My evaluation

MY EVALUATIONBy Jo Webb 12W

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOU MEDIA PRODUCTS USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND

CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?These images show both my front cover and a professional “NME” Magazine

with different layouts. When creating my front cover I don’t feel that I

emulated a specific style and layout from other popular professional music

magazines but instead took small elements from a wide Range of them.

When doing my research into front covers I chose the best

features I thought I could use in mine, such as the main image.

I found that many magazines used just one person in the

centre of the page , Meaning the audience would focus purely

on them. I also emulated from Various magazines where the

positioning of the front cover components should be,

including where the price label and barcode should be

placed. Other than those components the rest of my

magazine was a unique design and layout I had made. The

main part of my front cover I Created Myself was the

positioning and style of my text, I positioned it so it

wasn’t obstructing the centre image and chose the colour

because it is able to Relate to the background, without being To bright and

annoying for the Audience.

Front Cover


CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

The colour scheme of my front cover was important to me because I wanted

relevant colours to link, for example using specific tools on Photoshop I was

able to select the colour of my models jacket and used the same colour for the

price sticker. With my front cover, I made all the choices to make it seem as

Professional as possible and for it to appeal to my target

audience. Although I have used Various codes and

conventions similar to magazine such as NME and Q, my

Music Magazine is unique. If it were to be sold as a real

magazine, it would Stand Out and alone from the typical

magazines on the market because of its Different layout,

image style and colour scheme. I would keep a similar

Style throughout my magazine by keeping the title, font

and text the same, It gives it a more realistic . I used

the same font throughout for my main Magazine title,

“Treble” and for subheadings, I chose the colour and

style Of the font for it to suit my target audience and the

genre of the magazine.

Front Cover



When creating my contents I found it harder to research and find other

Magazines already on the market to emulate. With this problem I faced I had

To take small elements of a variety of magazines, rather than emulating

Larger parts of fewer. I also had to think about the forms and conventions

To give my product the best edge and uniqueness possible which would

Make it more likely to be successful on the music magazine

Market. When conforming to the usual forms of other contents

I made sure I did so in small parts, because I felt that if I conformed

To all the same elements, my magazine would just be a replica and

Would lack the edge i.e. the unique selling point. The main element

I emulated was the “Vibe” magazines contents titles style, because

I felt that it was interesting and was more unique than the usual

Styles. The rest of my magazine layout, text, graphics etc was unique,

When looking at possible magazines to emulate I found that I liked

“Vibe” and “Spin” the most because I found the arrangement and the

Look of the contents pages to be more interesting than others. In my

Research I noticed that in many contents pages there are not too many

Graphics, images or photos on the page, I think this is because it would

Take concentration away from the rest of the contents.

Contents



With the making of my double page spread, I had to research carefully

Other magazines on the market so that I was able to create the best

Double page possible, in hope that it would sell more copies. As well as

Finding things to emulate in my own work, I felt that it was important

To find elements of other magazines, that I would prefer not to emulate.

One double page spread that I researched and found interesting was the

“RWD” magazine, I felt that the graphics, layout and texts were good

Because they attract the audience and make them want to read it.

When creating my double page spread, because there was little double

Page spreads I wanted to emulate, it meant mine was my unique which

Can be good and bad. It can be seen as a good thing because it means

It doesn't conform to the usual layouts of magazines, giving it a unique

Selling point. However it was also a bad thing as I had to think of a

Whole new and original layout for images and text. One of the only

Things I felt that I emulated from another magazine, already on the

Market was the use of have quotes from the interviewee in highlighted

Writing. I liked this because it made it stand out from the rest of the text

And made it easier for the audience to understand who was saying each

part.

Double Page

HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?

When creating my magazine I hoped that my magazine would appeal to and

Represent a large amounts of people from both genders and all types of different

ethnic backgrounds. The ages would most likely be around their early teens to

young adults i.e. 14-22, they would probably be in a college or sixth form with a

strong interest in music. As my Magazine is of a mainstream genre, I would hope it

represents many people As well as up and coming artists themselves. I would try to

represent these age, gender and ethnic groups mainly in my magazine with the

use of my images/photos, they help to Represent the various group because they

can relate to the audience. For Example my front cover and contents features and

school boy in his middle Teens with an obvious taste in music, my audience can

relate themselves to the character and in some cases could even see them as a role

model to aspire to be like. I can also use the images and photos used throughout

My magazine to emphasize the genre of the magazine. With my different colour

Scheme and pictures used it can highlight what type of magazine it actually

Is. I feel that the writing on my double page spread helps the represent

Social groups the most because the article talks about fashion, up and coming

artists and a characters struggle in his career, all these factors can relate to

Problems faced by the audience or their interests.

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

To get my magazine from me to the audience I would need to

choose distributors to sell my magazine. When I created my front

Cover, contents and double page spread I used elements from

“NME,Q and RWD”’s magazines, so I think I would probably try and

Use these companies to distribute my magazine because I feel that

our audiences will be fairly similar. My magazine would probably be

Marketed and sold via shops/news agents because it is easy for the

Audience, they would also be able to subscribe for a month edition

Which would delivered to their home. The audience would able to contact

My magazine using the internet, phone, email, fax etc for any inquires

And for new and up to date information. The magazine would have various

Offers and deals going on throughout the year, this would be likely to

Attract the audience. I would also hope that as my magazine gets more

Wide spread it would be able to develop to other medias such as

Having an online version, iPad editions and to be made accessible

Via androids and smart phones. By making it available on a wider

Range of media devices it makes it easier for the audience to view

And can help it to appeal to a wider amount of people.

WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?

The audience for my music magazine I feel would be someone that have a

keen taste in new mainstream music and would probably be between the

Ages of 14-22. I would hope that my magazine would appeal to both genders

And can represent as many social groups as possible. I don’t feel that my

Magazine has a specific genre of music because it is mainly based on

Mainstream music at that current time. My typical reader would have an

Interest in a variety of different medias, for example they would watch TV,

Listen to the radio and use the internet for social networking frequently.

Although I would prefer my media product to appeal to both genders, I feel that

The audience will be slightly more male than female because of the type of

Music the magazine is based around. My reader would be a fairly mainstream

Audience in all types of the media, such as favouring comedy and action films

Apposed to dramas. I think that because my magazine is British based, it would

Probably appeal to an White-British audience more, purely because that is the

Majority. However I feel/hope that as my magazine would progress and the

Readers widen, I would like my range of audience to as well. If my magazine

Were to spread to other countries, there is more chance of different

Ethnicities to become apart of my audience. Although I was able to give a

Fairly clear explanation on who and what type of person my audience would

Be, they would all have a uniqueness about them, as does my magazine.

HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?

Throughout the making of all my magazine, I had to take into

Consideration how I planned on attracting my audience, otherwise my

Magazine wouldn’t do very well at appealing to the public which would

Result in a lack of sales. I feel that the main ways in which I was able to

Attract and address my audience was with the use of graphics, images,

Layouts, texts etc because I was able to strongly highlight who and what

Type of person my target audience would be, it was easier for me to

Appeal to them. On my front cover, I was able to take most of the colour

out of the main image, leaving only the centre character in colour, with

This and the used of attractive text in appropriate positions it would easily

Appeal to the audience. I used various techniques and tools in my contents

Page and double page spread, but all had the same purpose and intentions.

I feel that the most important thing to consider when trying the attract an

Audience is the use of graphics and the colours. Bright bold colours are

Extremely good at catching a persons eye so I tried to use them as much as

Possible in all parts of my magazine. However I had to keep in balance the use

Of all the elements to attract an audience, if I used too much text, colour etc

It could become overpowering and could have the opposite effect on the

audience. My audience would also be attracted in other ways because of the

Things my magazine offers, such as special deals and offers going on

Throughout the year , they would also be attracted by my magazines

content/genre.

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

PRODUCT?

During the whole course of making my magazine, I have learned new and developed a variety of skills to get the best quality possible, giving it thebest chance to be a successful which would hopefully result in more sales.The main software I used was Photoshop which has various tools, filters and editing techniques used which can enhance images and text, giving it amore professional look. I also gained the developed knowledge of these tools via another subject, ICT, I frequently used Photoshop to change the look of photos and images when appropriate. In the front cover I felt that the tools I mainly used were the sponge tool, plaster tool, filters and colour enhancing techniques. I took most of the colours out of the image, leavingonly my character and the bridge floor in colour. I used this technique because I thought it would be eye catching for the audience, and may appeal to them by it having a more professional layout and look. The tool that was most timeconsuming on my front cover was editing the leafs on the bridge floor, using the quick selection tool I was able to selection a area of leafs and pasted them on the bare areas of the bridge. I did this because it made it seem like they were there from the start, and gave the image a better look and quality. I also used the colourReplacement tool effectively in my front cover, on my characters printed t-shirtAnd the cord of the headphones. The colour replacement tool selects your Chosen shade/colour in the selected area, you can them alter this colour and make It brighter, more vibrant and many others. I feel that on my contents page and double page spread, I tended to use the colour replacement tool moreFrequently in my images to give them a more professional look. I also used other tools such as filters. Filters were very good for giving the magazine a betterAnd more unique look, you are able to choose from a wide variety of filters to getThe best look. For contents page I gave my character a grainy look filter whereasOn my double page spread I used a filter on my character than gave him more of a cartoon/sketch look, which I felt suited in with the background image very well.

LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE

PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT.When looking at back at my preliminary task and comparing it to my

finished music magazine, including the front cover and contents page I

think I have improved a lot. Looking at my preliminary task, although it was

Meant to be a different genre, I still showed weak knowledge and lacking in

Professional looks, however I feel like I accomplished these factors as I carried

On with my full magazine product. I noticed the development in the way I went

About creating a magazines, I now take into consideration many other factors.

These factors would include who the target audience is, what graphics and text

Would appeal to them etc. However I think the main element I have progressed

And developed when going from my preliminary task to my final product was

The use of tools I would use. When I was creating my preliminary magazine I

Had very little knowledge of tools on Photoshop which meant my all images,

Backgrounds, texts etc were not to the best quality possible, meaning my

Whole magazine was not entirely to a professional standard. Now I take the

Research of other magazines more seriously and do so in more depth, in

Order for me to emulate the best elements and create its own uniqueness.

When I look at my final magazine I have now been able to use tools such as

colour replacement tool, filters and many others. I feel that if my final

Music magazine were to be put on the market, my full product would be

Much more successful at targeting my audience and would sell more than

My preliminary magazine.

FRONT COVER

Same font used everywhere.

Barcode, giving it a professional look.

Price sticker, giving it a professional look.Large eye catching title.

Professional music company.

Central, focussed and eye catching image.

Colourless background.

CONTENTSEmulated title.

Filtered and colour changed eye catching image.


Iconic T-shirt

Interesting and graphic background.

Easy to read font.

Page number, and the same font.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

Interesting and bright background.

Relevant stories.

Quotes


Filtered image

Headings.

My evaluation

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