evaluation

Name: Samuel James SmithCandidate number: 2961Centre: 33435 Aquinas College

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

I aimed my magazine at..

16+

Men and Women

British

Who like to shop at..

Who spend money on..

Know what music they like

Educated


I feel my magazine would be similar to NME magazine and Q magazine so my target audience would be similar to those who buy NME magazine and Q magazine. My target audience will be men and women aged 16 and above with the genre of rock.


The target audience for my magazine would be 16 year olds and above, I have chosen that age because I feel from experience that from that age and onwards you get a better understanding for music and because it is a music magazine then the target audience should understand music well. Men and women are also a part of the target audience that are British. I have put British because most of my music will be British based bands however some bands may not be British.


My target audience may currently use the web for such media on music and so I feel that the lifestyle of my target audience would be mostly using the web and smart phones for music. So I feel that a music magazine for this kind of genre would be a change to their lifestyle and this would maybe persuade the audience to buy my magzine.


My target audience would be as young as 16 because that is the usual age that people would use social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook and this way my target audience would be able to participate with the magazine from the use of social media websites this would be a use of symbiotic relationship from the use of websites or apps from the magazine that the youngest side of the my target audience would be able to get involved with and also some from the older side of my target audience.

Q2 : How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product could represent young social groups this is from the use of synergy for example symbiotic relationship because my media product will have an app that the target audience can download and also have a website that the target audience can sign up or sign in onto. This will be for younger social groups because they are usually the types of groups to use these social media sites and apps.

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

My media product uses bright colours with large fonts to make the product stand out. The bright colours will appeal to a younger social group. My front cover uses 2 cover stars and the cover stars are big to stand out and to be the first thing that the audience will see and the cover star may persuade them to buy the magazine if the target audience like the artist that is on the front of the magazine, this represent social groups that enjoy music.


My cover star on the front cover of my magazine represents my ideal reader with the use of mise en scene, because they are aged 16 and that is the minimum age for my target audience and so they might read the magazine. Because my target audience is also the cover star then my target audience will aspire to be my cover stars.


My front cover is influenced by this front cover from NME as both the cover stars are looking straight at the camera and that is what I have done with my front cover on my magazine. I am influenced by this front cover because people aspire to be the 2 cover stars on this magazine and that is what I wanted for my media product.


The 2 cover stars on my magazine are looking at the camera as are the ones on NME magazine front cover this is used to influence the reader to aspire to be like the cover star. Both use expressionless faces to show the cool nature of the 2 and this again is to make the audience aspire to be like the cover stars. Cover stars is a great way to influence social groups for example if the reader likes a certain clothing on a cover star then the reader may buy that type of clothing.


My media product will be based on mostly British bands and will mostly repeat the importance of British music and the way Britain has influenced other countries in terms of music and also the history of British music.

Q3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

My media product is going to be published monthly this way I can add more information and pictures to the magazine in time for the target audience to satisfy the customers needs and expectations. This time gap allows my media product to allow more information on the next issue and also have more information to display on the website.


I would make my media product go for a rivalry company to be against because I believe I can take NME’s target audience from them as my magazine will be monthly which means I can pack my magazine with more information than NME also my magazine will be very similar to NME’s so this means in a monthly magazine you get more for your money rather than weekly costs.


My magazine will have the following symbiotic relationships for my target audience to view.• Website• App• Radio station• Print version


My website will have a sign in option and this will allow my target audience to sign into the website and I will gift my target audience offers and rewards for the longer they have an account my website this will create brand loyalty.


Ways my target audience can follow the news with my magazine.

4.In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products?

My magazine product uses many conventions a real media product would use I will start with my front cover. My front cover has a house style of black, white and red. Every magazine has its own house style, a house style makes the product well recognisable as magazines will rarely change their house style. An example of a house style would be NME, their house style is also black, white and red. My music product uses the house style in the front cover and the contents page and the double page spread, like other real media products.

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

Media products use big, bold writing to make certain text stand out and to grab the readers attention, doing things like this will make it stand out for the target audience for example if a band name is written huge on the front cover of the magazine then someone that likes that band will spot that and will be drawn to the magazine. My magazine also does this by writing huge letter then name of the band on my front cover. Music magazines also tend to use symbiotic relationship to get audience participation.


An example of this would be on NME front cover next to the bar code it says the website of NME this is for the readers to see and go to the website to maybe sign up or sign into the website. My front cover has the name of the website written near the bottom of the page as a use of synergy


On the front of Q magazines they have the cover star big usually in the centre of the frame to stand out and be clear to the target audience what is featuring in the magazine, the cover star is a great way to make draw the target audience to buy a magazine because the cover star can use certain iconography that will catch the eye of a reader. For example on the front of the NME magazine it shows The Strokes and they are wearing things like sunglasses and leather jackets to appeal to the audience as a type of rock iconography because sun glasses and leather jackets are usually associated with rock.

I have use this with my front cover as my front cover shows the cover star big in the centre of the frame with certain clothing like Fred Perry and Pretty Green to be associated with rock and mod music. This I a use of iconography as most people who buy that type of clothing are likely to be drawn to what they are wearing.

4.In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions

of real media products?


Contents pages are used to direct the reader to certain things they want to read. In NME magazine they have small writing next to a page number, the small writing will be a small summary of what will be on that page so the reader will just have to look at the page number and go to that certain page if they find that interesting. On my contents page I have a picture of something with a small paragraph next to and a page number next to it to. The picture is used to show what will be on that page and to grab the readers attention and the caption next to it is to explain the picture and the page number to direct the reader to that article if they want to.


NME use an offer at the bottom of the page to subscribe to their magazine this is a part of audience participation as the target audience will be participating in signing up for NME weekly. I have also done this with my magazine at the bottom I have offered the target audience to sign up to get my magazine weekly. Q has the website at the top of the page, this is symbiotic relationship because the target audience can view magazine features from a different media platform.


Contents pages can also use iconography, Q use iconography with The Courteeners showing the main singer Liam Fray in sunglasses to show the rock genre of the band and of the magazine. I have also done the same with the main picture on my contents page. I have used the cover stars from the front cover on the contents page to show the target audience where to find this article and they are wearing rock and mod iconography clothing.

NME use blocked clear paragraphed writing to make the magazine easy to read and to look professional. On my magazine I have used boxes to show the contents of the page and this makes things easy to find for the target audience and clear and simple to read, rather than having things not in numerical order to make it harder to find things on the contents page, I have made it simple to find things on the contents page.



On a magazine double page spread the cover star is big and clear and usually has the writing around the cover star to show the importance of the cover star. NME magazine have Liam Gallagher on a double page spread. Liam Gallagher takes up one page of the double page this is to show the importance of the person. Liam Gallagher has sunglasses on again to emphasise the rock genre of the band he is in and the genre of the magazine, he is also sat on amplifiers with drums in the background as a use of iconography, the iconography is used on my magazine with the types of clothing to symbolise the genre of the band and the magazine.


NME also use a huge pull quote from the cover star and most other music products do the same, this quote is usually short and will most likely be in the feature of the double page. The pull quote is usually something short to make the reader want to find out more from what the cover star said and therefore read the rest of the double page. I have done the same in my media product, I have written in big clear writing a quote from the cover stars to make the target audience want to find out more from what they said and why they said it, this is why I have made the quote small and simple.

The house style from the magazine is still used in the double paged spread with the use of just 3 colours as connotations to the rock genre of the magazine, for example the black could show the rock genre in the magazine and that is why it is used in the double page spread because the band is also a rock band and that is the genre of the magazine.



My product uses symbiotic relationships to appeal to my target audience that use things such as social networking sites and have smart phones.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

How I attracted my audience with my media product• Big title• Huge cover stars• Star’s facial expression• Eye contact with audience• 4/5 features to convey value for money• Price


How I attracted my audience with my media product• Different size text to show audience which

features are most important• Unique Selling Points are clearly defined • Clear colour scheme and consistent fonts to

create brand ID• Bright colours and house style


I addressed my audience by:

I used bright colours to attract the reader to read certain things I want them too

I used friendly language to communicate with my audience and used clear language to make things easy for my audience to read and understand.

I used smart font throughout all my media product in connotation that my magazine isn’t for kids so that you have to have some sort of understanding of music to understand the context of my magazine.

My cover stars show power and confidence and this will make the target audience aspire to be like my cover stars.


I can address my target audience of the age of 16+ because at this age most people will have smart phones and this means my app will most likely be downloaded by my target audience so I can address them using this app that will be available on all smartphones and my magazine will promote this app on my magazine.


I can address my audience from many different ways using synergy. For example I can address my audience from social network sites such• Twitter• Facebook• Instagram• Youtube• TumblrSo my target audience can keep up to date with al the news of the magazine by following any one of these social network sites.


NME’s magazine front cover of the strokes shows Fab and Nickoli looking towards the camera with no emotion and I have done the same on my magazine with Max and Keanan as they are both looking straight towards the camera and don’t have any sort of emotion on their face and this would attract my target audience because the cover stars will be looking straight at the person holding the magazine.


I think what will appeal to my target audience will also be the bright colours on the front cover for example the big and bold title in white will stand out on the black background. Then headlines down the side in the blue will stand out and grab the readers attention so they will read what is on that headline.

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

I first of all started with an A4 size sheet of paper on Microsoft publisher this made it easy to get the correct size for the size of an actual magazine.


Also I found that the double page spread option is very helpful for doing my double page spread it even gave an option for a line down the middle of the page so this way I could split up the 2 pages down so it still remains different pages.


As I move the mouse it shows the width and height the mouse it at on the page. I found this very useful for getting my measurements on the magazine correct on where to put everything on the magazine to give it a professional look.


I used Microsoft publisher for my magazine front cover and my magazine contents page and finally my double page spread. I used it for them all because I found the layout easy to use and everything was simple to put things where I want to and this made my magazine look smart and professional.

This tool allowed me to make a good background with more than one colour and with different effects on the background for example moving the a certain colour to a certain part of the page and the other colour to another part of the page.



I used photoshop for editing on such things as; photos and titles for headlines and names. I use the special effect tool when highlighted on the certain thing and this will add a certain effect on what I have chosen. I also use the magic wand tool to remove any unnecessary background on any pictures.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task (Aquinas College magazine), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression to the full product?

I feel the main thing I have learned in my preliminary task is the spacing of pages for my magazine I think I have learned spacing of objects is important for the magazine for example the cover star and title must be in the centre of the frame this is to look professional to grab the readers attention straight away.


I learned from the preliminary task about cover stars need to be more central and to be facing the camera so the audience can see the cover star clearly like on NME or Q front cover will always have a cover star facing the camera.


I have learned that colour is important for many reasons one reason being the house style of the magazine. I had use of 3 colours for the house style red, black and white and I it is important that I used these colours through my whole magazine.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task (Aquinas College magazine), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression to the full

product?

Here is an example of house style that I learned. NME have a house style for their logo of red, white and black. It is unusual for NME to not use these 3 colours for their title of the magazine. The target audience expect the house style from NME it would be unusual for them to change the house style and I don’t think the audience will appreciate the change.


I have also felt that for my final product I had 2 cover stars that I must keep centre of the frame and really big and I have learned this from NME I found this to be important because the cover star can attract the readers attention if they like the cover star.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task (Aquinas College magazine), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression to

the full product?


the full product?

I feel I have progressed from making the Aquinas magazine to the final product. I think the biggest difference from the Aquinas magazine there wasn’t much colour and in the final product I added lots of colour and effects to make the magazine look smart and professional and appeal to my target audience.


the full product?


the full product?

In my preliminary task I think learned that I needed to make them 2 different pages rather than 1 big page because this would make it look like a poster.

evaluation

Education

media product

target audience

music magazine

cover stars

social media sites

use of social media

nme magazine

q magazine