Evaluation

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

My magazine front cover uses the codes and conventions of real media products. I have used a specific colour scheme of blue, white and black which i thought worked well together and i used effects to make all these colours bold and stand out. It features a masthead which is very bold and stands out. It consists of one main image, which i feel attracts the audience due to the angle its taken at, it draws your attention to the guitar the person is holding which is eye catching. It also has a main title at the bottom of the page which is effective due to the use of the bevel and emboss tool which makes it stand out against the background. I have filled up the space of the whole page in many ways which i found was another code and convention of a magazine front cover.

I kept my contents page quite simple which was something i found when researching similar media texts. It works well because its easy to read and would make the magazine accessible. It features a few images which give a good balance with the amount of writing. I have used up the space of the contents page quite well so there are plenty things to look at, which is important for a magazine. Another code and convention i used was underneath the titles of all my features i wrote a sentance or two about what was on the page. This would give the reader insight about what to expect on the page and ultimatly make them decide whether to turn to read that page, this meant it was important to use sentances and phrases which sounded appealing to an audience.

For my double page spread i used one main image which filled up half the page. I found this was a regular code and convention of double page spreads in my research. I used an eye catching image of the band taken from a low angle, looking up at them. I also included a fact file about the band which would be useful to a reader if they didnt know who the band was. I used a very basic font on the write up of my interview becuase i felt this would be a very important code and convention of a double page spread as it would need to be clear for the reader to be able to read. I also included a few smaller images on the right hand side of the page to make it a bit more interesting.

• How does your media product represent particular social groups?

By making my magazine a pop/rock magazine aimed at young people, it represents young people in general which makes it appealing to them because if young people are involved in the magazine it may pursuade other young people to buy it as they have something in common with them. I have featured a young person on the front cover aswell wearing cool clothes which fit in with the style of the magazine. It brings young people into the music scene and also gives them a specific style due to the colour design and clothes i have used.

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

Most English media institutions would distribute my magazine. Probably media institutions which are aimed at the younger generation would mostly be in favour of distributing my magazine as its aimed at the 14-25 age group. An example of a media institution that would distribute my magazine would be EMAP which is a multi platform media group based in the UK. Some examples of magazines they distribute are Match, Digital Photo and Bliss. Another media distribution company which might distribute my magazine is IPC Media. They distribute magazines such as Marie Claire and NME.

I think media institutions would be interested in distributing this magazine because you dont see many music magazines specifically aimed at young people. I could also get a lot of funding to distribute this magazine through people who want to promote or advertise a product through the magazine because young people are a good target audience to sell new products/clothes too, so if the magazine was popular this would benefit them a lot.

• Who would be the audience for your media product?

I would be aiming my magazine mostly at the younger age group from about 14-25. Although the magazine would really be aimed at boys and girls, I think my magazine would mostly attract girls due to the fact it features a lot more features that girls would appreciate e.g pop/rock music and fashion and the main feature of the magazine is an interview about a new young girl band. Ultimatley my magazine will be aimed towards a target/niche audience due to the fact its a music magazine aimed at the 14-25 age category.

• How did you attract/address your audience?

I made my magazine look quite young, by making it look quite cool with bright bold colours. I also used an image of a band which would be in the same age category of people buying the magazine so this could be something which would encourage people to buy it, as it includes people they might have something in common with. All the images i used were taken with a strong background or at a good angle so it made the magazine stand out amongst others. I also added several effects to images and pages of the magaizne to make it look more proffesional and attractive to the audience. I also used specific phrashes and features to attract the reader, for example, "Win a Trip To New York" was on the front cover. This would definatly attract the reader to buy my magazine becuase they have a chance of winning something if they buy it.

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

I have been using photoshop to create my project. This has enabled me to learn how to use all the tools. I have learnt how to use effects such as outer glow, drop shadow and bevel + emboss which all helped to enhance all my titles and text across my project. I also used photoshop brushes to create patterns around my titles which made them look a lot more interesting.

I also learned how to use the magnetic lasoo tool with feathering to cut out all my images.

I used layering to help me edit my project appropriatly and enable me to use and delete what i like, also to put images or text in front of objects.

I also used image adjustments on all the photos i used for example the curves and levels tool helped me to increase the saturation, contrast, vibrance and exposure of my images which helped to make the colours stand out.

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

I feel i have learnt how to use the photoshop tools at a higher level. Also by doing extra research i think i have become more aware about what makes a good magazine and the correct codes and conventions a magazine should feature. My whole main task it set out a lot better than the preliminary task and due to the effects i have learned to use at a higher level in photoshop it has made the magazine look a lot more proffesional. I have also used better photography skills in terms of the images i used in my project. For example the backgrounds i took the photo against and the angle i took the pictures from to make them more eyecatching.