EvaluationMaariyah Spalding

Brief• The brief is to produce the front page,

contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. The syllabus states quite clearly that ‘all images and text used must be original, produced by the candidate, minimum of four images per candidate)

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

Masthead

Barcode

Puff

Main image

Date line

Price

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

The masthead is bold and at the top of the front cover so it stands out. “The Only Way is POP” is a unconventional title for a magazine as it is long and not short and big. But Top of the Pops magazine is also an unconventional name for a magazine because it is a long title but it stands out as they have put two of the words in a shape. My main image is a long shot and the other magazine cover is a medium shot. Both eye contact are looking straight ahead at the reader

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

My front cover has the text to one side so the reader is drawn to the main image but on the Top of the Pops front cover, the text is covering most of the image with a puff and pull quote. I have included the date line and price at the top of the magazine because it is clearer to read than at the bottom.

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

Masthead

Page numbers

Main images

Sub headings

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

The contents page is split up into sub headings so it is easier for the audience to read and see what’s inside the magazine. The house style of my contents is pink which also is the house style for Top of the Pops magazine. I have used pink because it is a feminine colour and goes with the target audience which is teenage girls. My contents page challenges conventions of real media products because I have used circles to put the information in as other magazines use squared boxes.

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

Columns

Masthead (also a pun)

Tag quote

Main image

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

The mast head on Top of the Pops “ Back with a splash” uses a pun as in the main image One Direction are by a swimming pool. I have also used a pun on my interview “Say hey to.. HAY” so I have stuck to the conventions of a double page spread. Also, I have used columns with the question in a bold colour compared to the answers. This is because it is easier to see where the question and answer are and separates the information. Top of the Pops have also used columns and made the question in a bold colour so it stands out.

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

I have included a tag quote in the middle of the page where I have taken something that Hay have said and made it big and bold to emphasise what is said. The other magazine have included several tag quotes to also emphasise what has been said. I have challenged the forms and conventions of real media products because on my double page I have included a fairly small picture jus before the text but on Top of the Pops they have made the image the centre of the interview. It takes up half of the page as mine is only small. I wanted to include a lot more questions so wanted room to write it all and may not have been able to do this if the picture was any larger.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

• My magazine is a teen pop magazine and aimed at teenage girls from aged 12-16. There is a young girl group on the front of the magazine to represent the target audience that will be buying the magazine. They are both teenagers so the reader can relate to them so it will attract more people to buy it if there is a pop group on the front they like. They are dressed in young, current clothes ( hoodie and jeans) as this is likely what young teenage girls wears. On Top of the Pops magazine there are young popular aritsts on the front e.g. Justin Bieber which the majority of the target audience will like as his genre of music is pop.

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

• BBC provides a varied and wide range of magazines that target many different audiences. They focus their magazines on music, children's TV programmes, cooking and cars. It produces Top of the Pops magazine which I got many ideas from including the genre of the magazine which is pop, articles inside e.g. X factor and competitions to win meet and greet with One Direction. Top of the Pops target audience is for 11-15 year olds due to the current music artists that are included in the magazine e.g. One Direction and Justin Bieber. My magazine is aimed for 12-16 year olds and includes current music artists like in Top of the Pops. BBC Magazines would distribute my magazine because it is focused on music and is aimed at a similar audience like Top of the Pops that they produce.

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

• Smash Hits is emap’s music magazine. It is primarily focused on pop music, and aimed at children and younger teenagers. Its content is a mixture of very young pop musical groups, and context which is aimed at the target audience (similar age range to Top of the Pops magazine 11-15 years). I would used emap to publish my magazine as their target audience is similar to my magazine target audience 12-16 years old.

Continued…• Also, the magazine they produce Smash Hits is a pop

magazine and my genre for my magazine is also pop. The context of the magazine has similar music artists, competitions and appeals in the same way. Smash Hits was published in the United Kingdom by emap and ran from 1978 to 2006 and was weekly produced. It featured pop music artists, gossip and fashion that attracted young girls who liked listening to current music.

Who would the audience be for your media product?

• The audience for my magazine is for teenage girls aged between 12-16. This is because it is a pop magazine which is generally aimed to the younger audience with artists including One Direction and Justin Bieber. These artists are mainly aimed for young girls so I have included them in my magazine to attract the target audience. I found this out through a focus group I held for people aged 16-18 years old.

Who would the audience be for your media product?

• The main image is of a girl group called Hay who are 17 and 18 years old which is a similar age of the target audience. This is because the audience need to relate to the artist and actually like them for them to buy the magazine. Also, as they are a new girl group the audience will want to know all about them and read their interview.

How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract the audience there is a young girl group at the front who are just slightly older than the target audience. This will attract the audience more as they can look up to them as they are older. Also, to attract my audience I have put the competition prize at the front of the magazine and made the word “win” big and bold so it stands out. By putting the competition prize on the front of the magazine this will make the target audience want to buy it more as they want to win the prize. After market research I found out that teenage girls like music artists such as One Direction, Justin Bieber and Rihanna. Therefore, the competition is to meet and greet One Direction. As the genre of the magazine is pop, the title of my magazine is The Only Way is POP and the font of the word “pop” is different to the rest of the title so it stands out and looks different to the rest of other magazines.

How did you attract/address your audience?

Through research on other music magazines I found that they include latest concerts and interviews so I have addressed the reader by including an exclusive interview with Hay and the latest concerts 2013. Other music magazines including Top of the Pops ranges its prices from £2.99 onwards. However, I have priced my magazine at £1.99 so it is not as expensive as other pop magazines. This will attract the target audience more as its cheaper and affordable.

How did you attract/address your audience?

On my contents page I have used a house style of different shades of pink which will attract the target audience because they are young teenage girls and pink is a colour that generally young girls like. I have used different size circles to put the information in. I did this because it separates the information and easier to read. Also, I have highlighted the main things in the magazine e.g. Backstage at Justin Bieber Believe tour 2013. This way the reader can turn to the page straight away that they want to read. By including pictures of Hay I attracted the target audience because they are a young, current pop girl group which will appeal to the target audience. They will want to find out more about them so the exclusive interview with them is on the first page hence why they are the main image on the front cover.

How did you attract/address your audience?

On my double page spread I have continued with the colour scheme of pink which looks professional as all the main heads are pink. With the interview of Hay I addressed the audience as the questions included about their up coming album and their life before fame. This is important for the audience because it shows know matter who or where your from your dream can come true which happened to Hay.

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

• I used a spot healing brush tool to get rid of blemishes and any visible spots. This is because I wanted the main image to look professional and not an amateur picture.

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

• I used layers in Photoshop because it is much easier to see what you have done and delete anything you can just get rid of the layer and not start over. Also, you can over lap layers so you can put text over a picture by just dragging the layers.

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

• I have used shape tool ( heart and music note) to make it look more appealing to the audience and to show it’s a music magazine.

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

• Here I have used picture tool where you drag it across the page depending on how big and wide you want it. You insert a picture from your file and it is easy to change the size and move it around where you want it.

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

• I have used a colour swatch to change the colour of text. You can pick any colour and find the right shade. It is saved in the colour swatch so you can use the colour again.

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

• On my two page spread I have used a transparency effect on the word HAY which is behind the text. I made the font size extra large and made the transparency to 50% so it is still visible to see but very faint.

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

• I have used a circle shape tool where I can change the shape and size of it. I used this tool for the circles on my contents page.

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

• I have used pages in In Design so I can see the layout of my magazine and you change the pages around. It is a lot easier to design your magazine as you can decide how many pages and where you want them.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?• Through the preliminary task I have learnt the different

conventions of magazines and what needs to be included for it to look appealing and professional to the target audience. I have learnt the different tools on In Design and Photoshop e.g. picture tool, layers and colour swatches. I used layers as it is easy and clear to see what you have done and can change things quickly. Also, through the preliminary task I have learnt all the things that is needed to create a professional front cover, contents page and double page spread. These include tag quotes, puffs and sub headings. I have learnt what needs to be included in a magazine to appeal to the target audience which mine was for young teenage girls age 12-16. These include current pop artists, competitions where you can meet artists and the latest concerts.