Evaluation of Magazine Process

Question 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products
With my magazine areas keep the same features of that of magazines which actually exist or I have taken inspiration from. This is shown by how I have used areas such as the layout of articles on the front page. This is an example of placing the model in the centre of the magazine and having the other articles advertised around the outside of this image to not obscure or ruin it in anyway. It is shown that the main influence for my magazine came from a magazine by NME featuring Jack White on the cover. I wanted to show an artist that had a similar sort of style and presented him in a smart suit but showing an own input with the use messy hair and a pose that shows him as relaxed and not phased. An aspect that could have been used to help develop the magazine better would be the use of mise en scene background which is featured in the NME front cover. This would have been useful when using the colour of the fonts as it would contrast better with the background then I would be able to allow some of the writing to go over the black suit. This would allow me to add more articles on the front of the magazine. The font I chose to go with

With the use of the double page spread I wanted to convey it as a simple and well presented version, I wanted it to appeal to the audience but not be covered information so that it overwhelms the reader. The information is presented in columns so that it is easy to follow, I took inspiration from the use of the double page spread I annotated in previous work. I enjoyed the way that the picture is only a main photo of the whole band in the side of the page and all the information consisting in on the other side. This is a great way of keeping it very well presented. The way in which my double page spread actually challenges and also makes aspects of the one I got inspiration from better is with the use of the interview in my information in the columns. I presented it in a way that with the interview you can distinguish who Danny and the interviewer is, this is done by the use of the font being in a different colour that stands out from the background. This makes it easier for the reader to understand who is who and make the interview easier to understand, also if they want to just read what Danny is saying. With the use of the title it shows a resemblance with the other double page spread, I have done this with the use of using a different font for the title to help abstract it from the rest of the article. This is a way of making it stand out even more. I have used a quote in order to attract the audience even more to reading the article, this makes it more interactive with the audience. I could of took more inspiration with the use of title as it is a more bigger which grabs the attention even more of the attention. This could have been a great aspect to use in my work or to keep in mind if I did this again.

This shows my contents page which I developed to go with the rest of my magazine project. From taking inspiration from my research and analysis of previous and existing magazines I have come across I used this as an influence in how I laid it out the articles, pictures and information. I presented the contents page in an organised and easy to understand way so that it does not confuse the reader and also allows them to locate information more easily. I didn't want to confuse the reader but I wanted to make it still look like there was a lot of information and stories available for them to read. To achieve this I stuck to a plan of keeping everything such as the stories and information kept in a neat column on the right hand side. I then made all the pictures of main articles and coverage to appear on the left hand side of the page, these photos also have the page number portrayed as a number in the corner, this also allows the reader to look on the side and find out what the photo is about. A way I have shown what are main articles and which are minor ones is with the use of size of the pictures on the article and also if they actually have a sentence saying what the article is about. The reader would acknowledge this and be able to distinguish the type of feature article it is. To make the contents seem more professional and realistic I added things such as the writers input (this is at the top of the page showing a relaxed and photo of myself ) sharing a few paragraphs on my opinions on this issue of the magazine and also the use adding the date and issue of the magazine. I think that this contents page is a very good outcome and thing that it looks very professional to use for my magazine, however if I was to improve from looking at existing products a way I could achieve this would be to add borders to my pictures to help them stand out more from the background and make it look more professional. Also the use of finding a more suitable font may be a useful aspect to use for the titles of articles and stories on the photos.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The way in which my product represents social groups is related to the use of how it tries to represent particular ages, gender, social class, ethnicity, class, cultural sub-group/ music genre. The way in which I have done this is through the language in the photos and way I have phased titles. The ages group of my magazine is actually a very mixed one. It covers music which can be appealing a to any age of people, some music dates back to the 60s and 80s appealing to the older generation (this may also represented in the dress sense which is represented in the magazine.) But the magazine also covers new artists along with bands that would have been presented for teenagers to that it widens the audience allowing a mixed age group being represented in the magazine. The language of the magazine is at times very formal and informing while others acknowledge the audience or make them question themselves (this is by making a cliff hanging headline which makes the reader engage with it and want to read on about this particular story.) The social class of the magazine is represented with the model I picked, in which he is wearing a suit but in a relaxed fashion it appeals to a sort of upper class as it represents class and also to a middle class audience of teachers with the use of him having a relaxed attitude to the look as well. The social class is also shown by the use of the magazine being a monthly only and also a price range of 2.99 which makes it available for both upper and middle class. The only ethnicity this magazine really only represents only one cultural background like white males, but does not mean that it may not appeal to other ethnic backgrounds. If I were to do this again then a use of mixed cultural people would be something to add to my magazine.

 The way in which I represent people in my magazine with elements such as attitudes and stereotypes is not very prominent, the only thing I feel is addressed is the stereotype of teenagers having a lazy and laid back attitude which is shown in the facial expression in the front cover model of the magazine, it also shows him as having a rough style to his hair and facial hair however this is contradicted by the use of him wearing a suit to hopefully question and shatter that stereotype.

What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?
A range of media institute that could be a possible distributer of my magazine may be a distributer of a company who does not actually have a magazine that is like mine or even a company that consists of a magazine similar to mine and wants to use mine in order to still open up the market of audience who are interested in buying the magazine, this would also eliminate competition for the magazine so that it still gets profit or even more. Wenner Media LLC could be a possible institute interested in my magazine as they publish Rolling Stone, they may be interested as Rolling Stone is an expensive magazine this could be a way of appealing to the younger audience on a bigger scale as they would be able to afford this magazine more easier. This would then open up the market to an even wider range.

IPC Media may be a possible institution to distribute my product. IPC media is publisher of the music Magazine NME and other than that is the only magazine that it does publish to do with music. They could be interested in my product as they this would widen there selection of music magazines and be able to appeal to a wider audience. Also IPC media only mainly consists of having one magazine featuring on music (NME) so they may be interested in my product as to widen their option and gain a wider variety with of music magazines.

 Bauer Media Group could be a good choice as this institute already has a range of music magazines featuring on different genres and styles. Titles such as Kerrang, Mojo and Q. They may be appealed in distributing my magazine as they are able to add a new title making an even larger audience. They show that they also have a lot of experience with distributing music magazines. However they may not be interested in my product if they feel that all of their music magazines already appeal to the audience of music they are trying to reach.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience that would be interested in and purchasing my magazine would be that related to the evidence that is shown in my audience research. That it would consist of an audience of who are around 16-30 or older. The audience would consist of someone who is interested in the genre rock music mainly classic styles of rock from a mixed number of years dating to the 1960s all the way up to the present time. It would be for people who still love classic artist like Rolling Stones, The Beatles and others and also look for new upcoming artists who the magazine see as in same sort of respectable genre and have a promise of being quite successful. This would also be to make the audience of the magazine very wide in the age range as it features artists from previous generations of music to newer ones and makes it always appealing to a certain audience. The audience that would be interested in and purchasing my magazine would be that related to the evidence that is shown in my audience research. That it would consist of an audience of who are around 16-30 or older. The audience would consist of someone who is interested in the genre rock music mainly classic styles of rock from a mixed number of years dating to the 1960s all the way up to the present time. It would be for people who still love classic artist like Rolling Stones, The Beatles and others and also look for new upcoming artists who the magazine see as in same sort of respectable genre and have a promise of being quite successful. This would also be to make the audience of the magazine very wide in the age range as it features artists from previous generations of music to newer ones and makes it always appealing to a certain audience.

 The age range of my target audience would consist of a mixed age range, it could readers who are 16 or up to around 60 years old, this is achieved by covering artists from various years space between them so that it allows me to be able to widen the market of readers. With some articles featuring bands that are quite old for the older audience they may not be interested in this particular year of music but may still read as they are interested. But to help make this magazine appealing it will feature a range of different articles for all readers to still keep them entertained.

How did you attract/address your audience

The way in which I would be able to attract or address my audience would be through elements like the use of the: Language, with this I would address the audience by using saying or a use of quotes in order to instantly draw their attention to a certain article this could be done if the name of one of their favourite artists its mentioned somewhere, which I tried to have a use of some recognisable bands on the front cover of my magazine in order to convey the use of this element. I also used a banner having a use of a censored curse word shown as a quote from an article in the magazine. I took this idea that was shown as in other magazines I have come across before and shown as an example of this on the first page. With the use of images in my magazine I have used a direct mode of address in order to draw the audience in. I have presented the model in my photograph looking at the audience to show that it Is addressing them and would make them want to engage with the magazine.

 The use of having a freebie like the poster of Jared Leto I have featured in my work would attract the audience to buy if they particularly like this artist, to help make this better a use of having more posters of a range of bands would be a good use like what Kerrang features.

 I also have tried the technique of addressing my audience in the way my writing is conveyed by making it seem as if it is talking to the reader themselves. To initial attract my audience I think that they would be drawn in by the front cover, the way I have portrayed it as by having the model not only smart and presentable but had him appearing scruffy and reckless at the same time, this would appeal not only to the older but younger audience as well.

 I have made sure to also have a feature of bands that are of a recognisable standard feature as side stories on the magazine, this would hopefully draw in the audience who are fans of these bands or have some knowledge of them.

What have your learnt about technology from the process of constructing this product
From the process of creating this product I have learnt how to create the magazine through programmes on the computer such as Photoshop, it was a challenge as it is a very complex way of making the product look presentable with the use of filters and photo positioning that can be used to make the product look as realistic and appealing as possible, I have never had much experience with Photoshop and had at times a very big struggle when positioning the photos or doing something as simple as adding text to areas on the page. But through doing this I was able to understand Photoshop a lot more come to grips with using it. I now know how to apply photos and using filters in order to present in a very appealing way that catches the attention of anyone who see it.

 Another programme that I used in order to create something such as the double page spread was called InDesign this gave me the ability to write the text out for the article and make it look very professional in the way it appeared in columns and style of the text. I really thought this made a great touch to the work but was a very hard programme to use. When adding pictures to the work it was very challenging, it required me to crop the photos and edit them before I actually placed them onto the page through InDesign, this was the only resort I could think of in order to actually place the photos on as I could not find a way to do this any other way on the programme. When using this I did find out how to write out the articles interview and in columns without adding texts boxes which proved to be rather successful and have a professional finish.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Throughout the process of developing this magazine I have learnt a lot about the preparation and development that is needed in order to create a music magazine, this consists of finding away in order to make at least every issue appealing to a certain sort of audience and also that it has enough content to release either once a week or once of month. I was able to research a wide range of different music magazines see how many there were but also learn about each one. Through seeing many existing products I was able to see how to make my magazine look to make it appear more professional and appealing. This was shown when using pictures adding elements of Mise en scene, attention grabbing words in the main articles and positioning of boxes. This element of the magazine is different in a mixed genre of music e.g. in rock or heavy magazines it may have a more hectic and unorganised fashion, while a more indie or classic magazine may have a more controlled and organised layout. I learnt the techniques of advertising to a mixed age of reader to appeal my magazine to them also what sort of artists to cover in my articles in order to draw in attention of the reader. I have learnt techniques and a way of editing photos and magazine pages through various computer programmes in developing my magazine. The starting tasks such as learning how various things are represented in the media such as age or class along with camera techniques with the combination of mise en scene and how things can have a meaning has helped me to make a professional and also unique aspect to my magazine.

Photographs

The pictures that I have used for the magazine are first hand picture that I have taken. I got the photos of shows that I have been to and decided to use them as they would give the feel of it being a real music magazine and give it a more professional feel.