EVALUATION

EVALUATIONBy Jack MillerPLAYVIDEO

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

When creating my media product/ music magazine I wanted to ensure that it followed various media conventions as convention is essentially what shapes the media and the society it is within. Convention is important as it is what a mainstream audience recognises within a product and is what causes them to buy it due to it matching their acquired mainstream taste. Therefore if I wanted to sell my magazine I would have to use, develop and challenge these forms and conventions. An example of this is for the design of my media product I gained inspiration off of the music magazine Billboard, this is because it is a mainstream, popular and well recognised branded magazine that an audience could easily recognise. The house style that it partakes matches the style of music that it promotes which is mainstream chart; the same as my magazine so I followed this similar house style when designing mine in order to aim for the same target audience. This style consists of quite a simple design with simple contrasting colours and compacted, well fitted texts so the target audience can easily read it. You can see the usage of mainstream music magazine convention within all my pages but especially in my double page spread as it consists of a white papered textured background with red and black text that contrast each other causing them to stand out just like many of the Billboard magazine double page spreads. Other media music magazine conventions that I followed can be on all my examples. On my front cover I ensured that I had a short and memorable masthead Record, a main cover line Jack. B New Album, a central image, buzzwords, cover lines, convergence, synergy, puff Free chance to win a Beetles Vinyl and a barcode. On my Double Page Spread I ensured that I had, a main image, a main title, an article, a category title, a caption, a page number, a pull quote and photo credit. On my contents page I ensured I had a masthead, contents page title, features section, main image and some advertisement. An example of where I challenged convention is through the common usage of black and white photos, these stereotypically would be recognised in Indy and rock magazines however I chose to place this in a mainstream magazine as I believe it added to simple and house style that I was going for.

FRONT COVER CONVENTIONS

A masthead is an extremely vital convention for a music magazine as it is what gives it an identity, in my case I named my magazine Record. The word Record itself is a music convention as music used to played with records in the late 20th century, this matches the design of the masthead which as a retro look. Furthermore, the majority of mastheads are usually white which can be seen by other examples and are placed at the top of the magazine so the reader can see it in the hope it will grab their attention. Records masthead along with Kerrangs are both examples of one where theirs is superimposed behind the main image. This is an interesting effect in which is done in order to promote the main image as the masthead should stand out enough on its own so it doesnt need to be the main item on the magazine.

Barcodes are also another huge media convention and have to be included within the newspaper by law. However with mine I did not want it to stand out as much so i removed the white background from it via the magic wand tool in Photoshop.

Main central images are also a huge convention within a Music Magazine as it acts as a form of a red herring towards this audience. This is because it is usually an image of the main/most interesting story within the magazine but only hints at what it could be, therefore enticing the audience into reading on or picking it up in store. Looking at other examples of main central images from music magazine they are very similar to mine as they are all centred, stand out well and contrast the coloured background behind them which is done through Photoshop with masking.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted and addressed my audience by following the various conventions of mainstream music magazines so they would be able to easily recognise what it is and therefore be interested, such as bright simple colours and celebrity endorsement (this offers a connection between the reader and celebrity.) I also attracted my audience by having various buzz words on the front cover such as; free, exclusive and new. Buzz words attract a viewer as it acts as a form of an enigma or a cliff hanger, it teases the reader into thinking something exciting or new is in the magazine, however they cant have it unless they read on. I therefore placed this buzzwords on my front cover so it would engage the reader and make them want to read more but the only way they can do this is by buying the magazine. Furthermore, asides from what is on the magazine it is also extremely vital in where the magazine would be placed within store. It would of course be within the magazine section however if this magazine was to be sold in shops then it would be placed approximately on the middle shelf at the front. This would be because it is at the perfect browsing height for a reader/audience to recognise, after this they would then be enticed by the celebrity endorsement, variety of buzz words, puff and the mainstream house style.

Celebrity EndorsementBuzz WordsPuffRed and WhiteColours

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My music magazine/ media product represents the mainstream social group which stereotypically consists of the upper working class and middle class citizens of either gender. This is because my magazine promotes the mainstream, chart music and the upper working and middle class conventionally listen to this in order to stay with the trend in which the upper class and celebrities create. Record magazine also follows the similar house style that well recognised mainstream branded magazines have in order for their conventional target audience and reader to recognise my media product. Another way in which I connected with my middle class/working class social group was through the usage of camera angles, they consist of both mid-shots, long shots and close ups however are all positioned equally with the audience and are not tilted. This therefore places the audience on an equal positioning and terms with the celebrity, creating a form of a personal connection with them which is emphasised by the Q&A on my double page spread. This allows the reader to know a little more about Jack. B and he even states that he does not see himself as a celebrity, the positioning of cameras in images of Jack put the audience equally on the social hierarchy with him. Furthermore, with the images used in my magazine I also wanted them to look casual and informal which is done through the costume in which my model wears. The clothing is very simple and stereotypically would be what someone of the mainstream working or middle class would stereotypically wear so he is representing that particular social group and causing him to relatable to my audience. My magazine would also follow the trendies of the social group hierarchy as Record try's to keep up to date with the latest news and gossip within the mainstream music world. Therefore for the trendies try to keep up to date with everything and would have to buy my music magazine in order to do so, this is why I aim and represent this certain social group.

Social StatusOccupationUpper Middle ClassHigh managerial, administrative or professionalMiddle ClassIntermediate managerial, administrative or professionalLowe Middle ClassSupervisory or clerical, junior managerial, administrative or professionalSkilled Working ClassSkilled manual workersWorking ClassSemi and unskilled manual workersThose at lowest level of subsistenceState pensioners or casual lowest grade workers

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience in which my music magazine is aimed at is extremely vital as it has to be appealing to them by consisting of various media and magazine conventions that they'd be able to easily recognise and identify. Within my mission statement in my blog I state who my target audience would be for my media product:Vinyl Magazine will certify a consistent appeal to our large spectrum of readers, which varies from young adolescents who love listening to the newest hits whether thats Pop, Hip-Hop or Indy, to those of an older age who have a greater form of respect towards music. Each issue will focus on the most interesting and biggest things going on during the bi-weekly period that each edition is released in order to sustain a form of interest but also educating our readers. There will also be a varied balance of articles and scenes of artists and news that cover the entire musical spectrum to ensure that we are fulfilling all of our readers needs!Asides from this my target audience is stereotypically of the younger age, especially teenagers as they are a more interested in the latest gossip, fashion, trends and the newest music. Record magazine promotes the newest chart music and therefore would appeal to a teenage audience as it is what they are most interested in. This offers a connection with my audience that would hopefully increase sales and overall interest/engagement.

In order to find out what my target audience for my media music magazine would be I did a questionnaire so Id have a rough idea in what they would would be interested in. This can be seen on my blog by clicking here.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?As my music magazine Record targets a mainstream younger audience it would have to be distributed by a mainstream well recognised media institution, such as Bauer Media Group. Bauer Media Group is a large European-based media company, centred in Germany that manages a portfolio of more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations around the world. They also own many print shops, postal, distribution and marketing services. Although they are stationed in Germany they also have diverged across Europe and now have launched in England where they promote and print leading magazines such as Q and Kerrang! This distributing media institution would be perfect my media product/ music magazine as they target audience they aim for is similar to that of Record Magazine, which are mainstream teenagers. Therefore I would pick Bauer Media as it would maximise sales as it approaches the correct audience.

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

Throughout the entirety of the construction of my media music magazine and its front cover, contents page and double page spread I have learnt various new techniques about certain technologies and design programmes that I didnt know prior to it. Firstly, when creating my front cover I had to use Adobe Photoshop, I already had acquired a fair amount knowledge on this programme prior to the task as I have used it plenty of times considering my interest in designing. However, whilst creating my product I have mastered various techniques that I previously wasnt too sure on, some examples of this are: my masking skills using the lasso tool and also creating cartoon, drawing effects on images which is done by duplicating and editing various layers using the artistic and opacity tools. The creation of this product has also given me plenty of practice on the usage of the clone stamp tool, the spot healing brush, the liquefier, all image colour correction options and filter options. However, I had never used InDesign prior to the task and learnt how to use the programme through various online tutorials and my teacher which I then practised on my preliminary task. Here I learnt how to set up the correct InDesign contents page and double page spread formats but also about colour swatches, adding photos, rearranging objects, effects such as drop shadow and outer glow and much more! I then transferred these skills over when designing my main product Record Magazine, within InDesign I created my contents page and double page spread which in my opinion look as equally as good as my Adobe Photoshop work as they all follow the similar house style that I went for with red, white and black contrasting colours.

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

Looking back my preliminary task in comparison to my full product I can see a real progression in what Ive created through the design work but also through the usage of various media codes, conventions and language. Whilst creating both the preliminary and main task I did plenty of research on magazines and their conventions which has allowed me to recognise certain things that I should include and not include in mine. This allows my work to gradually progress over time and also allows it to be at the highest standard that it can possibly be as I acquired all the information that I need in order to create a conventional mainstream magazine. This means that my target audience can easily recognise the style that Ive gone for and also what type of magazine it actually is. An example of this is within my front cover Ive followed the generic house style but also have conventions such as a masthead, a main image and cover lines which promotes which chart music, therefore it can be recognised as a mainstream magazine.

Asides from the improvement of my understanding of media codes and conventions, my designing skills have also improved greatly in my main task when compared to my preliminary magazine. This is because when creating my preliminary contents page I had never used the programme Adobe InDesign before, this meant I had to learn it from scratch, however over time and after plenty of practice I had a good understanding of it which shows in my final contents page and double page spread. The formatting, placing of objects, text and image size and colour scheme are all so much more better than preliminary which allows it to be easier to read and much more appealing to the eye. This is a good example that proves that I have learnt a lot in the progression from my preliminary practice task to my full product.