AS MEDIA EVALUATION

1. AS MEDIA EVALUATION Will Pluse

2. 2. How does your media product represent particular social groups? • I made my magazine to fit with young males and their strong passion for DJing and electronic music. The images in my magazine are very urban and from a younger perspective compared to a magazine such as GQ. My magazine is to promote the freedom of being young and living life to the maximum. The magazines target audience is young males who love going to nightclubs and raves but also to future DJ's. However my magazine can also target an audience through the 'Old school' artists and articles I have included. The consumers of this magazine are likely to be male and enjoy the activities which come along with nightclubs and raves such as alcohol drinking, hardcore dancing and their could be an audience who have a liberal attitude towards leisure drug use. These three categories of people are related to my theme and style. I used urban images because these are more likely to be respected by my target audience. The clothing element is also likely to attract them as this is an essential part of today's youthful community. In the images I used I took into account the location, clothing and attitude of facial expressions which will directly link to a young male audience who are passionate for this genre of music. I attempted to target women in this magazine through the 'Missus Mixer Hannah Wants' article displayed on my contents page. However in the modern day females are enjoying this music genre more and more due to new female artists so this may mean that 'FADE IN Magazine' could be attractive to both genders.

3. 3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? • Distribution of magazines is essential in the market because this is how they are found and purchased by consumers. Therefore I think that Bauer Media Group would be the perfect match to distribute 'FADE IN Magazine'. I base this decision upon their connections and good history of business history. Firstly Bauer Media Group own brands such as Kiss Fm and many regional radio stations across the UK. This would mean that advertising the new magazine would be very simple and the whole country could hear about the new product. As well as radio communication they also have a joint venture with Channel 4 so TV adverts could be produced and aired on one of the UK's most popular channels.

4. Continued • Secondly the Bauer Media Group is not currently distributing a magazine in the DJing and electronic music genre so there is a vacancy which could be taken. Due to no other magazines being distributed by Bauer into this niche market they could maximise its potential and focus upon sales of the magazine. •  Bauer Media Group is an international brand which means it could be printed in a variety of countries such as USA, Germany and United Kingdom. These three countries have a large passion for DJing and Electronic music so the magazine could reach out to fans all over the world. Distributing to multiple countries is also likely to maximise sales and revenue making 'FADE IN Magazine' a success.

6. 4. Who would be the audience for your media product? • I based my audience for this magazine around the questionnaires I created whilst in the research and development stage of my magazine. As stated in my answer to Question 2 I found that the majority of readers would be male and the age of 18 - 25. I expected these results as this is the trend for listeners of Electronic music. The second age group which came in was from 26- 32. This is why I included articles of older artists so it would be suitable and attractive to the older age groups. I stuck with my results and did not add a large amount of content specifically for females as this would effect the image and theme of my magazine. The masculine styling directly links with the electronic urban look. Due to the range of ages there is a very high chance of circulation increasing which lead to an increase in sales.

7. Continued • The research also told me that the age groups would be attracted due to a competition being advertised inside of the magazine. In this case I used 'Chance to win tickets to Ultra Miami.' I also included a free download because this will attract the fans of 'Skream' and this is also an incentive to purchase the magazine. In the long run this would be a marketing technique to increase sales and popularity.

8. Continued • Artists such as David Guetta and Calvin Harris are increasing the popularity of the Djing and Electronic music genre through their new tracks which are making the UK’s charts and being played on radio stations. This will increase the circulation of the genre which is likely to generate sales for magazines such as my production magazine Fade In and the highly renowned magazine Mixmag.

10. 5 . How did you attract/address your audience? • On my magazine I used a variety of methods to attract my target audience. On my front cover I used buzz words which the audience can directly relate to. This will draw the attention of the reader and entice them to read on. On the buzz words I enlarged their fonts so it would stand out on the front cover instead of blending in with boring words such as ‘To’ and ‘The’. I enlarged the word ‘Win’ and ‘Ultra Miami’ because these are the most significant words on the Front Cover. This technique makes it easy for viewers to find the information they want.

11. Continued • The second technique I used was adding a round button to the front cover advertising a ‘Free Download’ this attracts passionate music fans to purchase the magazine. Many modern magazine companies add a complimentary product in an attempt to increase sales and popularity. The button consisted of 3 colours which stood out of the page, Red, Cyan and Yellow. The Red ring attracted the attention of readers and outlined this was an offer that readers should take notice of.

12. Continued • The font colours I have used have also contributed towards attracting the audience because these are urban and electronic styled shades which can be related to by the audience. I took inspiration for this cover from a Mixmag magazine. I used this design very effectively and followed it in an attempt to make my magazine as attractive and professional as possible.

14. 6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? • In the process of creating my magazine I used multiple pieces of software to create the magazine documents. The pieces of technology I used were Photoshop, Wordpress and Prezi.

15. Photoshop • Firstly Photoshop I found slightly challenging when attempting to create my Magazine cover due to the range of controls used. This was the piece of technology I used the most throughout my coursework. The skills I have learned from using the software are very useful and I can now complete many tasks with ease. I think that Photoshop was the best choice of software for completing this task as the results are very professional.

16. Wordpress • The second piece of software I used was Wordpress, this was what I uploaded every piece of my work to create my blog. I found Wordpress very easy to use and I also think it is very professional. The set out is very attractive and simple for viewers to read. My favourite feature of the software is you can chronologically blog your work and post at specific planned times.

17. Prezi • Finally I used Prezi to present my evaluation. This software is very effective in displaying lots of information in an attractive manner. The slide transitions are very smooth making it entertaining to read. The set out of text boxes is also a positive as it combines to make a large mind map. The only criticism of Prezi I found was the software being difficult to use and edit from the start, however after completing some slides it becomes very easy.

19. 7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? • I believe that since I first made my School magazine I have progressed a long way in all areas. My preliminary task I felt was a strong start to using Photoshop however it was missing a large amount of key features which can now be found in my final product. I tested out new effects and tools daily to improve my final product including Stroke and the ellipse tool.

20. Continued • Firstly I chose to use two different font on my front cover. This was mainly because 'Gimme Danger' my title font was very difficult to read when in smaller font and did not work perfectly with a stroke. This is why I used 'Virtual DJ' for my sub text which fitted perfectly with the theme and background image. Also I decided to vary the font colour so the magazine looked more attractive. This also made the magazine more interesting as just using one colour makes it very boring for the reader. I think that my final product is more likely to be seen on a shelf than my preliminary school magazine.

21. Gimme Danger Font Cyan Colour Virtual DJ Font Cyan Colour Virtual DJ Font Yellow Colour Gimme Danger Font White Colour

22. Continued • Whilst working on my school magazine I decided to use a purple overlay so it would match with the schools colours and link well with the text. This was a gradient so it gradually faded out. I liked this feature and thought it added a good definition to the cover. However in my Music magazine I stepped up the challenge and decided to only put an overlay on my models body. This was a tough task to perform correctly however the results are excellent. The main improvement of my magazine I believe is using space effectively and filling the space to make the magazine as interesting as possible. My preliminary piece of work had lots of gaps and did not meet its full potential. I am very pleased with the progress I have made with my magazine and also my skill of using the previously stated pieces of software.

24. Professional Comparisons • On this slide I will compare my Fade In magazine to professional examples such as Mixmag the magazine I followed closely in the production of my magazine. I believe that my magazine fits in with the market trends and could be sold alongside these internationally renowned magazines.