Music Magazine Evaluation

Sarah Hall

Question One: In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

This is an example of a conventional magazine cover. This is due to the Masthead of the magazine been at the top of the page. It also has the main image framed by headings and sub headings. It has a splash and all the elements of the page are visible.

Some elements of my magazine are conventional such as my masthead, it is placed at top of the page and is clear and easy to see.

The name of the band or artist placed under their image in bold is similar to the example of the conventional cover.

One colour scheme use throughout the magazine is conventional and I have used the theme of red black and white and shaped throughout my product.

I have not included subheading on my cover which is often used a lot on conventional covers.

The image is a close yup and shows the artist looking at the camera which tends to be conventional.

The image could be seen as conventional in one sense, as it shows a band grouped together with a medium shot, in contrast the people on the image are not looking at the camera which could be seen as unconventional.

Question One Continued: Contents and Spread

I edited individual images of the band and placed them on a block to follow the theme of shapes in my product, this could be seen as unique or unconventional.

Placing a quote from the interview and placing it larger on the page is a conventional trait.

Placing the title of the magazine faintly in the

background in unconventional for

a double page spread.

My contents page could be seen as very unconventional, after creating drafts that are fairly simple and “safe” I have chosen this as my final product. I subverted conventions firstly by the layout. The page looks very busy with text and images in a variety of places.

It could be seen as unconventional by having the title of a section placed underneath the section.

Placing the title of the magazine in the background of the page.

Having the images and some of the article categories in irregular shapes is unconventional , it does however fit in with the theme of my magazine.

Both the cover and contents are unconventional in layout to magazines of this genre of music. Often one image is half of the page .

Question Two: How does your media product represent social groups

My target audience is for people aged around 15 and upwards, this is shown through my images and articles. The images are of a young band reuniting and may therefore relate to a young audience. The colour scheme of red white and black may appeal to both genders, none of the colours are stereotypical for one gender such as pink for a girl. Most of the fonts are unisex and the articles are about both male and female artists. However, if my product appealed to one gender more than the other I would have to say females, this is due to the main image and article been of females that they could relate to.

Due to my genre there is a wide audience that are both males and females and I have tried to represent this through my colour scheme. I have used colours such as red to show passion for music and the image shows a powerful group which could represent my target audience. My images are of females which may have a stronger impact on females but the articles featured in my magazine are for both males and females.

I do not feel that my product is for a certain class, sometimes it can be informal with words such as “Miss” been changed to “Mizz”, this is to relate to my target audience more. However it does not show any class issues, I feel that if it was only for one class of people then I would say the working class as this genre of music may stereotypically suit them more.

The name of my magazine is “Tribute”, with this I have added an element that could appeal to an older audience. I have done this my showing tribute to older bands that they may be able to relate to. This makes my magazine less about all newer music and shows passion for music.

The genre of my magazine is rock and pop music, the genre influenced several things such as my colour scheme and how the people in the images are dressed. The models on the main image are wearing bright clothes that follow my colour scheme and this could also effect the social groups portrayed through my product. As they are not wearing dark clothes then this automatically shows that the magazine is not a heavy metal one and may not appeal to the stereotypical view of the social group of Goth’s.

My magazine doesn’t contain any racial issues and all races are included in my target audience if they enjoy the genre of rock and pop music.

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

I have chosen a media institution called Factory Media. Factory Media is a merge from three institutions in 2006, these were Action Sports Media, Permanent Publishing and 4130 publishing. Known for its inspirational publishing of sports magazine Factory Media has created a total of 14 consumer magazines available on news stands today with around half a million readers worldwide. The merger was a success and with gave the institution a fresh focus in the development of a significant digital business. They found the demand for online communities and video consumption resulting in them now having 16 online platforms with a growing number of users. The growth wouldn’t have been achievable without Mpora.com, a community website that focuses on video sharing, digital magazines etc. Factory Media is the leading action sports media owner in Europe and feels strongly about serving their consumers with informative, high quality and exciting media.

With this I feel that Factory media would be a great institution to distribute my product. I feel this as it would appeal to young people and they are different from other institutions. As their products are mostly sports magazines I feel my product would stand out and that they would maybe appreciate and understand my product more than a company that sells a lot of music magazines. They also distribute their products through a variety of ways so that it is accessible by a global consumer, through the internet, subscribers and selling products on shelves.

Question Four: Who would be the audience for your media product?

My magazine has a mass target audience as my genre is rock and pop, as this is two genre’s there will be a larger target audience. I am mainly aiming my product at young adults ages 15 and upwards. This is shown through the image of young girls that they could relate to. There are other magazines in this genre that have been successful. The bright colour scheme could relate to both males and females and would attract a target audience into this genre of music. It wouldn't attract people that prefer different types of genre such as, heavy metal music that would probably have dark colours, or, people into club music as that could possibly be neon colours.

The title of my magazine could also be a way of attracting my target audience, this title doesn’t sound like it is for a dance music magazine such as “Platform”, or a classical music magazine such as “Classic Fm”. I feel the title isn't boring and is easy to remember and does relate to the music industry and will, therefore appeal to my target audience. Another element that could influence the audience of my magazine would be the clothes that the models on my images are wearing. They are wearing clothing with bright bold colours, this therefore eliminates genres such as heavy metal that may have people wearing dark clothing and an audience of “Goths”. Also the articles included in my product are about a range of artist that would appeal to my target audience of young adults, the articles are about both males and females. There are also album countdowns that young adults would be interested in and a competition that would involve young adults.

These magazines contrast, they are both for different genres and this is evident from the covers. The background cover for the left image is white and brighter than the heavy metal magazine which has dark colours and a fiery background. Even the title of the magazine lets the customer know what genre of magazine it is. Although the band on the left magazine are also dressed in black, their body language seems more relaxed and the yellow and red colurs represent a contrasting genre such as rock and pop.

Question Five: How did you attracts/address your audience?

From my research I found that some of the main ways to attract my target audience are through the aesthetics of my magazine. I found that its important to have the image of the band clear so that all of the faces are shows and to make sure that the image is big, so that my target audience can see what is in my magazine. I also , like the example, made the name of the band bold so it was visible and contrasted from the background, this is too show my target audience what the main article is and draw them into buying the product. For the same purpose I have a heading or headline about the band to inform the audience of what the story is. I have also placed a pug in the corner about a competition that will involve my target audience. I also have a footer running across the bottom of the page which is a snippet of what is inside the magazine.

Question Five Continued: How did you attracts/address your audience?

I have also followed a colour scheme throughout my product that is bold and vibrant and eye catching towards a customer. I also had the “Band of the Year” which was something that my readers could get involved in, and vote for a band of their choice. The occasional informal wording also related to my target audience such as changing “Miss” to “Mizz”.

Some parts of my product such as the contents page are very different from conventional music magazines, I think this could attract young adults as they are always looking for something new and different. I have also used the theme of shapes throughout my product and this could make my product appear ‘sharp and edgy’.

The main image I have used is of a band consisting of three girls. One of the images on the contents page shows their unity and friendship and this could relate to my audience. On the main image they look serious and strong and this represents their attitude towards music. In contrast, other images of them are light hearted and happy to show that music is fun and happy, and also that the magazine isn't a serious formal product.

I chose fonts that were clear and easy to read , however I also chose styles that weren't neat and clean and had a sort of messy effect. I also placed them in a variety of directions to show that the magazine appeared out of control and wasn’t neat and boring.

Finally I have included articles that would appeal to my target audience such as competitions, chart count downs, rating of music and release dates of songs and exclusives that will entice them into my product.

When I first started doing research I found a variety of fonts that I could use for my masthead from a website called DaFont and concluded that the fonts on the right hand side would not be suitable, finally I chose a fnt from the left hand side for my mast head and as shown in the example

Question Six: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Through this coursework I have learnt so much about a variety of technologies. One of the main software's I have used throughout making my product is Fireworks. I have improved my skills so much through this software and have used it on every part of my product. When editing my images I focused on the bitmap toolbar which enabled me to remove backgrounds and soften edges. It also allowed me to repeat parts of images or make areas of the image appear fuller through the stamp tool.

I also used the main toolbar section and the “Filters” to manipulate my images. This is one of the main stages I went through to get my final image for my front cover. I did also make some other alterations through fireworks to get to this point. I changed the saturation of the image so that the colours would be more powerful and follow my colour scheme, although I had asked the models to wear strong reds, they were no where near as vibrant as the colours on the computer. I also used the bitmap toolbar to remove the background, and the stamp tool to fill in the fringe of the middle person.

I had issues with my contents page as it had a plain white background and looked plain and boring, through fireworks I faded the title of the magazine and placed it in the background. I did this by using the opacity tool shown below. These are only a few of the new skills I have learnt through fireworks that helped me to edit, manipulate and create my images and product.

Question Six Continued: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I wouldn’t have been able to create my products without a digital camera to take images. From this I have learnt a lot about camera angles and lighting, I also had to consider elements such as clothing that I wanted people to wear in my images. As I knew that I would be editing some of the backgrounds on the photo I had to consider which backgrounds would be easier to edit out and what lighting would best suit the shot I was aiming for.

I have also learnt how to use a network to communicate and share my work. For this I used blogger which has been a great way to present my mock products and general improvements. It is also an easy way to store my work and receive comments and feedback. For this to happen I simply had to create a account in which I could store and present my work. I also learnt how to use a site called Slide Share which is how I upload slideshows onto my blog.

For a variety of fonts I used a website called DaFont. I soon learnt that this site has a huge variety of different styles of fonts for any genre. When doing research I frequently used this site and found that it was easy to download and experiment with their fonts. This ultimately ensured that i would be using boring normal fonts that are only found on software such as word.

This shows the contrast in different fonts that can be found at dafont.com

I also used Microsoft Word to receive feedback from others as it was easy to use and to copy for my blog.

Question Seven: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

I have made a lot of progression from my preliminary task to my final product. For my final product I did more research and prepared my time more. From my preliminary I have improved my ability of arranging the shots I needed. The preliminary task gave me an insight of shots that I could use and from this I experimented for my final product.

Looking back at my preliminary , its very plain and simple. The layout for my cover and contents are simple and the colours are also very plain. The backgrounds are boring and I have found ways to ensure this hasn’t happened on my final product. I did use fireworks on my preliminary but my skills and knowledge of the software have improved from when I first started the course.

From research I have learnt more ways of attracting my target audience. In contrast from my preliminary I use strong vibrant colours that would be eye catching, I also learnt sometimes going against conventions can attract my target audience so it is different and not boring like other magazine covers may be, such as my preliminary. The title on my preliminary does stand out, I used this on my final product but also learnt that bold headings or names of the band are eye catching, I found this from research as shown on previous slides and used this on my final product. Along with this I learnt different ways of showing what is inside the magazine without using subheadings such as pugs and footers.

I feel that in contrast to my final product , my preliminary task doesn’t look very professional. This is due to bad editing and the boring plain colours. The fonts used are regular and too big. I learnt that all of these factors wont appeal to my target audience and therefore, the magazine would not fit its purpose. Through learning about a variety of new technologies such as da font and fireworks, I was able to improve these factors for my final product.