1. Music Magazine
Evaluation
Mumina Begum

2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of
real media products?
Before I created my music magazine I had to do a lot of research to understand
how the magazine pages were arranged and get more familiar with the
conventions of different genres of music magazines. I’ve realised all the magazines
have their title block at the top of the front cover of the magazine in big, bold font
to make the magazine be easily identified and eye catching. Also, the central
image is used was a mid-shot and has a direct mode of address, which gives a
personal approach to the audience. I added all the typical features a music
magazine has to my magazine, such as barcode, title block, price, date, anchorage
text, buzz word, puffs, banner etc. I only used one image on the cover because I
want the image to be the main focus point and it’s clear to the target audience
that the double page article is about the artist who is used for the central image.
Compared to some magazines, I feel that it looks tacky and unprofessional if you
have loads of images on the cover because it will take over the main focus point
and you wouldn’t know where to look. I’ve got five puffs and one anchorage text
which is a conventional feature for all magazines. I tried making the puffs short
and snappy and not give away too much to the reader so the target audience will
want to know more and buy the magazine. Most magazines, if not all use the
convention of having short puffs on their covers; this works really well so I decided
to follow the trend and incorporate it with my magazine cover. I’ve kept the
original house style the same throughout the front cover, contents page and
double page article, using only four colours; pink, black, white and blue. This helps
keep the magazine consistence and flow rather that unorganised. All magazines
have a house style to keep the magazine looking less over crowding and all over
the place.

3. Loads of make up
My magazine comes with a free music download code because it is
conventional for magazines to give away free stuff because it
attracts more buyers. If the target audience doesn’t want to buy
the magazine but finds out it comes with a free gift or they really
like the free gift they’ll buy the magazine just for the free gift. I put
the free download code puff at the top in a yellow box, so when
the target audience will notice the free gift when they pick the
magazine straight away. I used one buzz word, ‘Exclusive’; which is
a typical convention for all magazines, I placed it on top of the
anchorage text as it’s the main focus of the cover as well as the
central image. The buzz word is also in a yellow box as it will
attract the audience to notice the anchorage text quite quick. I
also, have a banner on top of my title block which is another
convention of typical magazines. I used most typical conventions Simple make up
on the cover that most magazine use. I haven’t really challenged
any of the conventions apart from my central image model isn’t
wearing very much make up. This is unconventional because most
magazines have glamorous models with load and loads of makeup
on to make themselves look pretty. I wanted my central image to
show my target audience that you don’t need to wear loads of
make up, they look naturally beautiful.

4. My contents page is easy to read and understand, as I’ve got only four sections
under the title ‘Contents ‘with subheadings; ‘Regulars’, ‘Features’, ‘Exclusive
Interviews’ and ‘Reviews’. This helps the target audience find the page they
want easily and quickly. I added the name of my magazine ‘Rhythmix’ on the
top left hand corner of my contents page because when I did my
research, various numbers of magazines include the name of their magazine on
the contents page. I also added images related to the articles on the contents
page with numbers on the bottom of the images. This makes it easier for the
audience to navigate to the page they want without even reading, if the image
attracts their eye and they like it then they just need to turn to the page they
want. I used the same house style that I used on the front cover to the contents
page; this makes the magazine flow fluently. The sub headings of the contents
page are in a pink box which highlights them, making it more eye catching and
stand out. I challenged the convention of music magazines; where I put the
information about the contents. I placed it at the bottom because I wanted my
contents page to be different compared to other magazines, in a good way as
they usually have it on the side or the top. On my contents page I wrote
‘Contents’ in the largest font as its the title and needs to get noticed first, the
subheadings are a size bigger than the information about the articles because
its a subheading and its helps the audience find the page they want easier. I
have two columns on my contents images with two subheadings in both, this
allowed me to add more images related to my contents. My page numbers on
the article and contents page are correct because I numbered my article page
44-45, which is roughly in the middle of my magazine and my contents page is
page three; straight after the magazine cover. The page numbers on my
contents page go in order from the regulars to the reviews because I did my
research and found out the numbers go in the order you write the articles
down, not all over the place.

5. On my double page article I was inspired by a Nicki Minaj article from the NME magazine. The colours I used
were very similar to the colours used in the article about her. I liked how the text went around her body so I
added it to my article; it was different and looked more professional. I also kept the same house style on the
double page article. I used the conventional style of using the same artist on the article and the front cover. On
my double page article I only added one image, as it would have looked wired and unprofessional if I added
another image to it, also the style I wanted my article would have been different then. It’s conventional that on
an article there are quotes that the artists say in the interview. If the audience are attracted by the quote
they’ll read the article to see what else they have said.

6. How does your magazine represent particular social groups?
My magazine is targeted at a female audience, aged 12-16. They
would be in secondary school or in the first year of college, they are
interested in music from America and the UK. They like listening to
R’n’B music but their favourite genre of music is pop. On my front
cover the central image I used is a pop artist who also sings R’n’B
music. I used her because she’s a teenage girl aged 16; the same
category as my target audiences age, this way my target audience
can relate to her as she’s the same or near their age. I wanted my
target audience to feel a connection with the artist on the front
cover, as this would grab their attention and they would want to
read the main article about the artist in the magazine. As I’ve
mentioned already my model isn’t wearing any make up on the
magazine cover because I want to prove to teenage girls that you
don’t need to wear heaps of make up to look good. This way
hopefully my target audience will aspire to be like her and not spend
most of their time on make u and plastic surgery; they’ll put their
minds to follow their dreams instead. By looking at the images my
artist is represented as a smiley, happy, young teenage girl who has
achieved her dream but when you read the article you get to know
her personality more, which is she’s a typical teenage girl who is
very down to earth. The costume my artist is wearing on the front
cover is more R’n’B style rather than pop, this shows not only does
she sing R’n’B music. She’s wearing a chequered shirt which isn’t
what a typical girl would wear so this tells the audience it doesn’t
matter what you wear, you are who you are which will give the
audience more confidence if they feel down. However, having her
hair down it evens it out. On the article she’s dressed up more
feminine and girly.

7. What kind of media institution might distribute your music magazine and why?
I chose IPC Media institution to distribute my music magazine because they are very diverse company. They
publish magazines from music, fashion, TV, even wallpaper; however, they do only publish one music magazine
which is NME; a very popular magazine which I hope my magazine will be too. I felt that IPC Media will best
suit publishing my magazine because there’s a gap in the market for a pop music magazine aimed at 12-16 year
olds as they don’t have one already. I did want the BBC Magazines to publish my magazine at first but they
already sell Top of the Pops magazine which is a very similar magazine to mine.

8. Who would be the audience for your music magazine and why?
The audience for my music magazine are females aged
between 12-16, this is because my magazine a pop magazine
and it’s usually the younger generation mostly interested in pop
music and most of them happen to be females. Anyone older
than 16 wouldn’t really be interested in this magazine, as some
of the artists my magazine features don’t associate with them
such as Disney musicals; high school musical. Also, the articles
are not going to be sophisticated as some of the target
audience wouldn’t understand. In the survey I did at the
beginning, most people named singers who sing both R’n’B
music as well as pop to be my central image so that’s why I used
an artist who sing in both of them genre category. I don’t have a
particular race of what my audience will be because pop and
R’n’B is universal and so many people like it that are different
races. My central image is of a new teenage girl pop/R’n’B artist
who got signed by Justin Timberlake. This helps the audience
feel that they can relate and connect with the artist, as it is the
first focus that the readers eyes will be drawn to. My target
audience’s interest will be obviously music but also other
activities they enjoy doing. I want my reader to be able to have
a connection and a relationship with the artist on the cover and
article; this would make them feel more comfortable to read
the article as they can relate to it. This is the whole reason why
I used an artist the same age as some of my target audience.

9. How did you attract/ address your target audience?
I used the real name of my artist which is Jenni, not a nickname, so the audience
know that she doesn’t have anything to hide. What you see is what you get. In
the article Jenni thanks all her fans for the support and thanks everyone that is
following her on Twitter. This shows that she’s very humble and grateful for
everything. Top of the Pops (TOTP) magazine is quite similar to my magazine but
my magazine is purely just about music, whereas TOTP has fashion and boy tips
and article in it etc. If my target audience doesn’t want a magazine with articles
about boys and fashion and they want more articles about music then they
should buy my magazine. The colours I used suit the target audience and the
genre of the music well because coral pink is a girly colour and it’s stereotypically
associated with girls and my target audience are young teenage girls. Also, most
girls’ favourite colour is pink and the colour pink will attract their eye to my
magazine. I used the colour white for the background of my cover, white
connotes innocent and as my audience are young girls they are likely to be
innocent. I used lots of type’s of conventions to attract my audience such as a
completion to win VIP concert tickets to see Katy Perry live, Katy Perry is a very
popular pop singer and most of my target audience will love her. She’s a very fun
and colourful person just like my audience so, they would love to see her live in
concert and meeting her will be a dream come true for them. As they don’t win
normal concert tickets to see her live because its VIP it will attract them more to
my magazine rather than other competitions.

10. I included a free download code for my artist’s first single so they don’t
have to pay to download her music like you do on iTunes, this will save
my audience money just by buying the magazine so they’re getting two
things for the price of one. The artist on the cover and double page
article is the same age as my audience so they can relate to her, this will
attract them to get my magazine also, she was once a normal girl, just
like them and she still is but she’s just a singer, who followed her dream
and achieved it. This allows my audience to feel that they can achieve
their dreams to if they try and put their minds to it. In the article she
mentions that she’s a family orientated person which is a good thing
and all my target audience will be too so they can relate to her with
that. If they aren’t then they can probably try to get along more with
their family, as Jenni had her family to support her to follow her dreams
and if they want to follow their dreams they need people who will
support them. My magazine is called ‘RHYTHMIX’ which is in
big, bold, capital font which is very eye catching, my audience cannot
avoid not noticing the title block as its very big. The word rhythmix
sounds very funky, this is why it goes well with my magazine as it’s a
pop magazine. I have a puff on my cover about Jessie J conquering the
US; this will defiantly attract more readers as all of Jessie’s singles are
fantastic and have been to the top 10. She’s also made a song called
‘who’s laughing now’; a song about bullying so if any of the target
audiences have related to that song will probably decide to buy my
magazine. Jessie J isn’t very feminine so the puff about her will attract
tomboys in the age range of 12-16. I included a website of my magazine
on the contents page as my target audience are teenagers and they
spend most of their time on the internet, also they can visit the website
on their phones if it has access to internet.

11. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing your music
magazine?
From making my magazine my understanding of technologies has
increased massively. I’ve used Adobe Photoshop CS3 once before a very
long time and I forgot how to use it so it was all new to me. I’ve never
edited photos before so I had to learn all the techniques while editing my
images. You could do all sorts of editing on Photoshop but I only used the
basic techniques. I’ve realised Photoshop is more advanced in effects and
production. I used Photoshop for my mainly for my images, I also used it
for the text which I added to my draft work. However, when it came to
putting my work together on Adobe Illustrator CS3, I wanted to move my
text around but I couldn’t because I saved it as an image when I did it one
Photoshop. This is why I did the text on Illustrator for my recent drafts and
final work. I was able to edit fonts/text, colours and images in a much
greater effect in Photoshop by editing
size, contrast, angle, hue, background, colour balance and more to get the
desired finish that I want on my magazine. I had to start on a blank page
which allowed me to be as creative as I wanted. I found some techniques
easy such as cropping, inserting images and the design on the front cover
however, I found it confusing with all the layers used on Photoshop and
putting the text around my artist body on the article. On my images I took
the background out using the lasso tool and magic wand, it did take a
while to do that Photoshop didn’t detect the sections I wanted removed
all the time. Also, I had to do some rubbing out using the rubber on some
photos, I had to take my time and have a steady hand while rubbing out or
I’d rub out the wrong section. I used Adobe Illustrator to help create all
three pages of my magazine.

12. I found Illustrator easier to use as I didn’t have to do the editing
on it but I did want to use the crop tool on it several times but I
didn’t know how to do it so I just did it on Photoshop. I used
‘Blogger’ to upload my coursework, it was very useful as I could
edit the posts that I put up anytime without re-writing it or
starting from the start if I found out that I made a mistake. I used a
website called ‘Picnik’ to edit one of my images that I posted up
on Blogger, I found that website easier to edit images rather than
Photoshop. On Picnik you could air brush your images and add
makeup to the image, I only used the website for experiment, I
didn’t want to use an image on my magazine which has made the
photo fake because it wouldn’t promote a good message to my
audience. I used survey monkey for feedback from my audience by
creating a questionnaire. I did one before I started make my
magazine to understand what my audience are interested in and
what type of magazine they prefer also, what free gift they would
like to get with the magazine. I used PowerPoint to crop my
finished pages and turn them into JPEG photos also; I put all my
print screens on PowerPoint. Posting my work on the internet is
very helpful as it environmentally friendly as paper is not used
only if you printed something out. The last technology source I
used was a digital camera to take my images; I had to think about
shot type, angle and framing while taking photos of my artist.

13. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression
from it to the full product?
Before I started my magazine I did a preliminary task of a college
magazine cover and a contents page. I did it in school with very
little knowledge about magazines and their conventions. I did this
to help me get used to Photoshop and Illustrator before I started
making my music magazine. My college magazine cover hasn’t
really been thought through very well as it’s simply a photo with a
title block, barcode, price and a puff and anchorage text. They’re
the main things a magazine has. I experimented with the font and
colours for the text but did no editing on the images. There’s
nothing special about my magazine cover as it’s very plain and not
presented very well. I feel that more effect and time has been taken
to the contents page as it’s very colourful and there are details on it
to make it more presentable. Although the contents page is more
eye catching, it does look very tacky and the colours used are very
bright; something that you would see in little kids magazine.
Also, there’s no house style ands there’s way more than four
colours used. On the front cover the orange anchorage text
camouflages a bit with the orange border in the back, this isn’t very
effective as the anchorage text is meant to be one of the main
focuses of the cover. The central image on my music magazine has a
message to the audience in why she isn’t wearing any make up, in
the college magazine there’s no meaning or story behind the image.
Overall, my cover and contents page looks very tacky and there
isn’t anything special about it, the cover doesn’t really tell us what’s
going to be inside it apart from two articles. You wouldn’t have a
target audience for my college magazine because no one would
want to buy it.

14. My final magazine is more appealing and presented more effectively
than my preliminary task magazine. For my music magazine I included a
simple but strong central image which makes my magazine stand out
and appealing to the target audience as they can relate to it. Whereas
my preliminary task magazine cover looks like a photo that the school
take for an ID, the model on my college magazine looks very
uncomfortable which will push the readers away. My magazine contents
page is more professional than the college magazine as the page flows
rather than all over the place. From my mistake on the preliminary
task, I learnt that I need to make my magazine look more
professional, add more puffs to the cover which are short and
snappy, easy to read and lastly appealing to my target audience and
make sure that they can relate to the artist. In my music magazine I
included subtitles to the contents such as ‘Regulars’ and ‘Features’ etc
but in my college magazine I just wrote a list of page numbers with
articles written next to them. I used boxes around the subtitles so the
reader can navigate through the page easily and to make it bolder and
stand out. However, on the college magazine I put boxes around the
page numbers; this isn’t really helpful because it’s the articles which are
meant to stand out more rather than just a number. I liked working on
Illustrator as I found it easy to work on, inserting titles and
images, putting my magazine together to create a final piece. It had a
numerous amount of fonts and colours to choose from for my magazine
so, I had to experiment with them all first before making my final choice.
There is a massive difference between my final magazine and my
preliminary task, in quality, appearance, meaning, construction etc. I
also learnt many skills on the way while making my final product.