Evaluation

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

My music magazine Syndicate has used similar conventions as a real life media magazine product would. I chose to use the name Syndicate because it means a group of individuals or organizations combined to promote some common interest which I think is well suited for a magazine. My magazine has got a house style that is common in todays media helping to create a recognisable style that will help distinguish the magazine in the future. using bright and colourful images as well as large images of celebrities to attract fans of the celebs. The house style of my magazine is suited to the rock genre that my magazine is based upon, the colours used are red and black, yellow and white. I have also used a large image of my band 'Celestial Hope' for the front cover that is used to attract people to the magazine using bright and colourful images as well as large images of celebrities to attract fans of the celebs. The house style of my magazine is suited to the rock genre that my magazine is based upon, the colours used are red and black, yellow and white. My magazine has a large title that clearly stands out against the background, this will hopefully atract more people to the magazine. Also I have used my own images of the main band 'Celestisl Hope' - having images of the members on the front cover as well as the double page spread, which is focused on them. The layout of my magazine is similar to Kerrang with large images and text as well as images or icons around the pages e.g. stars. On my contents page I have got the details of the main things on certain page, it also has the page numbers to help tell people what page the title is on, this is the same as a real media product, making it easier to find the right page you want to go to. I think that my music magazine has a professional look to it and has a consistent house style throughout. Also I have used a header to gather interest of the audience to make more sales as fans are more likely to buy a magazine if it has bands they like.

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

My media product represents the punk/rock social group, as my magazine consists of bands that are pop, rock and metal. By having these bands mentioned in my magazine I would attract the audience to the magazine. The colours I have used will also attract a particular social group, as if there are certain colours they like to look at them they may be more attracted to colours like red and black which I have used for my front cover. Also by including the bands names on the front cover I can attract them even further as they may want to read and know about their favourite bands.

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

The media institution that may be likely to distribute my music magazine would be Bauer Media. I think this because of the other magazines they publish, such as Kerrang. As my magazine is a similar style to Kerrang it may mean they may want to publish it as a rival magazine to try and increase sales for both and in turn more income for them. Furthermore in the past they have published many famous magazines that are well known and very popular. I think that my magazine would also be sold in shops such as WHSmiths and corner shops.

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

The audience for my magazine would be mainly male teenagers, possibly more boys than girls. As the genre is rock it is more aimed at male people than girls. Though it doesn't mean girls are not going to buy it. Also the magazines colour scheme makes it more appealing to boys as it is red and black, these colours are more linked to boys than girls. Also the audience for the magazine may already but other magazines like Kerrang, and see mine and buy it because it is similar.

5: How did you attract/address your audience?

 

I attracted the audiance of my magazine by using a boyish theme and colours, hoping that it will attract people by using large images, fonts and titles. Also I have addressed people using large fonts to get there attention to make them go to those pages and read the information. Also by using big bold fonts its easier to read and see from a distance, as i have names of bands at the top of my front cover my magazine may attract people even if behind others. By using large images as well as having sub titles saying whats inside the magazine it can encourage people to read and buy the magazine as they may want to read or may recognise the people wanting to find out whats inside.

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

From this task I have learned how to create and design a magazine as well as developing skills in photoshop that i copuldn't do before, also I learned how to take photos and import them on to the computer aswell as edit them, improving the quality or cropping and editing any image. I have learned how to put together a magazine using photoshop skills to change and create a background and style for my magazine. Also I have learner the type of designing that is know done by the media industry to create magazines and the way in which they are created and planned.

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

I feel that I have know gained an understanding of how you start of designing a magazine and how long it can take to get the right image, though you may completely redesign it if you feel it looks different to what you imagined. Also the taking of pictures is a very long and can be quite annoying as someone can blink or the weather can disrupt you pictures. Also if you don't have knowledge in the software your using then you may not be able to actually design the media product easily and quickly. Also the creating process can be tedious and frustrating; as if you don't have a clear understanding then it can be hard to create the image that you want.