The document is a reflection on how the student's magazine cover adheres to and challenges conventions of real music magazines like NME. The student followed conventions like placement of titles, quotes, and band listings. However, they broke some conventions like not including the magazine name on the contents page or a band index. The student learned photography and editing skills using Photoshop to enhance their magazine's professional look.

1. Ramarna Knapp Evaluation

2. To make my magazine look as professional as possible I followed the codes and conventions used in similar magazines. The titles are placed in similar positions on the page, and also include a small line of text underneath that give a summary of the magazine in a few lines. I have included a small quote from the artist which gives a small insight into the topics discussed inside the magazine, similar to what is used in NME. The artists name is shown in bold writing to attract their fans to the magazine. Both magazines feature a small list of bands and artists who are relevant to the genre. Conventions such as date, price and barcode are clearly shown as are in NME. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

3. I have written a small news story similar to the one in NME in the contents. Another convention which is shown in both magazines is the title ‘this week’ including the date underneath. I have chosen to use the same font as the title on the cover to keep a consistent theme. Both magazines clearly show the heading for the contents page, making it easier for the reader to access their desired articles. I have stuck to a colour theme of black and red to make my magazine look professional and consistent. I have broke the conventions of a music magazine by not including my magazines name on the contents page. I felt that it was not required, and looked better with the name removed. I have not included the convention of having a band index which is often seem in magazine such as NME.

4. Quotes from the band give an insight into the article, this technique is used in NME. I have chosen to use some smaller, relevant photos to further illustrate my article such as the layout seen in NME. NME is similar in using a photo to take-up half of the double page spread as the artists or band pictured is the main feature of the article. I have chosen to have a interview with my artist, however NME often do a story rather than interview in their double page spreads, so I am breaking the convention slightly. I have started my article with a small introduction to the artists which is often seen in magazines. I have given a small summary of the image as often seen in NME.

5. The text on the top reads ‘I’m in the band’ this would appeal to my target audience because they are interested in music first and foremost and by incorporating it into the wardrobe shows that music is the main focus of the article and magazine. Displays bands that would be known by fans of this genre The image clearly shows the guitar so people can identify what genre the magazine is. The guitar also shows that as a woman in this male dominated industry she values music over appearance, which is an attitude shown a lot in this genre. the majority of music in this specific genre are created using guitars, which require amps. Also the term amplify, implies something loud. In addition it is a short title name that would be easy to remember. How does your media product represent particular social groups? The text used is not particularly formal as I am representing a younger demographic, however they are music fans and are particularly affluent therefore I haven’t used slang, or anything to conversational.

6. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? My magazine is similar to NME, specialising in rock, indie and alternative music. So I would want to use the same publisher as the company would know how to get the best out of my magazine being so experienced with a similar magazine. IPC is the UK’s leading magazine publisher, with over 60 media brands, this would allow my magazine to have incredible funding, through a established company. Going with this particular publisher would allow my magazine to be distributed to a wider range on stores and outlets, that would mean my magazine would reach a wider audience, and attract more readers. However a company such as Rhinegold publishers have a range of magazines specialising in classical music. My magazine could be the first indie/rock magazine they have so their time could be dedicated to making the magazine the best it can be. Also because it is a small publisher they would be able to spend a lot of time on the magazine rather than having to distibute their time between 50 different magazines.

8. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? Before starting the magazine I had never had any experience using Photoshop, and had been used to the publisher format. I was nervous about whether my lack of skills would hider how professional my magazine turned out. Once I had planned out my magazine on Publisher I had to transfer this over to Photoshop to enhance the quality. So I had to play around with it for a while to familiarise myself with all the different tools. I took the pictures on a SLR, which was the first time I had used one. I found the pictures came out a lot clearer than previous photos I had taken with a normal digital camera. This meant that when I went to edit the photos on Photoshop I had better images to work with. And as the camera had a lot of memory I was able to take a lot of photos and had a variety to choose from, meaning my final photos where the best photos possible. Once I had the hang of it I used the software to edit the photos I had taken. I edited the light in the image to make it appear brighter, but I darkened the shadows so the image looked more interesting and made the individual elements such as the amp and guitar stand out from the background. I attempted to use the lasso tool on my cover photo, however due to the colour of the models top and the background this proved difficult, and appeared more professional using the original background. I learnt how to use create my magazine building layers of images, text and colour to create a proficient magazine.

9. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? I had left a lot of free space around the edges on my preliminary task which would have appeared very unprofessional on Amplify my music magazine. I haven't used a variety of font types , everything looks a little similar. The process from preliminary task to final cover taught me a lot about all the different components needed to make a professional and successful music magazine. I learnt about how social groups are represented in print media through the models, the masthead, the fonts and colours. I have also learnt about the different codes and conventions needed to make a professional magazine. Because the two magazine are very different in content i learnt how to present a formal newsletter, and then the more informal magazine cover. The first task I done was created using publisher, which in comparison to Photoshop which I used for the final cover was a lot more simple, and didn’t have the wide variety of tools that where available to use for the final cover in order for my magazine to appear realistic. Conventions such as barcode where not included in my preliminary task.