Evaluation:Questions 1 & 2

Q1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenges forms and conventions of

real media products?

Comparison of my magazine To NME:In order to answer this question I will compare my magazine to NME, an existing media product.

• Mastheads- NME and SLURR both use bold and impressive mastheads to engage the reader, with SLURR using a black font for ‘magazine’ in order to strengthen the effect of the SLURR logo above it. I decided after my first draft to discard the ‘box logo’ akin to that of NME as I felt that it didn’t suit the masthead’s larger length compared to the simplistic 3 letter ‘NME’. It makes the magazine stand out and shows a clear contrast between NME’s wide audience due to it’s larger variety of genres.

• ‘Left Third’- Both magazines utilise this, with NME filling this with a far larger amount of information than shown on SLURR’s cover. I felt that the left third of NME’s cover was far to convoluted, with too much information for the reader. Instead I simplified it greatly, using it for informing the reader of bands other than the cover artist that were included in the issue. I chose to place the majority of my text on the right hand side to challenge the conventions of music magazines, which reflects the ‘fresh’ and ‘new’ look into music the magazine represents.

• Coverlines- NME uses lots of Coverlines, which nearly cover the whole of the cover, but I decided to keep a ,minimalistic look on my cover with far fewer Coverlines, focusing more on the main artist for the issue. It is against the conventions as some may argue it would discourage potential buyers, but I feel that it showcases the magazine as a ‘focused’ and ‘fresh’ look into music for the reader, without the clutter of other magazines.

• Pull Quotes-I found that pull quotes were an essential part of the cover as they gave readers a quick insight to the article itself. Using a bold quote such as mine, helps tell the audience what the article’s focus us, which may be a draw for some of my audience.

• The Main Image- I have utilised a portrait, long shot of my two models (Ivory tears) alongside a bricked background. The colours have been tuned so that only the models are in colour to add emphasis to the image. This give’s them definition also, and places the focus on them rather than the background. NME does a similar procedure, with the focus being on the frontman of the featured band, rather than the band behind him.

• Image Usage- I have utilised 3 images in just my contents page, whereas NME has chose to only include a single image. I feel that the extra 2 images do create a stronger appearance overall, as it allows the readers to identify their favourite artists quickly through just looking at their image, rather than scanning the large amount of text used by NME.

• ‘Regulars’- A feature I have included that NME do also. I feel that this is an essential segment as it allows easy navigation (or avoidance) of areas of the magazine for readers. I have developed this from NME’s standard ‘list view’ to a round graphic as I feel this adds difference and is easily identifiable amongst the other areas of my contents page.

• Band List/ A-Z – I’ve used a band list similar to NME to allow readers to quickly pinpoint the location of their favourite bands/artists in the issue. My list does slightly differ in size due to the fact that SLURR would feature select longer length articles, with a more in-depth look at upcoming artists. I also chose to list my bands and artists in alphabetical order rather than order of appearance for ease of use for the reader.

• Descriptions of articles- The two main, exclusive articles in my magazine are described in a short sentence to draw in the readers. I feel that this will make readers want to read further, like in NME, and is just enough to encourage the reader to read it while not revealing the full contents of the articles.

• The Layout- I feel that the layout of my contents is a simplistic but easily understood layout, allowing readers to quickly get to their chosen articles/ segments. I do feel though that NME’s organised layout does work better as it includes far more information than my own and really shows the full length of the magazine, unlike my own. I feel that my contents is efficient and useful, but could require some development in the future, though I am pleased with my final layout compared to my previous drafting.

Comparison of my magazine To NME:In order to answer this question I will compare my magazine to NME, an existing media product.

Looking at my double page spread, I feel that it clearly follows the modern conventions of a question and answer or interview. I feel that my two images relate to the article, for example the smaller image shows the two models burning literature, relating to the idea the band were originally English students and the pull quote below reflects this context also. I feel that the language used in the article is of a good standard but also is written in a casual style, reflecting the typical reader. It follows the standard subline below the article’s bold title, and adds some extra features including page numbers and logos. I did not opt for the drop cap like NME as I felt that it wasn’t suitable for the article, but it would be used otherwise in the magazine.

The article is also finished in a similar way to NME with information on album releases and tour dates to assist not only the reader but also the band. Columns have also been used to suit the traditional article layout and ensure it is easily read, with a ragged right approach. Also I have had a limited colour range/pallet which conforms to the current standard, as magazines such as NME utilise around 3 or 4 colours only throughout, as it allows continuity throughout the magazine, as seen through the continued usage of purple, white and black. Graphics: I’ve used an inventive graphic to display one of the pull quotes from the article, (The I) as I felt that it related to the band’s name (Ivory Tears) and added originality to the article and could influence other magazines to follow suit. I have also created a ‘Top tracks’ listing using varying sizes of boxes to add a personal feel as well as just an interesting addition to the page. Compared to the NME article, my article is far less word heavy, as I feel that this allows the readers to stay more engaged and the other features help communicate with them, e.g. “Rated by You” forms a synthetic personalisation with the reader and makes it feel far more personal. Though I do feel that as an improvement I could’ve added more photographs as NME’s is nicely proportioned between images and text, though I think my article has an appropriately modern and clean look.

Comparison of my magazine To NME:In order to answer this question I will compare my magazine to NME, an existing media product.

• Naming the magazine was difficult as it had to reflect the 3 genres whilst still being fresh, modern and different to those currently on the market. I settled on ‘SLURR Magazine’ a name which is really like no other but I feel suits the magazine and it’s values overall. It’s a name which is clean and current, whilst having a sharp and rocky edge to it. It reflects the focus of bringing all 3 genres into one place, widening their audience and those of upcoming and current acts , whilst truly maintain the feel that the genre’s give off.

• Overall I believe that my product / music magazine has a good balance of using traditional forms and conventions, whilst developing and challenging them in some aspects. I feel that this adds differential to my magazine, filling the gap in the market for a modern, genre specific music magazine (Indie, Rock & Alt).

Q2: How are social groups represented within your

magazine?

The first social group represented within my magazine is the 15 – 24 age group. This was first found through my online survey. This group has influenced the style of writing within the magazine, as this would be important to people of these ages ( It’s suitably worded and interesting). As seen in my double page spread, the style is far less formal than what is found in magazines such as ‘Q’ though on par with NME for use of language. I feel that this allows me to reflect the passion young people have towards music and the importance it holds in their lives, whilst also representing them through the features of the magazine also. I also felt that marketing our articles as ‘exclusive’ would draw in this audience as young people enjoy being ‘the first’ to know or have anything.

However, is not saying though that the magazine is solely a representation for this age range as, older readers would be just as satisfied. Though I do feel that due to the large proportion of younger readers, they will have to be represented far more.

The fonts and colour schemes I chose reflect the specific genre’s and also ensure that SLURR magazine is neither gender nor ethnic specific.

This allows a wider audience, and I feel that the colour scheme represents the brand of SLURR effectively; the colours are strong yet not overpowering, which reflects the artists the magazine will focus on featuring.

The usage of simple but graphically interesting fonts also helps this as they cannot be truly associated to one specific social group; instead they help represent the values of the magazine and the focus it holds. If I had utilised a font with love hearts, as found in magazines such as ‘We Love Pop’, whilst it is using a strong stereotype of females, it could also be seen as representing solely the female social groups.

In all of my pictures in the magazine, the models are all of white ethnicity.

In an ideal world I would try to have a wide range of ethnicities in my magazine, but due to the fact that the rock, indie and alternative genres are dominated by artists and bands of white ethnicity, it’s far harder to find acts that the audience would want to read about. I do feel that in order to fully represent my magazine’s values and focus, a range of ethnicities would be represented over time within my publication to represent the changes happening within these 3 genres currently.

I also hope that, with one of my magazine’s aims being to open the indie, rock and alt genres up to more people, SLURR can remove stigmas such as “rock music is all screaming and scary”- as heard in my interview. In doing this I believe that more people would become interested in this area of music and more ethnic diversity would fill the 3 genres.

I would hope SLURR magazine can be a platform for this to occur and in doing this it may be able to join the ranks of the current top publications within the music magazine market.

I also chose to represent both male and female social groups as I feel that as they are both present in all 3 of my magazine's specific genres. I felt that it was important to represent both genders as it widens the audience possible as female readers will most likely not enjoy a purely male focused magazine, and vice-versa. The balance across all images is clear cut, with two male models featured in images, and two female models represented also. I feel that this creates equality throughout and does widen the readership values compared to other magazines which solely base themselves on a specific gender, e.g. We Love Pop.

My representation of the female artist within my magazine also differs from the stereotypes. The model is posing similarly to what is expected from a female photoshoot, though her facial expressions suggest less of a ‘seductive’ attitude and more of a ‘rebellious’ woman. The background emphasises this, with it’s rough and rusty corrugated metal texture, featuring accents of graffiti. This contrasts to the general perceptions of a ‘typical’ female music artist, which in the majority of media outlets is portrayed as something to look at, rather than someone who had an ‘edge’ to their personality. This could said to contrast the theories on ‘the male gaze’ by Laura Mulvey, who talked about women’s representation in the media being presented in order to fit the context of a male’s reaction to the events. My model contrasts these voyeuristic conventions: Being covered up by her denim jacket rather than having skin on show to please a male audience.

This image in particular is hugely important within SLURR magazine as it once again reflects the values of the magazine, and represents women for the talent they have rather than the way the look or dress in order to cause effect amongst an audience.

Overall I feel that social groups are equally represented throughout, with the exception of ethnicity, but this will hope to change as the focus of my magazine is to introduce more people to these genres