EvaluationBy Clarice Greenhalgh

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

My media product has used all of these elements in one way or another. I believe that my final product develops and changes real media products particularly because of my target audience being around the same age as me, I feel that I know what people are looking for in their music magazine and I can relate to them. This challenges real media products within the same genre because they do not have the peer relations with people of my age and might have a different outlook on what the target audience expects of a music magazine.

I have used the conventions of a real music magazine throughout my project because it seems to me that it is the most efficient way of understanding how to make my media product look realistic and professional as I do not have the experience that creators of real music magazines have.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I think it is clear to see through the overall look of my media product that certain social groups/genres/stereotypes are thought of when you see my product. I have done this through elements of imagery, fonts and colour themes which connect to the stereotype of social groups which in my case is people that listen to rock music and might be considered ‘emo’.

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

At first I thought all types of media institution would be suitable for my product, but I have realised that specifically the best institutions that I would offer my product too are music shops such as HMV but on a wider scale institutions such as WHS Smith would be suitable too. Places such as those might distribute my media product because there isn’t much competition for my music magazine, although there are other magazines focusing on the genre of rock they all have older target audiences or target different social groups to my magazine. The only competition for my age group and target audience could be Kerrang.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my media product would be males and females in between the ages of 13-22 that enjoy mainstream rock music.

How did you attract/address your

audience?

I attracted my audience through the social groups that are associated with rock music such as punks and emos e.t.c. The overall conventions that would be associated with my audience is rebellion and having a good time all the time, so through these stereotypes I have based my work in colour schemes and choice of words.

What have you learnt about technologies through the process of constructing this

product? When doing my preliminary task I used Microsoft word because I had never used Photoshop before and found it very puzzling. However, when I came to doing this assignment I decided that I would start teaching myself how to use Photoshop. I did this by following help guides on the internet. I am glad I did so because I now realise that Photoshop was worth the effort and processes felt a lot easier once I learnt, although I’m still not an expert I can understand why the technology of Photoshop is used and I hope to use it again in the future.

Looking back at you preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the

progression from it to the full task?

When doing my preliminary task I don’t feel I did as much research into the individual aspects in the making of a magazine as I did for my full task. Therefore I feel this task was completed a lot better on the whole due to the planning that has gone behind it. The use of better technologies in the full task and me learning how to use them has also progressed into a better final product I feel.