AS MEDIA COURSEWORK

EVALUATION

By Emma Smith

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR

CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

My music magazine was created from the inspiration I found in my

research, solely focusing on magazine layout techniques and

features which are incorporated within my music magazine. The

house style of my front cover was taken from ‘Billboard’ magazine

where the colour scheme is contrasting between black and white

with minimal colour, keeping it a sophisticated magazine, whereas

‘Billboard’ gives off a more laid back and younger vibe. My fonts

were also inspired by ‘Q’ and ‘Billboard’ magazine as they are kept

to bold and basic styles but differ in the sense that I have altered

the use of fonts at different points to attract the readers attention.

My front cover image was taken from ‘Billboard’

magazine, ensuring the artists eye is directed towards the camera

and focused from the waist up, ensuring that the magazine front

cover is not too chaotic. All of my composed products, my front

page, my contents page and my double page spread, offer the

main demanding conventions of music magazines; including a

barcode, date, feature / cover story, magazine heading, page

numbers, and puffs (information boxes). This is an essential part in

the making of my magazine as it adds a realistic style to it and it

certifies that there would be a place in the market for my magazine.

However my magazine differs from most as it is on free on sale

rather than being priced. This shows I have taken my research into

account as the market for music magazines is decreasing and

turning digital, thus I have included a website address on my front

cover and my double page spread.

ANALYSIS OF MY FRONT COVER PAGE

I have included the date

and barcode on my front

cover as these are

conventions of many

magazines.

With the struggling music

industry I have made my

magazine free in order for the

readers to still enjoy the

magazine and all it has to offer

without loosing money. Putting

it in capitals, in bold and in

colour in a simple text font is

an easy way to ensure it

attracts the audience.

I have included puffs of

different shapes to ensure

important information

stands out as well as

keeping to near black and

white colour scheme which

offers simplicity.

I have included a website

address to keep up to date

with the changing industry

as well as attracting my

younger, social networking

audience.

My matshead is

inspired by

‘billboard’

magazine, keeping

it simple and bold

to attract the

reader.

My image is also

inspired by ‘billboard’

magazine and is

used to directly

address the audience

and influence the

genre of the

magazine, keeping it

the main focal point

of the page.

‘Char talks’ shows

the cover story of

this issue as well as

using a swirled font

to address a more

feminine audience

and draw the

reader in.

Attracts a female

audience and

address the age

demographic of a

slightly older

audience (18-24) as

it refers to older

artists.

The overall colour scheme of black

white and deep pinks and reds is

consistently used throughout my final

product to keep it classy, having been

taken from ‘Billboard’ and ‘Q’

magazine. It helps to directly separate

the audience from males to females.

ANALYSIS OF MY CONTENTS PAGE

Title of the page address

what it is going to entail.

The font being taken from

DaFont.

The use of dark

pinks keeps to

the colour

scheme of the

magazine as well

as addressing a

more feminine

audience. The

image is not

exposing a full

length

person, but the

bow creates

femininity within

the piece.

An introduction within

each issue, written by the

editor, is a convention

used within most

magazine contents

pages. The text is not

complex, thus applies to

my audience well, and

the text content was

inspired by my

researched contents

pages.

Altering text fonts

intrigues the reader as

well as suiting fonts

which apply to a female

audience. Here, I have

kept to the colour

scheme of the

magazine, leaving the

writing in black so it is

easy read and stands

out well.

The use of the puff

allows for further

advertising within the

magazine as well

brightening up the

page and breaking the

text down.

Variations between

colour and text font

allows for a greater

chance of attracting the

readers attention. The

content is specifically

exposed to

music, enhancing the

fact I am marketing a

music magazine. The

idea has been taken

from my research into

contents pages and is

separate from the main

text to offer variety.

My creative ideas lie within my contents page as it does not specifically

relate to a particular professional contents page but still holds the main

conventions and features to attract the reader.

ANALYSIS OF MY DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

I have included a

page number

reference as a

convention of my

double page

spread.

My magazine

website address

allows for the social

networking

audience to feel

involved and keeps

up to date with the

digital music

industry.

The large ‘C’ stands

for ‘Char’ and has

been inspired by the

extract on lady gaga

which effectively

breaks up the text

and the pink pastel

colour gives it its

feminine house style.

The text is displayed in

columns, another

convention of

interviews in

magazines as well as

the questions being

written in the bold to

make it stand out. I

have also included an

introduction which is

another convention of

magazine interviews.

The central image

takes up half the

page, a common

feature I found

through research. It

is promoting music

through the guitar

and again focuses

on representing a

particular audience.

A formal but

easy to read

introduction

ensures the

reader

understands

what the page

is about.

The title of this

page was

inspired by the

‘USA got the

love’ extract as

the use of

varied fonts

clearly attracts

the reader. I

took the fonts

from the online

website DaFont

but altered the

swirly writing

and the simple

writing for a

different effect.

HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL

GROUPS?

In particular I have aimed for my music magazine to be an

inspiration for a younger audience, around the ages of 18-24 that

focus their interests on independent music artists that are steadily

growing in popularity. As suggested by the image on my front

cover and on this slide, it is likely that this audience is

representable of more indie and therefore independent groups of

people, likely to separate from mainstream trends although it is

also applicable to a mainstream audience if intended so. It is

most likely that the audience will take on a particular passion for

music, reflecting that of a more different or indie sound as

supported by the main image on the front cover. The text within

my double page spread is reflective of my aimed social group as

it is chatty using colloquial language which helps to involve the

reader in what they’re processing as well as helping them to

believe further in the music.

Audience segmentation can be broken down into age, gender

and demographic which can then relate to social groups. My

audience age, as stated above, is 18-24 year olds and has a

determined audience gender of women due to the colour

schemes on my produced pages. I would class my audience as

innovators, representing self confident risk-takers that seek new

and different things, setting their own targets in the hope to

achieve them.

WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA

PRODUCT AND WHY?

Through research I have been made aware of the decreasing

sales in the music industry, although due to many things, it has

been bought to my attention and therefore I have made my

magazine free and included an online website address for digital

access. This is useful for my young audience as many will be

short of money and some having to face payment demands of

university. Thus, going digital and including an online website

allows for my magazine to stay up to date with the ever changing

industry and from there can include deals and further information

on my particular music genre. Amongst this I would include apps

for the I-Phone and for smart and android phones for my

audience to have quick and easy access to the information they

need. This represents the age demographic of my audience well

as it is these ages in which people are most up to date and

interested in new technologies.

As my magazine follows some codes and conventions of ‘Q’

magazine it is likely I would get ‘Bauer’ to distribute my own

music magazine as it would invite a larger audience because my

music magazine is independent, giving them a wider diversity of

products. This would also help to support my magazine as it is

independent and would lack in profit because the subscription is

sold free of charge.

WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?

A typical audience member for my media product would be

between the ages of 18 and 24 whose interests may solely lie

within music. The small age range is because my magazine

focuses on a specialised music genre, one that an older audience

may not take interest in and a younger audience may not be

aware of. My audience gender would be aimed mostly at women

due to the content and colour schemes of deep pinks and pastel

colours. As social class occurs I would aim to attract an audience

that fall into the social grade of potentially C2, but mainly C1 and

B, lower middle class and middle class people as my media

product presents a classy style with a twist. This is represented

through the use of fonts and text styles, images and content. As

stated before it is likely that the mindset of my audience would

come under innovators, self confident people who set out to

achieve their own goals but they may also be esteem seekers as

their acquisitive and materialistic side may be seen.

It is likely that my audience, as a young generation, would be up

to date and interested in new technologies, such as the I-Phone

4s. They would be keen social networkers and would therefore

be likely to come across the ‘Outspoken’ website, thus making it

more likely that they would purchase music online but not be shy

of revealing a classic mix of records. The audiences love for

music will always be exploited through attending music festivals

such as Glastonbury, always in search of something new and

exciting.

A TYPICAL AUDIENCE PROFILE

Age

18 to 24 year olds

Gender

Females

Work Status

A wide range from students to intermediate

managerial, administrative professional work or supervisory

work

Common Interests

A passion for music, attendance of music festivals such as

Glastonbury, socialising activities and frequent party goers

Music Genre

Primarily indie but open towards new and upcoming artists

featured within the magazine

Radio Choice

Radio channels which offer diversity within the music they

play and that also consistently engages with the listener, such

as BBC Radio 1

TV Choice

TV channels which appeal to a younger audience that offer

fresh and new series of entertainment that are light

hearted, such as E4

HOW DID YOU ATTRACT / ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?

The magazine styles and layouts I have chosen to use for my

media product suits the demographic of my

audience, particularly as new music is kept alive by younger

and more involved generations. The image on my front cover

is a person that represents the age demographic of my

audience, therefore audience is immediately addressed and

can attract a particular person to the product in the knowing

they will be able to relate to it and the content it holds. I have

used ‘typical’ more feminine colours such as pinks to address

a female audience and this colour scheme is carried out

throughout the pages I have produced. The font style is also

reflective of women’s handwriting or choice of text as it is

swirly and flows along the page, but it still easy to read. I have

broken this down by also incorporating bold and simple text

fonts to attract the reader to the more dominating parts of the

magazine. The image on the front cover is ‘indie’ looking and

therefore will automatically select and attract a particular

audience, again attracting a women audience as the image is

of a woman. This alternative route of a music magazine will

attract a specialised independent audience but may also open

up mainstream audiences into a new world, which is important

in exploring different varieties. In my text I have consistently

used simple language and avoided particular terminology as

my audience is of a young age, but I have still structured it to

engage the reader and keep it professional. My purpose is to

entertain the reader and inform them of new and upcoming

artists, which I think has been achieved successfully.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE

PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?

From research ideas to producing my media product, I was constantly

aware of the new skills I was learning and how I was beginning to

incorporate them into my music magazine. I was particularly grateful

for the use of Photoshop in the alterations made within my images. I

was able to turn coloured images into black and white and increase

the contrast and brightness of each image to leave a professional

style to it. Although my final front cover image remains in colour, the

skills I learnt through experimentation came to use as I was able to

erase unwanted blotches on the model and make drastic changes to

the overall image. It is important to have a good camera as a bad

camera may result in a pixilated image which wouldn’t be acceptable

for use in the magazine industry. I was also able to incorporate many

layers within the production element of my media product which

allowed for easy alterations, as shown in my blog post about my

changed front cover. However as I did not specifically place headings

on my text layer it was sometimes difficult to manage, therefore I will

take this into account when doing further productions with the use of

Photoshop. From this work I am able to understand the effort that gets

put into the production of a magazine and how each detail should be

relatable to the chosen audience. Research on professional

magazines allowed me to understand the importance of each element

in a magazine and thus I was able to create a professional looking

magazine with the use of particular technologies.

LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL

YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL

PRODUCT?

When producing the cover of a school magazine for my

preliminary task I was unaware of the use of Photoshop, never

having used it before. Therefore my skills were limited, but as

time has gone by and my coursework asked me to produce a

music magazine I was able to understand the use of Photoshop

and apply my skills to my full product, thus creating something

of a more professional standard. I feel I have gained the

confidence to explore new and different ideas, which is

supported by my alterations to my music magazine front

cover, as demonstrated within my blog. However I feel the most

important skill I have learned is the ability to apply different

elements to a particular product in order for it to address a

different audience. For example, my full product demonstrates

a clear audience of young independent women interested in an

indie genre of music, whereas my preliminary task is less direct

about its audience. I feel now that simplicity is the key to

gaining your audiences attention rather than overcrowding the

page with unnecessary elements. I am also aware that the use

of colour within a page can really be the deciding point being

selling a successful product or selling something that stays on

the self. A consistent colour scheme, as with my final

product, can attract the reader and bold exciting colours not

only help to address the audience but also ensure important

information is being easily expressed.

CONCLUSION

For our main coursework task, as media students, we were

asked to produce a three pages of music magazine, in particular,

the front page, the contents page and a double page spread. I

have achieved all three through the use of Photoshop and the

knowledge and understanding of the production elements of

magazines through research. My main skill which I have learnt is

how to address your audience directly with how you present

your magazine, I think my audience is quite clearly address

through all three pages of my media product. I was also

interested in how the music industry is slowly changing and how

the decrease of sales has lead to a more digitally presented way

of marketing certain products. Overall, I am pleased with the

work I have produced and completing the preliminary task

beforehand gave me the knowledge and skills to produce

something of a higher standard and something which could

potentially have a place in the market.