Amelia Wood

My Evaluation

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

For my music magazine I decided to stick with the conventions of a music magazine. Like NME magazine and all other music magazines I have used a main image on the cover of my magazine. The image is a mid shot of a band relating to my magazine.

I have decided to contrast some forms of conventions. For example, unlike this edition of NME, I have put all my ciover lines and titles in a ‘C’ shape. This is sometimes used in music magazines because readers eyes are automatically drawn to this part of the magazine which is why I thought it was a good idea to put them in this shape.

I have also developed some for example I though it was important to have a mast head that stood out from all other music magazines. Even though NME magazine has a simple mast head it is very effective so I tried to do this too but it didn’t work as well. I think that this more detailed mast head works better.

In my opinion, i think that readers like clear simple and easy to read contents pages. I have challenged some forms of conventions by having a much simpler and easier to read contents page especially compares to this example of NME.

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

I have also stuck with some similar conventions. As you can see, my music magazine and this edition of NME the layout looks similar. This is because i thought that the idea and structure of the magazine was good however wanted to develop it so i made it much simpler. I think that the band index/band guide is an important feature on a magazine as it enables people to find their favourite bands easily which is why i added it to my magazine.

I also thought it was important to keep the same theme going through the whole of my magazine. As you can see the theme of purple and grey are the main colours and would be used throughout my magazine.

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

There are many similarities with my this professional magazine and my own. For example they both have a large title at the top of the page.The double page spread is also mainly just made up of the interview..Big images have also been used that cover most of one page

Both double page spreads are easy to read and are quite simple. This was the look i was going for and i think it works well

All the images on these double pages have been edited.

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

My magazine represents particular social groups in many different ways. The social groups I wanted to represent are indie young people. I have tried to representt hem buy the fashion that i have used in my magazine. I think that it was important to use fashion in my magazine, that is what the social groups that i wanted to represent like, because they will see it is familiar to them so they are more likely to buy the magazine. The style of clothing and fashion in a music magazine is very recognisable to people who listen to that kind of music. This will also be to their point of interest so are more likely to want to buy it.

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

I think that IPC would distribute my magazine because it has a lot of experience with a wide range of magazines. NME is a magazine that I think is similar to Indi-go as they both have indie aspects to them. NME magazine is published by IPC which is why I think IPC would distribute Indi-go. IPC has also had experience with magazines such as ‘Womans Weekly’ and ‘Womans Own’ which as the names suggest are aimed at women which is useful as even though my magazine isn’t specifically targeted at women or girls it has a lighter and feminine feel to it than other indie magazines such as NME which makes it more unique. Because my magazine is more unique, this would encourage and maybe persuade IPC to want to publish my magazine. Bauer is also a media institution that I think would be interested in publishing my magazine. This is because, like IPC, it has had a lot of experience with different magazines and genres of music magazines.

4. Who would the audience be for your media product?

I think that the audience for my magazine has changed from before i started making my magazine. The audience used to be young people of any gender however throughout making my magazine i have thought it was a better idea to create my magazine aiming it towards females. There are two main reasons why i did this. Firstly i thought it would be easier as i am a girl so i would know what girls like me would want but mainly because i haven't found an indie magazine that is targeted more at girls than boys. I think that the name Indi-go is more of a feminine name. It is also targeted for young people which has been done well because i am a young person and this is what i would want from a music magazine.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

As i have explained, i thought it was very important to use models that are young people if i wanted them to be the audience. Another way i have tried to attract my audience is with the content in my magazine. The cover lines that are used for example ‘’ROMA rumours revealed’’ are attractive to young people because of the informal and colloquial style it has been written. The bands that i have included in my magazine will also attract my audience because they are the bands that my audience are interested in so will be more likely to buy the magazine if they can see that there is parts of the magazine with them included

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product?

I first started off by taking original images and I decided to cut my models out so that I could use my own background. I did this by using the extract tool. I decided to touch up my images using the polygon lasso tool which made my images look better around the edges.

I then added a header to my front cover by clicking on the rectangle shape and drawing a box. I then added text by using the text tool.

I then found a barcode online and added to my cover. This make the magazine look more professional. I then added coverlines by using the text tool again. I added different styles to it such a stroke to make it look better

I then put the finishing coverlines on to the cover and made everything look right and in proportion.

I thought that it was a good idea to have a masthead that stood out. I really like this font for my masthead as i think it stands out and fits in the genre and style i wanted for my magazine.

I added lots of effects to my masthead as you can see above. Drop shadow, inner shadow etc have all been used to make my masthead stand out.

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

When I look back at my preliminary task, there are many things I think I have learnt. Doing the preliminary task enabled me to learn all about the different tools that photoshop and indesign have to offer to create a professional looking magazine. Because i did the preliminary task and learnt all about these two programs I was then able to create my final music magazine easier and quicker. If I hadnt done the preliminary task then it would take much longer to create the final product because I would be trying to figure out the two programs.

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

That it is important to keep the same style throughout the magazine to keep it looking professional.

How music magazines are structured and especially double page spreads as I didn't know much about them

In the progression i have also learnt:

How to use the polygon lasso tool which was very useful when cutting out my images to place them on different backgrounds.

That the rule of thirds is important when trying to attract my target audience.

How to address different target audience and understanding that different social groups prefer and want different styles and features from a music magazine.

All about the music magazine industry such as publishing for example all about IPC and how important they are to magazine companies.