Evaluation

How does your media product use/develop/challenge conventions of a media product?

My media product uses and develops the conventions of a normal magazine in a number of ways. On my final front cover I have placed the masthead in the middle and at the top of the page; this is so it is easy for the reader to see what the name of the magazine is. Many magazines will place their masthead as it makes it clear what the title of the magazine is; also it is catching the eye of the audience so they will be able to easily recognise the particular magazine. In addition to this on my front cover I have used both a main image and the device of the left third. On many real media products like magazines they will have a main image which is representing the main story, I have done this, it will also allow the reader to see what the main story is and it may encourage them to buy the magazine. I have also used a left third, many other real magazines will use this device as it is showcasing to their audience what else their magazine has to offer, this is why I have used the left third device on the front cover of my magazine. Finally on my front cover I have placed the barcode at the bottom corner of the page, this is what other magazine companies do as it is out of the way allowing room for more important features such as additional images. On my magazine I placed it in the corner as it allowed me to have more space for the additional images, which were also showcasing my unique selling point.

Whilst creating my magazine, I looked at magazines such as Kerrang to be able to follow come of the conventions of ‘normal’ magazines. I chose to look at Kerrang as it is the same genre as my magazine. From looking at this magazine I was able to base many features from my magazine on how they layout their magazine. For example I have a main image of a band, I have also got a similar unique selling point and a big bold title at the top and in the middle of the page.

How does your media product use/develop/challenge conventions of a media product?

Furthermore my music magazine follows and develops the 'norms' and conventions of real magazine on the contents page. Like other magazines I have placed page numbers and the heading of stories on the page, this is showing the reader what else the magazine has to offer and it is also showing what page the main story is on which was shown on the front cover. I have also got another main image on my contents page, which is relating to the main story and it has the page number with it, many other magazines will do this as it many people may buy a magazine purely based on the main story therefore it the page number and story need to be clearly shown on the contents page. However unlike many other magazines I have included an 'editor’s column', I have done this as it makes the magazine more personal for the reader. But I have also followed the conventions of having other additional images on the contents page; this makes the page more interesting as well as

showing the audience what the story is about.

As like my Front cover, I also looked at contents pages from Kerrang, which is the magazine I based my magazine on. A lot of the features on my contents page, is similar to those on the contents page of a Kerrang contents page. For example, I have added in an editors column, I have chosen to use this feature as I found that it made the magazine more personal to the audience and therefore it will appeal to them. I know this as the audience for Kerrang is similar to my target audience so they like similar features in magazines.

How does your media product use/develop/challenge conventions of a media product?

The double page spread of my magazine also follows the conventions of other real magazines. I have used the device of a quote, this draws the attention of the reader and will encourage them to read the whole article and this is why other magazines also used quotes on their articles. I have also used a main image on the first side of the double page spread under the heading, this is where most magazines will place the main image of an article as it is showing the reader straight away who the article is about and what it is about. In addition to this, the use of the main image will also draw in the attention of the reader and will encourage them to read the article. Furthermore I have also used conventions such as having the heading of the story at the top and in the middle of the page, this is clearly showing the reader what the story is and what it is about, it will also, like the main image and quote, draw in the attention of the reader and it will encourage them to read on. Like many other magazines I have also added in the website of my magazine where they will be able to find the full interview with the person. Many magazine will place their website address at the bottom of the page where the story ends so the reader will see it and it will encourage them to go onto the website. This way they may be encouraged to regularly buy the magazine.

Throughout the magazine I have also used a colour scheme, which is following the 'norms' of many other magazines. I have used this convention and other magazine companies use this as it creates a brand for the magazine, this will allow their audience to easily recognise the magazine and therefore become to know the magazine and start to buy it regularly. The colour scheme will also make my magazine look more professional and organised; it will allow the audience to easily follow the magazine. However the colour scheme I chose at the start of the construction of my magazine changed throughout the process of the construction. I changed my colour scheme because I decided that having two shades of purple and black was to constricting and it didn’t work well with the genre of the magazine. As a result of this I changed it to a broader range of colours and these colours also fitted the genre of the magazine better.

How does your media product use/develop/challenge conventions of a media product?

This is the original colour scheme I chose for my magazine.

This is what I changed my colour scheme to

My media product represents a particular social group through the colours used and the language and the content of the magazine. The colours I used on my magazine are colours associated with a young generation who like rock/punk music, the colours I used on my magazine are purple, grey, white and black. These colours are associated with this particular social group as they are dark, they are associated with the music they listen and therefore it represents them as a whole. So by using these colours, it will attract this social group and my magazine would sell more issues. I have also used a lexis which will appeal to a young generation; I used words such as 'gig' instead of 'concert' which only young people will understand, so it will therefore only interest them. In addition to this the content of the magazine also represents the social group of young people who like rock/punk music. The content of the magazine is purely based on rock/punk music and will therefore only appeal to a social group who like it, the content of the magazine also again uses a specific lexis which this social group will understand and be interested in. I was able to base these features on my format I found and the mood board I created of things which this social group will like, I done this to make sure that whilst creating my magazine I was able to have features that my target audience will like.

How does your media product represent a particular social group?

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

After looking at my format research, I looked at a couple of possible distributers for my magazine. Firstly I looked at Bauer Media; this company are already responsible for distributing Kerrang, Mojo and Q. These magazines are similar to my magazine; the genre for these magazines and the genre of my magazine are the same, which id rock/punk. Knowing this means that it would be more likely for Bauer Media to distribute my magazine as we all have the same target audience, so it would be easier for them. Another distributor that I researched was IPC Media, this media company produce and distribute NME and this magazine is similar to my magazine as we have a similar genre of music. However their target audience is different to mine. As a result of this I believe that Bauer Media is the best candidate to distribute my media product.

The target audience for my magazine is teenagers and young adults, with the age range of 14-25. I have chosen this target audience as I have found, from my audience research, the group of people who like the genre of music I have chosen which is rock/punk are likely to be in the age range of 14-25. Therefore I have based a lot of features of my magazine on what I believe will draw in the attention and appeal to my target audience. Firstly I based the colour scheme on my target audience; I chose the colours of black, white, grey and purple. These colours are associated with rock/punk music, so I chose these colours so they would appeal to my target audience resulting in more sales for my magazine.

Who would be the audience for your media product? How did you attract/address your audience?

I also based my unique selling point on my target audience; I also based it on my format research. My unique selling point for my magazine is having a poster special, where the reader will get four free posters of the band who is the main story. I found from my format research that many people of the age range of my target audience would be encouraged to buy a magazine if it had posters with it. The lexis I used in my magazine is also targeted towards my audience; I used a lexis which is professional but will still interest my audience and will only apply to them. For example as a cover line I used 'the ultimate gig guide'. The word ultimate is suggesting that my magazine will be the best in telling my audience what concerts are being performed. In addition to this is the word 'gig' is informal which appeals to the young target audience, but it is only a word which will only be understood by my target audience

Who would be the audience for your media product? How did you attract/address your audience?

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

From the process of producing my media product I have learnt about the technologies of producing a media product. One of these is the use of InDesign; this programme is used to be able to produce media products. I have learnt that there are specific programmes which can be used to make magazines as they have all the features which are needed to be able to produce a professional magazine. With this programme I was able to use tools such as the crop tool to be able to crop some of my images so they would look more professional for my magazine. Another form of technology that I used and learnt about whilst producing my media product is Photoshop, this programme allows you to edit photos. One of the tools which I learnt to use is the erase tool; from this I was able to erase the background of my main image to make it look more professional and make it look like a main image. I was also able to edit the brightness of some of my images so they would be of a higher quality. Finally I also learnt about the clone tool, this allowed me to get rid of any blemishes on my image which allowed it to look more professional and of a higher quality.

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 I have learned a lot about the process of producing a media product. I have learned about the 'norms' and conventions of magazines, for example a front cover will usually have a main image relating to the main story of the magazine. From this I have learnt that if you follow these conventions it will appeal to more of an audience, which will sell more copies of your magazine. I have also learned that you have to edit your photos in order for your images look professional and like a real magazine; to do this you can use Photoshop. You can use a range of tools on Photoshop in order for the images to look of a higher quality, resulting in a professional looking image, which will appeal to more of an audience as it will look like a real magazine. In addition to this from my preliminary task I have also learnt a lot about the programmes that can be used to create a real media product; I have learnt that there are specific programmes, such as InDesign, which are used to create a magazine as they have all the features needed to be able to create a professional magazine.