Evaluation

By Evie Theodore

Front Cover

Table Of Contents

Double Page Spread

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

Masthead

The Masthead is a key convention to a magazine as it helps give a product a ‘house style’ and allows both new and old readers to identify and distinguish the magazine from others that are being sold.The name I chose for the Masthead, ‘Metallix’ was able to give the design a particular ambiguous meaning to individuals within my target audience. For example it may connotates the sound of heavy metal music, an electric guitar the famous band Metallica or simply metal itself. My awareness of a universal meaning or interpretation helped me create my Masthead.

The font used for my Masthead was ‘Masterplan’ as it appears eroded/ faded like scratched metal. I then manipulated the text by adding a black outline which highlights the damaged appearance. I also used a silver colour to fill the text which further connotates the image of metal. My Masthead conforms to some of the codes and conventions previously used by other magazines. For example the use of the bold letters, slashes and white colour of the Kerrang magazine as seen below.

My Masthead conforms to the conventions used by real media products as it reflects key ideas and themes. Kerrang also has a distortion in their Masthead. I was able to reflect my own idea by differentiating the colour of my Masthead from brands such as Kerrang and Q by making the colour silver.

I understand that professional music genre magazines have particular codes and conventions used to reach their target audience. Once I had made my decision to create a rock music genre magazine, I tried to replicate these conventions, while still allowing my own ideas to be presented, by researching some poplar rock genre magazines. An example of this can be my analysis of the front cover of the rock music magazine Kerrang through this link on slide two.

House StyleThe House Style is a convention which a magazine has to retain consistency and identity. An example of this are the images below of Rock Sound magazine. From looking at their Masthead I can see it is repeated through every issue. The magazine also has a logo and recognizable Masthead which would help an audience identify the magazine. Also things such as one main text have been used and the primary colour scheme of red, yellow and blue. This consistency helps give the magazine an individual identity and allows a reader / audience to easily identify the magazine.

I believe that I have included the House Style like Rock Sound magazine. I have done this by using the same original Masthead I created on the Front Cover and Contents Page, making the reader/audience aware of my Magazine’s identity.

Colour SchemeI have also used a single colour scheme of red, yellow, white and black so the repetition of colours is then associated with my product and it also doesn't overwhelm the reader. This is a typical convention that magazine use as I have talked about in the first paragraph from looking at the magazine Rock Sound

Text and FontMy use of text has been mainly been consistent in font and colour. However some of my texts, as seen below, are unconventional as they have been edited to appear different and stand out.

MastheadMy unique Masthead can be a key factor in identifying my media product. I have used it three times, the largest version on my front cover, then placed next to the title ‘Contents’ on my TOC and finally on a miniature magazine I created in the subscription section of the TOC. This can be seen as typical in real media products as it is reinforcing the brand identity in the readers mind.

From the Front CoverFrom the Table Of Contents

From the Double Page Spread

Text and Font

The name ‘Ezra’, in Item B), has been given a bright red stroke and a black inner and outer glow to make it stand out more. It also matched the background and style of the magazine of the graffiti theme

Item C) also has two different texts side by side to contrast, that the Masthead is more important than the title.

I think that the challenge will actually be beneficial as it makes the text appear more interesting and attract people, particularly younger people in the target audience, to read it as it does not all look the same as they range in size, colour, style and font.

I believe that some of my texts and fonts challenge the traditional conventions of real media products. For example in Item A) the text is going in multiple directions and are of different sizes. This has been used to highlight key information such as the name which is the biggest and most vertical of words

Item A)Item B)

item C)

Mise en SceneMy media product has developed the conventions of Mise en Scene.

Location:For example my use of setting and location. While the original backgrounds of my images were removed, the new ones were used to give the idea that the models were somewhere urban and isolated from everyone else. However being able to see the background e.g. the graffiti wall image seen in this link gives the target audience the sense that the model is somewhere tangible, and feel like they can relate to the model as they see them in a real location, not standing in front of a plain white back drop.

Costume:However the costumes used do use the typical conventions of a real media product. The use of black clothing makes the model’s character in terms of their style and fashion sense fairly neutral and allows more people across the target audience to relate to the image and the model as they are not shown as being partial to any particular style.

Props:The props such as the electric guitar, sunglasses, jewellery and makeup (lipstick and eyeliner) are also typically used and found in real media products as they are key elements in presenting rock stars and their images.

Expression:Facial expression of the models also use typical conventions found in a rock genre music magazine. Looking at slide four of this PowerPoint through this link, the models facial expression seems to be angry, aggressive and confrontational. This is displaying typical rock star behaviour and attitude through the models frown lines, pouted lip, point of the finger and hostile shifted weight to one side. Also in my images the models do not smile which shows seriousness and moodiness which can be associated with rock music and magazines as shown in the image below.

Mise en Scene continued

Models:I feel like my models have broken typical conventions of real media products of the rock genre.This can be seen through my use of the ethnic minority, teenage, female models e.g. on the front page which can be seen through this link.Real media products of the rock music genre typically have artists and bands that are of an ethnic majority (white), around a certain age (18 and above) and are usually male. However I think that this will be an advantage rather than a hindrance, as my target audience is aimed at thirteen years olds and above. Therefore younger artists may encourage younger readers and female’s who enjoy rock music to be interested as it is typically represented through the male dominated music industry, as being masculine. Also there is better representation of ethnic minorities within my magazine, which real media products fail to do . This would get a better reception and from a larger audience across different ages ranging from young (teenage) to older, male and female and ethnic majority and minority.

Layout

The Layout of my media product is overall conventional.When I began to draft my Front Cover, Table Of Contents and Double Page Spread I did some research to see what conventions professional magazines use and their layout. For example, I found my research into the Table Of Contents helpful in giving me an understanding of how to set out my draft. This can be seen through this link.

Eyeflow:I tried to make sure that everything conformed to the eye flow theory, which real media products traditionally follow, by placing key things such as the coverlines on the left hand side as opposed to the right as the human eye naturally reads from left to right. Also things such as the skyline and the Masthead have been conventionally positioned at the top of the page as the human eye naturally reads from up to down.

Looking at my double page spread ,through this link, the layout can be seen as conventional.For example I placed the image of the model on the right hand side as opposed to the middle of the page and the text is arranged into three columns like a traditional article/ interview.The one thing that may be unconventional could be the use of the yellow shapes I used to make my text stand out and direct the reader through the use of the arrow/ point at the end of the box e.g. the one pointing at the model with a text that relates to their appearance. Also the brief introductory paragraph is placed in a plain rectangle text box, however it is positioned at an angle while the rest of the text is conventionally place.

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

I have talked about the representation of particular social groups and target audience in my Justification of images presentations on my blog which can be seen through this link.

I think that my images are representative of ethnic minority groups as it has been able to break stereotypes and conventions set by real media products, that most rock bands or artists are of an ethnic majority as they are most commonly seen on the front covers of the rock genre magazines.

My media product could also represent women or feminists. For example through my research of my models poses (which can be seen in my Justification of Front Cover images on my blog) I found that the kick the model is doing with her foot against the wall on my front cover, can be seen as empowering to women as the music industry is quite male dominated. The kick represents power and control as the model is comfortable in her musical element.

The models clothing is black and is not in a particular ‘girly’ style, therefore although a girl is on the front cover, the magazine can still be aimed at males as well. The dark clothing could represent the sterotypicalsocial groups that listen to rock genre music e.g Indie, Punks, Emos and Goths.

It also represents young people as the model looks like a teenager. This would represent people in the D- E rows of the NRS social grades/ demographics (as some young people may have part time jobs or apprenticeships) as it represents young people or people in education.

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

I have previously talked about this in my Questionnaire, results and decisions presentation on the eleventh slide which can be found through this link.

I have selected the Bauer Media Group. They already publish Kerrang magazine and Q and are very successful selling over 38 million copies of their magazines per week in over 16 different countries.

Although my magazine like Kerrang is solely rock genre (unlike Q) my magazine offers more of a variety of every time of rock genre, from Indie rock to Deathcore. Therefore the magazines are not too similar. Kerrang also still interviews older bands. Although my magazines name does bring to mind images of the rock band Metallica, and every genre of rock has a place with the magazine, my media product can be seen as reaching out to a younger target audience starting from the age of thirteen, and newer artists.

My magazine also shares some similarities with Kerrang which would be beneficial to the publishing/ distributing institution (Bauer) as they would be able to see from marketing data that my media product is a potential success.

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

I have chosen to aim my media product at a target audience of an age range from 13 and above. Based on additional research, this is the most likely age young people listen to rock music as their character and preferences change as they mature. Also this age seems appropriate as the reader must be able to read and understand the text (they might not be able to if their too young). This is also the age range that is more likely to have more freedom to do things such as attend concerts and commit to buying the magazine on a regular basis.Also people in the D- E rows of the NRS social grades/ demographics (as some young people may have part time jobs or apprenticeships) as it represents young people or people in education as they are the target audience.Both men and women can enjoy the magazine

5)How did you attract/address your audience?

Colour SchemeBased on the results from my Questionnaire (see blog presentation) 50% of participants wanted a light colour scheme and the other 50% wanted a dark colour scheme. In order to appeal to everyone's preferences I tried to make the colour scheme a mixture of light and dark. For example the bright red and yellow colours are the light and vibrant colours .I also used black to contrast this to appeal to those who wanted darker colours. Therefore there is a blend of light and dark to attract everyone.RegisterI used a mix of the casual and formal register to captivate the audience. There is very little use of colloquialisms , this way those who are unfamiliar with the group culture will still be able to read and understand articles. This tone also seems to better engage an audience as it is not a complicated text and is fluent enough so that it is not boring.PromotionsI used things like a plug to advertise that the magazine was a special ‘graffiti addition’ to give it a sense of importance.Also prizes were presented to give the reader another reason to want to buy and look inside the magazine to find out more information.ImagesI had to make sure that the images were edited and interesting enough to grab the audience’s attention. For example I Pixelated one of the models hands to cover a rude gesture they were making, but at the same time drawing attention to it so people would notice what they were doing and how the model was behaving .Featured Bands/ArtisitsI have presented bands of different rock genres in the coverlines of my front cover , in my table of contents on my contents page and the band index. The names of the bands I have selected are famous across the rock genres, so anyone within the target audience that is interested in seeing a particular band may also read the magazine to discover new ones that are similar to what they already like or different in type e.g they could read the band indecx or find a band in the news section.

In order to construct my media product I had to use a suitable software. I chose to use Adobe Photoshop CS6 as it Offered a rang of tools to help create the magazine pages and edit images to the best possible standard. For example, looking back to my Evidence of editing and construction of images (any presentation) through this link, I have talked about my construction and what techniques on Photoshop I have used e.g. the process I have explained in my first presentation of how I edited my background image by removing a distraction through the use of content aware. Some of the tools and techniques I used I had to learn as I went through the construction process. Here is a small list of the things I learned how to use to improve my media product:•Red eye removal methods (using the red eye tool or hand painting over the distortion)- helps to correct problems with the models eyes caused by flash•Spot removal- using the spot healing tool to get rid of any imperfection on the image to make it clearer or neater when it is presented to the audience.•Refine edge tool- to help smooth an image, for example when I removed the background from my images. It helped make the models image appear neater•Blur tool- this allowed me to help fade certain sharp or rough edge in my images to create a smooth or softer version•Quick selection- This was used to remove the background of my images in a few simple, fast and effective steps.•Content aware option- I learned how to use this to correct or remove distractions from my images and replace the space they would have left with the same content of the surrounding areas. This was useful as it helped to retain consistency andthe fluidity of the image.

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

I was also able to develop my understanding and skills in Photoshop by using video tutorials from YouTube which is another example of my gained knowledge of technologies. I used to learn how to apply Lipstick colour to my models lips.

To view the video I used, click on the YouTube logo.

Question 6 continued

I used SlideShare to upload my PowerPoint presentations. I created an account and learned how to upload my documents from my laptop to the website. I then got an embed code which I copied and pasted into my blog, making my presentations available on the posts themselves without having to click onto hyperlinks to view my work. My knowledge and skills using SlideShare have clearly improved looking back to my earlier posts in the preliminary task, when I had to copy and past the hyperlink to the SlideShare website to present my work. This can be seen through this link.

I used Microsoft PowerPoint to create all of my written work such as my research. This was because it was easier to present all my work e.g. analysis paragraphs and annotations in a simple way which flows. From using this software I learned to create hyperlinks to my blog and other resources to help connect my points together or provide evidence.

From using Blogger during the creation of my media product, I learned about how to connect to the target audience, as social networking media now plays a part in other institutions through cross convergence. For example, in my magazine (placed next to the barcode on the front cover and in the subscription offer in the Table Of contents), I included a website so that way there is a combination of an old and new media, so that way people of a younger generation may feel more comfortable using the latest technology to read a magazine, however people of an older age (as my target audience is open to any age above 13) may want a physical copy to read.The use of Blogger also allowed me to present my presentations in a neat and interesting format which showed the stages I was working at and allowed me and others to observe my progress through the creation, from planning to construction of my media product

Using SurveyMonkey taught me about technologies as I learned fast and efficient ways to produce questionnaires and distribute them among a sample group. Once I received people’s answers I was then able to also analyse the results and create a suitable method of presenting the data as statistics that I was able to refer to throughout my construction. This can be seen through this link to my presentation on my blog with the questions , results and my understanding of how I could use them to benefit my construction of my media product.

Question 6 continuedWhen creating my media product I was able to learn about certain technologies such as software’s and social media websites. However I did not physically use a wide range of technologies apart from my digital point and shoot camera as it was appropriate enough for taking pictures as it was not complicated to use as I only needed basic settings to capture my photo-shoots e.g. flash. I also used my home laptop and school computer to access the software's necessary to construct and edit my media product and images.These devices were already available to me, therefore I did not need to learn anything knew about the functions of the devices.Below are images of the technology that I used:

This is a shoot and point digital camera which I used to take my pictures. I used this camera as I already owned it and based on my research on cameras (during the preliminary task, see this link) I knew that it’s qualities and specifications were appropriate for my task. For example the flash and zoom functions. Flash was used to support the natural lighting of the moon in my main image of my Table Of Contents (see this link) The zoom function was also used to get an extreme close up of an eye (also located on my TOC in the subscription section) to capture it’s detail.I also used it to take pictures of my drafts as evidence to upload to my blog

This is a picture of my laptop at home. I mainly used this as it meant I had more access to the software’s I needed any time I wanted e.g Photoshop, PowerPoint etc. I used it to also do research on the internet of images, poses etc. But to also access online resources I needed such as Blogger and SlideShare.

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

From looking back to my preliminary task, I feel that I have learned and developed my work in progression from it to the real task.

When I was constructing my preliminary task, I did minimal editing to my images. I only cropped them using the crop tool, removed their backgrounds using the quick selection tool and got rid of the models red eye by painting over it with a similarcolour chosen with the eye dropper tool. However as I began to create my real magazine I had to develop a wider variety of skills to make my magazine appear interesting and professional. For example, when another red eye problem occurred, I had to learn to use the red eye tool. I also learned other skills such as applying different colours of lipstick to a models lips to make the image more appealing, provide a contrast in colours and develop my use of Mise en Scene.

I also learnt how to make sure that my conventions were more representative of the target audience. In my preliminary task I did not think about the impacts or meaning behind my decisions. An example of this could be my limited use of house style and consistency in my colour schemes. The preliminary front cover’s colours are blue, red and purple. My choice of the first two were because they were primary colours and complimented each other, however I chose purple because I preferred it over yellow. This lead to a clash of colours, and my lack of thought meant that the blue font was difficult to readover the models blue school uniform costume. Then in my preliminary TOC I had changed the colours to black, red and yellow which has meant that the preliminary media product has lacked in consistency and has not provided a clear house style/ colour scheme. This could make it hard for an audience to identify the magazine or become overwhelmed with colours and not focus on the content properly.

My knowledge of conventions has also developed since completing the preliminary task. Now that I look back on it I realize that I did not think about the placement of the key features such as the coverlines, has not been clearly thought about as they appear to be placed randomly around the page which has lead to the Main Coverline and a secondary one to be too close to once another, which may be confusing to read for an audience. When I was creating my real product I had noticed that the coverlines must be placed in more conventional ways, so I included them all on the left side of the page as my knowledge of eye flow had also improved. My use of a variety of conventions had also improved as I was able to think about other ways to grab a reader’s attention e.g. I included a plug on my front cover to stand out as something important that should persuade someone to look at/ buy my product

Question 7 continued

Overall I believe that through my completion of the preliminary task, I was able to gain knowledge of what I had done well but I also learned what I had failed to do, which taught me what I had done wrong and I then knew what I had to do.Through creating the preliminary task magazine I think I was able to get comfortable with using the software's that were used to me such as Blogger and Photoshop and get a better knowledge and understanding in how to use them to help me complete and present my work effectively to my target audience.

Question 7 continued-Preliminary Task and Real Task

Preliminary Front Cover Real Front Cover

Question 7 continued-Preliminary Task and Real Task

Preliminary Table Of Contents Real Table Of Contents