Evaluation

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In all three of my double page spread, contents page and front cover I have complied and challenged different forms and conventions of exsisting magazines.

Front Cover

For my front cover I used a medium close up image of my model looking directly into the camera, therefore connecting direct eye contact with the buyer. This fits the convention of many magazines for example in these magazines of Rolling Stones and Q, Amy Winehouse and Cheryl Cole are both glaring out of the magazine giving the impression that they are connecting with the buyer on a personal level which catches the readers attention therefore proves a good selling point and is a main reason as to why magazines choose to use this convention.

Also much like the title of the magazine Q, with the capital white lettering standing out against the red square background, I chose to use this convention in my magazine cover as I think having the title positioned in the top left hand corner makes the title more pronounced and easier to see making it more defined against the rest of the cover image making the title more noticeable to the buyer so as they can identify with the name of the magazine. I also chose to overlap part of my model over the block square title as this also is a convention of a magazine like the example of the Amy Winehouse (Rolling Stone Cover) her hair is covering most of the lettering, this is because the magazine Rolling Stone is an established magazine that typical music magazine readers will recognise so as they can afford to cover part of the title as they already have created a brand for themselves that is well known. Also by having the image overlap parts of the title it can give the illusion that the image is jumping out at the reader and giving a 3d feel to the image which would attract the buyers eye. Another conventional trait I have used on my magazine is a strapline at the bottom of the page, this is used as a selling point by most magazines as it gives the buyer an insight into what is in the rest of the magazine just by looking at the front cover. The positioning of the strapline also is a convention that I have used on my magazine as they are usually found on bottom or the top edge of the magazine for example like the cover of the Q magazine. As well as this, I followed the convention of magazines as I aimed to create a brand for my magazine by having a continuos theme that occurs on every issue of my magazine, for example the Q title in the red box is well known and associated with this magazine and the type of font that Rolling stones has is associated with their magazine, I chose to use a music note symbol and merge it into the lettering of my font which will continue throughout the main titles in my magazine in every issue so as it helps to create a brand and image for my magazine that is well recognized.

This is the logo that I created for my magazine to create a brand image. I have also included another conventional trait of a pug, this is a conventional trait of a magazine as it is stands out on the page and allows the reader a quick insight into the magazine which is a good selling point as it draws the buyer in. As well as this I have included other conventional traits such as barcode and date and issue number so as to make my magazine look more professional and sticks to the conventions of magazines. Clearly I chose to stick to many conventions of magazines, however I challenged them when it came to the cover lines of the magazine. In most magazine the features of the magazine are in the top half of the magazine so as on the shelf the features catch the readers attention and intises them into buying the magazine. I decided to challenge this as as you can see from the props(vinyl record, record player) from the the image I took, I thought that writing my features on these props would stand out more, as it looks appealing and different so as the unusualness would draw the reader in and I think that if I stuck to the convetions and wrote on the props, my Front Cover would look over crowded and unorganised therefore reverting the buyers attention to another magazine on the shelf.

Contents Page

I also used the conventions of magazines in my contents page, one of the ways in which I applied the conventions to my contents page was by having an orderly layout to the page and a clean fresh background so as all the text and images were clearly visible. As you can see the similarities of the Q contents page and my contents page as there are thin lines to break up the page, a white background and block bar of colour with text inside to highlight the main feature headings of the contents page. This is so the reader when looking at the page has a sense of order and it is clear to see what they are looking at, as oppose to being jumbled up and messy on the page which would not fit the conventions of magazine contents pages. I have also kept to the conventions of magazines by having secondary images on the page this is effective as it brightens up the page and therefore doesnt cause the reader to switch off and close the magazine on the first page, instead it excites them to read on to the articles. As well as this I have used a main image that takes up at least a third of the contents page similar to this Q contents page, I related this image back to the cover so as it gives the magazine a flow from page to page. Another conventional trait I used on my contents page was an editors note, this is so as the readers can read this and no what they should expect to find in the magazine which encourages them to read on. I haven't really tried to challenge the conventions of magazines for my contents page, however most magazines have their title across the top of the page such as this Q magazine, I decided to challenge this as I feel that I didn't need to add this as I have used the title of the magazine in the text "M this week" and by also displaying the website at the bottom of the page, I didn't feel I needed to remind the reader anymore what magazine they were reading. It is also a common occurance that Q has that banner across the top of their contents pages and I challenged this convetion by interpretaing it into my own style so as "M this Week..." is going to appear in every issue so as the readers recognise it and can associate it with my magazine.

Double Page Spread

For my double page spread I also followed the conventions of magazines, one of the ways in which I did this was having the image going across the centre line of the page, similar to this article of Shakria in Q magazine. Having a large image dominating the page is very conventinal as it immediately grabs the readers attention, it is also a common trait in magazines to have other secondary images to break up the page and make it look more appealing. This is clear to see in my magazine and I chose to highlight them by using a polaroid frame much like the Q magazine has overlapped their secondary image and used a small white line border so as to make it stand out. Another convention that double page spreads have in magazines and one which I have applied myself, is that the text is almost always in equal collumns as it looks neater on the page and more appealing to read rather than one big chunk of text, there is usually always an introduction before the interview starts so as the reader can get some background information before going straight into the interview so therefore makes it more easy to follow and read.I made sure to follow the important convention that none of the text went over the centre line as the writing would disappear and be very hard to read. As well as this I continued to follow conventions as on most magazines there is sometimes a pull quote from the text, which is effective as it can grab the readers attention in just one sentence which makes them continue to read on. My double page spread also follows conventions by having page numbers in corners of each page which without doubt almost every magazine has as well as the title of the article being a bigger much bolder font that the other text on the page so as it stands out more. I haven't tried to challenge any conventions of double page spreads in magazines as I didnt think that in doing so it would benefit my page in any way.

2. How does your media product represent different social groups?

In media products the representation of different social groups such as age, gender, social class, ethnicity, sexuality can portrayed as positive and negative. My media products in particular are not biased in any way towards a particular social group the aim of my products were to connote an old hollywood vintage glamour style to them. My model is styled as though she is from the era of music from Old Hollywood, I created this look by having her hair in tight curls and red lipstick which would attract men and also strike women as the model is pretty, she could be seen as aspirational as they want to look and dress like her. This could also cause conflict as if the magazine was aimed at an older generation then they would not wish to see a young pretty, airbrushed model on the cover of the magazine and would have a negative effect on this type of audience as they may want to see an older more unpolsihed model, however the type of age range I am targeting would more than likely not take offence and be fasinated by the way in which I have chose to dress and style the model. The type of people that this magazine would strike would have a quirky, retro edge to them and would apperciate the vintage style of clothing that my model is wearing as they would associate themselves with wearing vintage clothes. As my model is young it is clear to see that this is the type of audience the magazine will attract, even though the overall appeal of the cover has an old fashioned look to it , it is done purposely so as to fit a theme of the main article in the magazine which is that an up to date artist is taking inspiration from blues and jazz music and updating it to give the music a modern twist. The only images I have used throughout my magazine are of women, this is not aimed to be discriminating the gender of men but is only due to the fact that most of my stories feature women artists and so I couldn't use images of men. As well as this all of the people photographed in my magazine are white, this is only because the other retro, vintage type magazines that I have analysed have not featured many people of other ethnicity, for example the race of black people are commonly associated with Rap and Hip Hop magazines and the retro magazines are more commonly known for using white models, I am in now way however biased towards white people and would feature other ethnic groups in my magazine if the genre was correct.

3.What kind of media insitution might distribute your media product and why?

The type of media insitution that may consider to distrubute my media product would be a publisher such as Bauer. Bauer are the publishers of Q magazine which is a traditional music magazine that is directly aimed to an audience of readers that are serious about a select style of music. My magazine therefore is similar to this as it is directly aimed to the readers who like the specific genre of retro style music. Bauer would also be a good insitution to distribute my product too as much like Q my audience of readers range from older teenagers to the young adults and so the insitution would recognise how to appeal to that specific target market group. My magazine "M is for music" would also help the profits of Bauer as it would not challenge their other magazines that they are already publishing such as "Q" this is because my magazine has a complete different target audience to Q and so therefore the company Bauer could expand and reach out to a completely new audience of reader if they chose to publish my magazine.

4.Who would be the audience for your media product?
The type of audience I am aiming my music magazine at is for young females around the late teens early twentys who have a retro pop style of music similar to my audience profile client, Scarlett. They should take a keen interest in artists such as Christina Aguilera, especially in particular her back to basics album which had a blues and jazz element to it. http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JgeuPZaERA This video helps to sum up the type of music that my audience would be interested in and would apperciate. The type of person who would buy my magazine would have a quirky unusual fashion sense, they would shop in vintage shops and would be creative and like hobbies such as art. They wouldn't be a typical girly girl and so this is why I have chosen bold colours such as reds, orange, blacks for the colour scheme of front cover and double page spread. I have also used a small colouring of pink on the contents page to emphasize the fact that it is a magazine aimed a girls that are not tomboys, for example so do still like the girly touch to the magazine. As my magazine is aimed at the student clients I have only charged £2.99 so as it is affordable for the type of audience I am aiming my product at.

5.How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract the audience I am aiming my magazine at, I used a number of different techniques to get their attention. I have used older teenagers and young adults in all of the images in my 3 pieces so as the audience can relate to them more easily and so therefore will attract them as they will take a keen interest in the models as they can relate to them on a personal level. I used a model that was pretty and had a warm and attractive smile so as to draw the readers in, If this was a real magazine that was going to be published my model would have a celebrity status that the readers could aspire to be like, which would encourage people to buy into my magazine as they are interested in the celebrity . Also I have used the words on the cover effectively to draw the readers in by using eye catching font and text such as words like "world exclusive" so as spark an interest in the readers mind. I used a colour scheme that fitted in with the colours of the image so as the colour scheme matched the other colours that were already in the image so as it looked more professional and neater rather than a confused blur of colours that would not appeal to the buyer.

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

Throughout the production of making my Front page, Double page spread and Contents page I have learnt alot about the different technologies that are involed in the process to produce a successful outcome.

The first skill I had to aqquire was the use of the mac computers as they were of a different format to other computers I had used previous to creating my products. I also had to learn how to use the adobe photoshop package on the mac to create successful products,my first experience of using photoshop was creating my preliminary task so I had a short time to adapt to it before starting my actual pieces. When using this programme I encountered many problems that I had to overcome such as using the magnetic lasso tool to cut around images and then copy and paste the layer over the top of another layer, I found that using the lasso tool was very difficult as it required a steady hand so as to get it perfect, so to overcome this I repeated the process until I was satisfied. I also found frustrating that after layering multiple layers over each other, if I wanted to back and change a piece of text for example, often the layer was locked so I therefore had to unlock it so as to modify it. Another negative I found to photoshop was that if I was working from my memory stick then sometimes the whole programme would crash unsaved causing me to have to start again, I was lucky enough that this only happened to me once or twice as I learnt from the first mistake and dragged the document from the memory stick to the computer to work off the desktop. On the other hand I found photoshop a very helpful programme, for example the different effects that I could apply to the images and text such as drop shadows, B levels, simple inner glows and others allowed my text and images to stand out more and look more defined and professional on the page. Another useful tool that I used frequently throughout the process was the eyedropper tool so as I could pick up colours from somewhere else in the image and use it as a background for something else so as all the colours matched to enable the colour scheme to match the colours in the image.Also amoung other interesting tools I found that being able to duplicate the layers was especially helpful when creating my double page spread so as all the collumns were of an equal size therefore giving an over more professional look.

Before I could start to edit and work with my pictures on photoshop on the macs, I had to firstly plan how I was going to take the pictures and then using a canon EOS 450D camera to caputre each image. When planing each photograph I had to consider the effects the lighting would have on the image so made sure that the room was properly lit, I also had to consider the use of props and where they were going to be placed so as to connote the type of genre of music that I was portraying. When taking my pictures I done these in a living room so as I had control over the lighting as oppose to relying on the weather and time of day if I was to take the pictures outside. I was very pleased with my pictures as on almost all of them the lighting is good and the image looks well lit and clear, there were a few however that my models head was scalped, this was my fault as the photographer when taking the images but I had so many successful images that I could disreegard them and so wasn't too much of an issue. Another key element that I have learnt to deal with throughout this process is how to use a blog and upload my work via a new new post. I have found that blogging is very easy and effective to use and saves time on creating a folder as it can be worked on at any computer. When creating my blog I also used an uploading programme called scribd which allowed me to first create my document on work and then via this programme transfer it onto my blog which was very easy and effective.

7.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 task, it is clear to see that my skills have developed a considerable amount as my actual finished outcomes have a more clean cut professional look to them in comparison to the preliminary task which is very basic and unprofessional. I have learnt alot about how to create a succesful piece from my preliminary task to my final one, for example I didn't really carry out any useful research in my preliminary task such as I didn't do a questionnaire or audience profiling to analyse the type of audience I was aiming the magazine at. The images I took were very quick and no thought went into the costume or the type of postion the models would be in and the colour scheme was un matching to contents page and had no flow to it. The cover image on my preliminary task is especially poor and was taken on a low pixel camera therefore cauing the image to be of a low quality and fade into the dull white background, if I compared it to my final front cover image the difference is incredible as my final image stands out more and is more clean cut and striking. Comparing both my front page and preliminary front page there is a clear difference, the writing on preliminary front page goes across the model and so looks unclear and unprofessional where as the writing on my actual front page has more of a structure and doesn't look out of place and isn't cover up any of the image. As well as this the preliminary front page doesn't have most of the conventional traits of magazines that my final front page has such as, a pug, strapline, barcode. Looking at my preliminary contents page, there is a clear improvement in the quality and shows how I have developed my skills, for example the preliminary contents has no structure or layout plan unlike my actual front cover, this gives a sense of order to the page making it look more appealing and professional. As well as this there is no editors note on the preliminary contents page and the images used are of a low quality and unclear of which feature goes with which image, there are also very few features so the page is lacking in content and looks bare and ammature compared to my actual front cover design.