Evaluation for the Print Music Magazine i have created for my coursework for my AS level project in sixth form.

1. Evaluation
By Courteney Black
3253

2. In what ways does your media
product use develop or
challenge forms and
conventions of real media
products?

3. My magazine mainly follows the conventions of magazines that are similar
rather than challenging them, I done this to try and keep to the same
generic conventions of a music magazine. It does this in the front cover
where the magazine title is located at the top of the page in the masthead
area. I have also placed the main image of the front cover centre of the page
so it immediately connects with the audience, along with the photo, i have
used the convention of a tag line in which is related to the image and the
main story of the article to give the reader an idea of what they will be
reading. There is also 3 other story headlines placed around the magazine
front cover to inform the audience of other articles in which they will find
without giving too much away. Like any magazine i have followed the
convention of having a barcode, price, issue number and website for the
magazine on. The double page spread has also followed the conventions,
related to the person who is on the front cover of the magazine and there is
not too much writing or overcrowding on the page. However magazines
which are targeted at a similar audience tend to have more on the front
cover, but i think this makes it over crowded so i didn’t want to make my
magazine like this, this way I made my magazine slightly unique and
different. I believe my magazine makes it apparent that it is a music
magazine due to the magazine title being NONSTOPPOP which is related to
the genre of the music in my magazine.

4. The similarities and differences show between these 2 music magazines and how i
have followed some of the conventions of a magazine and also made mine unique
to it.

5. I have set mine out in a
similar way of question and
answers throughout the
double page spread.
However on the Top of the
Pops magazine the image
has covered one side of the
double page spread
whereas mine i central and
is more of a close up.
However they both have
quotes enlarged around
the article of what they will
read in the article.

6. Similarities of these ones are that i have included a message from the editor like what
is in the top of the pops magazine, the contents page is also split up into similar
sections. I included the double page spread on my contents whereas they have the
front cover on theres.

7. How does your media
product represent
particular social
groups?

8. I have attracted an audience of females between the ages of 15-19, and tried
to represent this social group within my magazine. I have done this by the
articles in which i chose to have in my magazine, the photographs and the
language used. I have used a young teen girl as the main article which
represents the social group so the audience can relate to who is involved. I
have also used a stereotypical boy band of 3 boys, which young teenage girls
usually take an interest in to appeal to them, which i believe was a good way to
attract my target audience. I have also used catchy words which girls would
remember such as ‘girls, gigs and great nights out’ which is more appealing to
girls rather than boys. Having articles named ‘hunk’ also is more aimed
towards females.

10. What kind of
media institution
might distribute
your media
product and why?

11. The institution i would want my magazine to be distributed by is
Bauer Media Group. I chose these because they already publish 2
music magazines being Kerrang and Q. However they also have a lot
of involvement with music, such as they have several music channels
such as Smash Hits, the Box, 4Music, Heat. Which are all well known
channels so it would be an ideal company to distribute my media
product. I would also get large supermarkets and newsagents to sell
my magazine as it is an easy way to access them especially as these
shops are visited frequently, such as Whsmith, Sainsburys, Asda.

12. What would be the
audience for your
media product? How
did you
attract/address your
audience?

13. The audience would be females, aged 15-19. I chose this
audience because it has many things they would be interested in
such as boy bands, girl advice, love stories and fashion. It is
aimed at older teens as there isn’t much slang which younger
teens tend to use and it is more of a mature magazine with
simple colours for the colour scheme. It also attracts them
because i have tried to make them involved with the magazine
including that they can write in, tweet, visit the website and
enter competitions. Along with this there are free gifts, such as
free posters of their favourite celebrities. I have also used
language that makes them feel more comfortable in a more
chatty and informal way to address them, which I believed was a
better idea than more formal.

14. What have you
learnt about
technologies from
the process of
constructing this
product?

15. My final product of my magazine was created on a program called
Photoshop. Before i created this magazine i was unfamiliar with the
program and it took a while to get the hang of it, but i realised
there was plenty of things i could include in my magazine to make it
more like a magazine. This is included the fact there was such a
larger range of fonts to use which were much more appealing and
would fit in better with my idea in which i created. Along with this
there were so many choices to choose from to edit my magazine
such as airbrushing and removing lumps and spots on photos to
make it look better, which other magazines tend to do to appeal to
the audience. Eventually i managed to use Photoshop well and
create my magazine which turned out better than what i thought.

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

17. From originally creating my preliminary task of a front cover and draft
of a contents page i believe that i have learnt a lot, including more of
the conventions and what a music magazine is meant to look like and
since researching and planning my idea of what i wished to create and
the best ways to target my audience. Along with this i have more of an
understanding of how it should appeal to them and the correct articles
and words to make them interested. I have also developed a better
understanding of Photoshop and improved from the preliminary task to
my final task.

18. This is the
photograph
i have used
on my
contents
page and it
shows how i
have used
Photoshop
to edit from
its original
photo, to
smooth skin,
get rid of
spots and
make the
boys look in
a better way
for the
magazine.

19. Here is the original image for the front cover and the final piece, you can see how i have
made it more brighter and her stand out more and placed her on a white background
and smoothed down edges, such as the her hair, to make it look neater.

20. This is the photo in my double
page spread, before and after. I
believe this one had changed the
most. I have used different
affects to make each side of her
face different colours, i have
used a smoothing tool to smooth
over her face to look airbrushed;
which most magazines do
nowadays. I have placed it on a
bright white background in
comparison to the original one
which had shadows in the
background to make her stand
out the most.

21. Overall i enjoyed making my magazine and testing out all the different
things i could use to make it how i wanted to. I am happy with the
outcome and think that it is similar to other music magazines.
However there is several things i think could be improved, such a variety
of more colours as they are quite dark and simple ones i have used and
more photos for my contents to attract more readers. Along with as the
double page spread is the most important page inside the magazine it is
quite dull in black and grey with only a slight bit of colour from the sick. So
with a wider range of colours i think this could be more vibrant and
attractive to people rather than looking as if its a boring article before
people have even read it.