The candidate created a music magazine called "Anthem" modeled after real magazines like Mojo and Q. They learned key skills in photography, editing, layout and design over the course of the project. Feedback from target audiences helped improve the front cover, contents page and double page spread. Overall the candidate felt they gained valuable experience in creating a professional-looking media product.

1. Jonny Shafto
Media Music Magazine
Evaluation
Candidate Number 9834

2. Question 1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
INTRODUCTION TO ANTHEM
• My style model was Mojo magazine
• I also looked at Q magazine as it features heavily with the same music genre as Anthem
• Anthem is a new, original alternative music magazine which features both mainstream
and alternative artists
• The main features of my magazine are the conventional artist interviews, festival
guides, chart news, album reviews etc.
Anthem magazine is predominantly based on a mixture of Mojo’s simplistic layout and Q’s
content. I aimed to create a simplistic music magazine focusing on alternative and
mainstream pop music with a particular colour scheme of green, black and white. A colour
scheme of 2-3 colours often looks effective as the editors of Q chose to adapt a red, black
and white to their magazine.

3. Question 1 continued) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
FRONT COVER
Q Front Cover Anthem Final Cut Mojo Front Cover
Similarities: Differences: Similarities: Differences:
• Central image • Different layout • Central title • Colour scheme
• Circular notice (Anthem only • Central image (green, black,
inclusion has cover stories (only one) white)
• Cover stories down one side) • Consistent • Light background
placed on right • Anthem title is colour scheme • Banner inclusion
• Consistent colour central • Barcodes same • Mid/Close up
scheme • Anthem features position • Festival
• Artist has certain a banner • Bigger font for advertisements
attitude • Q’s artist main title • Subtitle
(focused/angry) overlaps title

4. Question 1 continued) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
CONTENTS PAGE
Similarities: Differences: Similarities: Differences:
• Titling of page • Anthem includes 2 • Features function • Anthem includes 2
• 3 Areas listed images rather than aligned down the images rather than
beneath title 1 big image left 1 main image
• Simplistic features • The regulars • Regulars / Every • Anthem a lot more
function section on Anthem month simplistic
• Issue number and • Blocky lines • Consistent colour • Camera angle of
date separating each scheme remains images
• Continuity of story from front cover • Anthem refers to
colour from front • Website name • Name of magazine “The Worlds
cover listed featured Essential Music
Magazine

5. Question 1 continued) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms
and conventions of real media products?
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
Similarities: Differences:
• Main image on seperate page • Anthems main image alters the flow of the text on next
• Drop capital page
• Quote pre-interview • Anthem features a quote on the image occupied page
• Anthem Exclusive + “The Mojo Interview” • Anthem has the conventional amount of 3 columns
• Main bodies of text laid out in columns • Anthem image not greyscale
• Colour scheme of 3 colours • Positioning of artists
• Artist facial expressions (focused/calm) • Anthem adapts a blocky look
• Simplistic approach (not busy looking) • Anthem features caption on the image
• A midshot is used for both images included • Anthem image features a prop (guitar)

6. Question 1 Summary
How I used, developed and challenged forms and conventions of real magazines
Front Cover Contents Page Double Page Spread
I used features such as one main I used the convention from I used conventions from my style
image, consistant colour scheme Mojo of including the title of model such as the application of
and the “blocky” look. the magazine along with the my image dominating one full
listing of three cities beneath page. I aslo applied the
I developed these features by the title. I also continued the convention of including a quote
applying my own unique and colour scheme from the front or in Mojo’s case, an
personal twists. For example, I cover onto the contents page. introduction before the main
used one particular font rather text was written.
than use various fonts as I I developed conventions by
thought this would benifit me in including three different cities I developed conventions of my
developing my own simplistic to the ones listed on Mojo’s style model by making my model
and unique look that I aimed to contents. Another feature I have a different bodily stance.
achieve. developed is by including green My model is pictured to be
blocky lines to seperate my glancing over towards the main
I challenged the consistant feature stories, where Q use red body of text (the interview).
colour scheme convention by lines to apply the separation.
applying my own colour scheme I challenged conventions of my
of green, black and white and I challenged conventions of my style model by adding a quote
the introduction of fonts I have style models by including two onto the main image,
never seen in my previous equally sized images on the surrounded by two green blocks.
research were used in order to contents page which is contrary This is a feature my other style
developed a uniqueness to my to what Mojo magazine tend to model, Q, normally include and I
magazine. do. think it looks very effective.

7. Question 2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My magazine’s images are all of males and not females. The style models I have looked at
very rarely feature images of females on the front cover or double page spread in particular.
Sometimes females are pictured on the contents page of magazines but very infrequently
have I noticed this in my research so I decided to stick with an entirely male inclusion.
AGE ETHNICITY CLASS AND STATUS GENDER
Originally, I aimed to My product does not Although the language Although all the images
target the teenage feature or include any within my magazine is featured within my
audience. But after particular ethnic groups relatively sophisticated, magazine are of male
referring to my style or ethnicities. Like most there is reference to artists, my magazine will
models such as Mojo professional magazine drugs and gang-life within still appeal to the female
and Q I began to think editors, I did not intend my double page spread. sex. There is still reference
that I would like to aim to focus or to Like my style models, to females within my
at a more mature specifically include stories depend on the interview, albeit in a
audience, probably ceratin religions. The personalities of the artist slightly disrespectful way,
between 18 and 30 music genre’s included being interviewed and in but this is a feature of my
due to the swearing in my magazine variate Anthem’s case, the artist artists personality. The
included within my within many different comes from a rough rough cut feedback I
double page spread. cultures, religions and background but is a very received did not reveal a
However, the artists races. I never intended sophisticated young man. lack of females included in
featured are relatively any cultural bias or This gives me reason to my magazine, and this is
young, so this factor inclusion of one think that I have not presumably due to their
may attract a younger particular race or excluded or avoided knowledge that females
audience of teenagers. religion. certain people’s “class”. rarely feature in my style
models.

8. Question 3) What Kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
For this question I searched all the big distributing companies such as Bauer Media, IPC
Media, eMap and WWMD.
WWMD (the distributors of Q magazine) stood out as the best choice for distributing my
magazine. There are various reasons as to why I chose this company to distribute.
My Reasons for choosing WWMD:
• WWMD is a recognised, popular and established
distributor who distribute Q magazine (one of my two Areas where my product could be
style models). advertised:
• They have specialist retailers not only in the UK, but all •Social Networking sites
(Twitter/Facebook/MySpace)
over the world.
•Television (advertisements in intervals)
• WWMD distribute the same genre of magazine to •Mobile advertisements (SMS advertising,
Anthem with Q magazine. MMS advertising)
• WWMD who have close links with HMV, a major music
retailer who sell music industry products could be Areas where my product could be
approached to distribute Anthem magazine. distributed:
• Popular magazine distributors such as:
• HMV
• Tesco
• WHSmith
• Various newsagents/garages

9. Question 4) Who would be the audience for your media product?
Predominantly teenagers. People who are fans of alternative and pop
music genres. Both males and females. Between 16 and 30.
PREDOMINANTLY MALE AND FEMALES
LATE TEENS – EARLY
TWENTIES
TARGET
AUDIENCE
ALTERNATIVE/POP
AGES 16-30
MUSIC FANS

10. MY READERS
INTERESTS SEXUALITY GENDER AGE
Due to the in depth The music industry Both males and As previously stated,
interviews within features artists of females would be the my target audience
Anthem magazine, various sexualities. My audience for my ranges from ages 18-
music may not be the magazine includes an magazine. My 30. This is due to the
only interest behind interview with a magazine features explicit language and
buying Anthem heterosexual male. mentions of females, often serious nature of
magazine. The quiz This is not bias of this but predominantly the article included
and puzzles feature sexuality however, as males. I believe that within my magazine.
within my magazine people of various other listeners of my Despite this, readers of
and the informative sexualities may like my particular music genre younger ages (possibly
festival guides are artist despite his laid like music because of 16+) would be
seperate interests back and cocky the songs that are interested in my
which can be read approach towards the produced rather than magazine due to the
within my magazine. opposite sex. Anthem the gender of the wide range of genres
Despite these extra magazine was artist. My style models presented within
features, the main designed to be an of “Mojo” and “Q” are Anthem. The
interests of my entertaining read for not aimed towards a sophisticated language
readers would be the people from all types particular target combined with the
alternative and of sexuality and I think audience and I’d like to minorly explicit
mainstream music that if my magazine think I replicated this language may be more
genres as my became popular, idea in the production appropriate for the
magazine is heavily sexuality would not be of Anthem magazine. ages of at least 16
occupied by these an issue. years + up to 30 years
genres. old.

11. By questionnaire
From this questionnaire I found out:
• The main image is the focal point behind
what makes my target audience most
attracted – So I included a close up image of a
photogenic model
• My target audience like to see a
calm/focused facial expression on the artist
on the front cover – I therefore made my
model perform a focused facial expression on
the front cover image
• A colour scheme consistency of 2-3 colours
is my target audiences’ preference - I kept a
colour consistency of 3 colours (green,black
and white)
• My target audience predominantly read
magazines weekly – I included aspects of my
magazine which imply my magazine is a
weekly occurance
• Free gifts DO tempt my target audience to
buy a magazine – I included a “Free CD”
function to my magazine

12. Question 5) How did you attract/address your audience?
TARGET AUDIENCE FEEDBACK
FOR MY FINAL CUT FRONT
COVER

13. TARGET AUDIENCE FEEDBACK
FOR MY CONTENTS PAGE FINAL
CUT

14. TARGET AUDIENCE FEEDBACK
FOR FINAL CUT DOUBLE PAGE
SPREAD

15. Question 6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this
product?
CAMERA FUNCTIONS
SHUTTER SPEED APERTURE
Whilst using the cameras in the The aperture feature was key for
Media studios I learnt how to alter me in order in deciding the
and change the shutter speed in lightness of my photographs. I
order to take a suitable photograph. learnt that the aperture is a variable
I learnt that the shutter speed is a hole in front of the lens that adjusts
cover over the sensor that controls to let more or less light through.
the length of time that the light
reaches it.
DEPTH OF FIELD
I was introduced to the depth of
field function in order to improve
the quality of my photographs. I
learnt that the depth of field
determines how much of an image
is in focus.

16. NATURAL LIGHT ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
This is a picture I took with the use of This is a picture I took with the use of
natural light, pre and post edited. artificial light, pre and post edited.
I learnt how to take
photographs in different
light types; natural and
artificial. By applying my
knowledge of the
functions included on
the previous slide I was
able to take quality
photographs before
editing them to make
them that extra bit
more professional. The
adjusting of various
camera functions was
needed in order to take
a quality photograph. I
then edited the photos
on Photoshop so that
the images looked more
professional and
magazine-suitable.

17. PHOTOSHOP MANIPULATION
This slide shows the methods of manipulation I used to
edit my photographs on Adobe Photoshop.
STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3
Firstly, I clicked on image After the previous stage, I I then lowered the
before scrolling down and was given a pop up box brightness and raised
clicking adjustments. Once which let me alter and the contrast slightly so
the adjustments section change the brightness and that the quality of my
was open I then clicked on contrast. image was ready to
contrast/brightness. place on my contents
page.

18. Question 6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this
product?
USE OF BLOGGER
I used www.blogspot.com in order to create a
blog which recorded my progress throughout
my AS level Media course. I was able to record
diary entry’s where I revealed each week the
progress I had been making whilst making my
project was evolving.
I also uploaded JPEG’s of my magazine pages in
order to show how much I have improved in
terms of my production and creative qualities
whilst my project evolved.
I learnt how to blog appropriately due to this
aspect of my project.

19. Question 7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the
progression from it to the full product?
WHAT I HAVE LEARNT AND IMPROVED OVER THE COURSE OF MY PROJECT
• Camera taking skills improved dramatically
• Editing skills via the use of Photoshop and In Design
• More appropriate use of fonts
• Hugely better layout
• More text featured across the page
• Larger image which stands out more

20. WHAT I HAVE LEARNT AND IMPROVED OVER THE COURSE OF MY PROJECT
• Colour scheme is more maintained and effective
• More effective image types
• Better quality images used
• Professionalism and layout skills developed
• Additional features aid the professional look of Anthem
• Coloured frames around the images

21. FINAL PRODUCTS
THANKS
FOR
WATCHING!