My Magazine My Magazine EvaluationEvaluation

My Magazine My Magazine EvaluationEvaluation

By Theo wardBy Theo ward

The similarity (red arrows) between my magazine and the magazine of NME include; like NME I have maintained a colour theme and house style this also shows the rock theme well, the cover lines on NME are very bold and have had brushes used on them I incorporated this into my magazine too. Having a young musician and a new band was key for both magazines, this was because my target audience was teenagers / young adults. Before I began the project I did a survey and asked "What would a article in a music magazine have to include?”. One next slide

The differences (blue arrows) between my magazine and the magazine of NME include; NME has used more flash boxes and banners this gives it a very professional look I didn't include flash boxes because i felt my articles stood out and I didn’t want to clutter the page. Another thing that NME included that my magazine doesn't are extra article pictures, they catch the readers attention however I felt that they would clutter the front cover and distract the reader from the lead article. I compared my magazine to NME because it has bold colours and it’s "in your face". The genre of rock is a associated with this theme, when I sent out my survey, responses all said my genre was rock.

Maintained a consent colour theme. Both with identifiers and in the left

3rd

Young artist, to interest target

audience

Bold masthead and a thick stroke. Cover lines with brushes relevant to

the genre

Click to see the differences

outlined

What ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Front cover

What ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Front cover

Use of flash boxes to draw reader attention

More cover line art, a way of not cluttering up the cover with pictures but still draws the reader attention to the

article

Article pictures for extra articles

The similarity (red arrows) between my magazine and the magazine of NME include; like NME I have maintained a colour theme and house style this also shows the rock theme well, the cover lines on NME are very bold and have had brushes used on them I incorporated this into my magazine too. Having a young musician and a new band was key for both magazines, this was because my target audience was teenagers / young adults. Before I began the project I did a survey and asked "What would a article in a music magazine have to include?“ One next slide

The differences (blue arrows) between my magazine and the magazine of NME include; NME has used more flash boxes and banners this gives it a very professional look I didn't include flash boxes because i felt my articles stood out and I didn’t want to clutter the page. Another thing that NME included that my magazine doesn't are extra article pictures, they catch the readers attention however I felt that they would clutter the front cover and distract the reader from the lead article. I compared my magazine to NME because it has bold colours and it’s "in your face". The genre of rock is a associated with this theme, when I sent out my survey, responses all said my genre was rock.

All the article lined up and regulars and features

labelled clearly

Contents pageContents page The similarities (red arrows) between my contents page and other real life examples include; the layout between my magazine articles and Clashes articles are located on the left 3rd in a straight line and the don’t stretch beyond the half way mark of the page, this give the page a clean and stylish look easy for readers to identify which articles are on which page. They have also included images of the main articles on the front page and underneath them are names of the articles.

The differences (blue arrows) between my content page and real life examples include; on my contents page I have added an arty background which stands out this is to catch the readers eye, the real life magazine has a clean back page with straight lines, I felt this made it dull and wouldn’t involve the reader. I have also included the magazine name in the left 3rd at the top, this is so when/if people flick through the magazine they know instantly the name (and genre) to some extent, the other magazine just has ”contents” I felt this wasn't as eye catching. Finally I have included a subscription box where the reader can see where they can subscribe for monthly issues, having this box fairly big means that it catches the readers eye.

Bold text, clearly showing where and what the

articles are

Images showing the main articles

Click to see the differences outlined

Contents pageContents page

Large subscription box for readers

Arty and bold background fits the genre and catches

readers eye

Magazine name so readers can quick identify the name of

the magazine when flicking through pages

The similarities (red arrows) between my contents page and other real life examples include; the layout between my magazine articles and Clashes articles are located on the left 3rd in a straight line and the don’t stretch beyond the half way mark of the page, this give the page a clean and stylish look easy for readers to identify which articles are on which page. They have also included images of the main articles on the front page and underneath them are names of the articles.

The differences (blue arrows) between my content page and real life examples include; on my contents page I have added an arty background which stands out this is to catch the readers eye, the real life magazine has a clean back page with straight lines, I felt this made it dull and wouldn’t involve the reader. I have also included the magazine name in the left 3rd at the top, this is so when/if people flick through the magazine they know instantly the name (and genre) to some extent, the other magazine just has ”contents” I felt this wasn't as eye catching. Finally I have included a subscription box where the reader can see where they can subscribe for monthly issues, having this box fairly big means that it catches the readers eye.

DPS- double page spreadDPS- double page spreadThe similarities (red arrows) between my DPS and other real life examples include; both magazines have included strap lines which expands upon the headline above, this gives the reader a sense of what the article is going to be about without reading the whole thing. Another thing both DPS’s include are Drop caps this enhances the look of they page and draws in the readers as it stands out. The photography in both the DPS’s are very similar they span the whole 2 pages, this immediately catches the readers attentions as it’s different to the other pages, when the artist is well or suits the genre it has more of an effect. Finally the article columns are flush to the left giving them a straight edge on the left hand side, this makes the magazine look clean and professional it also helps with the layout.

The differences (blue arrows) between my content page and real life examples include; I have included the masthead and the page name at the bottom right hand side of the page, this is so that when a reader picks the magazine off the shelve and flicks through they can easily find and Identify the magazine. Another thing I have included in my magazine that Clash hasn’t is a pull quote this is a quote that stands out in order the pull in the reader, this makes the reader want to read the whole story/article. A final thing is that the article in my DPS spans the whole two pages the disadvantage with this is that it may put readers off from reading the whole article, Clash has used the image as they main pull for young readers as they may not be prepared to read mountains of writing.

Strap lines that expand

upon the head line

Drop caps enhance the look of the magazines

article

Photography shows the reader instantly who the

article is about

Flush to the left columns show professionalism

Click to see the differences outlined

DPS- double page spreadDPS- double page spread

Masthead at the bottom right of the page is a

quick identifier

Small article, doesn’t intimidate reader

Pull quote “pulls” in readers

The similarities (red arrows) between my DPS and other real life examples include; both magazines have included strap lines which expands upon the headline above, this gives the reader a sense of what the article is going to be about without reading the whole thing. Another thing both DPS’s include are Drop caps this enhances the look of they page and draws in the readers as it stands out. The photography in both the DPS’s are very similar they span the whole 2 pages, this immediately catches the readers attentions as it’s different to the other pages, when the artist is well or suits the genre it has more of an effect. Finally the article columns are flush to the left giving them a straight edge on the left hand side, this makes the magazine look clean and professional it also helps with the layout.

The differences (blue arrows) between my content page and real life examples include; I have included the masthead and the page name at the bottom right hand side of the page, this is so that when a reader picks the magazine off the shelve and flicks through they can easily find and Identify the magazine. Another thing I have included in my magazine that Clash hasn’t is a pull quote this is a quote that stands out in order the pull in the reader, this makes the reader want to read the whole story/article. A final thing is that the article in my DPS spans the whole two pages the disadvantage with this is that it may put readers off from reading the whole article, Clash has used the image as they main pull for young readers as they may not be prepared to read mountains of writing.

How does your media product How does your media product represent particular social groups?represent particular social groups?One thing I had to consider when deciding on the way I wanted my magazine to be represented were my survey results; When I ask people what music they normally listen a high percentage said rock and hip-hop. This was when I decided to make a rock magazine, looking at other magazines of a similar genre I found that having heavy lettering and a loud fonts, really showed the magazines genre. I Included headphones on the masthead, this stereotypes loud music which is associated with rock. Maintaining a loud font type and heavy stroke was key to this genre, it easily represented rock.

The next thing I had to consider was the photography for the cover, having a black and white image is seen as being dark and dangerous however it doesn’t show heavy mental or punk music. The actions of the person in the picture and the instrument he is playing indicates loudness and concentration, these both link in with rock as they include the general stereotype.

Then adding colour to the surrounding text helps the main image stand out and concentrates the readers attention on that article. I incorporated bold and jagged brushes to help the sense of rock, the heavy strong colours of blue and green help convey this style. Maintaining this house style throughout the whole magazine helped to represent the genre.

Research on what genre my magazine should be.

My results on the front cover’s representation

What Media distribution would What Media distribution would your magazine and why?your magazine and why?During the production of my magazine I tried to follow the layout and set up of NME and Clash magazines as they followed the genre I picked and I’ve also read them so I knew a fair bit about them. NME and Clash are published by a company called IPC. They’re a fairly large company and I was initially thinking of using them as my distributor. But during my research i found a larger company that specialise in rock media and magazines. They’re called Bauer media they also publish the kerrang magazine which is one of the best selling magazines in the UK. Other places I could have published my magazine would have be a website called issuu, this is a website where readers look through your magazine digitally and for free. You can also embed magazines, this would get it advertising and recognition.

What Media distribution would What Media distribution would your magazine and why?your magazine and why?Using social media is also a great way to advertise the magazine, Social networking has become such a huge thing, it’s easy to grab the attention of the audience and give them information. This is effectively free adverting, which really helps to get the magazines name recognised by readers. Things like Facebook and Twitter connect people, making them talk about the magazine.

Who would be your audience?Who would be your audience?Before the making process of my product I did a survey on what people wanted from a magazine, their age and gender etc. When I asked “what is your age?” 91.7% of people I asked were 17 or younger, being 17 myself I used this information to Identify the age range of my target audience. I then asked whether they were males or female, 53.8% where male, this made me lean towards making a magazine aimed at males, but I also took into consideration females as there wasn’t a huge difference between the two results. Then I thought about the social groups, I wanted to make my magazine so it would appeal to me. I’m a relatively sporty person, I like to listen but not to play music and enjoy graphics and art. This made me want to make the product as aesthetically pleasing as possible. I also asked in my survey “what genre of music do you listen to?” 42.7% of people said rock. That’s when i felt I’d gathered enough information design a reader profile.

I then needed to find a way of attracting that kind of reader towards my product. Using social networks was my initial thought, this would cover a wide number of potential readers. However the readers I targeted were students, so I thought I’d give the first copy free and display it in colleges around the Uk. Also adverts on T.V music channels, this is the kind of television my target audience would watch. Using certain cliché within the rock genre like the dark colours of the image on my front cover and DPS, heavy fonts and scratchy brushes, it would to appeal to my reader more easily.

Gender survey results

Age survey results

What has helped you learn about What has helped you learn about the technologies from constructing the technologies from constructing this product?this product?At the start of the subject I knew nothing about Photoshop, but now I feel very confident in using the program. The keys thing I used in the production of my magazine were the blending tools, specially the stroke and drop shadow to give the font a thick dark glow.

Another great feature I learnt in Photoshop, was the building up of layers. This really helped with the depth of field of articles, picture and body text. It’s a very simple thing, but I helped so much in the production of the product.

During Media we had many tutorial lessons to get the class used to the software. There was one

lesson where we learnt about something called

colour splash which is where you can merge

colour into a black and white image. This idea

helped me with the making of the front

cover, putting coloured onto a black and white

image.One other feature I used in my double page spread was the filter settings on the tool bar. I used this to get a lens flare.

Facebook and survey monkeyFacebook and survey monkey

Another great technology I learnt to use efficiently, was survey monkey it really helped when I was forming a surveys. Without it I wouldn’t have know what to include in my magazine or who would be the most suitable target audience.

Having Facebook working with survey monkey really helped me to find an audience to do my surveys on having several hundred possible people answering the survey. This helped me gather information fast and gave me time to analysis it and build up a reader profile.

What do you feel you have learnt What do you feel you have learnt from making a full magazine? from making a full magazine?

These are the two magazines I made this year, it’s evident the one on the right Is much better

What do you feel you have learnt What do you feel you have learnt from making a full magazine? from making a full magazine?

During my progress though this year I have learnt mainly things which include the following:

1. Never put text over an images face, in my college magazine you can see that the masthead covers a whole persons face making it looks unprofessional. In the music magazine I layered the text behind the subjects head this adds perspective and makes it look tidy.

2. Don’t over crowd the front cover, on my college magazine the front cover is packed with articles making it look very cluttered. Also they are spread all over the page, this pulls attention away from the main article and image. On my music magazine I have three articles which where all located at the bottom of the page.

3. Choose the right image, on my college magazine the image doesn’t look suitable as it leaves white bits around edges and shows little link to the magazine. Having an image that fills up the whole page makes cover look tidy and fitted, also it links perfectly with the genre.

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Thank you Thank you very much very much

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