Evaluation AS
24 Apr 2010 Leave a Comment
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Firstly, on my cover i have used a photo where the ‘stars’ fill up most of the page to make them the main attraction and this is a convention that is used in many existing music magazines. The reason for this is to make the girls the main selling point and feature. A large portion of my audience will be fans of these popular music artists so this will incline them to pick up the magazine. This is a common technique used in music magazines. For the title of the magazine I used the idea of using one bold letter surrounded by a pink box which is eye catching and memorable. This idea originated from the Q magazine. I also added a barcode, issue number, date and price to make it look authentic and most existing magazines use this convention. The name of the band is positioned in the centre of the page across the photograph of the girls. This shows the texts and photo are related which is also commonly used on magazine covers. The banners across the top and bottom of the page and different coloured shapes show information unrelated to the main feature of the magazine which is the band. This also helps separate the information that does not apply for the main photo.
On the contents page the main feature ‘flashback’ has been wrote in the font that was used on the front cover. This unique font makes the main feature feel exclusive and is often used in existing music magazines. The circle surrounding the page number of this article adds a feeling of importance and makes it stand out from the rest and highlights to the reader where you can read about it. The title is kept constant to maintain the mise en scene and feel of the magazine which is a common technique. The pictures relate to the main article as they are of the band which give insights into what is to come in the magazine. There is also a photo of what the poster is which also relates to the front cover as it says the there is a ‘free poster’ inside.
The double page spread uses quotes from the group ‘Flashback’ and they are placed over the top of photographs of them, this shows the quotes are coming directly from the band. The colours i have used in the front cover, contents and double page spread are kept constant to maintain the mise en scene. The layout of the double page spread includes and interview, photographs and quotes. These are main features that are used on existing double page spreads. These are common techniques that are used on double page spreads.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
I think that my media product is suited for young to mid teens who are interested in pop music. My magazine represents this as the colours that i have used show a childish and fun look which suits the target audience. I also feel that the fonts use are informal and wacky which follows the style that i have chosen to do. The photographs that i have taken show fashionable and young girls which also fit to the genre of the magazine and the social group that it is aimed for. I have dressed the girls in cloths which aren’t to revealing as this could be said as inappropriate for the social group i have chosen to base my magazine around.
I would say that my magazine is more based for girls as the colours that i have used through-out are quite girly and the main article of the magazine is about a new girl band in town which is most likely going to interest girls. The content on the front cover may be seen for both genders as the bands that are featured within the magazine is most likely to interest boys and girls.
As the music genre of my magazine is pop music i have tried to relate the photographs and content to this. I have mentioned pop artists on my front cover and contents page and the photos throughout are in the style of how pop artists are in the clothes i have dressed them and the ways they are postitioned.
I based my magazine on the magazines ’Q’ and ‘smash hits.’ I liked the layout of the ‘Q’ magazines in the way in which the photographs and text are postitioned. As my social group is for children/teenagers i researched into a magazine which is suited for that particular target audience. I noticed ‘smash hits’ magazines did this in the bands, colours and language used. Mine relates well to this as i have used a simular colour scheme and my language is simple but detailed in some areas.
Below are the two magazine covers in which i based the style of mine on to make sure that i related well to my social group:
My magazine relates to the one above as it uses simular shapes and colours and fits the music genre that this one does.The photograph used fills most of the page which my one does and the text is surrounding this.
My magazine follows the lay out and structure of this magazine in the way in which i have done my title of the magazine and the photograph and banners along the top and bottom.
Looking back at your preliminary task (the school magazine) what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I have learnt alot in the progression from my school magazine to what has resulted in my full product. I now know how to set a target audience for a magazine product and how to adress this. In my school magazine i chose a young target audience for the informal magazine and an adult target audience for the formal magazine. I have made this quite obvious by the colours in which i used but i went from one extreme to the other. In my music magazine i also chose a young target audience but i made this obvious by the mise en scene and colour scheme that i used.
The correct mise en scene needs to be created for a certain target audience so in my case bright colours and a variety of fonts and photographs to interest girls age 10-16. I managed to ful fill this in my initial school designs but it looked quite tacky and unproffessional. In my music magazine i had an idea of what was needed from doing research so i had a feel of how i had to create my magazine.
I have learnt that the lay out and colour schemes are important when designing a magazine. As when looking back on my school magazine it did not flow well together and looked as if bits of information were piled on top of each other with no proper coordination. I think i improved this considerably when doing my music magazine as i made sure that the photographs had neat edges to them and blended well into the background. My research and planning also helped me to improve these skills.
From the research which i carried out in my front cover, contents page and double page spread it helped to expand my own knowledge of how music magazines should be presented especially in the pop genre.
Below are the two front covers that i did for my school magazine:
As you can see the colours used do not coordinate well together and only a basic variety of fonts were used. I used a variety of colours which fits the target audience well but they blend into the background to much making it un clear and look unproffessional.
I think the quality of my work improved more on this one as i think that it suits the target audience well. However the fonts and text are very basic and it is also very dull making the magazine look quite boring but informative.
How did you attract / address your audience?
Who would be the audience for your media product?
I feel my media product is best suited for children / young teenagers age 10-16. This is because of the mise – en – scene and language of my magazine. My magazine shows this is the colours used are bright and colourful and i have used a variety of funky fonts. This helps to create a childish look to the magazine as these features are most likely to attract someone young.
The images in which i have used also give a feeling of youngness as the girls are dressed and positioned in ways which are appropriate for the target audience. I also mentioned about a free poster which you aren’t likely to see in a magazine which is for adults and on the contents page i have shown a preview and said who it is of which will make the customer more likely to be interested and buy it.
The genre of the magazine also fits in with the audience i have gone for as at this age most of them will be interested in pop music so they will be intrigued by the artists and bands names that are featured on the front cover.
The way in which i have structured my magazine also helps towards my audience as i have broken down text and added columns and banners to divide up the pages. I have also made the article into an interview so that it fits the audience better as the language isn’t to complex or detailed. I have used bold headings, titles and quotes which are likely to attract the reader more and make it easier for them to identify the contents of the magazine.
I feel my magazine is more likely to attract girls. This is because of the colours used and the images that i have added. As i have used quite feminine and bright colours and the genre is based on pop, people may view this magazine as being for girls. I intended it to be for both genders but from the feedback in which i have recieved it has become clear to me that it is most likely suited for girls.
I ensured my magazine fitted my target audience by using different features and methods that would apply to this audience type. By this i mean the images that i used and the colour scheme and mise-en – scene which i followed through-out. I also added different shapes, columns and banners to the page to seperate and break it down but at the same time make it fit the target audience.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think that my music magazine would be distributed by news stands in shops. I think this because with my target audience being a young age, they are more likely to spot the magazine and be interested when in shops rather than methods such as the internet etc… By distributing my magazine this way it will help to widen my audience as you are garenteed that people will go into shops and look at the news stands and with my magazine being bright and colourful this will help to attract people. As this is a mainstream method it will ensure that the sales are high and make my music magazine popular and be able to access it easily as it will be advertised to them without them going out of their way to find this.
