Magazine

Evaluation
Caitlin Humphreys

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

Front Cover

Like in other magazines, I have altered my masthead to bring out the best in my main image. My masthead is behind my main images head. Other magazines may put their masthead in front of their main image. Both are conventional and usually differentiate depending on what looks the best & whether a magazine is well-known enough to have a large majority of the masthead covered up.

I have used the common convention of having a masthead. My masthead is takes up about an 7th/8th of the page, which is a fairly conventional size for a masthead. Some mastheads, like NME, choose to be in one corner, but my masthead covers the whole width of the magazine just like Kerrang! and other magazines do.

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

Front Cover

Due to my magazine not being free, I have used a barcode which allows it to be brought and scanned in stores. A barcode is a common convention when a magazine costs money as it allows it to be scanned in the stores it is being sold in.

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

Front Cover

Like in Kerrang, and many other magazines, I have used the convention of having a strip at the top of my magazine outlining the main features of the issue. This is not a convention in that it MUST be done, but is often allows the reader to see instantly the main features of the issue of the magazine.

Here are some examples of other magazines using this convention:

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

Front Cover

I used a Plus! strip at the bottom of the page which is a convention used to tell the reader what other features will be in the magazine that haven't been mentioned in

coverlines.

Here are some examples of other magazines using this convention:

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

Contents Page

My magazine follows the convention of having a heading saying Contents (or something similar). It also features the date at the top of the magazine, which is a convention used in most magazines.

Here are some examples of other magazines using this convention:

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

Contents Page

My contents main image that takes up about 50%. This isn't a convention, but is part of the style that Kerrang! has used a few times and since my magazine is of similar style and music genre, I thought it would be appropriate to use a similar style. I also found some other magazines doing similar things with a main image taking up a large percentage of the page. I therefore took this convention and developed it to better suit the style of my magazine.

Here are some examples of other magazines using this style:

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

Contents Page

In some contents pages, there are headings above each section of features, categorising the features to where they best fit. As my magazine is a new magazine, I wanted to use this feature to make it easier for people to immediately find the kind of features they are interested in reading.

Here are some examples of other magazines using this convention:

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

Double Page Spread

This double page spread from Kerrang! Magazine is what I based the house style of my magazine on. I liked the lines at the side of the text, so did it throughout my magazine in a more subliminal way. I liked the impact the large text had at the top of the page, so did this for my double page spread. I also didnt like the idea of just having a plain block colour on my contents or double page spread, so when I saw that this had a textured background, I made a similar one for my magazine.

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

Double Page Spread

I used the convention of 3 columns in my magazine article, but developed this and did a Q&A layout instead of an article.
Here are some examples of other magazines using 3 columns:

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

Double Page Spread

I used the convention of a pull quote. They attracts readers and make them what to read the rest of the article.
Here are some examples of other magazines using pull quotes:

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

Double Page Spread

My Magazine:

Here are some common conventions that I used in my double paged spread. Other Magazines:

Standfirst

Byline

Picture Credit

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

My magazine has a lot of similarities to Kerrang! Magazine which is a rock magazine. Stereotypically, people think that it is a magazine read by people who fall under the rock scene, like emos and goths, but not as drastic as that as both Kerrang! and my magazine, Encore, cover mainly mainstream rock, which means not many emos or goths would read it regularly, maybe only when particular artists are featured in it.

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

Jewellery

An image used in my magazine

Wearing ear stretchers is often associated in people who fall under the rock stereotype of people. People who like rock and the musicians who play it would be the people that stereotypically would be expected to wear ear stretchers.

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

Hair
The short choppy hair style is associated with females of a rock genre. This would appeal to my target audience as they would see similarities between themselves and the artists featured.

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

The clothing I got my models to wear represented my target social group. This would appeal to my target audience, as the artists featured have common interests & style as them.

Black leather jackets an iconic symbo that is associated with rock

Mainly dark and dull covers. Colours known stereotypically as male colours

Converse shoes are associated with people who like rock music or the stereotype of scene and punk people.

Skinny jeans are associated with people who like rock music.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups? Do you deal with issues of race, ethnicity, gender, age, social class, disability?

I have only used females in my magazine. I should have had some male models in it too, but I could argue that the featured girls could be to attract males who are interested in the same sort of style and music. In my focus group, in which I asked people of my target audience questions, they said that the gender of the person on the front would not effect whether they bought the magazine or not, as long as the person was a known rock artist. My main feature was said to be musics biggest star and so I followed my target audiences advice.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? My magazine has similarities to Kerrang. Kerrang is a UK rock magazine that is published by Bauer Media Group. Bauer Media Group is responsible for the publishing of many music magazines, including Kerrang, Q, Smash Hits, Mojo, Magic & 4music. Choosing to use Bauer to publish my music magazine would be a bad idea because not only does it already publish a lot of music magazines, but it also publishes Kerrang, which is a magazine devoted to rock. As my magazine is going to be a rock magazine, using Bauer to publish it would cause sales between Kerrang and my magazine to be split, therefore loosing profit on both magazines.

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

Bauer would not be a good choice of magazine publisher, so instead my chosen publisher is Haymarket Media Group. They are responsible for publishing 3 music magazines, Gramophone, Limelight and Classic FM. These music magazines are of the classical music genre, and so a new music magazine devoted to rock would not take any profits away from those magazines. Haymarket Media Group has a good track record and, according to their website they are to produce first ever official programme for London Olympics and Paralympics Games. They also produced the official Royal Wedding programme. It is also a global publishing group with expert media teams worldwide in countries including the UK, China, the USA, India, Australia and Germany.

4. Who would the audience be for your media product? Age: 15 - 30 Social Class: C1, C2 & D Most of my readers will be younger, still in education, or just in the start of their working lives. Gender: Both male and female. Slightly more males that females. Ethnicity: Mainly white. Psychographic profile: Aspirers/Mainstreamers Although it does cover mainstream rock, the people who read magazines like this like to be respected by other people but are also individually minded in what music they listen too as they often have musical experiences themselves, rather than just following the crowd.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Colour theme- my colour theme of black, red, white, purple are colours associated with things of the rock genre. Saying that my main feature is musics biggest star attracts my audience because if my audience has the psychographics of mainstreamers & maybe aspirers, then they have the desire to be up to date and fit in. I could argue that by having my main feature as a rock style looking female would attract men who are into similar things (fashion & music taste)

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Using results from the questionnaire

During the planning stage of my magazine, I asked some people who would fit my target audience to pick the top colours that they think would suit a rock music magazine. As most of them chose black, red, white and purple, I made sure that these colours were the main featured colours throughout my magazine.
Similarly, I also asked them what features they would most like to see in my magazine/ in any magazine. Considering most of them said posters/ photos of the artist, tour information and interviews with artists, these features were definitely included in my magazine.
By conforming with what a sample of my target audience said, it will definitely ensure that my magazine attracts and addresses the needs & opinions of my whole target audience.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Using results from the Focus Group

I used results from my focus group in my magazine to ensure that I gave my target audience what they wanted.

I made sure that these two features did happen on my double page spread.

My magazine is called Encore.

I used all of these features, apart from the images on the front cover featuring instruments. This is something I would change if I could improve my magazine.

As they said it wouldnt matter, I chose to put a female on the front, making sure that she was still said to be a big rock artist.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? We used a Kodak digital camera to take pictures for our magazine. I used the macro setting on every picture I took because it insured that the photo came out in the finest detail and the correct focus.

We used Photoshop to create the front cover of the magazine and also to edit all of our images. The images we edited included the images we took using the camera and also any text images that we got of font websites. (dafont.com)
We used InDesign to construct our contents page and double page spread. Using this technology allowed us to move boxes and arrange the layout of the magazine before making it look attractive.

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

Using Adobe Photoshop to edit images:

Original

Edited

This is the image I used on my front cover. I edited it in Photoshop to make her hair appear less washed out and also to pull it down and leave room for my masthead. It is still slightly washed out, and if I had more time I would find a way to completely fix it. That being said, I dont think it takes away from the final effect of the image.

I used magnetic lasso tool to select just the hair. I then when into Image Adjustments and select several tools to adjust to make the hair less washed out.

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

Using Adobe Photoshop to edit text images:

I used the screenshot of the text from dafont.com and used the magic tool to delete the white background.

Then I selected the Stroke tool.

Then I adjusted the colour and width of the stroke to make a red line around the text.

Then I selected the Colour Overlay tool.

I changed the colour to white, and this gave me the text for my main coverline & heading of my double page spread .

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

Using Adobe In Design to create a structured layout:

I used the Rectangle and Ellipse frame tool to build my layout. This meant that I could place an image and edit the size with it only taking up the space that fitted with my layout.

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

Preliminary Task

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

Main Task

The key thing we did in the main task that we didnt do in the preliminary task was the making of a double page spread. Because of doing this, I had to learn a different style of layout in order to be able make my double page spread look as professional as possible. I had to learn skills such as putting my text into 3 columns, and then making it wrap around quotes and an image.

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

Preliminary Task and Main Task Comparison -Front Cover

Since my preliminary task I have learnt how to use a different variety of font styles. Including colour, size, font and how to lay them out on the page.

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

Preliminary Task and Main Task Comparison Front Cover

My knowledge of how to use Photoshop and also my knowledge of existing magazines, meant that in my main task I could make my Masthead more relevant to the subject of the magazine, rather than my preliminary task Masthead just being a text that I found online. I also learnt how to pull the top of an image so that it is placed in front of my Masthead on my front cover.

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

Preliminary Task and Main Task Comparison Front Cover

My photographical skills have definitely improved. My knowledge of how to frame shots, lighting, and how to get my model to act/position themselves has increased. This meant that the images for my main task looked a lot more professional.

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

Preliminary Task and Main Task Comparison Contents

My Photoshop skills and knowledge of existing magazines has increased since my preliminary task meaning that the heading for my contents page looks more conventional. I have stuck to a housestyle of colors, used the convention of a date, and I also used the Encore logo as this is something a lot of magazines do.

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

Preliminary Task and Main Task Comparison Contents

Due to an increase in knowledge about magazine layouts by looking at other magazines contents, my contents for the main task was a lot more organised and looked more professionally that the contents for my preliminary task.

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

Preliminary Task and Main Task Comparison Contents

I have improved my use of colour and making my magazine look attractive. In my preliminary task, I didn't use, a range of colours and I used basic fonts and designs, but in my main task I stuck to a housestyle and thought outside-the-box in how I wanted my contents to look.

The End