Draft Evaluation (Without formatting and use of technology)

Question 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop

or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
From looking at my final magazine it can clearly be recognized as
magazine cover in general. Within my final product I have incorporated as
many general magazine characteristics that would usually be expected to
be found within any magazine. As the particular sub genre I chose for my
magazine was indie-pop I believe that the following conventions help to
meet this successfully. A magazine which highly influenced my own was
NME and as you can see I have followed the very popular convention of
basing the magazine masthead across the top centre of the page. The title
"Flux" itself connotes fresh and up-coming but is also the well known Bloc
Part song which I believe reinforces the 'indie-pop' genre. When
researching I decided on this name as many music magazines had similar
connotations. The image is the focal point of my magazine cover which is
something that all magazines follow, the image itself has full eye contact
with the audience and this uses the convention of grabbing my target
audiences attention. Which then the cover lines and plugs and a strap
lines are based around the image but also integrated to ensure the page
links together well. Additionally, other common features that can be pulled
out of my magazine cover are a slogan, date, price, barcode, and a sticker
which consists of another cover line. Secondly, I believe that the colour
scheme is something that develops the conventions of a real music
magazine. As I found during my research a large percentage of magazines
stuck to a three colour palette; this is something I have also done but in
addition the colours I have used are colours that I commonly found being
used on indie and rock magazines so I have therefore sustained this
throughout my own magazine. The misc en scene within my front cover
was purposely adapted to suit the style of my magazine. I appropriately
dressed my artist in clothing to match the 'indie-pop' culture as I
discovered many magazines created a sense of genre through personal
appearance. The paralinguistic features such as facial expression is
somewhat 'fierce' and slightly 'moody' but still inviting as a result of the
eye contact. As this is an element I found was commonly expressed in
'indie' magazines, I have incorporated my own image similarly to
emphasize genre. Overall, taking an overview of my final cover I feel I
have closely stuck to the conventions of a typical music magazine rather
than challenging them and as a result the piece is aesthetically pleasing to
look at.

It seems that my final contents has followed many common conventions

that i came across when doing my research. On the page I have used the
house colours that appear on the cover to show continuity throughout my
magazine and highlight the indie-pop genre once again with the dark
colours highlighting a 'gloomier' style of music and the red adding
vibrancy for an element of fun. Something that strictly follows the
convention of a music magazine within my contents is the sections that
appear (rule of three). I have sorted each of my featuring pieces into
'news' 'features' and 'reviews' on the left hand side as i found many
magazines stuck to this rule. The font which you can see on the page is
identical to the one featured on the front cover. I have used one plain font
for the bulk of the writing and one slightly ornamental font for headings, to
add a slight edge to the magazine and ensure it does not look too boring. I
have done this as i found many music magazines could be recognized by a
"house" font that they continued to use throughout their magazine.
Additionally I have followed another common magazine form which is
grouping the images on the page together and as you can see they are on
the right hand side located in a column which will draw the audience’s
attention when they open the page. Looking at the images on my contents
this is an element which was hard to imitate in the style of a music
magazine. One of the images as you can see is from a live performance
which is something I found very common within the NME magazine. I kept
the clothing simple and within my contents as this meant I was able to
continue using black, white and greys throughout my page to once again
represent the continuity of the magazine. One of the images on my
contents page is taken against a worn down wall and did this to reflect the
slightly 'gloomy' and 'scruffy' genre that 'indie' is often stereotyped as. For
example an 'indie-rock' band doing a photo shoot within a factory
appeared to be a common occurrence. Lastly, each of my artists within my
page are making eye contact and this strongly follows the conventions of
images in a magazine as this holds connection with the reader. Overall, i
feel that my contents page strongly relies on the use of conventions that
would be found in a typical magazine.

For my double page spread I once again believe I have strongly relied on
the development of conventions within real magazines. I have used
graphology which could be recognized immediately as a typical magazine
article. This is due to the large image on located right hand side, which
then the article is sat on the left hand side accompanying the image. The
image itself connotes a photo shoot of an artist. Also, grab lines have been
inserted appropriately into the article. This is something I found appeared
within almost every magazine double page spread. By doing this I have
broken the page down so it does not look too 'text heavy' and the readers
interest is sustained. Other common features and conventions that I have
included on my double page spread are, a title, page numbers, date, the
name of the magazine, and additional images. Taking the images for the
DPS was something that I found tricky. I ensured that the images
appeared as if they were taken in a studio, as when researching this was a
common location for many artists. The misc en scene i have used to
create genre through my artist was kept minimalistic but as a result is
effective. For example I have once again introduced the use of red, white,
black and grey. This represents the house colours of the magazine as I
believe many music magazines like to do this. The facial expression and
body language of my artist connotes a sense of personality which is what I
intended to do as nearly all music related photo shoots reveal the artists
personality as well as the music genre. Lastly I have used a text for the
title and the grab lines which can be recognized as a common feature of
'Flux' magazine. Through this, i have represented continuity and
profession as many magazines do. The text I have used is also appropriate
to the style of the magazine as it is easy to read but has a slightly
ornamental style to add an edge to the magazine itself. Overall, I feel that
my double page spread has once again strongly relied on the forms of a
real media product. I have done this to ensure my magazine looks as
professional and believable as possible for my target audience.

Question 2- How does your media product represent different

social groups?
From taking a glance at the front cover of my magazine I believe that the
type of social group is not easily recognizable. Once the magazine is
looked at in slightly more detail I believe this becomes more obvious. As
the colour scheme is slightly monochrome apart from the obvious
exception of red I think this indicates class and profession. Rather than
having bright, and vibrant colours throughout which would indicate more
of a fun, humorous piece. Because of this, I feel that the social group my
magazine represents would be dressed in a slightly smart but fashionable
manner as opposed to something scruffier. Additionally from looking at the
artist that is featuring on my cover/contents and double page spread the
reason that she has appeared in my magazine seems to be because she is
representing a fashion conscious but also musically aware status. I'd say
that the magazine would be representing university students living within
a middle class city, revolving around a busy lifestyle and relating to
characters that feel social views are of an importance. Due to the content
of the magazine i have produced, this could be a representation of a
varied group as it is easily relatable and sticks to dominant Standard
English which could be recognized by everyone. I feel that my magazine
has worked well in representing a social group due to the fact that it can
be outlined specifically as well as widely. From this I believe targeting an
audience becomes much more realistic and reachable.

Question 3- What kind of media institution might distribute your

media product and why?
A publishing company is a company which prepare the way in which a
particular piece of media is going to be distributed so that it is made
available to the public eye. Publishing is the process of which literature is
produced and then issued. This means that once a media product has
been created, the creators of the product itself must ensure they are
supported financially to be published by a suitable company. In many
cases, several production companies are their own publishing company
which is a cheaper and much more efficient way of publicising products.
If my product was to be published, the company that my product would be
published under would be ' IPC Media’. The reason for this being that they
are a company that publishes over '60 iconic media brands'. As i feel my
magazine is aimed at a mass audience rather than niche i think that a
commercialised company with a wide range, and highly mixed genre of
magazines is suitable. IPC being the publisher of NME magazine also
influences me on this decision as feel my magazine lightly follows the
style as one such as NME. This way my own piece would have the chance
to be promoted as a magazine that many can relate to but with a new
edge and genre that the company could add to their current selection.
In addition my own magazine is priced at £2.30 which after doing several
pieces of research, I found that IPC media publishes magazines that are
around this price range and are therefore accessible to all if need be.

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

The general audience for my magazine would definitely consist of a mixed
gender. This is due to the fact that the indie-pop culture (which is what my
magazine is) has a large category of male and female artist. In addition
my magazine would be for an audience of a ‘younger generation’. By this i
mean an age category of 16-28 as taking into consideration the magazine
revolves around new and upcoming music. Each mumber of my target
audience would be expected to be appreciative of music and have a wide
mind frame which allows new sub categories of music into their existing
tastes. As a general approach to my audience i believe that they would all
have a style which is fashion influences as a result of the culture and also
their music taste.

For example, Kaya is a 17 year old girl studying her A levels in her
hometown of Brighton. She is highly focused on her appearance, but fears
looking polished and over done. This is based on the genre of music she
likes. Indie is her number one music choice, but Kaya tends to discover the
little less known bands rather than the mainstream usual. If she was to
pick a couple of her favourite artists they would be i Blame Coco, Yeasayer
and Crystal Fighters. Although, she believes bands such as The Libertines
should never be forgotten. She is currently studying Media, Music and
Textiles. She has played the guitar since being a young girl and believes
that one day she could follow in the footsteps of an idol such as Coco
Sumner. Rather than visiting many gigs throughout the year, Kaya saves
her money and visits festivals such as Reading, Glastonbury and Latitude.
Her favourite shop is Beyond Retro in London town, due to this she often
finds her self shopping online for similar boutiques. She lives in Dr.
Martens or a pair of run down Converse but tends to keep her appearance
looking presentable. Things that she does not appreciate is reality TV
shows, overrated pop artists and extreme socialising as she believes there
is plenty of time for that after her studies. TV shows such as 'Fraiser' and
'Two and a half men' are regularly viewed by Kaya. She has a very high
rating of magazines such as NME and Love. The reason a character such
as Kaya would purchase my own product is due to the fact she likes to
search for up and coming artists that aren't always mainstream. Due to
her also living it a fashion conscious world, I believe that the type of artists
that appear in the magazine could be inspiration for her.

Question 5- How did you attract/address your audience?

Before creating my magazine i did vast amounts of research to ensure i
was approaching and addressing my target audience the correct way
using the correct conventions and magazine style. To begin with as my
product is aimed at a mixed gender i believe that the colour palette used
throughout the three pages is balanced. By this, i mean that the colours i
have used can be associated to each gender. If i was to have used a lot of
pink on my magazine, stereotypically this would have had attracted a
mass female audience. For example the greys and blacks connote
simplicity and balance. The image that features on my front cover i feel is
something that personally attracts the audience due to the fierce
connection through eye contact. The image itself, as a result of the fierce
facial expression triggers an enigma code to the audience as they wish to
know the story behind the artist. I feel this is something that especially
draws the audience in towards the front cover of my magazine.
Additionally the model that i chose to use is 17 years old (but appears
older) and i felt that this would give the audience a chance to connect with
her or even use her as an inspiration as this falls perfectly into the target
category of 16-28 year olds. Something else that i feel personally
addresses my target audience on the front cover is the list of featuring
artists. This is because, as the magazine is aimed at listeners of indie-pop
music, they would immediately be able to recognize the lists of artists that
are being offered to them. This way, due to the specific artists, the
audience will feel that the magazine itself has made a personal connection
to their music genre and favourite sounds. Lastly, on my front cover i have
made use of hyperbole and superlatives to ensure that my audience is
attracted to what is inside of my magazine. By using superlatives such as
"first" "exclusive" and "best" these words pragmatically suggest "priority"
and "status" to the reader. The exaggeration which i have used, is
something that draws my audience in to believe that they are reading a
magazine that will give them news and exclusives before anyone else.

Elements on my contents that I chose to use attract my audience in

several ways. Within the descriptions on the page I have made use of the
second person pronoun "you" which instantly adds a personal touch to the
magazine. By addressing my audience personally, this creates the idea
that they are main focus of the piece. Another grammatical decision that I
made was to include rhetorical questions within my contents page. I feel
this personally addresses my audiences and strongly attracts them to the
magazine the effect of this is that the reader will feel their opinion towards
the information is of a worthy cause. I decided to make use of three
images within my contents page. I made this choice as this is something
that will attract my reader, but in contrast, not over load them with
information. The mise en scene of each image, such as clothing, is
appropriate to the genre; so the continuity of 'indie-pop' is attracting the
reader throughout.

One specific choice that I had to make when referring to my double page
spread was using one large image on half of the spread. From doing this i
believe the image itself attracts the audience personally to refer to the
text due to the use of eye contact once again. I chose to have the main
image one the page slightly "lacking in expression" which I believe
connotes 'secrecy' and suggests that the character is hiding something.
From doing this, the genre of 'indie' is reinforced as the stereotypically
'indie' artists is said to be very gloomy and expressionless. Additionally
the subtlety of the characters personally from the images is something
that I believe strongly connects with my audience to draw them to the
article itself.
Question 6-What have you learnt about technologies from the
process of constructing this product?
Before creating my preliminary task and my final piece I had never used
Photoshop before. This is the technology I found myself using the most to
ensure I completed the task to a high standard. I feel that during the
process of using the program it allowed me to show personal creativity on
my piece. When creating the magazine I used the program to edit, re size
and personalize each element at a professional standard. From
constructing my project I have learnt that this is perfect use of technology
to produce a magazine. I feel that as the program works in layers it
allowed me to adapt and have the ability to create a piece which I felt
worked well together through an experimental process.

The camera which I used for my final images was a Panasonic Lumix TZ10.
I feel that the quality of the camera was to a reasonably high standard
which produced a great outcome of images. As I had used this camera
many times before, the settings and focus was all adapted to suit the style
of images I was looking for. Therefore, the use of this technology
thoroughly helped me to construct my final images.
Additional websites which helped me to piece together and construct
realistic ideas for my final piece were dafont and myfont for text and fonts
throughout my magazine. Also websites such as blogger, scribd, prezi,
lookbook and coverjunkie.

Question 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 prelim task, as a general overview I feel I have
progressed massively and gained a fully sustainable understanding of
magazine conventions which have allowed me to produce a success final
product. From looking at my prelim magazine, it is very simplistic and has
minimal detail. As a result I believe this does not look like a professional
piece of work. Although, I have kept some typical conventions such as the
masthead, cover lines and large central image.

I have learnt that a professional, bright colour scheme is something that

makes the genre of a magazine work well. The dark, gloomy scheme of my
preliminary is something that makes the magazine look very boring and
without any character. I have adapted the colour scheme of my final
product to one more suitable to the genre and also to stand out as a
professional piece. The cover lines on my final piece are much more
realistic and persuading. On my preliminary I have made little use of
hyperbole and superlatives which is a key feature of plugs on a magazine
cover.

Overall, on my prelim magazine, I made use of the simple conventions of

magazine. Whereas, on my final piece I feel I have used these once again
but to a much higher standard and which a much better use of technology
to help me. I have learnt that many conventions must be stuck to but to
also make my own decisions to add a more personal creative touch to the
magazine.