Evaluation - 7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back at my preliminary tasks and the final outcome of that task I feel the final product of my task now are of a much higher standard. I feel that, by learning how to use Adobe Photoshop to a higher standard this has increased my work standard. On my preliminary task struggled to use Adobe Photoshop which left 2 of my covers without any editing at all. I feel the standard of the photos were poor and that the fonts I used for my cover lines made it look very unprofessional and tacky.
My music magazine cover, contents and double page spread is of a higher standard because I learnt how to use Photoshop better, and also because I feel I now fully understand the conventions of music magazines and how to make them look good and appeal to an audience. By evaluating many covers, double page spreads and contents pages I was able to see how real magazine companies layout their magazines and was able to reproduce this in my way.

The cover lines look quite tacky on my preliminary task so I tried to improve my standard on my music magazine. The seal of approval looks less professional and the image is unedited.

Overall, the longer the task went on the more skills I gained in different areas making it easier for me to produce a good quality music magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread.

 

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

Whilst constructing my cover, contents page and double page spread I have learnt how to use many aspects of Adobe Photoshop that I didn’t know how to use before.

I chose to use Photoshop because it was the best programme to use that would enable me to use the fonts I want and how to get the layout correctly, as well as allowing me to edit my pictures.
On the cover of the magazine I cut the figure from the background using the magnetic lasso tool. This then allowed me to create the fading red and white background with the gradient tool. I then used the smudge tool to make the outline of the figure less obvious so it looks more professional. For the cover lines I chose the font I wanted from 'dafont.com' and pasted them onto my cover. I had to use the magic wand tool to delete the background so they didn’t have a white box around them. I used the fill tool to change the colours. I used the shape tool to create the seal of approval and added a shadow to make it look raised.
I desaturated the image of the figure to make him black and grey. Finally, I added a glow to the title of my magazine ‘Sound’ to make it stand out and look different from the cover lines, and used the burn tool to darken some areas.
On my contents page I used the magnetic lasso tool again to cut out the figure. I again desaturated the image to keep the running theme of black and white images; I also desaturated the images I got off the Internet. I again used the smudge tool to make the outline less visible, and used the magic wand tool to delete the background of the writing and the fill to change the colour of the font. To make the lines I used the shape tool and selected the line, then I chose what size I wanted them and altered the colours using the fill tool.
On the double page spread I didn’t delete the background of the image; I kept it as I liked the greyness. Instead I used the eyedropper tool which allows you to select any colour from an image; I selected the grey of the background and applied to the background behind the image as the image didn’t reach the edges. I again had to use the magic wand tool to delete the background of the font and fill to change the colour. The actual text I used for the interview was already on Photoshop so I just used the text box tool to write that, I then highlighted the quotes and changed the font and colour using the tools at the top of the page.
Before my task, I wasn’t completely comfortable using Adobe Photoshop and didn’t understand some of the tools, however, this task has allowed me to heighten my Photoshop skills and will be useful in the future.

Evaluation - 5. How did you attract/address your audience? How did audience feedback help you to make important decision?

I attracted my audience on the cover, contents page and double page spread.

Evaluation - 4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

My target audience is teenagers aged 15 – 20, mostly males. The reason I have targeted males slightly more is because they are stereotypically more likely to buy indie music magazines which is proven by IPC Media having the music magazine 'NME' in the male orientated division. Despite this, my questionnaire results suggest it is likely that both genders will be interested in my magazine as I asked an equal number of males and females when I gave out my questionnaire and applied the results to my product. My target audience are interested in indie music and music festivals and would spend time on social networking sites such as Facebook where I plan to advertise my magazine.
From my questionnaire results I found that very few of my target audience currently bought music magazines, and the main reason for this was because they ‘weren’t interested’ which suggested that I needed to incorporate the things they wanted into my music magazine to make it successful and appealing.
I chose to do an indie magazine because that was my target audience’s most popular answer when I asked their favourite music genre, so by choosing indie I am appealing to the majority of my target audience. I also incorporated some of their favourite artists such as Biffy Clyro and I mentioned Jack Johnson in my interview with my indie artist.
50% of my target audience said their favourite part of music magazines are the interviews so the majority of my features were interviews of indie bands. Every person I asked said they would like upcoming gigs and tours to be advertised in my magazine, so bearing that in mind I had a feature about T in The Park, a well known music festival and I included a chance to win tickets to see Vampire Weekend, which would also act as an incentive to buy the magazine so they would be more interested. I also made my magazine a weekly magazine as the majority voted for this.
I also found that the majority of my target audience download music rather than purchasing it on CD’s which means I could offer ITunes vouchers and other downloadable related prizes in future issues.

The fact that I’ve taken into account all of this makes my magazine appeal to my target audience.

Evaluation - 3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Two media institutions that might distribute my music magazine would be Bauer Media and IPC Media. Bauer Media is a division of the Bauer Media Group. It is largest privately owned publishing group and offers 300 magazines in 15 different countries as well as online, TV and radio stations although it’s two main areas are magazine and radio. Because Bauer Media is a UK based institution, it would relate well to my target audience as my questionnaire results all came from people in the UK, and because Bauer Media distributes to 15 countries, my magazine could become well known and even more successful. The fact that it is focused mainly on magazines means that it is experienced in distributing to the right areas, and with magazines such as 'Kerrang' and 'Q' to their name they are an already well established brands that could boost my magazine to its full potential. Bauer Media Is also experienced in radio (Kiss FM), TV (The Box music channel) and the Internet, so my magazine could be advertised in these three areas. Being advertised on the Internet would greatly appeal to my target audience of teenagers aged 15 – 20, mostly males, and we could perhaps advertise on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Distribution could take place over the Internet as well making my magazine more widely available to my audience and those out of my main target audience. From my questionnaire results we can see that most people purchase music from download (i.e. ITunes, Napster), distributing and advertising over the Internet would allow my target audience to buy the music magazine and music at the same time, and I could advertise on these download websites.
Another suitable publisher would be IPC Media. IPC Media produces over 60 iconic media brands whose websites collectively reach over 20 million of their users each month. IPC Media has 3 divisions, IPC Inspire which focuses on appealing to men, IPC Connect which focuses on middle class women and IPC Southbank which is for more upmarket women. This means that overall IPC Media focuses mainly on women’s’ media products, the majority of their magazines relate to women, and none of the magazines for women are music based. This suggest they might be slightly less experienced than Bauer at reaching my target audience of teenagers aged 15 – 20, mostly males, as they are more focused on appealing to an older, more upmarket audience. IPC Inspire does produce the well known music magazine 'NME' which proves they are experienced in relating to a similar target audience as me, but this is the only music magazine the whole of IPC Media produces.

Overall I think Bauer is a much more suitable media institution to distribute my music magazine in the best and most efficient way.

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

On many indie and alternative music magazines, the social group represented is slightly older than mine, around the mid 20’s. The band and artists featured on magazines such as Q are often shown in quite a rough way; they aren’t made to look pretty unlike artists on magazines such as Rolling Stone where the artists are usually made to look better by airbrushing. This could be because they want their magazine to be more about the music and be independent, that’s what indie is all about, and to appeal to the audience they need the artists to represent this indie image. Many of the current indie magazines represent males, there are more male artists featured in magazines like 'Q' and 'NME' than there are females, but females are still in represented in the magazines. This could be because stereotypically, males are more likely to buy indie magazines than females because that rough, ‘don’t really care about their appearance’ attitude is related more to males. Females are stereotypically thought to be interested in looking good, makeup and clothes.
My magazine represents a particular social group of young teenage males and females. On my cover the main image is of a male indie artist. The image is made to look quite grainy which gives it a more indie look, the figures hair is swept to one side and is quite messy and his clothes are casual, all of this represents young teenage males as they are known to be quite laid back and messy. He is slightly younger than the artists represented on real music magazines, but as my magazine is aimed at 15 – 20 year old, mostly males, it makes it easier for the audience to relate to the artist. George is holding an acoustic, not many of the indie music magazines I looked at had their artists playing an instrument in the image on the cover, for instance Q magazine has a cover where the artist Dave Grohl is blowing fire out of his mouth.

I have also used an image of a female artist on my front cover which is why my magazine represents both genders. She too looks quite ‘rough around the edges’ with baggy clothes and messy hair, which represents her as indie artist rather than the stereotypical female artists that are made to look pretty, especially female pop artists such as Katy Perry. She looks quite awkward in the way she stands which is a look often used in indie magazines to make the artist appear different than average.

The images I have used on the contents page are of stereotypically indie bands. The image of the vaccines makes them look dirty, with something spilled down some of their shirts. They are all looking at the camera and they all have different expressions on their faces, one of the artists looks miserable, and another is grabbing his band members head. Their hair is messy and clothes are dirty and wet, giving the image that quirky look that relates to indie bands.
The image of George on the contents page also has him playing acoustic guitar, his clothes and hair are the same, and he is sat on a beanbag. This gives the image quite a laid back, casual look, and in magazines such as NME the contents pages tend to be full of text and images, and the images are usually of the band standing or performing on stage which is a more hectic look than my contents page.
On my double page spread I used an image of George looking directly in the camera with a slightly puzzled look on his face which is quite a conventional look for indie artists. He is wearing a hooded fleece pulled halfway over his head and a plain grey shirt which continues the simplistic style of my magazine. His hair is slightly messy and he looks quite awkward, which many indie artists look like to make their image quirky and memorable.

Evaluation - 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My music magazine has used, developed, and challenged existing conventions of music magazines.

 How did it use conventions of real media products?
- On my front cover I used a variety of different fonts for the different cover lines to fit with the conventions of a music magazine front cover, I used 5 different fonts altogether.

- My cover has several cover lines and one main cover line that relates to the main image which is a common feature of magazines. The main cover line was written in a bigger, bolder font which is the way a main cover line is usually displayed.

- I have also used a pull quote from the interview on the cover underneath the main cover line which relates to the main image, this is a typical feature of music magazines and magazines in general.
- My front cover has a main image which ties in with the main cover line and is quite central to the page. I have also used a smaller image which relates to another cover line and is less obvious than the main image, as many music magazines around include more than one image on their covers.
- I used the word ‘exclusive’ on the front cover and double page spread which is quite a conventional word used on cover lines as it makes reader more interested as they think they won’t find the information anywhere else.
- At the bottom of my front cover I wrote a list of bands featured, which is very common, especially in indie and alternative magazines.
- On my contents page I featured a small picture of the front cover in the corner, this is a convention of music magazines and I have seen it in magazines I have researched such as ‘Q magazine’.
- On my contents page I have used the title ‘contents’ to make it clear what is displayed on the page, which many magazines do. Some choose to write something different, for instance, from my research I found 'NME' magazine often writes ‘NME this week’, however I chose ‘contents’ because my magazine is new and I thought it would be more appropriate.

- I have put the stories or features to the left of my contents page which is a commonly used layout for music magazine contents pages, and I have made the names of the artists a different colour so they stand out and the reader can easily see who is featured.
- My contents page has more than just one main image; it has other smaller images relating to the other features.
- In my double page spread I have used just one large image of the artist which takes up the whole of the right page. I have seen this convention used in a few magazines and I think it give the magazine a more professional look, an example would be the double page spread I analysed from Classic Rock magazine, where the image of the band Mötley Crüe take up one page.

How did it develop the conventions of real media products?
- I have included a seal of approval on my magazine front cover that offers reader a chance to win tickets to see the band Vampire Weekend. Many magazines use seal of approvals, but some like 'NME' simply put another cover line in them, whereas I have offered my readers a chance to win something which will entice them in to buy my magazine.

- In my double page spread I have not only changed the colour of the key quotes, but I have also increased the size of the font to make them even more eye-catching. Both of these conventions are used in magazines; however they aren’t usually used together at the same time.

How it challenged the conventions of real media products?
- On my front cover all of my cover lines are on the right side of the page. Usually the cover lines are either distributed on either side of the main image or on the left, I chose to put my cover lines on the right as this way they would cover up less of the main image and keep the focus on the artist on the cover.

- My contents page is quite minimal, and I have used fewer images than many of the contents pages I looked at. Q magazine tends to have quite a full contents page with a huge amount of text, and the background is almost completely covered by images and boxes of text. My contents page is quite minimalist and there is quite a lot of blank space because I wanted to steer clear of clutter and keep the minimal theme running through.

- On my front cover, the main image of an indie artist doesn’t use a direct mode of address. The image I chose shows the figure looking down as if he is playing guitar, whereas usually the main image on the cover has a direct mode of address to interact with the reader. I chose to use this image as I think the figure clearly represents and indie artist and this shows the reader what genre of music my magazine focuses on clearly.