Media Evaluation

Encore Magazine

Annabel Brennan

My music magazine uses conventions of other classical music magazines and also more modern ‘up to date’ music magazines. I researched into magazines I have combined the two different types to give my magazine a unique edge and attract a

young audience who enjoys classical music.

I used a big bold title placed at the top of the page over the main image, I got this idea from vibe magazine, it stands out and is the first thing you notice of the page, I thought that this would attract the attention of my

audience.

The main cover feature stands out in comparison to the rest of the information of the page, this is the case in the modern music magazine ‘Vibe’ and the classical magazine ‘Music’ so I felt it would be a good idea in my magazine to make it stand out , I used a bold font and an italic font in contrast to represent the contrast between classical and modern in my magazine.

I used the font Minstral on the first letter of my heading because the font is really curly and gives it a classical edge. I got this idea from the bbc classical music magazine. The rest of the heading is in the font ‘kroftsman’ to show a contrast between the two fonts because they are so different. This represents my magazine and how the genre is very different to what you would first think.

The main image on the front cover of my magazine is a medium shot of a classical music artist holding an instrument. Both the modern magazine ‘Vibe’ and the classical music magazine ‘music’ use medium close ups of iconic images to attract the audience towards the magazine.

The black dress worn by my model is very classy linking to the genre however she is wearing a spiked necklace to make it more modern. I used a young modern to show to attract a younger audience.

My title is at the top of the page and stands out as I used the font kroftman which is big and bold. I got this idea from the magazine ‘Vibe’.

I used more than one image on my front cover unlike the modern ‘Vibe’ magazine to give the contents page variety and show some more things that are inside. The classical music magazine ‘music’ uses multiple pictures on the contents page and this is where I got the idea from.

I wrote out the list of different pages in my magazine in two columns instead of the one like the modern music magazine ‘vibe’. This is an unconventional feature to my magazine.

My magazine has some unconventional features to it such as the colour scheme, the models used, and the circles I used to surround my text!

I took elements from the modern music magazine such as the colour scheme being only two colours and the text being in columns along the page.

I also took elements from the classical music magazine such as the italic font and the large title on the page. However I added my own unconventional features such as one main image dominating the right side of the page, I feel that this challenged the conventions of a real media product.

I think that my media magazine represents a young social group that isn't into the typical

‘teenage music’ and has a more acquired taste for music however still enjoy reading teen music

magazines!my layout and style of magazine is simple and similar to a teenage music magazine yet it is

made clear by use of pictures and text that the genre is classical music.

I used bold colours and bold text to get the attention of the younger generation and attract

them towards the magazine!For the picture on the front cover I used a

medium close up of a young model holding a guitar to also attract the young audience and also

the classical music audience.I used three different models in my magazine of

both genders, all of my models where under 18 to link to the representation of young people.

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

I have chosen the IPC media as the institution which would be suitable to

distribute my magazine as it is the UK’s leading magazine distributer and

distributes some extremely popular and well known magazines such as NME.It can appeal to my social group as it

distributes magazines aimed at teens and also magazines for musicians.

Therefore I feel that this distributer will understand my magazine and have the

knowledge to get my magazine across to the consumer!

http://www.ipcmedia.com/

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

The most likely audience for my magazine would be teenagers and people in their early 20’s.Although the classical music genre is typically associated with the older generation they would not be as attracted to the magazine as I have designed using bold colours and big text and set it out as a general teenage music magazine would be set out. My magazine will attract an audience of younger people who are interested in classical music however still enjoy to read teenage magazines. I feel there is a gap in the market for magazines of this type. There are quite a few magazines for classical music out there who always seem to target their products at the older generation and I feel as though the younger generation who enjoy classical music are being forgotten about. A typical audience member for my magazine would be the same as the type of models I have used in my magazine; young and interested in classical music.

Because my audience is a young audience of mainly teenagers and young adults I have included a ratio

between text and images through my magazine which will attract my audience as many teenagers who buy magazines do not want to just read through lengthy

articles!Magazines such as ‘Vibe’ attract a similar aged

audience so I related my design to theirs. I had to however make sure I was making it obvious to the audience the genre of my magazine so I also took

elements from the bbc ‘music’ magazine and merged the two together.

The models I used in my magazine also represent the audience I have tried to attract towards my magazine as I used young teenagers to make it more clear to people the target audience.Hopefully by using these models it will attract the same kind of audience towards my product.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I used bright colours and bold fonts to make my magazine stand out and make people eyes draw straight towards the magazine. From my research a lot of magazine targeted at younger audiences also used vibrant colours ect as this is what first attracts them to the magazine. I also didn't include to much text on the front to create a sense of suspense so you have to open the magazine to find out more information about what's inside, this element of surprise attracts the younger audience.

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

While I have been creating my media product I have learnt and advanced my skills on using the desktop publisher Photoshop!Before I began making my magazine I wasn't familiar with Photoshop at all but now I feel confident that I know the basics for making a magazine!One of the main things I have learnt is how to edit pictures using Photoshop, for example I used Photoshop editor on my front cover image.

Before After

I learnt to edit my images that I took to give them the correct effect to fit my magazine using exposure, brightness and contrast levels on Photoshop. On my front cover image the background was dull and boring I therefore brightened the photo using the brightness effect of Photoshop which gave the background a white glow making my front cover a lot more vibrant and exciting. I also learnt how to use layers on Photoshop to create the layout of my product and how to edit text. Although the skills I used are basic they helped me develop my final product!

Other tools I used:Magnifying tool Lasso tool Crop LayersText box tool Eraser Paint bucket Line toolCustom shape tool Grid guidelines

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?

Since my preliminary task I have learnt a lot about magazines and also the use of Photoshop.

When I first made my preliminary I had no past experience with photo shop , for example I didn't

understand the layers therefore some of my text went under my pictures. I also did not know how to edit a photo to make it stand out more of the page so the

background of my preliminary front cover is very dull and boring. However I have now learnt a number of skills on Photoshop that I have put to use in my full

product to make it look a lot more like a professional magazine!

Some of the skills I have learnt is lasso cropping, blending, transparency changing, and how to edit a

photo. I feel I have also learnt alot about how to take photos that suit and fit your magazine genre, I took alot more care when picking out the outfits and made sure the facial expressions also fitted the genre. For example on my front cover my model has a soft expression to reflect the calm and elegant music. Whereas on my preliminary my models expressions where not really

relevant to the style of magazine and I hadn't thought through the outfits or setting as much as I have done

with my final product.Overall I feel I have learnt alot from making my magazine when I look back at my preliminary.