EVALUATION

1. EVALUATION Emma Tennant Candidate Number: 5337 Centre Number: 31030

2. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS? Before designing my Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread it was important for me to conduct research in order to identify the conventions of real music magazines. This of course had a big influence on the process of producing my own music magazine. I have used a number of conventions from Q magazine as this magazine features both Pop and Rock which is what I was aiming to do in my magazine. Q MAGAZINE WEBSITE

3. FRONT COVER My Front Cover employs a number of the conventions found in Q magazine. This can be seen through the choice of font and layout. The layout of my magazine is fairly minimal and the text is aligned, following a clear structure. I felt that a minimal layout similar to Q magazine would attract my target audience and I therefore felt no need to challenge this convention in any way. Similarly I have used a clear bold font which immediately attracts attention. This can be seen where I have written ‘Brooke’ and Q magazine have written ‘Muse.’ It immediately attracts attention to the featuring band/artist and makes people want to read the magazine. I have also created a unique selling point at the bottom of the page by saying; ‘Keeping you up-to-date with the latest music.’ This is an important convention which I felt no need to challenge as it attracts readers by making the magazine stand out from others. The background of my magazine is grey, however I tried many different backgrounds to make it stand out from other magazines. Nevertheless I decided to keep the grey background and not challenge the convention as it works well on Q magazine and attracts readers.

4. CONTENTS PAGE My Contents Page employs many conventions found in Q magazine. This can primarily be seen in the layout. Similarly to Q, I have chosen to place a picture of the main artist on one side and the text on the other. Nevertheless I have developed this convention by placing the picture on the right hand side instead of the left as I felt it looked more natural and appealing. I have also placed two photos at the bottom of the page, with one of them being at a slight angle to attract attention. The use of large page numbers on the pictures is another important convention of Q magazine which I felt no need to challenge as it makes it easier for the reader to find the right page number. Nevertheless, the colour scheme I have chosen is different as I have used darker colours such as grey and brown. I felt that a white background was not suitable as it looked too ‘bland.’ I therefore decided to use grey as it follows the theme of the magazine and looks more eye-catching. Unlike Q magazine I used coloured text boxes to display headings as I felt that it made the text stand out more. Nevertheless, like Q I used sub-headings and page numbers which is an important convention of music magazines as it makes the Contents Page look more organized for the reader.

5. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD My Double Page Spread has used some conventions of a Q magazine Double Page Spread. The use of columns to organise the text is a major convention which makes it clear that it is an article. The use of a big letter at the beginning of major paragraphs is also another important convention of music magazines as it signifies the beginning. Similarly the use of outtakes from the interview allows the reader to get a feel of the interview without reading the whole text. These conventions are found in all music magazines which is why I felt no need to challenge them as they define the magazine. Like Q magazine I have use a text box saying ‘In the Studio.’ This creates a link to the Contents Page where one of the headings is ‘In the Studio.’ Nevertheless I have challenged some conventions by placing the main pictures along the top of the magazine instead of having one main picture covering one whole side. I felt that this suited the article more and allowed me to show several different aspects of the recording studio and Brooke’s work. The colour scheme of my Double Page Spread is also different to Q magazine as it is grey instead of white. I felt that this along with the grey and white pictures looked appealing as well as it fitting with the style of the rest of the magazine.

6. HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS? My media product represents two main social groups: Pop and Rock. These two social groups have been represented through the use of pictures, colour scheme, font, language and layout. The main artist on my magazine is a Pop artist. This is seen through the way she is dressed but also the way she is portrayed, she looks more ‘stylish.’ The representation of Pop and Rock is also seen through the use of both bold and normal text. The bold text represents Rock and the normal text represents Pop. As well as this the layout of the magazine is more ordered than a Rock magazine, nevertheless the font varies in size which makes the layout look more cluttered, representing Rock. The use of colours also plays a big role in representing the two main social groups, by using dark and bright colours together. Black is a typical Rock colour whereas grey and brown are more ‘classic’ making them more suitable to represent Pop. The language used throughout is informal and suitable for both Pop and Rock such as: ‘What does Jake Shears and the rest of the gang get up to on tour?’ This is informal but not over the top which clearly represents both Pop and Rock. Lastly the magazine portrays both Pop and Rock artists/bands on the Front and Contents Page of the magazine which clearly signifies to the reader that it is a Pop/Rock magazine along with the title PopRock.

7. WHAT KIND OF INSTITUTUON MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY? All institutions that sell magazines would distribute my media product. This would include all Newsagents such as WHS Smith, but also major supermarkets such as Tesco. These institutions would distribute my media product because they sell magazines to the general public.

8. TARGET AUDIENCE My magazine is aimed at older teenagers aged 16-21 In order to attract and address my audience I used an eye-catching colour scheme with bright colours such as red, black, grey and brown to attract attention. I also used bold text to attract attention and varying text sizes in order to make the layout look more young and fresh. As well as this, the pictures on the Contents Page are appealing to teenagers as the largest of them has been taken at an angle and the picture beneath has been slightly rotated. This adds to the young and dynamic feel of the magazine. However the main way in which I attracted and addressed my target audience was in the use of informal language. Informal and chatty language can be seen throughout the Front Page, Contents Page and Double Page Spread such as; ‘We check out the best and the worst.’ Using language that the target audience can relate to is very effective in attracting their attention.

9. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT? Many skills were required when constructing my media product. I had to take my own photographs, construct my media product on Photoshop, and use desktop publishing when doing my research and evaluation. Taking photographs for my magazine required skills such as finding the best way to frame the photo and finding the best settings to use in different circumstances depending on light. I also had to transfer them to a computer using a USB cable. I feel that this task has helped me improve my photography skills as I have had to take photographs which would be suitable for a music magazine, meaning that I had to plan more carefully. Using Photoshop was also very useful as I was not familiar with the program, it gave me the chance to gain valuable skills. Through using Photoshop I learnt how to edit photos and create the magazine by using a number of different tools such as pen tool, paint bucket, clone stamp tool and line tool. Lastly, my general skills when it comes to desktop publishing were improved when producing the power point and target audience questionnaires.

10. LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FINAL PRODUCT? I feel that I have gained a number valuable skills from my preliminary task to the final product. Firstly I feel that my Photoshop skills have greatly improved as I am a lot more confident when editing photos. In the preliminary task I struggled when cutting out photographs whereas now I find it a lot easier as I have learnt that it is better to use the pen tool instead of the magnetic lasso tool. My photography skills have also improved, especially when thinking about composition. I have experimented more with different angles than I did in my preliminary task. In addition I have made use of the audience feedback which was given on my preliminary task. A lot of people said that they felt that the background was boring and bland because it was white, therefore I made sure that my Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread used grey instead of white as a background in order to make it more eye-catching and appealing. Lastly I feel that my overall research and planning skills have improved when creating my media product as I have had to research other music magazines in detail and I have had to plan my own magazine in great detail.

11. FRONT COVER – TARGET AUDIENCE SURVEY Q1- What are your initial impressions of the Front Cover? Most people said that it was very eye-catching and bold. Q2- What do you think of the layout of the Front Cover? Most people said that they like the fact that it’s simple and not cluttered. Q3- Does the Front Cover use the traditional conventions of a music magazine? Everyone I asked said yes. Q4- Is the font and language appropriate? Everyone I asked said yes. Q5- Does the colour scheme appeal to you? Most people said that they liked the use of bright colours such as red. They also thought that the colour scheme was very appealing. Q6- What Genre of music would you say the magazine was for? Everyone said that it was a Pop/Rock magazine. Q7- Do the images appeal to you and do they support the style of music? Everyone I asked said yes. Q8- What would you change and why? Some people suggested moving the date to the barcode.

12. CONTENTS PAGE – TARGET AUDIENCE SURVEYSURVEY Q1- What are your initial impressions of the Contents Page? Most people said that it was very good and the pictures stand out. Q2- What do you think of the layout of the Contents Page? Most people really liked the layout and the way the pictures were placed. Q3- Does the Contents Page use the traditional conventions of a music magazine? Everyone I asked said yes. Q4- Is the font and language appropriate? Everyone I asked said yes. Q5- Does the colour scheme appeal to you? Everyone I asked said yes, a lot of people also said that they like the text boxes. Q6- Do the images appeal to you and do they support the style of music? Everyone I asked said yes, a lot of people also said that they like the fact that there was a mixture of images and that they had a page number on them. Q7- What would you change and why? Nobody suggested any changes.

13. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD – TARGET AUDIENCE SURVEY Q1- What are your initial impressions of the Double Page Spread? Most people said that it was very good and they liked the images across the top of the page. Q2- What do you think of the layout of the Double Page Spread? A lot of people really liked the fact that it was original as the pictures are at the top of the page. Q3- Does the Double Page Spread use the traditional conventions of a music magazine? Everyone I asked said yes. Q4-What do you think of the article? Everyone I asked liked it, a lot of people said it was very interesting. Q5- Does the colour scheme appeal to you? Everyone I asked said yes. Q6- Do the images appeal to you and do they support the style of music? Most people that I asked really like the images and the fact that some of them are black and white. People felt that it looked unique. Q7- What would you change and why? Some people suggested slightly blurring the edges of the image next to the promo tour box.

14. OVERALL – TARGET AUDIENCE SURVEY Q1- Is there continuity between the Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread? Everyone I asked said yes, as I have used the same font and grey background all the way through. Q2- Would you buy the magazine? Most people answered yes to this question as they felt £3.50 was a fair price for a monthly magazine. Overall my target audience feedback was very positive. The feedback has been very valuable as it has allowed me to see that my finished music magazine does appeal to my target audience. However it has also allowed me to see where I could have improved.