my evaluation of my music magazine and the process of creating it.

2. 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
My magazine has a masthead, which is typical of
magazines as it informs the audience about firstly,
the name of the magazine, but secondly, makes the
magazine easily identifiable as the masthead is
usually the logo of the magazine.
All of the fonts that I have used are in the rest of
my magazine, to keep the sense of continuity that
is normal in most magazines. It makes the
magazine flow and keeps a sense of
professionalism, which is important in a music
magazine.
Much like most other music magazines, my
writing style is informal as this magazine is
targeted towards young people. This means that
the text will be easier for them to understand and
they will be more likely to read the content as they
are not reading a formal piece.

3. I also made sure to include page numbers as all magazines do this and it
keeps the magazine professional, and as there is a contents page it makes
the articles easier to find, as they have numbers on the bottom that
correspond with those on the contents page.
I tried to make my contents page similar to Alternative Press’ one
because I like how organised it is. I decided to make it slightly different
though as I did not want to copy it exactly. I made sure that the different
sections of the magazine were in a different colour to the contents in that
section so that people could easily navigate through my magazine. The
numbers are also in a different colour as I thought that it would be easier
to look at the numbers if they were in a different colour to the rest of the
contents pages.
I tried to organise my
contents page to make it
easier to read and follow,
much like Alternative
Press.
I also wanted to place text in
the top corner of the page so
that readers know what part
of the magazine the article
goes into. I took this idea from
Kerrang!, however they do not
put it on every page, but I
would if I had created a full
magazine.

4. My style of photography however challenged the
conventions of magazines as all of my images are of live
shows, even the main image on the front cover. This is
because I wanted to make my magazine focused about live
music. Most other magazines use studio shots as their
main images and I wanted to make my magazine different
to those so that it stands out. It emphasises the fact that
the main article is a review of the live shows, and invites
those interested in reading about it. The lighting in my
images also links into my colour scheme as my front
cover’s image included blue and pink hues.
I would say that my colour scheme is challenging the rock
music magazine stereotype as they all include mostly dark
colours in their colour scheme. Mine is lighter however
still includes colours seen as dark, such as greys and blues.
I wanted to challenge the conventions of rock music to
show it in a more positive light, as I think that it is shown
negatively in the media.
I also decided to not use pull quotes in my magazine as my
main article was of a review. I would have used a pull
quote if I had done an interview, however because my
music is based on live music I did not interview anyone.
As you can see, my magazine challenges
the convention of a studio photo as the
front cover image, however the artist is
the same, which shows that I have
decided to use a popular artist on my
front cover to attract the audience.

5. 2.How does your media product represent particular social groups?
For my magazine I have tried to make sure that teenagers and young
adults are represented in a positive light, as they are usually seen
negatively. Those who like rock music tend to be seen even more
negatively as it is seen as a violent genre, however I tried to challenge
that stereotype by creating a magazine that was seen as being the
opposite. My magazine shows that rock fans are more bothered about
what is going on in the music world, about where they can go see their
favourite bands and what other people think about them than the
negative things that have been said about them. My magazine shows
that these fans are not just into the music, they are also into other
things such as fashion, film and tv. This challenges the stereotypes of my
audience as they are seen as constantly going to concerts and being
loud, and so I tried to show a different side of them by including things
other than music in my magazine.
I tried to use a colour scheme that is not stereotypical of a rock
magazine as it means that people may think twice about the
stereotypes given to rock music fans. My photography however uses
stereotypes of rock fans constantly being at concerts as they are all
photos of live shows, as that it what I wanted my magazine to be about.
The writing style is informal, as I tried to make it more appealing to the
16-20 age range that is stereotypically associated with rock.

6. The artists that I included in my magazine are all of
different ages, for example some are in their early
twenties, and one of them is actually in his 40s, and so that
challenges the conventions of rock musicians as they are
seen as being young. This also means that his age group
are also presented positively in my magazine, as they are
seen as not being to old to enjoy rock music, it is not just a
young person’s genre. I have also tried to include a lot of
female musicians in my magazine as female rock artists
are usually criticised as there are not many out there that
are well known. I wanted to show my audiences that
female rock artists are just as good as male rock artists,
and that the conventional all male rock band can be
different.
I tried to make sure that most age groups are included in
my magazine positively because I believe that no one
should be criticised for what music they like.

7. 3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media
product and why?
I would most likely choose to distribute my magazine with Bauer Media
as they have extensive knowledge of the magazine market and know how
to successfully promote magazines. Bauer already distribute a few music
magazines (such as Kerrang!, a magazine I reviewed and looked into
before creating my magazine) and I feel like they would have the most
extensive knowledge about how to make my magazine successful.
I would say that Kerrang! Is a magazine very similar to mine and so Bauer
would definitely know how to distribute it well and attract my target
audience, as a vast majority will already buy Kerrang! Magazine. On the
other hand, this may be a negative thing as the magazine is so similar, it
does not broaden Bauer’s range of music magazines. I feel that the
experience Bauer have with Kerrang! would be beneficial for my
magazine as it would mean that The Noise was being distributed by
experts in this magazine type.
I may also consider distributing with IPC media as they own NME, which
is a magazine which is much different to mine. This would mean that IPC
would broaden their brands and branch out into a different genre of
music magazine. This would be good for them, however my magazine
may not be well distributed as they may not know how and where to
distribute it. I would also say that NME is a magazine targeted to
audiences slightly older than my own target audience, and so my
magazine may be advertised to those who are not in the target age range.

8. BBC also publish a small variety of magazines, however they
only publish one music magazine. This is mostly classical music
and so it is very different to The Noise. Choosing BBC magazines
may be a risk as they do not really advertise their magazines and
they do not have the experience like other distributors of music
magazines. I would also say that the target audiences for the
majority of their magazines are the older generation and so do
not match my own. However, it would mean that they could gain
new experiences about advertising and would reach out to a
younger audience.
EMAP may also be a distributer to consider as they do not
currently have a music magazine. This would mean that they
would gain new experiences on distribution and would give
them something different to add on to their list of magazines. On
the other hand, the magazines that they currently distribute are
more dominated towards the older generation and to men,
which is not my target audience. This may mean that they do not
have the knowledge to reach my target audience and would
mean that my magazine would probably not be as successful as if
Bauer media distributed it.

9. 4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
I would say that my magazine would be targeted
towards teenagers, and mostly girls. I would say
this is because the artists I have included are most
popular with younger generations and so they will
be more likely to want to purchase and read this
magazine. Also, as I know about the bands myself,
I know that they are mostly liked by girls, and so
including them in my magazine means that girls
will want to read the articles including them. I also
learned from my earlier audience research that
those who answered my questionnaire were
mostly female and so I have tried to include
articles that will attract them. I also found that
they are mostly students and so they would be in
schools and colleges, however older people will
still be able to access and read the magazine. Even
though I have tried to target teenagers, I believe
including 30 Seconds To Mars may attract older
audiences as they have a wide fan base that spans
across many age groups. This means that most age
groups feel like they can read the magazine as it is
still diverse. From my audience research I also
found out that the genres my audience most likely
listen to alternative and rock music, which are the
genres I included in my magazine.

10. During my audience research, I created a reader profile, to
highlight who my target audience is. This is what I found out:
“My reader profile is based on what I found out from my audience
research. The majority of my readers will most likely be females and
in the 16-20 age range. This means that they will most likely be
students. The most popular genre is rock and will most likely
already read The magazines I have previously researched. They are
also willing to pay around £2-£2.50 per issue of the magazine and
spend over 5 hours per week listening to music. My audience also
like to buy online rather than go to the high street and like to go
out to concerts in their free time, as well as go online, especially on
social networking websites.”

11. 5. How did you attract/ address your audience?
I attracted my target audience by using colours that they would like to see
in a magazine, such as bright blues and pinks as they are colourful. This
means that these colours will catch their eyes and then they may be more
inclined to buy the magazine. I also decided to use photos of well known
artists from the genre of music I decided to make my magazine about.
These artists are some of the most popular in the genre, meaning that my
target audience will be interested in the magazine and what is being said
about these artists. I also know that my audience like to go to concerts so I
made sure that I included live show reviews, and a list of upcoming live
shows so that they know about what is coming up in their local area. I have
also made sure that my magazine is of a reasonable price, as my target
audience are students, so that they can afford it. I have also tried to include
what they want most out of a magazine, which were posters and album
reviews, so that they will be more interested in my magazine, and I have
also made sure I keep my magazine in the alternative/ rock genre as that is
what my target audience like most. This means that they will be more
likely to look and buy my magazine as the contents is what interests them,
which may be different to the other magazines that they buy. I have tried to
make sure that my magazine is similar to those that are already around
that my audience already buy, however have also tried to make it different
so that they do not think that it is just the same as ones that are out there
already.

12. 6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
When constructing this product I used many different programs such as
Microsoft PowerPoint to plan and present my pre production and
planning, SlideShare to upload these presentations online, Blogger to
present this work online and Photoshop to produce the final product.
Microsoft Powerpoint:
I had used PowerPoint many times before and so I had the skills to
create successful powerpoint presentations which easily conveyed what
I wanted them to. Even though I had used PowerPoint before, I learned
how to used themes, create transparent images and as I used a more
recent version of PowerPoint I also learned how to create shapes and
change the colours. As previously mentioned, I learned how to use
themes and so I used one theme for all of my presentations related to
this project. This gave all of my planning consistency and continuity.
This also gave my presentations a house style, which is consistent with
how the those in the music magazine industry would present all of their
work.
I also used Microsoft Word to show my colour schemes and style sheets
as I thought that they would look best presented all on one page so that
they could be easily compared. I already knew how to use Word well and
so did not really learn much from using this program. I then took
screenshots of these and placed them on to my blog as images, however
I could have easily uploaded them on to Scribd, a website like SlideShare
which takes the word documents and makes them easy to upload and
embed onto blogs and other websites.

13. Blogger:
I created a blog on Blogger so that all of my work was easily accessible
and was organised well. This also meant that I could access my work
anywhere and could upload completed tasks whenever they were
finished. I could upload these tasks in any order, and could even create
them straight on the blog. I was able to save drafts, which meant that I
could go back to the post and edit it as many times as I wanted before
publishing it. Even when I had published the post, I could still go back
into it and edit it. I could also track my page and post views, find out
where these people were viewing the blog from and also how they found
it. I would recommend Blogger and I will most likely use it again as I
found the website easy to use and it didn’t take me long to figure out
how to work it.
SlideShare:
to upload my PowerPoint Presentations on to Blogger, I used a website
called SlideShare. This was a very good website to use as you simply
upload the presentation, and it is then saved onto your account and you
can embed it on to blogs and websites in a variety of different ways. For
those who don’t know how to embed the presentation, the website
shows clear instructions that were easy to follow. My presentations
were then easy to read on my blog, however the only problem I have
with SlideShare is that it has changed some of my fonts to different ones.

14. As I had an email account with Microsoft, I was entitled to use their
online storage website called OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive). This meant
that all of my files were stored online and were easily accessible. This
website is easy to use, and I have used it quite a lot in the past to store
files. It means that I don’t have to worry about losing work on a USB as it
is stored online and can be found anywhere that has an internet
connection. OneDrive also offer apps for most phones, making it even
easier to create and edit my coursework. Since I don’t have Microsoft
office at home, OneDrive has online apps that make it even easier for me
to edit and create tasks.
Camera:
To take my photos I used my own iPhone camera as they are all from live
concerts. I did this as you are not allowed to take professional cameras
in to concerts, and taking photos on my phone meant that it was easier
and I could get the photos better. As it was my phone camera I did not
learn much about it, as I have used it many times before. I think that it
does take good quality photos and my photos are the best they could be
because of how bright the lighting was in the venue at the show.
Prezi:
As well as using PowerPoint, I decided that I would use an online
presentation software called Prezi. This gave me the opportunity to
create an interactive presentation using themes. I could also easily add
different types of media such as images, videos and audio tracks. As it
was an online program, that meant that I could easily share and embed
the presentation on to my blog. I didn’t really learn much from this other
than how to use the website as it was very similar to Powerpoint.

15. Photoshop:
I hadn’t really used Photoshop before so I did not know much about how
it worked. This meant that I learned almost everything about Photoshop
whilst making my magazine. I learned about how to make different sized
pages (A4 and A3 for my double page spread), how to create text, resize
and change the fonts, and many other things that helped me create
successful pages. I had used Serif DrawPlus for previous projects and so
I felt more comfortable using that, however Photoshop has a similar
layout and so I could easily work out what I needed to use to create the
desired effect. I believe that as this was my first time creating a project
on Photoshop it went well, and I feel like I have the skills needed to use
Photoshop for other projects in the future. Photoshop also give you the
chance to colour code each layer which was very helpful for me as it
meant that I could easily organise each layer and could navigate to the
one that I wanted quicker.
USB stick:
As well as using online storage, for the beginning of my project I used a
USB memory stick as it meant I could take my work with me wherever I
went and access it where I wanted to. I had previously used USBs before
and so I knew how to properly use them. Later on in the project I
decided to just use online storage as it meant there were no risks of me
losing a USB stick and with the risk of a memory stick corrupting, I felt
like online storage would be safer and meant that there was not a risk of
me losing any of my work.

16. 7.Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you feel you have
learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Compared to the preliminary task I feel as though I now have
a wider knowledge of the magazine market. I have learnt in
detail about the production of a magazine, such as research
into existing products, audience research and planning. I have
learnt all of the factors that go in to planning a magazine, and
how to successfully do this.
I have also learnt about how to successfully use Photoshop, as
before I did not know how to do it and for my preliminary
task I was just playing around trying to find out what to do on
the program. This meant that my plans were basic, however
now that I have learned how to use Photoshop I can create
successful pages.
I have also learnt about all of the different things you have to
include in a magazine, such as a masthead, cover lines and
also what the images should be like on the cover and on the
double page spread. This means that I now know how to
create a successful magazine.
I have learned about researching too, for example using
different platforms such as survey monkey and sharing that
on social networking sites, as well as interviewing people.
This means that I now know exactly how to collect accurate
research and reach out to a broader audience by using an
online survey.

17. As you can see, I have learned a lot about how to use
Photoshop as I have learned how to change the stroke on
text, and have learned about layers and how to change
the opacity of colours. This makes my music magazine
more professional as I now have the knowledge that I
needed to create a successful magazine. I have also
learned how to improve the images, meaning that I can
make a better looking front cover.
Even though my contents page is very simple for the
college magazine, I found it quite hard to do as I was not
used to using Photoshop. This meant that my college
draft pages were simple and were not very professional
or successful, however my music magazine looks more
suitable. This is because I have learned all about how to
make a professional magazine, and have been able to
apply this to create a magazine that I am proud of.
I have made the magazine suitable to my genre as I have
been able to collect information from my target audience
to make sure that I make my magazine suitable for them.