Media - music magazine coursework

1. Evaluation
By Ellen Denis

2. In what ways does your media product develop or challenge forms and
conventions of the media product?
My media products use the most common conventions such as the masthead, cover
lines, main image; these are conventions that are the most common and nearly always
on magazine covers. Other conventions I did use was a pull quote to give a small
insight into the magazine article and the artist.
I made my main image slightly over the masthead. I did this as most magazines can
have the main image over the masthead and the target audience will still, know the
brand of the magazines I looked at did this.
Most house magazines I looked at had the background of the front cover a plain
background so the main image is prominent, so what I did for my magazine I made a
small gradient of two colours and left it as that. I did this to so that the magazine was
able to look like other music magazines but is still able to have read the cover lines
on the front cover and make the main image more prominent.
I challenged gender stereotypes in my magazine as my magazine features a female
house artists, as well as a male artist. As house music is a male dominated genre It is
different to have a female artist in the magazine, this challenges gender stereotypes.
Front
cover

3. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My magazine is meant to target and represent 15-30 year olds who are interested in
house music, however it does represent and aim at both genders as my front cover
has a male artist on the cover and my double page spread has a female music artist on
it. This helps my magazine be able to focus and interest a large range of people.
Some of my cover lines focus on the younger portion of my target audience like “win a
holiday to Ibiza” or “concerts and festivals” this is because most young people want
to have independence and go to concerts and holidays with their friends instead of
family and younger people want to save money so winning a free holiday is ideal for
them. Whereas some of my cover lines focus more on the songs and the artist which is
normally what the older people in my target range would be more interested in.
My magazine may also aim and represent a fairly modern, young people as the
clothing on the main image of my artist on the front cover is modern, fashionable and
a current trend for young males. It also aims at young ‘pre-teens’ females who are
growing up and adventuring into different music genres which links with the story of
my artist, Kinsley on my double page spread; she transitions from pop music artist in
house artist.

4. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and
why?
Magazine publishers like Bauer Media may possibly distribute my magazine as
they have a vast range of different magazine genres from women’s magazines to
car magazine and music magazines etc. I would like to think that my magazine
would be able to be distributed by a publisher like Bauer Media, as most of those
magazines are aimed at people who are more mature and slightly older and I
think my target audience of 15-30 year olds would be able to fit into this
category and would be a different genre of a music magazine.
Other institutions such as shops like HMV which is a music shop. HMV could
distribute my magazine as they sell all genres of music, but they also sell other
items like music magazines and my house magazine could fit in well with the
music around in a shop like HMV.

5. Who would be the audience for your media product?
My target audience is 15-30 year olds who are interested in house music however
it is aimed at both genders this is because my front cover, has a male artist on
the front and my double page spread has a female house artist on. This shows
diversity between genders and as house music is a male dominated music genre
it is something different as a female artist is featured in the music magazine.
I feel that my music magazine also aims at ‘pre-teens’ girls as the story of my
character on the double page spread shows how she has grown and become
mature which can help relate to females as, ‘pre-teens’ are trying to find that
maturity.

6. How did you attract/address your audience?
I tried to feature items in the magazine that can relate to my target audience
like concerts and festivals, holidays, music etc. this can relate to my target
audience at a level as most people in that range want to go on holiday, have
independence and enjoy their life this is why I made my cover lines have
information and items that can relate to the ‘party life.’ I have put females and
Males in my magazine this is to be able to attract both genders to my magazine.
The story of having a female artist (Kinsley) who has transitioned from a pop
artist to house also attracts girls who are growing up and maturing this is because
they are able to explore into different genres of music like house and this gives
girls who have matured and grown and have explored into house music the ability
to relate to someone who has gone through the same thing.

7. What have you learnt about technologies
from the process of constructing this
product?
I have learnt how to use programs like photoshop this is because I have never
used it before. It has a vast range of different tools to help make my music
magazine.
I have used word Publisher which had tools to help remove the background on
pictures and other tools such as colour correction which was able to brighten or
darken pictures, this helped me when making the main image’s suitable for the
front cover and double page spread.
I had made clear plans about what I wanted finished first and roughly when I
wanted it done for, this was so I could make sure I had everything in order so I
could move on to the next thing I wanted to do. By using these programs it did
help to slightly speed up the process of making the images look good.
Example of
using publisher
background
remover

8. Looking back at your preliminary task, what
do you feel you have learnt in the progression
from it to the full product?
I feel that I am able to use different technologies like photoshop, as before when
I made my preliminary task I didn’t use programmes like photoshop or tools on
Publisher like colour correct or background remover this made my preliminary
task look simple and didn’t have much detail. Using these tools have developed
my music magazine and make it look better than my preliminary task.
When looking back I feel like my preliminary task looks basic and quite childish
where as now I have learnt different conventions, theories (such as Propp’s
Theory or The male gaze) and the styles other music magazines use which has
helped my own music magazine.
I believe that my music magazine has developed more and looks better than my
Preliminary task. Looking back at my preliminary task It has a limited amount of
cover lines, which I have improved on my music magazine to have more cover
lines to make the magazine look more interested.
Preliminary
task
Front cover
music magazine