Evaluation

Evaluation

By Jared Taliesin Williams

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

My media product has some of the same elements, form and conventions of a real media product. As many magazines have the and issue date and price near the title, I had also placed it here to help match other conventions.

I have used forms from other magazines such as Kerrang and NME with them having big bold writing on the front cover and nothing fancy. Also having the featured articles over the left third with some of the main picture being covered by them.

Having the small like bar or line going across the bottom also is like a real product as it follows usually what KERRANG! magazine does and makes it more seem like a real product.

Keeping the same style of writing, colour and fonts all the way through with same background also relates back to other magazines. As you can see the same colours of the backgrounds and fonts are kept throughout the entire magazines with even the same amount of size of the font.

The band’s ages varies from 13-20 which means the audience can relate back to them.

The contents page is also relevant to other real media products as I have kept al the stories in a list following the designs of magazines like Kerrang! and NME. Having them in a list helps the reader or audience make it easier to read and relate to and find the write stories. Also with the main picture taking up most of the contents page following other magazines to make sure people know that is the right story.

My main article also follow the same routine as other magazines with the main picture using most of the space for the story. And with the story in columns making it easier to read and follows the same traditions as found in real media products. This follows the conventions as I have also kept to the house style of the magazine using the same colour and background as both the contents and the front page.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My target audience was aimed at emos and rockers aged between 13 and 19. a social group of teenagers. Using bands and darker colours would hopefully attract the target audience as emos are associated with darkness.

The language also used relates back to the target audience as throughout the main article it is quite sarcastic and modern updated through being informal.

Who would be the target audience for your media product?

My target audience was emos and rockers of aged 13-19 who is also in about the social demographic group of C2-E. I had no set gender as both genders nowadays prefer both colours that are ‘girly’ or ‘boyish’.

In my questionnaire I had asked for their age and also their gender for if a gender preferred a certain type different to the other one I may have to add that in.

http://foundationportfolio-jared.blogspot.com/2010/04/main-task-questionnaire.html

Using younger people on the front cover, the target audience of 13-19 would feel that they could relate back to the band. Also adding bands in that are famous around the time period I aimed it at should also help mean that they can link back to the bands and that teenagers, who are usually the ones to buy music magazines, would buy it and actually read it.

The band’s ages varies from 13-20 which means the audience can relate back to them.

In my contents I tried targeting the audience by following the techniques and forms used by professional magazines kind of like Kerrang!. The colours stick with the house style of the magazine and with the font all helps try to attract my audience. The font is also a font that can be related to emos and rockers as it is considered light on a dark background which is considered to be related to emos and rockers. Also being bold will also make it stand out.

In my main article I had used the question and answer style that is easier to read and usually find in real products when they meet a new band or use a band for the main article. It is at a cheap price as well which means it is affordable for teenagers. The font and colour of the font sticks with the rest of the magazine as a house style. It is also easier to read and it makes it stand out from the rest of the background with the picture fitting in with the writing.

Having the question in red and the answer in yellow makes it easier to follow with the colours also matching the rest of the magazine.

How did you attract/ address your audience? I attracted my target audience by

making the writing in the whole magazine big and bold and the colours standing out from the black background by being lighter than it is. I have also included bands and events that my target audience will relate back to and feel like they see what they would find in an actual music magazine. Having a slogan added in also makes it so they can see and if someone says have you read AMPED! what would come into their mind would be the slogan that they could relate back to.

The writing stands out as it is bigger and bolder. In the KERRANG! Magazine it also is big and bold therefore making it stand out.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Time Warner Inc. could distribute my magazine as they are the company that distributes NME magazine. My magazine has followed the same genre as NME of an indie, rock genre. I have also mainly followed NME magazine in the design of my magazine and researched about my type of magazine genre.

However I do not believe that my own magazine is up to a professional standard and properly would not be sold across the country. It still has a lot of flaws amongst it that I could maybe improve.

My magazine also helps meet the target audience that I have aimed for as the colours and style of the articles seem like what you would expect from a real product as they target their chosen audiences.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Before the preliminary task, I had never used Photoshop at all and found it quite difficult to understand. However as I got further into the first task I got used to working with it.

However the main task we had to use Adobe In design which is completely different to the tools for Photo shop. As I got further into using In design I got very use to it and had worked to try and make the magazine as good as I can. Really I have an basic overview now about how I can use In design and help other people if they are stuck with problems with the program.

When you look back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Since my preliminary task I have learnt how to understand different software and programs better like In design and how using that program can help make magazines look like the real product. I have also learnt how to edit pictures to exactly how I wanted them to be and create a sense of house style throughout a magazine and product identity.

I have also learnt about how to do more things in a short period of time if I have to. Also a big factor that I have learnt is never leave things too late to be done in as it puts too much pressure on you.

I actually believe that my magazine has come out how I intended and I believe it has successfully targeted my audience.Also I have learnt to

research and identify a target audience and use this research to create a product that caters for their needs.