AS Media Music Magazine EvaluationBY JAMES MARSHALL

Question 1Who would be the audience for your media product?

My music magazine audience

Music Festivals

15-25 years old

Fan of music

Dressed well

My Target Audience

My target audience would be based around teenagers and young adults ( 15 – 25 years old) as I find the type of music suitable for them. My ideal reader would be somebody who enjoys rap/hip-hop of music.

The type of reading they will be doing is mainly informal however some parts such as interviews will be formal.

The types of clothing my target audience would be wearing could be items such as leather jackets, jeans, hats, watches and jewellery.

My magazine is for both genders however feel like it will be more male dominate and doing research has helped me come up with this conclusion as I used NME magazine inspiration and their magazine is more male dominate.

Ideal Audience

Jeffery is 22 years old. His interests are going to festivals at the weekend and also playing sports, more so football. He spends his week working at music store in the middle of town selling different types of instruments and also giving lessons. In Jeffery’s free time he likes to reading different music magazine and try to know the updates in the music industry to improve his knowledge. His favourite types of music is hip-hop such as Dizzee Rascal and Jay-z, however he is into all types of music. Also he does like to go for a drink with his friends after work to see some local bands play so that he and his friends can talk about the latest magazine that gets issued. He wears a lot of stone island jackets and polo tops when he goes to different events. However he looks like he is good and has a chilled time but he is a bad person in truth…

Gap in the market

I think that I have found a gap in the market and because of this I am trying to take an advantage of this and trying to create a magazine that people will think that is different that they will enjoy. The reason my audiences age will be 15-25 is because I feel that a lot of it is formal so there needs to be a level of maturity however there is still some informal bits of writing. I didn’t think that going above 25 years old was a good idea because I feel like that they would not be interested in the content that goes into my magazine. Also I think it is the best time to place a new magazine into the market because not many new ones have been introduced therefore adding a new magazine will make the market more competitive.

Gender

My magazine is unisex’ however I think it is aimed more at male. The way I show it is more aimed at males is because my model is a male and is featured on the front cover, contents and the double page spread. Also I feel the colour scheme is more male dominate as I think they would be more attracted to it.

Age

My model is around the same age that my ideal audience will be. This is because they can look at what he wears and try and copy the style as it could potentially be the same items of clothing they like.

Genre The genre is how my model is dressed as he is made to look like a

rapper/ hip-hop star, and from this the readers may hopefully be inspired and may want to look like him. Also it was appropriate to dress my model like this because my magazine is about rap/hip-hop.

Question 2How would you attract/address your audience?

I would attract them through colours, competitions and the main article. I would attract them through colours as I will make them contrast together with light and dark, therefore it will grab the readers attention. I will do it through competitions because people like to win prizes for free and this will make the customer want to buy the magazine if there is prizes such as winning a holiday. Finally the main article will hopefully be the main attraction because it will include artists such as jay-z, tiny biggs etc…

Price/Date and Barcode

Main headline/Story

What features in the magazine

Banner

I kept the colour scheme consistent as then it looks like its all meant to look together. Black, white, red and yellow and the main colours used. I chose the Black background as it made the other stand out.

My Masthead is called ‘Foreshadow’ and I chose this as my headline as the main article is about a rapper coming back and is the future. It is in white as it stands out from the black background.

My banner is at the top of the page and shows all the other artist that will be featured in this magazine. This stands out a lot of the page because a reader tends to see this first.

This is the main headline in the magazine and is also another potential thing the reader will see first. It shows off what the main article will be in the magazine. It stands out the most as it is in the centre of the page and in the biggest font. I chose to put each part in different colours as it makes each part stand out from one another.

The is the model used throughout all my pages, I felt using him in all pages shows consistency. Also it attracts readers to the pages.

The main title of my page say ‘Contents’ this is because it shows everything that’s in the magazine and then the reader knows what to expect when reading. The writing stands out compared to the rest because then the reader knows exactly what page he is on.

This is to show what features in the magazine, I still use the colour scheme of white, yellow and red to keep it consistent and to make it stand out from the page background. Also the number is slightly larger to show what page each of the articles are on clearly.

I kept my model the same throughout each page, this shows that he is the main person and very important for the magazine. The main article is about him going then coming back and the magazine is called ‘foreshadow’. The image shows the model with a shadow behind him which shows that his pass is gone and he’s back.

This is a pull quote which is from the main article and there is 3 that I have chosen. These show a little bit of what the article is about and will let the reader get an idea of what it will be about before reading it. Also they help grab the attention of the reader.

This is another artist that is going to become big in the future. It helps the readers get an understand what the next article could be about.

Question 3How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine shows a certain social group through the mise-en-scene he is wearing as it shows him wearing dark clothing such as a black jacket, black hat and grey sunglasses. It shows him as a dark character which can come across as someone who some people may want to be like.The way the model is dressed can show certain aspects of what the magazine could be like as some of the main article speck about how he was on drugs and it ruined him and that’s quite dark. However not all the target audience will be dark such as what he’s wearing as he is smiling and that shows a happy side of him as now he is back and ready to perform even more.

Also I have chosen rappers/hip-hop artist similar to the model/article y character is going to be like therefore the target audience will be similar to people who like those types of music.

My target audience is based on how my model is and I have chosen my model to look fashionable with a watch on, cool sunglasses, a nice leather jacket and people may be appealed to the magazine through what he is wearing as they might want to look like him. The way he is stood shows the dominant side of him as he has his broad shoulders and looking big and maybe some people want to look like him and then it can catch the readers eye. I believe the audience will be fashionable, this is what I think they may look like:

This shows similarity to the model in my magazine as it has the leather jacket, young adult male and dark clothes.

In all the photo’s my model I tried to make him look like somebody people may want to be like as he is the same age and gender which this magazine is based around. The mise-en-scene shows a sort of dark side however also a fashionable side of him.

Question 4In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and convention of real media products?

When creating my magazine I didn’t really look at magazine to try make them look similar I looked at them for inspiration of what I can put in my magazine and how it can be laid out. I tried to make my magazine look more independent and something that doesn’t look the same to something else. The inspiration I used was mainly NME magazine and more specifically this front cover:

The reason I chose this was because I like how some of stuff were laid out such as the banner at the top as it has a solid colour which a different colour standing out from it. Also the way the main characters name stands out compared to everything else on the page is a great way to grab the readers attention.

Front cover

Usingo All magazines have a barcode and a price on the front of the magazine.

o A main article that stands out.

o Different types of competitions for readers to enter.

o Masthead of the name of the magazine.

o A main model

Developing o A logo

o Using certain colours throughout the magazine

Challenging o More images would be on the front of other magazines

My magazine has some aspects of other magazines especially NME will be using some ideas that NME uses to put onto my magazine. However I have also attempted to make it a unique magazine and tried to make it my own by trying to make it look slightly different to other magazines. I have also attempted to try and develop NME further by making it look different. I think I find it a challenge

Question 5What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?

The main other magazine that inspired me was NME magazine and NME magazine distribute their magazine themselves until 2002 however in 2009 they joined up with somebody called John Menzies so that they can distribute their magazine online. Which means I will sell my magazine with NME magazine as my audience may be similar to the same as them and it would be become popular for people to read.

However whilst I’m joining up with NME it will help both my magazine and the company as since 2014 they have had a massive dip in selling magazine so joining with them will help bring new material to the company.

The price I have set my magazine is £2.99 and it would come out every month.

The reason I have chose for my magazine to come out every month instead of every week is because then customers will be more excited for when it does come out and it wont become very stale. Also in a month a lot more things could happen and sometimes in a week you might not get anything people may enjoy reading. Finally in a month I can get the best quality out and it will not have to be rushed and then customer will be more happy.

I have chosen the price of £2.99 because I think it is a suitable price for people to pay as its not too expensive. Also a lot of work will be put into the magazine and it will have a lot of quality put into it therefore people wont mind pay an extra 50p for better quality magazines than cheaper and not as good.

Magazine price and days its issued

Ways to show off magazine

The different ways I would try sell my magazine would be:

Social media Websites Billboards Merchandise

Using other media platforms such as Facebook and twitter will help me because I will be able to get the message around of new updates when there are new magazines out. Also I will be able to raise the profit of my magazine and it will be able to be Retweeted (on twitter) and then more people will be able to see it.

An example of a twitter page that will be in charge of giving out updates

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

When I was creating my front cover I did it in Photoshop and also on InDesign, I chose to do it on these software's as I was more familiar with how to use them.

Firstly I would open up Photoshop and insert my image onto the page and make it as big as I wanted it to be.

I then chose the magic wand tool which allowed me to chose which parts I want to keep and which parts I wanted to get rid of.

Then right clicked to get up different options and then clicked onto the ‘Layer via copy’ which created a layer for the part I chose to keep.

Once that was done I then deleted the layer I didn’t want/need anymore.

Then when that was done my main image for my front cover was finished and I saved it into my folder and used it for my front cover.

After that was done I went onto InDesign and created a black background and put my model into the middle.

Once the image was re-sized to how I wanted it to be I then added all the information around it such as the features, masthead and changed the colour of the text either to yellow, white or red depend on what the writing was about

Finally I inserted an image of a barcode and then the front cover was completed.

Front Cover

Finished Front Cover

For my contents page I used Photoshop and InDesign, this was because I was comfortable using these software’s. I went onto Photoshop and chose the image I wanted and once I done that I then used the magic wand tool to get rid of parts I didn’t want and to keep parts I wanted. When that was done I then right clicked to click on ‘Layer via copy’ this was to create a new layer of the parts I chose to keep. Once that was done I using a healing tool this was to get rid of any spots, or rashes and to make my model more presentable.I then moved it across to InDesign once it was done and when I did that I created the text and number I wanted to use for my contents page and used the colours red for the underline, yellow for the text and white for the number.Once I did that I re-sized everything to how I wanted and changed the background of the page to back, my contents page was completed.

Contents Page

Finished Contents Page

For my Double page spread I used InDesign because I was more comfortable using it.Firstly I inserted the image I wanted onto the page and made it fill up the right side on the 2 pages and I chose to keep the background because the shadow of my model was part of the reason of my magazines name (ForeShadow).Once that was done I began to start writing up my article and I chose to do it on size 11 font in white as I felt as it was a black background that I would make it stand out more.When I wrote it all out I started splitting it up into little segments as I feel it is easier to read and it was about different points. I then inserted a different image onto the page and also added a logo.Once it was all done I re-sized everything to how I wanted it to look and then chose stand out parts of my article to create standout quotes around the image.When that was finished my Double page spread was done.

Double Page Spread

Finished Double Page Spread

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

On my school magazine I didn’t do much editing, I didn’t know about the magic wand tool so I used word and ‘removed background’ on it to get rid of parts of the model. Also I didn’t really keep to a colour scheme I only really used bright colours. Also I didn't use similar font types and also I used different sized text. It doesn’t not have any sort of price or date when issued this shows that the magazine isn't very informative and professional. The text that is on the bottom right it quite hard to read, also the magazine overall doesn’t look like it would grab the readers attention. This is the feedback that I got for it and also I could outline the text to help it contrast together.

School magazine

For my music magazine I put a lot more time and effort into it and made it look more professional. I kept to a colour scheme throughout the whole of it and made sure that it would catch the readers eye. I also made it readable everywhere so that people can understand what everything says. I inserted a barcode and made sure there was a date and price on it so people know when the magazine was issued and how much it is worth. I added in a banner and had a more professional looking masthead and the overall quality is better.

Music Magazine

Comparison

Overall on my front cover my skill have certainly developed massively and I was able to go from a very unorganised and unprofessional front cover to a more suitable, well kept and better quality front cover. It has also allowed me to understand the software’s such as Photoshop and InDesign a lot better for future tasks. In my school magazine the feedback was that I didn’t use a colour scheme very well and on my music magazine I have improved it and kept to one. Also its became a lot more professional and has developed massively.

On my school magazine it wasn’t as unprofessional as the front cover and also I kept to a suitable text, similar fonts and very organised. However it doesn’t look like it belongs with the front cover and also in the background I added an image which also doesn’t look like they belong together as one is outside and one is inside.

School Contents Page

My music magazine contents page looks like it belongs with the same front cover as it has the same model so it shows consistency. Also the black background is the same to the front over which again shows consistency and looks like they are together. It looks very professional and also the writing is a lot more formal and more enjoyable to read.

Music Magazine Contents Page

Comparison

There is not a lot more improvements from the contents page however it shows that in my music magazine contents page I added more professionalism by keeping it more consistent and again it has helped developed my skills in software’s such as Photoshop and InDesign. I changed the contents page on my music magazine due to the feedback from my school contents page. I changed where it said the word ‘page’ and took it out as I the reader will know which page it is. Also I have proof read to make sure that there is no spelling mistakes and made it more professional.