Tia Maletta

EVALUATION

FRONT COVER

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

1 – The Title of the Magazine

For the masthead of my magazine of my front cover I decided to use the font ‘Poplar Std’ on Photoshop wording ‘Spotlight Sunday’ I then used the same

font for the rest of the text used on the front cover of my magazine as well as the same font throughout for my contents page and double page spread. The masthead ‘Spotlight Sunday’ I duplicated the layer, with a red font overlaying

the white font. I used the red and white colours because the colour white represents new life and purity whilst the colour red represents danger, fire

and love which is often associated with music lyrics for example ‘sex on fire’ by Kings of Leon who are a popular band. By using a light colour font at first

being the white font with the dark colour font being red over it makes the text stand out more catching the reader’s attention. The codes and conventions of real magazines as the ‘Spotlight Sunday’ section is bold, red and white. This follows and supports the conventions of magazines because mastheads are

normally thick and bold and the first thing the reader’s eye is drawn to.

1) IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

In spite of this, I think my masthead works because it combines the conventional and unconventional features of a masthead, making it unique and therefore more eye-catching and memorable to the reader. For my contents page the font

I have used is the same in which I have used for my front cover but this time instead of having the white font I have used black because the background colour of my contents

page is white. But I have still used a red font overlaying the black font. I have also used the same colours for my headline for my double page spread using a black font with a red font overlaying the black font. By having the fonts the same that unique font will then be associated throughout my magazine making it more memorable and recognisable to the reader.

2- Mis-en-scene of images

Focusing on mis-en-scene of my pictures I think my images follow the conventions of magazines. I believe this because, I

used a variety of settings for my photos in which were possible to still associate and relate to the music environment. The settings I have used are outdoor environments such as a

courtyard, I also used a park and a street. These landscapes fit in well with the concept of my magazine because they reflect the

essence of the music industry and music artists in general for which I was trying to capture. The majority of my images follow the conventions of magazines by displaying a music artist that

has just come back into the music industry after having a break as a happy environment to be back in after her break. This is

portrayed by both models facial expressions for example they’re looking directly at the camera in most of the photos.

3- Costumes and Props

Going on to focus on the costumes and props used throughout ‘Spotlight Sunday’ all are conventional. This is because the artists modelled

throughout my magazine mainly being the music artists ‘Lydjia Hughes’ wore costumes which represented her personality and lifestyle as she is

a young girl in the music industry so she is able to express herself through her music and the clothing she wears. The clothing she is

wearing are boyfriend jeans from the high street retail store Topshop, Nike Air Max trainers, a plain black t-shirt and a Harley Davidson

leather jacket unique to ‘Lydjia Hughes’. In addition to this, the props featured are headphones, iPhone, iPod and a Harley Davidson

motorbike. The headphones, iPhone and iPod are all props you would expect to see a teenager holding in the modern day world so therefore

my target audience will be able to relate to the props used in the images. The iPhone is particularly important in today’s younger

generation as it is the must have accessory and many feel ‘naked’ without it. The Harley Davidson bike represents the lifestyle ‘Lydjia

Hughes’ lives as she is also wearing a Harley Davidson leather jacket.

4 – People

Focusing on the people featured in my magazine is conventional. This is because they’re quite young and are happy yet they are focused on their appearance in which the younger generation

are in the music industry. In addition to this, most music magazines show a variety of music artists in which I have added

information and an image about ‘Lydjia Hughes’ best friend ‘Tee’ in my double page spread. ‘Tee’ is wearing similar clothing

to ‘Lydjia Hughes’ jeans, a white t-shirt, Nike air max and a black Harley Davidson leather jacket. Therefore I have been conventional by featuring two types of people in the music

industry but both people featured are girls.

However, because my target audience is both males and females, there could be a chance that some males and females are turned away from my magazine due to the

fact the person featured on my front cover is a girl so they may not find my magazine front cover as interesting. In another aspect my target audience may be interested in my magazine straight away by looking at the front cover as it has a young girl on it who males may be attracted to

and girls may be able to relate to her aspire to be like her; the target audience are more likely to be interested in the younger generation music artists than the older

music generation artists such as Tom Jones.

5- Title Font and Style

I created the title for my front cover ‘Spotlight Sunday’ using the font ‘Poplar Std’. I decided to use the font ‘Poplar Std’ when I was

comparing other fonts when doing font research previously for my preliminary task. I finally decided on using ‘Poplar Std’ as I believe it is a bold, eye catching font grabbing the reader’s attention yet also

easy to read. I then decided to duplicate the layer on Photoshop with a white or black font underneath and a red font overlaying the white or black font, making the title font stand out more in a sort of 3D effect. I think my masthead, headline and titles are conventional as the letters are positioned in a way real magazines tend to have their title. I feel

that it will appeal to both my teenage male and female target audience because of its visual impact. By using the same font and styles

throughout my magazine it will become a unique font/style that will then be associated throughout my magazine making it more

memorable and recognisable to the reader. My masthead is the largest font size on my front cover as well as this it is bold making it stand out

compared to other text on my front cover.

As well as this on my front cover ‘summer festival information’ is in an orange font which overlays the black font as the season summer is associated with bright colours such as yellow and orange so I thought it would be an appropriate time to change the colour of the font slightly. The text ‘Lydjia Hughes’ and ‘Plus’ on my

front cover has a smaller opacity than the rest of the text as it gives that particular text an effect in which shows they are important as they are the main

features in the magazine. The title ‘contents page’ is the largest font on my contents page making it clear that that particular page is the contents page so it

is clear to the readers. I have also included the font ‘Lydjia Hughes Exclusive Edition’ underneath where it says ‘Contents Page’ in the top quarter of my

contents page as the main article in my magazine is based around the artist ‘Lydjia Hughes’ as she has made a comeback in the music industry. For each

subheading they are in a red font as well as the page numbers. The titles for each article are in black font. Throughout my magazine the only font and text colours that have been used are white, red and black again making these colours unique colours to my magazine. Again for my double page spread the font used is ‘Poplar Std’ for the main headlines but the interview font is ‘Raavi’ as it is a more smaller

and clearer font for the readers to read when there is a lot of text on a page.

6- Written Content

The written content of my magazine follows the codes and conventions of a music magazine by covering similar topics that a successful music magazine would include. Focusing on the front

cover of my magazine firstly, the written content is mainly all about ‘Lydjia Hughes’ as this is the model that is featured for the splash image on my front cover and when researching magazines the splash image was always what the main article on the double page spread was about. But there is also other written text about

other artists in the music industry and summer festival information. My front cover also states in text when each

magazine is released for ‘Spotlight Sunday’ stating that the magazine is released every Sunday and the magazine is about current artists who are in the spotlight today. Therefore this

makes it clear to the reader automatically what the music magazine is about and when it is released if they decided to

purchase the magazine again making a repeat purchase.

As well as this for example, it talks about the artist ‘Lydjia Hughes’ again that is coming back into the music industry after taking a

break and the lifestyle the artists in the music industry live as well as on my contents page it talks about other artists that are included

in my magazine such as ‘Dee Original’, ‘Kez Mc’, ‘Rickster’ and ‘KitKat Morton’. Other written content on my contents page is about

‘Lydjia Hughes’ and her best friend ‘Tee’ as well as information about upcoming concerts especially concerts in the UK. In addition

to this, the editor’s email featured on the contents page has a chatty, familiar mode of address which is conventional.

An editor’s email has always been included as that is a way the readers are able to get involved with the magazine they love to read. The words ‘Get Involved Now’ are in big, bold, white font capturing the reader’s attention as they are in a black shape. This makes the reader feel more involved with the magazine as these words are encouraging them to get

involved making them feel valued.

The written content on my double page spread is the main headline stating what the article is about, then there is an interview between the interviewee, Lydjia Hughes and her best friend Tee. The interview talks about Lydjia Hughes

making her come back to the music industry and what she has done when she was not in the public eye. Lydjia Hughes then goes on to tell the interviewee how she went travelling

all around the world with Tee. Lydjia then goes on to talk about future plans and ideas now she is back in the music industry. All of these topics stated or similar topics could possibly be found in a real music magazine aimed at male and females in the younger generation aged from 15-21

who have an interest in the contemporary music industry.

7- Music Industry Genre And How Your Magazine Suggest It

The main genre of my magazine is the music industry and artists that are in the spotlight today so all different types of artists from a

range of different music genres. As when researching the types of music people were interested in there was a wide variety ranging from pop, R&B, drum and bass, dubstep, house, dance, rock for

example.

This is quite clear throughout my magazine because of the people featured in my magazine. All the people featured in my magazine are from the younger

generation and it is mainly the younger generation who are the most successful in the music industry now a days and who are in the spotlight

which relates to the name of my magazine ‘Spotlight Sunday’. As well as this, the use of red, black and white colours throughout my magazine are well known colours that are related to the music industry as the colour white

represents new life and purity whilst the colour red represents danger, fire and love which is often associated with music lyrics for example ‘sex on fire’ by Kings of Leon who are a popular band. White being about new artists that are becoming successful in the music industry and red being a colour which represents their song lyrics as most song lyrics now a days are about sex,

love and drugs but the younger generation always try to put on an innocent front to the public so that is why I have used the colour white. Real music

magazines suggest their genre by the mis-en-scene of their images, as well as the colours used when creating each page for their magazine therefore my

magazines follows the codes and conventions of music magazines.

8 – LayoutThe layout of my magazine is mainly conventional. This is shown on the front cover, contents page and double page

spread of my magazine where all images and text are placed in way a real magazine would have all of these situated. For example focusing on the front cover of my magazine the

masthead of m magazine ‘Spotlight Sunday’ is situated in the first quarter of my magazine as well as this it is big, bold and

eye catching. Therefore the masthead stands out to the reader when purchasing my magazine. The headline ‘Lydjia Hughes’ is

the next biggest text on my front cover, this conforms the media conventions. The splash image takes up the majority of the page which most splash images do as they are what the

main article is based on and used to grab the reader’s attention. The barcode is situated in the bottom right hand

corner of my magazine and this is where barcodes are normally situated on a magazine front cover.

Examining my contents page my contents page contains elements that follow the codes and conventions of existing real magazines. For example

it features an editor’s email which includes the email of the editor of ‘Spotlight Sunday’ magazine making a way of communication for the

readers to get in contact with the magazine they love reading therefore the reader feels they have more involvement with the magazine. I have

included four images of the same model blurring out the edges using the eraser tool on Photoshop making them blend into the background more

for three images that are all situated down the right hand side of my contents page plus all three of these images are in a black and white effect which I also edited using Photoshop. In addition to this I have

included subheadings for the different sections ‘Lydjia Hughes’, ‘Other Current Artists’ and ‘Upcoming Concerts’ which are all in a red font defining the different sections. The page numbers are laid out all in

straight columns underneath their subheadings so readers are able to locate the articles they want to read without any difficulty.

Going on to view my double page spread my double page spread contains the elements in which follow the codes and

conventions of existing real magazines. Such as straight away the headline in the top quarter of the double page

spread. It summarises what the article is about using the biggest font on the page ‘Lydjia Hughes Is Back’ then in

smaller font it states ‘with best friend Tee.’ Straight away the reader knows exactly who the article is about. The large

font also signifies that ‘Lydjia Hughes’ is the most important and more famous than her best friend ‘Tee’. There is a small introduction situated underneath the

headline explaining ‘Lydjia Hughes’ story. Then an interview takes up the rest of the space on the double page spread, therefore all these elements convey a double page

spread of a magazine.

2) HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?

My media product altogether I believe represents all different types of social groups ranging from A list star celebrities to reality TV show stars. However all of

these celebrities are from the younger generation age ranging from 15-25. Therefore my target audience males and females age ranging from 15—21 would

be interested in my magazine as they are able to relate to these celebrities.

The postures of these celebrities and the models featured in my magazine ‘Lydjia Hughes’ and ‘Tee’ are similar in the sense that they’ve both got smiles on their

faces and either have a smile on their face where their teeth are visible or a posed look on their face. Either way the images look natural. In addition to this

both are wearing similar clothes which are leather jackets . The girl’s makeup in both my images and the images of popular singer Demi Lovato are both natural make up with red lipstick. As well as this both girls are wearing black leather jackets and both have dark brown hair.

Lydjia Hughes

Demi Lovato

The models in my images are also wearing ‘Nike Air Max’ trainers which are a popular type of trainer and seen as a must

have type of trainer to the younger generation and worn by celebrities, as featured below.

As well as this, the background settings are similar in all the images as they are all in an outdoor environment. However, as the majority of my images in my magazine have had all their backgrounds erased therefore the readers aren't able to see this apart from in the image on my double page spread.

Again looking at these images of popular singer Miley Cyrus and well known celebrities to the younger generation Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez and Ashely Benson. Miley Cyrus is wearing a Harley Davidson t-shirt with a leather jacket and Vanessa, Selena

and Ashely are all riding motorbikes whilst wearing Nike trainers. Therefore my images represent the younger generation as my models are on a Harley Davidson motorbike

and they are wearing Nike trainers.

Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, Ashely Benson and Miley Cyrus

Original Image

used on my double

page spread

Overall I think that these elements of the photos represent a normal young social group and that my magazine reflects this throughout, the models featured in my magazine are normal looking for an artist in the music industry who are obviously quite wealthy there’s nothing extreme or obscure about their appearances.

I think the kind of media institution that might distribute my media product would be Prometheus Global Media who are

the same people who distribute the famous Billboard music magazine.

Billboard is published by Tommy Page. Billboard is an American music

magazine, headquartered in New York City. Billboard’s target audience is both relevant to males and females. However I

would say it is targeted at a younger generation of male and female,

attracting more female attention due to the celebrities they base the majority of the main articles on. The age range being

from 14 to late 20s. Billboard is intended for music professionals so this could widen the range of the target audience they are

targeting.

3) WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY?

Tommy Page

As Billboard is an American based music magazine I believe that my magazine ‘Spotlight Sunday’ could be the equivalent of

Billboard magazine in the UK due to the fact Billboard’s target audience is both males and females aged from 14 to late 20s and

my target audience being males and females age from 15-21. Billboard feature music artists from the past and present who are either successful in the music industry at the moment or who are backing a comeback. As featured in my magazine ‘Lydjia Hughes’

is making her comeback in the music industry after taking a break.

Therefore I think the kind of media institution that might distribute my media product would be Prometheus Global

Media.

The audience for my media product would be males and females of the younger generation aged 15-21 who are

interested in contemporary music and successful artists from all different types of genres of music. I believe they would be the audience for my media product as males and females of this age don’t really like one type of genre of music as they like a wide variety of music. As ‘Spotlight Sunday’ doesn’t focus on one type of genre of music and the media product

focuses on music artists who are contemporary and successful as it states on the front cover of my magazine ‘Released every

Sunday.’ ‘Current Artists Who Are In The Spotlight Today’. Therefore my audience can purchase ‘Spotlight Sunday’ every

Sunday at the end of the week and they are updated on the music industry and who is popular for that week.

4) WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?

I believe I attracted my audience/addressed them in a formal, respectable way.

I believe the colours I have used red, black and white have attracted them catching their eye as they view my magazine. The front cover is the

key as this is the first page they will see when viewing my magazine. I made full use of the headline ‘Lydjia Hughes back for good’ and linked the

headline with the splash image and lure ‘MEET Lydjia Hughes’. Plus I supplemented the main feature with additional information about summer festival s as well information on other current artists such as Dee’Riginal,

Rickster, Kitkat Morton and KezMc. In terms of the space on the page I made sure I used the majority of the space with the splash image as this

what my double page spread is about.

In my magazine I talk about things that involve and interest my target audience that are relevant to their age group, making them want to

purchase and read my magazine.

By using images of two teenage girls, this speaks to my target audience relating to them as the females may aspire to be like them or relate to

them and the males may find them attractive.

5) HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?

During the process of constructing this product I have used many different technologies and different programmes on the computer.

I started this product by completing a ‘LIIAR analysis’ which can be found on my blog under ‘LIIAR analysis’ I did this using the internet and Microsoft Office PowerPoint. From this I feel I learnt how to use the internet better as I found out information about the different types of magazines that are available on the

market as well as about media institutions. I had to conduct a survey on ‘Survey Monkey’ to find out

research from my target audience in things they were interested in. All of this can be found on my blog ‘questionnaire

and analysis’. I had never used ‘Survey Monkey’ before so I learnt how to create a questionnaire on here.

I then completed the research of poses and my photo-shoot plan on Microsoft Office Word.

6) WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?

After this I created an ‘Initial Ideas’ PowerPoint which can also be found on my blog.

Once I had done this I created a barcode using a link that was given to us, I had never done this before so I never knew it was possible that you could create a barcode so

simply as I thought you would have to make it from scratch on your own.

I used the school computers for all my Photoshop work such as creating my magazine front cover, contents page

and double page spread as well as to edit my images I had taken on my photo shoot.

To take all my images I used a Cannon Canon EOS 700D Digital SLR + Canon 18-55mm Lens.

To transfer my work so I was able to work at both school and home I used my Verbatim USB Key.

In addition to this I also created my blog using “Blogger” to post about everything I had done in every lesson to prove all of the work was my

own. By keeping this blog I was able to also keep up to date on all of my work.

As well as this I used Microsoft Office PowerPoint to create all my presentations. I have also used Microsoft Office Word to collect my feedback from Katrina Morton on all of my drafts of my front cover,

contents page and double page spread. Overall I have learnt a lot about technology throughout this project so

far, I had barely ever used Photoshop before and I had never used blogger before so I was able to learn how to do this. I now feel

confident in using all of these pieces of software.

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 preliminary task of creating a sixth form magazine front cover and contents page I feel I have learnt to use Photoshop more effectively than before.

When capturing my images on my photo-shoot for my music magazine I was more aware of the different camera conventions and angles as I had a better understanding in them.

I was aware that a medium close up and a long shot made the reader view different aspects of the model.

My preliminary task products was very simple and basic with just text and overlaying images. By creating my music magazine front cover, contents page and double page

spread I feel that I have learnt more Photoshop skills such as how to change the effect on an original image as well as how to add lens flares to images. I am now more aware on how images can link to the text and the size and style of the text used can effect my

target audience. Focusing on my splash image on my front cover, I learnt how to flip that image using Photoshop making it look like the image is one image and that the

model ‘Lydjia Hughes’ is standing back to back to herself.

I now feel more confident in using advanced Photoshop techniques and integrating images.

The whole project has made me realise how important the layout of the front page is to attract the target audience’s attention to make them want to purchase the magazine.

The size and choice of images is essential to the impact of the front cover,

7) LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?