Media magazine evaluation

In what ways does your media product use and develop conventions of real media products?When designing my front cover I took into account the conventions of currentmusic magazine front covers and aimed to reflect some of these within my own.One example of this is the large title that is partially covered by the cover-starshead. Furthermore, the title is bold and all in capital letters, making it aprominent and noticeable feature of the cover.Another way in which I have followed the conventions of music magazines is byusing a headshot as the image on my own front cover. This is not always theconvention for magazines; often the image is a full length shot or a groupcomposition. However, in this case a headshot is most appropriate as there is adouble page spread interview with the cover star within the magazine, thereforeby having a headshot on the cover the audience become aware of this personsimportance to the issue. Also, as seen on many music magazines , the name ofthe band and a quote from the interview is incorporated into the text.In addition, there is an eye catching circle containing extra information on mymusic magazine front cover, which is a convention that can be seen on manysuccessful music and fashion magazine covers. This also highlights the fact thatthis is a special issue, which will compel people from the target audience topurchase the magazine.

In what ways does your media product use and develop conventions of real media products?I have also followed the conventions of a music magazine within my own front cover. Themost noticeable of these is that the name of the magazine is repeated in the same format ason the front cover, large and at the top of the page. Furthermore, the date of publication isprinted below the main heading in a significantly smaller font.Another convention of contents pages that I have followed, is the list of page numbers andtheir contents down the side. This is a vital part of any contents page, as it fulfils the page’sprimary purpose. These page titles are accompanied by single sentence descriptions of whatthe article is about.In addition to these, the contents page features a large image which is relevant to somethingimportant within the magazine (in this case the double page spread interview) and a briefdescription of what else can be found on this topic. This is a typical convention of contentspages; during previous research it became evident that it is a feature that would work well inmy own product.The colour scheme that is used on the contents page of my magazine is continued from thefront cover, and then again highlighted within the double page spread article that I haveproduced. This is a convention of a magazine that I have followed carefully in order to makemy own music magazine look professional.Many magazines contain an editors note, which is a personal message from the editor to thereaders of the magazine. I have chosen to follow this convention by using a photograph andshort note from the ‘editor’ of the magazine. During prior research I discovered that the useof an editors note is less common within music magazines than it is in fashion magazines; myuse of this therefore challenges the conventions of typical music magazines whilst following arecognised magazine convention.

In what ways does your media product use and develop conventions of real media products?One of the conventions of a double page spread is that thereis a large image of the person or people whom the interviewis based on; this image is often so large that it covers anentire page. I have chosen to follow this convention in myown double page spread by placing a photograph myinterviewee across the left hand page.A further convention of double page spreads that I havechosen to follow in my own is using a drop capital, which isuse of a different font and font size for the initial letter of thearticle. This is a typical feature of double page spreads andmakes the magazine look more professional.The use of columns is common within magazines of allgenres, and is also seen in newspapers. This is a conventionthat was necessary to use in my own magazine in order tocreate a professional appearance.

Analysis of pages; Front cover Date – A convention of magazine front covers Masthead – the mast head for my magazine ‘Pistol’ is large and central, which makes the Main image – To make the front cover look more magazine look professional. Also, the use of professional I have used a headshot as my main black for the masthead contrasts with the white image; this is a convention of magazine front covers. background and therefore makes the name of In addition, I have considered the photograph the magazine noticeable. By naming the and selected it from a range of options because magazine ‘Pistol’ I hoped to connote fiery and of the direct eye contact that the person is giving fierceness, hence relating the name of the to the camera. Also, the use of black and white magazine to the style of music which it is about. compliments the chosen colour scheme for the In addition ‘The Sex Pistol’s’ are an infamous magazine. British band that create music of a similar style to the artists featured within my magazine. Cover-lines – The cover-lines are seen on both sides of the main image. This makes the page seem more balanced, as there is no large blank areas.Colour scheme – The colour scheme is red, white and Also ,the different information is separated, black, a selection inspired by NME magazine. These for example the list of bands is colours compliment each other whilst also giving a placed on another side to thecontrast that makes the magazine more eye catching. anchorage of the main image and some of the article information. Bar code – A convention Special feature – By placing some information of magazine front covers about a feature article in an eye catching red circle, not only is the colour scheme enhanced, but the issue becomes more unique and the target audience Separate cover line – this ‘special issue’ makes the are therefore more willing to buy it. magazine more appealing to the target audience as they are people who are interested in music and therefore want to read about it.

Analysis of pages; contents page The date is a convention of contents pages. Magazine name is presented The sections of the contents page are separated in the same way by bold heading boxes, this makes the contents as on the front cover, so page more organised and professional looking. creating a memorable image. The largest image on the page is of the band that the issue’s feature article is written about.Page numbers down one side of the page, followed Anchorage on the by the title of the page and a small extra piece of main image helps toinformation; this allows the reader to decide what contextualise it. they wish to read and easily find what they are looking for. A quote, description and photograph of the person whom is interviewed later in the magazine is a prominent feature on the contents page; this is a Subscription advertisement – convention of contents pages. I found that this was a common but not necessary feature of contents pages and The editors note and photograph feel that it works well on my own, is not always a convention whilst also staying in the correct of magazine contents pages but as colour scheme. this is the first issue of my magazine, it adds a personal touch and will therefore make the reader feel comfortable and connected to the magazine.

Analysis of pages; double page spread The name of the interviewee is the largest piece of writing on the page and is therefore eye catching, which The large image of Chris Flemming, the makes the page look more professional. person who has been interviewed covers the entire left hand page. This is a common convention of double page spreads. This specific image is eye catching in black and white, and the clothing has been chosen to convey the musical The questions are written in bold andgenre of rock, which the artist performs. the answers in normal font which makes the interview easier to read. A quote from The by line is a convention the interview here means of double page spread articles.that readers can guess what the register and contents of the interview will be before they read it. The colour scheme that is seen on the front page and contents page is continued with the use of a black and white image and the red font.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?My magazine represents music fans in the UK, all ages and genders but it is more likelythat younger people would choose the magazine as it contains various gig and festivalinformation that tends to be more popular with people ages 16-30. I think that thisgroup is addressed well through the magazines content; this includes articles aboutold, and upcoming bands that will be of interest to music fans.The musician that is featured on the cover and double page spread is a goodrepresentation of young music fans, as he himself is noticeably of similar description.Furthermore, the clothing that has been chosen for this musician reflects what ispopular and fashionable amongst young men, therefore representing the targetaudience and even inspiring them. The interview on the double page spread asksquestions which were chosen to reveal actual musical details and aspirations from theinterviewee. This represents the social group because they will be interested to knowhow and why upcoming stars are where they are within the industry.

What kind of media institution might distribute your product?My market research shows which music magazines are most successful, and the publicists whichare responsible for them.IPC – NME, UncutBauer - Kerrang, Q, MojoFuture - Classic Rock, Classic Rock prog, Computer Music, Future Music, Guitar Aficionado,Revolver, Rhythm, Guitar Legends, Guitar Techniques, Guitar World, Guitarist, Metal Hammer,Total GuitarThe publicist that is most likely to distribute my magazine is IPC, as it already produces magazinesthat are similar to mine, but would be interested in a new one for the audience that are notalready fans of either of the other two.

Who would be the audience for your media product?The audience for my music magazine Pistol would be music fans of all ages; thisaudience is addressed through the use of technical musical language within the articles.In addition, the magazine will be written with the presumption that the audiencealready have knowledge of most of the subjects. The magazine will also containinformation about upcoming gigs and tours, which will therefore increase the appeal tomusic fans, who will want to buy it in order to stay up to date.Each month, the magazine will contain a different special feature or theme, such as thisissue The future of music. This will appeal to music fans because they will want to readabout things that are unusual and do not appear in every other music magazine.

The colour scheme is simple and stylish; The person on the front of the issue is therefore it is eye catching and the someone that music fans will possibly audience will be drawn to the magazine. be a fan of and will therefore want to read about. By advertising the magazine as a special issue the audience will be more interested in buying it.The audience of the magazine By putting a quote from theis music fans, so by having a double page spread interview onmusician on the cover theywill want to buy the magazine How did you attract or the front cover I have appealed to the audiences sense ofso that they can read abouthim. address your audience? curiosity. The editors letter on the contents page makes the magazine more personal and appealing to the audience. The cover lines contain information about some of the bands whose The price of my magazine is tour dates are revealed in the £2.00 which is significantly magazine, music fans will want to lower than competitors. know this information.

What have you learnt about different technologies from the process of construction of this product?Before creating this magazine I had never before used Photoshop or Quark. During the preliminary task Iacquired some skills for these two programmes but creating the music magazine I have been able to developthese and learn new ways to use them. For example, when creating the college magazine I was unable to removethe background of my chosen cover photograph, whereas in creating the music magazine, I learnt to use thequick selection tool to select the area that needed to be removed and replaced with white background. Inaddition, I used the healing brush tool to make the subjects skin look flawless and therefore make themagazine seem more professional. I found that Quark was the most useful programme, as it allowed me toimport the interview for my double page spread easily from a word document, and then put it into columns andinsert images without covering the text. This saved time and made the double page spread look organised andrealistic.

What have you learnt in the progression from the preliminary task to the final task?Before beginning the music magazine task, I used Photoshop and Quark to create acollege magazine. I think that my college magazine front cover and contents page weresuccessful but did not look as professional as the final music magazine pages. A reason forthis could be my lack of skills in using the two programmes, and lack of previous pagedesign experience. Furthermore, when I began making the music magazine I had donemore market research and had a clear idea of how I wanted my pages to look, whereaswith the college magazine I was unsure.During my photography for the music magazine, I was aware that I needed to take avariety of photos in order to make the best decision for my front cover and therefore tooklots of different photographs and analysed the pro’s and con’s of each picture. Along withthis, more thought went into the colour theme for my music magazine than did for theprevious college magazine. I looked at other popular music magazines and found that Ipreferred the simpler colour scheme. Also, my questionnaire told me that my targetaudience preferred the simple designs such as the red, black and white that I selected formy end product. This was different to the way that I decided on colours for the collegemagazine as I researched more and was able to provide my audience with what they wantto see; therefore creating a more successful magazine.

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Media magazine evaluation

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