Evaluation of my music magazine

1. Evaluation
Jamie Pike

2. Question 1:
• In what ways does your media product use,
develop or challenge forms and conventions
of real media products?
My front cover My contents page My Article

3. Masthead
• My masthead is
conventional because it
is located in the top left
of the cover.
• It is clear and simple,
and one of the biggest
parts of text on the
page.

4. Masthead
For my masthead I’ve used
large clear font for the text
“UNDERGROUND” as it Is
the title of my magazine and
I wanted it to stand out so
it’s easy for people to see.
I added two graphics to it:
Lines under the name for
aesthetics, and red
background to make it stand
out.

5. Photo
• I have a large picture of
my cover star as the main
feature of the cover.
• He is making eye contact
• It is conventional because
it is the main focus of the
cover, and it stands out in
hope of interesting
readers in the magazine

6. Headline
It is conventional because it is large, bold
text, just below the photo of the cover star.
It is the name of the artist so people know
who is featured in the magazine.

7. Graphics
I’ve used graphics on my front
cover such as these, which act
as signifiers for the genre of the
magazine (alterative metal and
punk), they are quite edgy/
grungey, and they help give a
good feel to the magazine.

8. Cover lines
My cover lines are
conventional because
they are left aligned,
clear, and easy to see.
I have used white clear
font, and I have placed
a graphic behind to
increase visibility.

9. Other minor details
My magazine also follows
conventions though the use
of a Date Line in the top right
corner, and a price line and
website in the bottom right.

10. Develop
I got the inspiration for my cover from a mixture of these magazines:
I liked the
models pose,
and positioning
of this photo.
I liked the
colour scheme
of this
magazine
The pose of the
model in this
magazine, and the
layout of the
magazine

11. Contents
The Layout of my magazine is
very conventional. The columns of
categories and articles is right-
aligned, it has three large pictures
with links to articles in the
magazine. It also features the
masthead, and page number.
There graphics (lines) to break up
the page, and for aesthetic feel.

12. Develop
I used the format of the
categories, and Colour
scheme for my contents.
I used the graphics on the top of the
contents
And layout of the photos.

13. Article
My article is conventional
because it is formatted in
three columns, aligned on
the right hand side.
I have also included
graphics at the top of the
page as signifiers to the
magazine’s feel and
genre

14. Develop
I wanted my article to follow a
similar layout to this magazine.
(3 columns on the right page,
main photo on the left)
My magazine follows a very
similar layout to the magazine
featured

15. Question 2
• Q2. How does your media product represent
particular social groups?

16. FRONT COVER
My cover star is portrayed as
being cool, and rebellious. His
expression seems like he doesn’t
care about much.
The graphics on the cover such
as the skulls, act as signifiers to
the genre of the magazine, and it
would seem that readers of the
magazine are into alternative/
grunge. It has a punk feel to it,
but it is quite neutral (only uses 3
colours, very conventional)

17. Contents
The information about the bands
featured is very informal, somewhat
humorous and sometimes irrelevant.
This fits in with the representation of
punk, not really caring about much, and
not taking things seriously.
A photo used in my contents page is
from a live concert (bring me the
horizon) showing that reader of the
magazine would possibly fans of live
music, and heavy rock music.

18. Article
The article featured in my magazine is
hugely informal. It uses lots of colloquial
language and is somewhat
unprofessional. This fits in with the
rebellious punk theme of the magazine,
and not caring about anything.
In some places it might seem that the
article is based more off a conversation
than a formal interview, but it is
completely intentional, and it is to fit
with the careless nature of the
magazine. This might suggest that
readers of the magazine are interested
in rebellious punk culture or related sub-
culture such as skating or something.

19. Question 3
• What kind of media institution might distribute
your media product and why?

20. Question 3
• I think a publishing house such a
“Stack” would publish my magazine, as
it is an independent publisher, and it
already has a large catalogue of
independent magazines that it
publishes, some of which follow similar
themes to mine (Against mainstream/
creatives)
• It could be distributed online, so if
people want to purchase it, they could
order it to their house, as many of
Stack’s magazines are.

21. Question 4+5
• This is Charlie, he would be the average
reader of my magazine. He is wearing
clothes related to skater culture, showing
he is into alternative/ punk lifestyle.
• He listens to a wide range of music from
metal and rock to alternative hip-hop. His
favorite albums consist of Enter Shikari’s
“A Flash Flood of Colour” Linkin Park’s
“Meteora" Childish Gambino’s “Because
the internet” and “Songs for the Deaf” by
Queens of the Stone Age.

22. Question 4+5
• He very much enjoys live music,
and a large part of income goes on
concert tickets to see his favorite
bands. He also goes to small
venues to see up and coming
bands as he likes to stay up to date
with music.
• The last band he saw live was Myth
City live at the O2 Institute in
Birmingham.
• He is looking forward to seeing
Frank Carter and Sum 41 at the
Kerrang tour in Birmingham this
year.

23. Questions 4+5
• My front cover would attract my
target audience, because it
features a very cool punk rock
star on the front. It also includes
the names of some famous
metal/punk artists such a Enter
Shikari and Frank Carter. The
graphics I’ve also included on
the cover such as the skulls also
act as signifiers to the
magazines genre, which could
persuade them to buy the
magazine based on interests.

24. Question 6
• Describe/Illustrate the technologies you have used
and explain what they do – then show me
something you learnt about using them.

25. Question 6
• Software: Adobe Photoshop (Version 12.0)
Used for all graphic design of article, contents and article.
• Adobe Indesign CS3 (Version 5.0.4)
Used to format the text layout of my article
• Mozilla Firefox 14.0
Main web browser I used
• Mac OSX Version 10.6.8
Operating system used by the macs

26. Question 6
• Hardware: Apple Mac
Computer system used to design And create my
magazine.
• Nikon D3100 – Digital SLR
Camera used to take photos for my magazine.
Shutter speed set at 1/300th of a second to match
the flash
• Horseshoe Flash Trigger
triggers the flash in-sync with the camera shutter.
1/300th

27. Question 6
• Hemisphere 300 – Strobe flash
Strobe lighting used to light photo shoot
• Soft Boxes
Used to soften light and give photos a
more professional feel
• Backdrop
Used to give photos taken a studio
effect, and make it look more
professional.

28. Question 7
• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do
you feel you have learnt in the progression
from it to the full product?

29. Question 7

30. Question 7
In my preliminary student magazine,
the layout of the cover was very
unprofessional and unconventional.
The cover lines we all of the page ,
the photo and the background were
unprofessional, and the graphics
didn’t look very good. The text was
very hard to read in because of the
colour of the fonts and the
background.

31. Question 7
In comparison to my preliminary the
layout and feel of my finished front
cover is very professional. The cover
lines are all left aligned and clear and
have a graphic behind them to help
with visibility. I think one of the things
that enabled me to make a much more
professional product was actually
learning to use Photoshop properly
and effectively. This way I could
achieve the effects I wanted. I have
learned more about forms and
conventions, and compared to my
preliminary work, this is much more
conventional.