Evaluation

1. Evaluation Lois Samantha Elias

2. Final product

3. Final product

4. Forms and conventions I think that the magazine front cover I produced followed some of the forms and conventions that I had seen in other magazine examples. It follows the conventional layout of classic magazine s: the masthead at the top, sell lines issue number, barcode main image, feature article slogan. I do think though that the image was quite unconventional because the model is wearing sun glasses which breaks the rule of looking directly into the camera lens. Also the model was smiling and when I analysed some other music magazines none of the models were smiling. In my student magazine I had the model covering the masthead but for this magazine I learnt that only the most established magazines can do this or very famous artists. For new magazines the reader must be able to identify the magazine easily. I kept a consistent colour scheme of four colours although some of the magazines I analysed only had three. I put the banner at the bottom of the page which is quite unconventional compared to other magazines but I didn't want it to distract from the masthead. My slogan was conventional because I positioned it right below the masthead.

5. I think for the contents page I could be more experimental as there is less of a traditional layout and more essential components. I think that my contents page was quite unconventional because the main image took up almost all of the page whereas the ones I looked at took up about one third of the page. Also I have only listed the feature articles whereas some of the magazines had a list of regular articles that re-occur in each issue. However I did follow some conventions on the contents page because I listed all the articles with a page number and a very brief synopses; All the magazines I had analysed included these. I also had a subsidiary image as well which I think is important to show the reader what else they may enjoy reading. Also just adding the word contents was a convention because although it may seem an obvious thing to include every magazine I looked at had it. I also think that my competition banner at the bottom was conventional because it is normally there in in a magazine. I think this is because the purpose of the contents is to inform the reader and persuade them to read the magazine ;competitions are just a extra feature that can entice the reader further. The double page spread was my most conventional because it follows the structure of most existing magazines. I have used columns to organise the text and make it easier to read. I also added a by line next to the headline. The headline is in a bold capital font with the key word highlighted. I found that doing this gives a shock factor and it occurred in a lot of the rock magazines where the artists stories also tend to be scandalous. My image was conventional because the camera was slightly below eye level which I think emphasise the artists high status as ‘someone to look up to’. It was also a mid shot which I thought would be suitable when I looked at the lily Allen double page spread. I also used a tombstone mark (halmos) to indicate the end of the article.

6. Presentational issues • My magazine represents the modern social young person with an appetite for partying and having fun • I think that the demographic I have chosen is represented in a lot of media as being anti social or caught up in drugs and alcohol. I wanted to display a more positive side of dance and house music because the music itself can be uplifting and high-spirited which is why for my for my feature article I wanted to focus of an artist from the demographic showing a mature outlook and being a good role model to combat stereotypes. To do this I used bright colours and made the model smile in a lot of the photographs. I also added sun beams and glares using Photoshop to give less of an aggressive feel.

7. Target audience Who was the intended target audience for my magazine? My target audience was men and women aged 16 -25 year olds living in inner-city areas such as London, Nottingham, Birmingham and Bristol. Initially I thought the magazine would be more suited to working class people but I also think since the genre I chose is becoming infused with euro-pop music that has universal appeal, my magazine could appeal to the middle classes and other wider demographics as well. I kept this in mind when creating the front cover in particular and tries to use bright colours that would appeal to both men and women and capturing an image that would appeal to my target audience. I also think that conducting research into a target audience for this magazine helped me to understand what kind of person would read the magazine and subsequently what changes needed to make to improve it which was part of my reviewing and modifying process.

8. Addressing the readership How did I attract / address My Target audience? • I addressed my target audience by using different techniques I saw in in the magazine example. I used mise – en scene elements like bright red glasses colourful jewellery and head phones for a young element that would appeal to my target audience. Also my use of colour appeal to my target audience because I used a mixture of blues and pinks which makes the magazine stereotypically suited to both females and males. With my photography I took some images with a brick wall background which gives an urban vibe that would appeal to young people in inner-city areas. Using swear words in the headlines for my feature article also seems quite aggressive or rebellious which I think would appeal to my chosen age group. The use of colloquial language such as ‘ yeah’ and ‘right ?!’ seems a lot more relaxed and informal which would appeal to my demographics as this may be how they themselves speak which creates a sense of familiarity with my magazine Swear words appeal to the wild or rebellious nature of young adults. Blue and pink colour scheme appeals to both sexes Bright red glasses Indicates entertainment and also makes the artist featured seem ‘cool’.

9. Institutions • I think my magazine has a relatively wide appeal. One retailer that I think would stock VOLUME magazine would be ASDA because sell a lot of books and magazine they have branches across the uk which means it could be easily accessible to lots of people and also asda pulls in the right social working class demographic as well. ASDA falls under the WALMART umbrella which is the biggest supermarket chain in America. Therefore My magazine could potentially become a global magazine available in American and other stores. • A more specialised store like stationers WH smiths could stock my magazine because they do offer other music magazines and they seem to attract the more specialist shoppers trying to find a specific genre of magazine. WH smiths are a good retailer because they are front runners in the stationary market. • A music franchise like HMV could possibly stock my magazine because they sell dance and house CDS as well as other music devices like speakers head phones IPods and MP3 players that have relevance to my music magazine. HMV may attract my target audience as young people stereotypically take a fond interest in music and music technology. • A less conventional retailer that would sell my magazine could be PACHA. They own the international dance and house club chain, PACHA, and also sell merchandise like mugs, bags, key rings, helmets, CDs and apparel. I think the association of house + dance music makes my magazine suitable to be sold in their shops.

10. Technical / construction issues • I think that using the software to create the magazine was biggest technical issue for me because I had little experience using photo shop. I did however use a mixture of Photoshop and Microsoft Publisher together. Another obstacle I faced in the construction phase was formatting the text around the image because I found that sometimes the text colours I had chosen didn't stand out on top of the images. I overcame this obstacle by putting experimenting with different images and text colours /positions. • I used photo shop to edit all of the pictures I used - I added light glares to the photos to give the effect of club strobe lights - I adjusted the contrast and brightness off all the images to emphasise bold colours an make dark photos easier to see. - I added orangey red tints to the front cover image to add a glow-like effect that I saw in the DJ magazine I analysed. I found that the quality of my camera produced a good shot. I used the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FS10 12 megapixel HD camera which gave a good quality and it also has the ‘rule of thirds’ display option . None of my pictures were blurry or unclear which is important in producing an authentic looking final product.

11. Comparisons between preliminary task and music tasks I think that prestige has a good clear image as does volume, but I think that my music magazine displays a lot more editing skills and looks more professional than my school magazine . I think that this is because I could find more examples of music magazines on the internet so I could see what the conventions of them were. But student magazines are normally more amateur and non-conforming so there was no reoccurring structure for me to follow . I also had more time to do the background research that helped to progress the music magazine

12. Comparisons between preliminary task and music tasks I think for both the student and music magazine contents page I could be more experimental as there was the no traditional layout unlike the front cover. In the student magazine I added an editor’s letter with a photograph but in found that it was inappropriate for the music magazine. I think the difficulty was deciding what components to use. I only listed the feature articles on the volume contents unlike the student magazine