My Evaluation

By Luke Jenner

In what ways does your media product use develop or challenge forms

and coventions of real media products? Masthead The masthead isConventionally placedOn the left hand side Of the page, much alike that of a Real media publication. The nameOf my magazine I chose to keep ratherShort and snappy, so that it would be easy For the audience to remember, and connectWith at first glance. Furthermore, ‘SAMPLE’ is a convenient name for my magazine, as it is aimed at an audience that enjoy a range of musical genre’s and styles. Therefore, the magazine ‘SAMPLE’ simply takes different artists from their individual genres, and places them all in one magazine. Finally, I extracted the colours for my masthead from James Sterling’s hat. I done this not only for an effect, but also to establish a subtle link between the lead artist, which also reinforces the house style of the magazine.

Left-Third. The left third of my magazine cover does not necessarily abide by basic conventions. Here we have simply the filler artists. You are able to see that these artists are not the highlight of the magazine as they are presented in a smaller font, and are not highlighted.

Cover Lines The combination of merging The use of cover lines with a Flash, creates a further attractionFor the reader. Firstly, the flashDraws their attention to the page, With it’s use of a bright colour, This then allows the reader toView the cover lines of JohnMayer, etc. These cover lines Display rather important interviewsWith a variety of artists. Although,They are a less important than The main act.

Main Image The main image in use here, Focuses upon the most Important artist to be includedIn the magazine. The photographOn display makes it obvious Of what genre ‘James Sterling’Represents, through the inclusionOf an electric guitar. The wayThe artist is positioned, emphasisesHis type of personality and Character. The colour of the Instrument in use, alongsideThe choice of clothing, blends In with the cream canvas on Display.

Contents Page

Small image of the cover page,I thought the use of this would help build the Reputation and individuality of my magazine.Also, it serves as a reminder as to who starsWithin this particular issue ofSAMPLE.

The consistent use of font style, andOrganised sections, enables me to createSAMPLE’s own individual house style. This enhances the character of theMagazine, and also makes it recognisableAnd easy for the reader to relate to.

Repetitive useOf the SAMPLELogo enhances The profileOf the magazine.

Hierarchy of articlesDisplays which bandWill be of moreImportance to the Reader. ‘TeenageGlory Days’ will appealTo the reader, as They are moreMainstream than ‘The Lads’ .

Double Page Spread.

Colour Scheme The crème background ties In with the basic colour Conventions of the front cover,Therefore creating a house Style that the reader can becomeFamiliar.

Tone and Register The style of writing is set to appealTo the audience, which ranges from16-25. Therefore, the questions, andResponses of the interviewer/ Interviewee, relate to subjects thatInterest that particular age group.

Lead Image This image encapsulates The style of ‘James Sterling’ it signifies the Type of musician he is, With the inclusion of Guitars, and amplifiers.The facial expression Emphasises how Serious he considersHis music. Furthermore,This image brings hisWorking environment intoConsideration.

Pull Quote The colour of the pull quote makes it stand out in the eyesOf the reader. “Its not easy being a rock star” will intrigue The reader, as they will feel the urge to read on, and Discover what the article contains.

How Does Your Music Magazine Represent Particular Social Groups?

• I have presented my artist as an 18 year old singer songwriter ,who moves from one type of musical genre( soft rock) to another (Hip-Hop) I created an artist of this age, so that my target audience, of 16-20 year olds could relate to him, and his style of music. My survey monkey results suggested that both hip-hop, and rock were of equal value to the audience. This therefore, was the reason for my artist indulging in both genres. Furthermore, the photographs that I have taken of my artist, reveals a rather laid back, and quite nervous character, who is drawn into his music at all times. I decided to present him in this way because it would allow the audience to warm to him, as he reveals more about himself within the question and answer DPS. The use of pull quotes such as “It’s not easy being a rock star” present my artist as being reclusive, and not valuing the life of a mainstream act. I felt creating this type of attitude for my artist was important, as the audience would take more of a liking to a character that prefers to shy away from the limelight. Also, the use of fillers such as ‘err’ in his responses, signifies that the artist cares more for his music than general publicity, which to the older reader, would come across as extremely appealing.

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

• I do believe that, my magazine is better suited to that of Bauer Media, and There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly , Bauer media publish magazines such as Q, and Mojo, magazines that have a similar target audience to my SAMPLE magazine(16-24). Also, I feel my magazine shares a similar genre range, and artist interest as that of Q. Furthermore, SAMPLE displays an evident house style throughout, much alike both Q and Mojo. The magazines published by IPC,seem to be aimed at an older audience, therefore my magazine would fail to fit in with the others displayed on their website, such as men’s fitness, and NME. I think that Bauer Media would be more likely to establish an interest in my magazine, due to it’s similarity to issues Q, and FHM. Also, the use of a distinctive logo would help my magazine establish it’s own identity and fan base, allowing it to eventually be on the same shelf as Q within HMV.

Who Would Be the audience for your magazine? • As shown by my reader profile, I have attempted to include elements of both hip-hop

and rock in my SAMPLE magazine. The rock elements, artist interview and the generally laid back style of my magazine is likely to appeal to the older end of my target audience. Whereas the inclusion of hip-hop, a quiz, tour blogs, and Jack Daniels tickets, are highly likely to relate to readers aged 16-20 as it is more likely to represent their action packed lifestyle.

Audience FeedbackMy response summary Indicates, that the large Majority of people that Viewed my magazine wereOf the target age group16-18.

My magazine was aimed At both a male and Female audience, the Results here show thatMost participants in this Survey, were female.

Audience feedbackThe aim of this question, was to discover what The audience found likeable about my front page.Many referred to the picture as ‘standing out’ and Also mentioned that the colours work well Together. This is pleasing, as my aim was to Extract colours from the picture, and use them inBoth the background, and masthead.

The objective of this question was to Establish how I could improve the front Cover. The audience felt that the coloursUsed to represent the artist names were tooDifficult to read, and that there was no needTo display the artists in boxes.

Audience FeedbackThe aim of this question Was to find out if the contentsPage was easy to navigate, and Well presented. The audience felt thatThe page was well organised, and it is Clear that both the contents page, and theFront page belong to the same magazine.This was the aim of my contents page, toCreate a distinctive resemblance betweenThe rest of the magazine, and the frontPage. As well as to inform the audienceOf the different types of acts on display.

The point of question six, wasTo establish whether the audienceFound my image style appealing,Along with the rest of my doublePage spread. Someone mentionedThat the photograph has a Backstage feel to it, others said It reiterates the overall house Style. The only thing that Displeased me about my Photography, was that many of the Pictures in use seem very similar,The surroundings were also limitedDue to the use of my own musicalEquipment.

Audience feedback

This question was used to find out if the audience believed my DPS was of a certain journalistic style,And also to establish whether my article appearedTo have a strong link to my images, and the rest of ‘SAMPLE’ magazine. It was mentioned that my artist Appeared rather laid back and humble. By presentingMy artist like this, I hoped to create a relaxed Interview that the readers could relate to.

The purpose of this question, was to discoverIf the audience were able to identify what genreOf music my magazine contained. The overallTarget, based on my survey monkey results, wasTo create a magazine that featured both Hip-HopAnd rock elements. The results presented here, Indicate that the magazine featured, Pop,Hip-Hop, Soft Rock, and Indie, acts.

Audience Feedback

The feedback from this questionShows that SAMPLE contains Features associated with both Mainstream, and Alternative music Magazines.

The objective of this Question was to find outIf my magazine was Presented in such a wayThat the public would Wish to purchase it. Fortunately, many of the Reviewers felt that SAMPLE was interesting Enough in which to purchase.Although, it was stated that The price was slightly high.