EVALUATIONBy Saagar

 My music magazine can be recognized as a media product which uses the form and conventions of a real media product. This can be seen by the attention to detail I have put into my media product. Like a real media product, my music magazine contains a masthead which is located in a predictable place. It is placed on the top left side of the page. The second convention is a main focal image near the centre of the page. The image is the only image and also the largest form on the page. Like a real convention, the main focal image is looking at the audience. The third convention is the main cover line which is located next to the focal image. Like a real media product, the main cover line is the largest font face on the page.

The fourth convention is the cover lines around the focal image. Like a real music magazine, I placed the cover lines around the focal image. Like a real media product the cover lines are used to show what will be inside the magazine and the articles which will be inside.

My last convention of my music magazine is the barcode and the website and price placed in the bottom right of the front page. Like a real media product this is an ideal location as many real music magazines do this. Like the front cover, my contents page also challenged forms and conventions of a real media product. My first convention is the main title which is the largest font type on the page.

Another convention that my contents page shows is the pages displayed next to the articles. Like a real contents page, it also clearly shows the page number identifying where each article is.

Like my contents page, my double page spread also shows challenges forms and conventions of a real media product. My first convention of my music magazine is the location of the main article text and pictures. The main image is located on the left and main article is located on the right page. This is most common in real music magazines. Another convention my music magazine follows is the header and footer which is located at the bottom and top of both pages. This is the ideal location for these features on a real music magazine. Another convention my music magazine follows is the stand first used at the beginning of the article. This is widely used in a real media product. As its effective and it catches the reader’s attention. As well as this , it gives a clue to the audience of what the article will read. The last convention my music magazine follows is the large title which is the largest text on the page. Like a real media product it is located above the article.

The background of both magazines is gradient of a light grey and white

The model (Triickz & Eminem) are placed in the middle of the page. They are both looking at the camera and producing a focal point. Both artists are also give a mean look

The text used in both magazines are red, black and grey. The text is also very bold and serif

Both contents pages has a black and white photograph as its background

Both contents pages has its text on the top right page

Both contents pages uses bold black serif fonts

The Background on both magazines are black, To make the text stand out bright colour is used (red and yellow). Both magazines uses white text to make the article stand out.

The image is placed on the left and the article is placed on the right

Both magazines have a header and a footer.

Both magazines have a rectangle over the left page image. As well as this, both magazines have a quote on the right page

My media products represents particular social groups through many different types of representations.

For my front cover I decided to dress my model in long dark coat with a hat on. I also told him to put his hood up. This type of representation of clothing and the attitude look attracts the young youth son the urban streets social group. This is because this is the way they dress and the way they behave in society. This group are also very interested and active in listening to Grime and Rap therefore I told my model to pose with headphones.

As well as representing through images, I also represented in the language I wrote on the front cover. The type of language I used in my front cover is very informal and slang. This is the type of language my social group would speak. An example of this is ‘Real Talks’ and ‘Check out the songs which had the juice’. To make my front cover even more representational, I decided to add lyrics at the bottom of the page. The lyrics rhyme and also contains slang such as ‘Spark’ which means punch.. Most of my social group listen to music which rhymes and has slang.

For my contents page I decided to add an image as my background. The photograph set as my background is another model located in a alley way. This was the ideal location as it represents my social group who tend to hang around in alley ways. As well as this, my audience and my particular social group’s music and music videos are usually set in dark places such as alley way.

From my double page spread I decided to dress my model like my front cover except him looking to the side. This still gives the same impression of the attitude and the style of clothing my social group and audience wear. On the other page I added an image of a microphone. This is a representational of my social group as this is a widely use equipment and is used in music videos, live tours and even grime listeners who are also grime artist themselves

As well as images on my double page spread I also used language to represent my social group. The line ‘lemme read this,fam’ is the way my audience speaks to another. As well as this, I included another lyric (bars) on the other page. This is the type of verses said and heard. Finally, I added that new Triickz has been to prison for having possession of cocaine. This is the type of trouble my social group get into.

Choosing the right Media institution to distribute a media product is very important as each company distribute differently taking into account of many costs such as printing, page quality and quantity. I believe the Media Institution best fit for my Grime Magazine is ‘Future’. This is because Future distributes to niche market and targets small group of people and only to specific areas. This would be a perfect distributor for my media product as my magazine is on Grime, and this type of music is fairly small compared to other music. As well as this, the location of the selling point will be an urban area such as South London. The price of my music magazine is an big issue. These type of ‘ghetto’ areas contain the stereotypical people which are probably low income earners and on benefits. Therefore I decided to make my music magazine a respectable price of £2.99. This makes the magazine affordable to the audience it is attracting.

The audience for my media product will be young teenagers to young adults. The age range would be 15-30. This is fairly young. The gender who are most likely to read my magazine will mostly be male, however females would still be interested in reading. The audience would be most likely just be based in the UK as Grime is UK Rap Music.

The occupation that my audience would be a student, unemployed or low paid job. On the status scale they would come under C2-E. (The status C2 are low paid employees, the status D are low skilled jobs and E are unskilled/unemployed)

For my front cover positioned my model at the middle of the page. This makes him the focal and therefore the audience’s eyes will first attract him. The main colours I used for the font were red and a dark grey. I chose these colours as they both standout and also that any other colour would not suit or match the picture behind. From looking at the colours, I think it looks very cooperate and good. To make the main cover line stand out the most out of the other cover line I made the text very large and added drop shadow to make it look more 3D. To make the rest of the cover lines stand out a little bit, I made the font colour red and made it bigger. The information underneath should be read last and therefore I made them grey and also making them small. The information below the cover lines were written to match the target audience. The language used is informal and uses slang. This attracts the audience even more as they can relate the language to themselves.

For my double page spread my base magazine had the image of a model on the left. I decided this was a good idea as the reader will identify the image while glancing through the images and then their eyes  will be automatically moved to the right where the article will be. To make my image stand out more I added a effect on Photoshop which made my model look more cartoon-like. I also decided to add smoke at the back and a light effect so it catches more attention

I chose a black background with red text as I think both colours stand out from one and another.

For my contents page I decided to add a image as a background . I decided to use this photograph for my contents page as it is set in an alley way. This is an ideal location for Grime and an excellent representation.  The model is also pointing up, this was done so I could insert the text above it. 

Analyzing the text, I made the title red and the smaller text red. I specific did this as I want these text to stand out the most as they are the least likely to be read. Especially the description.

I have learnt many things about the technology from the process of construction of my media product. The first technology I used was using a computer and using the software called Microsoft PowerPoint to create my slideshow on any famous music magazine. In this case, I chose a NME Magazine. I have been using Microsoft PowerPoint for a very long time so nothing was new to learn about the program.

The next program I used was Microsoft Word to create a word document on questions on the same magazine as the slideshow. Like Microsoft PowerPoint I have been using Microsoft Word for a very long time and therefore nothing was again new to me.

For our preliminary exercise I was introduced to Adobe Indesign. This software is used for editing and for print layout. This program is an ideal software to organise and layout a music magazine. Adobe Indesign was very new to me and found that it took time for me to get used to. Unlike my other peers, it did take a quicker time to get used to as I’ve known how to use Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop for a long time.

The next technology I used was a scanner. A scanner allows a user to scan an paper with writing or drawing and transfer it onto a computer. I used a scanner to scan in my drawn design of my flat plan template. This wasn’t very difficult to use as I’ve known how to use a scanner for a long time.

The next technology I had to use was a computer to create my Masthead for my music magazine. I was first told to use Adobe Indesign to create my masthead however I believe this is the false program to use. Adobe Indesign is not made for design, although it does produce vector shapes. As well as this, I did not enjoy using Adobe Indesign. Therefore I decide to use another vector program which was made for design. I used Adobe Illustrator. This was not as hard to make a masthead then Adobe Indesign as I’ve been using Illustrator for years.

The next technology I had to use was a mobile phone to call my models for the photo shoot for my front cover, contents page and double page spread. This was not a problem as I know how to use a mobile phone and wasn’t difficult or new to me.

To take photos of my model, I decided to use a professional photography camera the college had. This one extremely new to me and didn’t know much when I used it first time. However with practice of taking a lot of photos, I learnt about new angles, lighting and focus which I didn’t know before. The photos which were then transported onto the computer were very large and good quality. This was new to me as well especially when editing them in Adobe Photoshop.

Like I said, to edit my photos and create some effects in the double page spread and contents page I used Adobe Photoshop. This program was very easy as I’ve been using Photoshop for over 3 years and I knew more then the basics. This knowledge of the program helped me a lot with my coursework.

From looking back at my preliminary exercise, I feel that I have learnt and progressed extremely from it to the full final product. In my preliminary exercise I made many errors and lacked the basic skills needed. The first error I made was taking a photograph in landscape form. This error was crucial as the magazine was going to be portrait mode therefore not all of the picture will be able to fill the page. As well as this I lacked the basic knowledge of a magazine and therefore my front cover didn’t have any focal point. The models in my picture were not looking at the camera but instead looking down. Another lack of knowledge can be found that my preliminary exercise magazine didn’t have any structure, therefore I had no cover lines which surrounded the main image, nor did my main cover line have any focal point.

The colours used on my front cover are extremely unprofessional and ugly, the black background and blue and white font makes it look very boring and dull and unattractive to look at.

Also, the design of the magazine is also very unprofessional. The circles which represent thought bubbles doesn’t look good and looks very childish and doesn’t attract the audience. Furthermore, nor does the photo represent the students in Stanmore College.

Like my front cover, my contents page, design and layout is also very poor. It doesn’t have a consistent layout and is all placed very untidy.

From the preliminary exercise to the completed full product I have learnt many new skills and new knowledge. The skills I learnt was a better understanding in Adobe Indesign. A new a better skill at photography such as focal points, angles and lightings . I also learnt a better understanding of a layout of a music magazine, the appropriate colours needed and representing the audience.