Completed - Double Page Spread

Completed - Contents Page

Completed - Cover

Evaluation Q7 - What have you learnt in the progression from preliminary work to the full product?

Evaluation Q6 - Prosumer

I have published the work I've created and the theory, planning and evaluation of it onto a blog via the website www.blogger.com. This has allowed me to be the Prosumer of my work. A Prosumer is someone who is a producer of work and is then able to also consume their work. Web 2.0 allows to be a producer of my work for an internet audience as well as a consumer of work published on the net.

Evaluation Q6 - What have you learnt about new technologies in the process of creating this product?

Evaluation Q5 - How did I attract/address the audience? - Planning and Preparation

I produced  a first audience questionnaire in October which asked questions regarding cover stars, magazine content, advertisements and current music artists. This questionnaire was answered by 60% people aged 18-35 which is my target audience age so the results I collected are likely to be reliable and I trusted them to provide me with an accurate representation of what my audience want. The result from this questionnaire helped me to decide on the contents of my magazine and to think carefully when picking a cover artist/band. Using this questionnaire and other research I conducted I aimed for my audience to relate to as many aspects of my magazine as possible and it will instantly make it more attractive and therefore popular.
I also gained knowledge from audience research by producing a second audience questionnaire once I had finished my work and changing some aspects that were mildly commented on by my potential consumers such as the background colour on my front cover. The only limitation to this method was that the questionnaire was only sent to 6 people. I did receive some useful feedback which I believe did help me improve the quality of some parts of my magazine, however this feedback is not very representative and would have been much more reliable if it was sent to more people.
I also analysed existing products in order to attract/address my audience. This is in the form of 'music magazine analysis' which was published on my blog back in October 2014. By looking at the design of existing magazines of a similar music genre to what I was aiming for I was able to assess strengths and weaknesses in my own work I had produced, and rectify any issues in order to replicate aspects of the existing products to increase the professional look of my own work.

Evaluation Q5 - How did my article attract/address the audience? - Response

Evaluation Q5 - How did my article attract/address the audience?

Evaluation Q5 - How did my contents page attract/address the audience? - Response

Evaluation Q5 - How did my contents page attract/address the audience?

Evaluation Q5 - How did my cover attract/address the audience? - Response

Evaluation Q5 - How did my cover attract/address the audience?

Evaluation Q4 - Who would be the audience for you media product?

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Evaluation Q3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your magazine product and why?

Evaluation Q2 - How does your media product represent social groups?

Evaluation Q1 - In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? - Article

'There are many similarities between my magazine and my style model which is an extract taken from Kerrang magazine. Firstly both of the adverts include quotes on the left hand page; these are taken from the article and entice the reader to read more into the article. 

I have split my article into three columns which has also been done in Kerrang, I think that this positions it clearly and easy for the audience to read. The text is printed in black on a white background in order for it to stand out clearly and be even clearer to read.

On the right had page of my style model there is an image which fills the entire page, I have took inspiration from this and also done the same in my magazine. The photos are similar as the members are layered and some body parts are concealed. All members are making eye contact with the camera which results in a connection with the reader and causing people flicking through the magazine to read into the magazine. All members are smiling and showing clear facial expression in both magazines which boosts the positive connection with the passing audience.

My article has a fairly big introduction paragraph which gives the reader an initial insight into the content of the article. My idea to do this was taken from the small introduction paragraph in the style model. I think that an introduction is very important and is crucial when attracting readers who were not initially planning on reading the article.'

Evaluation Q1 - In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? - Contents Page

'The initial and what I think is the most dominant aspect I took from my style models when producing my contents page is the bar block at the top of the page. As shown in the two style models, Q magazine has a red bar and NME has a black bar, both at the top of the page. I took inspiration from this and added a white bar at the top of my contents page to separate the title of ‘contents’ and the magazine branding from the rest of the content on the page. Top contribute to my simplistic house style the clarity of the heading of the page is essential, rather than it getting lost in the content and therefore creating a cluttered look. 

Another factor that is mirrored from my style models is the magazine branding being placed in the top left corner of the page. This is the same place as on my front cover and I did this because it maintains the clear house branding of my magazine, as well as it being clear cut in the corner which is emphasised by the rectangle shape so the sides are parallel to the edges of the page. Another aspect of my front cover that was created due to inspiration from my style models is the blocks used to highlight the subheadings of the contents list. It is used more in the NME magazine as in Q there are just bold underlines however both me and NME have put our titles in boxes which makes their importance stand out and contributes to the block theme as I used a previously mentioned bar at the top with the title. 

Another factor I have taken from NME magazine is the subscription advert in the bottom left had corner of the page. I have mirrored this advert and tailored it to fit my magazine style and house brand by using a more curved font and darker shades as the house style of my contents page is fairly lightly colored already to avoid clash.

Other similarities of my magazine and my two style models include the use of live music images to illustrate the magazine music genre and give a hint to the content inside the magazine. Also the use of the page numbers on top of the images used in Q magazine is also used in mine as it helps navigate the reader to the specific band article within the magazine.'

Evaluation Q1 - In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? - Cover

'When producing my front cover, I took inspiration from the covers of specific issues of ‘Q’ and ‘Kerrang’ magazine and used them as style models. Due to this, my magazine cover may replicate certain aspects of the two magazine covers shown here. However, I have manipulated them enough to fit my own house style, brand and magazine structure to show off my skills and adaptation ability. 

As displayed in Q magazine, my masthead is in the top left corner of the front cover. This is a typical convention as it shows that there is nothing placed above it that may be of higher importance, the magazine brand is essential to stand out and be easily recognisable to catch the reader’s eye and it also publicises the magazine in shops. 

Also, the masthead is in the shape of a rectangle, much like the square shaped one in Q magazine. This is to allow the branding of the magazine to appear bold and clear on top of a busy front cover, however like the other two the masthead is layered slightly under the main image. 

Like my two style models, my cover features a three piece band. I wanted to do this as I felt the opportunities of placing and positions to pose in were endless and I had the chance to try many shot types when doing my photo shoot in order to get a perfect photo. 

The band name is clearly in the middle of the page, as is it in my two style models. I did this to ensure central focus is on the feature artist’s branding, which I assume is the aim of Q and Kerrang too. The small band of writing at the bottom of the page is replicated from the two style models however I have challenged this by not including additional images. I didn’t want the cover to appear too cluttered as I didn’t think it would suit my house style which is slightly more simplistic than that of Q and Kerrang magazine.'

Target Audience Questionnaire - Question 7 - Response

To lighten the overall image of my front cover, in response to my audience research, I edited slightly with the exposure tool and changed the background colour.


Original - No exposure change

New - Exposure increased

Original - Exposure changed and original background colour

New - Exposure changed and a lighter background colour