Draft Evaluation Question 2

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

I have found that one of the many important tasks in creating a magazine is finding the right model and picture to go on the front cover. This is because it is the first thing that my intended audience will see so it has to grab their attention and encourage them to read my magazine. If the image is not good, then the reader would not pick it up to read it as the image on the cover represents what the rest of your magazine will be like. From my audience research and profile I was able to find a suitable audience that would be interested in reading my magazine; my target audience is aged 13-18 and it is mainly focused on women than men. I chose this age group as older people are more interested in a unique style of music e.g. indie/ classical. Some of my images are taken with different outfits and models to see which ones would look best on my magazine. I used a mixture of camera shots and considered using a close up for my cover, instead I used a mid-shot and also made the model have eye-contact with the camera so that it feels like they are looking at the reader.

Draft evaluation Question 3

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

There is a large variety of publishing companies that I could choose for my magazine. There are many successful companies like Bauer Media; I have chosen this company to publish my magazine as it in my research I have found that it is worldwide which means more people will read my magazine. Bauer Media owns 570 magazines; including Q, a pop magazine, 300 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations, I picked this institution as it has already published pop themed magazines and it is very successful as it has a turnover of two billion Euros due to its 11,000 employees in 16 countries working hard. I have found that they publish more niche magazines which means that they are aimed at niche audiences. I think this would be good because I feel like my magazine is a niche pop which fits in with other magazines that Bauer has published. I would be publishing my magazine monthly as it has a mid-price of £5 so making it weekly would be quite expensive for my audience. My magazine would be sold in specific news agents/ music stores and can be bought by subscription, similar to Q magazine as my magazine is quite similar. I believe that this company will ensure my magazine will be successful and read by my target audience.

Draft Evaluation Question 4

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

The main audience for my magazine would be 45% male and 55% female, this is because most of my magazine will be aimed at females e.g. quizzes, I will not make all of my magazine for females as them my audience with decrease and there will be less chance of selling my magazine. My audience needs to be interested in pop music and the most recent trends for example, fashion. This audience is very competitive as most magazines aim to attract to this type of audience it will also be hard as there are many pop themed magazines that people might prefer over mine. When designing my magazine, I considered all of my research and planning so that my magazine fit the interest of my intended audience. The design of my magazine is quite simple with some ideas added in that I got from other pop magazines, this may attract my audience as it is similar to other pop magazine that they might like. I have decided to make my magazine cost £5 as it is an affordable price for teenagers who for example may not have a lot of money which means they are still able to buy my magazine.

Draft Evaluation Question 5

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

The main way in which I have attracted to my audience is mostly through the front cover as it is the things that catches their attention first. I used a strong image in the centre of the page with minimal writing so that nothing would get lost and it wouldn’t be too crowded or take the attention away from the picture. The front cover of the magazine I think is the most important as it represents what the whole magazine will be like and if my audience is interested in the cover then they will want to read more as the rest of the magazine will be similar in style and context. At first I had the idea of putting the masthead on the side of the magazine. This would give my magazine a certain style that is unique and my audience might like, I then changed my mind and centred it at the top as it can be quite hard to read and I wanted my cover to look simple and not too complicated to read. It also means that people are able to read it if it was stack up with other magazines as it is in the top, I made the ‘M’ in italic so that it looked like a music note that my title and magazine would stand out. My model and chosen images are very similar in the style of clothing which is a causal style which is suited to my audience, the make-up is subtle and natural which could be good as it doesn’t create a fake look for my magazine however it could’ve been a bit more exciting as it is a pop magazine which normally involves vibrant make-up.

Draft Evaluation Question 6

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

I have used a variety of technologies in the construction of my final magazine. The first thing I used was a camera for the photographs of my magazine; I used a Canon camera that was provided at school, when taking the photographs for my draft magazine I felt like it provided good focus on my pictures and they turned out really well; making my magazine look very high quality so I used it for my final magazine as well. The lighting that was provided in the white room made my pictures look flawless and effective with the use of soft box lighting to avoid shadows which would made my images look unprofessional and of not a good quality. I experimented on turning off all of the light and using the flash on the camera, focusing on the model but it didn’t turn out as good as the pictures with the lights on so I didn’t use these images. Another technology I used is a very important part of creating and editing my magazine called Photoshop. It allowed me to edit and manipulate my images for example making some colours stand out more than others. I also used it to remove certain areas that are not needed and cut out some of the picture so that it can fit on the A4 size of my cover. I didn’t have a lot of experience using Photoshop before I started to design my magazine and have learned a lot in the process of designing my final product. I have learned how to edit images to make some colours stand out, how to crop images and to use a paintbrush to remove stray hairs. I have been using the pc computers at school to produce my product; I have also been able to do my coursework when needed with my Mac computer at home. Throughout this task I have been using an online programme called Blogger, I used this to download all my coursework on so that my teachers are able to see my progress and mark it.

Draft Evaluation Question 7

7. Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

Looking back at my preliminary task I can see that through the process of making my magazine I have developed many skills, which has made my final design much better. The quality of my images are not as good as I didn’t have much experience whereas for my final, I practiced a lot to make sure that I had the best photos for my product. Since completing the final magazine a have learnt how to use Photoshop and have a much greater knowledge. I needed a good knowledge of how to use Photoshop to create a professional looking magazine. The quality of my preliminary was very poor as the text was not aligned and their placing did not look like a high quality magazine. The amount I had written was very little which means that I have improved on my knowledge of what is included in a magazine. After my preliminary I was able to get some feedback from my teachers and peers which was very constructive and has helped me know what I can do to improve my magazine a large amount. When designing my preliminary I had a lack of knowledge of how to use Photoshop and how to lay out each page. When comparing my preliminary and final piece there is a clear difference as I have improved it a lot to make my product look of a high quality that my audience will want to read.

Magazine draft