AS media studies coursework print

1. MEDIA PRODUCT
EVALUATION
George spencer

2. My media product
Designed on Adobe Photoshop CS3

3. Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop
or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
• My magazine was mainly based on the codes and conventions from Kerrang! And NME magazines.
I thought that their target demographics would be easy for me to reach as I like the music from these
magazines and already had some prior knowledge about the design of these magazines.
For my front cover photo I did not use a direct mode of address
because I wanted the magazine to have a rebellious element to it,
Because the artist is looking away I think it suggests that he is
rebellious and doesn’t conform to social norms.
I used similar cover lines to what are used on front covers of
magazines such as NME or Kerrang! That contain the names of
bands that are featured in the magazine, however I developed this
idea by using a different font for each band that I thought would suit
their style of music best.
The masthead for my front cover is in the top left of the page, the
same as NME magazine but my masthead is longer and includes
a slogan or ‘tag line’. I chose to do this because I wanted my
magazine to be seen as loud and ‘in-your-face’ to represent the
genre of music that the magazine features (rock and indie music).
The same as NME I put the name of the artist on the cover in a
large font (larger than the rest of the text on the page) in order
to draw the audiences attention to who the artist in the photo is.

4. Question 2: How does your media product represent particular
social groups?
• My magazine is aimed at the demographic of 16-24 year old males but some females may also be included
dependent on their personality, I chose this demographic because I am a part of it and because this is the age group
NME and Kerrang are aimed at. I meet this demographic by using predominantly sans-serif text and colours such as
red and black and by featuring the names of events that people in this demographic are likely to want to attend. The
style of music in my magazine is rock and ‘indie’ therefore my audience is people who like this music and for this
reason other things in my magazine such as font and shot choice are tailored to this audience. For example, my
mast head is large, bold and in red to connote danger and appeal to a more masculine and loud audience.
• Specific social groups:
• Social class- my magazine is aimed at lower-middle to upper-middle class people, this is conveyed by the choice of
clothing that the ‘artist’ on my front cover and two page spread is wearing. Also, The music referenced in the
magazine is classed as ‘indie’ and ‘rock’, this music is stereotypically associated with middle class people due to its
lyrical content, where as rap music and grime etc. is stereotypically more associated with lower class people.
• Ethnicity- I believe that my magazine is aimed more towards people from a white background, firstly because the
images featured in the magazine are of a rock artist from a white background and people who are like the artist will
naturally relate more to them as they are similar to them. Other ethnic groups such as black-British might be seen as
less likely to buy this magazine as this group is not stereotypically associated with rock music and are stereotypically
more associated with rap or ‘grime’ music. However rap music is now reaching a very wide audience and is enjoyed
by essentially all ethnic groups.
• to support this I google searched indie fans:
Indie fans (top search result)

5. Question 2 (ideology and reading)
According to Stuart Halls’
theories on different types
of reading, this statement is
considered to be
oppositional. This means,
basically, that the audience
will not agree with this
statement and will be
opposed to what it means. I
chose to add this to my two
page spread to further
intrigue readers by making
them feel slightly offended.
Another reason I included
this is to highlight the
rebellious message I
wanted to convey in my
product.
This statement would be considered negotiated reading according to theorist
Stuart Hall as people generally don’t agree with excessive drug use and
promiscuity, but would agree that this is a stereotypical lifestyle of a ‘rock star’.
Moreover, Some people within my demographic (16-24 year old indie and rock
music fans) might even find this idea appealing and would do something similar
in the same situation.

6. Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your
media product and why?
• Media institutions that might distribute my media product:
Bauer media group:
This media institution is responsible for the publishing and distribution of Kerrang! Magazine. They are a large media institution
with products in all fields of media (Magazine, TV, Radio, Digital). They may want to distribute my product as it meets their target
audience but is not quite as heavy metal based as Kerrang! And focuses more on new and alterative music along with what some
may call ‘classic’ indie and rock music. I think that because of this, Bauer media group would be interested in distributing my
product as it could widen their audience for print media.
IPC media (part of TimeInc.):
IPC media is the institution responsible for the publishing and distribution of NME magazine and is part of the larger media
institution TimeInc. My media product definitely meets the target audience of this institution as my magazine is very similar to NME
in the style of music that it features and in the design and layout of the magazine e.g. colour scheme and cover lines. However,
because my media product is very similar to NME, I would likely have to approach a different media institution as the addition of
my magazine would not increase the breadth of the institutions audience.
HMV:
HMV is a well known high street chain of music stores that tries to meet the demand of all music fans. I think that HMV would be
interested in distributing my media product because it meets a niche audience of 16-24 year olds who like indie, rock and alternative
music. I believe that my magazine is the halfway point between Kerrang! And NME as it includes a mixture of the codes and
conventions of the two magazines.
Gigs and festivals:
My media product could also be distributed at gigs and festivals related to the type of music in my magazine in order to generate more
revenue for the event. This would be a good way of distributing my product because it will be seen by a crowd of people that are all
likely to be in my target audience.

7. Question 4/5: Who would be the audience for your media product
and How did you attract/address your audience?
• The audience for my media product is likely to be 16-24 year olds (predominantly male) that like
‘indie’, rock, or alternative music and going to festivals. They will likely be middle class due to, firstly,
the choice of clothing that the artist in my product wears. The clothing he is wearing is similar to
what young British middle class people would wear. Someone in my target audience would see this
and be more likely to buy the product because it features someone similar to them on the cover.
Secondly, the music featured in my magazine is stereotypically associated with young white middle
class people so this demographic is more likely to purchase the magazine. The audience for my
product is niche because the style of music my product features does not have a universal appeal
like mainstream music does or aims to do.

8. Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the
process of constructing this product?
From constructing my media product I have learned many things about technology in terms of editing and
photography.
To take my photos I used a Lumix digital camera, I adjusted the ISO setting to get a good quality photo without
too much ‘noise’. I also adjusted the aperture of the camera to make sure that the brightness of my photos were
correct, I did this through trial and error. I wanted my front cover photo to be in black and white and I know this
could have been done on the camera but I decided to change the colours in the photo using Photoshop CS3 so
that the quality remained high. To do this I researched and found this page
(https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/convert-color-image-black-white.html).
I also learned how to superimpose images into a different background and make it look sufficiently convincing.
In the images below you can see the before and after of the photo I took and that photo used in my media
product. To achieve this I used the magnetic lasso tool, eraser tool, blur tool, zoom tool and the clone stamp
tool. I would now say that I am proficient in the use of Photoshop for photo editing and creating effective layouts.

9. Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you
feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Since completing my preliminary I have learned about the codes and conventions of a music
magazine and I feel like I now have a full understanding of what makes a music magazine in terms of
layout and content. I mainly learnt from the internet by looking at other peoples media tasks and
analysing real magazines for myself. The most useful site I used was slideshare for learning codes
and conventions. I have also progressed a considerable amount in my knowledge and understanding
of photo editing technology (Photoshop CS3). I have learned how to adjust things on photos such as
contrast in order to make them look as good as they can look for my final product. Another thing I have
learned is how to use a digital camera and adjust settings on digital cameras in order to be able to
take good quality photos. My preliminary photo was taken on an iPhone 5c so I could not adjust the
ISO, aperture or shutter speed, this meant that the quality of the photo in my preliminary was much
lower than the photos in my final media product. In terms of creating an effective layout and editing
photos into different backgrounds my skill has increased a huge amount since my preliminary. I did not
know at tis stage how to use the clone stamp tool, the magnetic lasso tool or the blur tool, this meant
that the quality of the superimposition in my preliminary was much lower than in my final media
product.