Evaluation of my media magazine

4 similar magazines

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge conventions of real media

products?• My media product challenges conventions by having a very simple

layout, which kerrang does not follow, Kerrang always has more than one article and often more than one picture. However it also follows a convention because Metal Hammer often has a sleeve which is just one singular picture and one lead article. My contents page definitely challenges conventions as it is a picture of broken glass with the articles written on each shard of broken glass. This is very different to how a typical contents page is set up because a normal contents page is very structured and has other pictures o it where as mine is not in an order and is only one picture. My double page spread does follow conventions of a double page spread so in all my magazine develops the conventions of a magazine because it has parts which follow conventions and parts that don’t.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

• My media product represents a particular social group by the model used on the front cover and on the double page spread. He is a very stereotypical “metal head”. He matches the profile of my target audience because he has long hair and is wearing a Pantera t-shirt, he is also the same age as the target audience. He plays guitar and the guitar used in the picture on the double page spread is also a very stereotypical metal guitar, the shape and colour of the guitar is seen as a very metal guitar. The name of my magazine is also a named of a sub genre; the sub genre is called “thrash metal” and my magazine name is “thrashed”, this name would stand out to my target audience as it is a name that would appeal to them. The colours on the front cover would also stand out to my target audience because they are not really bright colours but they are not massively dark; instead they are dull colours which give the front cover a rather sinister feel that the target audience would like.

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

• The most likely publisher to publish my magazine would be Bauer Media because they have published Kerrang which is a magazine fairly similar to my magazine. The other main publisher for magazines is IPC only have NME whereas Bauer Media have Kerrang, mojo, and Q.

Who would be the audience for your media

product? • The audience for my magazine would be people who like metal

music aged between 16-24 and who are working class. This would be my target audience because I have used a name and model that would appeal to my target audience.

How did you attract/address your audience?

• I attracted my audience by using a model who fitted the target audience, both in age and look. My target would be attracted to a picture of him because he is a very stereotypical “metal head” and it would draw their attention as it is a very specific look and not a common one in magazine that focus on popular music. The name of my magazine would attract my audience because it is named after a sub genre called “thrash metal”. The broken font is also another convention of “thrash metal” because as the name suggests it is about thrashing and being anti trend. I addressed my audience in the contents page by having articles with other bands of the genre and also having articles about gigs which my target audience like going to.

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

• From the process of making this product I have learnt some skills using the programme “photoshop”. I have learnt different techniques on photoshop such as the magnetic lasso tool, which I used on my front cover to get my model in front of my text. I also learnt how to change the levels on a photograph and also change the colours, for example on my front cover the image has been edited by me changing the levels and adding an orange tint. On my double page spread I have an image which I double layered and made the top layer black and white and then used the magnetic lasso tool to cut around the guitar and delete that part of the second layer so that the colour of the guitar was the only part of the image in colour.

Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to

the full product?• I have learnt how to use photoshop and have learnt some skills that

made my magazine look professional. I learnt how to use different layers and how to duplicate them and dissolve them. I also learnt how to edit photos. I have also learnt how to use blogger and make and edit posts; and also add in in powerpoints or word documents via issuu or slideshare.

Front cover evaluation

Masthead

Lead articleCover line

Main imageI chose my masthead because the broken glass effect matches the name: “Thrashed” i then put it behind the model because it is a generic convention of a magazine

My cover line is basic and does not give away much information about the article, instead it creates an uncertainty about what it might be about and intrigues people to it.

The lead article is just the name of the who the article is about and matches with the cover line well.

My main image is an edited image that is appealing because of the strange colours, it is both bright and dull at the same time. The direct vision of the model makes it more sinister looking, making this image a stereotypical metal image.

Contents page evaluation

masthead

Page numbers

Article name

The page numbers that the articles are on are on the outside of the centre where the thrashed logo is

The name of the article is diagonally down and right of the page numbers and is written centrally.

My masthead is in the centre of the broken to infer that it was thrashed that broke the glass. The broken glass font makes this more effective.

Double page spread evaluation

Pull quoteLead image

Drop capstandfirst

I used a drop cap because it is a generic convention

I used a standfirst to introduce the article properly

I used a pull quote to make it like a generic double page spread, as I wanted a generic double page spread I used lots of generic features

For my lead image I used this one because I thought it stood out well and looked like an image you would

find in a magazine

Feedback from on my blog

The feedback on my blog is mostly positive and most people seemed to like my entire magazine. 2 people said that the colour is too hard to read on the double page spread

Feedback from survey on SurveyMonkey

Feedback from survey on SurveyMonkey

Feedback from survey on SurveyMonkey

Feedback from survey on SurveyMonkey

Feedback from survey on SurveyMonkey

• From the feedback I got from my survey on SurveyMonkey it is mostly positive feedback for example, everyone thought my magazine was aimed at 16-20 year olds and everyone said they would buy it. However people did say that I should have changed

the font or added in a black highlight to make it easier to read.