Media Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?My mastheads follow conventions by being in a large bold font that is easily readable for the audience. It also helps it dominate over the rest of the text by being the biggest text on the page that is easily noticeable for the reader. The main masthead uses red and black font which are colours often used within other music magazines as they make it stand out to the audience and draws their attention. The masthead text is in an informal font to represent the genre of the magazine and to follow the stereotypes set by other magazines. It is located within the top left hand corner of the page which is a conventional place for it to be located as it is easy for the audience to see and is the first thing they look at as it is located in the primary optical area. When naming my magazine I thought of various ideas relating to the type of magazine. I choose beat as it symbolised the sound within the music and indicated that the music often had a strong beat within the songs. It was also short and snappy which attracted the reader’s attention to the magazine.

The main colour scheme off my magazine also follows a similar colour scheme to the font, by being red, black and white. This helps my magazine to have a consistent style throughout which looks professional and follows conventions of other magazines. The use of contrasting colours within the colour scheme also makes the pages stand out and, text easy to read. I choose red as it is a bright vibrant colour which would attract the audience’s attention and help it to be noticed within other magazines in a shop. Black and red are often seen as more masculine colours therefore this would appeal to my audience. The house style I used remains consistent throughout the pages with the same fonts and colour scheme used throughout. This is used to create a recognisable image for the magazine for the future so regular readers can recognise the magazine easily from the house style.

My magazine follows a typical layout set by other music magazines, however it is hard to directly follow conventions within this area as all magazines use various layout designs throughout their pages and can differ each issue. On the front cover the masthead is located in the primary optical area so it is the first thing people notice on the front cover, while the barcode is located within a weak fallow area as it isn’t important to be noticed by the audience. The main image is located within the terminal area so it is also noticed by the audience so they can tell what the magazine is about from the main artist featured, encouraging them to buy the magazine. I put the coverlines on the left hand side of the page to follow conventions set by other magazines while the main cover line stretched across the page making it clear what the main story was to the audience. For my double page I located the main masthead within the primary optical area so it was clear what the article is about. Below that I laid the text out into 3 columns so it was easy to follow. I kept the main body of text within one side of the page so it was easy to read and created an even balance across the double page. I used a large image on the right hand side to illustrate the article and create a balance between text and images. The image slightly overlapped onto the left page which is often used in double page articles to make the image stand out to the reader. It was hard to follow any clear conventions within the double page spread area as every magazine has various layout plans which can differ each week so there are no clear conventions within this area, regarding layout. The contents page is laid out in a Kerrang style as I felt this was an effective way of displaying the contents of my magazine to the reader as it was easy to follow and looked appealing. I used images to fill the top section of the page to draw in the audience’s attention and to illustrate the main articles while my contents table was displayed below. I put the contents masthead in the primary optical area so straight away it was obvious what the page was about. I put the main text into 4 equally sized columns so it was easy to follow and followed a conventional layout. I included a banner and page number along the bottom of the page to allow the magazine to be easily

recognised and, I continued this as part of my house style on the double page so, it was easy for the reader to find the page they wanted. I included a subscription box within the right hand side of the page as I found this was a common feature included within most music magazines to get the reader to buy the magazine each week by giving the reader’s offers if they subscribed, to get every issue of the magazine.

The images I used featured images of the artist stood in different poses which are conventionally the main images used within music magazines. After choosing my final images I manipulated these images to create an effect suitable for my magazine. I adjusted the brightness and contrast of the images to make them stand out and make my magazine look more professional. I removed the background from some of my images so it would create a plain background similar to other music magazines. I also adjusted the vibrancy, hue and saturation of my images so they were in the right level of light and to create a high quality finish on the images. The image I used on the front cover uses direct address to make it look as if he is looking at the reader and allows them to clearly see who the feature artist is. Mark is shown wearing a hoodie as this is stereotypical of what urban pop singers wear so matches with the image he is trying to create as an artist. The pictures I used had the background cropped out to create a plain backdrop which is often used within magazines so the image stands out, however I took some of the images near a wall with graffiti on to match the urban image of the artist. I used quite a basic image for my cover photo to create a simplistic design which would stand out and appeal to the reader.For the contents page image the artist also use direct address by looking towards the camera. I choose to use masks as a prop to match the wacky image of the band while also making it look bright and colourful to match the bright colour scheme of the page. The image uses rule of thirds with their heads meeting on two intersecting points, making the image look more professional. I used high key lighting within the images to make them stand out so the audience could easily see who the artists were.For the double page image, I choose an image with him looking away from the audience to represent how he is still getting used to becoming a pop star and helps highlight parts of the article. I also choose this image as he has quite an edgy look within it suggesting the image he is trying to create as a pop star, while also showing he is new to the business and isn’t used to being in the spotlight yet. For this image I choose a model that was in the appropriate age range to be a pop star as conventionally they are quite young, while also choosing someone who looked as if they were new to the pop scene so it matched with my articles content.

The font I used for the text within my magazine follows conventions by being bold and easy to read however I did challenge conventions by using an urban edgy font for the mastheads and titles which I thought would give my magazine an edge over others and attract a young audience to the magazine. The main article on the double page spread has an informal conversational tone which will appeal to a younger target audience who my magazine is aimed at. I wrote my article in a question and answer type format which is often used in music magazines as it allows the reader to find out what the artist is like, and the artist’s direct response to the questions asked. The tone of the article is relaxed and, found out everything the reader would be interested in about the artist in a conversational way. It provided the reader with entertainment while also giving them serious information about the artist. I used slang language within the article to appeal to the young readers while also representing the artist as most likely they would use slang themselves as a pop star. I used a kicker to start of the article giving a brief insight into what the article would discuss while providing information about the artist. I used a pull quote next to the main image to draw the reader in so they want to find out more about him, and is often used within music magazines for this reason. Another convention I used was a sidebar which informed the reader about his album encouraging them to buy it and highlights what the article is about. The article text I used is in an easy to read font, so it’s easy for the reader to follow the article text without any difficulty. I set the font size to 9 as this is the typical font size for article text within magazines with the headings in a larger font to stand out. This allowed the audience to easy read the page while also making use of the space as a lot more text could fit into the space. I used black as the main text colour to follow conventions as this colour text is easy to read and follow while standing out from the background, however I did challenge conventions by having the questions within the article in a red font as I thought this helped divide the page and made it clear who was speaking in each part.

Overall, I believe my magazine works well by following a large number of conventions set by other music magazines while also altering a few things to make the magazine unique and attract the audience.

How does you media product represent particular social groups?

I believe my magazine represents a particular social group well with it similarities to other magazines such as Q, Vibe and Billboard. These similarities help to represent the social group of both the artist and the intended audience in a particular way so the reader buys the magazine as it appeal to them and follows conventions related to the intended social group. Below is a selection of magazines that I believe have many similarities with my own as they are aimed at a certain audience, and represent the cover artists featured in a similar way as they are within similar genres of music.

MastheadThe masthead for all the magazines is located across the top of the page so it’s easy for the audience to notice so can be easily spotted when in a rush as generally the social group live quite busy lives so want to quickly find what they are looking for. The fonts used for the masthead are quite simple but have an urban modern feel suggesting the audience live in an urban setting and are quite young. The fonts use plain colours which contrast to the background so they stand out and also the colours used are quite neutral so appeal to both male and females meaning the magazines can attract a large target audience.

ImagesThe main images used on the magazine show the artists stood looking at the camera in quite a plain pose. This suggests that this is what is seen as cool to the younger audience and represent them to be quite sensible and calm. The images use plain colours throughout; mainly black grey and white which represents the colours often associated with the social group are seen to be quite dark and dull. The clothes the artist are wearing are seen to be quite cool and represent what a young middle/lower class audience wears and what is cool to wear within this social group. It also helps appeal to males as if the artists are shown to be cool they want to read about them. Q and Billboard both feature their main image on the right hand side of the page allowing creating space for the cover lines on the left. The backgrounds used within the magazines are quite simplistic and use plain colours suggesting the artist is the most important part, and that the artist is the only thing the audience are interested in suggesting a younger audience who aren’t interested in other more serious elements.

Colour SchemeBlack is the primary colour featured across the magazines which will appeal to a male audience as this colour is often associated with that gender. It also creates a dark image of the social group suggesting other group’s views of the people within it. White is also used across all the magazines to

create a simple approach suggesting that the audience don’t have many responsibilities and have a simple life. Red or yellow seems to be another colour used within the magazines as a secondary colour to make the magazine stand out and also relates to the young social group who are often seen as lively which is the image the colours are often used to connote.

TextThe cover lines are mainly located on the left hand side and use alternating colours. This represents the different social groups that will read it while also making it easy to read by dividing it up so; it can be read quickly when the audience may be busy. The font used is quite modern and clean cut representing the young audience who are interested in modern music and also represents the artists who are still current and creating modern music. The content of the text is similar throughout featuring all the main points so the audience know exactly what is inside as they are young and are unlikely to want to read more than the front cover to find out what is featured in the magazine suggesting laziness o the target audience. A banner is used across the top of all the pages to inform the reader about the magazine briefly while also helping sell the magazine to the audience by suggesting the type of magazine it is.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? After researching the two major publishing houses in the UK; IPC and Bauer media, I decided that the company most suitable to distribute my magazine would be Bauer media. I choose this as they already distribute three other major music magazines; Q, Mojo and Kerrang therefore have a good reputation for the distribution of this type of product. It also shows that other leading brands have chosen them so therefore they must be well respected by these top brands and provide a good distribution service. My magazine would easily fit in with their profiles because of their musical links both in magazines and radio. Currently they have links with a range of radio stations including key 103, and numerous TV music channels including 4music, who often play pop music on their channels therefore Bauer music already have connection within the pop music industry so would be well suited for my magazine. The radio stations and TV channels could also be used to promote my product so by choosing Bauer media it provides a method of promotion for my magazine through associated companies, helping it to get noticed by a large audience.Also Bauer media already have magazines aimed at a male target audience including FHM and Zoo so would have the knowledge of how to distribute my product effectively to a male audience, which is the primary gender my magazine is aimed at. Currently, Bauer media connects and engages with over 19 million people each week in the UK which is just under a third of the population meaning it provides a method to interact with large numbers of people, so could attract a large audience for my magazine. I also researched IPC media however I didn’t feel they would be as effective in distributing my magazine as they had no connections in any other areas beside publishing so they wouldn’t be able to offer as good connections to promote my product and didn’t have as many related magazine currently using them to distribute their products, suggesting that they may not be as effective company within the distribution of my product.

Who would be the audience for your media product?I made my magazine to represent and appeal to a young target audience aged between early teens to late twenties, as this is the main audience who are interested in the type of music featured and are most likely to buy the magazine to find out more. The reason I decided on the young audience is because my researched suggested this was the main age group likely to read this genre/type of magazine. I choose to aim my magazines to primarily a male audience as this is the gender I carried out most of my market research with and they showed an interest into music magazines proving there is a large market for it. My target audience are likely to be fans of pop music as this will be the genre featured primarily within my magazine. They will have a big interest into music as they are paying for a magazine to find out more about the bands/artists they like. A large proportion of my audience are likely to be students therefore they will have a low income therefore I had to make sure the price was suitable for my intended audience otherwise they would be unable to afford to buy my magazine on a regular basis so; I would have priced out a large target market. The main target audience I have chosen would fit into Group E as they are students however it may also appeal to an audience within Group B as some of them are likely to have an interest in media and music therefore a music magazine will appeal to them to find out the latest news about different artists.

Example

Target Audience Responses – Focus GroupI decided to carry out a focus group with my target audience to see what they thought of my final products. I did this by creating 2 closed groups on Facebook and inviting people within my target audience to comment on my final magazine so I could see their opinions about it and make changes accordingly.

Name: Tom JohnsonAge: 18 years old Occupation: Student/Part Time Worker in Local Supermarket Social Status: Class EInterests/Hobbies: Playing Guitar, Listening to music, Concerts, Football, GamingFavourite Bands/Artists: Ed Sheeran, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars

Firstly I created a group and invited 12 people to the group to get a general response of what they thought of my magazine. Overall I got positive reviews about my magazine from this, suggesting that my target audience liked the product and would be interested in my magazine and thought it looked good. Below are a few of the comments I received from this:

I then created a second group to get more in detail responses. I invited 3 people to answer a series of questions to see their views about different areas of my magazine as shown below:

Overall, the response about my images was positive as they thought they worked well within my magazine, and that they were appropriate for the style. However I found out from this that my contents page image was strongest meaning some of the other images may need more work to match the same standard. As a result I enlarged my main image on the front cover so it was mainly

the artist’s face showing. This helped to get rid of any dead space remaining while also making the image stand out more on the front cover. I also adjusted the background on the contents page so it contrasted more with the image to help make it look more appealing.

From this I found out that they thought the article was well written and suitable for the audience, meaning there was no need for me to make any changes to this area, while this also proved that my magazine would appeal to my target market.

From this I could conclude that the audience for my product liked the overall colour scheme and font throughout the magazine so there was no need for any changes within this area either as overall the audience liked the design. Within my first group I also got a comment saying about a good colour scheme meaning this may be one of the strongest areas within my magazine and is easily recognisable so, could be used for the audience to quickly identify my magazine for future editions.

Overall people liked my magazine and said that they would be interested in buying it meaning I have succeeded in making it appeal to my target audience. I also concluded that there were very few changes I would have to make to my magazine as from my focus group I could see that a lot of people liked my magazine overall and would buy it as it was.

How did you attract/address you audience?

The image uses direct address with the artists looking at the camera which helps address the reader and draw them into the magazine. The masks used suggest the informal, playful content within the magazine which the target audience will be interested in.

The page numbers by the images make it easy to find the related articles making it quick and easy for the reader to follow, saving time for the audience.

The black bold title makes it clear to the audience what the page is about and creates a dominance showing it is the main subject for the page. It also creates a professional feel as the font used is consistent throughout so the reader knows they are getting a high quality magazine.

The editor’s note section creates a personal feel to the magazine so it feels like the editor respects the audience buying the magazine and has taken time and care to cater for the audience’s needs within the magazine.

The bold titles help to divide the contents into separate sections making them easier for the audience to follow and find the correct page that they are looking for.

The bold title has the same font as the rest of the page mastheads to create a professional house style which the audience will appreciate. It helps the audience to connect with the story and quickly find out what the article is about.

The sidebar provides extra information relating to the article so they can find out about the album the article is promoting and get an overview of what it is like helping them decide whether to go and buy the cd.

The bold pull quote attracts the audience attention and helps inform the audience about the artist’s views before they read the whole article. The speech marks help to indicate this as they are a large feature and draw attention to the page.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?While developing and constructing magazine I used various technologies in the process. One of the technologies I used while developing my magazine were Nikon SLR and canon digital cameras which I used to photograph the images I needed for my magazine. By using these cameras I developed my photography skills and used various camera techniques to improve my images. I used the grid setting on the cameras to improve my images by using the rule of thirds and I also used the zoom function to help take the best images I could. I also used a tripod while taking some of my pictures so they were taken steadily to a higher standard. Throughout this process this improved my photography skills and I succeeded in producing good quality pictures for my final design. Using 2 types of cameras also helped me to learn how to use different cameras well however, I was limited by not knowing how to use all the different features available on the cameras.

The question and answer style format helps divide the page into section making the article easy to follow for the audience. The columns used also help make the text easy to follow so the audience can read the article with ease.

The image shows the artist looking towards the pull quote suggesting that it’s his own words backing up what he is saying.

The page numbers and bold banner used help the audience to easily and quickly navigate the magazine to find the page they are looking for.

Another type of technology I used was a PC and the Microsoft windows operating system. By using this on a regular basis I was able to develop good use of the system and easily navigate to the different items I needed. I was able to use an usb and memory card reader through the system to import my images and files onto the computer with ease while it also allowed me to easily backup my files aswell.

I used adobe Photoshop software while planning and creating my magazine to give it a professional look. By using this I enhanced my knowledge on the different tools that you could use on Photoshop including cropping images, manipulating images, creating shapes, adding gradients, etc. Overall this was successful as I can now use the software efficiently to produce pieces of work. Limitations of this are that it is quite difficult to work at first and find all the ways to adjust items within it, however by the end of the process I find the software easy to use and have learnt a lot about it while producing my magazine.

Another type of technology I used was blogger which I used to produce a blog of my completed work ready to be marked. This was successful as I learnt how to upload my work to it easily and could now use this service in the future. I also used to slide share in the process of uploading my work so word documents could be uploaded to blogger as it couldn’t be done directly through the blogger software, which could be considered a limitation of what you could do on blogger. However by doing this I learnt how to convert files ready to be uploaded to the internet. Another website I used in my project was Facebook which I used to do a focus group to find out what my target audience thought about my product, giving me an online method of feedback. This allowed me to learn how to create groups on Facebook which I then uploaded my magazine too. A limitation in my use of them may be that I didn’t get enough details about peoples thoughts from within the group, as I didn’t ask enough people within my target audience direct questions about my magazine and they could have been biased as I already knew the people I questioned.

For my evaluation I used Microsoft PowerPoint, sound cloud and prezi to display my evaluation in various formats. By doing this I developed my skills on different software and learnt the different ways to display information that were available by using a PC. Prezi allowed me to create interactive annotated images which people can navigate around to find out more creating an interactive experience, so it was successful at displaying my evaluation in an interesting way. I used PowerPoint to create presentations about my evaluation so that it could be presented to an audience and allowed me to learn how to use different features of the software. I used sound cloud to create podcasts to explain my product, which allowed people to listen to my evaluation easily and allowed me to upload sound clips onto the website. While doing this I also used a voice recorder on my mobile phone to upload the sound clip to sound cloud which allowed me to use technology on a mobile phone within my project so, gave me knowledge of how to use various technologies together. I also used Microsoft word for my evaluation and throughout the project which allowed me to quickly type up my article and evaluation of my final magazine.

Through the use of all these various technologies, you can see how technological convergence has had a big impact on how we use technology today to produce products to research, record, distribute and present work. I used modern technology throughout the whole process of producing my magazine that wouldn’t have been available 30 years ago, so technology has changed this whole process of producing a magazine dramatically over this time. Looking back at your ancillary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Images

There is a big difference between the image used for my ancillary project and my final product, as my camera skills improved throughout the project and I also learnt how to edit the images to create a better final image. My first image just showed a person looking down towards a book and follows no clear rules of photography. For my final image I used direct address making him look directly at the camera so he connects with the audience. I also used the rule of thirds to centre his head on an intersecting point with his body on the lower intersecting point, so the audience noticed these important areas within the image. When deciding on the costume for my model I decided that they should be wearing a hooded jackets as this was appropriate for the image of the magazine and the artist and, would relate to the target audience, compared with my ancillary where I took the image not considering what people were wearing. I also considered the size of my images and the distance I stood away from the model when I took them to create a suitable image to fill the space adequately. When I started edited the image I cropped the image and cut around the model so that I could use a different background that was more appropriate to the magazine, and helped the image stand out. I also adjusted the brightness, contrast, saturation and hue of the image to create a striking image set in high key lighting appropriate for a magazine front cover. I used none of these features within my ancillary project image showing how my skills both photographing the image and editing the image have developed over this time. In my ancillary project I used several images within the contents page to highlight the different articles featured within the magazine. However for my main project I decided to use one strong main image so the reader’s eyes wouldn’t be drawn to any secondary images. I also did this as it created a more professional looking design and bet conventions set by other music magazines which often just have one main image on the front cover.

LayoutThe layouts in both by ancillary and main product have many similarities such as location of the main image and cover lines as I thought these worked within the magazine however I made a significant number of changes between the layouts of both magazines to add to the professionalism of the magazine. In my ancillary project I put the barcode in the bottom right hand corner in the terminal area however for my main product I moved the barcode to a weak fallow are in the bottom left as the barcode isn’t one of the main features for selling the magazine to the audience so doesn’t need to be located in one of the main areas the audience will look. In the ancillary project I had a banner framing the image at the top, bottom and left hand side of the page where the mastheads were located. For the main product I got rid of the left hand side section as it would block out the main image and its background meaning it couldn’t all be seen. However I kept the section at the top and reduced the size of the bottom section so, I could include text within these sections describing the main features of the magazine. I used it to highlight the main topics covered within the article and to draw the audience’s attention. For my final product I located the issue no and price underneath the masthead so it was easier for the audience to see, located within the primary optical area as this is one of the things the audience is going to want to find out, as in my ancillary it was located in the weak fallow area above the main image. I kept the logo, coverlines and main coverline in similar place for my main product as I did in my ancillary as this is the conventional place for these items to be located within magazines, however I did add extra coverlines within circles at the bottom and right hand side of the page to display more cover lines so it look like the audience were getting more value for money.

MastheadThe masthead I used in both pieces of work is very different to each other as I developed my Photoshop skills over the process. The ancillary masthead using a single block colour throughout with all the letters being the same size. For my main masthead I used two different colours to help make it stand out to the audience, and I also made the first letter larger than the rest of the masthead to challenge conventions and make it look different to other magazine mastheads. For my main masthead I applied effects such as drop shadow to the masthead to make it stand out from the

background, whereas I used no effects within my first masthead and used the font directly how it came. In my ancillary project I used a background as part of my masthead to make it stand out and corner it off however, I decided not to use this technique for my masthead as I had already used two colour within the text to help it stand out and, I decided the image was more important to the sale of the magazine so it would be best in the background of the image similar to what other magazines such as Billboard do.

Text/FontFor the main coverline I created a very similar design however I used a different font for my main front cover that was more appropriate to the house style and genre of the magazine. In both I used large bold letters throughout and used drop shadow on the text to make it stand out over the image. However for my main magazine I reduced the level of drop shadow used to make it look more professional and, I also added a secondary point to the main coverline beneath it to give more detail to the reader about the main article, which I decided to do as I thought it would help sell the magazine if the reader knew more about what was featured inside. In my ancillary project I used the same font for all the text, however for my main magazine I choose to use a different font for different sections to make it look more interesting and easier to follow. In the ancillary project the coverline text was also quite difficult to read so, I made sure to use an easy to read font in my main project for the cover lines so the audience could easily find out what was featured inside. For my main project I used different font sizes and colour within my masthead to make it easy to see and make it look more interesting to the audience. I learnt that the audience would want good value for money from the magazine, therefore I included more information about the main articles and also included circular shapes with other coverlines in to look what there was a lot of different features within the magazine encouraging them to buy it. In both my ancillary and final product I choose font colours that matched the rest of the colour scheme which I used to keep a constant house style throughout so it look professional to the audience.

Contents PageI made a lot of changes to the contents page between by ancillary project and my final product; however I did keep a lot of the main features the same. In both designs I had a main image and two secondary images as I thought this was a good amount to help keep an even balance across the page and appeal to the audience. I included the editor’s notes section in both designs as I realised it was a

convention of a lot of music magazines to have this feature within the contents page. I did make a large number of changes between both designs however to make it look more professional and appeal to the audience. I decided to have all the images in the top section of the page as it helped create an equal balance of text and images and having images in the primary optical area would help draw the reader into the magazine. I also choose to include an image of my double page spread as I had seen it used within my market research and thought that this was an effective way of showing the audience what to expect within my magazine. In my ancillary project the contents masthead spreader across the page however for my final design I choose to feature it in just the top left hand corner so, it didn’t overlap with the main image as the main image would be one of the primary features for attracting the reader’s attention. In my final product I used a large title ‘this week in beat’ to help divide the page into two clear section while also drawing in the reader’s attention to the contents below. In my final product I used a lot bigger space to display my contents as I realised there may not be enough room with the space I gave for the contents within my ancillary project. I also used a larger space so, it looked like the reader was getting more value for money as there were a lot of articles inside and also so, I could provide information about each article to help the reader to decide whether they were interested in reading it. In my final magazine I included a red banner across the bottom to display the page number. I choose to add this as I thought it created a more professional image for my magazine and follow conventions of other magazines. I would use this on every page as I found that it was important for the reader to be able to easily find the page they want within the magazine. I also decided to include page numbers next to the main images as I thought that this would make it easier for the reader to find the page they were looking for which would meet my target audiences need who want to be able to quickly read the magazine. I choose a font more appropriate to my magazine for the text in my main product which matched with the house style, whereas for my ancillary I just choose a font that was easy to read without considering whether it met the house style showing how I progressed through the development stages. I included bold titles within my contents aswell for my main product to make it easy for the audience to follow and to show all the different features included within the magazine.