A-Level Media Evaluation Task
- 1. Section 2) – Evaluation
- 2. In what ways does your Media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? Media magazine uses the conventions of real media products such as Q Magazine or Elektro Magazine to make the work eye-catching and interesting to its readers. It uses conventions such as on my Front Cover there is my Masthead and then a relatable Strapline “Eat Sleep Rave Repeat”, this is very common in popular magazine so that the readers can associate to the magazine and recognise it easily. Some other conventions my Magazine uses which are used by real media products are the use of Social Networking and Synergy throughout all pages in the work. I also used unique images throughout my work and used pictures that fitted to the genre style. On the other hand my Magazine did also challenge current conventions of media products by using a unique and informal interview for my double page spread to show how the artists didn’t have an elevated stance and although lacked star appeal were an important part of this issue.
- 3. How does your media product represent particular social groups? My media product represents an age group of early adulthood generally in 20-25 category it’s also represents a typically C1-D category of workers however in recent years as class divide has been less strict there are a lot more A-C2 category starting to enjoy this genre of music. The reason for a younger age of listeners to the genre and also readers of my magazine is due to the genres high energy atmosphere involving intense sessions of dancing at raves and other similar events. This is different to magazines such as “Q” or “Kerrang” as although they have a similar readership age 20-25 they are usually of a higher category/class and are willing to pay more for their entertainment which is why Q & Kerrang are more expensive.
- 4. What kind of media institution (Publisher) might distribute your media product and why? From the research that was completed pre-production, I would foresee that Bauer may publish ‘E.S.R.R.’ because they have helped a gap in their market for this genre and they many other genres already fulfilled so it could be a new niche market for them to expand in to. However I also found that Magazine “DJ” a UK EDM magazine is produced by Thrust Publishing and because they have experience in the genre it could be a good product for them as a company.
- 5. Who would be the audience for your media product and why? According to “Hartley’s seven subjectivities” the target range for my magazine would be for young adults as the genre of music appeals to younger people. Gender would be un- important as there is an equal age spread. Class would be diverse spreading from Working Class to in some cases although more a rarity Upper Class people too. Ethnicity would be typically white although it is not limited to white people. Most 1st World countries will be more familiar with the genre and therefore buy the magazine; this is because the genre relies on technology to be made. This can be shown specifically from people at events shown in images throughout my magazine as there is a clear range of people at the event which contextualises into the readership of my magazine After looking at “Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs” my audience would be “Explorers” who want to look at the musicians in an alternative way and identify with them. This is because many artists of the genre are also fans and have more recently made the transitions from watching to performing making them feel similar to the artists. From research into “Katz’ Uses & Gratifications theory” I believe my readers would want to “Personally Identify” with the celebrity or musician because as previously mentioned many artists were originally avid fans who then transfer from listening to performing so there is a higher rate of identification because of their similarities. This can be seen in my double page spread as it mentions the two artists themselves were not long ago fans who love the music and have recently transitioned into producing songs.
- 6. How did you attract/address your audience? In order to attract my intended target audience of the C/D socio-economic group, I decided to use a puff/competition to first give my audience an incentive of buying with the possibility of winning something which in my case was tickets to the ‘Tomorrow Land Festival’. I also planned to attract my audience by utilizing my big image of people enjoying music from the genre as another reason for them to buy the magazine. Additionally one of my more unique USP’s the main article with “EJacks & Scotteh”. As they are London based producers, it would appeal more to the UK audience as they could ‘personally relate’ (Katz) with their experiences. I similarly decided to attract my audience using synergy across social networking groups like Facebook and Twitter as they’re both allow social interaction through print media and e-media.
- 7. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? The software I used to repeat the codes and conventions for my music magazine ‘E.S.S.R’ was Adobe Photoshop CS4 (Mac edition). In order for this product to look fit for its purpose and appeal to the target audience I decided to design my main image using the ‘quick selection tool’ to erase part of the background. I then used the “layer mask” tool and changed the colour of the surrounding back image and then bring out the main image in brighter bolder colours. I later used a very light brush on the remaining image to let it blend into my banner image. To create the columns for my double-page spread for my interview and have effective incorporation of text and imagery like you would normally see in a most magazines , I used the ‘Pen tool’ (P) to create a guideline area so my text would not go over these lines. I think this was very effective especially around the main image of the article and it made my magazine seem conventional.
- 8. Photography Planning – Front Cover I took these photos as part of my audience profile but they suited so well I decided to use them within my magazine.
- 9. Photography Planning - Contents After taking multiple photos for my editorial image and also for my main story I decided to use these two photos and some other previous images.
- 10. Photography Planning - Interview These are just a few of the various photos I took for my interview page. I used the majority of the ones shown here.
- 11. Analyzing my Front Cover Large Masthead to represent magazine Puff promotion for Tomorrow Land Main Image Social media and barcode Magazine web address Main story information List of featured artists Star Appeal (Richard Dyer)
- 12. Analysing my Contents Page Masthead List of stories and interviews in this issue Featured artists logos Cover story re shown Editor image Editorial with signature and social media Page number in similar font style
- 13. Analysing my Double Page spread Interview Artist names clearly shown Artists social media links Artists image Puff to promote exclusivity Masthead Page number Website magazine
- 14. Audience Feedback - • Complete a relevant survey that asks no fewer than 10 people about their opinions of your magazine. • This should contain between 8-10 questions – one of which MUST be about your Progression from Preliminary Task – Main Task.
- 15. Looking back at your Preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? I feel that, having completed the preliminary task and learning about the demands of this production process, I have learnt how to work at a high level of speed meaning I can complete tasks quickly with minimal errors and achieve the specific tasks when under pressure. I also learnt how to use specific tools to speed up the production process such as using the magic wand tool in certain situations rather than just using the quick selection tool. I also learnt when to use the pen tool which was very helpful during the production of my double page spread as I had to use it for each piece of text. There is evidence of progression that I feel particularly demonstrates how I met the demands of the production process, for example… looking at the quality of my preliminary task front cover compared to my main task front cover you can see how the work is neater with all errors significantly less apparent and also a lot less of them. I would consider this to be because I gained new skills since then and I now know which tools are best to use in each situation meaning I can work faster and produce my work at a higher standard.