1. The document summarizes the process of creating a magazine media product and what was learned. Key software used included Microsoft Publisher, Photoshop, and free font websites. 2. Feedback was gathered through a questionnaire to understand the target audience. The magazine was aimed at teenagers aged 13-17 by using popular artists like Paramore and N-Dubz. 3. Learning included improving layout and design skills to make the magazine more professional and appealing to different music genres beyond just rock. Progression was shown from an initial preliminary task.

1. Evaluation Questions – Magazine By Chanel Francis

2. 1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? Using some rock magazine ideas I stuck with a ‘dark’ title that’s why I used black and red with the title and the quotation underneath the title, that is also why I changed the colour of the picture mostly to black and white, that way the audience pays more attention to the picture because it grabs their attention, even though the sub headings are bright and noticeable. I also challenged the forms and conventions by using the ideas off other magazines but displaying them in a different way. I used pictures and slogans on the page to explain to the audience what was inside the magazine. Usually in rock/indie magazines dark and dull colours are used because it attracts that kind of audience more because of the type of music that it represents and that it portrays. From this, I have learnt that it is good to stick to conventions of real products; however it is also good to challenge the conventions and do something different.

3. Use of a familiar face to attract and relate a younger audience. My magazine uses; an issue number, the price and number to make the magazine itself look as real as possible. ‘Meet Paramore’ and ‘N-Dubz’ – shows that people will be interested because these are well known artists/bands which can look like a real magazine Front Page:

4. Funky fonts to attract audience and to make the magazine eye catching Young faces to attract the specific audience, both female and male artists to also attract specific audience Contents:

5. Pictures – are edited to make the magazine/pictures look more eye catching.Font’s – are modified and edited to make the magazine title more attracted Formal yet colour to draw reader in. Double Page Spread:

6. 2) How does your media product represent particular social groups? My media product represents particular social groups by focusing on a pacific type of music. I purposely made my products to attract a variety of social groups ranging from ‘alternative’ to ‘R&B’. I didn’t want to attract one type of social group who liked one type of music so I thought that it would be better to use a range of music that is similar, rather than concentrating on one type of music. I started off with trying to create my magazine for rock to alternative type of music but when looking through my magazine, it varies from the front cover being for the rock to alternative music persuasion, to the double page, which is an interview, talking about pop, hip-hop to R&B. Most of my pictures are taken of young people, I tried to represent younger people because the magazine I based my task on, they had young people at the front which would help their careers to gain more publicity and also because most young people are stereotyped, on the magazine as a dark or gothic twist to it, so I wanted to put the point across that not all magazine that are based around a rock/alternative magazine, in some parts, don’t all have a gothic or dark view to them.

7. 3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? Kerrang is a rock music magazine published by Bauer Consumer Media in the United Kingdom. The magazine's name is onomatopoeic and refers to the sound made when playing a power chord on an electric guitar. Kerrang commenced publication on 7 June 1981 and was edited by Geoff Barton,initially as a one-time supplement in the Sounds newspaper, which focuses on the genre New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the rise of other hard rock acts. Scratch was a magazine about the art of creating hip-hop. It featured articles regarding producers, musicians and DJs that make beats for rap records, and details the secret methods, stories, partnerships, philosophies and equipment behind the music. The magazine's tagline was "The Blueprint of Hip-Hop". Scratch was owned by Harris Publications, the same company that publishes the popular hip-hop magazine. If I was publishing my magazine, I would be looking at having it published by the publishers of similar magazine like Kerrang, which is edited by the Geoff Barton. However, I may opt against this as most of their information and set out is dark whereas I wanted my magazine to appeal to all types of music magazine so I would also want it published by the publishers of similar magazine like Scratch. I may also look at the producers of Vibe, which was founded by music producer Quincy Jones, has had success in targeting young, urban followers of hip-hop culture.

8. 4) Who would be the audience for your media product? When producing my media product I was aiming to advertise my products at anyone who is interested in any type of music. I didn’t plan to target any gender in particularly because I didn’t want to only attract one type of gender because that would restrict who would buy my magazine if I were to publish it. I made sure that I didn’t attract only one type of gender by using both male and female pictures in the magazine, also I used male and female news in my magazine and I also used male and female bands in the magazine. To enhance that the magazine is aimed at both genders. For example my double page spread was about a band and the band was multi-gender, also on the contents page I pages advertised for both male and females.

9. Paramore & N-Dubz – well known bands/artist to attract audience. 5) How did you attract/address your audience? To attract/address my audience I put together a short questionnaire which consisted of questions such as; What do you think the genre of this magazine is by looking through it? Would you buy it? What age do you think this would appeal to? How big of a readership would you expect the magazine to receive? etc. I found out that my audience were commonly people aged between 13 – 17 and I therefore decided to aim my magazine at students. Another way I attracted my audience, which was mostly for teenagers was by using a picture of a teenager, also due to the fact that most of the people at my school gave a positive remark for my magazine I used a popular/familiar face. To attract/address my audience as well as the pictures, I also used familiar bands as well such as giving information that ‘N-Dubz’ and ‘Paramore’ are in the magazine as well which would get the audience’s attention as well.

10. Q5 Continued – Interviewers: Lewis – 13 – ‘When I first saw the magazine I thought it would be another rock magazine, because of the front page but when I saw the contents page and the double page spread, it was very smart how it uses not only rock but also links in with the other genres of music’. Michael – 14 – ‘I was looking forward to seeing this magazine because I’m into the rock kind of genre, but when I looked through and saw that it was blended with other music genres, to start with, I was abit shocked, but the way it is set out it fits with the rock front page, I would definitely buy it’. Connor – 16 – ‘I had a look at the double page spread and the contents first because I wanted to try and figure out what kind of genre the magazine was, the layout and the way the magazine article was presented was very colourful and bold which would definitely catch my eye, so immediately I thought it would be pop or R&B, but when I had a look at the front page, I had no idea that all the music genres were linked in together, it was a very smart way of linking them in and not making a typical plain single genre, which I found very useful especially because not all teenagers today are into the one genre. I would buy this magazine because I would like to see what information it would have in it about the genres’.

11. 6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? I have learned quite a lot whilst producing my products on all of the different systems including; Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Word, 1001 Free Fonts and Adobe Photoshop. My skills have dramatically improved from when I first started the course. When I started making my magazine products I made them look unprofessional and basically completely unconventional. I used bright colours and I used plain ideas and it looked childish. For example it looked like this: Throughout the course I have improved a lot to make my projects look more attractive and realistic. I also learned a lot about using a camera and using different angles and using different lights to get the right effect for your picture. I took a lot of pictures when producing my projects.

12. 7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? I believe that I have progressed exceedingly well from when I made my preliminary products. When making my preliminarily project I produced it on Microsoft publisher and by using this software I felt like I was restricted in which ways to present my products because I wasn’t familiar with other software I could use. So after I produced my preliminary projects I started to use experiment with other software and websites to make my official task presentable and much better by using software like Adobe Photoshop and 1001 free fonts to make my fonts more eye catching and appealing to the specific types of audience. To help my research and layout I also looked at different magazines to get ideas for my own magazine. By doing this my skills developed and I managed to produce a product that I was pleased with and looked more attractive, from my preliminary product. I now know how to present and layout my work in a suitable way for a music magazine. I know how to edit my pictures to make them more eye-catching and suitable for a specific magazine. I have learned a lot through-out the course and I’m pleased with the final product that I have produced.

13. Software Used & Progression:

14. Links & Helpful Software Used: Even though most of the software I used, I had used before so knew how to work everything there were some things that I didn’t know how to do for instances; even though I had used Photoshop before I wasn’t familiar with all of the tools on the software itself so for my front cover I didn’t know how to colour splash it so I used the video below to help me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbtm3fHva9Y&feature=related I also had trouble on finding fonts that would stand out and attract the readers eye so I searched on Google and found: http://www.1001freefonts.com/ Those are the websites and videos I used to help with the completion of my magazine. Most of the other software I used such as; Adobe and Publisher, I knew how to use already.