The document is a student's evaluation of their media studies project creating a music magazine. It summarizes the key elements of the magazine, including replicating conventions from real magazines like codes, fonts, and features on the cover. It represents rock music fans and aims to appeal to workers and teenagers. The student argues their magazine could be published by Bauer Media due to its synergies across media platforms. The evaluation covers the technical skills learned and gaining audience feedback.

1. OCR Media Studies – AS Level
Unit G321: Foundation Portfolio in Media
Evaluation
Name: Forrest Smyth
Candidate Number: 6747
Center Name: St. Paul’s Catholic College
Center Number: 64770
Set Brief - Print
Music Magazine – Production
Preliminary Task, Log Book and Evaluation

3. In what ways does your Media product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
My magazine, across the 4-pages, ‘repeats’ (Steve Neale) codes and conventions from magazines such as ‘kerrange’ and
‘Rolling Stone’ as my inspiration as I tried to replicate their codes and conventions in my magazine. I mainly used Rolling
Stone magazines colour scheme as I used the colours red, black and white thought my magazine as well as similar fonts
to keep continuity in my magazine. For my front cover I made sure that I had the main features/conventions such as:
- Bar code
- Date
- Price
- Issue number
- a unique selling point
- Main image + Headline
- Cover lines
- Masthead
- Strapline.
For my contents I kept to the conventions by adding in:
- Page numbers
- Posters
- Pub lines
- Web Address/Social networking sites I did this for convergence, so my readers can access the same information
but in formats that they may find easier to access or use.
For my double page I used a different photo but of the same star appeal (Daniel Lawrence) with a plan background so
that it would reflect the conventions of a music magazine. I made the questions and answers very clear to read so as to
make it easier to differentiate from. I did this by clearly showing who was the interviewer and interviewee by the use of
the initials. Also I made them different colours.
I have also appropriately credited work to the Photographer, Stylist and Editor in small text as is orthodox for a
magazine . I put this at the end of the interview. Finally I added social networking logo’s as well as an other form of
convergence; a promotion online so that readers could go online a read or listen to the full interview.

4. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The denotation of the representation is the action of speaking or acting on behalf of someone or the
stat of being so represented. When I was making the magazine I used different materials that would
appeal to different social groups e.g. ‘Emos’, ‘Punks’, ‘Goths’ etc. however if I changed my magazine so
that it appealed to more social groups my magazine would have been more successful as I would have
had a larger audience that would have been interested to pick one up and buy it. Since the genre I
decided to pick was Rock, it did have a fairly large audience I found this out as I did a questionnaire to
find out what type of magazine would sell the best. Rock was the highest voted closely followed by Pop.
I ensured that the bands that I had picked related mainly to rock but also slightly also to pop. I did this
by picking bands that have crossed over and have worked with some pop artist, I did this in hope that
some of my audience would recognise them and pick up a copy this widens my audience.
One social group for my magazine could be workers where their job is repetitive, this is because of this
magazine could act as a diversion (Katz) as they could get away from the worry and stress of their work.
Rock is seen as a modern genre of music this means that another social group would be teenagers and it
can help them into becoming ‘Social climbers’ (Maslow). They would be able to see what the ‘stars’
(Richard Dyer) get up to in their daily routines.
The magazine across the 4-pages, helps to represent the male starts in a positive way due to the lighting
that I used on the front cover. I wanted to get a lot of light onto the picture because it would show
Daniels softer side. Also he was dressed in Christmas things to draw the readers in and also to
empathises the fact that it was a Christmas issue.

5. What kind of media institution (Publisher) might distribute your media
product and why?
From the research that was completed pre-production, I found that Bauer Media group may
publish ‘Tune In’ because they are brilliant in creating ‘personal relationships’ (Katz) with their
readers and I really believe that my magazine does this well especially with my editorial.
Also my magazine has a lot of synergy and cross-media convergence which will allow the readers
to access the content in many different ways since I have social networking sites in association
with my magazine, and this is made very obvious on al my 4 pages.
The similarities of my magazine to ‘Kerrang’(such as the way in which the promotions are
displayed) also ‘signifies’ (De Saussure) that Bauer may think about distributing my magazine
because with similar codes and conventions that sell Kerrang displayed for a different music sub-
genre may be something of interest to the publishing group.

6. YOU MUST address the following criteria in order to achieve an A – B grade in the
Evaluation.

7. Task
• YOU MUST evaluate you’re the Pre-Production and
Production tasks you have completed by answering these 7
Questions, which MUST NOT be altered in any way!
• YOU MUST also utilise a variety of technologies to evaluate
your work as this will ensure you achieve the full marks, for
example Answering the questions on a separate Evaluation
Blog Page, Presenting your answers on Prezi, embedding
images/video into a presentation, Producing a Podcast OR a
combination of these and many more.

8. In what ways does your Media product
use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
Example sentence starters:
The magazine, across the 4-pages, ‘repeats’ (Steve Neale) codes and conventions from…
There are examples of some ‘difference’, however, in terms of the forms and conventions
in my own media product for example….

9. How does your media product
represent particular social groups?
Example sentence starters:
The denotation of representation is…
The magazine, across the 4-pages, helps to represent…
For example, on page….

10. What kind of media institution
(Publisher) might distribute your
media product and why?
Example sentence starters:
From the research that was completed pre-production, I would envisage that … may
publish ‘name of magazine’ because….
The similarities of my magazine to ‘name of magazine’ also ‘sgnifies’ (De Saussure)….

11. Who would be the audience for your
media product and why?
Hartley’s seven subjectivities
According to Hartley’s seven subjectivities,
Katz’ Uses & Gratifications theory
According to Katz’ Uses & Gratifications theory, ,
Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs
According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, ,

12. How did you attract/address your
audience?
In order to attract the intended target audience of.. I decided to….
The inclusion of codes & conventions such as… helped to appeal to the target audience becasuse…

13. What have you learnt about
technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
The denotation of the software used to construct the media product entitled ‘name of magazine’
was…
In order for this product to look fit for purpose and appeal to the target audience, I decided to
create… using the… tool because.
Refer 2-3 examples at least and conclude

14. Photography Planning – Front Cover

15. Photography Planning - Contents

16. Photography Planning - Interview

17. Analysing my Front Cover
Neatly annotate the
Screen Grab of your Final
Front Cover –
4-5 Annotations at least
and apply appropriate
media language.
Arrows should be RED as
well!
Screen grab of Magazine
page positioned in the
Center of the slide
(Remove the BLUE box once
placed in as well)

18. Analysing my Contents Page
Neatly annotate the
Screen Grab of your Final
Contents Page –
4-5 Annotations at least
and apply appropriate
media language.
Arrows should be RED as
well!
Screen grab of Magazine
page positioned in the
Center of the slide
(Remove the BLUE box once
placed in as well)

19. Analysing my Double Page spread
Interview
Neatly annotate the
Screen Grab of your Final
Double Page Spread –
X1 page per. Slide!
4-5 Annotations at least
and apply appropriate
media language.
Arrows should be RED as
well!
Screen grab of Magazine
page positioned in the
Center of the slide
(Remove the BLUE box once
placed in as well)

20. Audience Feedback -
This is one method of gathering Audience Feedback needed to get a Level 4 (16 – 20 Marks)
• YOU COULD produce video interviews of what people think of the work, as well as
explore other more creative means of gaining feedback.
• This should be neatly presented in your Blog Page (embedded).

21. 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, having completed the preliminary task and learning about the demands of this
production process, I have learnt…
There is evidence of progression that I feel particularly demonstrates how I met the demands of the
production process, for example…