The document discusses generic conventions used in music magazines and how following some conventions but breaking others can appeal to a target audience. It evaluates representations of people in photos, identifying the target using Burton's Theory as 16-24 year olds interested in rock/indie music. Technological aspects like editing photos in Photoshop and creating a magazine layout are also summarized.

1. EVALUATION Sarah Macdonald EVALUATION

2. EVALUATION GENERIC CONVENTIONS GENERIC CONVENTIONS There are many different generic conventions that are used by music magazines today, depending on their target audience’s media or social grouping; these generic conventions include font, images, colours and layouts. By using these generic conventions the audience are more inclined to buy the product as they feel more comfortable with it, therefore making the product more successful. In order to follow these generic conventions we had to create radial analyses of various current music magazines with a similar genre to our magazine. We chose to stick to the generic conventions of images, colour and titles. This will help to improve the authenticity of our magazines as they will be similar to magazines that are already available. However in order to attract our target audience we decided to break some of the generic conventions. We chose to use some of the generic conventions of fashion magazines, leading to a more fashion magazine orientated look overall. For example our font and layout are similar to that of Vogue, a magazine which we feel our target audience will be familiar with.

3. EVALUATION GENERIC CONVENTIONS Magazine title in iconic, recognisable font Large image, relates to main article Main article advertised in large, bold, clear font Other articles advertised to attract readers I used a number of these conventions in my final product:

4. EVALUATION REPRESENTATION REPRESENTATION I chose to create music stars that our target audience were able to relate to easily. The majority of models that I used were female and aged approximately 17. I also used a male model in order to broaden the appeal and allowing male readers to relate to the magazine. The models were stylish yet not too glamorous, allowing the target audience to identify with them whilst still including an element of fashion. I also used a variety of different poses to reflect their personalities, therefore increasing the target audience’s ability to identify with them. I wanted the article to further reflect their different personalities and to inspire the readers by encouraging them to follow their dreams, regardless of age, race, gender or class.

5. EVALUATION REPRESENTATION Pink colour appeals to females, it also has a hint of red which will attract male readers as well Modern layout appeals to young adults Modern yet formal font: makes article clear to read and suggests that the information is reliable Black and white colour scheme add an element of glamour, similar to a fashion magazine Magazine website URL: appeals to younger readers who find technological formats more convenient to read

6. EVALUATION IDENTIFICATION OF TARGET AUDIENCE IDENTIFCATION OF TARGET AUDIENCE To identify our target audience we used Burton’s Theory . According to Burton’s Theory, I believe our target audience is: Age: 16-24 year olds Gender: Unisex, leaning more towards female Class: ABC1 Location: Western Using Burton’s Theory, I believe our target audience’s media group is: Type of music: Rock/Indie To aim more towards the female social group, the magazine will contain more information about artists in the music industry.

7. EVALUATION APPEALING TO TARGET AUDIENCE APPEALING TO TARGET AUDIENCE I used questionnaires and interviews to find out the preferences of my target audience. One main image with lots of smaller articles advertised Clear, modern layout – photos linking to articles Clearly set out, main article is advertised on font cover Modern layout, interesting and eye-catching

8. EVALUATION TECHNOLOGICAL SIDE TECHNOLOGICAL SIDE I used a Nikon digital SLR camera to take the photos and Photoshop to edit them and create my magazine. Made photos black and white, cropped and resized images Change font colour, size, style and position Make columns for text so it resembles a real magazine Added coloured bar at the bottom and text inside

9. EVALUATION TECHNOLOGICAL SIDE STEP BY STEP - Making my double page spread 1 I first created a basic layout for my photos using the rectangular marquee tool. 2 I then began to fill the rectangles with my images once I had edited and resized them. Once I had filled all the rectangles I was able to rearrange them into an order that I liked. 3

10. EVALUATION TECHNOLOGICAL SIDE STEP BY STEP - Making my double page spread 4 I then added a slightly transparent bar to the bottom as well as the page number, website address and the models’ names. 5 On the other page I added a title and the same slightly transparent bar at the bottom. I was able to change the colour, size and position of the text. To finish I wrote the article and other text to make it more realistic. 6

11. EVALUATION TECHNOLOGICAL SIDE STEP BY STEP - editing my photos 2 I then resized the image to fit the rectangle. I then had to make the image black and white by going to: Image  Mode  Grayscale 3 1 First I copied one of the rectangles onto a blank file. 4 I then copied and pasted the image into my double page spread and repeated the process with all of the photos.

12. EVALUATION FROM PRELIMINARY TO MAIN PRODUCT FROM PRELIMINARY TO MAIN PRODUCT Doing a preliminary helped me to see which areas I needed to improve in and allowed me to try out ideas for layouts and colours. It also gave me the opportunity to get feedback and to see which features my target audience liked and which they didn’t. Preliminary Main Product Different colour scheme Different fonts Different, but similar, layout More articles on main product

13. EVALUATION MEDIA INSTITUTIONS MEDIA INSTITUTIONS The type of media institution that might distribute our magazine would be a multi-national company. Their priorities are to inform readers of the latest music news whilst also making a profit. A possible publisher would be Bauer Media Group , the publisher of Q, or IPC Media , the publisher of NME, as these magazines are similar to our magazine. They also have other magazines aimed at a similar target audience so the advertising costs of our new magazine would be lower.