Evaluation question 7

As you can see in the difference between my music magazine on the left and my preliminary task on the right, i have learnt SO much! I have learnt how the fonts have meaning behind them so i need to select them carefully to get across the right message and to reach my target audience. I have also learnt how to edit my pictures a lot better. My original school magazine is very basic photoshop skills and not much went into it apart from placing them on top of each other. where as in my music magazine a lot more effort went into editing the image in ways to get across to my target audience.

I also learnt that i shouldn't make my bar code as prominent like it is in the school magazine. instead make it quite small in the bottom right. This is because i want all the attention on main image and story lines.

My music magazine also has a very glossy look unlike my school magazine which looks cramped and quite unprofessional. This has shown how i have improved greatly as a media student.

Evaluation question 6

In the construction of my product i have learnt so much, specifically in photoshop. I learnt that is is best to put everything that i am doing onto a separate layer so when it comes to editing my final piece it is a lot easier because everything is sectioned out very clearly. I have also learnt how to crop images effectively and move them from file to file, specifically my front cover. I placed my main image of Megan onto a black and white background of a metal fence to connote that prison is behind her. Colour adjustments are also another thing i learnt to do. I now know how to make skin brighter or make things black and white, by simply selecting them and going onto the adjustments option and changing as i see fit.
Another technology i learnt about is the use of a camera. I learnt about the different features of a camera, e.g. for close up or long range shots and also stopping the lighting in the room effecting the picture. I also learnt about low and high angles and the meaning behind them. Low angles makes the person or item look intimidating or to have authority. A high angle shot could connote that the person is "in a hole" and needs to get out and back on top. I also found out that mid shots work best for my magazine because it gives enough facial detail to give a lot of meaning and it is far enough away to show body action which would also denote and connote meanings.

I also learnt about Adobe in design. This is a very good programme that is used by professionals to give a fully glossy effect. It allows me to put in a lot of things that professional music magazines would use e.g. bleed marks.

Evaluation question 5

To attract my audience i used specific language. I used language that would make readers want to read the articles in full depth. Words like "Dilema", "scandal" and "blitz". These types of words are all interesting words that make readers want to read the entire magazine or atleast a specific article to see what is so scandalous.

I used a big read title on my front cover naming the magazine "Generation" to attract consumers eyes on the shelf. The size and boldness of it will make it easily stand out from other magazines around it.

The big picture of Megan, my main model on the front cover and double page spread, would definetly attract readers eyes. this is because she is wearing a red dress which is a very noticable colour and would again make it stand out among other magazines.

I also have a slogan on the front cover, "A New Start" this is catchy and would stick in readers minds as soon as they see it. it is also mysterious because it doesn't go into any detail apart from that she maybe did something wrong in her past and is now making a come back.

The big sparkling rose on Megan's hat would also attract an audience because it is very eye catching because it almost sparkles so it would be very hard for a reader to miss it.

Evaluation question 4

The audience for my magazine would be young female adults aged 16 - 24 that like punk/pop. I have attracted them by using a specific font, "action of time", because it looks like graffiti on a wall. This is relatable to people who are into punk because it is rebelious which plays a big part in punk culture. I have made sure that teh rebelion didn't make it masculine and attract men to it by making it red. This would be effective because red is the most emotionally intense colour. A typical U.K male wouldn't be attracted to emotionally charged magazines, instead women are usually attracted to it.

I have included stories that are relevant to todays youth instead of more adult or elderly problems. Things like drug problems and other things like "temptation", which is mentioned in my contents page, are all things that would appeal to my target audience.

Black and white has also been a huge role in my magazine, it is the background on my front cover and contents page. I have done this because black is very popular in todays fashion which women would be concious of. White is also very popular in fashion because women consider it to "go with everything" and therefore together black and white, in womens opinion, will look good. Black and white also contrast eachother very well, this could connote that there is a conflict going on, specifically in my magazine where it is about people not believing Megan can change and Megan wanting to prove herself to everyone.

Evaluation question 3

The media instituation I would select to sell my music magazine would be IPC Media, specifically their "IPC Connect" section. This is because this section specialise in reaching women through their magazines. This section of IPC alone reaches out to 53% of all mass market women. That is around 10 million women.

IPC also have many other magazines that they distribute, which include a very popular magazine called NME. NME target the same age range, 16-24, as i do. This is another reason why i would select IPC to distribute my magazine, because they would already have knowledge on how to fully market my magazine. Also it would appeal to them because they would be extending an already popular and successful section of their company.

Evalutation question 2

The genre of my magazine is pop/punk. I decided to go with this genre because it will stand out with todays teenagers. I chose to target teenagers and young adults around the age range of 16-24 because these are the main ages in our days that buy music magazines. I have represented this age range by using a picture of a girl in this age range on my front cover and double page spread. I have also represented this age range by using the colour black which is a very rebelious colour, and this is the age where people rebel and change within themselves. Another way i represent this age range is in my double page spread with the facial expression she had. She has a sort of cheeky grin which makes her look like she has done something wrong and is slightly smug about it. This is easily relatable to my age range.

In specific social grades i have decided to target the C1 and C2 grades. This is because my price of £2.40 is easily affordable to a typical working class family once a week. Also the type of language and storys that i cover are easily relatable to these classes e.g. drug problems on streets.

I have decided to target my magazine toward females. I did this by using a girl that doesn't have her body on show which is typical to male magazine. Instead she is in a pretty red dress which women would like to own. My aim was to hopefully make them envy her style which includes her make up too. Her mascara was very defined which made her eyes stand out, women tend to notice these things where as men would only see a pretty girl.

Evaluations question 1

In this media project i was asked to create a front page, a contents page and a double page spread of a music magazine. I have stuck to forms and conventions of other magazines in various ways and also challenged them in other ways. I decided to have my title of the magazine at the top of the page in the middle like other music magazine, and also i have my main image slap band in the middle spreading over the whole page. Both these are examples of sticking to codes and conventions of other magazine. I also only used 3 main colours, black white and red, which is very usual to magazine. I chose to do this because in my backround research i saw that many magazines only used 3 main colours and the mainly used these colours. They use black and white because they contrast eachother which works well, and the red is used to make it stand out on a shelf. This is why my main title of the magazine was red, because it is very noticable and will stand out on a shelf. I decided to also have my bar code in the bottom right hand corner where they usually are on other magazine.

I challenged the usual codes and conventions by having the main title slightly behind the main image, this was effective i believe because it is not usual and is unique. The outer shadow around the main title helps it stand out so the reader still knows what magazine it is.

I had my main model in a top hat which is typically masculine, but she had a rose on her head which is feminine. This challenged the forms and conventions because it isn't what you would usually find in a magazine, but it does make it stand out among other magazine. The final challenge to the usual forms and conventions was that i put negative quotes on her hand shaped as a gun to connote the doubt that she has made a true reform and a positive quote above the rose to show that she would truely make it in the world of music.