Answers for my evaluation

1. Evaluation
QUESTION 3: WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTRIBUTE
YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY?
The kind of media institution that will be distributing my media product will be a
publishing house. I have previously conducted institution research on a number of
different publishing houses. Different publishing houses specialise in different types
and genres of media and I found this out when doing my research. I researched 3
different publishing houses; Bauer Media Group, Future plc and Immediate Media
Co. I found that out of these 3 companies, the one that was most suited to my media
product was Bauer Media Group, based on the fact that they already have
experience publishing music magazines, and doing it successfully, with Kerrang!
being one of the biggest selling music magazines in the world. Kerrang! is a music
magazine of a very similar genre to my own, so similar in fact that some of the same
bands etc. could be featured in both of our magazines, so I feel as though if Bauer
have been so successful in distributing this type of media before, they will be just as
successful distributing my own media product. There could be a slight problem with
this however because the products being so similar could mean that customers
either by one magazine or the other. This would affect the amount of money that
Bauer make and it would make more sense if they only distributed one of them.
Bauer made an estimated revenue of €3.2 billion in 2013 and revenues as big as this
are one of the main reasons why I want Bauer Media to distribute my product. They
are successful in what they do. Another reason why I have chosen Bauer Media to
distribute my product is because they are a conglomerate; they own a lot of
different, smaller companies such as Metro Radio which will mean my product can
be distributed across a number of different companies and this will help my product
gain recognition and increase the number of people who buy it. For example my
media product could be advertised on Metro Radio and this will be advertised to a
large audience increasing the amount of people who buy my media product. My
media product will be multi-platform, available not only as a hard magazine, but also
an online magazine, which is also available on smart phones and tablets. This wide
range of accessibility will appeal to the younger male audience of 13-19 who are less
likely to go out and buy magazines, it is easier for them to access themonline.
QUESTION 4: WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?
The main audience for my media product are teenagers between the ages of 13-19.
The reason for this is because my magazine is an alternative rock magazine and my
research has shown that people of this age group listen to alternative rock.
Therefore, I have made sure my magazine appeals to this age group by making the
front page stand out by using a very edgy font for my masthead and also making
every other feature on the magazine bold to ensure it stands out. Also, I have
appealed to this age group by making my media product multi-platform. My media
product will be available online, smart phones and tablets as well as a magazine. This
is because most teenagers do not go out and buy magazines, so increasing the
accessibility by making it available on these other platforms will appeal to my target

2. audience and ensure that more people buy my magazine, whether it be a hard copy
or online. A similar magazine to my own, Kerrang!, also has a similar audience to my
own and I have tried to replicate the conventions they used to appeal to my
audience just as much as they do. To ensure that my audience do not lose interest in
my media product, I will offer free posters, gifts etc. in every issue and I will also
include a main feature in every issue, the first being ‘TOP 100 ALT ROCK SONGS
EVER’.
QUESTION 5: HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?
I have used a number of different features and conventions to make sure that my
media product attracts my target audience. My target audience is people within the
age group 13-19. It is aimed at both genders, but mainly male. My institution
research showed me that main readers of similar genres are male, although my
magazine is aimed at both genders. I have used bold text and vibrant colours such as
yellow to make the cover page stand out and catch the attention of the audience. As
you can see on my cover page below:
The text is bold, yellow and edgy. This makes the magazine stand out and this
attracts the audience to the magazine without them even reading it. The reason I
have chosen a specific target audience is so I can focus on attracting them to the
magazine first, ensuring I have the largest market audience available which will
result in the best revenue. Once this target audience is secured I can then try and
appeal to other audiences to increase sales and ultimately make more money.
QUESTION 1: IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP
OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
The first thing I did before even thinking about ideas for my magazine was look at
other magazines. I analysed the conventions that were used throughout the
magazines. The magazine I analysed was ‘Kerrang!’ because I knew that the genre of
my magazine would be similar to that particular magazine. I did a lot of research

3. including research on current media products, audience research and institution
research. All of this research has impacted different aspects of my final product. One
example is the institution research, I found that Bauer media had already published
media products similar to mine and therefore I felt like they were most suitable to
publish my magazine as oppose to others, for example Immediate Media Co.
Conventions such as a masthead and cover photo were implemented into my media
product in an attempt to match other magazines. The cover photo was layered on
top of the masthead which is a technique implemented in may magazines, as seen
by the example:
I have tried not to veer away from conventions because I wanted my media product
to be similar to successful existing ones such as Kerrang! This will make my media
product look professional and well put together.
QUESTION 2: HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR
SOCIAL GROUPS?
I have tried to represent a number of different social groups in my magazine. The
genre of my magazine is alternative rock, so I have attempted to represent that
particular group a lot throughout my whole magazine. This can be seen through the
register of the text, the stories within the magazine, costume, fonts etc. For
example, my model is posing in a very aggressive way as if he is screaming, this
relates to alternative rock because the music is often loud and screaming replicates
that. Also the costume my model wore was chosen specifically to represent the
genre. The black t-shirt combined with the red and black chequered shirt gives off a
very alternative look, which can be seen throughout many alternative rock bands.
The font chosen is also representing the genre of alternative rock. This is because
the text is bold, and has a very edgy and alternative look to it, with scratched parts
that add impact. The story used in my cover page is an interview; this is very
informal to represent the unpredictability of the genre and also to represent the
social group of teenagers, who will be the main customer of my media product.
Audience research showed me that alternative rock or genres similar were the most
popular within the teenage age range, so I linked both of these social groups
together when creating my media product.

4. QUESTION 6: WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE
PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?
One of the main things that I have learned is that there a large number of different
technologies that can be used in different aspects of constructing this product. From
presenting research, ideas to actually constructing the product. I have used sites like
Blogger to present all of my work, Prezi to produce mind maps of research,
Photoshop and InDesign to construct the product and many others. I have came a
long way in being able to use the different types of technology available, I have
developed my skills in Photoshop by learning from my mistakes and also completing
tutorials. I feel like new technologies have changed media production for the better,
they are becoming more advanced and are able to do much more complex things to
ensure the final media product is the best it can be.
QUESTION 7: LOOKING BCK AT YOUR PELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU
FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSIONFROM IT TO THE MAIN
TASK?
From my preliminary task I have came a long way in terms of constructing a
magazine. I have learnt from my mistakes. While completing the preliminary task, I
was not fully aware of the conventions used in magazines, whereas now I have
conducted research and implemented conventions into my final product. I have
developed my techniques in Photoshop and also used InDesign, a programme that I
never even knew existed whilst I was creating my preliminary product. I have started
to think more before making a decision and adjusting things slightly to make sure
they are in the perfect place, for example the cover line etc. Whereas I didn’t
consider this in my preliminary task and just wanted to chuck everything onto the
page. I have developed in many ways such as my technical ability, concentration,
perseverance and most importantly commitment to wanting to improve my skills in
media and creating the best possible product that I can.