Media evaluation
- 1.
- 2. My mediaproduct uses a stereotypical convention through the masthead of the magazine. ‘Crowd’ is in Impact font and the reason I used this was for a bold eye-catching title. I got this convention from NME’s front cover as they successfully attract readers. This was also clarified when proven to be a successful as I got positive feedback.
- 3. Mymagazine challenges the conventions of real existing media products, as the name of the title actually represents and stands for something- a crowd at a live music show; as Indie/Rock music focuses more on live shows to feel the music. And the angled ‘D’ emphasizes the individuality of Indie/Rock music; depicting it stands out from the crowd. Another interpretation is that it symbolizes a person ‘moshing’ at a gig.
- 4. The colour schemeis another convention I used from looking at other examples of magazines. The colour scheme is usually kept consistent, using three colours. I decided to use black, red and blue. I related the red and blue to the Union Jack flag and the ethnicity of the artist; British. So I thought this was a bit of a twist and allowed me to develop uniqueness to some extent.
- 5. Thephotos on the side challenge real products and contrasts the NME magazine on the next page as that magazine cover is a special edition. It looks smooth and sleek with no images apart from the main artist with the headline. I thought I would add two more simple photos for an insight of what will be featured inside and to create a bit of edginess and exclusiveness. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
- 6. Iwanted to attract teenagers through the use of the main photo. I looked at NME again along with other Indie/Rock music magazines, and noticed that many of the artists had a cigarette in their mouth. This projected a ‘I don’t care’ rebellious attitude, which I thought would attract more teens. The cigarette also emphasizes the Rock ‘N’ Roll image and so I chose to do the same and instructed my model to give a relaxed/laidback pose; which again is very common.
- 7. Anotherform of a real media product I used was the gradient background from the NME magazine. I thought this convention was very clever as it looks good and makes the text simpler to read.
- 8. Mostof the cover uses existing conventions in Indie/Rock magazines as I intended to attract the right audience. Usually a magazine’s font is consistent throughout the cover and magazine for a sophisticated approach and so I chose to do the same. I used two fonts; Impact to highlight the main headline and Arial for a little more information. NME Magazine I used for Ideas on how to attract the right readers
- 9. Mymedia product uses a form of a real media product through the layout. I took examples of Indie/Rock music contents pages and created my own. The layout is simple, like an NME contents. It is clear and easy to navigate your way through.
- 10. Thephoto is aligned almost in the centre of the page with the latest news underneath. Indie/Rock magazines such as Kerrang usually include several photos, with page numbers and what is featured. I wanted to challenge and develop a different convention and include top news; like a fashion magazine would feature.
- 11. My mediaproduct again uses the convention of the bigger font for headings such as ‘news, features’ and then smaller font for the actual features. This gives it a professional look and again makes it very easily accessible, being positioned on the right hand side.
- 12. From studyingother contents pages from this genre I found that most of them included a Band Index, so I challenged a real media product by not having this. I took a risk as some readers might prefer this but I thought it would make my magazine a little different,un usualand more focused on the latest news. I have challenged a real media product as I have just featured a simple photo of the artist. Indie/Rock magazines usually photograph the artist with an instrument. The reason behind it- Indie/Rock being associated with live music and importance in instruments. I wanted the readers to concentrate on the new artist alone.
- 13. Iadded a quote to highlight an important factor, as this is used in every magazine to draw the readers into finding out more and reading the entire article.
- 14. I useda stereotypical convention that the majority of music magazines feature. They place a large photo to cover an entire page, and then the text such as interview on the next page. I used this convention because if the main headline is about the artist, then the readers want to clearly see the artist then read about them. It is also a simple layout that looks professional yet simple. First draft on PublisherFinal front cover Background (gradient) makes the text easier to read‘Crowd’ masthead appears smoother and stands out moreBanner at the bottom of the page is changed and the font goes straight over the image. Again, more advanced. I think my first draft was very good effort as Publisher doesn’t contain as many resources as Photoshop. The final one is evidently much better and appears smoother and professional. From my first attempt I think I have learnt how to use Photoshop to improve my magazine cover. Photoshop allowed me to use the Magic Lasso tool to cut around the image, erasing the background. The different effects for the text such as ‘bevel and emboss’ helped the writing to stand out furthermore against the photo. I used this technique quite a lot as it again set a higher standardand set the font in.
- 15. I used thisphoto as it appears Rock ‘N’ Roll with the fur , cigarette and red lipstick. Also laid back pose. I used this photo as the model is posing with a microphone. The photo is bold and pretty much represents the importance of music as there is not much there. Here I have shown the original photos I had taken and the photos after manipulating on Photoshop. The editing really gives the photo a professional look as I made the contrast higher and the photo brighter. This really gave it a studio professional look. I also used the healing brush to smooth out the models’ face and the spot healing brush to remove a spot. For the first cover photo I also used the magic lasso tool to cut out the model alone.
- 16. How does yourmedia product represent particular social groups? I think my magazine appeals to both genders as the colour scheme consists of simple colours such as black, red and blue. If I wanted to attract female readers I would use more girly colours like pink, but then it is an Indie/Rock magazine, so the females are not very girly.
- 17. Ihave priced it cheaply and it comes out every monthbecause my target audience is young and in education (ABC1), so they would not have a high income.
- 18. The dominantrepresentation of Indie/Rock is gig obsessed, alcohol, vintage clothes and passion for instruments.
- 19. My target audiencewould be 16-25 year olds- teens and young adults, as they are easily attracted by bold colours, large rebellious photos, bold text and headlines.
- 20. My targetaudience would constantly have their iPod's in , attend gigs regularly, enjoy fashion/latest trend pages and going to vintage shops.
- 21. Ithink my media product also represents young people as the model/artist on the cover is young and so this social group would find the articles and magazine more appealing if it is based on younger artists.
- 22. The model on the cover wears fur and smokes a cigarette. This is evidently what teenagers do and the fur just shows that Indie/Rock readers are stylish and clothes obsessed opposing to R&B music being obsessed with body image. I chose to show some more skin though as I wanted to challenge the media product and depict more uniqueness and attract both genders. As girls care about their bodies, and boys love to see a beautiful woman showing some skin.
- 23. I chose the colour scheme to compliment the photo and add some less obvious information about the artist. She is British and so I chose to use red and blue- Union Jack colours. Indie/Rock is also quite fashionable with the Union Jack printed on clothes. This represents social groups in the UK who again are clothes obsessed.
- 24. The contentand written style of my magazine is quite informal and non serious as there are headlines such as ‘free posters’ which could impose that the readers aren’t that bright and are buying the magazine for goodies. Teenagers are also stereotypically the ones who’s décor are posters in their rooms initiating they are rebellious. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?I think my magazine could be distributed by IPC Media, which is a popular and leading magazine publisher in the UK. IPC Media produces over 60 different iconic media brands and they do this successfully; which is one reason to why I think my media product would do well. IPC publish various magazines from Look fashion magazine to Marie Claire to NME.This tells me they have all the necessary experience and dedicated customers who could be interested in a new magazine. Which brings me to why I think they would distribute my media product. As I looked at examples of NME magazines, I began to use and develop their conventions as well as challenge by creating my own. I thought as my product was similar and of the same genre as NME, it would do well being distributed by ICP- through their website and retailers. However IPC Media could challenge me as to why they should print my magazine if they have several similar others. They might also consider not distributing my product as it looks more simple than other magazines of the Indie/Rock genre- so would it make any sales. The costs of magazines that are published through IPC are priced £2.30 and £4.30, and the price of my product is £2.50 – It is a good introductory price.
- 25. How did youattract/address your audience? I wanted to really attract the readers through the main image on the cover, It embodies the Rock ‘N’ Roll rebellious typecast and so it will appeal to a younger audience. The model on the cover is also young and good looking and so attracts many teenagers.
- 26. I attractedmy readers through the masthead as it was catchy yet had a unique meaning behind it. ‘Crowd’ in fact symbolizes a crowd at a live music show as Indie/Rock is more concentrated on experiencing the live music rather than listening to music on your iPod. The angled ‘D’ also embodied that Indie/Rock is different from other music genres, and so this different convention could attract a whole new audience.
- 27. The useof simple headlines attracted a younger audience as they read a magazine for relaxation and pleasure, not a complex vocabulary intended for the audience to acknowledge more information or news to what is going on in the world right now.
- 28. Idecided to include a way that can attract many readers. ‘Free posters’ this is almost bribing the readers to purchase a copy in return for posters. Picture a bedroom with posters surrounding it; who does the room belong to? A teenager of course.
- 29. I alsofeatured a banner at the bottom containing new artists. This is a simple yet effective way of reaching out to my target audience. Teenagers and young people enjoy trying and experiencing new things , especially hearing the latest music- being up to date and cool.
- 30. Headlinessuch as ‘Kings of Leon exclusive single’ is bound to attract readers as it is exclusive and again these readers are music obsessed fans who want to find out as much as possible.
- 31. I useda clever technique of linking the colour scheme to the artists ethnicity; British. The red and blue represents the Union Jack and contrasts the background, enabling the text to stand out. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?At the beginning of the process I was unsure with how I was going to construct a successful media product, when I hadn’t really had any tutorials about how to use the technologies. But I developed more knowledge by just playing around with the various technologies, such as my personal digital camera, publisher and Photoshop. These technologies have definitely enhanced my work and increased it to a higher standard. I completed most of my work on my Dell laptop at home, as I had downloaded the trial Photoshop. Having this at home made everything much easier, as I had time to practice using various different tools. The digital camera I used was very good as the large memory card allowed me to take many pictures, and then view them on the laptop later to choose the best ones. The fact it was digital also enabled me to instantly see how the pictures were turning out, allowing time for change. For instance- setting, costume and posture. I learnt how to take great professional looking photos. When I constructed my first draft of my magazine cover on Publisher, I thought I did incredibly well as it is not really a program for high editing or image manipulation. And as I wanted the image to have a great impact on my audience, great editing was vital- so Photoshop helped incredibly here. I learnt that Publisher was good for planning and drafts- as it was much quicker and easier to use. I also learnt that Photoshop had many more tools to use for a proficient magazine. This technology enabled me to develop professional forms and conventions of a real media product; such as create layers over the main image. I also learnt that I had to be more patient with Photoshop, as it was new to me. I had to learn by myself how to achieve certain aspects and how to do things. Overall I learnt how to use Photoshop but using Publisher and my digital camera was simple when constructing this product.
- 32. Looking back atyour preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?I feel like I have learnt a lot since the preliminary task, I only used Publisher for this task and as I was progressing my full product I realised all the technologies and new things I had learnt whilst creating the product made a dramatic difference to the appearance and quality. In the school newsletter, the vocabulary had to be more formal as students, teachers and parents/carers would have been reading it. However as I knew who my target audience were for my Indie/Rock magazine- teenagers and young adults I chose to use a less formal tone as this would appeal to the target audience. I developed this knowledge throughout the whole process and made a lot of progress. I have learnt how to use Photoshop to improve my work and set it to a excellent standard and I am very happy with my full product.I have definitely learnt how to appeal a specific product to a precise audience. I now know what forms and conventions to use in order to attract the correct audience. In the school newsletter, the articles had to consist of school issues and news to appeal to a wider range of audience. However the Indie/Rock magazine has an intended audience with a specific age range.