This is evaluation of my music magazine.

1. AS Media Studies Music
Magazine Evaluation
Matthew Cairns

2. Question 1
Who would be the audience for your
media product?

3. My target audience is based around teenagers and young adults. My
potential reader would be a teenager/young adult who is interested in
hip hop music.
This means that they would be interested in reading informal language
in an article and would be interested in a non structured cover.
They would potentially wear casual clothing (jeans, t shirt and a
hoodie) and would maybe wear trainers and a cap.

4. Question 2
How would you attract/address your
audience?

5. Banner
Masthead
Features
Main Story
Cover Image
Eye Contact
Price
Bar Code

6. Cover Star
Gender:
My magazine is generally aimed at boys but could
also attract girls. I showed that my magazine was
mainly aimed at boys because I used a boy as my
cover star and having my colour scheme as grey,
black and red.
Age:
My cover star is aged around the same age that I
would want my audience to be so that the
audience could relate to the cover star and take
inspiration.
Genre:
The cover star represents the genre of the
magazine by wearing clothing and standing in a
certain position to look like a hip hop star.

7. Banner: Seen at the top of the page so that it is one
of the first things that the potential buyer reads. It
shows giveaways and competitions to attract the
reader and persuade them into buying the
magazine.
Masthead: The words "Hop-Hip" suggest
new music as it is a reverse of "Hip-Hop".
The white text contrasts with the red
background to make it stand out and grab
the readers attention.
Features: Draws the
audience to read the
magazine as it advertises
just what exactly is in the
magazine and the variety
of features that it includes.
The main story at the
bottom of the list is in a
larger font and is a
different colour (red) so
that it contrasts with the
rest of the features and
stands out more grabbing
the readers attention.

8. Main Image:
Using this main
image shows
and emphases
the main article
and draws the
reader towards
the magazine
and its articles.
Heading: The heading
“Features” is a larger size
font to the rest of the
page and is underlined to
show the reader exactly
what this page is and
what it tells you. This
draws the reader to look
at the different articles
and potentially purchase
the magazine.
Features: The features on the page have the
number as a red colour and the name of the
feature coloured in black because these two
colours have been used throughout the
magazine, especially on the front cover because
they contrast each other well and stand out to
the audience.

9. Tab: The tab at the top will
engage readers that are flicking
through the magazine looking for
something interesting. The tab
will make the article look
interesting because it says
“exclusive” meaning its a good
article.
Pull Quote: The pull quote is larger
than the text from the article so will
draw the reader to it and will give
them an idea of what the article
contains.
Image: The main
image being
close up shows
that the article
is important and
the pull quote
next to the
image shows
that the image
star is important
as it comes from
an important
source.

10.  Repetitive colour scheme consisting of red, black, grey and white.
 Black and grey can be seen as quite masculine colours, however the red can be seen as
feminine as well as masculine which appeals to my target audience.
 The black and grey contrast with the red making the parts in red stand out more.

11. Question 3
How does your media product represent
particular social groups?

12. Ideal Reader:
My cover star represents
the ideal reader of my
magazine, with the use of
mise-en-scene. His
costume (hoodie) and
performance (hands in
pockets) shows a
rebellious side which
represents the type of
costume that an artist in
the “hip-hop” genre would
wear.
I have used intertextuality
in my cover star because
the audience will recognise
what genre the magazine
is just by looking at his
clothing and positioning or
reading the artists name
because they will know
from previous existing
publications of the same
genre.
I have used intertextuality by using artists in my features list that are
likely to feature on an existing hip-hop magazine such as “XXL” and
“VIBE”. Using these well known artists will attract readers to purchase
my magazine as they will want to read about famous artists that they
know and have an interest in.

13. To appeal to the correct target audience, my cover star would have to
represent an idealised version of the reader. To appeal to as many
customers as possible my star must appear mainstream and slightly
threatening to appeal to the my target audience.

14. Rebellious side:
In these photos of my cover star that feature on the front
cover and the double page spread of my magazine, my
cover star shows an aggressive and unwelcoming
expression that can suggest that he is rebellious and is a
serious person.
Also, in both of these photos, my cover star is wearing a
hoodie which can look rebellious being worn in the street
but the fact that my cover star is wearing it for a photo
shoot with the hood up is unusual for a photo shoot and
shows his rebellious side.
Another feature of my cover star that shows a rebellious
side is that in the front cover, my cover star has his hands
in his pockets which shows that he perhaps does not
welcome or accept the audience.

15. Down below are two photos of what I would expect my target audience and ideal reader to look like. In comparison to
my cover star, both of the people below are wearing similar clothes (hoodie and jeans) and have very similar facial
expressions to my cover star and are standing in the same position as my cover star (hands in pockets, staring at
camera). This is how I decided on how my cover star would look like by comparing to these types of models in order
for my cover star to represent young male adults.

16. Cover Star:
In all of the photographs of my star, I tried to make sure he would be aspirational for the readers. He is the same age and
gender as my ideal reader which therefore would attract my target audience. The mise en scene of the star represents a
slightly threatening and rebellious young man and the use of a ‘hoodie’ shows a sense of confrontation.

17. Question 4
In what ways does your media product
use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?

18. The magazine that I looked
into was “XXL” because it is
also a hip hop magazine and
has a similar theme to my
magazine. A lot of my
inspiration came from “XXL”
because the layout is simple
yet serious and the artists
that feature are similar to
mine. To get more ideas for
the rest of my magazine, I
looked at contents pages
and double page spreads
that “XXL” had previously
made.

19. Comparison with “XXL”
Use:
I used the same colour scheme as XXL
because I think that they contrast well
with each other in order to stand out
more.
Just like XXL, I have the a red box with
white text for my masthead because I
think that the text contrasts well with the
background.
Develop:
I thought that I would use a medium shot
of my cover star instead of a close up like
XXL have done because I think that it
helps show the cover stars whole identity.
Challenge:
I have used a banner that goes across the
whole of the top of the page which XXL
haven’t used because I think that it helps
attract readers by advertising more of
what is included within the magazine.

20. Using, Developing and Challenging Conventions
Front Cover
Key:
Green = Using
Orange = Developing
Red = Challenging
Masthead shows
name of
magazine
Eye Contact
Main article of
magazine
Price and
Barcode
Name of artist used in
main article
Competition for
readers
List of features of
the magazine
Mid shot of cover
star instead of
close up
Main article at
bottom left of the
page
Most magazines
will have more than
one image on front
cover

21. Key:
Green = Using
Orange = Developing
Red = Challenging
Using, Developing and Challenging Conventions
Contents Page
Title of Features
Magazine logo on
the contents
page
Features List
Most magazines
have more than one
image to show the
features of the
magazine
Eye Contact with camera
Image of main
feature

22. Key:
Green = Using
Orange = Developing
Red = Challenging
Using, Developing and Challenging Conventions
Double Page Spread
Logo of
magazine
on double
page
spread
“Exclusive”
strap line to
attract
reader
Pull Quote
Model crouching
down to camera
Some
magazines have
sub-headings
for different
sections of
article
Page Numbers
Main article on
left hand page

23. Question 5
What kind of media institution might
distribute your product and why?

24. Hop-Hip Magazine
 Hop-Hip magazine would be issued monthly and the price would be
£2.50.
 I have chosen the price of £2.50 as rival magazines such as “XXL” and
“VIBE” are priced higher than £2.50 so my lower price would attract
more customers.
 I have chosen for my magazine to be issued monthly because I can
include more content on a monthly basis as doing my magazine
weekly, I would not be able to add lots of content so my magazine
would be boring meaning customers would not want to purchase my
magazine.

25. Distribution
 I did research based on the magazine “XXL” who would be the
magazine that I would want to publish alongside and XXL is published
by TownSquare Media. Therefore I would choose TownSquare Media
to publish and distribute my magazine.
 The main reason I have chosen TownSquare Media is because its
publications appeal to and are bought by my target audience meaning
they could help my magazine be purchased by my target audience by
publishing and distributing my magazine.

26. Website
A website is one of the
easiest ways to find out
about the magazine and
also purchase it. My
research indicated that
most of my target audience
have access to and use the
internet everyday so can go
onto the website. I have
mainly chosen to use a
website because you can
gain more information
about the magazine than a
social media page however
I have also used social
media.

27. Social Media
New Twitter Page for #HopHipMagazine
Hop-Hip
@hophip
I have also decided to use
social media as a way to
advertise my magazine as my
research indicated that most
of my target audience use
social media such as twitter
and facebook so I have made
a twitter and facebook page
to keep readers up to date
with the latest information
about the magazine and also
advertise what is to be
included in each magazine.

28. Merchandise
 I have found out from research that I could sell merchandise that my
target audience would be willing to purchase which would help
branch out my brand and allow it be recognised more.
 The merchandise could be clothing and appliances. For example,
hoodies, hats, headphones and phone cases.

30. Question 6
What have you learnt about technologies
from the process of constructing this
product?

31. The images above are the photographs that I took using the schools Photography Camera that I would hope to use for
my magazine. I tried out a range of different positions and actions that my model would do. The images that have a star
on them are the images that I used for my magazine. The blue star is the image that I used for my Front Cover, the red
star is the image that I used for my Contents Page and the green star is an image that I used for my Double Page Spread.
The yellow star is another image that I used for my Double Page Spread. These were the photos that I think had the
better quality and looked like the images that would fit the genre of my magazine.

32. Firstly, I chose one of the many photos that I took of my model and decided that it would be the photo that I used for my front
cover. Once I had chose this, I imported the image into Photoshop where I could crop the image so that it would fit the size of
the cover and leave space for the other parts of my front cover. Next, I decided to put my masthead on the left hand centre of
the page. I created the rest of the page using InDesign as this allowed me to move the photos around more easily and create
different styles for my magazine. I then went on to add a list of features down the left hand side however I wanted my model to
stand in front of the other features to make him stand out more and look powerful and important. So I “sent the main image to
front” and then added other little things such as a banner across the top of the page and a price and bar code in the bottom
right of the page which would be the only thing to stand in front of the main image.

33. For my contents page, although the background from the first image does not look much different from the background
in my final contents page, I wanted the background to be a plain colour just like the background on my front cover to
maintain a sense of originality throughout my magazine. To do this I had to remove the background of the image to
leave only the model. I used Photoshop to do this by using the ‘magic wand tool’ which helps to remove the
background accurately so that you don’t miss anything out or accidently remove something that you don’t want to
remove which in this case would be the model. After I did this I put the new image onto InDesign and created the rest
of the features that would be on my final contents page.

34. Question 7
Looking back at your preliminary task,
what do you feel you have learnt in
progression to the full product?

35. Front Covers
My skills on different types of software such as InDesign,
Photoshop and Illustrator have developed a lot from the
preliminary task and the main task. I have used all sorts
of different and better techniques on my main magazine
than the preliminary task in order to make my main task
look good and professional.

36. Preliminary Task – Front Cover
On the front cover of my magazine in the preliminary task, I have used a
simple colour scheme of blue, purple and white which is a very common
magazine convention. My masthead is positioned in the left centre at the
top of page which is also a common convention however my masthead
does not look professional. My magazine front cover contains many other
common magazine conventions such as a price, bar code, issue number
and banner. The banner is also positioned across the top of the page just
like a professional magazine banner would. On the main image I have not
removed the background which makes the magazine look more
unprofessional however I have used a blur technique on the background
to make my main model stand out more and engage the reader. In my
magazine I have used many conventions that a professional magazine
would however a more professional look would help the magazine look
like a real product so by realising the changes that were needed, I decided
to make these improvements on the main task.

37. Main Task – Front Cover
When making my main product I knew what was needed to improve in order
to make my magazine look more professional so I took more time constructing
my magazine in order to achieve this. I continued to use some of the positives
that came from my magazine from the preliminary task which were mainly the
common conventions of a real magazine that I had used. These conventions
included, the masthead being placed in the left centre at the top, one main
image of the star that will feature in the main article, a list of what else is
included in the magazine down the left hand side of the page, a banner across
the top of the page, a price and a barcode. I have also continued to use a
colour scheme which this time consists of red, black and grey as I feel that the
black and grey contrasts well with the red. I have improved the use of fonts as I
have tried to use a small amount of different font types on my front cover
which makes it look more professional whereas I used too many on my
magazine from the preliminary task which made it look more unorganised. I
knew that when making my main magazine I wanted to remove the
background on my main image as it would look better so I found out how to
do it on Photoshop and used that technique on my main image.

38. Contents Pages
In the contents page of my magazine from the
preliminary task I used a colour scheme however, I didn’t
follow the convention of having the list of features on the
left hand side of the page on either of the contents pages
because I wanted to challenge that convention.

39. Preliminary Task – Contents Page
On the contents page of my magazine in the preliminary task, I have used
a simple colour scheme of purple and yellow which I have realised do not
contrast each other at all. My title is positioned in the centre across the
top of the page which is a common convention however my title does not
look professional. My magazine contents page does not contain many
common magazine conventions. I have put the list of features on the right
instead of the left and have only used one image instead of multiple
images to show the features of the magazine. On the main image I have
removed the background which makes the magazine look more
professional however it still looks very unprofessional. I realised that I
hadn’t spent enough time and attention on my contents page and to make
my contents page look more professional when doing my magazine for the
main task I would have to spend more time and give more attention to my
contents page so that my overall marks don’t go down because of it. To do
this I would have to learn new techniques on software such as Photoshop,
InDesign and Illustrator and look at contents pages from existing
publications to gain ideas on how to make my contents page more
professional.

40. Main Task – Contents Page
When making my main product I knew what was needed to improve in order to
make my contents page look more professional so I took more time and
attention in constructing my contents page in order to achieve this. I have tried
to challenge some conventions that are used in professional magazines such as in
my preliminary contents page I have put the list of features on the right hand
side of the page instead of the left and have used one image instead of multiple
images. Also, I have put the logo of my magazine on the contents page which
usually does not feature on a contents page. I have also continued to use a
colour scheme which consists of red, black and grey as I wanted to continue
using the same colour scheme as the front cover and also throughout the rest of
the magazine so that my magazine maintains originality and I like using red, black
and grey as I feel that the black and grey contrasts well with the red. I have
improved the font as I have tried to use a more professional font that will
interest the reader. I removed the background on my main photo on my main
contents page like I did on my contents page from the preliminary task because I
still think it looks more professional.