1. Mariya Ahmed Evaluation Media AS
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AS Media: Evaluation of Foundation Portfolio
1. In what ways does your music magazine use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real music magazines?
Front cover similarities and differences
I chose to use a banner similar to the ‘Gramophone’ magazine and by following the codes and
conventions, I decided to place the banner on the left hand side. The colour of the banner matches
the models outfit to make the magazine stand out more. However, I stayed with my colour
scheme, as my models outfit was only one colour, so I kept my font black and red.
I followed the codes and conventions of the magazines masthead by creating a bold theme.
However, I used black and red font instead of white because the background of my magazine is
white, as if it was black then it would have blended in with my models hair.
The image I used is a medium long shot, which is similar to the ‘Gramophone’ magazine. I felt that
the posture of a female would appeal to my target audience and the majority of the front covers I
saw featured women. I then realized if I have a female on my front cover it would attract attention
and make it stand out.
The bar I have used on the left hand side follows the same style of the ‘Gramophone’ magazine
which features the title of the magazine, issue number and a few article titles to give the reader a
glimpse of what is inside the magazine.
I placed the barcode on the bottom right hand corner, which follows the codes and conventions of
all music magazines. The barcode is small and doesn’t take up a huge amount of space, which
makes the magazine suitable.
2. How does your music magazine represent particular social groups?
‘Classical Vibe’ is aimed at both male and female musicians sharing a passion for classical music. I
feel that I have represented my social group through the use of images, language and font style
and sizes.
Images
My music magazine represents particular social groups in many ways. For example; through the
images as I have used an image of a female and most of the front covers I saw had images of a
female which entices the reader. Also, the colour red connotes royalty and maturity and it’s a
popular colour choice as it’s very eye-catchy.
Most of the models wear dresses, which is why I decided my model would also wear a dress as
well. As, I felt that it would be reacting to what my target audience wanted to have in their
magazine, which would give me a higher possibility of my magazine becoming popular.
Font style and sizes
I followed the codes and conventions of classical magazines font style by making it bold and clear.
However, I changed the font style, as the ‘Gramophone’ magazine font style was plain and simple. I
challenged the conventions of simple look of classical music magazines; it was necessary for me to
change the font as most of my target audience said the title is the first thing that would attract
them to a magazine, which made me come to a conclusion that I will have a more funky font which
can draw the reader in.
Language

2. Mariya Ahmed Evaluation Media AS
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The language I chose to write in was formal and for a well-educated audience as classical is aimed
at a more mature audience. Also, as my magazine is directed to a mature audience I have more
cover lines on my front cover, but I have followed the codes and conventions of the ‘Gramophone’
magazine.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your music magazine and why?
The media institution that I chose to distribute my music magazine is ‘Haymarket Media
Group Ltd’ because they have already published the very popular magazines, which are
‘Classical FM’ and ‘Gramophone’. Because of this, I feel that Haymarket Media Group has good
experience and trust from local customers purchasing their magazine. Therefore this means, if
they distribute my magazine then there would be a higher chance of it becoming popular. I
also want to use below the line advertising such as press with the Internet as well as
interviews and I want to use word of mouth, which is things such as buzz, this will help my
distribution be more successful by tweeting and using other media platforms. This will help
my magazine expand to the audience and make my product easier to access. Also, the price of
my magazine is not too expensive as it is only £2.60, which is affordable.
4. Who would be the audience for your music magazine?
The target audience for my music magazine would be affluent, well-educated readers sharing
a passion for the tranquility that classical music provides for them. This is also aimed at those
people who love to spend their weekends at concerts and theatres.
5. How did you attract/address your audience in the forms and conventions used in your
music magazine?
I feel my magazines masthead will attract my target audience as it conveys the classical genre
through the big and bold font, its simplicity would make it appeal to everyone.
The image of the model wearing a elegant light dress is very eye-catchy and it gives a mature
look to the magazine, hinting that it is slightly aimed at a mature audience. Moreover, the
female model will attract men as they will find the model attractive and would want to read
more about it and in order for them to do that, they would have to purchase the magazine.
Also, I placed the bar on the left hand side, which is similar to the ‘Gramophone’ magazine. I
feel it is a simple yet stylish way to attract readers and it gives them a sneak peek into what
the magazine contains inside. Also, the red house style makes the bar blend into the front
cover, which makes it look more realistic than a poster. Also, I placed a puff on the left hand
third similar to the ‘Gramophone’ magazine as it gives the audience an incentive to buy the
magazine. Moreover, the ye position of the reader is in a ‘Z’ shape, so the puff would be the last
thing they would see but it will then immediately make them want to purchase the magazine
as the puff includes some interesting facts about what is inside the magazine.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing your music
magazine?
I have used and learnt how to use several software’s which I had never previously used
before. I used ‘Microsoft Publisher’ for when I did my preliminary task. I also used ‘Microsoft
Word’ to do my questions for my questionnaire. Then, I used ‘Microsoft Edexcel’ when
converting my findings of my questionnaire into pie charts and bar charts. After that, I used

3. Mariya Ahmed Evaluation Media AS
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‘Photoshop’ which was more advanced software of editing my images and actually creating
my magazine. I used this software to remove the background by using the magic wand and
selecting the whole background all at once. When I removed the background from the images,
I added shadow on a few of my images such as the front cover and contents page to make my
magazine more appealing to my audience and eye catchy. I also used ‘Google Images’ for
inspiration from other magazines and to check whether I as following the codes and
conventions of a music magazine properly or not.
7. Looking back at your Preliminary Task, what do you feel you have learnt in the
progression from it (the preliminary task) to the full product (the music magazine)?
I have learnt and progressed a lot from my preliminary task. As it has made me learnt to
follow the codes and conventions of magazines to make the magazine more appealing as in the
preliminary task I didn’t follow the codes and conventions as much. I learnt how to use
different software’s such as Photoshop which enabled me to edit my images e.g. change the
colour or contrast of image. As in the preliminary task I took the images on my phone, which
creates a pixel effect when you make the image bigger, but by using the professional cameras
the images look more professional and clear. Also, by layering and merging the layers, I had
full control over where I wanted to place my text, banner and puffs, which I wasn’t able to do
on ‘Microsoft Publisher’. I was able to edit my images quickly by using the quick selection tool
or the magic wand. Overall, Photoshop allowed my magazine to have a sophisticated
appearance, so that it could compete with the industry standard classical music magazines.
The reason there is a big change in my preliminary task and my music magazine is the use of
software as when I did the preliminary task I used Microsoft Publisher, but when I did my
actual music magazine I used Photoshop which is a more advanced software and there was
more tools available of this software than Microsoft Publisher.