Evaluation of magazine

By Georgie Lloyd

Title of my magazine

For masthead of my magazine I used a website called www.dafont.com.I found a font I liked, print screened it then edited in paint and then again in Photoshop. I stuck to simple colours such as black and white as from my research of rock magazines I found they use quite simple colours. I was inspired to use only one letter as my masthead by the contempory rock magazine, Q. However my masthead challenges the real conventions of magazines as I have changed the colours, font and size of the text for it. As I have used a single letter yet changed everything about the appearance showing that although it uses typical conventions of a rock magazine yet challenges them in how it is laid out.I used black background and white text as the black would stand out against the page and the white text on top of it would stand out further.

1.In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms andconventions of real media products?

Mise en scene (images)I think the mise en scene of my magazine is typical of rock and contempory magazines as I have used quite simple backgrounds so the person stood in front of them stands out and so the focus is entirely on them. The backgrounds also follow the colour scheme that continue throughout my magazine and make it look more professional as I didn’t have to do cut-outs or make sure there was nothing going on that was too busy behind the ‘star’ so that attention was not drawn from them. Another aspect of the mise en scene is the presentation of the people in the actual pictures. They are all expressionless which I found to be a common feature in rock magazines as you tend to see smiley ‘cheesy’ pictures in pop magazines rather than the genre I was creating my magazine around. The main image on the front cover creates a personal feel as he is looking straight out, which is not just a typical convention of rock magazines but also other types as this draws people’s eye contact. A pug is also on my front page which stands out to the audience and it feature on most magazine covers.

Both of these examples show bland background and expressionless people on the cover.

1.

Costumes and propsAlthough I haven't used any props throughout my magazine the costumes of the people featured in it display the genre by displaying typical characteristics. Leather and denim jackets are the usual attire for rock stars and both of these are shown in my magazine. The girl featured on the contents page has short hair which is another typical way female rock stars distinguish themselves. All of these features can be found in stars when they appear in magazine such as NME and Q which were the magazines I based mine upon.

PeopleThe people I have used in my magazine challenge the typical people that are used in professional magazines, as they are noticeably younger and their outfits are quite plain and casual in comparison to what actual celebrities wear. I have also not used a group of people I have only used 1 person in each photo which is un-common in most music magazines as there is usually one band shown. However as my target audience is a wide age range this way it will appeal to the younger people and attract them to the magazine. As I have used a male on my front cover this will attract boys and girls, which is the intention of the cover, as girls will find the male attractive and want to read about him while men will automatically be interested in him as they have something in common.

1.

Title font and sizeI created my title by print screening the letter ‘R’ after typing it into www.dafont.com, and then I edited in paint and Photoshop. I reversed the colours and made the background black and font white whereas before it was the other way around. I think the title is conventional in some ways as it used a single letters that stand for something (R-stands for ‘rock) and this is shown in the magazine Q and again in NME. However the font is quite unusual and unique as usually music magazines use quite plain fonts and are often shown in block colours whereas my title is distorted. This makes the title look rough and messy which could link to the genre of rock as many rock stars have an untidy appearance. It also stands out against the background which is a common convention as the masthead needs to be something to attract peoples attention.

Written contentThe content of my written article follows the typical conventions of a music magazine as it talks about his career, his music, his albums and the tour he has just been on. In interviews they usually try and get the interviewee to answer questions the public would want to know about, and celebrities usually do magazine interviews for a purpose such as to promote something and ‘Sean Stone’ promotes his new album and tells the public about the ‘drug scandal’ that he was involved in. This is an interesting topic and would interest people who like the genre of rock, as drug use is typical ‘lad’ behaviour and happens commonly with people in the music industry. However I didn’t set it out as a ‘question and answer’ layout, instead I wrote out an article about when the interviewer met him and embedded quotes in telling the public the things mentioned above. I did this because after conducting my questionnaire I found my target audience preferred small text with more information and this way nearly the whole page was covered, more topics were discussed and there was no dead space. The editors letter on the contents page has a more conventional feel as it follows the friendly and welcoming tone that is often shown on music magazines.

1.

Music genre and how your magazine suggests itThe genre of my magazine is rock with small elements of pop shown throughout. I did this as I wanted my magazine to be like Q and follow a wide range of artists and bands. One way the genre is shown by the way the people look in my magazine. The male on the front is wearing a denim jacket which is typical attire of men who are famous in the rock industry and he also has a quote next to his head about his ‘mad bad world’. People in the rock industry often have a rebellious personality and this sentence makes it look as if he has this persona himself, as clearly he has done something that could have had serious consequences. The article on him itself talks of ‘malbaro lights’, the messy look he has going on and the fact that he didn’t get in till the early hours of that morning, all of which are things people would link back to rockers.Leather jackets are also worn by the girls on the contents page which is another thing that is worn by many a rock star and shown on many professional magazines. The colours in my magazine, red black and white, are all typical conventions of rock magazines such as Q and NME as they don’t pull attention from the people featured in it but also attract the eye first off. It also suggests a more mature audience as people of a younger age prefer bright colours and as I want to attract older people too, as I wanted to include classic rock bands in my magazine that only people who are at least over 30 and the colours used will therefore do this. However in many magazines, props are used to convey the genre but my magazine challenges this as no props are used.

1.

LayoutThe layout of my magazine is mainly conventional. I have used a mid shot of someone on my front cover with text surrounding them which is often the layout professional magazines use. The masthead is also featured at the top and the barcode is put in place that is barely noticeable in the right hand corner. The date and price are featured close to the barcode. There is also a banner running along the bottom of my magazine which clashes with the background and gives a little extra info on the bottom of the page.

Contents pageMy contents page both challenges and follows typical conventions of a magazine. The layout can be found in professional magazine as I used the rule of thirds and this is commonly used. Another example is the editorial letter that welcomes people to the magazine. The way I presented the actual contents is similar to real magazines as the page number and title are in bold & different colour with a little more information given about it underneath. There is also images included but of a smaller size than the front cover and on the images are the page numbers which is the way most professional magazine express where to find the article. However the colours used on my contents page is quite unusual as there isn't even a hint of colour in the background, instead just the letter ‘R’ which is opaque and goes behind the text. This is to emphasize the title without having to feature the masthead again.

1.

Masthead and tagline at left hand corner, both a square with one single letter inside it.

Pug

Red, black and white being the main colours featured

The price number combined with the bar code

Direct eye contact with people on the cover, and they are both shot with a mid shot.

Cover lines featured along the left and ride hand side of the person featured.

Text running along the bottom of the page

How my magazine used typical conventions of real media product

1.

Plain white background

Page numbers featured on photo’s.

Red, black and white still being used.

States issue number

Title of the contents bolder than the description

Page numbers stand out more than the description also.

Images are smaller than those throughout the rest of the magazine

How my magazine used typical conventions of real media product

1.

Large image that takes up most the space on the page.

Text divided up into columns

Enlarged letters at the start of a paragraph

Name of the person featured running along the top of the page with a line which makes it stand out more.

Masthead featured on a smaller scale

Transparent letter that fills up a lot of the page with text running over it

First name in lower case italics with last name in capitals.

How my magazine used typical conventions of real media product

1.

How my magazine challenges typical conventions of real media product

Different colour masthead

I don’t have a plain white background

More people featured in Q

Barcode positioned in a different place

Q use bolder texts

Q has a banners along the top and bottom of the page

1.

How my magazine challenges typical conventions of real media product

Q has lines around the text

Q has one main image

I use bigger font for the contents and take up more room

My contents page follows the rule of thirds horizontally while Q splits its contents page into 2 vertically

Images are more interesting in Q as they had better settings

Q has one main story positioned at the top whereas I laid all mine out the same

1.

How my magazine challenges typical conventions of real media product

My magazine has an image on the right hand side whereas Q features the image on the first page of the article. My image is also in colour.

My magazine features a by-line

My article is split into two columns whereas Q’s has 3 columns and is much more condensed.

My double page spread also has more than one image

I have given a short introduction to the article, introducing the person featured whereas Q just goes straight into it.

Q’s opaque letter is much more striking and takes up more of the page

1.

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

My magazine mostly represents the younger generation as only people below the age of 18 are in my magazine due to older people not being available to me. The fact that the people who are pictured in my magazine all look casual and laid back shows this as many younger people have this type of persona. They are also all dressed in clothes that people would class as ‘fashionable’ and this is something people are very interested in when they are teenagers as looking good is a major part of life. However although their clothes will appeal to younger people, it could also represent people who are older which was my aim too. As they are wearing leather and denim, this connotes the rock genre and this is something people of an older age will be interested in and is something they know about as rock is a genre that has been around since they were young too. They also look quite normal, people you would see on the street, meaning ordinary people will be able to relate to them and not take them for typical celebrities. Another aspect of these pictures that will appeal to the audience is that there are both boys and girls featured which means it will appeal to both sexes and isn't limited to one.

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

IPC MediaIpc media could possibly distribute my magazine as although they publish NME this is the only music magazine of the rock genre that they publish as most of the magazines they sell are to do with home furnishings, celebrity gossip and sports. This means a magazine like mine could be sold by them as although my magazine has similarities to NME as they has similar genres, my magazine has a different look and feel as it also introduces the pop element. My magazine also aims at the younger audience as well as the older which NME does not. I did at first research into Bauer media as its one of the most influential UK publishers but it publishes many music magazines already such as Q and Kerrang! meaning that if they sold my magazine they would be competing with themselves by selling similar magazines due to my magazine taking inspirations from Q and others that they sell.

Dennis publishing Dennis publishing could also take on my magazine as they publish no music magazines whatsoever meaning there would be no competition. It sells magazines mostly based on cars, fitness and technology meaning the ‘R’ could be something new and different for them. Dennis publishing has 2.2 million magazines read each month meaning my magazine will by reached by a massive audience.

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

• Age of my audienceI wanted my audience to appeal to both the young and old as this way it would have a much wider age range and I wouldn’t be limited. Therefore the audience for my magazine would be for people aged between 16

•Gender of my audienceI wanted my magazine to appeal to both women and men. I've tried to do this by including images of both males and females in my magazine, and advertising articles that I think both sexes would be interested in.

•Social class of my audienceI would try to reach all classes however, I think more of the working and upper classes would buy this magazine as the price is quite expensive.

•Psychographic profileThe people who buy R will either be at college, uni or in a job most likely. If they are earning they would earn quite a bit, enough to be able to buy unnecessary items like the magazine. They would be interested in rock music, both old and new, and would want to know about the bands/singers personal lives as well as find out more on their music. They may even be in a band themselves and look to the magazine for inspiration. They would also enjoy concerts, and go to them on a regular occasion. They would also probably buy music regularly either in cd form or in MP3 format as well.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Attracting the selected gender= Males would be attracted to the front cover first hand by the ‘cool’ looking male on the front, and the cover line by the side of

his stating of how we are going to talk about his ‘mad bad world’, whereas the women would be attracted to the magazine as the man featured is attractive and

if they like the genre they would be able to relate to his look. There is also a cover line on ‘Holly O’Neil’ where it says we will be talking about her split.

Although she is still related to music, girls will want to find out more as they tend to take an interest in the gossip on the stars as well as the music whereas boys

do not.

Attracting the age range =The way I have tried to attract the age range for my magazine is although all the people in my magazine are below 18 the clothes they are wearing and their stance suggest a more mature feel about the magazine that would then engage the older audience. I wanted people who are just starting to grow an interest into the genre of rock, people that maybe are forming bands themselves to be inspired by the magazine, and for also those that have grown up listening to rock and still like it now to enjoy reading info coming from a fresh source.

5.

Attracting the social class =The price of my magazine will distinguish the classes that buy it. £2.50 is quite expensive considering most

magazines are a pound or maybe under. The price of the magazine suggests that people who earn more than most will probably buy this

magazine as people who earn minimum wage probably wont have the money to spare to spend £2+ on a magazine. Also as my magazine

appeals to older people, they tend to have more money than teenagers meaning the price of the magazine suggests that there is an older target

audience as well as a young one.

5.

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

Photoshop Adobe in-design

Microsoft word

5. I then selected the ‘omni’ option. 6. I then adjusted the circle to

change how the light was spread out.

4. From the menu off this, click ‘lighting effects’.

2. Select ‘filter’ along the top menu.

3. Scroll down to ‘render’.1. Open the image with Photoshop.

7. Clicked ‘ok’, and then you're left with the finished product.

Adjusting the lighting on images6.

Making a colour box opaque so text and pictures can be seen

1.Open magazine with photo shop

3. Clicked the shape option2. Selected colour I wanted the box to be

6. Moved arrow down on the ‘opacity

4. Dragged mouse until I got the size box I wanted

5. Right click and selected ‘blending options’.

7. Moved box to where I wanted it.

6.

Sending an opaque box to the back so text and pictures is shown

1. Selected ‘layer’ on the toolbar and scrolled down to the ‘arrange’ option’.

2. Selected ‘send to back’.3. Move layer down on the right hand side so it comes after the background, therefore won't be going behind it.

6.

Finding a title font and saving it

1. Found chosen font on www.dafont.com, got it up on the screen and selected it in ‘large’. Then print screened the whole screen.

3. Cropped away the picture until I was left with just the title of my magazine.

2. Pasted the print screen into Microsoft Word.

6. Saved it as a picture in my media file

4. Right clicked then selected ‘copy’.

5. Pasted it into ‘paint’.

6.

Opening title into Photoshop and then editing it

1. Clicked ‘file’ on the toolbar menu then ‘open’. I found my title and then selected ‘open’.

3. Dragged the image over my magazine and then dropped it where I wanted it.

5. I changed the colour back to white to change the font colour so it would be visible over the black.

4. Changed the colour to black and then selected the ‘paint bucket tool’. I then clicked on the whole masthead changing it all to black.

2. Opened it was a separate picture next to my magazine.

6. I selected the ‘paint bucket tool’ once again, clicked on the ‘R’.

6.

Creating opaque text

1. Opened my contents and select the ‘type tool.

5. I clicked the ‘selection tool’ and moved the letter to where I wanted it.

6. I then selected ‘effects on the right hand side menu.

4. After I changed the font size to 800+ so the letter would fit the whole page.

2. I dragged my mouse until I had the size text box I wanted which for me was the whole page.

3. I then typed the letter ‘R’ in Times New Roman font.

7. I then moved the arrow down on the ‘opacity’ level.

6.

Removing white backgrounds behind text

1. I opened the cover line that I had previously made using www.dafont.com and Microsoft word.

4. After I selected the ‘magic wand tool’ from the left hand side menu.

3. I moved the cover line so it was where I wanted it.

2. I dragged the cover line over my magazine and then dropped it so it was on my magazine.

6.

(continues on next slide..)

4. I clicked on the white background of the text, which highlighted it self around the letters.

4. I then pressed delete and the white background had been removed.

5. I then adjusted where the cover line was using the ‘move tool’.

8. After I selected ‘select’ on the top toolbar and then clicked ‘deselect’ so the box was no longer highlighted.

…6.

Pug

1. Opened front cover on photo shop and then selected the shape tool.

4. Then selected the paint bucket tool.

5. Clicked the paint tool in the circle, therefore changing it to red.

3. Selected the colour palette and changed the colour.

2. Then drawn the shape behind the text on the pug.

6.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Preliminary task

Final task

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

• When I started with my magazine I wasn’t as able with Photoshop and in-design yet by trial and error I have learnt how to do many things that I wasn’t able to do with the preliminary task.

• I am now able to easily change colours of text and shapes and able to change the size also.

•I learnt how to manipulate images which is something I had not done before. I know how to change the lighting and to make the image sharper and for the main object of the image to stand out more by using ‘lighting effects’.

• I am now more confident with in-design meaning I was able to do more things with the background of my contents page whereas in my preliminary task it was just a block colour. I can also create transparent text.

• Many more resources were used in the making of my final magazine as I looked to professional magazines such as Q and NME for inspiration and then adapted these idea’s to make them my own whereas before I just started my preliminary magazine without looking at any type of real magazine.

• Fonts where also a major downside of my preliminary task whereas in my final magazine I experimented with more unique fonts and got a range of them from outside the programme I was working in (www.dafont.com)

• I changed the angle at which I took the photo for my front cover, as this time it was more of a mid-shot with the shoulders in view and I also positioned him in the middle of the page meaning it looked more realistic and grabbed the attention of the reader better.

•I think I still need to work on combining unusual texts with a more interesting background as I found it hard to create an image that wasn’t too busy as I wasn’t able to create a background suitable for the magazine which is why I went for a plain white.

• I also think I need to get across the genre of my magazine more, as although you can tell it is a music magazine, I think more props were needed in order to convey it was a ‘rock’ magazine.