AS MEDIA STUDIES – COURSEWORK EVALUATION

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

My magazine could be seen as conventional due to the masthead been placed in the typical place, at the top of the cover. However, it could be viewed as unconventional as the masthead is backed with a block of colour, whereas most magazines have a bright outstanding colour for the masthead. In one aspect the masthead is conventional as it catches the readers eye, due to it being bold. On the other hand, it could be seen as challenging because the colour is not so vibrant. This contrasts to the ‘Vibe’ magazine as the masthead is a bright colour.

The layout is very much like magazines you would see in shops today. The picture is the main focus of the cover, this being like the example used. I used a close up shot to capture the audiences attention.

The colour scheme I have used is unconventional as the colours are bright and match the upbeat ‘electro’ genre of music. When considering the colour of the text I thought about the colour of clothing in the picture.

The banner at the bottom of the page is authentic feature to a front cover. I placed the banner at the bottom so that the audiences attention isn't taken away from the masthead.

The font of the headings around the front cover are unconventional. This is because each heading is a different font so that its clear there are different stories in the magazine.

My contents is very unconventional, although there are some aspects that could be seen as conventional.

I followed the conventional idea of using the front cover as an image on the contents page like the example I have used. This shows the continuous link between the story's I have used and how the person on the front cover is the main story.

The heading ‘contents’ is conventional because its bold and it is made clear it is the contents page, which is important so the reader know what exactly what they are looking at and what their looking for. However, it could be seen as unconventional as its not a bright colour so its not that easy for the reader to find, however I used this colour so that the subheading still fits with the rest of the page.

The layout is totally unconventional. This is because the page listing of the magazine is split into two boxes, whereas, in other magazines I have looked at the page numbers and information are listed in one long line going down the side of the page.

The font of the text is unconventional. Usually in magazines, the text on the contents page is really clear to read and a plain font. However, I have used a font which goes with the genre as it looks different and unusual yet still easy to read.

The different colours for the article and the page numbers is so that the reader can acknowledge the page number and the article as different things. This is seen as a conventional feature of a magazine.

My double page spread is conventional. This is because the background colour is one colour and I have chose to do an interview as the main feature of the double page spread. The two columns for the interview is also a conventional aspect. It makes it more aesthetically pleasing to the eye and doesn’t overpower the reader with a lot of text. However, the film reel which I have made across the page and down the side of the other, frames the whole article of the pages. This is quite an unconventional feature. The colour scheme which I used on the double page spread is conventional. I decided to use a basic grey colour so that the readers attention wouldn’t be drawn to anything else other than the interview on the page.The heading is conventionally placed across both pages to show the link between both pages. The picture used is unconventional to other products as its not a close up dominating the pages. I wanted to use more than one picture of the artist without taking over both pages with pictures. I used the film reel as it allows more room for text, yet lets the reader see more pictures relating to the artist. How the artist is looking towardsthe text shows the text is about him which makes it clear to the reader that’s what both pages are about. This is a conventional feature as both pages are linked which is important for a double page spread.

HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?

I chose to do the electronic genre because in the charts today a lot of the music is techno/electronic. This therefore told me that it is popular in society. Another reason why I also chose the genre is that it is one of my personal favourite type of music, therefore I had a good idea of how I wanted my magazine to look. The photos I used appeal to the electronic genre because of the clothing and the facial expressions and the attitude the artist put forward. The clothing reflects artists in the charts today also. The fonts that I have used throughout my magazine definitely reflect the genre, especially the masthead and font of the headings on the front cover. The colour scheme matches well with the genre too. This is because electronic music is upbeat and lively. Therefore, the bright and vibrant colours link well. The names I have used in my contents page, such as Calvin Harris are big artists who are successful in that line of music.

My magazine is aimed at the younger generation of readers, and this is reflected in many aspects of my product. I also wanted my product to appeal to anybody who likes electro music, more so for the older classics such as ministry of sound. The model I used in the photos is young, therefore this makes the target audience look up to that person with them being a similar age. The colour scheme I have used looks mature yet young and fun. I used unusual fonts which will appear to the main target audience as it gives a youthful look.

I wanted my magazine to appeal to anybody who liked electro music. Because of this I have made it quite multi sex. The photos I used would appeal to both male and female. However the main story on the double page spread would appeal more so to male as the artist the interview is about is male and females may not be able to relate as well than if it was a female artist. The articles I have used on the contents page would maybe appeal to males more than females. This is because there is a article names ‘Gizmos And Gadgets’ which males would be more interested in. The colours used throughout the magazine could be seen as more masculine because they are grey yet still brighter coloured text.

My product would be aimed at more lower/middle class then higher class. This is because the model in the photos is wearing casual clothing such as, t-shirt and a cap. This would relate more to the lower classes as this is the type of clothing they wear.

WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY?

After doing research I have chose ITP. On their website it says that they publish more than 80 weekly and monthly magazines. They publish Aspire magazine, broadcast, Grazia, Men’s fitness, Viva, and many more. I think that this would benefit my magazine because they are already successful, therefore, I am confident my magazine would be successful through them.

My magazine will not be distributed digitally but through news agents as my target audience will find it easier to buy the magazine by going into shops. Personally, I think that distributing magazines is best by shops and not online.

I think my magazine will stand out compared with the other magazines they distribute. This is because it is a modern music magazine and would be eye catching to the target audience.

WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT BE?

Most of my research was based on music magazine ‘Vibe’. This is because I thought they had a close target audience to what I wished to target. The target audience for a magazine can be shown through genre, colour, fonts, images and articles etc. vibe magazine do this by the use of colour and how the vibrant colour are very eye catching.

I think that my audience will be a mass market. This is because the genre of music is very popular and features all the big new artists – this appeals to the younger and older generation, however mainly younger. There are aspects of my magazine that could be said to be aimed at a niche market. This is because there are only a certain number of people who would actually read about the genre ‘electro’.

The images I have used throughout the magazine would appeal to the younger generation. This is because the model is young, wearing clothing which a similar age of younger people would wear. The readers would also aspire to be like the models in the magazine. If an older model was to be used in my magazine, this would catch the attention of the younger generation.

HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?

When I was thinking about how I would attract my audience, I thought the most important thing to consider was the font. I used a website called ’DaFont’ and this allowed me to search through all kinds of fonts to see what I thought would appeal best my target market. The font needed to be right for the masthead on the front cover, as it was following a conventional style for the front cover, the masthead would need to be eye catching for the reader so that my magazine would be identified easily.

I then decided what colour scheme I would use. This is important when thinking of your audience as it needs to stand out and appeal to them. After researching magazines, it had become clear to me that I would need to use bright and vibrant colours and not just the basic black, white and red colour scheme. Bright colours is what stood out most for me on a magazine, so I showed this on my music magazine. The main colour that I used was grey. This is because its unisex and I could use any colour to go with it, and make text stand out on top of the grey background. This would encourage my audience to read my magazine.

I didn’t make my magazine language very formal, the language that I used appeals to the people who like that genre of music. I didn’t want to use formal language as it may suggest that my target audience was for much older people instead of older teenagers or younger adults.

The photos that I used represent my target audience very well. This is because the style of clothing is what they would most probably wear. This would make them be drawn into the magazine as they feel like they would have a connection with the magazine.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?

I got my fonts of a website called Da-font. On this website I could explore a various fonts that would suite the genre of my magazine best. Da-font is very easy to use and this is because of the way it is set up and the layout of the website. There were different categories at the top that you could choose from to find the font that best suited. Getting to font was easy to do, but just clicking on the download button.

When taking pictures of my model for my magazine I had to learn about camera shots, lighting, and mise-en-scene. All of these were very important in order to make the photos effective. Mise-en-scene was important so that it linked with my target audience. Lighting is important so that it didn’t take any attention away from pictures for the reader. And lastly, camera shots were important so that the picture linked with the text or so that it was an eye catcher to the audience.

The first programme that I had to learn to was Blogger.com, this is where I hold all my magazine progress. I had never used this programme before and never heard of it before, therefore I was really eager to find out what the blog did exactly. I found the blog really easy to use and it is clear and understandable when using it. One disadvantage of this programme is that I cant attach power point presentations directly onto the blog, so I had to use a new programme called Slide Share. After working with Slide Share after some time, I got really used to the programme and found it easy to use.

LOOKING BACK ON YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?

This was my preliminary task, creating a school magazine. I feel I have improved dramatically since then as I am more experienced with fireworks, Photoshop and fonts etc. I also got better at planning and researching.

Since my preliminary task, when I started to work on my music magazine I researched into more magazines and used them for inspiration. I also did better planning so that I know exactly what I was wanting to achieve with my magazine. If I did this with my preliminary I would have produced a better standard of work. When I was researching for my final magazine, I was looking at conventional magazines and how the use of camera shots were used and the colour schemes and what worked best and what didn’t look so good. The layout of the double page spread was something I looked a lot into.

I have improved using programmes such as fireworks but mainly Photoshop. When I did my preliminary I used the basics of fireworks as I didn’t know the tools very well and what did what. However, as I progressed in making my magazine, I gained a better understanding. This allowed me to make my music magazine to the style of how I liked it, more of a personal piece of work.