Evaluation

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

My media product, i would say uses the forms and conventions of real media products. I don't think i have changed or challenged the forms and conventions, i think maybe i have developed them because they are my own ideas and my stamp on the real magazines.On the front cover of my magazine, i have the mast head at the top starting from the left. I did want to use the forms and conventions of a real magazine because i thought that it would look better if it looked like a realistic rather than totally different.I used the main image in the centre of the page and included the big bold headline across the image. I have seen this many times on various magazine front covers. I have also used the big font in the middle then the smaller headlines around the sides. I have also got the traditional bar code rectangular shape, with the price above it. If i wanted to challenge the forms and conventions i could have done the bar code a totally different shape, a triangle or an arrow for example.

But i just decided to stick to the original. I also included the date which is always on the front cover and i added the website. Ive only ever seen a couple of front covers with the website on but i decided to add it above the masthead.

On the contents page i think i have challenged the forms and conventions a bit. On some of the contents pages i looked at, there wasn't really a block colour as the background unless it was white. But i decided to change that and have a block colour of black. I didn't want it looking emo or rock-ish. But i have a colour scheme on the front cover of black red and white so i decided to carry that over to the contents page. Also i did use the typical forms and conventions; on most of the contents pages i research the images were towards the right and the text was to the left. I'm not sure whether this is challenging or using the forms and conventions, i have a subscription to the magazine on the contents page with an image of the magazine itself. I have seen this done before but not very often.

On my double page spread i mostly used the forms and conventions of a real media music magazine double page spread but i have challenged one or two things. I have kept everything pretty much the same as every other regular double page spread.

Forms and conventions i think I've used:


-The name of the artist in large, clear font, for a big impact amongst the other text.

- A continuous colour scheme across the two pages

- An introduction to the article which again is bold and more noticeable than the other text. I choose to use a larger font that the interview but smaller than the masthead and i highlighted words i thought were important in pink.

- The average interview with questions and answers clearly shown

.- Highlighted quotes from the interview. I saw this a lot in my research.

The things i think i challenged:

- Instead of having many pictures of the artist i decided to go with just one main image which i have seen done in my research. I did give the choice to view further images of the artist through the website.




 2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The media product i created is mostly aimed at girls but can be aimed towards boys too. It isn't a 'Girls Only' magazine. The age range is between 14 +. Maximum age is probably late 20's. I don't think mature women in there 30's would want to be reading about young music artists. I choose this target audience because teenagers buy music magazines more than any other age group. The social group that mainly appears in my magazine target audience is teenagers. I think my colour scheme represents this through the black red and white, i think it comes across as wild and rebellious which most teenagers are. My models who i used are wearing white and black so it all fits. Also i think that my models represent the social group because i think that they look around 21 onwards even though they are 26 and 28 however i think them looking 21 makes teenage girls look up to them and makes teenage boys want to look at them.


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

I think that 'Bauer Media Group' publishing company who publish 'Heat' Magazine, 'Bella','Take a break' and more, could distribute my magazine. I know that they don't really focus on music but i think that maybe they could take on a new music section to their publications.

 

'Heat' is a very popular British entertainment magazine As of 2004 it is one of the biggest selling magazines in the UK, with a regular circulation over half a million.

'Thats Life' magazine is aimed towards a young female demographic and specialises in gritty real life stories contributed by its readers. The magazine has a circulation of approximately 378,551 a week.

These are just two examples of many magazines that 'Bauer Media Group' publishes. I thought that they could publish my magazine because mine is quite girly and it could fit in with their image, maybe not so with the real life magazines. But heat is quite close to a music magazine. Also 'Bauer Media Group' clearly get a lot of sales and their magazines are very popular so i would like mine to become as popular as them.



4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

My audience would be aimed to Boys and Girls aged 14+. However, it could come across as quite a girly magazine. I created this on the idea that boys would enjoy this also. But i also had the idea that more girls would purchase it. I got my age audience from personal experience, i started buying magazines around 14, under that age kids/teenagers are still buying top of the pops or mizz.
Also 14 + is the age you start to wear make up and become interested in fashion and shoes so by including style icons for whom the teenage girls would look up to and would like to read about. Also, that's the same for the boys, if one week Justin Beiber was on the front cover that could make them want to buy the magazine because they are interested in what hes wearing and what hes doing because he is quite young so could be around there age. However, this doesn't rule out the older ones for example, 19,20 to late 20's. If a more mature artist was on the cover, Rhianna for example they would still be interested in whats going on with them. There is a lot more stuff included in the magazine that caters for my target audience.



5. How did you attract/address your audience


I decided to attract my audience through the colours and fonts. I did this with the main image, bold fonts and colours, a free give away (clearly marked at the bottom of the page) just an attractive front cover. I included what was inside the magazine on the front cover the the viewer of the magazine could see the variety there was before they bought the magazine. The front cover is the first thing readers see when they browse along the shelves so i had to make mine noticeable and eye catching. The main image i used on the front attracts both girls and boys, my models are young and attractive so buys may want to purchase the magazine to have a look and find out more and girls might want to purchase it to have a good look because girls like to look at other girls to see what they are wearing, look at their make up and their hair. So i thought that my image attracts my audience.
When it comes to information, people always want exciting news and the real thing. In my interview I had to make sure that it seemed realistic and believable. So to attract my audience I offered a real insight into how the girls are together and how they are getting on and there future plans, this gave them the real deal and more importantly the truth. This addresses the target audience as they can be excited as to what the band has to offer, and to see what happens in the future.


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

Microsoft PowerPoint and publisher were the two main DTP i used. That was all i needed.  I used PowerPoint when creating my front cover and contents page. It made it alot easier creating the ideas i had. PowerPoint is alot more advanced from a couple of years ago i was able to crop and edit pictures whilst on PowerPoint. I have learnt how to create word art and adjust the sizes and font to be able to position them right on my page. When using publisher it made it easier to create a double page spread, because publisher specialises in brochure, magazines, leaflets etc. I learnt about the different size fonts and how they differ from when they are on the screen and when they get printed.

I also gained a lot of experience using the free editing software 'Gimp' this allowed me to edit backgrounds out of images, add a different background in and a lot more. Before doing this project i didn't really understand the software but once i had a play around with different images i could edit them anyway i want. I adjusted the colour saturation, the size and the quality of the images.

Before this project i never really took pictures for photography purposes so i learnt a lot in positioning and lighting. I didn't use a profession camera i just used my own Sony Cyber-shot digital camera.



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

In the beginning of this project i was very excited to get started because i had done GCSE Media and enjoyed it then. When starting my college magazine i wasn't really sure where to start because there was a lot to include. When taking my images i just knew that i had to find a girl or a boy, preferably a student who could be on the cover of the magazine. The first few pictures i took were very poor they were wonky and just not very good but then i came to take a decent image to put on the cover.
The images i took compared to the music magazine were not very good. I learnt when doing the music magazine that i need to put a lot more effort into taking the pictures. When creating my actual product i had a lot more drafts in the music task to the college task, i needed to get it absolutely perfect with the music one.
I learnt what the actual forms and conventions of a magazine were, in the preliminary task i wasn't too sure where to place things and what was needed to be included. But when it came to the music magazine, i knew what was what and what needed to go where, due to all the research i had done. I think that my music magazine looks more professional than my college one.
When it came to timing, the preliminary task took a lot longer than expected because i wasn't too sure what to do and didn't realise all the little details that had to be included to be a college magazine. However, when it came to the music magazine, i felt more confident doing things, it did take a little longer than the college one but that was expected.
Finally, i learnt that research really does help. You think that you know what a magazine looks like but there is so much more detail behind it; there are so many different styles and genres. So the research really did help when planning and understanding. Overall i think i improved from my college magazine to my music one. I had more understanding of what i needed to do and i think i was able to complete this project to the highest standard i had hoped for.

Final Double Page Spread

This is my final one. I had to make a few little changes from my last draft. When i printed my double page spread to see what it would like on two A4 sheets the text looked really big and it looked as if i made the text font big to fill space so i didn't have to write much, but on the computer the text looked normal size so i had to make it smaller. I had to change the font a few times, i kept making it smaller and it still looked big once it was blown up. I did have to write more but i didn't mind cause i had plenty to write because when i first did a completed draft i didn't have enough room to write what i wanted. I started with a font size of 12 and the ended up with 7. The questions and answers are in the same sized font just the questions are in bold, i wanted to make it clear which was which so people didn't get confused. However, in the quotes i put the font size up to 8 so they were noticeable. In the interview i asked questions what i thought i would like to read if i was reading a magazine with an artist i liked. I asked personal questions as well as career ones. Through out the magazine i kept thinking what would liked see/read in a magazine and that helped me.Overall i think that its came together, i like where the image is and I'm happy with the interview and the size of the font.

Stages of Production - Drafts/Messing.

This is the first draft i did for my double page. I created my mast head in paint, i thought that i could continue the colour scheme from the front page through to the double page spread but then that could suggest again that the magazine is some sort of special edition but i didn't really want that. But i liked the mast head so i thought that i would try it, also the it looks quite rock chick with the rough edges around the masthead and also the girls are wearing black, I'm not sure yet if that's the look I'm going for. I placed my image that i had chosen on the left hand side just to try it.I then wrote up part of my interview and placed in on the page more towards the right hand side but i did just put it on there randomly so i could see the right size and which font would look better etc. I have a title above my interview which says 'The O'Neill Sista's Exclusive' i thought this was relevant to open the interview, because my masthead says 'Fame And Fortune' i choose this because i thought that could be what the interview is sort of about, their rise to fame. I think that it looks really plain, i know that it obviously isn't completed but i know that i need more colour, or need to position things differently.

 This is the second draft. I haven't changed much, all I've done is change the position of things, i decided to try the image on the right hand side, i wanted to see which looked better. I think that because the text starts on the left it does look better that it then follows for the image to be on right as you come to the end of the interview.

Another draft. I still haven't changed anything dramatically, i just changed the mast head because like i said on the first draft i don't want a continues colour scheme through out the magazine. I thought i could make it a bit more girly, so i decided to add some pink in. I don't think the mast head is big enough, and it could maybe be a bit too long. Looking at it, i don't like where its positioned either. I just don't think that it looks right. The text which is the interview still hasn't changed because i know what I'm doing with that,I just need to finish it off. I'm just concentrating at getting the layout sorted.

I now have started thinking about space and positioning so i added boxes and labeled them 'Tagline' and 'Interview' so i knew what i was doing. I have changed the masthead, i have made it a bit bigger and changed the font. I wanted it to stand out. . Also again i think that the mast head doesn't look right. I will have to change some things.

Instead of changing little things a bit at a time, i decided to complete one and then see if i liked it and see if there were any problems or changes that needed to be made. I have now shortened the mast head down to just 'O'Neill Sista's' because i added a tag line so i didn't really need to say much in the mast head. In the tag line i just basically said an interview with the O'Neill Sista's and about their album. I also added some pink in there on the words that i thought were important. In the interview i wrote, i choose to ask questions about being sisters and there private life and obviously there music. I wanted to mix it up a bit rather than just having it all about music. I also saw in some of my research that between questions they add a quote from what the interviewer had said so i choose to put a quote in. Also at the bottom of the page, i added a little bit more text saying about the O'Neill Sista's album. I didn't want to have too much white space so i decided to fill it in with that information, also i think it is relevant it wasn't just added randomly.I like this draft but i still don't think that it is finished. I think that it still looks plain and boring so i might have to add some more colour to it.

I have now added so more pink into the interview, where the quotes are i made them pink because i think that they are important. Also it breaks all the black text down by having the little bits in there. In the  text i have at the bottom of the page i added some pink in there also, i thought highlighting particular words like i did in the tag line looks good. The word album and the date is now pink. I really think that makes it look so much better. I then added some more text to the right hand side of the image at the bottom to basically say there are more images available. I did this because, i didn't want to have more images on the page because i like the idea of just having one main one, but then i thought it looks a bit stupid not having any other images so to make it look like there was an photo shoot i wrote that the images are available on the website. I think that is good for getting people to go on the website as well of giving them the choice whether they want to look at the images of the O'Neill Sista's.