Evlauation
- 1. EVALUATION By Gurpreet Chatha
- 2. By analysing music magazines I had identified forms and conventions of magazines such as, mastheads, barcodes and headings. I had analysed NME magazine and Kerrang. From looking at these magazines I identified the general conventions such as a big masthead with an image of an artist/band ahead of the masthead. However I also analysed grime and hip hop magazines to get an idea of the forms and conventions of grime/hip hop. Here I analysed the codes and conventions of grime and hip hop magazines such as, the masthead, the images and how everything was placed. These types of music magazines usually contain an image of a single artist or band facing the direction of the camera. I used these conventions to gain ideas for my own magazine. I followed conventions of music magazines by having a big Masthead which is clearly visible to the readers. Another way I had followed conventions was by using a male model on the front cover ,together with having various fonts on the cover to keep the reader interested and engage the reader. Furthermore by analysing XXL magazine I looked how they used forms and conventions. I noticed that they used a banner which was placed at the bottom of the page. I had followed the forms and conventions of this music magazine, by adding an original banner at the bottom of my page. +
- 3. How does your media product represent particular social groups. My media product represents people who live in urban areas as it relates to how there everyday lives. It reflects the younger population from about the ages 16-21, which is expressed through the images I have used. The person in my image is 17 years old which represents the social group this magazine is aimed at as it is aimed at an age group which is similar. The colour schemes I used represents the social group my magazine is aimed at. The colours which used on my front cover and double page spread are quite dark which represents a large portion of particular social groups, as it conotates crime and violence which surrounds people who live in urban areas. The Model on my cover is wearing street style clothing, what people reading this magazine would also wear so they know what the magazine is about.
- 4. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? I think that the best institution to distribute my music magazine would be Net Theory, an award-winning website design & development company. Net theory are well known for their marketing and the variety of technology and strategic planning. Net theory work with a variety of companies such as nickelodeon and also XXL magazine. Net theory already work with music magazines of a similar genre, therefore they are experienced within magazine distribution. Furthermore I believe that Furthermore I believe the most influential way for distributing my product would be through the internet. As time advances so does new technology and understanding of how to use it. The internet is a major factor in the selling of media products, therefore, as my magazine is aimed at the younger population I would distribute it over the internet as it is the most.Also Net Theory specialise with website design which means using the internet would be a very effective way for distribution.
- 5. Who would be the audience for your magazine From my research I have found out that my target audience would be 16 to 21 year olds. Also the majority of people who I had asked were males, therefore I have put a male artist on the front cover so the male audience can relate to it. All of the exclusives are on the front cover, to show the new stories. The fan base of the artist would attract more people to the magazine, as they would want to read an article about one of their favourite artists.
- 6. How did you attract/address the audience. I attracted the audience using a number of techniques. By having an interview on the double page spread will engage the reader as it delves into the life of n artist and tells his story, of how he started with music and made it big. Also the clothes of the artist are quite common, which means that by looking at the image people can relate to the artist. I also have an offer on the contents page which allows readers to subscribe to the magazine at a much cheaper price, which will attract the lower income band of readers or even regular readers. The artist on the cover is looking towards the camera which may intrigue the reader. The headings on my front cover are short but they also inform the reader and may encourage them to buy it so they can read further. Subscription
- 7. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? Before starting my as media coursework I was not familiar with Photoshop at all. My first attempt with using Photoshop was with my preliminary task. I learnt how to crop images using the magic wand tool and the lasso tool. Learning these skills were essential for creating my music magazine as I needed to crop out the images I had taken with my camera to make them suitable. This was a skill which had taken me a considerable time to learn, as you had the settings for cropping absolutely right, e.g. the tolerance of the cropping had to be altered several time whilst cropping one image so that you would not cut out any parts of the image. I also faced difficulties with the image taking with my camera. The day I decided to take my images for my music magazine, the weather was windy, which meant that the images would have come out blurry. So I had to change the settings several times until I had finally I could take an image without anything wrong with it. I Also learned how to use www.blogger.com which was very useful as I can post my music magazine and even gain feedback. I also used websites such as www.dafont.com to create text headings to allow my prodcut to look as professional as possible.
- 8. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? After looking back at my preliminary task, I have seen that my final product is significantly better. This is because I have a better knowledge of how to use technologies and software's to my advantage. I learnt how to focus a camera properly and use lighting to enhance the images. I have learnt a variety of many skills and techniques. In my preliminary tasks I struggled with cropping images, I had learnt how to do this and adapted for my final product. Also I did not know how to get my images in colour ,thus becoming a black and white magazine. The test of the preliminary task was plain and did not attract the reader, there was nothing unique about it. From this I learnt how to create a final product which was far better than my preliminary task.