Evaluation

Amy Fisher
Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop
or challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
Magazine Cover
My cover image shows conventions of magazine
production by using direct address with the
camera to get the audiences attention. Within
Photo Shop I rotated the image a bit to the right
to make him seem like he is leaning, which helps
fill the page. I also added some lighting and
contrast on the image to make him stand out
more on the page as everything else is darker. He
is blowing out smoke on the picture. The reason I
took this was because from my questionnaire a
lot of people said they related smoking with the
indie rock genre.
My masthead is RAW, I chose this because it is simple and easy to
understand. The content within my magazine is simple and fresh/new to
keep the magazine constantly interested. I got the name from my
questionnaire when someone commented that the fashion of indie rock is
a raw edgy look and the word RAW just stood out. When creating my
mast head I originally had an outer blue glow but when I added the image
it didnt look right. So after trying other options I chose an outer border on
my masthead to make each letter stand out.
The colour scheme for this magazine are dark and simple. The main
reason for choosing these colours were from my target audience and what
their favourite colours are which were mainly Black, Blue and white. This
helped me to pick a simple colour scheme without making the page seem
to busy which would put my audience off buying it.
There is a strip at the bottom of my magazine cover which includes a few
more artists names to show that they are also included. This shows that
my magazine is a good value for money as theres more contents in the
magazine. I have made it fit in with the colour scheme by having a blue
strip, white writing and black rectangle shapes to split it up.
My cover lines are written in a simple font in the colour white, this is to
help break up the dark colours and to make it clear what my magazine is
about. The cover lines are positioned around the cover image to not take
as much attention away from his face.

Contents Page

My contents page is dominated by images, this

helps to give the audience a taste of what is in
my magazine. All of the images include direct
address which gets the audiences attention, eye
catching backgrounds/ settings to keep the
magazine interesting, the fashion sense used in
my magazine is diverse to keep every image
different and to show its for a wide variety of
people. On all of the images I edited them in
Photo Shop and increased the lighting and
changed the contrast to make them stand out
and look clearer.
My contents page is set out into 3 columns, this
is to keep it looking structured and organised by
dividing up contents. I have done this to make
use of the space better and to make it look more
appealing to the audience so they can clearly see all of the contents
within my magazine. I have put headings on the top of two columns to
clearly mark what my magazine includes. The first column has the
heading Features which has all of the interviews, tour details, general
chats and many more which is only in this issue. The second column has
the heading Regulars which are competitions, reviews, gig info and more
which are refreshed and updated every issue.
The colour scheme on the front cover has followed through onto the
contents page, keeping is simple and consistent. The main three colours
are black, blue and white which is what my questionnaire answers
requested. However, I have also used a bright red box in the middle of the
page to draw attention to my magazine website adding information about
the monthly subscription.
The language I have used in my magazine is informal and humorous,
however on my contents page its short and simple language to easily tell
the readers what is inside. Each article has a brief sentence about it to
help describe what it is about and whether the audience would want to
read it.

DPS
As my images were large and there was a lot of text I have used two
pages, one with an image, headline, standfirst and byline. And the second
having another image and text. By doing this I was able to have one
image with direct address and the other with him looking away. This
helped to split up the dps by having a serious and formal page and also
having an informal page which helped to show more of his personality.
The layout is simple as I was able to spread it across two dps, this meant
that on my first page I had writing in the top right corner to draw more
attention to the image as he is giving direct address. However, on the
second page there are two columns with an image that goes over half of
the page. Also, within the two columns of text theres a text box with a
quote inside to help use more space of the page and to make the article
more interesting by adding a snippet of it.
The headline A lot of black and white stuff came from him saying how
much he loves black and white images and that the majority of clothes he
wears are plain colours (as you can see in the images). I thought of this as
it is short and simple without making the page looking too cluttered.
The colour used on my DPS is grey, black and white. I did this to match
the colour of the clothes that hes wearing in the image so that the page
isnt overpowered by all different colours and attention is taken away from
the article. Although its different from the magazine cover and contents
page I think it blends well with them as white and black are used in all 3.
The language used in my article is informal and just comes across as a
general chat. It includes some humour, informal and formal language,
quotes and opinions. This helps the article to run smoothly and being an
easy read, making it more enjoyable.

Q2. How does your media product represent particular

social groups?

I think that my magazine does represent the typical indie rock social
group. This is because from the colours I have used for writing and page
layout, the clothing of my models, the models attitude, the way I have
worded the cover lines, the bands I have used and how Ive kept the
models within a certain age to show it is for a younger audience.
The way I have represented age is obvious that it is for the younger
generation, I think this is clear as everyone in my pictures are in their
teens or early 20s. I also think that the indie rock genre is most popular
with younger people as it gives them an opportunity to express
themselves through music and clothing, which is a large aspect of my
pictures.
When it comes to genre I think that my magazine is mixed. Although the
colours of my magazine are dark and boyish by using blue and black this
does not mean it is aimed towards males. On my contents page there are
2 girls which are both making strong eye contact to show their attitude. In
the duo band imaginary the girl is holding strong eye contact with the
camera whilst the boy is looking away with his body facing the way he is
looking. This could show that the female is the stronger character in this
duo.
The social class of my magazine will not matter as it uses humour and
informal language. It will be an easy to read magazine that is none stop
talking about bands and concerts so whoever reads this doesnt matter as
long as they love indie rock music

Q3. What kind of media institution might distribute your

media product and why?
The company that I would like to buy my magazine would be Time Inc. UK.
I would like this company to own my magazine as it owns a similar
magazine within the same genre as mine which is Uncut. Although my
magazine is in the same genre as these this magazine they are different
and each bring different qualities to the company. As well as this, Time
Inc. used to publish NME as a weekly magazine which is largely associated
with rock, alternative and indie music. It offered singles charts, News
within music, upcoming artists/bands, interviews and many more.
However, NME is no longer a music magazine and has been changed into
a lifestyle magazine that is now given away for free. This means that my
magazine can now fill in the gap that NME left and replace it for a better,
fresher magazine to help keep Time Inc. selling popular indie rock
magazines. Although Uncut is an alternative/ rock magazine and is already
published by Time Inc. that doesnt mean that mine cant be published by
the same company. Firstly, Uncut has the colour scheme of red and white,
my colour scheme is blue, black and white which would make my

magazine look completely different and stand out on the magazine racks.
Also, as my magazine is created by younger people it is able to find out
what the target audience really want to know making my magazine have
a strong chance of being very popular to the younger generation of music.
I believe that IPC Group Limited who publish over 100 different magazine
brands and is the UKs leading consumer Magazine Producer would be the
ideal media institution to distribute my magazine. This is because they
have a great background and knowledge of music magazines, especially
in my genre which is indie rock. From them being such a wide spread
publishing company means theres a large scope in the market for me to
introduce my magazine as its similar to their other magazines but not
identical to what they already produce. Therefore, I think they will have
the experience and all the information to help me develop my magazine
to meet my target audience to get the most magazines sold.
My magazine will be distributed through newsagents, book shops, music
shops, supermarkets and online subscription sites.

Q4. Who would be the audience for you

media product?
The target audience for my magazine are older
teenagers/ young adults,
ages between 16- 28,
which are passionate about
the indie rock music genre.
This is because a large part

of my magazine is about
tour dates and festivals
and these are the main
ages that attend these.

Both male and female will enjoy my magazine as it has a wide mixture of
bands and artists that all genders will love. The social class for my
magazine will be general as the writing will be informal with some humour
and broad spread language. (The collage below shows a typical female
audience member that includes fashion, hair styles, certain bands and
some leisure interests)
Ivanna is 19 years old and lives in a studio apartment in Manchester with
her 2 friends from Uni. In Uni she is studying set design and photography,
Ivanna is against any kind of animal testing and is a vegetarian.
Photography is her main hobby but she lives to hear music. She has long
brown hair that is usually in messy waves, she always wears patterned
clothes in neutral colours with vans or Dr Martens. She has a passion for
art and would love to be covered in tattoos all from different memories
she has had related to music. Ivanna loves any type of music but the Indie
rock genre is her favourite as she loves the sound of drums and guitars.
As she lives in Manchester she is often at gigs, concerts, clubs and other
music based places as theyre easy to get to from home. Her favourite
artists are Arctic Monkeys, The kooks, Bastille, Red Hot Chilli Peppers,
Klaxons and Peace. She works in Afflecks palace in the Vinyl section
where she is able to listen to older music and hear how music has
changed over the years. Her friends also love music but prefer chart
music so usually stay at home when Ivanna goes to gigs. Ivanna listens to
music through her phone, laptop or radio, she also listens to Vinyls that
she gets given from work for half price. She is an animal lover and would
love to have a dog if Uni was less stressful, but at her family home in
Wigan her mum and dad have two dogs that she regularly sees. Ivanna
spends nearly all her money on music: A gig every other week, going out
clubbing, buying cheap vinyls and her monthly Spotify subscription where
she usually searches discovery which offers up and coming indie/ rock
artists to be heard. Ivanna would like to travel the world following Red Hot
Chilli Peppers tour to give her the opportunity to see one of her favourite
bands in different countries with different atmospheres.

Q5. How did you attract/address your audience?

My cover page can attract the audience with its bold writing, direct
address, colour scheme, font, cover lines, masthead. This is basically
everything on my cover page as it is all unique and different from other
magazine which would attract my target audience as the indie rock genre
is aimed to unique and different people.
My contents page attracts attention through its dark background with
bright white text on top accompanied by images. The layout of the page is
structured and presented clearly to not confuse the readers. My contents
page is varied with its pictures, wording and use of colour.
As my DPS is over four A4 pages this shows that it is a very important
aspect of this magazine issue. The model is using direct address on one
of the pictures and looking to the floor on the other to make him stand out
and keep the dps interesting without having the two images looking the
same. The headline is in large writing to get the attention to the article
followed by the standfirst which gives a taste of the article.
The way my magazine addresses the reader is by using direct address in
the images on the Magazine cover, contents page and dps. Also, the use
of informal language can be seen as a general chat with the reader which
makes them feel more involved with the magazine, it is also written to the
point with no waffle so its always interesting to read. Each image has
attitude, for example the main image is tilted whilst he is blowing smoke
out of his mouth which shows attitude. Or some images on the contents
page such as the image under the regulars section has the boy leaning
against the wall looking away with his hands in his pockets whilst the girl
is stood straight staring into the camera.

Q6. What have you learnt about technologies from the

process of constructing this product?
Through the process of making this magazine it is clear to see that with
the right tools: DTP, Camera, voice recorder, internet, computer, printer,
Photoshop, quark anyone can easily make their own magazine. From
starting media in September and creating my college magazine cover it is
clear to see that I had very little knowledge on how to make anything on
Photoshop. I was unable to edit pictures, change fonts, space writing
around the page and many more.
However, when I started the production of making my music magazine I
took on the roles of a photographer, journalist, layout editor, proof reader,
graphic designer, editor and sub editor. From doing all of these jobs I
learnt how to edit pictures, make my own unique font, write an article, and
use Photoshop and quark properly.

The internet played a huge role in my production, I could use it as a

research tool for looking at previous music magazines to get some market
research. I was able to find out competitors of my magazine, prices,
frequency of publication, issue size, how the magazine can be laid out.
This helped when I need some ideas for the layout of my front cover and
how to use space better.
Using www.blogger.com helped to keep my work organised and made
organising research easy. It also helped me to see how much work I had
done and when by listing it in date form instead of alphabetically. This
made it easy to find work if any needed to be edited.
When it came to using a digital camera I was unsure on how to use it and
how to put it into focus. After taking more and more pictures through the
production of making this magazine I am now able to
take clear pictures in focus. I have also learnt how to
get good lighting in my pictures to make the model
stand out more. When choosing backgrounds I am
able to find more appealing and interesting places to
take the images instead of just standing them in
front of a white wall. After taking images I have also
learnt how to manipulate an image and make it look
10x better using photo shop. I am now able to
change the brightness and contrast of an image to
make it look brighter and clear making the person in
the image more appealing to the eye.
I have also learnt how to rotate an
image (by pressing control + t and
hovering the mouse outside of the
box to get the rotate symbol) and
how to enlarge an image by
pressing control + t whilst holding
shift to change to size of the shape

After I finished editing the image I was able to use photo shop a bit better
which helped with designing the front page by adding the masthead,
writing cover lines, including shapes, changing fonts etc.

The first thing I did when I started to

design the page was to create the
masthead. I kept it within the colour
scheme I got from my questionnaire
answers which is black, blue and
white. The first thing I did was finding
the right size that fit best on the page
without taking too much space and
covering the person in the picture. I used the font Gill Sans Mt Ext
condensed which is a simple font which allowed me to change it easily.
When editing my masthead I stretched the writing and added a stroke on
the outside to make it stand out.
When adding my cover lines I used
century gothic bold to keep it simple
and consistent in a white colour. I laid
these out around the models head
making sure not to cover his face, all of
the text is in a white colour apart from
the masthead to help blend it all
together. The Main cover line stretched
upwards and outwards and an outer glow
has been added to make it different from
the rest of the cover lines. The opacity
dial has been raised to 80 to highlight the word. As well as this the spread,
size and range have all been changed to make the perfect amount of
lighting around the words Tom Frankish without taking up too much
room.
I have also learnt how to add shapes to a page to use up more
space to make it look good value for money.

When starting this production I had never heard of quark

before so had no clue how to use it. When I first tried to create
my college magazine contents page I had no clue how to layout contents,
position pictures, line up cover lines etc.
But when the production of my music magazine started I learnt how to use
quark properly by lining up wording into structured columns, adding a
background and coloured shapes. I was able to get my masthead from my
cover onto my contents page to help keep the magazine consistent.
I am now able to make a contents page look more organised, wellpresented and professional looking.
After making my contents page I started the production of my DPS which
was easier to make as I had a good understanding of how to use quark.

However, it was difficult to figure out where to position certain things

which is why I have two Double page spreads which helps me get all of my
article, headline and pictures all in.

Q7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you

feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full
product?
From starting media in September and creating my college magazine
cover it is clear to see that I had very little knowledge on how to make
anything on Photoshop or quark. I was unable to edit pictures, change
fonts, space writing around the page and many more.
As the year has gone on I have found that research has been very helpful
by being able to look at professional magazine covers and how I can little
bits from certain magazines to make my cover look better. As I was able to
plan out my work for my music mag I was able to tweak little things that
didnt look right during the production of making my magazine. Taking
pictures for my magazine initially worried me as I thought that I wouldnt
be able to find different backgrounds that actually looked interesting,
however I found some good locations to take my pictures which makes my
magazine look more professional and planned. As English is one of my
least favourite subjects I was dreading having to write an article and
interview someone. However, as I started asking questions it felt more like
a general convocation so when it came to writing the article I didnt mind
as I already knew the majority of it from remembering it. After learning
how to manipulate images on photo shop it helped to make my magazine
look properly planned and good to look at, this is the same as the design
stuff as I was able to make simple words look skilfully planned.

When it comes to comparing my college magazine to my music magazine

its clear to see that I have learnt a lot and knew how to properly edit
pictures and design wording.

College magazine

Music
Magazine

I think the weaknesses of my final work is how I have kept it so dark,

although that is what the target audience questionnaire requested, I think
I could of added more colour to make more of it pop out. Also, I think that
more cover lines could have been added on my cover page to cover a bit
more blank space.
The strengths of my work I think is how the images all look different and
stand out in their own way, theyre all very clear and look good on the
page.
I also think that how I have learnt how to edit words such as the masthead
and main cover line to make them look unique and special compared to
the other cover lines is very handy to know when creating projects such as
this as it breaks the page up and highlights the main bits in the magazine.