dannys media evaluation

8/7/2019 dannys media evaluation

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Evalutation

AS media evalutation

By Daniel Boardman


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Introduction

For my media practical I chose to make a musicmagazineI had to create a front cover, a contents pageand a double page article.I had to write my article and and take all thepictures I used myself.


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Audience testing results

Question 1 : What does the title suggest to you?Most people responded with music magazine

Just one of the results from my survey


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2 .What genre/type of music does the magazine focus on andhow do you know this?

As you can see from the graph8 people out of 10 people werecorrect in saying my musicmagazine was based on theindie genre. The majority of them could see this because of the red strip on the top of myfront cover that says '100greatest indie anthems' andothers said this because of theband portrayed on the front wholook like indie artists.

8

2

ndieRock


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3 .What makes the pages look professional and what stopsthem from looking professional?

For this question I had a few variations on thefeedback. The graph below shows how manyypeople said each of the things that make my

magazine look professional .

Image Title colour

2

3

4

5

6

7

C olumn


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4 .How genuine does the front cover seem?

Most of my feedback for this question was verypositive because most people said it looks like itcould be sold on the shops today along with the

well known magazines.


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5 . Does the contents page simply inform or does it alsomanage to interest you in reading the rest of the magazines?

My feedback was slightly one sided on thisquestion with more people saying it intereststhe reader to read on


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6 .Does the article sound like a piece of journalism? If notwhat bits don't sound right?

Most of my feedback was positive on thisbecause all 10 people said it does sound like apiece of journalism.


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7 .Does the articles layout make you want to read it?

All the people in my survey said yes to thisquestion. This is because I surveyed the peoplewho would be my target audience. Mainly male

students aged between 1 6- 19.


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1. In what ways does your media product use,develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I decided to make my music magazine genreindie. So I tried to choose my title to makesure it fits in with the genre which manymagazines do. I also made my title largeenough to cover a good amount of the frontcover. And I made it bold so it stands out .

I used a big image of the bandI'm focusing this magazine on. I chose to do this because mostmagazines have the main artistincluded inside as an imagecovering the front cover. Thisalso challenges real mediaproducts because my artists arequite young when usually itsmore established and older

artists who are the mainfeature.

I have used a bar codefor my front cover because it makes itseem more like realmusic magazines inthe shops today

I have tried to keep tothe typical indiemagazine colour schemes by using redsgreys and blacks.

I have added this redstrip at the top of myfront cover. This isanother conventionbecause manymagazines do it tomake any important

information stand outand be a uniqueselling point againstother magazines.

The font I decided to useis called devils breeze. I usedIt because it gives an indie look toIt and it helps people understandWhat to expect from my magazine


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I chose to use just onePicture for my contentsPage showing the bandwho were featured on the

Front page . This is aCommon thing to see inMusic magazines. I used aMedium close up shot to get

all the band in and show aSense of closeness betweenthem.

For the written contents Ihave Included all the bandsthat were Written down theside of my front cover so Itdoesn't confuse anybody and

it also gives the reason whyArtist is included in themagazine.

I have made thelayout quite simple andeasy to understand with the

Features of the issue downThe left hand side and the

eviews at the bottom andon the middle

I also included a competitionon the

Contents to try and wowreaders withThe prize that you win whichis festivalTickets which my targetaudience wouldBe happy with.

CONTENTS PAGE


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DOUBLE PAGE A T ICLE

For my pictures in this article Idecided to use 3 pictures that

Way I could get all the band onthe double page article. I useda black and white effect onthese pictures because youusually see this in indie

magazines that areOut in the shops now.

In my double page article I tried to make it look as professional as possible so I Added some features that would make this happen. Firstly I put

the dropped capital on my first Word which is a very common feature in magazines in the shops today. AlsoI

used a text grab to catch thereaders eye and make them want to read more even before they have started. I have also stuck to the colour scheme that I used in the frontcover and contents page to stop from confusing people. I have also used the same font for the headlines on this page

I have challenged a lot of theUsual conventions of most

Magazines because my articleIsnt simply question and answer It is just the interviewer talking tothe band and getting the key

Information from what they say.I think this works better becauseIt is more informal and seemslike There is a better rapport

betweenthem .


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2 .How does your media productrepresent social groups?

In my magazine the artist featured is representing maleStudents. They are an indie band who pretty much fitthe stereotype with the longish hair and all being lads.One of them is wearing a parka which is usuallyassociated with Liam Gallagher of Oasis. The othersare just wearing jackets and hoodies which is quitecommon to see.

The way they are pictured and their clothing makes itso people will know what type of band they arebecause they just look like many other artists in their

genre.I

have chosen2

well known bands from theindie genre just to show that my featured artistsLook like they fit in with this genre.


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My magazine is also representing teenage males. Who in the news and in filmsand programmes are portrayed as thugs and being in gangs and always causing trouble.

But I think I challenge this stereotype because of the way I have pictured the artists in my magazine.In the picture above and to the left it shows the band altogether showing a sense of closeness andInnocence about the members of the band with smiles on all their faces and all standing up and lookingStraight into the camera.

However In the picture above right , the expressions on their faces and the leaning stance shows a sort of

ebellious flair that many rock artists have about them. Sort of unpredictable , cheeky look about them. Thisis what makes the genre so exciting .


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3 .What kind of institution mightdistribute your media product and why?The publisher I would use for my musicmagazine would be IPC Media. I would usethis publisher because it is one of the leadingmedia institutions in the UK and it publishesone of the leading magazines of this genrealready which is 'NME'. About 2 6 millionpeople read magazines published by IPC

media.

My magazine is aimed at students andteenagers. I think IPC media could really helpmy magazine if they produced it because theycould compare my magazine to some of theother magazines they produce to find a unique

selling point for my product.It would also help advertising for my magazinebecause IPC media is a respected institutionand would it would look good if it said mymagazine was for it.


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4 .Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience for my music magazine isstudents. The age would vary between 1 5- 22 . Thiswould include new earners who are into this genreof music and then students at colleges anduniversity who like indie music.

In terms of sex I think the majority of my audiencewill be male. But I've tried to include things in mymagazine to appeal to a wider female audience. I have featured an all female indie band in mymagazine.

For ethnicity I think the majority of my audiencewill be British because most of the artists featuredare of a British background.

I think I have aimed my magazine at more of aniche target audience with my magazine being justone genre. But it is a genre that has got loyal fanswho will be willing to buy these magazines as I cansee with the sales of other similar magazines.


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5 .How did you attract/address your audience?

There are many features I used in my magazine totry and attract the reader. Firstly my title wasused to try and get the readers attention straightaway. The name 'Livewire' gives the impressionthat this magazine is full of energy and that itsgot a lot going on and is also quiteunpredictable , a lot like the genre of mymagazine. The font I used also lets the reader

know what genre my magazine is going to bewhich is indie.

Also my front cover plays a main part in attractingthe reader. For my picture I have photographedmy artists are looking straight at the reader which grabs their attention and makes them

immediately interested. There isn't muchexpression on their faces which makes themquite mysterious and makes the reader want toknow more about them.


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I have used the Word'exclusive' to try and

entice the reader andmake them want toread on.

I included 5 other artists names on thefront cover to showwhat else will befeatured in mymagazine. This canmake the reader wonder why they areincluded and want tofind out.

I included this redstrip at the top of my front cover toadd an important

piece of information aboutwhat is in mymagazine.

I added acompetition at thebottom of my frontcover to reallyattract the reader.


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For my contents page I attracted the audience byadding more detail to the information on thefront cover. As you can see on the right I listedall the same bands that were on the front cover but on the contents page I added more detail tothem to let the reader know why the other bands

are included in the magazine .

I only used one picture in my contents page of themain band who are featuring in this magazine. I did this so I didnt confuse the audience and they

know for sure who this issue is focused on. Thispicture appeals to the audience like the one onthe front cover does because the band arelooking straight towards the reader to create asense of direct address to the reader.

The simple layout I have chosen to use will attract

readers because it is easy to see what is whereand there is no confusing bits to it. These arethe two sections that the information on mycontents page are split up into.


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In my double page article I have tried to use a fewdifferent features to keep the reader interestedin my magazine. Firstly I made sure I didn't havetoo much writing because that can automaticallymake people lose interest. So I made sure I dint

write too much and I put some big images in tookeep people interested and make the page lookgood.

As you can see on the right I took up as muchspace as I could with pictures to make my pagelook attractive and interest the reader asopposed to it all being writing and the reader notwanting to read it all.

I also used a text grab to try and display someimportant information from within my article

more clearly. This is to make people read thisand then want to read the full article to find outmore.


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The reason I chose the pictures I have for mydouble page article was because I had a pictureof them posing for the camera on my front pageand contents page so I wanted pictures of themplaying as a band. This uses mise en scene to

make my magazine seem more professional.

I chose to make them black and whitebecause I think it gives them more of anindie/rock effect to them and to makethem look more professional. They willappeal more to my audience this waybecause it is common to see black andwhite pictures in indie magazines likeNME and Q .

In my actual article I have used quitesimple language so it is easy for myreaders to understand and I have triedto make it interesting by not just makingit a question and answer between theinterviewer and the artists.


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I used the stereotype of indie rock characters in my magazine. Typical ambitiousstudents who play music for the love of it, seem harmless and approachablefrom the pictures in the magazine but have a sense of unpredictability about

them aswell.

This is an alternative stereotype because many other forms of media portraylads of age 1 6- 17 as being thuggish and being in gangs and causing troublefor communities. So this is also to try and get rid of the dominant stereotype

for teenage males and replace it with the alternative oneI

have tried tocreate.

Dominant stereotype of teenage malesAlternative stereotype im trying tocreate


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6 .What have you learnt about technologiesfrom the process of producing this product?

I have learnt a lot from making this magazine technology wise. I had to learn how to usean Apple Mac computer instead of the usual windows computer which took a lot of getting used to.

BLOG : I had to make a blog to store all of my research ,planning,development and then my final product. I

created a blog on www.blogger.com . I posted several times a week to make sure my research andplanning was complete.

INTERNET : I used the internet for most of my research. I used www.google.com a lot for images andinformation . Also to access other magazines for my ideas and planning. Also I used www.dafont.comto help me find the fonts that would fit in with my genre of magazine.

DIGITAL CAMERA : For my pictures I used a digital camera to take them all. I used a white background for the pictures for my front cover and my contents page. This was because it makes the band membersstand out more because there is nothing in the background to distract.


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Photoshop: When I had taken my photos and chosen which ones I wanted to use I edited them in photoshop. For the front cover I cut theband members out and put them on a plain white background so there

was nothing to be seen in the background. For the pictures on mydouble page article I edited them a lot in photoshop. I cropped them tomake sure I only had what I needed and I also then made the picturesblack and white to make them look more professional. Photoshop wasdefinitely a success and I would use it again without fail.

INDESIGN:

Indesign was what

Iused to put all my magazine pagestogether. It is a very professional programme which appeared to be

difficult to use but after a quick tutorial I grasped it quite comfortably. Itoffers a very wide range of things for you to do to make your magazine look professional and I would definitely use it again.


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7 .Looking back at your preliminary task,what doyou feel you have learnt in the progression from it

to the full product?I have learnt a lot from making my

preliminary task to finishing my finalproduct. When I finished my preliminarytask I was very disappointed with theresult and was then worried that my final

product wouldnt be up to scratch. Butafter weeks of being able to get used tothe programmes such as Photoshop andIndesign I grew in confidence as I beganto try and test all of the different optionsthey offered to me. I began changingthings just to how it looked just because I

could and knew how to do it. Now whenI look at my preliminary task and then my

final product I am quite proud to see howmuch I have grown in my computer knowledge.


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I think everything has improved from myprelim task to my final product. I beganexperimenting with shadowed writingand new fonts that I haven't seen or

used before to give my magazine itsown unique touch.

As you can see to the left my prelim wasvery plain and all the fonts were thesame and title was very boring. I even

left the boxes in because I was unsurehow to get rid of them.

Then in my final product I have gotshadowed writing to give a professionaltouch, I have a barcode, a catchy title

which suits my genre well and overall itis much more interesting and eyecatching than my prelim task.


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Conclusion

Overall I am very pleased with my final product. I feel I made the right choices with myfonts,colours,photo choices,size of writing and

all the layout displays. I am also happy with myproduct because I feel that it does lookprofessional . I believe my article is written wellalso It seems like it could be a piece of

journalism that you would find in any other popular magazine.

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