Evaluation of blog

Year 12 Media studies

Saskia Beatty

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

Skyline- This usually gives information on the competitions taking place or the offers available.

Price-This tells the buyer how expensive the magazine will be. The size of the price depends upon how expensive the magazine is.

Barcode- This is usually placed in the right hand corner and is there so the magazines can be scanned at checkout.

Main image- This is the main focus of the magazine. This will get peoples attention and attract readers.

Anchorage text- This is writing that relates to the main image it indicates what the main picture is about.

Sell lines-This is writing that is used to attract the reader, the give an insight of what is written in the magazine. They tend to be at the bottom or down the sides

Masthead- name of magazine. Normally in the top right corner. It is normally the main feature to publisice the magazine.

Front cover:Masthead- This is the title of the magazine, It is the largest section of the magazine as it is then recognisable for readers and will attract previous readers back.

Puff- Gives information on the content and things available. I have added there will be a free CD as a persuasive technique so people will be more interested in buying the magazine.

Anchorage text- This is writing related to the main image and gives an idea of the context inside.

Main image- This is the main image which shows the main focus of the magazine, and gives an idea of what is written about inside.

Bar code- I have placed my barcode in the right hand corner which follows the conventions of a magazines as it is usual for the conventions of a magazine. This is also used so it can be scanned in shops.

Sell lines- These tend to be down the bottom or at the sides. They tell the reader what will be inside the magazine, I have used the headlines of artists names to attract readers assuming they will want to know more about the artists.

Date& price- The date is important as it tells the readers if the new events in the magazines are recent.

Price- The price is usually near to the barcode also the size of the price usually depends on the price of the magazine itself.

The magazine on the left hand side was published in the 1920s when jazz music was started and became big. I thought it would have been good to view magazines from this time to get ideas for my electro-swing magazine, as jazz is a big part of electro-swing. Due to drastic advances in technology there is now a lot more possible to do for a magazine, meaning the magazine I have created will have many differences than the magazines produced in this time. However the similarities my magazine does have are the fonts included, as the fonts of the 1920s are very distinctive so I took time to find suitable fonts for this, that will fit the theme. Not only this but as you can see by the magazine cover on the left it is very simplistic and I have also purposefully kept mine very simplistic with a black and white color scheme and not an over the top amount of pictures or text. Finally I looked through images of front covers from the 1920s and the outfits are very formal with women mainly in dresses and men mainly in suits, therefore I got my model to wear a long formal dress and a fur coat. This works with the jazz theme and what you would expect of a magazine from the 1920s.

The plain ground is there so that Kanye West is the main attraction to the page and therefore it doesn’t steal too much of the attention.

The use of the red heart and Kanye’s composed cool facial expression adds an element of interest to the page. It will attract and draw the reader in to possible read further on about Kanye.

As vibe not only focuses on music but fashion it works well that Kanye is well dressed as it represents the magazine in a good way.

The fact that the page numbers are in bold is effective as it is easier for people to see.

A classy stylish font has been used for this title. This sets a theme for the magazine and could therefore attract further buyers. Also as different fonts have been used but organised well the magazine looks formal and professional.

The title is written in black which over powers the rest f the light back-ground and smaller fonts and therefore helps the title to stand out. The fact that it is spread out over the three lines creates a disjinted look and leaves the impression of a classy cool magazine.

The ‘v’ has been used to represent the title vibe, even though this is not the cover. This is very good for branding.

Contents

Contents:I have used a different font for the title contents so that it stands out and is easy for others to see. I have also used a different font so that it stands out over the rest of the fonts.

I have made the numbers of the pages a different colour, blue so that they stand out for people and it is easy to locate the pages.

I have used a completely black background, so that my main image being the model stand out. Not only this but as there is a light facing towards the models face he then looks light and golden over the dark background.

My model is wearing a suit to to fit the 1920s jazz theme as in the magazines I had looked through the men wore mainly suits.

I used this image as an article involved in the magazine is supposedly on this model and therefore I thought it would work if she was present in the contents page.

I have used a black and white colour theme to set a sophisticated font to represent the theme of the magazine and music well.

A variety of fonts have been used to add an element of interest to the page and to create a more interesting page. Also I wanted the subheadings to stand out.

This image takes up the whole page making it the main focus of the spread. This is very appealing for readers and it will catch their eyes straight away. Always it states straight way that Lady Gaga is the main focus of the pieces.

The italics used makes the page look sophisticated and creates an element of class. This could create a more mature look and therefore attract people to read the magazine.

As there is a lot of writing to digest it is helpful that the writing has been split into three columns. Not only this but the fact that it is in columns makes the piece look organised and and a lot less over-powering.

This is a typical conversion of a double page spread. The first letters of each paragraph are emphasised.

This could be seen as symbolising Lady Gaga herself as she aims to stand out and be different and this is what the letter L does as it is vibrant and stands out over the blank and white theme.

Double page spread:

Double page spread:

Large title to attract the readers attention. Also I was careful with the font used, I made sure it suited the theme as this sets the tone for the reader.

I used sub-headings so that the questions were clear and the reader was able to understand. Also this helped to break up the text.

I used page numbers so that the reader could use the contents page effectively.

I stuck to my black and white theme to give the magazine a sophisticated and organised feel.

It is based upon a two collumn grid which helps break up the text.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

As this magazines is based upon electro-swing I am not only representing the people now-a-days who create this new genre of music but in many ways I am representing the people of the 1920s where jazz originated from. My product represents the artists in this genre of music as firstly classy as they are pictured in smart vintage outfits. For example in my double page spread I have used an image of the two ‘artists’ dancing together. In this image they are both laughing this represents the artists in this industry as vibrant and fun not only this but it creates the perception that the music is fun and exciting and therefore results in dancing. This could lead to the audiences of this music being pictured in a positive happy light.

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

During my re-search period I found many media institutions all of which published different audience targeted magazines. The companies I found; melody maker’s, Seymour, The Wire etc. Personally the distributor I think would have been best for me would be something like The Wire. I believe the wire would be best for me because it covers a wide range of alternative underground and non-mainstream music. It also celebrates not only old but new music, this would be perfect for me as my theme of music being electro-swing is a mixture of the two. As electro-swing is such a new genre of music I could possible need a well known publisher so that there is more publicity for not only the magazine but the genre of music. The wire publishes a jass magazine called the wire so the second magazine they would be publishing would be swing-sound.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

This magazine audience can vary through many different people, there is not a set stereotype as the music is a blend of music going from 20s to the 70s. From my re-search I have found that the starting age to be interested in my magazine would range from 16 as I know out of the people I know the interests in electro-swing generally starts at 16 when you start to become more and more understanding of the music around you. When interviewing a 16 year old girl who loved the music she stated that ‘her 20 year old sister who was in her last year at Cardiff university attended many electro-swing clubs which she and many of her friends loved.’ Electro-swing is aimed towards a niche market as it is not a well known genre of music. If you listen to instance Jamie Berry’s music you can see it is a dancing type of music and therefore the magazine is aimed at people who are interested in going out and dancing etc.

How did you attract/address your audience?

In my magazine I tried to address and attract an audience mainly through my front cover. I did this through the images on the front cover, the artists headlined and also by creating offers like free CDs. I used the names of popular electro-swing artists to entice people who are already interested in this genre of music. The main image I used for my front cover has my model facing directly towards the camera and in-turn making the magazine a more personal feel for the reader. Not only this but my model has a half smile draws you into the magazine and gives the magazine a more real feel.

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

I have learnt how to use such programs like Photoshop and InDesign. I found this hard at first but after a few attempts I managed to understand the basics.

The technologies I used were; photoshop, indesign and the cameras we used to take the pictures. The camera I used was a canon 500D and I had to use knowledge from the theory side of the media course to get a good picture. I made the model connect with the audience with the direct eye contact which attracts the audience. I have no previous experience with photoshop and I used basic functions to create a front cover that isn’t cluttered and not to fancy. I learnt how to put in basic shapes to create structure on the cover.I learnt how different fonts can impact the presentation. I also had to go online on dafont.con to find one I liked.

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

The picture to the right is my preliminary front cover. It is very basic and very dull. Firstly I have learnt how fonts can effect the magazine and the importance they have. For example with my preliminary I chose the first font I found where as with my actual magazine I took time to go onto ‘dafont’ and find suitable fonts for the theme of the magazine. For example for my title I chose to use this font as it I feel it suits the 1920s theme and stands out very well to attract buyers.

Not only this but I have also learnt more about the conventions of a magazine. For example with my preliminary I have not included any deals or on a magazine known as a ‘puff.’ However through the process of making a magazine I came to realise that parts like this were needed to make the magazine more proffesional and interesting.

Also with my preliminary I made it very plain as you can see on the picture in the previous slide there is only one image and minimal text. Through the process of looking through and evaluating other magazines I came to realised that in order for mine to be a success I would need to make it more interesting. I then added extra text in different fonts to make the cover more interesting and full. I also added in a relevant image of an artist I’d be talking about to give the reader an insight of what would be inside.

Something else I also learnt that needed to be included was the barcode date and price, so it could be sold in shops. This was not included in my preliminary but I made sure it was included in my actual cover. Another essential part of the magazine I missed was page numbers which are obviously needed in order for the reader to work out what they are looking at alongside the contents page. Therefore I made sure page numbers were included.

Finally I have come to realise how important colour schemes and pictures etc are. For example I kept to a black and white colour scheme as I thought it suited the electro-swing theme well as it is sophisticated and overall I think it paid off well.

The first contents page shows just how little I knew and how little effects got added. For example I learnt that more than one image would be needed for the magazine as one was too little. I also learnt that there were different headings for the sections of pages in the magazine ie features etc. Finally I learnt how to add the different layers so that the contents page wasn’t too simplistic.