The document discusses the evaluation of a student's rock magazine media product. It describes how the magazine follows conventions of real rock magazines like Kerrang magazine in its overall layout and design. However, it challenges conventions by portraying a rock artist who doesn't conform to stereotypes of a "rock star". The student wanted to show a more realistic and diverse depiction of people in the rock music industry.

1. Evaluation

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

3. • The majority of my magazine follows conventions of real
media products, particularly Kerrang magazine. As the genre I
chose was rock, I chose a magazine that I felt reflected what I
wanted to create and used it as inspiration for my pages.
• However I did feel as though my model challenged the
convention of a rock artist, even with the added tattoos, he
still doesn't conform to the stereotypical “rock star”. I didn't
chose to change this though because it is unrealistic to say
that everyone that listens to and plays rock music is the same
so I wanted to show an ‘everyday’ rock artist that portrayed
the true range in the demographics of the music industry.

4. Typical conventions of a
magazine;
Skyline
Puff – follows colour scheme from
the rock genre
Masthead – font type and colour is
bold but dark and follows the rock
genre
Dominate image – darkened to
create a ‘moody’ atmosphere that is
associated with rock
Subheading
Main cover line
Strap line
Cover lines
and subheadings
All bold and
clear fonts
same at the
mast head

5. Title
Dominant image – darkened to
create atmosphere.
Sub images
Article information – follows the
colour theme for the genre
Other information
Message from the editor

6. Headline –
Bold, looks hand
drawn and slightly
messy which can be
linked to the genre
Article
summary
Sub heading
Page
number
Dominant image –
Darkened to create atmosphere
sub image
Article

7. How does your media product
represent particular social groups?

8. Definition of social groups –
“two or more people who interact
with one another, share similar
characteristics, and collectively have
a sense of unity.”
My media product is a rock magazine so overall it would present any
social group with an interest in rock music. However if we go into a
more detailed view on social groups, my magazine could represent a
very particular social group.

9. The social group would an informal in-group of teenagers. These teenagers
could possibly be a clique at school but could just as easily be from both in
and out of school. They would be informal as there is no exact rules, only
shared interests and they’re an in-group as they are likely to feel an
emotional attachment to others in their social group.
The group would also be described as ‘primary’ in all aspects.
Social groups are looked at in six ways;
• Emotional intensity
• Scope
• Particularism/ universalism
• Interaction
• Aims
• Rules and regulations
Primary social groups tend to be friendship and family groups and
secondary groups tend to be work situations.

10. Aspects of primary social groups (would be opposite for
secondary groups)
• Emotional intensity - strong emotional attachment and feel love towards
members
• Scope – an individuals entire personality is important
• Particularism/ universalism - each individual is important and the group is
particular about who joins
• Interaction - very informal and members feel relaxed around each other
• Aims – goal is to simply enjoy each others company
• Rules and regulations – rules may be understood rather than written
down and are flexible. Punishments for breaking them tend to be flexible
or even non existent.

11. So an idea of who would be represented by my magazine would be a
clique at school or group of teenagers, around the age of 16- 19 who
could be going through problems or personal issues and depend on
their social group to get through things. They also all enjoy rock music
and could possibly use music as a form of escapism. Using magazines to
find out more about their musical idols and their life’s would be
important to them and due to this my magazines personal feel would
be important to them. The darker look to my magazine could also
represent their image as they might wear darker clothes. These
teenagers, stereotypically, wouldn't be the conventional definition of
‘popular’ as they don’t associate with many others at school and are
seen as ‘different’. However they could be seen as popular within their
social group as each member is important and valued. This could also
back up their reasons for wanting my magazine. When they aren't
around their group, they could be an outsider of society and therefore
need something that they associate and identify with, such as a rock
magazine.

12. Despite the social group that is represented by my magazine, this
isn't the only type of people as this is a stereotype and
generalisation. Not all people who listen to rock music conform to
stereotypes so it cant be assumed that all readers are in this
specific social group.

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

14. • Definition of institution –
• ‘organisation or company, public or privately owned that
produces and/or distributes media products’
• magazine distributing institutions;
• IPC media /time inc. UK (one of the UK’s leading consumer
magazine and digital publishers. Has five magazine divisions;
connect, inspire, ignite, Southbank and TX. Owns Guitar, Bass and
NME.)
• Bauer media group (Large German publishing company owns
MOJO and KERRANG)
Both are extremely large distribution companies owning a rock
magazine. However, my magazine is inspired mostly by NME as my
target audience would be the same as theirs and since NME is owned
by Time inc UK / IPC media, the most likely to distribute my media
product would be IPC media/ Time inc. UK.

15. Who would be the audience for
your media product?

17. My primary audience is 15 – 18 year old male students who are into rock
music. They are also likely to be in social groups from the previous section. The
probably have a low income and be in education at BTEC and GCSE level and
have a passion for the music, not gossip.
My secondary audience is anyone who might like the magazine including
women, anyone in the music industry or anyone who isn't necessarily into rock
but likes a specific featured artist.

18. How did you attract/address your
audience?

19. Colours I had to change colours around a lot during the
process of creating my magazine but I settled on a
darker colour scheme of browns, dark blues and
greys with white to stand out and contrast. This
darker colour scheme attracts those who like rock
music as it is associated with the rock genre.
Fonts Bold fonts are also associated with the genre so I
used fonts that were clear, bold and often is
capitals.
Writing The writing I used was clear and simple. There
wasn’t any complicated words and I used some
colloquial language. This is likely to attract readers
as it is straight to the point and personal.

20. Conventions I used both conventions of rock music and
conventions of magazines to draw in my audience.
The darker atmosphere and look is often used in
rock magazines and the rock genre in general.
Bold and standout text and images are also used
to grab attention and portray a confident mood.
Images Dark images that take up most of the space are
also used to grab attention of my readers. Seeing a
rock inspired image on the shelf is a sure way to
attract my audience. If my audience see’s a large
image of an artist they like they are more likely to
pick up the magazine than picking it up out of
habit and searching for a small image of the artist.

21. What have you learnt about technologies
from the process of constructing this
product?

22. I have learnt a lot about editing programmes such as
Photoshop during the construction of my media product.
Before I started this project, I had no experience with editing
programmes and had no idea of how to use them so I had to
start with the basics and work my way up to as high standard
as I could in the time frame. I felt as though I did well
considering my beginner status. From taking photos to
uploading final products, it was a long process with many
changes and failed attempts but I managed to create a
product that I was happy with and felt looked professional
and well thought out.

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

25. This is my preliminary cover page vs my final cover page. The difference
is beyond what I ever expected to come out of this project. I have learnt
to incorporate aspects more realistically and fluently as well as isolating
things from their backgrounds to make it look more constructed rather
that rushed and ‘thrown together’. I have also learnt to use magazine
conventions more effectively.

26. This is my preliminary contents page vs my final cover page. These are
drastically different and my final contents page was the page I was
happiest with as I felt it looked professional and clear. The preliminary
page looked rushed and with little effort. I have learnt how to structure
pages in a way that both appeals to my audience and conforms to
conventions.

27. I didn't do a double page spread for my preliminary task but if I had
done so, it wouldn't have been anything like my final double page
spread. Doing this page taught me how to use editing programmes
and planning to effectively manipulate space for effect.