Evaluation

In what ways does you media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of a real media product?
My media product is similar to existing products in many ways, but also challenges the conventions of a real media product. Like other magazines such as Q, Pop and Rolling Stone, my product has a bar code, a price range similar to the music magazines I have analysed. My layout is simple and standard like some of the magazines I have looked at with a bar at the bottom with text in. Also the images I have used have been chosen to make the magazine sell. I have used a pose that my target audience will be attracted to as well as the use of bright colours to appeal to my target audience. I have also used colloquial language such as slang and regional accents that relates to my target audience, just like existing products. For my article I have followed conventions by using columns, as well as having pictures in the article. I have also produced a page with just a picture of the artist and a short paragraph on her which is to be just before the article. This is what similar to some magazines. However I have challenged forms and conventions of a real media product as I have put a picture of my artist behind the article. This is not seen often in a music magazine and I like how the picture behind the article draws the reader in to read the writing not just look at the other pictures. I have also used a black and white picture which has connotations of style which will draw the readers in.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My product represents teenage females as a social group as I have included interviews and story’s that females would aspire to have. My product represents teenage females positively and young people are represented by a vibrant fashionable, likeable way, shown in my product. I don’t feel my product would appeal to a male gender as there are gossip columns for females. I don’t feel my product appeals to a certain social group such as Goths as it appeals to people who are more interest pop music. It represents young middle class girls who like vibrant pop music and can afford to buy the music and clothing associated with it.


What kind of media institution might distribute product and why?
I believe there is gap in the market for my product however I don’t think any of the publishers would distribute my product as it is significantly different to all of the products on the market today. I think the use of technology in my product challenges the products already on the market, for example the background image used behind text on my article page, and unfortunately because this is a minority I don’t think it would be accepted. However if a big publishing company like Bauer, publisher of Mojo and Q were to publish my magazine it would widen their market because of my magazines unique style and content and the target audience.

Who would be the audience for your media product?
My media product appeals to a whole range of both genders but within that there us a specific audience. As my product is pop-orientated it is generally aimed at age 14-17 year old females. My magazine is £1.49 monthly which would be affordable for young people without a job to buy.

How did you attract/address your audience?
To attract my audience I firstly gave out a questionnaire to find out what my audience would like to see on a new music magazine.
I have used ‘Hooks’ for stories on the front cover to help attract people to read inside. I have used the title Beat which has connotations of music orientation people, also represents a strong and likable person.
I decided on a model I would use to be the main feature of my magazine which would also have an article based around. My audience will identify with the lifestyle it promotes which is becoming rich and famous and I have used a similar aged model to add to this appeal. I have used a female model that is sexually attractive to sell the magazine, as women have been conditioned into aspiring to that lifestyle and appearance. My audience will look to my product for a sense of personal identity and possible aspire to be like some of the people feature in the magazine, or their lives and problems me reflect the lives of the artists featured, so I am exploiting the theory of uses and gratifications. Which is why my article is about a down to earth artist from Newcastle and the interview is full of colloquial language, which will immediately attract a wide readership because she is not ‘out of reach’ so people can relate to her. Also I have chosen to tell the story about the poor girl who loves football who makes it big as a star. Many young girls will aspire to be like the artist and it also shows they may have a chance. I have also included articles and features that appear on my front cover and contents pages, in response to the questionnaire I conducted. My product I have used colloquial language to attract the audience as they can relate to it. Throughout my magazine I have used a colour scheme that represents the audience survey to attract my audience.

I Showed copies of my magazine to my target audiene and they were veyr enthusiastic about my product, my friend Sarah said " This product lookes very realistic and i would definatly buy it if it were a real magazine!"

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Throughout my project I have learnt several various things about technologies. In my work I have represented many of these and they are clearly shown in my final pieces. By using Photoshop I have learnt about digital image manipulation. I have also learnt how to cut a picture out using the magic wand tool, which takes the background of a photo out. I use the rubber tool to go around the edge of my model and take away and of the rough edges. This can be done in many ways with a soft of hard rubber depending on what was suitable. I also used the sponge tool which smoothed the edges and blended them into the background.
With the images I have used I have played around with the levels, brightness and contrast and colour balance; all of which enhance my final product.
By using the levels it made the picture seem more bright or darker. I also used it to fade and image out. All of the images I have placed on my final piece have had the colour balance slightly adjusted, this makes my model seem more tanned which many models on the front of a magazine are. I have adjusted all my images I have used to give them a luminosity to make them eye-catching. I have learnt how to adjust the colours after desaturating the image. As with the CD cover which is present on my article. I have played with the tools to make a certain features in the image such as her eye makeup darker. In the black and white image I have made the models lips pink, and her iris’ blue. I achieve this by painting over the selected area in the colour I wanted and then adjusted it by making it slight transparent, which helped make the image more realistic.
On my front cover I used a tool to pick out colours of the main image and use it for some text on the cover. This is what magazine editors tend to do.
On my article I have changed the levels to slightly fade an image out, to enable it to be suitable to use as a background which allowed the text to be clearly read.
Also using Photoshop I used drop shadows on the text which are present on my products and also on some of the images.

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

From the progression of the preliminary task to the full project I have learnt vastly. This is due to close analyses of current conventions, forms and genre of existing products since my preliminary work. I have studied magazines to see what kind of images, text and presentation they use to appeal to their target audience, and I then researched my audience. I have also looked at theatrical concerns in terms of audience response. I have used a questionnaire to assist me whilst making my magazine cover and also researched contents pages and articles, taking particular notice to the detail put in the structure and layout of the piece, and worked out what worked well and what didn’t, and how I could use this inspiration in my piece. This helped me design a product that would challenge current magazines in an existing realistic marketplace.
By doing this research I have learnt how to manipulate images and how to make them stand out. I also made text stand out by using drop shadows and by using whole range of Photoshop tools I made judgments and decisions as to colour choice, text styles, and choice of language, structure and layout to suit my target audience.