Magazine Evaluation

I have chosen to create a new British music magazine for my Media Coursework. The genre which I have chosen to focus on is Electro-Pop. In doing my research I discovered that there are no Electro-Pop magazines on the shelves of Britain's stores. This leaves a great gap in the magazine market which my product could fill. I also think my magazine will be popular because Electro-Pop is a popular genre of music and ever growing. Below is a list of some artists based around this genre.

Introduction

La Roux LadyhawkeHot ChipThe Ting Tings

Ladyhawke

Qu 1: In what ways do your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The genre which I chosen to base my magazine upon is Electro-Pop. I chose to focus on this genre because I like this kind of music and I knew I would enjoy creating the unique images and editing to fit with the genre.

Bright colours

‘Crazy’ poses

I also chose to focus on Electro-Pop because when I did my re-search at the beginning of the project and found that there is no Electro-Pop magazines being sold and so there is a gap in the market. And as I found my target audience was 16 to 25 year olds I could start to develop my product for that age range.

I have used many typical magazine conventions in my final product. Below is a list of my front cover, contents page and double page spread and the conventions I have used;

Front cover

o Main heading ‘Tric’ as in ‘Electric’ relates to the genre i have chosen. The font is bold and big which makes it stand out and draws in the eyes’ attention . From the results of my questionnaires I have realised that I could have made my title stand out more. Below are the comments made about my front cover title:

“The title colour could be brighter for more attention” “The title would stand out even more if it was brighter”

o One main picture of my two models. The age and appearance of the girls reflects the age and stlye of my target audience. The picture stands as it is black and white apart from the dresses this emphasises and reveals the colours of the flowers and adds a splash of colour to my front page.

Below are some of the positive comments I got back from my questionnaire: “The black and white picture against the dull background looks professional” “It interests me because the picture is different and interesting, it also looks fun and ‘partyish’”” “The picture looks professional how it is fitted onto the page and how the writing overlaps”

o Feature articles are all items that I think are interesting and appealing to the market which I have chosen. These will entice the reader into buying the magazine. I have used headings such as:

o “The ultimate Festival Guide” and “100 must download songs this month”. These advertise current music events, creating opportunities for the reader to expand their interest in Electro-Pop.

o Website address to show people there is more than just the magazine ‘www.tricmag.co.uk’

Contentso Pictures to reveal who is featured in the magazine. I have included a film strip of “LAYDZ”

doing a various number of poses. I have also included a picture of one of ‘Pip’ (one of the girls from ‘LAYDZ’) which is quite large and green. I changed it to green in Photoshop because I thought it went well with my electro-pop them. Below are some of the comments I got back from my questionnaire when I asked about my contents page;

“The pictures make it interesting” “The pictures are different and interesting” “The green makes it look immature” (which I don't believe to be true, as it compliments my

electro-pop genre very well)

o Page numbers and interesting titles which I thought the reader would want to flick to.

o Title of magazine in the top corner of the page ‘Tric’, to re-enforce it in people’s minds. I also think it’s a very good way of linking the pages together, as it is the same on every page.

Magazine name

What’s in the magazine and where it is

Picture of one of the girls in my featured articles

Film strip of “LAYDZ”

People can easily find my featured article

My Contents page

Double page spreado Pictures of the featured artist -‘LAYDZ’ to show the reader who is been interviewed and to

make them want to read on. Below a comment I received from my questionnaire on the pictures I used:

“The pictures make you want to read the article and see who it’s about”

o Bold and big fonts to make the writing stand out more.

o Phrases which the interviewee have said which are funny/strange/stand out-’Pointing at his well rounded buttocks’. Here are some of the comments I received from the questionnaire about the phrase I made stand out from the rest of the interview:

”The quotes make you want to read on” “The quotes are interesting and catchy” o Interview written in a journalistic way to make it seem genuine, below are two comments I

got back, one positive and one negative: “Really well written article, good journalism” “The article seems more of a story rather than an article, explaining every little detail”

Magazine title

QuotesMain article

Pictures

Fun fonts which link to other pages

The one thing I think I did differently is the picture on my front cover. Normally you wouldn't see a black and white photo as the main image but I have done this because I thought it looked quite quirky and unique.

I think it’s vital to do something different to the genre of my

magazine so that it stands out and would persuade buyers

to produce my magazine. My magazine follows many of the

conventions of any magazine giving the audience a familiar

experience, but I have offered some little twists to make it

different at the same time. For example i have used an Art

Nuevo style of font, associated with the early 20th century as

my title. This style of font echoes the old electric neon signs

outside cinemas and buildings at that time. Just as Art

Nuevo was cutting edge then, so is electro-pop today.

I think the genre of Electro-Pop makes it stand out as it is

focusing on one genre. And the my main image on the front

cover which is in black and white which isn’t often seen on

magazine covers.

Was my decision to create an Electro-Pop magazine the right one?

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Whether people straight away got what genre of magazine it was

Two of the questions asked in my questionnaire were “What does the title suggest to you?” and “What genre/type of music does the magazine focus on and how do you know this?”. These questions were asked to see whether the target audience knew straight away from looking at the front page what genre of music I am focusing on. Below is a bar chart to show how many of the people I asked knew straight away that it was a Electro-Pop magazine. As you can see seven out of the ten people I asked knew straight away. I interestingly discovered that the 3 people I asked who didn’t get what genre it was straight away were all over the age of 30 which proves that this magazine is targeting at the young generation.

Here is one of the answers I got back;“It focuses on electro-pop. The title and the style of the models on the front cover suggest this, there is also an advertisement for an electro-pop magazine”

Is the genre of my magazine recognised easily?

Qu 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I haven’t tried to target a certain stereotypical group, but I know they would be a young audience who like to go out to gigs and clubs. I think their economic status would be around D/E and their wardrobe would include brightly coloured clothing, uniqueness and funkiness.

I think my magazine is easily recognisable to

someone who is into Electro-pop, a fast growing

genre in the industry, with knew born artists such

as Lady GAGA and Ladyhawke coming into the

spotlight.

I chose to dress my models in these outfits because I think they are really bright and are stereotypical colours of electric-pop. I especially like the neon and fluorescent tops both girls are wearing because not only do they match each other but they stand out. The stripy hot pants are very eye catching as they are different colours from the other parts of the outfits. I have purposely back-combed the girls hair to make the whole look even more unique and crazy. The pose the girls are in make it look as though they are having a good time and also break one of the conventions as my second model isn't looking towards the camera but to my other model.

I chose to dress my models in these outfits because I think they compliment each other very well. It links the girls showing that they are close and also hints that they have a good and a naughty side. White stereotypically representing good and black stereotypically representing bad. I chose this pose with the wine bottle as it shows that the girls know how to have a good time, which makes them interesting and persuades the audience to read the magazine.

And finally, I chose these two dresses because they look really fun and have a lot going on in them. They aren't just plain and boring and therefore attract the eyes attention. The stripes on the dress are also the same as the hot pants and therefore link my pictures. I used this image on my front cover because I think the pose which the girls are posing is very different from what you would usually see on a magazine cover and therefore makes my magazine stand out.

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

There are many media institutions, and I believe several would be interested in my music magazine. Below is a couple of magazines which are similar to mine and their publishers.

http://www.sae-atl.com/

http://beatz2k.com/

http://www.penton.com/

I think my magazine is similar to ‘Remix’. Remix is specified to the electronic and urban music markets and keeps readers up to date with new music from many different genres. Examples include, Trance, Electronica, Drum and Base etc . As my magazine is more focused upon just two genres- ‘Pop and ’Electric’ Penton Media would be likely to fund my magazine as it specifically appeals to a defined audience.

My magazine looks as though it has more to offer than ‘Remix’ as it has more headings around the main photo which will entice people into reading it. The ‘Remix’ magazine has minimal headings so you have less chance of the audience buying it based on what they know from the cover about the inside of the magazine.

One of the questions on my questionnaire was; “How genuine does the front cover seem?” and all of the feedback was positive claiming it is “very neat” and “the colours seem very professional and the picture looks like something you would see on a front cover, you have also used a good mix of fonts”.

Qu 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

Why is it good to have a target audience?

The reason why it’s good to have a target audience is so that their interests are fulfilled in the magazine. So what they like listening to and who they like going to see are featured in the magazines. So a 70 year old wouldn’t be likely read a magazine on ‘Drum and base’. When looking for my target audience I had to consider many factors. One of them being age. My age category is from 16 to 25 years old. That doesn’t mean to say that people out of this age group aren't suppose to read it but I produced a questionnaire at the beginning of my project and saw that all the young people would like to see an Electric-pop magazine on the shelves of British stores. I think my magazine is largely targeted at a loyal niche audience AT THE MOMENT. But with new artists such as Lady GaGa and The Ting Tings electric-pop is becoming more and more popular and may help the sales of my magazine.

I believe that my magazine will have a secondary audience because it’s a mix of electric and pop. So people who are into electronic music are likely to read my music and people who listen to pop are likely to read it so I will have a mix of two audiences reading it.

Main heading Which I got from the word ‘Electric’ and as it’s based on electronic music I thought it would be a good idea to use it. I got very good feedback about the title of my magazine and helped people work out what genre the magazine was based on.

Feature articles to entice the audience in. Features such as “The ultimate festival guide” will persuade people who are interested in festivals and not necessarily electro-pop to read the magazine.

My main picture who are the band “LAYDZ” is quite different from what you would usually see on a magazine cover as it’s in black and white. This has been done to attract the audiences attention. I have also coloured in the girls skirts to make it look more colourful and compliment the genre a little more. My Front Cover

Qu 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

I have used my from cover to attract my

audience and by using many codes and

conventions and breaking some I think I

have achieved this.

For my contents page I have chosen interesting feature articles so to interest my reader. My first featured article is ‘Duo Split’ Which creates suspense for the ready as I haven’t said what duo. The reader therefore will probably be intrigued to see who they are even if they didn't want to read that article anyway. I have also included “The Ultimate Festival Guide” in my contents page as this is one of my main features of the magazine, so many people will most likely be buying the magazine for that one article and want to get to it quick and easy. I have also used a big picture of one of the girls out of ‘LAYDZ’ and changed her to a green colour on Photoshop which will attract my target audience as it is very electro like.

For my double page spread I have used the title; ‘LAYDZ’ this is because they are a new band and it is then clear to audience who the article is about and what they’re called. I have used a typical column structure for my article which makes it easy to read. The content itself is an interview in a busy pub (which the audience can relate to). I haven't wrote my interview like a typical interview for example; Me: What’s your next album called?LAYDZ: FootstepsI have also written in white font onto a black background which I think allows the writing to stand out a little more. This also links with the girls black and white tee-shirts .

Instead I wrote mine more like a story than an interview. I Included what the girls said but in my own words with the oddquote from them. I think this will attract my audience as it isn’t a typical interview and they wont get bored. Below is some of the positive feedback I got back from my questionnaire on thearticle. “It describes the scene interestingly and puts a strong image inmy head. I also feel as though I know the two girls from thequestions you have asked and way you have described them”“It describes the scene and everything that happened in theinterview”

I have used quite a large picture on my double page spread of just the girls heads close to together. I think this attracts the audiences attention as it’s the first time we have seen them up close. It also shows the closeness of the girls in the way they are posing.

In my article the girls are approached by someone asking for their interview which is an ideology of fame. I used this to emphasis to my readers that these girls are recognised and growing in popularity.

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

Blogs: Before beginning my practical project I had to create and account on https://www.blogger.com/start which is an online blog which can be easily accessed in and out of college. I found this resource very helpful, as it allowed me to upload recent developments in my magazine, including pictures, blog entrees and PowerPoint's.

Research: To get to my final product I had to carry out research on many different aspects of the media. Once I had decided on the genre of magazine I was going to create, I researched the Web for similar magazines to that genre. I also looked for layouts of magazines on Google images. I found this a really easy way of finding information about magazines, and I think it is so much easier than going out and buying a magazine from the shelves as you don’t always have a big selection to choose from.

Creating my product: To create my prelim task and front cover I used an advanced programme on the Apple Macs called ‘InDesign’. This is where I pieced my product together, adding writing and pictures. I found it quite difficult to get the hang of this programme as it’s so advanced, but towards the end of the project i felt as though as i was getting the hang of it more.

Taking my photographs: For both my prelim task and magazine I had to use a digital camera to take my photos. I have my own digital camera and known how to use it for years now so this task wasn’t a problem for me.

Editing photographs: After uploading my photographs onto the computer, i had to open the ones I wanted into a programme called ‘Photoshop’. This programme allowed me to do pretty much whatever i wanted with my photos. I changed the colours of my photos, cut them out from the background, created film strips. I was very impressed by what I could achieve on this programme, although it was pretty complicated and took some getting use to.

To sum up I believe all of the technology which I used to create my product was highly advanced and I am very proud to now know how to use some of this.

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

For my preliminary task I had to create a magazine cover and contents page for a college magazine. Instantly you can see the difference in the two covers and shows how I have progressed my the prelim task. I think the first thing you notice when looking at my prelim task is the amount of white space I have around my picture, this wouldn’t help the sales of a magazine as it doesn’t show readers what is in the magazine. Whereas my final product has many headings around the picture to draw the audience in. I think my prelim task seems to ‘real like’. My model is posing in a way which she doesn’t seem happy, whereas normally a magazine would feature a picture which looks attractive as though to say “If you read this magazine, you too could be this happy/attractive”. On my final product my models pose is quite exciting and catches the reader eye. I also believe the fonts and colours on my prelim task aren't bold or bright enough. The green writing is too small and difficult to read, whereas the colours on my final piece are complimented very well with the background and therefore easy to see.

The reason to why my preliminary task isn’t as good as my final product is simply because I had very little time to produce it and I was new to the technology in which I was using to create and edit my photos.

ConclusionOverall I am very happy with my final piece. I like the colours I have used for the front cover, with the grey and navy blue. I also like the images which I used, as they are different from your average magazine. I think with a bit more time I could of improved my contents page, as I think it looks pretty minimal. But overall I am happy with my final piece and enjoyed every part of creating it.