AS Media Studies – Coursework Evaluation

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

My magazine could be seen as conventional due to the masthead been placed in the typical place, at the top of the cover. However, it could be viewed as unconventional as the masthead is backed with a block of colour, whereas most magazines have a bright outstanding colour for the masthead. In one aspect the masthead is conventional as it catches the readers eye, due to it being bold. On the other hand, it could be seen as challenging because the colour is not so vibrant. This contrasts to the ‘Vibe’ magazine as the masthead is a bright colour.

The layout is very much like magazines you would see in shops today. The picture is the main focus of the cover, this being like the example used. I used a close up shot to capture the audiences attention.

The colour scheme I have used is unconventional as the colours are bright and match the upbeat ‘electro’ genre of music. When considering the colour of the text I thought about the colour of clothing in the picture.

My contents is very unconventional, although there are some aspects that could be seen as conventional.

I followed the conventional idea of using the front cover as an image on the contents page like the example I have used. This shows the continuous link between the story's I have used and how the person on the front cover is the main story.

The heading ‘contents’ is conventional because its bold and it is made clear it is the contents page, which is important so the reader know what exactly what they are looking at and what their looking for. However, it could be seen as unconventional as its not a bright colour so its not that easy for the reader to find, however I used this colour so that the subheading still fits with the rest of the page.

The layout is totally unconventional. This is because the page listing of the magazine is split into two boxes, whereas, in other magazines I have looked at the page numbers and information are listed in one long line going down the side of the page.

The font of the text is unconventional. Usually in magazines, the text on the contents page is really clear to read and a plain font. However, I have used a font which goes with the genre as it looks different and unusual.

My double page spread is conventional.

The film reel which I have made across the page and down the side of the other, frames the whole article of the pages. This is quite an unconventional feature.

The colour scheme which I used on the double page spread is conventional. I decided to use a basic grey colour so that the readers attention wouldn’t be drawn to anything else other than the interview on the page.

How the artist is looking towardsthe text shows the text is about himwhich makes it clear to the reader that’s what both pages are about. This is a conventional feature as bothpages are linked which is important for a double page spread.

The picture used isunconventional toother products as itsnot a close up dominating the pages. I wanted to use more than one picture of the artist without taking over both pages with pictures. I used the film reel as it allows more room for text, yet lets the reader see more pictures relating to the artist.

The heading is conventionally placed across both pages to show the link between both pages.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I chose to do the electronic genre because in the charts today a lot of the music is techno/electronic. This therefore told me that it is popular in society. Another reason why I also chose the genre is that it is one of my personal favourite type of music, therefore I had a good idea of how I wanted my magazine to look. The photos I used appeal to the electronic genre because of the clothing and the facial expressions and the attitude the artist put forward. The clothing reflects artists in the charts today also. The fonts that I have used throughout my magazine definitely reflect the genre, especially the masthead and font of the headings on the front cover. The colour scheme matches well with the genre too. This is because electronic music is upbeat and lively. Therefore, the bright and vibrant colours link well. The names I have used in my contents page, such as Calvin Harris are big artists who are successful in that line of music.

My magazine is aimed at the younger generation of readers, and this is reflected in many aspects of my product. I also wanted my product to appeal to anybody who likes electro music, more so for the older classics such as ministry of sound. The model I used in the photos is young, therefore this makes the target audience look up to that person with them being a similar age. The colour scheme I have used looks mature yet young and fun. I used unusual fonts which will appear to the main target audience as it gives a youthful look.

I wanted my magazine to appeal to anybody who liked electro music. Because of this I have made it quite multi sex. The photos I used would appeal to both male and female. However the main story on the double page spread would appeal more so to male as the artist the interview is about is male and females may not be able to relate as well than if it was a female artist. The articles I have used on the contents page would maybe appeal to males more than females. This is because there is a article names ‘Gizmos And Gadgets’ which males would be more interested in. The colours used throughout the magazine could be seen as more masculine because they are grey yet still brighter coloured text.

My product would be aimed at more lower/middle class then higher class. This is because the model in the photos is wearing casual clothing such as, t-shirt and a cap. This would relate more to the lower classes as this is the type of clothing they wear.

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

After doing research I have chose ITP. On their website it says that they publish more than 80 weekly and monthly magazines. They publish Aspire magazine, broadcast, Grazia, Men’s fitness, Viva, and many more. I think that this would benefit my magazine because they are already successful, therefore, I am confident my magazine would be successful through them.

My magazine will not be distributed digitally but through news agents as my target audience will find it easier to buy the magazine by going into shops. Personally, I think that distributing magazines is best by shops and not online.

I think my magazine will stand out compared with the other magazines they distribute. This is because it is a modern music magazine and would be eye catching to the target audience.

Who would be the audience for your media product be?

• Most of my research was based on music magazine ‘Vibe’. This is because I thought they had a close target audience to what I wished to target. The target audience for a magazine can be shown through genre, colour, fonts, images and articles etc. vibe magazine do this by the use of colour and how the vibrant colour are very eye catching.

I think that my audience will be a mass market. This is because the genre of music is very popular and features all the big new artists – this appeals to the younger and older generation, however mainly younger. There are aspects of my magazine that could be said to be aimed at a niche market. This is because there are only a certain number of people who would actually read about the genre ‘electro’.

The images I have used throughout the magazine would appeal to the younger generation. This is because the model is young, wearing clothing which a similar age of younger people would wear. The readers would also aspire to be like the models in the magazine. If an older model was to be used in my magazine, this would catch the attention of the younger generation.

How did you attract/address your audience?

Firstly, the masthead I have on the front cover would attract my target audience. This is because its bold and eye catching and in the conventional place with it being placed at the top of the page.

By placing my image central on the front cover it becomes the main focus of the page. The slogan underneath the masthead is also eye catching to the reader.

I have linked my target audience very well in the double page spread by keeping the interview informal. This enables the audience to relate well to the artist. With the contents page and the front cover, I used catchy phrases to catch the readers attention.

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

The first programme that I had to learn to was Blogger.com, this is where I hold all my magazine progress. I had never used this programme before and never heard of it before, therefore I was really eager to find out what the blog did exactly. I found the blog really easy to use and it is clear and understandable when using it. One disadvantage of this programme is that I cant attach power point presentations directly onto the blog, so I had to use a new programme called Slide Share. After working with Slide Share after some time, I got really used to the programme and found it easy to use.

I got my fonts of a website called Da-font. On this website I could explore a various fonts that would suite the genre of my magazine best. Da-font is very easy to use and this is because of the way it is set up and the layout of the website. There were different categories at the top that you could choose from to find the font that best suited. Getting to font was easy to do, but just clicking on the download button.

When taking pictures of my model for my magazine I had to learn about camera shots, lighting, and mise-en-scene. All of these were very important in order to make the photos effective. Mise-en-scene was important so that it linked with my target audience. Lighting is important so that it didn’t take any attention away from pictures for the reader. And lastly, camera shots were important so that the picture linked with the text or so that it was an eye catcher to the audience.

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

Looking at the two front covers, it is clear to see that there has been big improvement. My final front cover appeals more to my target audience.

Clearly, the understanding of websites and technology that I have used throughout making my magazine has improved. On my first magazine, the fonts are very basic and boring, however on my final the font used are interesting to look at, eye catching and suit the genre very well. The final front cover looks more professional.

When comparing my magazine with other magazines that you would see in shops today I think my magazine is very authentic. One my final magazine there are features which make it authentic such as the barcode, price and date.

Looking at both of the contents pages, there is visible improvement. Looking at my first contents page I have not used any different or appealing fonts. Its basic and boning and doesn’t engage the target audience. To improve the contents page top my final I changed the font to a font that suites my genre ‘electro’ very well – as it’s the kind of font you would find on a cd album of a electronic artist. On the first contents page the colour of the text is blue and pink which I though quite childish and not appealing to the older target audience. I changed the colour of the font to grey, keeping in with the colour scheme but also so that it appeals to male and female. The subheading looks more clear and eye catching on my final product, which is an important thing to consider. This is all shows a clear indicator to how my technical knowledge has improved.