left corner and they are almost the smallest things on the page as they are purely about the selling of the product rather than the appearance or the contents.

Double Page Spread Mock Up

This double page spread is based on those of magazines I have looked at previously with the main image crossing both pages. The main headline will then lay over the image with the article down the right hand side. From the article there will be a quote which had been enlarged and then embeded in the article. At the beginning of the article I intend to use a drop cap which has almost become a convention of magazine articles.

These two images are ideas for the double page spread. They show a female artist who the article will then be based upon. Rather than using one large image I could also use two smaller images however not this particular two as they are too similar in my opinion,

Contents Page Mock Up

My mock up for a contents page is based primarily on the contents page from the hip hop magazine and an example is shown below in a previous post. The artist used for my double page spread and front over will also be used for my contents page along with some smaller images which I will possibly take from the internet. I expect the page to be invisibly divided down the centre with the photograph on one side and the text on the other. The writing should be basic and clear however the contents page should also give the impression that the magazine is going to be filled with lots of appealing articles.









These images I think would be suitable for the contents page in particular the second and third image. The second image I think it would be good for her to be leaning on the edge of the page however I think that the third image is quite fun, casual and friendly therefore making it more appealing.

Magazine Plan

This image shows a mock up design for the layout of the front cover of my music magazine. It shows how the masthead should be placed in the top left hand side of the page which is conventional of a magazine. I would also like all other texts to be down the left hand side which would show other articles which are featured within the magazine. There should also be a small eadline along the top of the magazine just above the masthead. The image should be the main focus and cover the majority of the page. At the right hand side of the mast head there could also be a smaller image related to another article. The main headline should be almost central and overlay the main image. It should be eyecatching, bright and bold. And finally in the bottom corner should be a bar code which all magazines must have. Alongside the bar code will be the price, date and issue number.









This image on the left shows some ideas for fonts for the mast head. I chose the name melody because it is a music magazine and melody is related to music overall, and not just one particular genre. This is suitable for this magazine as it does not relate to one particular genre, it relates to popular music. Out of these five particular typefaces, I like the first image as the letters sway and are uneven which reminds me of musical notes on a stave. However I also like the bold style of the second typeface although I think this could be more suited to the headline.












These four images are possibilities for the front cover. I took a wide range of photographs for this magazine and these I believe are four which could possibly used for the front cover, my favourites being the first and second image. The second image would allow for space so that more text can be placed on the cover without the main focus being interrupted. I chose a plain background to keep the cover simple and also so the text would show up more clearly. Also the background would't distract from the main focus of the image. I would edit the colouring on each photo making them brighter so that they stood out more and hopefully looked a little more professional.