Media Evaluation

By Chloe O’Neill

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge the forms and conventions of real media

products?

Here is a link to a task I did in class in which I explored the typical codes and conventions of a magazine front cover:http://chloeoneill96.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/codes-and-conventions-task.html

Front CoverFor the front cover of my magazine, I made sure I included the main generic conventions of a typical magazine which I learnt through my research. I ensured I used a masthead, barcode, dateline, price, web address, main image, puffs, pugs and cover lines. I placed the image of my cover star over the masthead to emphasise her importance but to also show that the magazine is a recognisable brand. I also edited the main image so that the flowers in the cover star’s hair were the same colour as the masthead which shows synergy between the magazine and cover star. I embedded the web address into the masthead so it does not distract away from the main image and the cover lines and also looks more professional. One way in which I have challenged the typical conventions is the fact that my cover star is not using direct mode of address. Although it may not enable the readers to connect as fully with the star it does give provide her with her own identity and is unique.

Influences

‘We Love Pop’ influenced ‘BURST’ because of the way in which it often features independent, female artists as main cover stars. It also influenced ‘BURST’ as I liked the way the main cover line stands out compared to the other cover lines as it is much bigger and in a different colour. It further influenced ‘BURST’ by relating the main pug to a male artist as that would entice the target audience more. I also liked the colour scheme of bright colours, mainly pink which has connotations to girly and feminine which relates to my target audience.

Contents Page

For my contents page, I ensured I included a different image of the cover star I featured on my front cover. I also included the ‘BURST’ masthead and kept within the pink, grey and black colour scheme to make my magazine look more consistent therefore professional. I also added an editors note which many magazine often do and edited the photo in black and white to maintain consistency further.

Here is a link to a task in which I looked closely into the conventions of a contents page and analysed them:http://chloeoneill96.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/analysis-of-contents-page-from-q.html

Influences

Although ‘Q’ is not the same music genre as ‘BURST’, this contents page did however influence my work as I liked the way the images related to different articles and the page numbers were featured on them in big, bold font. I also liked the way in which each feature had a small sentence underneath it revealing more about the article. Like the ‘Q’ contents page, I kept my ‘BURST’ contents page quite simple which I thought would be effective as if it was too busy it may distract the reader from the information. I

Here is a link to a task I did in which I looked specifically at the conventions of a double page spread and analysed them:http://chloeoneill96.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/anaylsis-of-double-page-spread-from-q.html

Double Page SpreadFor my double page spread, I have kept to the typical layout you would expect to see in many magazine having a large image of the star of the left side and the article on the other. I also continued the same colour scheme of pink, black and grey to sustain consistency and give a professional feel to my magazine. I added a quote from the article on the left side to entice the reader into finding out more therefore having to read the article.

Influences

‘BURST’ double page spread was largely influenced by that of ‘Q’ magazine. I really liked the way in which the star’s initial is featured in big letters on the right side as it relates them to the article itself. It also stands out and makes it look more interesting which is effective as too much text could make the reader loose interest.

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

My magazine is aimed at mostly young, female teenagers who enjoy listening to pop music and are quite feminine.I have used images of my cover star which purposefully portray a happy, positive image. Pixie contrasts with the usual stereotype of a woman in some ways as she is represented as quite strong and independent on the front cover as she is facing away. In most of the images Pixie is not making direct mode of address and is either looking down or hair is covering her eyes. I think this further shows her as an independent individual who is different from others. However, throughout the rest of the magazine and through the use of props she does represent a typical, girly female. I have chosen to stick to this usual stereotype as the readers of this magazine will fall into the same category and therefore can relate to the cover star. In all of the images I wanted my cover star to be smiling or laughing as I wanted to portray a positive image. I thought this would be effective as it would present Pixie as a role model to the younger readers and would influence them to be happy and positive. It also relates to my article in the double page spread as Pixie comes across very real and true to her music and her fans.

Representations to social groups

3. What kind of institution might distribute your media product and

why?

At the start of the course, one of the first tasks we completed was research into two of the biggest music magazine distributers ; Bauer and IPC. Here is a link to the information I found out:http://chloeoneill96.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/music-magazine-distribution-anaylises.html

As ‘BURST’s’ target market is mostly similar to that of ‘We Love Pop’ I researched which company distributed it and found out it was ‘Egmont.’ I considered having ‘Egmont’ distribute my magazine however, as I looked further into it, I realised they mostly distributed children’s books and magazines which would decrease my demographic. Also, the magazines aren’t as mass market as I’d hope ‘BURST’ would be so thought it wouldn’t be suitable.

I then compared IPC and Bauer and decided that Bauer Media would be more likely to distribute ‘BURST.’ It is one of the largest music magazine distributors and distributes magazines with a similar demographic and mass market I think ‘BURST’ would have.

Although it distributes magazines such as ‘Q’ and ‘NME’ which are not the same genre as ‘BURST’ they are mass market magazines. Bauer also distributes magazines such as ‘Closer,’ ‘Heat,’ ‘Grazia,’ and ‘More’ which all have the same type of tone as ‘BURST’ and are aimed at the same target audience which is teenage girls.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Here is a link to a blog entry in which I went into detail about the target audience I would suspect ‘BURST’ magazine would have:http://chloeoneill96.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/research.html

Target Audience

I would say that ‘BURST’ magazine’s target audience is mostly similar to that of ‘We Love Pop.’ My magazine is aimed at young teenagers 15+ who enjoy listening to pop music. Due to the cover stars, stories and colour scheme, I would also say that my magazine is mostly aimed at females as the articles would mainly interest them. The aim of my magazine is to inform the reader monthly of all the latest ‘gossip’ to do with the pop industry and their favourite pop stars. My magazine also provides the reader with extras and exclusives which relate specifically to my target audience. A typical reader of ‘BURST’ magazine would be a 15 year old teenager currently attending school who listens to pop music, artists such as Katy Perry, Pixie Lott and Girls Aloud etc. She would also be a typical ‘girly-girl’ i.e. loves the colour pink, flowers and hearts. She would enjoy reading magazines such as ‘We Love Pop‘ and ‘Top Of The Pops’ as they are similar to ‘BURST.’

5. How do you attract/address your audience to your media product?

Attracting the audience

One way in which I tried to attract my target audience is through the use of colour. I made my colour scheme pink, black and grey. I used the colour pink as it is mainly associated with femininity and has connotations to girly. It also portrays a positive feel therefore representing the feel of my whole magazine. I used the colours grey and black in order to highlight the pink more. I also thought if I used to many colours, my magazine would look too busy and the reader wouldn’t know where to look. It also gives a simple yet quite classy look to my magazine therefore appealing to older teenagers also i.e. 18+.

Colour

Language/register

As my magazine is aimed at teenagers, I didn’t want the language to be too formal or serious as it would not appeal to my target market. On the other hand, I didn’t want to make it too colloquial with too many ‘slang’ words as I think it would have only appealed to a much younger audience which I didn’t want. I used words and phrases such as ‘exclusive,’ ‘reveals all,’ and ‘WIN!’ to entice the reader as they are getting more for their money. Pop music also had connotations to positivity and happiness unlike that of rock which is more negative so I didn’t think the use of swear words was appropriate. Overall, the main tone of my magazine is informal and chatty which would appeal to a mass market.

In the images of my cover star, I have tried to present her in a positive light therefore being a role model for the readers. In each image she looks particularly happy and again the use of pink in her lipstick and flowers would appeal to a female audience. I didn’t want her to do and rebellious poses or gestures as I think that would portray a negative feel.

Images

Here is a link to some of the original photos I didn’t want to include in my magazine as I didn’t feel they gave the right feel:http://chloeoneill96.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/afdhsjskdifhbndklasdf.html

Masthead

I decided to keep my masthead quite simple as in my research I realised that plain mastheads were quite effective e.g. ‘Vibe’ and ‘Q.’ I used a font called ‘Vogue’ font which is quite sophisticated appealing to an older target audience but used the colour pink to appeal to a younger, more girly market.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing the product?

Advantages:• Many effects available to edit photos giving them a professional feel• Magic wand enables you to cut the background out of images giving them a neater look• Quite simple to use

Disadvantages:• Hard to use when using it for the first time however easy when you get used to it • Using the magic wand tool takes a long time and becomes tedious • Once you have flattened the layers you cant un-do it so it becomes difficult you decide you want to change

something

Advantages:• Easy to use, more likely that people would be familiar with using the programme • Easier to move text and images around than paint.net and there’s no need for layers • Visible construction lines

Disadvantages:

• Not many effects to edit photos• Can only crop photos, no magic wand tool, makes photos look less professional

Advantages• Simple to use, adding/deleting/editing posts• Easy to add images to posts • Helps you organise your work and lead to in the direction to the final magazine

Disadvantages

• Not able to change the dates on posts or add extra ones so if something is forgotten or needs editing it becomes difficult

• Time management is hard to keep up with sometimes, posts have to be done regularly for time management to look good

I also used the programme ‘Slide Share’ when uploading my evaluation PowerPoint to my blog. Slide Share was more effective than simply uploading my PowerPoint straight to my blog as it enables hyperlinks to work properly. This is the first time I have used this programme and, again, have gained new skills relating to technology.

7. Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt from it to

the full product?

Comparing the front cover of my preliminary task to the front cover of my music magazine I have realised that I have learnt a lot and gained many new skills. It is clear that I have come more familiar with how to make a magazine look more professional in terms of layout and have learnt how to position images and cover lines better. There is also a lot of white space on the front cover of my preliminary task which looks unprofessional. I have also become more familiar with the programme paint.net, as I am a new to Media I had never used it before, when making the front cover of my preliminary task I mainly stuck to publisher which isn’t as good.

Comparing the two contents pages, I can also see a huge improvement. Again, I have adapted the skill of having less white space making it look more professional. I have also used more page numbers which also makes it look professional as real media products would contain many different articles. I have also stuck to three colours where as in my preliminary task, I used quite a few which made it look busy and unprofessional.

8. How successful do you feel your end product is in fulfilling the task? How well

does it fit the brief?

Overall, I think my final product is successful in fulfilling the brief as I have produced a new music magazine with a front cover, contents page and double page spread. I have done thorough research into existing magazines and the codes and conventions and have displayed this knowledge in my own magazine. I think my strongest aspect is my front cover and the weakest is my contents page, I think is looks less convincing as a real media product than my other pages. I am particularly pleased with my images and the quality of them as I think they look really effective and professional. I think I have been successful with my time management which my blog should reflect and have definitely improved greatly from the preliminary task and have developed many new skills .