Evaluation

For my media Coursework I had to create a front page cover, a contents page and a double page spread for a new music magazine, all images taken must be original and taken by myself the same with all the text. Before doing this task we got the chance to do a preliminary task so we could get to grips with what we had to do and get used to the new technologies such as Photoshop and to gather a understanding of the conventions of magazines. I have now finished researching, planning and creating all my main tasks and am now able to evaluate my work.
For the planning process of my music magazine product the first thing I did was create a mood board, on this mood board I wrote down the ideas that I had in mind for my music magazine such as the name of the magazine, colour schemes, fonts, cover-lines I could us, who and what I could use in my images, what I could write about in the article. Before I did this I researched into similar products such as music magazines like NME, Q, Kerrang etc and did a textual analyst of the conventions of the magazines, the magazines that I used where NME, Q, Mojo, Kerrang and Vibe, I did this so that I knew exactly what I wanted to include on my products. I then did some sketch drafts of my front page cover, contents page, and double page spread of what I wanted them to look like and where I wanted the different conventions to be located and what kind of colour schemes and images I wanted. I also did ICT drafts of the front page cover, contents page and double page spread which basically just showed where certain items would be located.

Looking at my magazine I can see that I have used the main conventions of magazines, for example in the left hand corner of my music magazine front cover I have include a bold, colourful masthead that catches the audiences attention instantly which most magazines that are published these days also include, I have also done the same with my contents page, at the top of my contents page there is another masthead which read ‘contents’ in a bold font and again is instantly noticeable which all other media products use. I have also used a masthead on my double page spread which is related to the main image on my contents page and also relates to the main cover line which again you normally always find in real magazines. On my front cover I also have a main image which I think is critically an important convention for a media product to have as a main image is normally one of the main conventions to draw the target audience in and says a lot about the genre of the magazine you are buying and also shows a representation of the target audience you are trying to aim towards. On a real magazine on the contents page I have found they always have another couple of images that feature the same person that is the main image on the front cover therefore on my contents page I also include images of the same person who is presented on the front page of my music magazine. Also on my double page spread I have two images that are different to each other that are also the same person to who is on the front cover as this is seen to be the main feature of the magazine. Another Music magazine convention I have used are cover-lines, I have found that cover-lines are an essential element to any magazine front cover as people want to know what is in the magazine you are going to purchase, therefore on my front cover I have included four cover-lines and one main cover-line, the main cover-line relates to my main image which again I saw on nearly every magazine that I researched however I have not included any cover-lines on my contents page as I did not feel this was necessary. Like other media products I also chose a colour scheme for my front cover, contents page and double page spread. For my contents page I chose red, yellow and white for the masthead as I think the three colours together really stand out and will appeal to the audience the colours also look lively which acts as a code for the indie music genre. On my contents page I wanted I used a white, grey and black colour scheme, on my double page spread as my images where edited to be black and white I thought I would keep the background more neutral therefore I choose to mix the page so some of it was white and the other grey. Also on my music magazine front cover I have included a dateline, a barcode and the price as these things obviously always located on the front page of a magazine. On my front page cover I also have banner at the bottom which is not really seen as an essential media product convention and not all the magazines I researched had them however some of them did, therefore I created a banner for my front cover. Also on my double page spread I have quotations spread about over the page which are in a bold font which could be seen as a teaser to the audience who are reading the quotations which will make them want to read the story.
I produced my product mainly using the two programs DTP and Photoshop. I used DTP to produce my contents page and double page spread this was because it was easier to layout and insert my text and images and overall created a more professional look, however the images on both my contents page where manipulated on Photoshop so therefore I have integrated both programs. My music magazine front page cover was all done on Photoshop which I found extremely difficult as I was knew to Photoshop, but I also found that Photoshop gives a more realistic overall product then to what is produced on publisher. I produced the images for my front cover, contents page and double page spread by using a digital camera, the digital camera that i used to take my photos on was a Samsung ST50 as this was my own camera i already knew how to use it correctly and did my best to take high quality images. I then used the program Photoshop to edit and manipulate my images.



I would say one of the main ways my media product represents particular social groups is by the mise-en scene for the model who was in my photographs. I dressed the model in items such as skinny jeans, studded t-shirts, leather jackets to create a fashionable, indie look which will not only represent the indie music scene audience but will also represent the youth of today and how the dress as some of the cloths that I have dressed my model in for my images are clothing items that you would really only associate with the younger society and not the older generation, doing this makes it easier to bring in my target audience as if I was to have my model wearing items such as cord trousers and fleece jumpers this would not represent youth but perhaps the elderly therefore I would be failing to meet my target population. Another way my media product represents social groups is by the language I have used on my magazine, the language used on my magazine is standard English therefore I think this shows that it is more likely to be representative of students or younger adults, I do not use any slang words on my front cover therefore this could have a representation on how my product is representing those social groups who are into independent music or rock music but not RNB or Drum and bass. Also the colour schemes of my front cover, contents page and double page spread vary this shows how I have represented different social groups because my front cover is quite bright and bold could be used as a representative of the younger population buying my product, whereas the double page spread and the contents page are more neutral colours therefore this could relate to the older people for example people in their mid twenties buying the product as more neutral colours create a more serious approach to the product.

The type of institution that might distribute my media product I think would be IPC (international, publishing company). This is because IPC are one of the United Kingdoms leading consumer magazine and digital publishers, with a big portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. One of the main reasons I think this institution would be best fitted for my media product is because IPC also distribute NME which is another independent music magazine with the same target audience in mind for people who enjoy indie music. IPC have done a really good job of getting NME distributed and made popular all around the united kingdom making it available in nearly every music shop or newsagents which is what I would want my magazine product to be like.

The target audience for my product are people who enjoy listening or have a big interest in the independent music genre. I would say my audience would be more male then female as there are many more male independent fans out there and also a lot more male iconic independent artists and bands such as people like arctic monkeys, the kooks, MGMT, Palo Nutin, the main etc. Independent music is all about different sounds and getting your different approaches to music out there therefore I see the audience for my media product to be individual people how are not afraid to share their views on musical taste no matter how different they are to anyone else. I would say the age rang for my audience would be 17-24 as I think the younger generation are the people who enjoy independent music the most and can take more from it. I also see my audience as people who take a lot of pride in how they look and how they dress and are likely to shop in vintage clothes shops and places like topman and Zara. My main audience also I think will be students of either college or university who do have an interest in music and may also be studying it at a higher level or maybe people who have started there own band for the enjoyment of it and look up to different artists for some different influences.

Firstly I wanted to make it extremely clear that my magazine was targeted for people who like independent music therefore I named the magazine 'IML' Then underneath wrote what the initials stand for which is Independent music lovers, so this is firstly what will address my target audience. When taking my photographs I took into consideration what indie artists wear and what they normally look like I was thinking about people like Alex Turner, I also took into consideration that most indie stars are male therefore I used a male as a model to attract my target audience. Also I attracted my target audience by my colour scheme In reply to: thought for the front cover to get more of the younger side of my target audience to be attracted to my media product I should make it colourful and bold so it is more likely to catch their attention I also wanted it to look a bit lively and entertaining and not too serious, therefore I used colours like red and yellow which are eye catching and noticeable and more appealing to younger adults, however I did not want the older side of my target population to think that this magazine was to young for them therefore for the double page spread and the contents page I went for more neutral colours that add a bit more of serious influence to the product. Another way I attracted my audience is by in the editors note I mentioned a few big indie artist's that are around the independent music scene now.

I have learnt that when constructing a media product the technologies are extremely a lot more important then I though they where in producing a final product and that if you don't know how to use a certain program it can extremely difficult to get the most out of the program and end up with a finished product that is exactly how you wanted it. For example to edit my images and create my front cover I used Photoshop which I had never used before therefore I found it very hard to know what to do and was struggling to manipulate my images which was having a negative effect on my overall product, however after a few attempts at Photoshop I was able to understand the basic elements and found it essential to use to change the colour of my images and also change the background. I also learnt that without technologies to construct a product it would be impossible as we need the internet to research our product, and certain programs like DTP to actually create a product. Another thing I have learnt about technologies are that when you are using a digital camera you can't just take any picture you really have to think about what shot you want the image to be and how exactly you want the image to come across. Overall I have learnt that technologies are a fantastic way for us to enhance the products we are constructing and are essential to get our product just right.

One of the main things I have learnt is that when constructing your final products you always need to keep thinking about your target audience, its not what you think looks right or what the easiest or quickest way to do something its what will attract your target audience and keep them interested. I have also learnt that you need to really try your best and include as many as the magazine conventions as possible as this is one of the main ways you address your target audience. Also I have learnt that you really do need to take time researching and planning your product as this way you know exactly what you want it to look like which will make it easy to produce and also easier to improve.
On my blog I created an interactive poll which included 8 questions about my media product, this is so I could gain feedback on my media product. My audience feedback showed me that out of the three media products which included my music magazine front page cover, contents page and double page spread it was the double page spread which people thought had been produced the best, however my music magazine front cover would need the most improvement therefore if I was to do this project again I would spend more time on my music magazine front cover taking a deeper look at the main conventions. Another thing I found out through my audience feedback is that the images on my product are what was found the most appealing closely followed by the colour schemes therefore if I was to do it again I would take a closer look and improve the fonts and the layout. My audience feedback showed that I had done a good job in targeting my target audience and all of the people who voted on my poll got my target audience of independent music correctly.

The effectiveness of my product reaching its target audience I think has been done to a good level. One of the ways I reached my target audience was by using imagery, I wanted the digital Images on my media products to represent my target audience therefore I had to take into a lot of consideration to the Mise-en scene of my photographs this include elements such as who I wanted to model in my photos and exactly what they would look like and the appropriate location for my shots. I wanted to make sure that my images contacted to the audience the indie music genre as I think this is important in engaging my target audience as the images are the first convention I would usually notice when I look at a magazines therefore if the imagery is representing the genre that my audience are into they are more likely to take notice and buy my magazine. Another element which shows the effectiveness in targeting my target audience is the language I used, I wanted the Language to communicate that my magazine was a serious music magazine but also with an element of entertainment so that it would appeal to both the younger and older sides of my target audience. I also wanted to use ideology to add to the effectiveness of my media product targeting its target audience therefore I tried to make my magazine have an individual look which acts as connotation to the independent music genre.

In conclusion I found the process experience rather fun and enjoyable to do however extremely time consuming and stressful as when creating this product there is a lot of work to do and information to take into consideration, therefore I found it hard to completely focus on one thing at a time when creating my final products. I would say the strengths of my products that I have created where my images as they where the main things that I knew I really wanted to be like and how I wanted them to come across and I was happy with how the turned out before and after editing. One of my main weaknesses was time management, I did not realise how much time my product would actually take to create therefore if I was to do this again I would defiantly plan my time more carefully. Another weakness I think is my planning, I feel like I could have made it a lot more descriptive and detailed which would have made it a lot easier when creating my magazine product. I also feel that I could have researched into different ways to represent my Music genre to my target audience, I think if I had put in more time planning and researching into the genre of my magazine it would have a been a lot more effective in targeting the target audience therefore if I was to do this again that is something I would seriously consider doing to make my products more effective.