Evaluations – Georgia Leaper

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

Deconstruction of my magazineHere I will deconstruct the pages on my magazine as I have done for my research to identify the codes and conventions and the techniques my magazine uses to appeal to my target demographic/audience.

Masthead: As you can see, I have followed the codes and conventions of magazines and placed my masthead in the top left hand corner. When creating my magazine I paid close attention to following the codes and conventions as I knew my audience were very much in the target demographic of mainstreamers , and therefore did not want my magazine to appear as rebellious, as this would appeal more to the demographic of Individuals. Again, the masthead portrays the intended audience as it is very stereotypically “girlie”, seen through the use of bright pink colouring, which has connotations of feminity as it is typically associated with Barbie. Complimenting this, by using hearts the masthead again appeals to the young audience and suggests the magazine is for music lovers.

House style:The colour scheme of bright colours (pink, blue and yellow) portrays the genre of my music magazine as pop music has connotations of happiness, and the colours used reflect this. As well as this, the main model is linked to the magazine through MES as she is clothed in the colours of the text.

Web address: I have introduced an element of synergy by including my magazine’s website at the top of my front cover. This again appeals to my audience as I know from my questionnaire that many of them use the internet frequently and therefore my magazine will become more popular as there is more ways for the reader to access information.

Model: The artist “Cherish” is represented as very kind and approachable, through MES, as a “girl next door” image is created, typical to many other representations of pop artists, which I found during my research. Her image is created through boringly coloured clothes, and her kind smile. As well as this, her long hair follows the “hegemonic norm” that girls should have long hair, and would therefore appeal the mainstreamer target demographic. Her jewellery is very simple, as she merely wears a single silver necklace. The word “wish” on her necklace denotes her dreams of being a singer and foreshadows the content of the article.

Use of plugs:By using a yellow plug the reader’s attention is brought to the price. In my research I discovered many music magazines cost around £4-£5. However, as my audience is younger, they will have less money to spend. Considering this, and the feedback from my questionnaire which said that my intended audience would be wiling to pay £2-£3 I have priced my mag at £2.49.

Sell lines:My questionnaire revealed that my audience was more interested in the gossip of the pop artists than their music, so I decided to create articles about their lives. The sell lines reflect this and would appeal to my audience.I have chosen a variety of contents as girls stereotypically prefer many topics, whereas boys seem to be more one topic focused. Therefore, I have included articles on fashion as well as music.

Editorial box out text:I have followed a code and convention by placing an “Editor’s note” on my contents page. This is where the editor of the magazine briefly sums up the issue and talks about their time putting it together. I have made the editor sound friendly and funny, to appeal and connect with my readers.

Masthead: Again, my magazine appeals to the mainstreamers demographic as it follows a code and convention by placing the masthead on the contents page. This reminds the reader of the magazine they are reading and reinforces the brand identity.

Use of new media: I have included my magazine’s accounts on social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as I knew many of my target age group used these sites from my questionnaire. By using new media, I can continuously update my readers, even if an article hasn’t gone to press yet.

Pull quote:By including a pull quote, interest is generated towards my article from the reader. As I have made the text black it stands out more on the page as it contrasts to the predominate bright colours. However, I have chosen to shade the words “confident”, “normal” and “girl” in pink as they are the most important, and by just reading the three words the reader can get a sense of what the article is about. I have used the same typography for the pull quote as the type face that the singer’s name “Cherish” is written in on the front cover. This suggests Cherish has written it herself, straight from the heart, and entices the reader to turn to her article.

Cover stories:I have separated the front cover sell lines into a separate section as these are the articles my reader is most interested in. I have also offered a mini image of the front cover with the page numbers next to each sell line so the reader is given the information without having to read a lot of writing. I decided to do this because my audience are younger and stereotypically a large chunk of text on the first page may overwhelm them.

Website: Again, I have promoted my online webpage by placing the address on the bottom of each page. This is quite common in modern magazines as it is a free advertising space.

Images: I have used a range of images on the page to break down the amount of text and make the page look more appealing to my audience. In my research I saw a lot of pop magazines included photos of artists and then placed numbers next to them to indicate the page. All my models are wearing bright clothing, and are again represented as approachable, kind and happy.

House style:The colour scheme of bright colours (pink, blue and yellow) continues to the contents page to portray the pop genre of my music magazine.

Plug: I have included the acronym “OMG” in my plug as the lexis is stereotypically associated with my target audience and would therefore appeal to them as it creates an informal tone to the page.

Main image:I have followed the rule of thirds by using the main image of “Cherish” to cover two thirds of the page. Whilst making the page look more appealing to the reader, as it makes there look like less text for my young audience, it also suggests the singer’s high status and importance as she dominates the page, as well as the music industry. My model conforms to the “Male Gaze” as she directly looks into the camera lens. This would appeal to my target demographic of mainstreamers as it portrays the singer as submissive and not rebellious. The use of props in the image also reinforces the model’s singing career as she appears to be singing into the mic.

Supporting images:I noticed in my research that it is typical for pop magazines to include lots of photos, which is why I decided to add extra photos of “Cherish” at the top of this page. Each image portrays her as fun, kind and approachable, again a typical representation in pop genre music magazines.

Pull quote: The pull quote in the title draws in the reader and foreshadows the article. This is because the quote has elements of humour, whilst also suggesting her hectic life. From my questionnaire I know that my audience are more interested in the artists’ personal life than their music, which is why I believe the pull quote would appeal to the reader as instantly they understand that the article is about how hectic her life is since her new found fame.

Model: During my research, I discovered that pop artists are represented as pretty and less in your face than other genres such as R&B or rock. To portray this through mise-en-scene, I clothed my model in a white dress, to portray innocence and femininity, whist the pink, chequered shirt, keeps the outfit looking casual and not too dressy, as that would appeal more to a target demographic of aspirers. As well as this, the Jack Wills logo can be seen on the shirt, which is a shop popular with my primary audience of young, white females. From this, the reader can feel as though they have something in common with the singer, representing an approachable image.

Letter “I”: By using a large capital “I”, it is signified to the reader that the article begins here.

Typography: I have used the same typography here as we see on the front cover where “Cherish” is written. This suggests Cherish has written it herself and as her writing is bigger and appears to dominate the heading, it is denoted to the audience that “Cherish” is successful and beginning to take over the music industry.

Website: Placed on each page with page number.

Box out texts: I know my target demographic are younger and therefore I have included 2 box out texts in my article as it breaks down the text and appears as though there is less to read. If my reader does not have the time to read the entire article, they can quickly read the box out texts and get a brief outline of the context of the article. The information given links to the context of the article. The pink box includes the three guesses of where the singer’s boyfriend is taking her on holiday whilst the blue box includes 5 simple questions to allow the reader to get to know the singer and find out more about her as a person. I have chosen to colour the box out texts in bright colours which follow my house style, as this is a code and convention of pop magazines, and allows the information to stand out from the rest of the page.

Website: Again, I have promoted my online webpage by placing the address on the bottom of each page. This is quite common in modern magazines as it is a free advertising space.

Use of three columns:I have arrange my text into three columns as I found, during my research, that it is a typical code and convention of magazines to use this.

End of article: In many magazines, it is a code and convention to include a small image, either a box or their masthead, to signify the end of the article. Here I have chosen to place a small black box, as well as the writer’s name, which is in blue.

Text: At the end of my article, as it is a music magazine, I have given some information about when the singer’s next song is out. This is because during my research, I noticed a lot of magazines doing this, and discovered that many publicists will ask for this to be done in return for featuring their artist in the magazine.

Promotion: I have also promoted the charity which “B-eat”, as in the article as the writer discusses Cherish’s sister’s tackle with bulimia. I’ve given a website to my readers to access information on eating disorders. I have placed a yellow box around the website, to look as if it has been highlighted. This makes it easy to find and looks as if another girl has already gone over it with a highlighter which soothes the reader as they wouldn’t feel so alone.

Pull quote: I have placed the pull quote in the centre of the page as it immediately grabs the audience’s attention. The quote itself is very powerful as the lexis “losing” is ambiguous and has connotations of death. This would entice the audience to read the article because of it’s shock factor. I have used the same typography as the heading of the article, as well as following the house style, to improve the article’s appearance. By colouring “petrified me” in a different colour the words stand out more and are therefore more eye catching.

Images: I have used a large photo of “Cherish” on the page to reinforce her importance in the article. The pose represents her as childlike and innocent as she is sitting on the floor, a typical representation of pop artists in music magazines.