Magazine Evaluation

Edward Gough

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

The real media product uses a similar colour theme to m own except they use a red instead of a grey. They do this so that it stands out more and seems more dangerous. I did not want to use the colour red as my magazine is not meant to be intimidating or threatening. The real magazine wants to be as masculine and powerful as possible as it is a rock magazine while mine is for dubstep magazine which is not meant to intimidating but more of a reliable information magazine that you can follow and learn from. While the real magazine is a rock magazine, it makes the artist on the cover seem a bit scary but something to aspire to at the same time. While my magazine show the artist on the front as something to aspire to and learn from. On the real magazine they do this by having the artist as the lightest part then him fading to black aroung him then with a solid background maing him seem like he’s hiding in the shadows. The expression on his face also adds emphasis to this as his face is very stern. While mine, he has a light coming from behind him making him seem important and powerful at the same time. The real magazines masthead is layered behind the head just like my magazine. I did this to add depth to the magazine and to make it stand out. The font for the real magazine seems a bit gothic which suits the magazine as it is seen as quite dark and scary. While mine looks technological which also suits the genre as dubstep is mostly made using computers and other technological devices. The tagline for the real magazine is at the top and is reasonably thick to get more information on it with plugs on it also. While mine is at the bottom which limits the amount I could put on the cover. I chose to go against this though as you then struggle to see the main article when its in the stand.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The target audience of my magazine is an 18 year old, white, male from and urban setting with a taste for technological music. My magazine represents them as hard working and try to make their own music for others to enjoy over the internet. They get shown as if they try hard to spread their music because they enjoy it themselves and want others to enjoy it as well. It goes against common stereotypes where teens are lazy and don’t want to do anything for free. It also tries to show that the target audience aren’t all spoilt kids who are born into wealth and can just buy the latest equipment but that they are middle class and try to be good and to afford their technology. Yet it also presents them as have some amount of money to afford good clothes that are up to date.

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

The company that might distribute my product would be a large company such as IPC media as they have many different magazines in different genres. They have many different magazines as they are able to make more money with more magazines. They would distribute my product as it is for a niche market that has not been accessed much yet so if they build a large fan base for the magazine early they could have more reliable buyers and will more likely stay with them if new magazines come out as research suggests that readers stick to one magazine at a time. So by going into this market they could earn more money. It also is a reasonably easy genre to work with as there is nothing too complicated about it. It is also a very large market at the moment that is being left alone. With an empty market with little competition they could start a new business for specialised parts of the media.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my media product would most likely be young adults that have an interest in creating music through computerisation. Being young they would have limited disposable income so a cheap magazine about what they like would be ideal for them. As they are most likely be young they would be studying making them have little time to spend on reading so a magazine with lots of content can last them a long time giving them more value for their money. They would most likely have a deep interest in the music making them want to succeed more so a product with lots of information and advice would be perfect for them. They will have a small group of friends who would also read the magazine and talk about there music and work together to get better as there is limited help for improvement in this genre of music.

How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract my audience, I would put advertisements in other magazines similar to this genre just to get the idea of the new magazine out there. I would then continue to spread the magazine with posters at the magazine stands to catch your attention and then make you want to read it. Then possibly sponsoring something such as a gig for this genre to get the idea that it is a big magazine that knows what they’re doing. Then you could advertise on the T.V. on music channels when this genre of music is playing on the channel. I would then do a special offer on the first issue to tempt them into buying it and have posters in each issue as freebies attract peoples attention.

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

I have learnt from this project that technology can be very useful. I have learnt that I can use a blog to show my work to anyone and get their views on it and improve. Also the use of a blog has allowed me to access my work anywhere and the ability to make changes quickly and easily. I have also used QR codes to link my work together so that you can use a smartphone to go straight to my work. This lets me show one thing then link to another piece of my work to see more of my work.

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

During the progression of my work I feel like I have learnt a lot about the music itself as well as the technology behind making my product. On the music side, I have learnt new technical codes for different parts of the music and what makes the music so different. On the technical side I have learnt how to use a blog to my advantage to show my work and the progression of it. I have also learnt different ways to share my work through QR codes. This allowed me to link all my work back to my blog showing my work in more detail and with more information. I have also learnt new information to do with media such as technical codes and other interesting things. I have also learned about how to use certain programs better such as photo editing in photoshop. I feel that I have learnt more about media through out my project along with gaining more confidence when producing media products.