Jonathan Harvey evaluated his media magazine project. He analyzed how he used conventions from Kerrang! magazine, such as the cover layout, contents page design, and double page interview spreads. He also discussed how he represented the target metal audience through stereotypical headlines and topics. Finally, he reflected on what he learned about design and publishing software in creating a professional-looking media product.

1. AS Media Evaluation
Jonathan Harvey

2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
This is an example of Kerrang! Magazine. I used several
issues to draw inspiration and gather ideas about what
sort of conventions I shall use in my magazine. The forms
and conventions of Kerrang! Have been explored in more
detail in my previous analysis. However I shall explain
what one I have used specifically for each section of my
magazine.
Some sort of competition or
giveaway that shall be further
explained in further detail
inside. This is made to stand
out on the cover to draw the
readers attention, as this is a
pull of the magazine.
All cover images are given a
reasonable stroke weight to
make it look more professional
and doesn’t look as if the
pictures are just simply placed
on the cover.
Included in the
barcode box
are the
date, issue
number and
Along the left of some issues of
Kerrang! Is a coloured panel that
separates the inside articles from
the main feature in the two

3. I have used a similar colour
scheme to Kerrang! With my
scheme revolving around black,
red, yellow and white. I did this
because these are suitable
colours for both contrasting
with each other to attract the
readers attention, as well as
having suitable associations
with Metal genres.
I also added a reasonable
stroke weight to my secondary
image. This helps create a more
professional look as well as
defining the boundaries of the
image.
Although I did not use a pug
like Kerrang! I did include a pull
on my front cover to attract
readers. In Kerrang! Posters or
merchandise are normally the
prize, however in my
magazine, I have used classic
Like Kerrang! I included
the date, issue number,
price and website along
side my barcode.
I used the convention of a coloured band down
the left-hand side of the cover to separate the
information of the features inside from the main
image. This allows the reader to focus more
attention on as many features as possible.
A common feature of a
magazine, including music magazines, is
to include a quote from the main feature
artist that acts as a pull to the reader.
After talking to members of my target
audience, it was suggested that I add a
strapline/ slogan that can be associated
with my magazine. An example of this
would be ‘life is loud’ from Kerrang! I
opted to use ‘Metal at it’s loudest’, so it is
clear to new comers, that my magazine is
for the Metal genres.
This is my final front cover for my music
magazine.

4. In every issue of Kerrang! Magazine there
is the contents title in white, with the
background being red.
As well as the magazine name and the
contents title, the date and issue number
are reiterated at the top of the contents
page. This is a regular feature and acts a
form of page furniture. To match the title,
the font is also white for these features.
The section headings emulate the cover
line found at the top of the cover;
however the yellow writing on a
background is a permanent part of the
house style for the Kerrang! contents
page.
Similar to
the
cover, anoth
er puff is
shown, adve
rtising a
competition/
giveaway to
the reader.
Bright yellow
is used
throughout
the
magazine to
draw the
reader’s
attention to
important
information.
A letter addressed to the readers
from the editor gives a more
personal feel and creates a better
connection with the reader.
A prominent section of the Kerrang!
Magazine, it the tour dates or ‘gig guide’
near the back. I know from personal
experience this I can act as a pivotal
point in helping someone decide to buy
or at least read the magazine.

5. Similar to Kerrang!, I added
the date and issue number to
the heading of the contents
page. However, I also added
the magazine’s slogan, ‘Metal
at its loudest’ To help reiterate
it to the reader.
Keeping with the house style
of the magazine, I also used a
black background for the
section headings,
accompanied with red text, to
keep in the theme of darker
colours, that are appropriate
to a metal magazine.
My final contents page.
Although Kerrang! Does not
include a folio at the bottom
of their contents page, it
was suggested by members
of my target audience that
this would be useful as it
acts as a running theme
throughout the magazine,
as seen on the double page
spread by the page
numbers.
I also included a
brightly coloured
puff on my
contents page to
advertise and
draw attention to
a competition, a
permanent fixture
of the Kerrang!
Contents page.
I liked the idea of
a competition on
the contents
page, as this
encourages the
reader to remain
interested in the
magazine.
I think its useful to create a more personal bond with the
readers, ergo I included the letter from the editor, similar to
that found in issues of Kerrang!

6. The double spread feature in this magazine was not the main
cover artist. I shall use this idea, even though it is believed by
some to be an usual lay out, as shown above, professional
magazines do so.
In this article, a separate box out is used to help break up the
page that has the main interview and thus a large amount of text
on it. The box out is in a different colour to attract the readers
attention to the area of ‘extra information’.
The main block
of text in the
double page
spread is set out
in a detailed
‘question and
answer’ format.
With questions
being in a
different colour
to ensure they
are
distinguished
from the rest of
the text.
A bold, larger
subheading is
used to
introduce the
interview and
the topics which
may be
discussed.

7. I included a large headline as
opposed to a pull quote to introduce
the double page spread.
Like Kerrang! I included a large
headline that stands out at the top of
the interview page, that also
introduces the topic(s) of the
interview.
The questions in
my interview are
in red to define
them and make
them easier to
read. With more
clarity, the reader
is more likely to
remain interested
in the page.
After feedback
from a sample
group of my
target
audience, it was
suggested a
Twitter comment
section be placed
in the double
page spread to
help break up the
text and create
more of a bond
with past and
present readers.
I have included two pull quotes in the double page spread.
This is feature of Kerrang! and attracts the reader, as well as
informing them of important points of the spread.
Final Double Page Spread

8. How does your media product represent
particular social groups?
My magazine represents the social groups
associated with Metal in a quite stereotypical
fashion. As you can see to the right, my headline
was ‘FIGHT?’ with the accompaniments of
“people don’t know what really happened”.
Also, the by-line includes the term ‘infamous
night’ . Altogether, this reinforces the stereotype
that ‘Metalheads’ and Metal artists/bands are
always getting into trouble and are quite
aggressive or violent people. Although this is not
necessarily true, magazines usually play on this
factor to make more interesting stories.
Furthermore, The somewhat assumption that
Metal artists often cause friction between one
another is shown in the subheading introducing
the interview. The idea that the album may
never have happened was due to internal
conflicts and differences, which is often a feature
of Metal magazines, as artists and bands tend to
have certain grievances with each other.

9. What kind of media institution may distribute your media product?
One publisher may want to publish/distribute
my media product is Bauer Media Group. This is
the publisher of Kerrang! Magazine and so I
believe they would be interested in my product.
With Kerrang! Being the world’s biggest selling
weekly rock magazine, it is clear that BMG have a
lot of assets that could be used to the advantage
of Zerstören.
Another Publisher that may be interested in
distributing Zerstören is TeamRock. This company
is the distributor and publisher of
MetalHammer, a very popular, monthly Metal
magazine. Although MetalHammer tends to
focus on the heaviest of metal, I still believe that
Zerstören would fit in and do well under
TeamRock.

10. Who would be the target audience for your media
product?
My music magazine's primary target audience shall be both males and females aged between 16-30 who
are passionate about the metal genres. The target audience will enjoy seeing mainstream bands at large
arenas, but will still keep an eye out for any new and upcoming bands that may be worth seeing in smaller,
more intimate venues. They will be the sort of person who spends their money on going to concerts,
buying band merchandise and investing in the latest album of one of their favourite bands.
My Audience's favourite music may include that from bands such as Rammstein, Slipknot, Bullet
For My Valentine or shock artist Marilyn Manson, as well as iconic classics such as Iron Maiden,
Black Sabbath or Metallica. Some will prefer smaller bands such as Cancer Bats, Turisas or
Airbourne.

11. How did you attract/address your audience?
To attract my target audience, I tried to
emulate the features of popular Metal
magazines Kerrang! And MetalHammer to
an advantage. Also, I utilised the results of
my questionnaire as it allowed me to have
a further understanding of my target
audience, such as them wanting a
magazine to be £2-£3.
For my cover I made sure to use darker
base colours, with brighter colours to make
certain texts stand out. I also made sure to
include big names in Metal and ensured
artists where wearing appropriate clothing.
In terms of my contents page, I tried to
make sure that the older sector of the
target audience we’re covered, with the
prize being LPs, I believe I did this, however
this shall also apply to the younger portion
too, as records are growing in popularity.
Also, buzz words like ‘WIN!’ , are sure to
attract any readers attention.

12. Lastly, for the double page spread, I used terms that are known to attract the attention of the
reader. For example, mentioning that Oblivion had worked with ‘big names’ in the second
pull quote, without actually saying they were, is likely to encourage a potential reader to
read the article/interview.

13. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this
product?
For any manipulation of raw
images, I used Adobe Photoshop
CS6. Although only to change the
brightness and contrast levels or to
crop, in most cases, I learnt a lot
about the software and techniques
used by professionals to enhance
their photographs.

14. To construct the final product, I used Adobe
InDesign CS6. I believe that sue to the greater
level of complexity, the end product was far
superior to that if I had used a more basic
programme such as Microsoft Publisher.
Although I had some difficulties to begin with,
I soon warmed to the programme, and fully
understood how to create a pull quote etc
effectively, to give the impression of a high
level of professionalism.

15. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the
progression from it to the full product?
Looking back at the preliminary task, I
am pleased with the product...as a
newsletter. I do believe however, that
I have come a long way in making my
final music magazine. This particularly
applies to the IT side of things and the
skill or seeing what looks suitable.
For example, the masthead for the
newsletter should not have been
black, and is in fact barely visible, with
the newsletter on a whole having few
layers and little unity.
Also, the connotations of
Zerstören, improve the significance of
the masthead, especially when
compared to ‘Deyes News’, which was
unimaginative.

16. Also, I believe that I have improved my photography skills since the Preliminary task.
Previously, I failed to think about lighting requirements and what sort of poses I
wanted the participants to do. However for the main task, I believed that these were
less of a problem, with higher quality images as a result.

17. I believe that there is a clear
difference, and improvement
in the level of design and
content of the contents pages,
when comparing the
preliminary task to the final
product.
The prelim was very basic and
lacked any real substance or
colour for that matter.
Whereas, the final contents
page contains all correct
sections, and was definitely
constructed with more
thought, time and effort,
significantly increasing the
level of quality.

18. Thank you for reading my evaluation.