Nathan Randles

AS Media Coursework Evaluation

Introduction

The project I have chosen , is to create a 3 page music magazine. This had to include a front cover, contents page and main article. Each had to feature photographs, which I took and edited myself and also other typical conventions.

The genre of music for my magazine is Indie. The target audience is both men and women aged 16-25. I didn’t solely base my magazine on boys because girls are also interested in Indie music, I felt this would widen my target audience. I chose this age range because after I had completed my research I found that most people interested in this genre of music, were categorised in this age range.

Throughout my AS Media coursework , I worked on my own to complete the magazine.

Question 1In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of a real media product?

Conventions and Genres

I Decided to create a music magazine , that followed the Indie genre of music. I did this because I don’t feel that there is a magazine that just solely concentrates on Indie music. I believe this is my unique selling point.

I felt the magazine could concentrate on Indie music . Therefore it would include band interviews, album reviews, gig information, festival information and merchandise sales. This follows the typical convention of a music magazine.

Conventions and Genres Continued

I have followed the typical conventions of a music magazine:

The front cover features the typical features of a music magazine. It has the following features: Tag lines, feature photograph, strap lines, title, barcode, subtitle and logo.

All three pages of my magazine follow the same structure just like a typical music magazine. Throughout the magazine the same colours, layout and fonts are used to make the magazine look professional and eye catching.

The title of the magazine is short bold and eye catching. The title of the magazine is “fast fuse” which is a song by Kasabian, this instantly shows that the magazine is a music magazine.

The photographs taken, especially the front cover image, is a typical convention of a music magazine. The image shows the person looking directly into the camera, therefore it creates direct mode of address.

Front cover- Conventions

On creating my music magazine, I kept with the typical conventions of a music magazine.As you can see I used the following features, which where the same as one of my research magazines, shown below:• Logo•Subheadings•Strap lines•Barcode•Images(Showing direct mode of address)•Main title

Contents page - Conventions

Heading

Sub Headings

Main image

Content

Article- Conventions

Heading

Main article picture

Content

Question 2 How does your media product represent particular social groups?

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The media product I have created does represent the social groups I have targeted, which is people aged 16-25 who are interested in Indie music.

The images that I have placed on my product, show males who follow the Indie fashion., skinny jeans, polo shirts, pumps and Barbour jackets . They follow the likes of famous Indie bands such as the Arctic Monkeys, Foals, Kasabian, Two Door Cinema Club and many more.

The front cover shows an 18 year old boy from a band. This therefore represents the age group , 16-25, of my targeted audience.

Red, black and white, are the colour schemes that are kept throughout the product. After doing research these are the colours that feature in many band album covers , so the social group will recognise this as an Indie magazine and think its cool.

Question 3What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

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

The institution I would pick to distribute my media would be IPC. I have chosen this media institution because are the leading company to distribute media magazines. They reach 26 million of the UK’s adults alone, this just shows the size of the company. I believe this institution would be the best option to get the magazine selling. Also it has nearly 20 million online viewers, therefore this will widen the market to sell the product.

Below is just a few facts that led to my choice: IPC produces over 60 iconic media brands. IPC's diverse print and digital portfolio offers something for everyone,

with a focus on three core audiences: men, mass market women and upmarket women. 

They also produce magazines such as NME,LOOK and NUTS.

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

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my magazine , is firstly aimed at men and women of the age range 16-25, who are interested in Indie music.

I picked this audience because some other magazines follow the same structure and audience and it has worked very well.

Question 5 How did you attract/address your audience?

How did you attract/address your audience?

During my research into magazines I looked at how various other music magazines attracted their audiences.

One way in which they do this is using direct mode of address, this is when the image on the front cover shows the person looking straight out of the magazine. Hence direct mode of address. Therefore I used this technique on my magazine.

Also in my research , I released that most magazines only uses 3 colours and fonts, to keep the magazine looking attractive and professional. I followed this and used the colours red, black and white and only 3 fonts. I felt this would make my magazine look more attractive.

Furthermore I usedBold fonts, with colour, stand out of the magazine so that the audience can clearly see.

Question 6Looking at your preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt about from it to the final product?

Looking at your preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt about from it to the final product?

From the preliminary task I feel that I have come a long way.

At the start of the year it was the first time I had used a Mac, Adobe Photoshop and In design.

One example of how I improved was editing. As you can see I learnt how to edit properly using the smart scissors tool. In the preliminary task you can see in the photo the background of the image behind the boys head. Whereas in my final front cover the background cannot be seen.

Preliminary

Final Product

Question 7What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?

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

Throughout the time I have spent completing my project I have learnt about and built on technologies that have helped me completed the task.

Before I started the project I had never posted anything on a blog before. Therefore I have learnt how to post on a blog , edit and delete posts.

Also when I was researching music magazines , I used you tube to look at various different artists which I could include in my project.

Getting to know how to use Photoshop and InDesign has been very helpful and these two programmes are probably what I’ve learnt about most.

Final Product

Conclusion

I believe my magazine could be better, mainly my contents page and main article. The contents page needs to look more professional, for example the main image should be bigger and in the background of the text. Also I feel the contents page needs more images and more information on it.

Although I would change some things, overall I’m very happy with my magazine and feel it shows all the media conventions that are needed to produce and sell a music magazine.