EVALUATIONCordelia Langstaff

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

In my media product I used many forms and conventions that I saw in my initial research however I also developed and challenged these conventions to create my own unique product. For example I challenged the front cover of MOJO as they fill theirs fully with a lot of information how ever I left mine fairly simple as I think that keeping my front cover simple would attract my customers as in my questionnaire they answered that they would prefer pictures insteadof a lot of writing. My music magazine uses the typical position of the masthead up in the corner of the front cover. In bold and large text this makes it easily recognisable, this is a positive thing as on shelves this will make people notice my magazine first. I also used buzzwords which was also very common in real media product, which is used as a technique to draw the readers in. I used a lot of images within my magazine on all of the pages, I did this as my readers answered in the questionnaires that this is what they would like to see, this is also know among real media institutions so therefore was a useful technique to know as it would help sell my product if it were to become a real media product.The magazines that I analysed in the beginning all use very vibrant colour schemes in their photos and layout of the magazine. I however did not think that that colour scheme suited the aesthetic style of my magazine so I decided to go for more simple, laid back colour schemes. So I decided to have my pictures In a range of black and white and colour. I also kept my magazine simple with a colour scheme of black and white with hints of red throughout to give it a relaxed look but also keep it interesting with vibrant bits of red throughout.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product represents the social group of teenagers and young adults who like to listen to alternative rock music, sometimes described as “indie” music. I achieved this look through my images, layout of the magazine and the informal language that I used to connect with my customer. I feel that by using certain techniques I connected and represented this particular social group well. I feel that my magazine is appropriate for all genders as this is who I aimed at through my photos and contents of my magazine. I aimed for both genders as I feel this gave me a wider audience and more of an opportunities for my magazine to sell. Through my research I understood what people wanted from “indie rock” magazines so based my articles and photos on what I found out from my research, which involved things such as articles involving new band releases, new tours dates for bands that perform the different genres of music that my magazine focuses on, indie rock. It also involves including things such as different festivals going on around the local areas. People in my surveys also said that they like the direct contact with the bands through the magazine which is why I involved the interview with the band in my cover story. As the majority of the social group are younger people in the teen years, I focused the magazine on what they would like to read and see as that was my target audience, this is why I kept the cover fairly simple and also the double page spread with the article involved, I uses a fair amount of photographs as in the survey the majority vote told me that this is what my audience wanted to see.

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

I feel that many media institutions are likely to distribute my media product, such as; Online through digital publishers At gigs and festivals Retailers- supermarkets Magazine and music stores. These media institutions would be likely to distribute my media product as through my previous research I know that they already provide similar products, which sells well so gives me hope that my product would also sell. I feel that social media and online marketing has become increasingly popular, so I feel that publishing and advertising my product online would help my product become more popular and help it sell more, this was also backed up by the answers of my survey questions and my market research as the majority of people now read magazines and newspapers on apps of their phones or tablets through a subscription simply for the ease of it and how it gives them the freedom to read on the go as with papers and sometimes magazines they can be a pain to carry around to read. The majority of my audience have a real passion for music so therefore at every gig and festival the are likely to be there, for example Leeds festival is a popular local festival. This means that there are likely to be a huge amount of people here that would enjoy my magazine but have never heard of it so being distributed here I feel that It would be popular as the other people who go to these festivals and gigs are likely to match or be similar to my reader profile.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

My target audience for my media product would be the same as the audiences for magazines such as Q and NME. People who I would aim my product for can be any gender and have to be interested in indie rock genre of music. Its can also be read by any age however the theme of the magazine it typically aged at the younger generation, teenagers. I used many techniques to create my magazine to be aimed at the certain target audience that I desired. Such as the band I used for my front cover, they are a young boy band that would attract both males and females. I used a specific colour scheme of black, white and red which matched the theme and appealed to the type of people I feel would buy my magazine. Even though the colour scheme was kept simple it also drew people in as the colours complemented each other. My audience for my magazine would be the typical teenage “indie rock” fan so they stereotypically wear simple colours such as black and white which is also I used this colour scheme for my magazine and then my readers could create a rapour with not only my magazine but also with the bands featured in my magazine as I made sure the costumes match that of the people who answered my survey to make up my reader profile. As the majority of people who answered my survey were young adults I aimed the contents of my magazine towards that and involved things that I feel that they would enjoy, for example the questions asked to the band in my cover story, involving information about new gigs and festivals which the older generations just wouldn’t be bothered about.

How did you attract/address your audience?

As you can see from my final products I used the same colour scheme throughout my magazine including the themes of the pictures that I took. I felt this was very important in both attracting and addressing the audience as it helped the magazine flow easily and made it more enjoyable for the reader. I choose the colours red, white and black as individually the are very bold and together they all stand out attracting the reader. My models for the photos throughout my magazine are “young” and “hipster” appealing to the majority of the youth today and attracting the type of audience that I would like to read my magazine. I used a range of buzzwords from “exclusive” and “new” to attract the reader into buying my magazine as this makes them feel that they are getting more for their money. I also made the cost of my magazine fairly cheap as my audience based on my reader profile and magazine research would not be willing to pay a huge amount for a magazine, so for young adults a cheap price is very appealing compared to other competition in the music magazine industry so therefore would have also taken competitions customers and attracted and audience.I wrote my article quite informally as with my audience they do not want to be ready very elaborated language, so I addressed them in the correct way to make the magazine easier to read but also for my magazine to create a more direct relationship with the customers.

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

Throughout this process I used many software's such as Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft PowerPoint and word, I also used InDesign with the production of my magazine, to publish my progress on my coursework I used blogger. It took my a while to develop my skills on these different software’s as some, for example Photoshop I had little experience with. I did this by making draft copies and seeing how each tool affected my work, and in time I was able to create a copy I was happy with.Blogger was easy to use and understand as it was a step to step progress, to show my final piece of work I uploaded my blogs in the chronological order in which I also followed in production so, front cover first then my contents page and finally my double page spread.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back at my preliminary I feel like I have been able to greatly develop my skills in different software’s used to edit such as Photoshop and InDesign. I also feel that I’ve been able to identify and become acquainted with the internal workings of different magazines through my research process. I feel I have become more confident with the use of a camera and studio, I also feel my skills in this area have developed greatly. I have been able to shoot photos in natural environments and in studios which has allowed me to understand more about certain lightings and angles.My creative skill have also improved greatly from my preliminary task as I now know how to colour coordinate things such as my font so that they match and are able to look acceptable when placed together on a front cover or somewhere in a magazine.