1. I gained valuable experience with design software like Photoshop, InDesign, and Premiere which allowed me to create a more polished and professional product. 2. Researching real magazines helped me understand conventions and better address my target audience. My preliminary task lacked knowledge of conventions. 3. Receiving feedback improved my skills at representing social groups and addressing gender, age, and other aspects of my target audience more effectively.

1. My Evaluation!
Analysis of my front cover, contents page and double
page spread…

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

3. Conventions…
Example of a real
magazine cover…
Masthead
One of the main conventions of any magazine,
not just a music one, is a clear bold masthead
across the top of the page. I followed this typical
convention and put my mast head – being the
title of the magazine - along the top of the cover
in distinctive font that would be used on any
other issue of that magazine. This is so the
name is visible and becomes memorable to my
target audience, so they remember to buy the
magazine again.
Main image/ focal point
A popular and obvious convention of a music
magazine I found is to have the main artist that
the magazine will feature on, in the centre of
the magazine. I followed this convention by
using a medium long shot of my feature artist
in the centre of the cover, looking straight at
the camera. This makes it look like the artist is
looking directly at the audience and drawing
them in, persuading them to pick up this
magazine. The large scale of the image also
creates a focal point for the audience and
attracts them to read about their favourite
artist, knowing they will be featured in this
issue.
Plug
The specific type of music magazines I have
been looking at include plugs as it creates a
more informal appearance for a younger,
feminine audience. I have followed this
convention as it gives my magazine the
conformity of similar styles of music magazines.
The pink colour stands out from the grey scale
background and adds to my informal look.
Quote
The ‘pull quote’ is a typical
convention of a music
magazine. I followed this
convention but slightly
changed it by using
multiple colours. I did this
to draw more attention to
the quote so the audience
would be drawn in to
reading the magazine. It
also fits in with the colour
scheme giving the
magazine coordination.
Cover Line
A cover line is a commonly used feature of
music magazine front cover, so I used this
convention on my front cover. I noticed
most magazines I looked at had their
cover lines boxed off in colourful shapes. I
altered this idea slightly as I thought the
boxes gave the covers a slightly scrapbook
effect that I didn’t want. Instead I mixed
the size and colour of the font. The ‘50’ is
larger and in a different colour to the rest
of the text. This is to gain interest from my
audience and drawn attention to what’s
inside my magazine.

4. Conventions…
Example of contents
page…
Strap line/title
I used the same typography for the
name of the magazine, to create a
memorable appearance for my audience.
It wasn’t a popular convention of music
magazines, but I wanted to change my
magazine up a little bit and make it
original. I followed the convention
slightly by putting the title and ‘contents’
at the top of the page. This is so the
reader knows what they’re looking at as
it’s the first thing they’ll read.
Contents
Having the contents in formational
columns was a common convention
of the music magazines I looked at.
I followed this feature by organising
it in columns and sections of what’s
in the magazine. This is so its easy
for the audience to find what they
want. The pink boxes make the title
of the sections stand out, and fit
with the common colour scheme.
The bold parts make the contents
look more graphic which creates a
less formal, and interesting look.
Front cover
I have inserted a replica of
my front cover, and used
arrows to indicate what
pages the cover lines are on.
This isn't a typical
convention of a music
magazine, but a common
one for women's, and
children's magazine. This
attracts my target audience
of young females as it
appears less formal and
more attractive to look at.
Images
A common feature of magazine contents page
are images. These are used to entice the
audience into reading that article. They also
suggest that particular article s more important
or interesting. I used these pictures on my
contents page to make it more visual and add a
graphic element to the page rather than just
writing. I rotated the images slightly to make
them appear a little less formal and more
scrapbook like. This was to interest my target
audience of teenage girls. I also used heart
icons to show what page the people in the
images will be on, so that the reader didn’t get
confused and would find it easy to locate the
article.

5. Conventions…
Poster
In most of the pop magazines I have
looked at, a typical convention of a
double page spread was a poster. I used
this idea as I thought two full pages of
writing would be too much for my target
audience and interest would be slightly
lost. My poster, I think, adds a visual
interest to the double page.
Example of double page
spread…
Columns
I followed this convention of a double page
article. It was in the majority of music
magazines I looked at and I thought it would
go well with my genre. The straight columns
make my double page spread look
professional and organised, which makes it
easy to read. The drop cap is also a typical
convention of a music magazine that I
followed. I used two different colours for the
text. I saw this in pop magazines for
younger audience and wanted to make my
double page spread more visually appealing.
Pull quote
A pull quote is an important
feature of a music magazine as it
attracts the attention of the
audience, to an important part of
the article, and draws the reader
in. I placed mine at the top of the
page as I noticed that was
commonly done in pop music
magazines; this means it’s the
first thing the audience will read. A
pink box also makes it visually
appealing and adds colour to the
page, by making the quote stand
out even more.
Image
Using images in the double page spread is
also an important convention of a music
magazine. I t creates a sense of personal
identity as the image shows another side of
the stars personality to the reader. It also
breaks up the writing making the article
slightly easier and more interesting for a
younger audience to read.

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

7. Social Groups…
Gender:
My magazine represents gender in a number
of ways. A dominant representation of girls
is that they like the colour pink, take care of
their appearance and tend to be more
gravitated to the pop music genre. My
magazine reinforces this idea by having a
colour scheme of all different shades of
vibrant pink to give the magazine a
womanly, feminine feel. I have also included
heart icons on the contents page. This
represents girls as the cartoon, hand drawn
like image is stereotypically related to
young, teenage girls. It relates to how they
would tend to draw or write in their own
diaries etc. The lips on the front cover, in
addition to the heart idea, also represents a
girly feminine stereotype and portrays the
idea of the magazine including celebrities
that young girls ‘fall in love with’. The young
girl on the front cover of the magazine
‘Amelia’ is shown to be well groomed,
wearing casual but girly clothes, and has her
make-up and hair done. This backs up to
dominating representation of girls liking to
take care of themselves.
Age:
Age is represented throughout my magazine.
The ‘pop stars’ I have included pictures of are
all either teenagers or young adults. They are
all shown to be posing, appearing confident
and almost image ‘obsessed’. A stereotypical
view of young adults and teenagers is that
they take pride in their appearance, and like to
take care of themselves. This is reinforced in
these images I've used and creates personal
identity to those reading it; people want to
look like their favourite pop star, so if they are
generally the same age, it will be more
relatable. Also, the genre of the magazine,
being ‘pop’, also represents age. This is
because the younger generation are more
likely to enjoy listening to chart music rather
than older people, who may prefer classical or
music from their own generation.

8. Social groups…
Class:
Class is represented slightly throughout my magazine. The people in the photos are show
wearing casual, high street clothing apposed to posh designer wear. This represents a
middle class, almost ‘student like’ appearance. In contrast to this, the magazine has no
representation of lower class, or working class people.
Ethnicity:
Ethnicity is shown in my magazine. The ethnicity represented is white British. This is not because my
magazine is racist however, it is because black people are more associated with R&B or rap music
rather than pop music, as this genre is widely dominated by white people. There was also no black
people available, in my friendship group, to take photos of.
Social groups:
The social group mostly represented in my magazine is your more average typical
teenage girl. There is nothing to represent hipsters, punk or even indie kids,
whereas a popular teenage girl stereotype is widely distributed throughout my
magazine. The popular clothing most girls wear are also being worn by the pop star,
there is nothing unique or different about their hair and make-up either. The look
and feel the magazine gives is something most typical teenage girls stereotypically
like.

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

10. Institutions…
Immediate Media
Company Limited
Publishes…
And…
Top of the Pops
Publishes…
And…
Egmont We <3 pop
Bauer Publishes…
And…
Q magazine

11. Institution…
“BBC Top Of The Pops Magazine is the biggest-selling teen lifestyle title in the
market, focusing on self discovery, self expression and the world of celebrities.
Featuring the latest fashion and beauty, star gossip, real life stories and
celebrity advice, the magazine brings readers exclusive and exciting content
every four weeks”
I have chosen Immediate Media Company Ltd. to publish my
magazine. This is because they have published a similar magazine
to mine, Top of the Pops, but for a younger audience. When looking
into the companies website, top of the pops magazine was located
in the ‘under 15’s’ section; I feel like there is a gap in the market for
this company to produce a magazine along the lines of top of the
pops, but for an older target audience; my magazine ‘Melody’ would
be perfect for this. The website also revealed that the company
publish very popular magazines that are read by a great amount of
people, as BBC worldwide work with them. My magazine is also
aimed to be popular and in demand, therefore this is why I chose
immediate media company ltd. to distribute it. This type of
institution is perfect for my magazine as it is connected with the
BBC, and the age group that tend to watch BBC programmes or
listen to BBC1 radio for example, are young adults and older
teenagers, which is the target audience for ‘melody’ magazine.

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

13. Audience…
My target audience is a majority of females; I took this into consideration when making a colour scheme
and using the specific type of images and typography, as females are stereotypically related to pink, hearts
and curly, scrapbook like lettering. My audience is also 14 -18 with a middle class background , as my
magazine includes the chart music that this age tend to listen to apposed to rock or classical. This age range
also have spare time after school or college to sit back, read and enjoy the magazine. The target audience
for my magazine will aspire to be like the stars included in the magazine such as Beyoncé or Miley Cyrus as
they're not much older than the reader themselves and started at the exact same point as the reader before
their fame. My target audience also like taking care of their appearance, and like to look their best, which I
reflected in my magazine by including articles such as ‘look like your favourite pop star’.

14. How did you attract /address
your audience?

15. Attracting…
I attracted my female target audience by including images that appeared hand
drawn and scrapbook like, and are stereotypically related to girls. The heart
and kiss faces are relatable to girls as you would expect to see this type of
imagery in a young teenagers diary for example. This creates personal identity
between the audience and the magazine’s contents.
I also used a fitting colour scheme to attract my target audience. One of the
biggest stereotypes of a girl is that they like the colour pink. Therefore I
used a pink colour scheme. However, because my target audience are
teenagers and young adults I wanted to make the colours seem more
interesting and exciting to look at, so I added different shades of pink,
white, black and grey. This created a more mature look to attract my
audience.
I used particular typography and fonts to attract my target
audience. The top one, used for the title of my magazine,
appears graffiti like and resembles rebellion, which my
target age and gender appeal to. The font I used for the
titles on my double page spread are more rounded and
curled which appeals more to a female audience as
apposed to more squared off, box like font that would
appeal to a male audience. Finally, I used a font that
looked hand written and scribble like, which my target
audience would be attracted to as it is art like which
females are stereotypically more into.

16. Addressing…
My use of props in the photographs addresses my target
audience. The fact that ‘Amelia’ is shown signing into a pink
hairbrush addresses the audience in a way they feel
comfortable with. The hair brush resembles everyday life, and
makes the star appear down to earth and similar to the
audience, and the fact that it is pink also links to the colour
scheme and the stereotype of females liking the colour pink.
They then can then relate and feel more comfortable reading
the magazine.
When choosing models, I took how I wanted to address my
audience into deep consideration. I wanted my audience to
feel comfortable reading my magazine and I wanted
personal identity to be created. Therefore, I choose a model
who was the similar age to my target audience and who
didn’t look too high maintenance – with their hair and
makeup done - and higher class than my target reader
themselves. I dressed my models in high street clothing
that the audience might wear, to make sure they could
relate the ‘stars’ in my magazine itself. The models also
posed naturally so they look like just one of the target
audience.
The way I wrote titles and articles was done or purpose to address my
target audience in a way they would appreciate. ‘Wow’ gives the sense of
informality, and sounds like something my readers would say to each
other. I also used capital letters and explanation marks throughout to
create excitement and enthusiasm, as that’s stereotypically how young
teenage girls behave – over enthusiastic and giddy.

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

18. Technologies…
In-design
I used in design to create my double page spread. I learnt how to
use breeders to control the usage and proportions of space for
my images and columns. I have also learnt how to copy and
paste writing from paragraphs into ‘in design’ to make it into
columns. I used word documents to plan out my article first so I
could use spell check, as in design did not have it. This
technology also taught me how to create drop caps, and shapes
and make my text surround separate writing.
Photoshop
I used Photoshop technology to create my front cover and
contents page. I learnt the most from this technology, including
how to change the colour levels, vibrancy and brightness of an
image. I also learnt how to bring part of an image in front of
another, as demonstrated on my front cover with the image and
mast head over lapping. In addition to this I also learnt how to
import different fonts from ‘Da font’ and use them in Photoshop.
Premier
Another technology I used and learnt from during this process,
is premier. I used this to edit and adjust my interviews I did as
preliminary material. I learnt how to cut out parts of a
recording, and add images an titles to a video over the top. I
used a voice recorder to record my interview with two people.
This was a piece of technology I had never used before, so I
had to learn about it first to use it.

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

20. Progression…
Before…
This is the college magazine I created at the very
beginning of the course. This was before I had
any knowledge of the technology I was about to
use, as I had never used it before. In addition to
this, I had not yet carried out any of my
magazine research tasks. Therefore, I wasn’t
completely sure on how it should look, or how to
even make it look professional with Photoshop.
As you can see from this image I couldn’t make
my font or text stand out from the mis–en-scene
in the background.
From the image I have used, you can also tell
that I didn’t know exactly how to use the colour
levels, brightness and vibrancy effects correctly
as the image appears almost white and fake.
This college magazine also appears very plain
and empty. This is because I had not yet gained
the specific skill to incorporate images, stickers
and sub titles onto my work.

21. Progression…
After…
As my work progressed, my skills and capabilities
improved. Compared to my college magazine at
the start, my images were a lot more professional
like, after being carefully and skilfully edited in
Photoshop. They looked real, naturally lit and good
quality images.
I had also gained more knowledge on how popular
music magazines are designed and what they
include on their front cover and inside pages. This
is shown through my use of images, stickers and
sub headings that my previous college magazine
didn’t have.
Furthermore, I learnt how to make my images and
typography stand out separately, rather than
merging into one like it did on my college
magazine. This improved my final piece as it made
it look professional and more interesting.