Evaluation

The brief i was given was to create a front cover, contents and double page spread of a music magazine using my own images. To do this i needed to research all the conventions of a music magazine. i looked at various magazines from different genre's but decided to do pop as my genre so then focused on three pop magazines. i looked at how these magazines portrayed pop through the front cover, contents page and double page spread and how this was delivered to the target audience. I also researched the conventions of the magazines to find out what text, images and adverts fit into the pop genre and would be good to use. I then went on to analyse the three magazines which i chose (X magazine, ) This helped me to decide what i wanted my magazine to look like and what i wanted it to contain. And also helped me to decide how i would make sure it had the conventions on a pop magazine. I then created computer drafts of how I would like my front cover and contents page to look like so I had a layout to follow when I came to make my magazine.

I decided that my magazine would be targeted at people aged 13-16 and that the genre would be pop as I feel there is a gab in the market when it comes to pop magazines. I needed to make sure that my music magazine represented the social group I am targeting and stands out so it would be picked over the other pop magazines which are currently on sale. To do this I made sure I used all the conventions a typical magazine has much as barcode, masthead, price and issue number.

I got my friend to dress in a Lady Gaga style and made her pose in a quirky weird way. This made her fit the genre of pop as she is dressed quite interestingly and exciting way. She also looks quite cheesy which is also associated with the pop genre. I used 5 cover lines as I felt this was enough to make the page look full but not over crowded and also enough to get the reader interested in what the articles will be like. Cover lines are also a big convention for magazines. They give a kind of sneak preview of what’s inside the magazine and what the reader should expected of the magazine. It can also show the reader what the genre is like. I predominantly placed my cover lines down the left hand side of my front cover as this is how it is traditionally set up although I did put a few down the right hand side just to balance it out. The cover lines I chose for my magazine are what I felt to be the biggest and main events in the magazine. Also the ones which are interesting and I believed would attract the readers attention the best. By doing this I give the magazine a good overview. Another convention is the main image. This is also compulsory. My main image I places in the middle as this is what magazine traditionally do for their magazine front cover. I also did this so I had room at either side to put such things as cover lines and a bar code. I also just kept it simple as if it was too busy it may look unprofessional. With my main image I tried to portrayed the cheesy-ness that is associated with pop so reader would be able to tell it is pop but also to attract them to my magazine rather than other rivals. I made sure my model was female as my magazine is mostly aimed at females so by putting a female on the front this attracts girl because they feel they can relate to the star on the front cover after reading the article. I purposely didn't choose to use a male model also because this is  slightly unconventional for a pop magazine. The picture is taken straight on and is a medium long shot as it cuts out most of the models legs. This way the reader focuses mainly on what the model is wearing which is very bright and interesting so fits to the genre. I have included a date, issue number and bar code on my magazine, not just for visual puroses but also because these are conventions of a magazine and are needed if the magazine was actually to go on sale. I have tried to use a continuous colour scheme for the front cover and contents age (so they follow on front each other) as this is also a convention which I found important in making my magazine look professional. This is know as a house style. I decided to use the colour blue continuously from my front cover to my contents page as it is a very interesting bright colour and is eye catching. My contents page if conventional as it has a obvious heading which states what the page is, I used the same font which was on the front cover which shows continuity, I also tried to use similar colours to the front page. I number theq pages so the reader can easily find what they are looking for. This is also a convention of a magazine contents page. I kept the text to the left and placed my photo on the right. I decided not to overlap my writing with the image as this sometimes makes it harder to read. I put an image of the star who my double age spread is about on the contents page to show continuity. My douvble age spread is about a new artist called 'Emily Patricks' magazines quite often use interviews with new artist to help get the artist recognised and also to help with sales of the magazine because if the artist is new, very little is known about them so people will buy magazines with them in to find out more about the star. I used a fun photo on the double page spread to make the artist seem bubbly and fun. This gives her a good  impression on the readers. I made her talk about how fame hasn't changed her and that she didn't have to change her name to become big in the world. I did this so it shows people that fame doesn't change you and also so they can relate to her as she came from a normal background.

My product represents people who like to be bright and interesting and don't really mind what people think of them. For example, my model on  the front cover is wearing a cut off top, a short skirt, ripped tights and a sequin blazer. Not an outfit many people would go out wearing. This shows that she is not bothered about what people think of her, she can wear what she wants when she wants and act however she feels like. Its the same with the model on my double age spread. She is wearing bright colours which contrast with each other and make her stand out from all the rest. This shows the readers that you don't have to be like everyone else to fit in, you can be who you want to be and still get somewhere in life. It also shows them that by being different people will look up to them as it shows they have courage and it also makes them original. People will also see that she is genuine and ambitious. This is portrayed in the genre of pop as many current pop stars dress in a different way to what you would expect but are still big in the music world.

The audience for my magazine is people who are interested in pop music and pop artists. I have shown this throughout my magazine as my double page spread is about a new artist in the pop world and the artist on the front cover is a well know pop artist. My magazine is target mostly at females as po is a very effeminate genre. Although my magazine is mainly aimed at females I have tried to use unisex colours as then it is still on the market for males. I focussed my article on a female artist as females like to read about other female artists as they feel they can relate to them. The age group which I am targeting is 13-16 years as I think anyone above the age of 17 would not really buy a pop magazine as they are associated more with the younger audience. I tried to use an enticer to attract the attention of the reader. On my front cover I wrote 'UV raves. Find one near you' this encourages the reader to buy it to find out where the nearest rave is if they are interested in finding out what a UV rave is like as they are not that well known. On my contents age I also wrote 'Win an Ipad' and 'One free album download' this is also an enticer and encourages the customer to buy the magazine. i tried to use interesting and young fonts and images as my target audience is fairly young and also to attract the reader.

During the construction of this product I have gained a wide range of skills. For example how to use adobe photoshop. I had previously never used photoshop before so I felt this was a good time to learn. I found it quite difficult first to understand and use but after a few lessons picked it up really well. Photoshop made things like putting text on top of photo's a lot easier as you could layer them, change the colour, rescale them and move them around very easily. It also allowed me to remove the background from the picture of my model and replace it with a block colour which was very useful and saved me a lot of time. I could also use a tool called a 'magic wand' which would quickly selected bits which were similar colours so I could delete of change the colour of instead of me having to go around the whole image doing it tiny bit by bit.

From the preliminary task of making a college magazine I have learnt a lot more about different things. Such as how to use Adobe photoshop instead of having to switch in between programmes such as paint and Microsoft publisher. I also learnt a lot more about the conventions of a magazine and found them easier to understand when I came to make my music magazine. The preliminary task was good for me as it allowed me to get a taste of what making a magazine would be like and it also made me see how much easier it is to make a magazine front cover when you use better programmes. Although the preliminary task did not really prepare me for the amount of time it would take to do this task, how much work I would have to put in to get a good piece of work at the end of it.