My Music Magazine Evaluation

Front coverFor my front cover I made sure that I incorporated a selective number of music magazine conventions so that it was comparable to other magazines. Firstly, I made sure that the focal image dominated the whole page as this is a common convention of a music magazine, however certain magazines incorporate smaller images on the front cover as well as a larger image. Regardless, I believe the use of one image worked effectively.

I used a mid shot so that my model’s posture was captured as well as her facial expressions. Additionally, my model subverts usual conventions as although she is looking at the camera her head is slightly tilted up to emphasise her confidence. This connotes with the masthead title as Masqueraders tend to be spontaneous and unique through showing their confidence, especially due to the fact Masqueraders perform at carnivals in the midst of millions of people.

Front cover continued

Furthermore, I incorporated the colours of my model’s costume into the writing and the mast head. This convention enables that the page does not look like too much is happening. Likewise, the font I chose for my masthead connotes well with its target audience of the ages 16-21 as it is quite satire. The younger generations tend to have more imagination, hence this masthead captures this.

Forms and ConventionsDouble page spread I incorporated several magazine conventions into my DPS so that it conformed with common conventions of a music magazine, hence comparisons could be easily made. Likewise, I ensured that the page was a fifty-fifty split between the focal image and the writing, nevertheless, I ensured that I wrote a decent amount for the article so that it did not lack any necessary information. In addition, when I carried out my audience research I was told that my draft DPS did not look professional, therefore I decided to change the type of software I used from Microsoft publisher to Adobe Photoshop. The use of Photoshop enable me to use a wide variety of applications that made my DPS appear more realistic.

Additionally, I made sure that the colour of my title matched that of the image. I believe this convention to be effective in the way that using the same colours that are in your image for the title helps to accentuate the fact that the title aids to sum up the image. Furthermore, at the beginning of most music magazine DPS’s, the first letter of the first word is made to be larger than the actual writing of the text and possibly in a different colour. Consequently, I stuck to my colour theme and used the colour purple for the first letter. Moreover, at the bottom of the page I made a reference to the magazine title as well as the week number and the page number. This too is a common convention of most music magazines. Lastly, I incorporated the website of my magazine as I am aware that as technology has advance people may prefer to read things on the internet rather than in a magazine.

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Content pageFor my contents page I made sure that I incorporated a variety of conventions that are associated with contents pages. Firstly, I made sure I included a variety of images as well as text so that my audience can see how certain page numbers are linked with the images. I believe this to be effective as it may give a reader an incentive to want to read an article if they see an image that can be thought provoking. Moreover, some magazines tend to include an editor’s note, so I felt that it would be good if I wrote a message to the readers as it sets a tone to my magazine, and it also shows that the editor is engaging with its audience. Furthermore, I tried to stick to a colour scheme throughout my whole magazine, hence I incorporated green and orange as the main colours for my content page. This emphasises once again that the Soca genre is indeed a unique and vibrant genre.

In terms of the images I made sure that the image for my main storyline was the largest; this is bound to get the attention of the readers. Additionally, with most music magazines the numbers are made to be of a different colour to the writing it connotes to. This is done so that the page number can easily be distinguished. Moreover, I made two sections for things that regularly appear in the magazine and for the new features. This too is a common convention of music magazines. Lastly, I made sure I made a reference to the photographer and to the magazine issue. This enables the photographer to be recognised and it enables the readers to keep up to date with which issue of the magazine they are reading.

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Representational Issues

The target audience for my magazine is for those of the ages 16-21, but it is not necessarily for a certain ethnicity. However, the Soca genre tends to be seen as a genre which is mostly popular amongst Caribbean's due to its origin. Therefore, my magazine is most likely to be attract those of a Caribbean background. In relation to social groups, my magazine will not necessarily exclude any social classes as it is priced reasonably at £1. Also, carnival can be endured by people from each social class, whether you are a doctor or unemployed. This gives allowance for a greater target audience.

Moreover, as my magazine is distributed weekly I feel that this price is rather reasonable for all social groups to purchase. Furthermore, I feel my DPS article represents the young people of today as I chose to capture a story in which is nearly all being brought up in the media. Consequently in 2009 it was reported that 28 young people had died in knife attacks. In addition, so far this year there have been around five knife related deaths. However, the article is unique as is shows that more is being done to help combat such atrocities.

Institutions

Internet I believe that this will be an effective way to increase popularity and audience for my magazine, as statistics in 2009 showed that an estimated population of 803,850,858 used the internet in Europe alone. Likewise, publicising and enabling my magazine to be distributed online will increase my profits due to a supposed increase in sells.

Supermarkets/Corner Shops

These institutions sell a wide variety of magazines, therefore my magazine will be amongst a lot of competition. However, I feel that as a wide variety of audiences visit such institutions my magazine will most likely capture the eyes of a variety of people from all different cultures.

Carnivals Although in the UK carnivals rarely occur, except in the summer, I think that my magazine would be at a high advantage if I were to distribute special editions when it came to the different carnivals. As carnivals attracts millions of Soca lovers the numbers of copies sold is bound to increase.

Target AudienceSoca is a niche genre compared to other genres such as hip hop, rock and RnB. However, it can be aimed at a wide variety of audiences. As Soca originates from the Caribbean it is understandable that the majority of its audience comes from a Caribbean island. Although, it is almost certain that Soca is enjoyed on a wider scale by people of different ethnicities. Nevertheless, stereotypes can be subverted, especially at such events like Notting hill carnival where a vast amount of different races and backgrounds come together to enjoy Soca. Additionally, I believe that Soca is a timeless genre in the sense that all ages tend to enjoy it. There are several sub genres of Soca which may appeal to the older generations. Similarly, there are sub genres that may appeal more to the younger generation based on the pace and rhythm of a song. However, it would be prejudice to say that the older generation prefer songs that are more soft and relaxing as I have witness members of the older generations admire the liveliness of several songs.

Addressing the readershipFor my front cover I made sure my model was of an appropriate age that would appeal to my target audience of 16-21 year olds. In doing so, it makes it easier for one to know who my magazine is targeted at. Furthermore, I used bold, yet bright colours to connote that Soca is a lively and spontaneous genre which can provoke a beautiful scene. Moreover, for my DPS I made sure that the article could be related to its audience so that they would actually be enticed to want to read it. At the same time, I did not use vocabulary that was too hard to understand as the younger generations may tend not to enjoy reading as much as the older generations. Likewise, I made sure that my image was very thought provoking. Although, it could provoke the wrong thoughts to some people as the costume is quite revealing, but I have incorporated props in which are to be taken seriously. This also lessens the promiscuity of the model.

Technical/Construction Issues

To construct the various pages for my magazine I used a variety of software. Firstly, I made use of Microsoft Publisher as it enabled me to use various tools and it was not too difficult to use. In comparison, when using Adobe Photoshop for my double page spread, I experienced a few difficulties as I was not as familiar with it as I was with Microsoft Publisher. Nevertheless, after a while I was able to manage Photoshop to create a DPS which carried several magazine conventions. Although, I found publisher to be more versatile, I think that Photoshop was more advanced as it had a substantial amount of features in which I could use to improve my images.

Consequently, when taking my photographs if I wanted to incorporate natural lighting in the images I had to do it at the right time of the day. Initially, I wanted to use natural sunlight, however due to the lack of sunlight I decided to take my images indoors, but later I used Photoshop to enhance the lightings as I felt the lights were too dim. Moreover, when it came to finding research the internet played a huge part as it has a wide variety of information from different sources. Additionally, I made sure that I use more than one source to increase the reliability of my information. On the other hand, I also used other music magazine to help to construct my magazine and apply different conventions to it.

Comparisons between preliminary and main tasks.

When I look back at my school magazine, I can see I have definitely improved my skills by using different software. For the preliminary tasks I merely used Microsoft Publisher as I was not very computer literate in Photoshop. However, as I familiarised myself with the different tools on Photoshop I began to use new skills. Likewise, Photoshop aided me to make my music magazine look very realistic and professional. Nevertheless, I think that the preliminary task gave me a basis on which I could build up new skills and make a better magazine. Although, like with my school magazine, I used common conventions of music magazines.

Furthermore, with my music magazine I can see that I used more magazine conventions by including a barcode, prices and featured artist. I believe these conventions to be very effective. Pricings are essential as they determine who is willing to buy a product. Moreover, there are some similarities between the school and music magazine as on both I made the headlines very enticing, including competitions on the front cover could maximise the target audience as it adds a sense of excitement.