Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?

Image
I chose to have my image overlapping my
masthead as I found out in my research that this
was a very common convention for music
magazines with mastheads that fill the top of the
page. However, unlike billboard and rolling stone
magazine I chose to place my image slightly below
my masthead so that you could still fully see my
magazines name. I believe rolling stone magazine
and billboard magazine choose to cover up a
section of their masthead with their image as their
magazines are very well known and even with part
of the masthead covered up everyone can still tell
what the magazine is called as it is so well known.
However due to my magazine being brand new
and it being its first issue I chose to not fully cover
up my masthead so that people can see my
magazines name clearly and remember it.

Colour Scheme
I chose the colour scheme pink, blue and
white as these colours work very
effectively together. I chose this colour
scheme as it is a reflects the age of my
target audience (16-24) as it is bright and
colourful and after looking at my survey
results many people in my target audience
said they find bright colours attractive on a
magazine. Also after my product research I
discovered that many magazines that were
based mainly on pop and had a pink, blue
and white colour scheme which clearly
attracts people to their genre of magazine
so I believe that by me using that colour
scheme in my magazine it will attract the
same people to buy my magazine.
However the pop magazines I researched
tended to use bright pinks in their colour
scheme, however I chose a paler pink as I
felt this looked better and fitted in with my
models personality and look, and the tone
of my double page spread article.

Barcode Masthead Font
After doing my existing magazine After completing my existing product
research I discovered that the majority research I found out that the majority
of magazines have their barcode on of music magazines masthead’s are all
the bottom right hand corner of their
front cover. Whilst doing my flat plan I one block colour or are two colours
deliberately placed my barcode in the with one main colour and a second
bottom right corner, similar to NME primary colour as an outline. I decided
magazine and then placed the menu to challenge this format as I felt that
box ‘featured artists’ box to the left of having a unique duel tone and a softer
it. However some magazines like masthead fitted in more with the light
‘Rolling Stone’ magazine mainly choose hearted tone of my magazine. (images
not to put a barcode on their front to the left)
cover and place it on the back instead.
I chose to challenge this as my task Cover Lines
didn’t include making a back cover and I chose to put my cover lines and
I feel that placing the barcode on the subheadings in semi-transparent boxes
front of my magazine made my page to develop the conventional
look finished and complete. (images to presentation of cover lines and to
the left) soften the effect of my front cover. To
the left the rolling stone Rihanna
magazine uses semi-transparent boxes
so that none of the background is but
out of the page, and due to my
background being a graffiti wall I didn’t
want to cover up the effect of it by
using none transparent boxes.


Layout
I chose to base my magazine mostly on Q magazine as this American
magazine focuses mainly on top 40 and chart music, which is the same genre
of music as my magazine is based on. I have chosen to directly reflect the
current media format and convention of a top 40 magazine that already exists
as this already is proven to attract my audience. I chose to do this as it shows
that this layout is clearly very effective for that genre of magazine and for the
age range the magazine is aimed at, which is the same audience that my
magazine has targeted. Behind the article there is a large vibrant ‘L’ that
stands for Lady Gaga, the ‘L’ is very effective as it immediately draws the
reader into the text half of the double page spread whereas without the L most
people would focus at the image first before the text so I believe it balances
out the page well. Also due to the image being in black and white I think the
bright red ‘L’ brings colour and fun to the page. Also the colour red reflects the
‘Q’ magazine colour scheme which subliminally reminds the reader of the
magazine brand. I think this looks very effective therefore I chose to reproduce
this look in my magazine using a large ‘E’ for Ed Sheeran, however I changed
the colour as the light blue fits in with my colour scheme and complements the
blues in my image very well, also blue is a very fresh colour, which duplicates
the fresh new artist Ed Sheeran is. In the top left corner the name of the artist
the interview is about is written, in Q magazine it is written in a serif font which
connotes femininity, therefore I chose a bold sans serif font which is a stronger
masculine font to reflect my models gender. Although I directly reflected the
layout of Q’s double page spread I chose to challenge the image they used. I
chose to make my image a colour image, differing from the black and white
image used in Q, I chose to do this as my colour scheme fits in with the image
colours perfectly, as I had planned my models clothing to accommodate this
and through choosing the location I did. And also my interview is very light
hearted and fun, so I felt the image should be more playful and bright to reflect
the tone of my interview.

How does your media product represent particular Pose group?
Model
social
Image My model isn't making eye contact with the
On my front cover I chose to dress my model camera as this leaves a bit of mystery to his
in a very casual outfit which alludes to character, which many teenagers can relate to
lower/middle class social grade, which is the as teenagers are very secretive and inquisitive.
social grade that many 16-24 year olds fit into. In the image my model is playing a guitar, this
Also his clothing is typically masculine as he is reflects a very middle class vibe as middle class
wearing a hoodie and jumper, which is a people tend to have the disposable income and
typical outfit that many 16-24 year olds wear, intelligence to want to learn a musical
which makes my model seem relatable to the instrument. The guitar is an unbranded guitar,
reader and could inspire readers to become this could inspire the reader as it is a cheep
successful like Ed Sheeran. I chose to dress my and easy to afford guitar and it doesn’t
model in a plain hoodie as this gives Ed differentiate Ed Sheeran from many young
Sheeran a ‘boy next door’ feel and allows the adults out there which therefore allows people
reader to empathise and identify similarities to relate to and empathise with this easy going
between themselves and this famous singer. casual artist.
Language
Also Ed Sheeran is from a middle class
The language used in my front cover is very
background, which is similar to the social class
light hearted and uses a lot of slang and
that my magazine is aimed at. The background
colloquialisms. I chose to use words like
of my image is a graffiti wall, graffiti is
‘naked’ and ‘crack’ as these are words that
commonly associated via the media with
would attract inquisitive teenagers and slang
teenagers and very young adults. I tried
words and phrases directly reflect the medias
representing this social group by linking the
stereotyping of ‘uneducated teenagers’. Also I
graffiti wall and my casually dressed middle
chose to use the buzz word ‘festival’ as my
class looking model together.
magazine is a music magazine and this festival
Colour Scheme reflects the genre of music my magazine
The colour scheme for my magazine is features and festivals are a great way for
pink, blue and white. I chose this colour people in my social group to socialise and
scheme as these vibrant colours reflect the aspire to attend. The contents page of my
care free, relaxed bright nature of teenagers. magazine has links to facebook, twitter,
My magazine is aimed at both men and youtube and myspace, all of these are social
women, however primarily women, this is networking sites and many 16-24 year olds use
reflected in my colour scheme as baby pink these to socialise and meet new people, which
and light blue are often associated with is the type of behaviour commonly associated
females. with festivals.

How does your media product represent particular social group?
Colour Scheme
The colour scheme for my magazine is
Image pink, blue and white. I chose this colour
On my double page spread I chose to scheme as these vibrant colours reflect
dress my model in a very casual outfit the care free, relaxed bright nature of
which alludes to lower/middle class teenagers. My magazine is aimed at
social grade, which is the social grade both men and women, however
that many 16-24 year olds fit into. Also primarily women, this is reflected in my
his clothing is typically masculine as he is colour scheme as baby pink and light
wearing a hoodie and jumper, which is a blue are often associated with females.
typical outfit that many 16-24 year olds
wear, which makes my model seem Model Pose
relatable to the reader and could inspire On my double page spread my model is
readers to become successful like Ed posing pushing against a metal tunnel as
Sheeran. I chose to dress my model in a if he is trying to get out and escape.
plain hoodie as this gives Ed Sheeran a Many middle class people choose to
‘boy next door’ feel and allows the read magazines as a form of escapism
reader to empathise and identify from their hectic lives and to immerse
similarities between themselves and this themselves in someone else's life, via
famous singer. Also Ed Sheeran is from a reading articles about
middle class background, which is similar celebrities, therefore I tried to represent
to the social class that my magazine is that social group in a pose.
aimed at. The background of my image is Language
in an urban setting outside in a graffiti The language used in my interview with
tunnel as this represents his Ed Sheeran is very light hearted and he
middle/lower class background and is uses a lot of slang and colloquialisms. I
attainable for his music audience to chose to use words like ‘dude’ and
relate to. ‘Marilyn Monroe is just hot’ as these are
phrases used commonly by
lower/middle class teenagers. Also
these slang words and phrases directly
reflect the medias stereotyping of
‘uneducated teenagers’.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Bauer Media Group
Bauer Media Group is a multinational media company headquartered in
Hamburg, Germany which operates in 15 countries worldwide.
Worldwide circulation of Bauer Media Group's magazine titles amounts
to 38 million magazines a week. I chose Bauer Media Group as they
publish a large range of music magazines e.g. KERRANG! and Q
magazine. Q magazine is a similar genre of music magazine to mine as it
focuses mainly on top 40 chart music which would mean my magazine
would fit in with Bauer Media Groups magazine specification and if they
chose to take on board TOPOP it would create a sense of competition
between the two pop magazines as TOPOP and Q have similar target
audiences. Also Bauer Media Group doesn’t only produce magazines, it
owns music channels too. KERRANG! isn’t only a music magazine but it
also has its own music channel, and due to my magazine being a music
magazine I felt Bauer Media Group would be a perfect publisher as it
could develop my magazine into a music channel consisting of top 40
music and videos too.


IPC Media
IPC Media works with more than 60 iconic media brands, IPC creates content for multiple
platforms, across print, online, mobile, tablets and events. As the UK's leading consumer
magazine publisher we engage with 26m UK adults - almost two thirds of UK women and 42% of
UK men. Our award winning portfolio of websites reaches over 25 million users globally every
month. IPC media only publishes 1 music magazine ‘NME’ which is an indie rock magazine
meaning TOPOP, a top 40 magazine would fill a gap in the market and hopefully attract a new
range of people to buy an IPC media product. Also the majority of magazines IPC media produce
are women's magazines, and women are primarily TOPOP’s target audience it should fit in with
some of the magazines IPC media already publishes.


Conclusion
In conclusion I have chosen Bauer Media Group as they publish a large
range of music magazines e.g. KERRANG! and Q magazine which would
mean they would have experience of music magazines and what works
and what doesn’t. Also I feel it will fit in well with Q magazine as it is a
similar genre of music magazine to mine as it focuses mainly on top 40
chart music and it would create a sense of competition between the two
pop magazines. Also Bauer Media Group has the potential to develop
my magazine into a music channel consisting of top 40 music and videos
as they have already done this for KERRANG! and 4 music.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

CIRCULATION
65,000
READERSHIP
400,0000
ABC1 PROFILE
68%
MEAN AGE
20
MALE/FEMALE
35%/65%
BUY EVERY THE MISSION
ISSUE TOPOP is your fortnightly insight into the
lives of famous pop artists from around the
85% world. Our readers will receive exclusive , up
to date stories focusing on the biggest and
best music of the year and interviewing the
artists and getting the latest on their career
and life.

Who would be the audience for your media product? Reader Profile

Masthead How did you attract/address your audience?
The masthead is written in a sans serif font. I chose this Main Image
font as it is bold and stands out from the page, however I The main image is a mid shot of ‘Ed Sheeran’ I chose
didn’t want it to look too harsh against my background so I to use this shot as it would make his face and body
chose the ‘disco diva’ font as it softens the harsh bold central and it includes the majority of the guitar,
effect but the text is still clear. I chose this font as it is which Ed Sheeran is commonly associated with. I
similar to the ‘top of the pops’ magazine masthead chose to dress my model quite simply without any
font, however mine looks more original and compliments sexual aspects as this seems to be a common
the brick wall background perfectly. convention of POP magazines. I have chosen to make
Colour Scheme my model not make eye contact with the camera as
The colour scheme for my magazine is pink, blue and white. once again dismissing any sexualisation within the
I chose this colour scheme as it is a reflects the age of my image. Also my models outfit is very casual which
target audience (16-24) as it is bright and colourful and gives my model a ‘boy next door’ feel and reflects the
after looking at my survey results many people in my target type of clothing my target audience would wear and
audience said they find bright colours attractive on a be attracted to. The background of my image is a
magazine. Also the blue and pink reflect each gender as graffiti brick wall, I chose this background as it gives
blue stereotypically relates to men, and pink to women, the magazine an urban feel as Ed Sheeran is an urban
however my magazine is primarily aimed at women. pop artist. Also the colours on the graffiti wall are light
pink and blue which are the two main colours in my
Buzz world
colour scheme and these colours emphasise ‘Ed
‘Festival line up revealed’ this buzz word/phrase is used to
Sheeran’s’ trademark ginger hair. Also Ed Sheeran’s
make the audience feel more involved with the magazine
head overlays the Masthead covering up part of it,
and story as the reader feels like they can only read that
this could show that Ed Sheeran is very important to
story in this issue of the magazine which is a unique selling
this issue even more so than the masthead itself.
point of the magazine. This also reveals the genre of the
magazine as V festival mainly consists of pop/top 40 artists. Main Cover Line
Date and Price The main cover line is written in a blue box to
Having the date and price on the front cover is a common differentiate itself from the other cover lines. The
convention for magazines. The date and price are placed in name of the featured artist is written in capital letters
the bottom right hand corner as whilst doing my existing in the font ‘walkway bold’ and a short quote from the
magazine research I discovered that the majority of article is written underneath in ‘minimal’ font. I chose
magazines have their barcode on the bottom right hand to do this as it is easy to identify what artists are
corner of their front cover. Whilst doing my flat plan I featured in the article and the tone of the
deliberately placed my barcode in the bottom right interview/article so readers can quickly decide if they
corner, similar to NME magazine. This magazine issue was want to read that article or not.
released in January 2013 and is £2.99. I have chosen this Kicker
price as it reflects my target market as many people that The kicker is used to list a few of the big artists that
are in the 16-24 year old age category are in the NRS social feature within the magazine, this is so the reader
grade abc1, therefor they will have some disposable instantly knows what the magazine will feature
income however not a lot as they will be either students or without having to stop and look inside the contents
may only have a part time job however they tend to chose page. Also it is written in a white box with a black
to spend their disposable income on luxury items like outline which will catch the readers eye when its on a
clothes, music and magazines (which I found on during my shop shelf as it stands out from the page due to the
interviews) which will be reflected in my magazine. bold outline.

How did you attract/address your audience?
Masthead
The mast head of my double page
Main Image
spread is just ‘ED SHEERAN’ it is
The main image is a full length shot of
written in sans serif font which is a
Ed Sheeran. I chose this shot as I thought
strong bold masculine font to reflect
it would give the image depth and
my models gender. Also this is
makes the image more dramatic. The
simple mast head intrigues the
background of this image is in an urban
reader as the masthead gives
setting in a graffiti tunnel and woodland
nothing away about the article
area to give depth and an urban feel to
which could intrigue the reader and
my magazine. My model is central to the
make them want to read the whole
image and is stood in the middle of the
interview. Also there is no sub
tunnel pushing up, I chose this is my
heading so for the reader to gain
model is still the main focus of the
any of the information in the article
image and his face with direct eye
they have to fully read it.
contact immediately catches the readers
eye. My model is dressed in a plain
hoodie as this gives Ed Sheeran a ‘boy
Text
next door’ feel and allows the reader to
The text in the double page spread is
empathise and identify similarities
all on the right hand side of the page
between themselves and this famous
and is written in 3 columns. I chose
singer. my model is posing pushing
to use 3 columns rather that one
against a metal tunnel as if he is trying
whole block of text as I feel it looks
to get out and escape, I chose to do this
more inviting to read in columns
as many people in my target audience
rather than a huge block of small
(teenagers) use reading magazines as a
Feature Letter text in the same font as it breaks up
form of escapism from their hectic lives
Behind the article there is a large vibrant ‘E’ the page well and doesn’t make the
and to immerse themselves in someone
that stands for Ed Sheeran, the ‘E’ is very page look crowded. The language
else's life via reading articles about
effective as it immediately draws the reader used in my interview with Ed
celebrities.
into the text half of the spread whereas Sheeran is very light hearted and he
without the E most people would look at the uses a lot of slang and
image first and forget about the text so I think colloquialisms. I chose to use words
it balances out the page well. Also the colour like ‘dude’ and ‘Marilyn Monroe is
blue reflects my magazines colour scheme just hot’ as these are phrases used
which subliminally reminds the reader of commonly by my target audience.
which magazine they are reading.

How did you attract/address your audience?
Issue Number Cover Lines
Masthead The issue number is written at the top right of the Each of the cover lines have the celebrity/musicians
The masthead ‘contents’ labels the page so that page. I chose to do this so that readers that will name/title of the page that is being referred to at the
the reader knows they are now on the contents follow the magazine regularly know which issue it is top so that the reader can easily identify the artists that
page and that page will explain what the magazine and know if they have missed one and could are included in the magazine and looks simple but
will contain. I chose to write it in black in a serif potentially start to collect all of the TOPOP magazine effective. Also the page number is written in black next
font at the top left hand side of the page as we issues. to it so it is very easy for the reader to find the article
read from left to right so the masthead is the first they are looking for. Underneath the artists name there
text you read. The masthead is written in black as is a small quote/summery of the article to give the
this colour stands out from blue and pink logo reader a feel of what the issue will include. In-between
behind it and complies with the magazines colour each cover line there is a bright pink or blue line
scheme. (colours chosen as they fit in with my magazines colour
Magazine Logo scheme) to separate each cover line to make the page
The TOPOP logo is written on the top left side of very clear and easy to read. I chose to have two cover
the page, behind the masthead. I chose to place line boxes, the left hand side box is for latest stories
the magazine logo behind the masthead as it and the right hand side box is for regular stories. I chose
would be a subliminal reminder to the reader this layout as it makes it very easy for the reader to
which magazine they are reading without identify which articles they want to read and where it
overpowering the masthead. Also the logo is is, also I colour coordinated the lines separating the
placed on the contents page as the logo contains cover lines depending on if the cover line is a ‘latest
the main colours of the colour scheme of my story’ or a ‘regular story’ (pink lines for latest and blue
magazine, I chose to do this as I believe it brings lines for regular)I also really like this layout as it is clear
the page together and makes the colour scheme and looks simple but it fits a lot of information in.
more apparent. I also chose to put the logo on my Album review
contents page so the reader remembers the On my contents page I chose to have an album review
magazine logo and can begin to recognise it, (this would be a common feature of my contents page)
making the magazine more memorable and easier I chose to do this as after doing my market research I
to pick out from a crowd. found it was quite a common feature to have part of an
Images (Main Image) album review on your contents page (that then
The main image is the largest image on the page continues within the magazine) therefore I chose to
placed in the middle of the text at the top of the replicate this in my music magazine. I chose to review
page. I chose to use this image as it is a an album that is very current and Pop’y ‘RHIANNA
representation of a famous image of Ed Sheeran LOUD’ as it fits in with the Top 40 genre my magazine
(who my model is imitating). My model has his focuses on and Rihanna is a huge name in the music
Plugs industry. I decided to make a replica of Rhianna’s
tongue out with a small piece of paper on his
At the bottom of my contents page there are a rang ‘LOUD’ album cover, as our brief specifies we have to
tongue saying ‘HI!’ I chose this as not only does it
of images of famous social networking and music take ALL of the images used in our magazine, therefor I
replicate the iconic image of Ed Sheeran but it
websites. I chose to do this as it shows that TOPOP couldn’t just copy and paste the original album cover so
makes the image look playful and light, similar to
associates themselves with these sites, therefore I had to make my own. I used a model who has
the tone of Ed Sheeran’s music.
they have a Facebook and twitter account etc. and Rhianna’s trade mark bright red hair as I was trying to
their YouTube account has all of the music videos in directly replicate her album cover and I used the same
the POP music genre and from artists the magazine camera shot ‘close up’ on my models face so the
have interviewed/associate themselves with. images were clearly similar and recognisable.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing
this product?
During the process of creating my media product, a music magazine, I have learnt a great deal
about technologies. I regularly blogged throughout making my music magazine and each post
is labelled and has a title of what I have included in that blog entry. To make my product I
used a number of different technologies. I used a computer, Digital SLR Camera, Microphone
and recorder, Adobe Photoshop, PDF, Internet Explorer (Blogger, Slide Share, Survey Monkey,
Google images, dafont, YouTube, Facebook), Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint.

this product?
Blogger
Previous to this project I had never used blogger before therefor I learnt a lot from using it, and
due to the blog being the main part of the project where all of your work was published it was
essential I knew how to use the site properly. I regularly blogged through out my
project, uploading word documents, Microsoft PowerPoint's, videos, interviews and JPEG images.
To create a blogger account you needed to create a Gmail email address which was fine, until I
forgot my email for around 2 months, therefor I couldn’t upload any of my work for a large part
of the course, but it was alright as I had completed all of the work I just needed to upload it, this
explains why on my peer evaluation my blog wasn’t available. I finally found my email address
and managed to upload everything onto blogger. I did the majority of my work using Microsoft
PowerPoint's which couldn’t be uploaded directly to blogger which was inconvenient, so I had to
go through another website called ‘SlideShare’ where I uploaded my PowerPoint. I then copied
the link they provided, clicked HTML, pasted the link it, pressed compose and my PowerPoint was
available in my blog (print screens below).
I also had to upload a YouTube video of me interviewing a peer which was very complicated as
you had to record the interview, change the format of it into a ‘moviemaker clip’ insert an image
and then upload it to YouTube and then copy the link into my post on blogger which took a very
long time.

this product?
Survey Monkey
Previous to this project I had never used Survey Monkey before. I used survey monkey as a
market research tool to find out what people wanted from a music magazine. I asked 10
questions and each question had different options for people to click, which would make my
results easy to interpret and easier to make a clear conclusion what people would want from my
music magazine. (print screen below of an example of some of the questions I asked in my
survey). I posted the link of my survey on Facebook so that all of my Facebook friends could fill it
out, I also posted the link on twitter and put the link on a post on my blog so people could
interact with my on-going project. 21 people filled out my servey and I found out:
• My magazine should be aimed at the 15 to 20 year old age group as that appears to be the
group that tends to mostly buy magazines, therefor will hopefully buy my magazine if I aim it
at that target audience.
• My magazine will be a top 40 music magazine as that appears to be the most popular in my
survey. Also this genre as it is a genre of music that is very popular and has a huge following,
also due to my personal interest in this genre I know a lot about it. Also due to the music
being top 40 it will be very popular with listeners and each artist will have a huge fan base
who will hopefully follow my magazine when their favourite artist is included.
• The majority of the people that answered my survey were female which is good as I plan on
aiming my magazine towards women mainly, however I feel men would enjoy it too.
• 47% of people said they would pay from £2-£2.99 there for I have chosen to charge £2.99 for
my magazine. I have chosen this price as it reflects my target market as many people that
are in the 16-24 year old age category will have some disposable income however not a lot
as they will be either students or may only have a part time job however they tend to chose
to spend their disposable income on luxury items like clothes, music and magazines.

this product?

Digital SLR Camera
Previous to this project I had never used an SLR camera, I had only ever used a simple digital
camera.
A digital SLR camera uses mirrors to allow the photographer to view the image through the single
lens that captures the image for a more accurate photo. Because SLR cameras allow you to see
the photo as it will look when taken through the same lens, the photographer can make minute
adjustments to the camera for the best possible photo.
I borrowed a Digital SLR camera from college to take all of the images for my magazine. I felt this
camera was great as it seemed to add light to all of my images and gave the images more depth
and made them look more vibrant. However I chose to do my photo shoot on a sunny day so
sometimes the camera added too much light so on photo shop I had to edit the shadows on the
image to make them a little darker which added detail to the image. Also by using a digital
camera I got to instantly see the images that I had taken, so I could quickly decide which images I
did and didn’t want to use and I could quickly adjust my models position so I could determine
which pose and angle looked best on the camera.

this product?
Photoshop
Previous to this project I had never used Photoshop before so I was very unfamiliar with the
programme so I learnt a lot.
I learnt to download fonts onto the computer and then insert them onto my photo shop
document so I could use them as my masthead, subheadings and text. However every time I
logged off the college computer the front was deleted from the computer and the Photoshop
document so I had to re-download it each time I logged onto the computer which was time
consuming.
On Photoshop I learnt how to use different layers (as I needed a layer per image/text
box/sentence, which I struggled with grasping as I kept forgetting which layer I was on and moving
and deleting things I wasn’t meant to, however I got used to it and by finishing my front cover I
had completely grasped the idea of layers.
I also learnt how to adjust colour saturations to make my image more vibrant and stand out more
from the page (which I used on my front cover and double page spread main images).
I learnt how to use the polygon lasso tool too, I used this tool to cut out the top of my model Levi’s
head so that I could put his head in front of my masthead if I placed the layer with his cut out
head above the masthead layer.
I also learnt how to insert text boxes, fill them with colour and then change the opticity of them,
which I had to do on my front cover as I didn’t want my boxed to be too bold, so I changed the
opticity to 70% so the boxes weren't so bold they over powered my main image.

this product?
Overall technology has helped me with my task of creating a front cover, contents page and
double-page spread in numerous ways. Without it my final product would be considerably
less professional and of a lesser quality. It would of also taken considerably longer as instead
of being able to Google existing magazine front covers, double page spreads and contents
pages I would have had to gone out to the shops and looked through all of the magazines,
and I would have been able to have access to any of the American magazines I researched
that aren't available in the UK.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the
progression from it to the full product?
My preliminary task was to create a York college magazine front cover and contents page. I used 1 very basic image
that I took against a wall in college with a very crudely cut out moustache that I found on Google and edited onto
my models face. Also I only used two fonts on my front cover that I hadn't downloaded from the internet and were
standard Photoshop fonts. However in my final magazine I used at least four different fonts that I had found and
specifically downloaded for my music magazine. Another main feature which differs the two productions is the use
of images, I took one basic image that I took against a wall in college for the first task, however when it came to the
main task I found a specific location that fitted in with the tone of my magazine and looked more professional. In my
preliminary task I missed out generic features of a magazines such as the price of my magazine which makes the
magazine look very childish and unfinished, therefor on my final magazine front cover I was cautious to include
most of the common features of magazines e.g. date and price, boxes, plugs, subheadings etc. Since the
development of my preliminary task my technology/editing skills have progressed immensely. I found that I had a
lot of plain white space on my preliminary task front cover, this makes the magazine look very plain and boring. Due
to this I made a conscious effort to have very little blank space on my cover, this was easily attained due to the
bright colourful graffiti brick wall background making my front cover more vibrant and stand out more.

I feel the biggest difference between my preliminary task and my final assignment is my contents page. I did my York
College magazine contents page on word, due to me being very unfamiliar with Photoshop, this gives the magazine a
very unprofessional look due to the simple layout, large amount of blank space and missing features of standard
magazine contents pages e.g. a page number, magazine logo and the same font throughout. My final contents page
however was produced on Photoshop and includes a variety of images, fonts, logos and links to social networks my
target audience for my magazine would be interested in. As my confidence with Photoshop grew the easier I could use
it and the more complicated tools I used. On Photoshop I learnt how to use different layers (as I needed a layer per
image/text box/sentence, which I struggled with grasping as I kept forgetting which layer I was on and moving and
deleting things I wasn’t meant to, however I got used to it and by finishing my front cover I had completely grasped the
idea of layers. I also learnt how to adjust colour saturations to make my image more vibrant and stand out more from
the page (which I used on my front cover and double page spread main images). I learnt how to use the polygon lasso
tool too, I used this tool to cut out the top of my model Levi’s head so that I could put his head in front of my masthead
if I placed the layer with his cut out head above the masthead layer. I also learnt how to insert text boxes, fill them with
colour and then change the opticity of them, which I had to do on my front cover as I didn’t want my boxed to be too
bold, so I changed the opticity to 70% so the boxes weren't so bold they over powered my main image. I learnt how to
import images from the internet directly into my Photoshop document, which is how I managed to insert all of the
images of social networking sights my magazine is apart of which run along the bottom of my contents page.

Finally I have learnt the common conventions of magazines, what works and what doesn’t and what aspects of a magazine my
target audience enjoy and what they don't.
I found out what my target audience particularly want from a magazine by doing some market research. I used survey monkey
as a market research tool to find out what people wanted from a music magazine. I asked 10 questions and each question had
different options for people to click, which would make my results easy to interpret and easier to make a clear conclusion what
people would want from my music magazine. (print screen below of an example of some of the questions I asked in my survey). I
posted the link of my survey on Facebook so that all of my Facebook friends could fill it out, I also posted the link on twitter and
put the link on a post on my blog so people could interact with my on-going project.
I found out the common conventions of magazines by produced an existing products PowerPoint where I looked a three different
magazine front covered, double page spreads and contents pages. Via doing this I learnt that music magazines tend to use bring
colours e.g. pink, blue, red, black and white and pop magazines tend to use bright stereotypical ‘girlie’ colour schemes. I learnt
that the majority of magazines tend to have the barcode and date and price in the bottom right hand side of the page and that
the main image on the front cover tends to overlap the masthead.
In conclusion I feel I have learnt a lot more about technology (mainly Photoshop), music magazines (the common conventions
and what works and what doesn’t) and how to stay calm when something goes wrong and don’t panic (I deleted my front cover
on photo shop by accident a week before the deadline date by accident, but I stayed calm and the college managed to retrieve it
from my deleted documents). I have thoroughly enjoyed this project and hope that my enthusiasm is reflected in my work.

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