1. Media evaluation. BeccaMcPartland.

2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? This selling line will grab the readers attention by the bold white font with stands out on the black banner. This is my feature article photo. Because she is the only artist it shows that she is the main feature within the magazine, and shows her superiority. The title of the magazine is bold and stands out against the background. The readers attention has been grabbed by the graphic feature because of the word ‘free’. The colour is contrasting with the red and white. The photo near it also shows one of the posters included. It is also made to look like a sticker on the magazine. The kickers have been put in a yellow font because it makes it stand out. I selected one word sentences because it makes it more dramatic. The cover lines describe the kickers in more detail. Lead story is highlighted by the white and red writing with a black outline. It has been put in this font because it is bold and stands out, it is obvious that it is the main story. Secondary lead is highlighted by the red box around the picture. This separates it from the main image, but still shows that it is one of lead stories in the article. This kicker and cover line have been put in red and white text. This is because it more important than the others. The red writing highlights the more interesting stories. FRONT COVER. The flash will grab the readers attention because of the colour of the text and the style of the font.

3. The main image on the contents page, does not have to be the same as the band or artist on the cover. Although most magazines do have artist on the contents page as well as the cover, I have decided against this. Due to the fact that my magazine is indented to be something different, and I found that most magazines like to do this. This images portrays the band ‘Young America’ as a close group. It is clearly aimed at the younger audience. The image is quite crowded which I think shows that the band are quite dominating. This writing is to go with the main image. It describes what the image is about, and why it is important. It describes a little of what the magazine thinks of them and it tries to persuade the reader the read the article. This is the second main images on my contents page. It is smaller because I shows that the story is not of the main leads. I think the image portrays this artist as quite strong, as shows him as a solo artist which means he is only one in the lime light. CONTENTS.

4. This is highlighting the date the issue was released. The large font grabs the readers attention. ‘Features, Interviews, Reviews’. I put this text in a large red font to make it stand out. This way the reader can find what they are looking for much easier by looking at the sub sections. The editorial describes what is going to be in this weeks issue of the magazine. This has been made to look like a sticker on the contents page. The eye of the audience is grabbed by the bright yellow font stating a chance to win something. The subscriptions box is highlighted the faded colour around it. It separates it from the rest of the contents page. CONTENTS.

5. How does your media product represent particular social groups? The target audience for my magazine was aimed at 16 to 26 year olds (teenagers/young adults). To achieve this I used certain media conventions. I have used the same colour theme throughout my magazine to keep it flowing which will hopefully keep the readers attention. The colours I used were, red, black, white and yellow. I choose these colours because I thought they went quite nicely together whilst they could also contrast one another when needed to. The colours don’t particularly have a meaning however there contrasting abilities work nicely. I think using the colours that I have used will represent particular social groups because the colours are something that both genders can relate to, because the colours are not biased. Using fonts are also important when it comes to having a social group for a magazine. When you have a specific audience and niche market it is easier to select fonts which go with this. This way the whole thing will come together more and will reach higher selling points than magazines that do not particularly have a specific audience. I chose fonts that could relate to the Indie genre, and I think that this is quite clear in my magazine. The imagines within the magazine are very important. This is because they have to convey the correct message, and this is done by what they are wearing, their expressions and where they are. I used photos that would flow with the indie theme in my magazine, this had to be done my selecting clothes for the people to wear in my photo shoot which allowed me to target my audience. Language is also a key feature to target a particular social group. I had to focus on creating phrases that would highlight the genre, I did this by researching other music magazines. Overall, I think that my magazine used these codes and conventions quite successfully when representing a particular social group. It represents the sub culture by use of colour, font, images and language techniques. All of this combined represents the power within the magazine.

6. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? IPC media is the UK’s leading consumer magazine publisher, and it distributes the NME magazine which was part of the inspiration for my magazine. Due to this I believe that my magazine would be an appealing investment to the institution. Due to the large fame and success of the IPC media company, I think that it would do well in selling and distributing my magazine. I think it would gain great publicity from IPC. IPC media owns Time Warner Inc. which would be good due to the fact that the artists that star in my magazine would be publicised and advertised due to music video’s, TV, radio, albums, singles, adverts, DVD's and sales. This would also help to sell my magazine because of the fame of the artists. Also, the exclusive interviews that feature in the magazine would help to sell it because the audience will feel like it is a one off to read up on the star.

7. Who would be the audience for your media product? When it came to creating my music magazine, I had to have an audience in mind from the very beginning. To do this I created a questionnaire to find out what other people my age liked. The purpose of this was to find out if my target audience would enjoy the media product I was going to create. From there I decided that my magazine would be aimed at teenagers and young adults between the ages of 16 and 26. I choose this because I felt it was a wide enough audience without going too young or too old. http://becca-mediablog.blogspot.com/2010/10/media-questionaire.html In my magazine I used famous bands and artists that would also attract the audience that I intended. This is because the bands that I have listed also feature in other magazine that are aimed at the same audience.

8. How did you attract/address your audience? In my magazine I used a colour theme of black, red, yellow and white. I used these colours because I thought they worked well together, keeping the theme of the magazine flowing. I thought that this help grab the audiences attention. I used large fonts through the magazine as it would grab the audiences attention, due to the boldness. It will hook them into the magazine, making them read on through. The language used in the magazine is important. It needs to have large enough understanding of what is happening, however, the audience also need to be able to relate to it. Therefore, I think selecting the correct language use is quite difficult, because it is very important to make the audience feel at home. This would engage the audience into reading the magazine. ‘Sex, skins and drug scandals’ is a phrase that should attract the audience, due to the nature of humans. People are generally interested in other peoples lives, especially when their celebrities and they have done something bad. They are inquisitive when it comes to others slipping up, as it makes them feel superior. I used quite a large dominating photo as my feature article image on the front cover. This is because it shows the importance of the artist, due to the size of the image due to everything else of the cover. This is create a feeling power and significance, something which the audience may desire. The artist on the cover is someone who people aspire to be like. I did it like this because I thought it would interest the audience more.

9. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? During this task, I have learnt that where ever technologic advance happens it is important. I have also learnt about Photoshop, which is something that has enabled me to create a much more professional looking magazine. The process of using Photoshop took quite a while for me to come to terms with, however like everything once you get used to it, it becomes much easier. Creating a blog was also something new to me. However, it did not take long on understanding how to create and publish a post. The blog was used to show important steps in creating the magazine. Using slide share, was also something that was new to me. Slide share is a web page which allows you to upload your PowerPoint slides. This means you can get the embed code and then upload the PowerPoint onto your blog. http://becca-mediablog.blogspot.com/ I think that using things such as mobile technology, the internet and social networking sites such as Facebook would keep the audience interested in the magazine. This is because my target audience is 16 to 26 year olds, and I think that mobiles and technology are important in their lives. My magazine would have a website, which I have stated on the cover of the magazine. This would have extra news and comments from our readers. It is something that would advertise the magazine. Furthermore, I think that social network sites could be useful when it comes to selling the magazine. This is because it would advertise the magazine on a much larger scale, due to the fact that it is open for everyone to view. The use of photography was an important thing to grasp. This is because it was important to make the photographs look professional, and keep it within the genre of the magazine.

10. Looking back at your preliminary task (the College magazine), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product? The preliminary task was to create a college magazine. This was like a practice task to get used to and understand the workings of Photoshop. I thought that doing this was good because it was useful and helped me find the skills in using Photoshop. It helped me to understand how the layout of a magazine should be, and what should be included through the contents of it. I think that this has helped me to overall create a better magazine, using layout, language techniques, colour and fonts to match the genre. I learnt that all of this was important when it came to creating my final piece, because it is important to target your specific audience. This is because to sell a magazine, it is better to have a specific niche market to sell your magazine to. Furthermore, I learnt that when it came to selecting a colour to use in the magazine is also quite important. This is because changing the colour can drastically change the mood and theme of the magazine, and it can sometimes look out of place. Therefore it is important to select colours that flow well together and stick to it. The colours I used in my magazine were black, red, yellow and white. I used the different colours to highlight more important part of the texts. I also used it to separate different parts. For example, I have the headline as a large black font because I think that this is important in grabbing the readers attention. However, I have placed a pull quote in a much brighter colour of yellow because I think that this will make the reader want to read on, it is in a smaller font though because I think it is less important than the headline. In the interview I have done the questions on red and the answers in black, this is to separate the two so it is much easier to read.

11. When creating the college magazine, I learnt that it was important to use language that the audience could relate to. This is because it makes them feel more at home, it is as though they can connect with the magazine more. If the audience did not understand what the magazine was trying to say they would not read it, and then they may stop buying it. Therefore it is important to use certain language and techniques to grab the readers attention. For example, you would not use a low frequency lexis, with a formal register when aiming your magazine towards a younger audience. It is important they can relate to the magazine. I was thinking about this the whole time I was creating the final drafts of the front cover, contents and double page spread. I was able to use the right mode of address throughout my magazine , allowing me to address my target audience. I used specific language techniques which would create a feeling of ease in the magazine, I wanted to make the audience feel relaxed when reading. I think the colloquial language, and the jargon has helped to make the magazine seem friendly, which is an instant selling point. During the research, I looked into various music genres. I learnt about different music subcultures however, for me it seemed easier to go with an indie/pop theme. This is because it is the kind of music that sells to me, due to what I have grown up with in the 21st centaury. I think that it made it quite easy for me to build up my magazine . One of the main technologies that I had to use during the preliminary and the main task, was Photoshop. Photoshop allowed me to build up layers of my magazine, which makes it look much more professional. I learnt that Photoshop can be quite difficult to use if you do not know what you are doing, however, the basics are quite easy to understand. Below I have shown how using Photoshop has helped me to develop my magazine in different stages. At first my magazine starts off with just an image. However in each stage the magazine is developing my adding more text, images and colour.

12. When researching for the preliminary task, I looked into what the main features of a magazine are. I looked at what features on a front cover to sell the magazine, and I interoperated these into my magazine. Also, I looked into how and why these codes and conventions help to sell the magazine. I found out that to sell a magazine, it first has to grab the readers attention. This is done by using bright colours that work well together. Also, important parts on the cover need to stand out more. For example, the main headline should be in a much bolder font than the rest of the text. I think that using this effect will help my magazine stand out/ Furthermore, I learnt about the rule of thirds. Using this helps to section off parts of the magazine and link them together