Evaluation

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

My magazine “Basshead” is  similar to other drum ‘n’ bass/dubstep magazines as it has a dark background, but a splash of bright colour.  The content of my magazine is interviews with DJ’s and festivals and many other music related content of the genre I chose.
The front cover has a masthead at the top displaying the title of the magazine and under that it has the price and Internet address. The main front cover image goes along with the codes and conventions, as it is a picture from the waist upwards. Also on my cover, which many magazines have is a banner across the top of the front cover above the masthead displaying a competition to Creamfields festival.  For the word “Creamfields” I kept the festivals own font to give authenticity.  The subtitles are not obstructing the model in the image and are all aligned on the left side of the page. The main story title is larger than others and has slightly different font to make it pop.  Under this, there is a quote from the interview with DJ HAZE.  And with all other magazines mine has a barcode.

My contents has a variety of pictures displayed like many other magazines to grab the audience’s attention. I have a large font, bold title at the top displaying what the page is.  I then have subtitles with a brief description below it with the page number on the left of it.  The style of the front cover runs into the contents with the brightly coloured border and text colours. Below the border is some text which displays who will be in the next issues magazine.

The title is large and is a pull quote from the interview. The font colour contrast with the background colour, which makes it stand out. I have a main image, which is of the interviewee/artist on the right side of the double page spread; the rest of the image is underneath the text. There is also two other pull quotes beside the main image. The text is laid out by columns and is nicely spaced out to make it look presentable and not too cluttered.

The title uses conventions of magazines, as it is the largest font of all the text on the front cover. It stands out from everything else as the type of font is interesting and unusual and the colours are bright, contrasting the background colour of the front cover.  The title is memorable as the name of the magazine has impact and is sharp.

The text uses conventions of magazines as the front covers texts are presented in a similar way and also with the contents. In the double page spread the text is presented in columns, which is what every magazine does. The font is easy to read and the colours are typical for a dubstep/ drum ‘n’ bass genre.

The language  in my magazine follows the conventions as it  semi-formal. The magazine is tries to link with the audience by being informal but at the same time isn’t too chatty and gives you the information the audience needs.

The photograph on the front cover goes with the conventions of magazines as  a you don’t usually see the models legs which is why I have a photograph of the hip upwards.  On the contents I have used brightly coloured backgrounds and a dim, grimey photo that goes along with the genre. On the double page spread I have a close up of “Dj Haze” and a brick wall running as the background which I thought was interesting and different, which all the magazines try and achieve.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I think my female model for my magazine is not stereotypical of the genre dubstep/drum ‘n’ bass as men mainly dominate it. So my magazine is breaking out of that stereotype. On the front cover the models body language is giving the vibe of confident and edgy with her facial expression and where her hands are placed on her hips.  The red hair is bright which goes with the genre of being bold and different. I chose the makeup to define her eyes to give a mysterious feel. The costume that she is wearing is standard teenage/young adult dub head, with the zip up hoodie and skinny jeans.

The photographs represent young people as their clothing is worn by the younger generation and has a rough edge to it. The text has some restricted language in it so therefore its relates more to the younger generation.

Sexuality is represented but only in the double page spread, in the interview with Dj Haze where she is asked about her dating past and a little bit of nationality, when asked where Dj Haze was brought up.

 The genre of music (dubstep and drum ‘n’ bass) is represented through the vivid contrasting colours, the unique style font, and the knowledge of many artists from this type of genre. Also the photography does as well, as the rough brick wall represents underground dubstep.  The models clothing and pose slightly shows a “skank” which is a dance movement you do to dance to drum ‘n’ bass and dubstep.

http://www.slideshare.net/cfiltness/media-social-groups-presentation

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

EMAP publishing have fewer titles than IPC. But Emap do have more niche audiences like “Heating and Ventilation News” where as IPC aim for the mass market and have more than one magazine for different audiences.  If I had to choose out of those two to publish my magazine I would choose IPC as they already have a music magazine and would have experience in it where as EMAP publishing do not.

I would have Ministry of Sound advertise in my magazine as they release drum ‘n’ bass and dubstep albums. Another brand I would get to advertise in my magazine would be soundcloud, an website that lets up and coming Dj’s upload their music to the internet and listen for free.  These two brands I chose as it is helping Dj’s within the scene and spreading the genre.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

I think the audience for my magazine Basshead would be mostly males from the age of 15-30 and some females, because the genre mostly targets males. My audience would be from Britain as the magazine is only national and not worldwide. Their interests would be in partying and heavy bass and drops. The audience would use my magazine to seek new dubstep/drum 'n' bass artists, find new venues and look at the upcoming gigs near their area. Overall they would use Basshead to widen their knowledge of the genre. 

How did you attract/address your audience?

My audience would be interested in my magazine because I have a brand new popular dubstep artist on the front cover to attract my audience who are interested in the genre.  I have contrasting colours which catches the eye and interesting font.  I have information which any fan of the genre would want to know like “100 must see Dj sets” and  a sneak peak at magnetic mans getting nowhere single. My magazine is similar to Mixmag magazine as they also have reviews, gigs, venues etc for their content. Because their music genre is club/techno it is similar because the artists are Dj's and create their music via technology.

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

I used Adobe Photoshop to create my front cover and contents page of my magazine and I learnt how to put effects on fonts, for example inner/outer glow, bevel and emboss and many more different types. When I was taking my photography I learnt that you need to take photos from many different angles and to use the three point lighting system effectively to create shadows and silhouette. I then edited my photos on photoshop and edited the saturation and altered the background colours. To do my double page spread I used Illustrator and learnt how to form columns and not to make the contents overlap the fold. 

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

Looking back at my preliminary task there is a big difference between my two magazines. My first magazine did not have a lot of effects and editing done to it look more realistic and the font was very hard to read. My Basshead magazine could pass for an actual magazine on sale and is more mature. The pictures areof a better quality as i have edited them more carefully and precisely on phtoshop and i have made sure they go with the codes and conventions of magazines.

my magazine

Draft of front cover and double page spread

Questionnaire and Results of creating my Dubstep and Drum 'n' Bass Magazine

Are you:
Male
Female

What age category do you fit into?
15
16
17
18
19
20+

Do you enjoy Dubstep/Drum 'n' bass?
Very much
Yes
It's okay
No
Not at all

If so, out of these artists which is your favourite?
Chase and Status
Magnetic Man
Coki
Caspa
Rusko
Pendulum
If other, please state who.

Are you into sound equipment/technology?
Yes
No
Sort of.

Do you own a subwoofer?
Yes, i have many.
No.
Yes, but i don't own any.
No, but i want to get one.

Where do you go to listen to Dubstep/Drum 'n' Bass?
Raves
Nightclubs
On the internet/mp3/radio

What colour scheme shall i have in my magazine?
Neon
Colourful
Dark colours
Plain

Do you read music magazines often?
Yes
No
Occasionally

Do you like your magazines:
Hectic
Simple
Normal

Research into Similar Media Texts

Mixmag have chosen a good font colour theme with bright pink, white and black to make it stand out from all magazines at the shop plus they go well with each other. The masthead is a different font from the cover lines as it is its trademark recognition. The "SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA" is in capitals and in larger font than the rest to show the reader it is the main feature usually with a popular music group or celebrity. There is many different font sizes on the front cover to show that it is pact full or gossip and information. Barcode is a necessity to scan the magazines and the issue number to show you what issue the magazine is.

Blender Magazine are aiming for a younger market so they have black front on white with little bits of pink to make the cover lines pop. the masthead does not obstruct Katy Perry as the front cover model, as her image on the magazine is very important. also the font colour with the pink, matches Katy Perry's outfit with the same colour pink running through it. Katy Perry is quite a world know celebrity/music artist so this is probably why they have her as the front cover rather than a model so it boosts their sales.

With this front cover, there is a lot of red making it very bright and coordinating with the main image. The yellow cover lines clash with the red, they most likely did this on purpose because it catches more attention. The cover lines are slanted also is the image to make the magazine more individual. It has a pull quote from the main interview to give a taster of what will be inside.

On Q magazine its has a close-up of Madonna as its main image, I personally feel that this front cover is crowded and has too much going on with her name "MADONNA" covering the width of the cover. There is another image o the front cover showing a preview of what is inside. The colours of the font and the actual context entices the reader to buy it.

NME magazine front cover is my favourite, because it doesn't look cheap or cluttered. they have altered the lighting of the background to get darker at the edge of the magazine which gives "Magnetic man" a godly like impression. It is more of a simplistic look and thats what makes it classy looking. The layout of the cover lines is cleverly done as its on the main image but not obstructing it as "Skream" from Magnetic Man is only wearing a black jacket with no logos on. 

For the contents it usually has more than one image previewing what will be in the magazine. It still has the title of the magazine and "contents" in larger font. it still has a main image but in some magazines this isn't always the case. In the corner of the pictures is the page number that the picture or topic is on. Also at the top it has the month of the magazine to show you what issue you have got. 

With this contents page it is not clear which magazine this is from as it does not have the magazine name anywhere on the contents page.  The layout is very different compared to Mixmag's as it is split up into sections. On the left side with the black background there is all the main features on the side with a small description underneath. There is several images on here none which is the main image. They've split up the sections to make it easier for the audience to find what they want.

This contents page is very similar to the others apart from the fact that it only shows the main features, but it still have brief descriptions about it. They also have a colour theme they are carrying on with black white and orange, which makes it more organised looking and colourful. Like the Mixmag contents on the pictures it has the page number in the corner and the pictures are equally spaced out.

I personally think that this contents page from "Q" magazine is very dull, as it only has one main picture and a tiny one, which are men posing- not very original. But they do still keep their trademark red throughout. On the main image they have a pull quote from the band, to entice readers. The layout of it is similar to the "drummer" magazine contents as it is just down one side with brief descriptions underneath. It has the issue of the magazine at the top and the magazine.

This contents page is more unusual to the rest as it does not go for the typical layout and has a darker background colour probably to make the images stand out more.The photography is more unique and less structured than the others and it mentions other things not just its main features. the only thing is that it does not mention the magazine name or the issue date. Underneath each image it has captions either with a funny joke or explaining what it is or the relevance. 

In this double page spread half of the page is a main image with a pull quote from the interview. The image is very artistic and unusual to make the audience look at it. The text is split into 3 columns and not obstructing the smaller picture. The smaller picture also has a caption on the edge about the artist.

At then end of the interview its promotes the artists by saying where the artist is performing next, their album/single and sometimes random peoples opinions.

This double page spread also has a main image with no text going over the image but surrounding it in columns. It has a caption in the corner of the photo explaining what it is and has several smaller images going down the left hand side of the magazine. Below the smaller images is a pull quote from the interview with Swedish House Mafia.

The main image here is taking up half of the double page spread which a lot of magazines do. The title is a pull quote and takes a lot of room too, which grabs the audiences attention. The first letter of the text is in a larger font and there is a brief description underneath title. Yet again, the text is displayed in columns. 

All the double page spreads i have analysed so far, all have white backgrounds to make the text and main images pop from the page. The title has the same colour coding as the the image making it go nicely together.  The text here is in one wide column. you can clearly tell this is an interview of the paragraphing and the difference in the boldness of font. The pull quote stands out a lot as it has a different colour background to the rest of the page and is in contrast to the background colour.

Main image is taking up half of the double page spread and has a pull quote in the corner of the picture. There is a brief description of the article under the main title and the text is displayed in three columns and well laid out. 

Results of Questionnaire

My evaluation

• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real
media products?
My college magazine is similar to others, in that it has a barcode which any magazine has to be bought. 
The front cover of "Boom College Magazine" has the title of what it is called. A main picture which is above the hip like most other magazines which I have edited using photoshop and altered the lighting when I took the picture. My magazine also has strap lines to entice the reader. For the contents, I have many pictures on their with borders because many magazines do that too, so the consumer doesn't read so much that the content becomes dull. My contents also includes information of what would be in a magazine like I am designing with page numbers. The Main feature story is in columns, goes around the photos and not underneath it. I also included a main photo which  has relevancy to the feature. On the photo, is the title in large font and directly underneath that a small introduction is smaller font size. All of which I have included due to my research in other magazines.

• How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My magazine represents my target audience with its social groups, by being bold and different in some ways compared to other college magazines to grab the students attention. The information in it isn't particularly targeted for one type of person but for many so it has a broad range. Another reason why it represents different social groups is my main feature which includes interviews with new students from many social groups which any type of student can relate to. 

• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think the college's student union would distribute my college magazine in popular areas of the college like the canteen, the mezanine and the new common room. Why? Because the student union is all about bringing the college and students closer together with activities, events and news.It would create in the college a good atmosphere and a sense of unity!

• Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience for my magazine would be college students who go to Farnham College, since my magazine is all about what is happening at Farnham. 

• How did you attract/address your audience?
I attracted my audience by involving information, that I personally as a student would want to hear, involving the freshers party and not all the dull un-important information that students wouldn't read. I also used eye-catching font, colours and sizing of the text and cool photo's and not too much text.

• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Yes I have, I was taught how to use photoshop. With that software i learnt how to alter contrast/brightness, get rid of skin imperfections and altering the main object of the photo. I also used Adobe Illustrator and learnt to create a format with columns and how to make the text surround a photo and  not to be covered by it.