The document discusses the student's music magazine project and how it compares to real magazines. The student explains how their magazine uses similar layout conventions as real magazines, such as the title placement, use of different fonts and font sizes, and inclusion of the magazine's website on the cover. The student also discusses how their content page and double page spread follow conventions like using columns but also challenges conventions by prominently displaying the website. The student reflects on what they have learned about magazine design and production through completing this project.

1. Evaluation
Derry Mckernan

2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
My music magazine uses the same real media products as that the main similarity
between my magazine and a real magazine is the layout. You can clearly see the
similarity between the two of them like the title, the tile is 9/10 always at the top
of the page in really big writing so that the consumers can read it. This is what the
audience uses to recognise their favourite magazines because the person on the
front changes week in week out.
You can always be grantee to have some sort of ‘exclusive’ on the front with a small
caption, usually a small taking from the interview or Q & A.
What is similar to a real magazine is the different types of fonts and sizes as that
when you read any magazine you will never see the same font and size all the way
through as that is just plain boring and lazy, the idea is to keep the person reading
the magazine and if you turn it into a book with the same writing the audience will
feel like they are reading a book. So it that way I am using a real media products as
my inspiration but I was always going to mix it up.
A way in which I am challenging the traditional media set up is I have clearly put on
the front cover at the top the magazines websites and you don’t really see that
often in this type of magazine and if you do it is really small and it is either on the
bar code next to the price or it is tight in the corner, this is one way which my
magazine challenges the industry. It is small difference but if it wasn’t there you
would notice something is missing.

3. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
For my content page I followed a few different conventions as that this is the
part of the magazine where you want to inform your audience about where
to find certain stories and it helps them navigate around the magazine.
The use of columns in the content page helps you order the words easier as
that you see a lot of magazines using columns, which must mean that it is an
affective method. It also helps the reader know what the order is before
they start reading as they can see that a particular story will come up after
the one they are reading so when they are reading the magazine they will
know that soon it will come up.
I used the idea to have a large main image and a few smaller images around
with the page number next to it as it seems like a logical thing to do as that
it lets the audience know where they can find that image.

4. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
For my Double Page Spread it uses more conventions then it
challenges, which might seem as a bit safe but because of how popular
and successful they are you would be mad not to use some of them.
Like the use of columns with the writing as that it has always been done
so that it would go down the page then when at the bottom it would shift
over and start a new column right next the first one. This is because when
you are reading the magazine you don’t want it to feel like you are
reading a book, so you have it so there are a few words over then on a
new line as it makes it feel like less reading.
Throughout the magazine not just on the double page spread the use of
page numbers is a consistent part of any magazine as that it is practical
because it allows the reader to navigate around the magazines using the
content page as a guide.

5. How does your media product represent particular social
groups?
The social group who my magazine is aimed at is the younger teenage market as that
they are the most likely to buy this type of magazine. The younger age people of today
idolise their favourite celebrities, so that if you put a picture with an exclusive on it then
they will buy it knowing that they are getting the gossip here first.
The images show that it is aimed at teenagers with the light hearted pose and the smile
but the way they are posing, as that it not seductive but light and cheeky.
The colours are bright and you can see this in the way they dress like it will be
respectable but with a bright glow around it. The writing will be all in colour with a nice
easy to read font.
You see a lot of posters in these types of magazines with easy to cut out lines so that
the reader can put them up on their walls at home.

6. What kind of media institution might distribute your media
product and why?
The main distribution of my magazine would be the newsstands like shops as that
even though the webzine is becoming more and more popular people still like to go
and get their copy in paper as to a lot f people it is a bit of a tradition and you wont
be able to stop.
If in the magazines you are having gig reviews then you can sell the magazine at
those gigs that they are reviewing, you will have to do it by newsstand but it is not
really the same as you are only selling it there.
The increase in the amount of people who are using their tablets and other electrical
devices so it would be an idea to put it onto the web so that it is available for more
technical person.
To increase popularity you can give some free magazines away to schools and
hospitals so that it give people a taster of what is in their magazine.

7. Who would be the audience for your media product?
My target market was the older teenagers as that they seem to like to buy and
read their magazines and if one person has it then everyone will follow and it
will become a bit of a trend.
My audience did not change through out this process as that everything I did I
kept in mind my audience and what they would like. After doing the magazine
though I noticed that it looked like it could have been aimed at a slightly larger
audience as it is diverse.
I found it easy to aim it at my target audience as that I am part of the target
audience so I really did the stuff I liked as that I am of that age group and know
what they like and dislike.
The main audience is teenagers but there is the possibility of having younger or
older readers as that the magazine is a bit broader with the colour scheme and
wording.

8. How did you attract/address your audience?
The way I attracted my audience was that I used an image of a 18 year old lad as that
it is someone who people my age aspire to be and for the girls it would be a bit of eye
candy.
The colour scheme is mixed between masculine and famine as you have the dark red
or burgundy and the soft yellow so the two when put together shows a nice contract
as it attracts both the male readers and the female.
The main way in which you can attract readers is if you have the best stories and
exclusive as that I know when I go to read a magazine I see what the main story is and
if it is someone I like then it makes me want it more.
The price is reasonable for the amount of stuff I have in there, as it is £1.50 which
compared to others is good as that it is also a weekly mag so the price shouldn’t be
outrageously expensive or I will not be able to sell it.

9. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
I used a few different pieces of software to help me construct my magazine like
adobe Photoshop, illustrator and InDesign.
I used Photoshop to help me create the bulk of the magazines like the colour scheme
and the layout. I used Photoshop as that it is the best pieces of software to do this
type of thing in.
Then I used illustrator to create my title as that you can do more with the words in it
like you have more fonts and styles to pick from and it is easier to use to manipulate
the words like with shadows or bubbles if you want that.
InDesign was used for my DPS as that it is set up with a two page spread which allows
you to get a better idea of what it will actual look like. It is good for creating columns
as that you can create a few of them and click and drag them to wherever looks best.
I had to use a few technological programmes to manipulate my images as that the
background where not suitable for scheme of which I am aiming for.

10. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have
learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
From the preliminary task I have learnt how to create a magazine to make it look like a
real life magazine.
Comparing my final magazine with my preliminary magazine, well you can see the
difference in quality as that in the first task I was unable to do anything that I wanted to
do as that I didn’t know the software and didn’t really know the magazine industry.
The depths in stuff like different fonts and styles makes the difference and through
applying this to the work it gives it a professional edge.
The reason why I believe my magazine looks professional is that I took the simple but
effective route with it keep it clean and tidy and just make every detail stand out.