The document provides an evaluation of a magazine cover and contents pages designed by Isaac Marsh. The summary includes: - The front cover uses buzzwords like "Free" to grab attention. It features the band Kasabian and includes their logo and a photo related to their tour. - The contents pages include photos from a rock concert to depict the essence of a show. Text boxes highlight band info and sections in the magazine. - A double page spread introduces the band Gravity Cap, showing individual personalities through poses and positioning of band members in the photo alongside their regular clothing.

1. Evaluation
By Isaac Marsh

2. I have used buzz words such as ‘Free’ to grab the readers
attention. This buzz word has been placed at the top of the
magazine because when its being sold in shops sometimes
you can only see the top of the magazine so word such as
‘Free’ will encourage people to pick it up.
The house colours of my magazine are
black, white and burgundy. The white and
black contrast each other to make them
stand out more. I chose burgundy because
it’s the colour of the main signifiers jacket.
I have made sure that the wind turbine is still
recognizable in the background this is so
anybody living in the area where the picture
is taken they will recognize it and are likely to
pick up the magazine.
The reader will be able to identify
what edition it is and from the month
tell if it’s the latest one.
Anchorage text has been used here so people
know that the picture is linked to the text
above and will be able to identify that the
picture is from Kasabians tour. Also I have
placed a small black border around the image
so it stands out more and doesn't’t blend into
the main picture.
I have placed the title of the band in the
middle of the page so the reader will know
that the person in the picture is part of the
band and with it being in the center of the
cover it will be one of the first things that the
readers looks at. The made the title the only
text on the page which is italic to make it
stand out even more.
The area around my main signifiers face is
empty this is so people will be able to
recognize him or will now know what he
looks like so in later editions people will
then recognize him.
Text is evenly spread out to prevent the
front cover from being overloaded and
informs the reader about other content
that’s in the magazine so If they don’t like
the main signifier they still have a reason
to buy the magazine.

3. I chose this image to be on my front cover (main image) because George
(person in the photograph) is using direct address which will grab the readers
attention. With George being on the left side of the picture it gives space
next to him to add text and since is body is turned slightly to the right the
getting to the reader to read the text next to him after they have looked at
the main image. I have included the wind turbine because it’s the main
attraction of my town Swaffham so If anyone lives in the local area will
recognize it and then look at the magazine. The background of the picture is
slightly blurred out so the reader focuses on the main subject which is
George. The background is only slightly blurry so the readers focuses on the
main subject but can also identify what's in the background of the picture. I
choose this background because it suggests that the main subject came from
just a regular estate and that anyone can become a famous musician which
gets the reader to identify with the main subject more. The picture was taken
when the sun was behind the clouds this gives a dark shadow over George
giving the connotations that he's not a pleasant person or that he's very
serious. I made George match the codes and conventions of a traditional
alternative rock band member. I have done this by having my main signifier
in mainstream clothing such as jeans and a tee-shirt. Although I decided to
add the jacket with his sleeves to give him some character and not a bland
personality. The white tee-shirt is there to prevent anyone from getting
offended since alternative rock bands very rarely try to make a offensive
statement to get media and it contrasts with the rest of the background
making it stand out . Also my main signifier is male and white which
dominate the alternative rock genre meaning George is an accurate
representation of your average alternative rock band member. With George
fitting the codes and conventions of a alternative rock member if someone
was to pick up the magazine and look at the picture on the front page they
would be able to tell what music genre it is. If any fans of alternative rock see
the magazine there will be more likely to pick it up if the main signifier fits
with what there used to seeing. I have represented George as you average
alternative rock band member and the cross arms and staring into the
camera is to represent him as a serious and strong person. The clothing he's
wearing is something you would see most people wearing to present him as
a normal person and that audience will be able to identify with him. This is
the same for the background as its just a picture of a housing estate in the
background to make it so that it looks like George comes from a normal
background and he managed to become a rock star making the audience
think they can become a rock star as well.

4. The masthead is contents so the reader knows
what page they are on and has the edition plus
date incase the front cover falls off they will still
be able to identify what edition it is.
For each section I've added see through boxes this is to make
the text stand out more and the reader will be still able to see
the picture. Each box is the same size to make the page look
professional and balanced.
With the text I have used two
different colours to make it
stand out more. The colours
used are the same as the
house colours on the front
cover this is to keep the
magazine consistent.
Overall the contents page
doesn’t have much
information this is
because the picture is the
main focus and is there
for the reader to look at.
Plus most magazines only
have a single page
contents where as a I
have double page
dedicated for it so there is
more room making it look
like less information. If
this picture was on a
single page you wouldn’t
be able to appreciate the
image because you
wouldn’t be able to see it
very well.

5. I choose this picture for my contents page because it
catches the essence of a concert in one picture. People
raving, flashing lights and guitarist on the screen is what
you would see at most rock concerts. This means that
when the reader looks at the image they will be able to
identify that it’s a concert and with the guitarist they
could tell specifically that it’s a rock concert. The reader
will be able to identify with the picture if they have gone
to any rock concerts or a concert. With the picture taken
from my perspective it makes the reader feel like there at
the concert and for a second they can escape from
reality (escapism). The picture has a lot of open space so I
can add text without ruining the picture. In the top right
corner there's a glare from when the sun was setting
which I can use to put my title of the page next to it to
make the title to stand out more.

6. Title takes a good portion of the
page to grab readers attention
and clearly Identifies the band
in the picture. The black
banner is to contrast the white
title text to make it stand out
more.
I have positioned the text close to the edge of the
page to encourage the reader to turn the page.
For both text boxes I've used anchorage text so
people know that the text is about the band in
the picture. I’ve placed a faint white box behind
the text to make the text stand out more against
the background so the consumer will be able to
read it.
There isn't much text on the page
because the picture is the main focus. I
have placed the text and the title away
from the band members faces so the
reader can see there facial/body
expressions to allows the reader to build
up an image of each band members
personality.
The two text boxes are the same size and are equal lengths away from
the edge of the page this is to make them symmetrical so the double
page looks more professional. The title text is position in the middle of
the page so it will be the first thing on the page the reader will see so
they know which band is in the picture.

7. I choose this picture for my double page spread because it
gives each of the band members there own personality just
from the picture. The person in the bottom left has his hands
behind is back which gives off the impression to the reader
that’s he's quite laid back. The person in the middle is higher
up than the other two making him look more important and
will quite easily be identify as the lead singer. Also with him
not looking at the picture is suggesting that he's better than
the reader giving of the impression that he's quite full of
himself. Last of all the person on the right has his hands in
his pockets and is looking directly at the camera suggesting
that he's quite a serious person and just gets things done.
The background of the picture is a couple of houses to
emphasize that there just normal people that come from a
regular housing estate giving the impression to the reader
that they could be them and will identify with them more.
The clothing I choose for them to wear links with the
background because the clothing their wearing is just
everyday clothes normal people would wear making the
band look like your average teenagers/young adults. I made
sure to give space on the left and right side of the picture to
allow space for text.

8. Representation of band members on
my magazine
My magazine represents all the band members from Gravity
Cap as being everyday people as they are all wearing jeans
and either wearing tee-shirt, jumper or shirt. The backgrounds
for both pictures are just pictures of houses to suggest they
come from a normal background and are not to different from
the reader. To do this I have stereotyped what most people
look like between the ages 16-24 so the band appeals to the
most amount of people. With the band members looking like
everyday people to make the audience identify with them
more and feel like there just a group of friends who picked up
so instruments and formed a band. This will give the idea that
even they could pick up an instrument and start a band with
their friends.

9. Codes and Conventions of Alternative
rock bands
Majority of alternative rock bands don’t wear any obscure clothing they will normally wear everyday clothes
typically being jeans and a tee-shirt. The tee-shirts they wear are either bland or have pictures on it which
wouldn't’t offend anyone so its prevents making a statement which the media could use and have backlashes
on the band. The alternative rock genre is dominated by white males is rare to see female or black band
members in the industry. The backgrounds of pictures of alternative rock bands are normally quite bland or
have everyday areas such as a housing estate. This to give the impression that there everyday people so the
audience will identify with them and that they can become them.

10. Audience for my magazine
My magazine will be aimed mainly at males or females aged between 16-24
who have small or large friend groups. This is because my magazine includes
lots of information on less well known or upcoming bands so it can be used
for socializing. Also they will be information about upcoming festivals and
concerts which will appeal to this age group since there more likely to go to
them. The magazine will be aimed at people who are either hardcore fans of
alternative music or just fans of it because the magazine will include obscure
and well known alternative rock bands. To make the bands appeal more to
teenagers to young adults I created a survey on what name I should give the
band and got people from my six form college to answer the survey which
everyone in the six form fits the age bracket of 16-24. Everyone that’s on my
magazine is aged between 16-17 so the audience between 16-24 will be able
to identify with them and the magazine will appeal to them.

11. Audience
• Living in the UK as this is where my magazine will be
distributed.
• Has interest In Alternative rock either new to genre or
a hardcore fan as the magazine will just be on
alternative rock genre.
• Aged between 16-24 as most of the bands will be
between this age so the audience will be able to
identify with them.
• Either male or female as popular bands like Imagine
dragons have about a 50/50 ratio for male and female
fans so people genders would be interested in the
magazine.

12. My audience talking about my front
cover

13. My audience talking about my
contents page

14. Issues my audience had with the
magazine
• Use different colour font- The problem I had with using
a different colour font was it would be harder to read
and wouldn’t grab the readers attention if they
couldn’t read it.
• Contents page picture- I was very limited at what
pictures I could take at the concert and would have
been impossible to of got one near the front so I had
to make do with what I had. If I had more time I would
of moved the title to compensate for the double page
but would also mean that the text would of needed to
be rearranged as well.

15. Bauer Media Group
Bauer Media Group would be the magazine company that I would like to
publish my magazine because they already have a successful rock magazine
(Kerrang) and 600 other magazines this shows they know how to produce a
successful magazine. With producing over 600 different magazine the
company has quite a loyal fan base so anything they publish will attract some
attention which could help get my magazine started. They also take a key
interest in their audience and are always researching them so they will have
good knowledge on appealing to the target audience making my magazine
more successful. With the revenue of the company going up currently the
methods they are using currently are successful so they are more trustworthy
(demonstrated by the graph below) . The Bauer Media group would want to
publish my magazine because they don’t have a alternative rock magazine so
there missing a gap in the market which they would want to capitalize on.
More Info

16. Advertisement
With Bauer Media Group being a well established
company they will have the money to help pay for
advertisement of my magazine to get the publicity it
needs. They won’ t just have money but also the
knowledge to get a successful magazine running as they
already have 55 magazine going strong. Also they own
Kiss (radio station) were we can advertise the magazine
because the radio station is aimed at people between 15-
34 year olds so it’s the ideal place to advertise the
magazine. This is because majority of the people listening
to the radio are the target age for are magazine and since
it’s a radio station a music magazine being advertise is
relevant to music.

17. List- Tec/software I've used
• CANON EOS 1300D DSLR camera (18mm Dc III Zoom Lens)- This assignment was the first time I had got hold of a high quality
camera to take pictures so I had to learn what settings I would need to get a clear crisp pictures for my magazine. Also
learned how to blur a picture for a particular effect.
• Galaxy Ace 3- This was my main tool to communicate with people either to get people ready to go take photos or to see
what people thought about my media work. It was also used to take pictures if at the time I didn’t have CANON EOS 1300D
DSLR camera.
• Laptop- Outside from school and home I used my laptop to research when I didn’t have access to my home computer or a
mac.
• Windows PC/ Mac- Throughout the assignment I learnt how to use a mac since I had never used one before and became
comfortable and adequate at using one to benefit me. At home I used my personal computer to research and produce
media.
• PowerPoint- This was the main software I used to record and write up the research I had found.
• Photoshop- Was the software I used to create my front cover, contents page and double page spread. Through using this
software I learnt how to edit photos ( increasing the brightness of the image).
• Internet- The internet was what I used to research, communicate with people and store my work.
• Memory stick- To transport work if the files were to big to go through the internet because they would take to long to
transfer.
• Edublogs- Was the site I used to upload and present my finished work to. This was the first time I had used a blog so I had to
learn the fundamentals are making a blog and how I would present my work.
• Slideshare- Was a site I used to upload my power points to so I could then place them on my blog.
• OBS (Open Broadcaster Software)- Recording software I used to record myself talking about my work.
• Hyperx cloud 2 (headset)- Microphone used to record my voice.
• Sony Vegas pro 13- Software I used to edit the videos that I had recorded.

18. Software/Tec I made the most progressive with
Mac- Before this assignment I had never used a mac so it was my first time using one. I
had to learn how to use one which was very different from a Windows computer.
Throughout the assignment I asked other people to explain how to use certain aspects
of the Mac if I didn’t know how to use it or used the internet to help me. Now I can
use the Macs confidently and don’t need help using one.
Photoshop- This was the first time I had use Photoshop although I had used other
software for editing images for example fireworks and paint but they had less features
than Photoshop. To help me get used to Photoshop I spent a few hours finding out
what all of the buttons did and all the different ways you edit the image for example
changing contrast of the image. After producing my magazine front cover, contents
page and double page spread I now know how to edit images and place text for
different purposes to a basic degree with Photoshop.
Blog- I had never used a blog before either for social interactions or presenting your
work on. I had to spend a lot of time using blogs to find out how they functioned and
how you could present you work on it for example how to in bed a PowerPoint into a
blog. After successfully presenting my work on a blog I now feel confident using one.

19. My prelim task
Looking back on my prelim task back now I think overall I did very good
job at creating a realistic school magazine. The hardest obstacle I had
to overcome was being able to use photoshop and taking good
photographs to use for my magazine front cover. I think I managed to
overcome this problem to some degree with using photoshop for my
front cover although I did use Microsoft publisher for contents page
which if I had another chance to go back over the task I would
of created it in photoshop as the program is better than publisher its
just harder to use. Pictures used for both front cover and contents
page I wouldn’t change as the pictures are very effective and are very
high quality. Overall I found the task challenging since I had to use and
apply new skills but once I had got the skills the task wasn’t that much
of a problem. The skills I gained from the task help me create a
professional looking music magazine.
Link to prelim task
work

20. Limitations
The main limitation I had was my lack of knowledge on how to use certain
software and devices for example I had never used a mac before. Another
limitation was getting people to take pictures of for my magazine and
organizing when and where we would meet up. The computers at school had
some limitations so we couldn’t access some sites and we couldn’t access the
computers all of the time. This meant we had a limited time on the
computers and often had to email work home so I could do what I wanted to
at school because the computer wouldn’t allow me for example I couldn’t
always upload work to my blog. The task we were given restricted my
creativity since I had to do a magazine I could’t do a music video for example.
The area I live in made it so I can only do certain types of music genres for
example I live in the countryside which Is dominated by white British people
so it would be difficult to find someone suitable to represent a rapper.

21. What I would of done differently
I would of got Photoshop on my computer at home because this would mean
I would’t have to spend time learning how to use a mac plus I would have
more time to edit images and wont be limited to how much time I can use the
computer. If I could of got a high quality camera of my own then I would have
had more opportunities to take pictures for my magazine. For my contents
page I would of used a better camera if I could take the picture again because
the picture is slightly blurry since I used my phone camera. I would make sure
my work ethic was the same as it is now at the start of the year because at
the start of the year I didn’t meet all of my deadlines and wasn’t working at
my full potential. If I was more focus would of give me more time to edit and
improve my work I had already done. Also If I had more time I would of
redone my contents page because I think the single portrait picture on one
page with text/ text boxes around it to make it look better and more
professional.

22. What I am going to do differently next
year
• To make sure I get the work done by the deadline and even better if I
could get it done earlier to get it handed in so I can get more time to
improve the piece of work.
• When I start the next year that I'm 100% on task and getting on to prevent
me from dragging behind or having mass amount of worked piled up.
• If I can get the relevant software on my home computer as well meaning I
can do everything I want at home as well as school giving me more time.