1. Music Magazine Evaluation 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? 2. How does your media product represent particular social groups? 3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? 4. Who would the audience be for your media product? 5. How did you attract/address your audience? 6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? 7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

2. For my magazine cover I chose a colour scheme (black and red) similarly to this Billboard cover. I did this because I think that the two colours work well together and also is an effective way of making the image stand out more. I liked the background for the Billboard magazine being plain to not take any attention away from the main image I think this looks very effective and arty and so I did the same for my magazine. Both the images focussed on dark colours. The billboard magazine uses effects to make the image black and white. I have just dressed my model in black and white clothes to share the idea of being quite plain. Both covers have multiple sell lines in the same fonts and fitting with colour scheme. Saying the main articles to be inside the magazine Every magazine has to have a barcode and a price on the cover. The Masthead big black and bold at the top of the magazine. Largest font on the page. Similarities In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

3. The image on my cover isn’t as large as on billboard. Also my model is sitting down so doesn’t cover the whole page like this other magazine Differences This image was text style on www.dafont.com For my magazine I created a slogan “hear the music, see the music, live the music!” this is to be used on every cover this makes the magazine recognised and also a phrase that may be used and associated with LE Danse. How ever the magazine I looked at whilst making mine does not include a slogan this si something I have seen on other styles of magazines. The cover has a footer which is used commonly in other music magazines to show artist included in the magazine I also put a border beneath the text which is relevant to the magazine. My magazine keeps the date and price of the magazine at the top of the page and in reasonable sized font to be easily read however for billboard this information Is at the bottom above the barcode in a very small font this makes it harder to notice perhaps because the price is expensive and don’t want to put the audience off. The image for Billboard although has a plain white background it is clear what this artist is stood on however my image does not show what my model is sat on it appears just she is just with a white background. This is sort of arty and different to other magazines.

4. Similarities I used the image as a background for the magazine like this contents from vibe. I also has the model on one side of the page and the text on another to separate the two as to have an image the audience can look at properly whilst showing the contents of the rest of the magazine. I used fairly dull colours on the contents page but using red for the not from the editor and the page numbers. Making certain parts of the page stand out more than others. This is similar to what has been done on the vibe cover where the subheadings have been used in a different colour and not much colour around the page. The text on the page although may be the main reason of the contents page but isn't the most dominating section of the page the image is. Both the contents pages fit with a colour scheme, mine red and black then Vibe uses Yellow and white.

5. Differences My magazine contents page has a masthead at the top saying “CONTENTS” this is a typical convention of a music magazine however the contents I based mine upon does not have this on the top. I put an effect on my image making it black and white so the page have a continuing theme of dull colours with a few parts with colour to stand out more and draw attention to specific parts such as the letter from the editor. The image for vibe magazine however is nor in black and white but is majority dark colours. I have used colours to link the whole magazine together keeping with the theme of red and black throughout the contents and front cover. I used a featured artist on the contents page that is also used on the cover and double page spread to keep a theme of the magazine issue focussing on this one artist. The image of Eminem shows him looking straight at the audience this is a good eye catching technique as anyone looking will see him looking straight at them and will be automatically captured and read what is on this page however my image shows my artist in quite a sexualizes position but not looking at the audience she is looking down at the floor smiling. The artist shown is dressed very formal wearing a suit had his hair very tidy and is stood up straight with his hands together this shows that he his very serious whereas my image shows the artist sat on the floor wearing jeans and looking down smiling this has a more friendly relaxed look when the audience see the image.

6. Similarities The main image is the most dominating part of the page. As Liz Stone is the focus. This is the same as this other double page spread where the image is most of the page and there isn’t much text. Both the double pages shown place the article on the right hand side of the page and although has the information that the page is based upon is not predominately covering the page is quite small in comparison to the size of the images. Both the articles have a plain one coloured background as to not take any attention away from the important parts of the page such as the actual image or the article. Both the models photographed keep very plain/seductive faces, not smiling at the reader and both seem distant this makes the reader want to read all about what is going on.

7. Differences I have used two images on my page, showing the model in different poses and different environments however the double page spread I looked at whilst focussing my magazine on only uses one image. I decided to keep the background of the image a bright colour to make the overall impact of the page bright. This is different to the double page spread I looked at as it uses dull colours, my page therefore looks a lot bolder. I took quote from within the written article to attract audience to be interested in this particular article. This is not done in the double page spread I compared mine with however I have seen this used before in other magazines. In this double page spread a quote was used from the article The masthead/title of this page is a lot smaller and less dominating than the title of the other page below. The other magazine having such a big, bold title is effective as instantly visible what the article is about and draws attention.

8. How does your media product represent particular social groups? My magazine genre is Dance/R&B the age group of the audience of my magazine is 16-20 and both boys and girls. I asked peers at college on their opinions for the content of the magazine and also looked at similar magazines such as Vibe and Billboard. The images used in my magazine are of pupils at the college fitting with the genre and style of my magazine. All my images are quite sexualized in the positions of my model and what she is wearing but not sexualized to the point where is inappropriate I have kept it quite subtle such as having my model wearing a dark lipstick. The colours I have used throughout my magazine are all bright and happy colours this so to represent the dance genre of the music as bright colours have connotations of dance and generally happy lively things. The ways I’ve used bright colours are in the colour of the text used on the cover lots of red and using the colour red on font throughout the front and contents of my magazine. Also for my images the model has a bright background behind her in on the double page spread and wearing bright lovely colours such as purple, pink and blue. The subject of the written article asking Liz Stone questions about her free time and how her family and friends support her is relevant for the audience as this age group are very focussed on friends and going out and having fun they will be able to relate to the article and be interested.

9. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? Billboard magazine is the magazine I focussed mine on and used for idea’s of the specific genre of magazine, it is an international weekly magazine devoted to the music industry. Billboard is owned by Global media and would be a good company for my magazine as owns such a successful magazine however this is an American company and already selling a magazine of a similar genre to mine and therefore would not be the best institution to sell Le Danse. IPC media is a leading magazine publisher in the UK with a wide range of genres, this institution produce successful music magazines NME and guitar and bass magazine. As this company already produce music magazines it will be well known and my magazine would be perfect as the genre of my magazine would be new to this company thus being a gap in the market. The genre RnB/dance is a would appeal to this company because it is very popular with many young people in the UK and would expand the company further. I would like my magazine to be sold by this company because it is a very successful company with a range of audiences and I think that with my magazine would be a great opportunity for this media institution to take on.

10. Who would the audience be for your media product? Audience profile Female Jessie Smith Age:17 Occupation: A level student at local sixth form college Siblings: younger brother, 12 years old Enjoys listening to: RnB and Dance music favourite artists: Rihanna and Eminem Shops in: Topshop, River Island, H&M and Hollister Hobbies/interests: Loves to go to parties and listen to dance music, Socialise with friends Favourite colour: Red Audience profile Male Adam Jones Age:17 Occupation: Music BTEC at Stratford college Siblings: Older sister, doesn’t live at home. Aged 20 Enjoys listening to: RnB music Favourite Artists: Jessie J Shops in: Top man and Footasylum Hobbies/interests: Enjoys making his own music has a music website called “Bass Chocolate” Favourite Colour: Blue I asked 5 people from my target audience that had an interest in the genre of my music magazine I asked them to rate my magazine “excellent” “very good” “good” etc for my front cover, contents page and double page spread beneath are graphs to show my results

11. How did you attract/address your audience? When making my music magazine I did a questionnaire for 10 people with an interest in the genre I was focussing my magazine on, with questions about what they would like to see in a music magazine and what would interest them to buy it. The answers to this questionnaire I then used to include my magazine and make it as appealing as possible to my audience. I also looked at similar magazines such as Vibe and Billboard looking at the way the images were presented and various techniques used in this magazine. I used bright, bold colours on my front cover to attract the audience, such as: Red . I also edited my image changing the levels to make the image looking bolder. I kept my background for the front cover plain white to make the images, title and sell lines stand out more. Bold colours used. Placed my artist large in the centre of the magazine following the rule of thirds , attract audience with an interest in Liz Stone – aimed at target audience. Footer, saying all the artists that are included inside keeping audiences interest. I used a large bold masthead to attract my audience Sell lines used to show audience interest features of the magazine.

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

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

14. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? In the process of making my magazine I used various different programs such as: In Design, Photoshop, PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Paint and slide share. Some of these programs I has not used before and learnt throughout the stages of my making my magazine I learnt how to use these different programs and develop and edit my magazine further. Photoshop: I used Photoshop to edit all my images. My front cover image I used Photoshop to change the levels of the photo and successfully make it look bolder. Photoshop was a very important program in the making of my magazine. InDesign: This is the program I used when making my contents page and double page spread. Also when I had completed my front cover I placed this into Indesign. I had not used this program before but found it very easy to use. Microsoft PowerPoint and Word: I have used both these programs before but they were an important part of keeping track of my coursework I used word when making my stages of development blog putting print screens of my work on this page and explaining step by step what I was doing. Blogger: I used blogger to log in and upload all my coursework, the magazine and research before creating my magazine. I updated my blog regularly to update the work I had completed. Blogger enabled me to use programs like Slideshare to upload my work in a different format creating a variety of ways to present my work.

15. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? It is clear straight away just by looking at the two different magazines how much my skills has improved in the progression to my final magazine which appears a lot more professional with a lot of different programs and looking at other magazines to build me to creating this final piece of work. In the making of my final music magazine I feel that I have learnt to use programs such as Photoshop and In design a lot better and now able to make the best use of the programs to edit my images. I also feel that from looking at other music magazines and researching the conventions I was more able to make my magazine fit with the general look of a music magazine and suit the audience better than with the knowledge I had when doing my preliminary task.

16. The image I used for my original preliminary task wasn’t very thought through with a background that wasn’t clear and irrelevant to the magazine where as in my final magazine I kept a plain background and had my model dressed and positioned in suiting to the magazine. With a busy background the sell lines aren't very easy to read and don’t really stand out, however on my other magazine I have made the sell lines a lot bigger and bolder also with a red tint around the edges. My final magazine has a set colour scheme making the cover look very neat with specific parts standing out more than others the preliminary task does not have this I used l just different colours with no pattern. The title “college magazine” is not very catchy or unique also the masthead isn't using a very bold fault and doesn’t really stand out on the page for my final magazine I used www.dafont.com to fine different fonts and used for my masthead to stand out on the cover. From looking at other music magazines I was able to realize the appropriate price for my magazine and I also noticed that the date of the magazine is also placed by the price On this cover I used a main sell line to show the audience the focus of the magazine.

17. For my “college magazine” the contents page was very plain with no background or colour to it.. I used an image of the artist the issue is focussed on in black and white as the background. I used Photoshop to edit the image for my final magazine. From looking at other magazines I found that the letter from the editor generally has a photo of the editor in therefore on my final magazine I included a photo. I also put this text in red keeping it separate from the rest of the contents page. For my final contents page I used different font sizes and effects on Photoshop to put more information in the contents and with subheadings and information of what each page contains. When I started using the camera more around college I chose for my final images for “Le Danse” to take my photo’s in different area’s to keep the backgrounds more plain and suitable for each page. As for my front cover I found the title for my contents page on www.dafont.com where there was a variety off different funky fonts to chose from for my preliminary task I used a very pain font and which meant that it wasn’t as bold as I wanted. For both my front cover and contents page I managed to improve from my preliminary task massively by using new programs and looking into the connotations of music magazines.