AS Media Evaluation

In what ways does your media magazine use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real music magazines?

The genre for my music magazine is RnB. I have a young black male as my front common as it was very common on most RnB magazines I had looked at. My model is 18 years old, which could attract audiences of the same age, or even people who are slightly older or younger as it is still roughly the same age. My model is posed with trendy clothes although he is a music artist, which brings in people who are not as interested in music but are fascinated by fashion. A young black male in trendy clothing would be the stereotypical model for an RnB magazine; I decided to follow the conventions as I plan on attracting the same audience as the typical RnB magazine. I made sure that my magazine kept a straight face and starred directly at the camera as it gives the reader a closer relationship with the model as it as if the model is starring directly at them. I included the colours black, white and green on my front cover as they match with colours on my models jumper, I made sure that my model wore this jumpers as these were the colours my audience wanted to see on the magazine. Other magazines such as ‘Kerrang’ prefer to have their models posing with a guitar as their front cover image, whereas I felt as if a medium close up was more suitable for my sort of magazine, however I did have one of my models playing the guitar and one playing the piano on my double page spread. The main colours are black and red, which I made sure, were consistent throughout my front cover, double page spread and contents page. I used a ‘Vibe’ magazine as layout plan to help me design my magazine, on the ‘Vibe’ magazine that I was following the models head covered parts of the title which was why I decided to have the same on my magazine, this also gives off the appeal that my magazine name is already well known and can easily be recognized although it is being partly blocked. The name of my magazine was called ‘BASE’ and was partly covered by my model suggesting that my model is what will be attracting the audience, this also makes my model stand out.

How does your media magazine represent particular social groups?

My music magazine is following a typical stereotype by having a black male as my front cover; this is because RnB is related with the black race. However I did include other races on my cover lines that opens my target audience as it does not just focus on black people. RnB can be associated with many social groups; I tried to capture my social group through the language I used making it less formal is it not necessary for the audience I’m trying to appeal to. My magazine is aimed at both male and female, as the genre of RnB is aimed at both and will be beneficial, as it would lead to a wider target audience. By including ‘teasers’ on my front cover it gives the reader an insight of what will be spoken about in the magazine, this will make the target audience I aimed it at interested and want to read more as they are interested in celebrity lives as it is a diversion from reality, and is a form of surveillance.

What kind of Media institution might distribute your music magazine and why?

Multiple media institutions would distribute my music magazine. Institutions who distribute magazines like ‘vibe’ or ‘billboards’ in particular as my magazine is similar to theirs and would appeal to a similar audience. An institution most likely to distribute my magazine would be Time Inc as they are the same institution, which distribute Vibe magazine. Also having an online format would be popular as my target audience is teenagers and young adults who are often on the Internet giving them easy access. I will create website that I could post my magazine on for people to access through their computers this could allow me to reach a wider audience as people outside of the UK will be able to view it, this would also save me the cost on ink and paper as I’m an independent label and would not have the money to do this yet. Digit distribution is a cheaper way for me to be able to get people to view magazine as it only requires me making a website for people to see it.

Who would be the audience for your magazine?

My target audience is teenagers and young adults, as they’re most likely to be interested in reading an RnB music magazine as older audience wont find it as interesting. This why I decided to use a teenage model for my front cover, as the target audience will find it relatable as they are around the same age. The target audience are likely to be interested with what’s going on with the model; this would act as surveillance and would be a diversion from reality. I used the names of familiar artist such as ‘Beyonce’ on my cover lines as I knew it would attract my target audience as she is a well know artist to my target audience. I was also able to use informal language as my target audience would still be to understand it and it will make the reader feel more comfortable. As my target audience is teenagers I made sure that my magazine was affordable, as they don’t have as much money to spend.

How did you attract/address your audience in the forms and conventions used in your music magazine?

My masthead attracted the audience as it was very large and in capital letters. I also made my front cover similar to a ‘vibe’ front cover as it followed the conventions, as many magazines use similar layouts. By having a similar layout to other RnB magazines people could instantly see that it is an RnB magazine. In one of my cover lines it states ‘World Exclusive’ making the reader feel intrigued of what news has taken place, which is so exclusive. In a different cover line, I have an offer giving out free to see ‘J.Cole’ this will interest the reader, as they will be eager to find out how they could win. In a different cover line I have ‘the confessions of singer Whitney Hudson’, this will make the reader want to know what she’s been hiding, also the word ‘confession’ makes it seem like a secret no one else knows except the magazine. These cover lines would make readers more interested as they would want to know what the magazine offers as they are given a slight introduction of what’s going to be included but they still need to buy the magazine to understand fully. I used different colours for my cover

lines, as I wanted each to stand out. I used the ‘z’ effect when placing my cover lines to know what would be the first thing the reader will see as this will effect if they will bother looking at it. My audience will also expand as they I would have a digital copy as many people use the Internet more often recently, and will be available to people in other countries. Inside my contents page I also included a twitter, facebook and instagram page as social networking sites will attract my audience.

What have you learnt about your technologies from the process of constructing your music magazine?

Whist constructing my magazine I learnt how to manipulate photos which was important after I had completed my photo shoot. I also went from using Microsoft word to using Photoshop, as my preliminary task was created on Microsoft word whereas my front cover, contents page and double page were all created through Photoshop. By using Photoshop I was able to use the airbrush tool to edit my photos getting rid of imperfections. I was also able to create a barcode to put onto the front cover of my magazine by using Photoshop.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you think you have learnt in progression from (preliminary task) to the full product (music magazine)?

I have learnt many different techniques and skills since completing my preliminary task, which I was able to include in my music magazine. I have upgraded my photo quality as the images in my preliminary task were taken on mobile phone whereas the images on my music magazine where taken by a professional camera on a tripod to make sure the pictures where perfect. I organized a photo shoot and took various pictures in different locations to give different settings and environments for my audience to see. I’ve leant how to follow forms and conventions which has given my music magazine a much more professional look. In my preliminary task I had a lot of free space, which made it look very plain, I avoided making this mistake on my music magazine and insured I covered all blank spaces.

I included other places audience could find my magazine in social networks as it is very popular with my target audience

I have put my title in the top right hand corner which follows conventions as I had seen this on a ‘Vibe’ magazine.

I had my model take up a majority of the page which followed conventions as he is the main attraction to the audience.

I include a pull quote which is very common in double page spreads with my genre so I decided to follow the convention and include it in my magazine.

I decided to merge two photos together and fitted them in the bottom left corner which goes against the conventions however allowed me to include both my models in the same space yet in different shots.

I placed my title in the top left corner of my double page spread which follows conventions as it is the first place the audience look and it explains what the whole page is going to be about.

My barcode follows forms and conventions as it is placed on the left bottom corner of the magazine as it isn’t meant to take up too much space.

I have a tag line underneath my title which is following the conventions of a music magazine as the title attracts the reader, so having a tag line right underneath it is a clever place to have it

My model is looking directly at the audience which is a form and convention of a music magazine as it gives the reader a closer relationship with the model and makes them feel more involved.

I have placed my puff in the bottom right corner instead of the top right hand corner which went against the conventions.