evaluation

2. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE,
DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS
OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
I was inspired by the already existing magazine Q. I really liked their simple design and layout
and so I took many typical features from them and adapted them for my magazine. I used a
limited range of colours to make my magazine recognisable but still simple. This is very similar
to many magazines that already exist because then they stick to a particular style. Although it
may seem like a simple feature of a magazine, I have used a column layout for the text on my
double page spread. This makes it easy to read and follow and it is a common feature of a
magazine. My magazine is unusual in that it doesn’t have a header to show what the article is
about, it simply has the artists name and then the article starts underneath. I also haven't used a
drop cap at the start of the paragraph which a lot of magazines do use. This is challenging a
convention of a normal magazine however I do not think that it impacts the realism of my
magazine. As you flick through several different magazines, you can see that the majority of
them use pull quotes to take sections of the article out and frame them so that the audience is
pulled in and wants to see why the artist said that. I used a pull quote on my front cover so that
readers could instantly be attracted to read the magazine and then on the first page of my
double page spread I included two pull quotes from the article on the following page. The
masthead on the front cover is a specific font that I chose, this is the only writing that uses this
font because it needs to stands out and my brand will be connected to that particular font. The
rest of the front cover, contents page and double page spread uses a different font but I have
used the same one for the main writing so that all the pages tie together and look like they are
all from the same magazine. I believe that my magazine is genre specific. The type of genre that
I tried to create was pop but with an edge. The sort of pop that is in the charts and the artists
succeed. This was created by the edgy front cover and the use of the dark picture makes it look

3. Pull quotes which
are a typical
convention of
magazines.
The only piece
of text that uses
this font. Makes
the masthead
stand and it
becomes
recognisable.
The font all links in
on all the different
pages. This keeps
the magazine
original and
makes it look
professional.
The other masthead
that is on the contents
page is in the same
font as the front cover
masthead so that it
links to the previous
page

4. HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT
PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?
The artist on my cover represents my idea reader with the mise en scene. Her costume
shows that she is a classy girl and she is dressed appropriately showing that she doesn’t
need to sexualise herself to sell music. This is the sort of reader I am trying to attract. She
is the sort of person that young girls would aspire to be like because she has worked hard
to get where she is and now she is receiving the rewards for that hard work. The way she
has been styled and had her makeup done makes her look expensive and glamorous, this
is showing that the people in my magazine are normal people but have worked for what
they have achieved. It is also showing the transition from a busker to one of the most
famous young singers out at the minute. My magazine is trying to represent those artists
that have not quite been noticed yet or are just starting out in their careers. They are
normal middle class people that have been given a chance to show their talent.
I took inspiration
from the front
cover of an old
issue of Q
magazine. I saw
Cheryl Cole as a
independent
woman who has
worked for her
success and I
wanted to

5. These are the results from a survey I conducted
during my research. This shows that most of the
people that would read my magazine will be
between the ages of 15 and 24. In my magazine
I have used artists that are around that age so
that the readers associate with the people in the
magazine and feel like they are similar and have
similar interests. It can also give young people a
boost of confidence because the young people in
my magazine are no different to them and they
started off exactly where the readers are reading
about other artists. This is making the magazine
represent young people that are interested in
music which is a very large audience and this will
help to sell that magazine.
I also found out what the male top female ratio was
and my results found that the number of males to
females is fairly even however there are slightly
more females that would read the magazine. This
is the reason I used a female artist on the front in
stead of a male. This would appeal to girls that
might pick up the magazine and they will identify
with her. I have used 1 male model in my
magazine so that the males in the music industry
would be represented as well as females.

6. The colours that I have used further enforce the gender
representation. Because I have focused on females I have used
fairly girly colours. However I chose not to use the typical ‘girl’
colour pink because I decided that because the male to female
ratio was very close I didn’t want to make it so that boys weren't
interested in my magazine. I also chose there colours because
they are bright and happy colours and because the genre of my
magazine isn't heavy metal rock I haven't used dark colours and
used neutral colours with a splash of brightness.
The font that I used for my masthead is
a bold but simple font. I wanted my
masthead to stand out if the magazine
was on a shelf so that the readers could
find it easily. This also helps me to
represent the sort of group my
magazine uses. Because the font is
plain but yet stands out I want to show
that you don’t have to be complicated
and advanced to stand out and that’s
what my magazne is about. The artists
are young people that are making their
way in the music industry yet don’t need
to sacrifice what they believe in. it also
is a unisex font because it isnt too girly
but doesn’t not appeal to females. Again
this backs up the group that I am

7. WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION
MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA
PRODUCT AND WHY?
I think a good company for my magazine would be
Bauer Media. They already distribute magazines such
as Q and Kerrang, and I think they have the right
knowledge of that style of magazine. Although they
have several magazines that are published I do not
believe that it would have a negative effect on the
company because if readership of one of their other
magazines went down it would increase readership of
this magazine and if they own it the profits will come
back to them as well. This company have expertise in
distributing this type of magazine and so they would
know the places to sell it to and how to market and
advertise it. If another company were to take on my
magazine it could create competition for Bauer Media
that they wouldn't’t have to worry about if they took my
magazine on themselves.
They are also involved in a range of other media
such as TV, radio, internet and other magazines.
They own a lot of other smaller companies and are
a successful company themselves so I believe that
they would do a good job of selling my magazine.

8. WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA
PRODUCT?
The audience for my magazine would
be teenagers and you g people aged
16-25. I conducted a survey to find out
what my readers would like to see in the
magazine. With these results I could
include relevant material so that it
appealed to my readers. The
information I collected was organized in
bar charts so that I could clearly see the
different answers.
I wanted to target younger people
because looking at some of the other
music magazines there isn't one that is
specifically targeted at young adults.
Although Q magazine has the same sort
of audience I think that magazine is
aimed at slightly older people rather
than teenagers and young adults. I think
that the use of a young female on my
front cover emphasizes that the
magazine style suits a younger reader
and includes things such as dates for
festivals and upcoming concerts.
The genre of music my magazine looks at is
mainstream chart music. This is all the latest
songs that have made it into the carts. This can
include a few different genres such as pop, hip
hop, R&B and dance/club music. This is a
popular style of music with young people and
that is what my magazine aims to do. It is a
way of keeping young people up to date with
the up and coming artists and the biggest
names in music because as shown in the
picture above everyone knows that teenagers
and young people like to stay in touch with the

9. The results I got
from my survey
into target
audience.

10. HOW DID YOU ATTRACT YOUR AUDIENCE?
I think that the name of my magazine is very
catchy. It came from the Statue of Liberty in New
York. I associate New York with glamour and fame
which is the style I want to put across. New york is
a place that most people want to visit in their
lifetime so if I can style my magazine to have a feel
of New York then the readers will be getting a small
taste of what its like. The simplicity of the name will
make it easy to remember and because the Statue
of Liberty is so well known people will remember
the name of my magazine. Because the name of
my magazine makes you think of New York it
represents the type of music in my magazine
because a lot of big recording companies have
studios in new york and many famous artists are
pictured there. I had my masthead in bold, capital
letters which makes it very easy to see from far
away. This would make my magazine easy to
identify if it was on a shelf in a shop. I made the
font white so that it would stand out on the dark
background again making it very easy to see.
White is a very neutral colour and it is not gender

11. The cover lines on my front cover are to
draw in further my audiences attention.
Quotes from the artist have been used
such as ‘I’m finally happy with where I
am, I’ve been very lucky.’ to grab the
potential readers attention and make
them want to buy and read the
magazine. I displayed a quote on the
front page because I knew it would be a
good way of getting people to want to
read the full article and in order to do
that they would want to buy the
magazine. It also sparks interest for the
audience. I have also given emphasis to
words such as ‘Emily Cole’. This is the
main coverline because she is the main
subject of the front cover. This made it
obvious to the audience who the main
article is going to be about.
The language I have chosen to use in
my magazine also fits with my target
audience. It is easy to read and
understand and is a informal tone which
makes it lighthearted and easy to read.

12. The images that I have
used make my artist look
string and independent but
also quite fun and flirty. I
tried to make her look like
she's serious about
succeeded but also tried to
put across that she is still
young and she wants to
have fun as well. I made
sure that my cover star was
looking down the camera in
all of the photos. This
makes her connect with
audience and makes them
feel involved and like they
know her.The picture that I used for the front cover shows that
she is quite a mysterious person because she has
quite a cool look on her face and her expression is
neutral. Because the picture is in black and white it is
very elegant and expensive looking. This is similar to
the image used for the double page spread, although
she is looking at the camera she looks as if she is
just too cool to be looking straight at the readers.
This sort of image attracts the audience because
they can see that she is cool but she still has a fun
and cheeky side which is similair to the type of

13. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES
FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS
PRODUCT?
Through the process of producing my magazine I have become a lot more skilled at
using Photoshop. Before I started the task I had very little knowledge of how to use the
programme but because I had to use it to complete my task I learnt very quickly how to
use the basic tools. As I needed to added more advanced things to my magazine I got
used to the controls that made it more professional. Some of the harder features took a
while to get used to but now after doing that task I would be able to use the software
again. I also learnt how to use InDesign to make the double page spread. This was very
similar to Photoshop so because I could already use Photoshop it wasn’t as hard to get
used to it. I also got more confident using a professional camera. I had used one before
but this has given me more skills about how to get the best lighting and to focus the
lenses to get a really clear picture. I also learnt how to set up and run a blog in order to
post my work on it. I didn't’t know how to do this before I started my work. I used survey
monkey to create a survey that I could use for research into what the audience wanted,
this is another skill I now have.

14. LOOK BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK,
WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN
PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL
PRODUCT?
Looking back at my preliminary task the main thing I feel I have learnt is how to make
a product look professional and deliver it at a high standard. By looking at a lot of
existing magazine I was able to look at the forms and conventions and either replicate
them or change them slightly to suit my magazine. I think my preliminary task looks
quite un professional because I didn't’t have the skills to make it any better and I hadn't
done extensive research into magazines. The reason I believe my final product is
better than my preliminary task is that I can now use Photoshop more effectively.
Although I used it for the preliminary task I hadn't tried out all the features or I had I
didn't’t know how to use the properly. Also for the initial task I hadn't done any research
into what the audience wanted but after using survey monkey to find out what the
readers would want.