Lucy Morrissey Music Magazine Evaluation

Lucy Morrissey
AS Media studies Music Magazine
Evaluation

Whilst creating my magazine, I understood that there were certain conventions and aspects of a magazine that I had to
implement when creating my magazine. To ensure that the aspects in my magazine reached my target audience, I did
some research on other magazine covers and contents pages from magazines that my target audience would be
interested in reading, such as 'top of the pops'. This research allowed me to get ideas about what I had to include in my
magazine for it to reach my target audience. When designing my magazine, I had to ensure that I understood that I had to
include certain conventions in my magazine to help me reach my target audience. In order to do this, I had to look at other
music magazines, with the same genre as mine and use these magazines as a guideline to help me create my magazine.
These magazines helped me to create my title, help me choose an image, Mise-en-scene and what people to include in my
image. My magazine focuses on new bands rather than well-known artists.
Masthead
As with all magazines, the masthead is one of the most important features /conventions of the magazine cover, which
means that it needs to be unique and it must be easy for a reader to easily recognise it and distinguish it from other
magazines of this genre. The masthead of my magazine is ‘Miss Pop’ and is the boldest and biggest font on the cover of
my magazine. I chose my masthead to be in the colour pink because pink is intuitive and insightful, as well as being a
feminine colour, attracting my target audience. The importance with my masthead being insightful is that it already gives
the reader an idea of what content will be in the magazine, before reading anything else on the cover. Using Photoshop, I
then manipulated the magazine title by stretching it across the page, to make it stand out compared to the rest of the
page and because it was a title, it needed to go over the whole of the top of the page and stand out. By using a lighter font
as my masthead, it meant that that I could add darker colours to the rest of my page to ensure that the rest of the page
looked sophisticated against the pink masthead. My reason for differentiating my masthead from other Pop magazines
such as billboard and top of the POPs is that my magazine needs to be unique and stand out. The only way to do this was
to make my masthead different to theirs.
My magazine does challenge the colour of the mastheads on other POP magazines, because most of them have a darker
colour masthead if they have a white background to make it stand out. I think the problem with having a darker colour
masthead, such as Navy Blue, Dark purple, is that they can be very harsh on the image, especially if you have an image with
a white background. Whereas Pink is a non-threatening colour seeking appreciation, respect and is a more inviting colour, I
felt that this colour is more likely to attract my target audience as well as having a small effect on my image with a white
background which still allowed the image to stand out as well as the masthead.
1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Mise-en scene of images
In terms of Mise-en-scene, I believe that my magazine
follows the mise-en-scene conventions of most music
magazines. I tried to keep the mise-en-scene in all of my
images as simple as possible. My reason for this is that I
tried to conform the codes and conventions of other POP
magazines, such as billboard and top of the pops that
have no background on their images. However, although
this may not come across as a catchy convention, it is very
effective in terms of getting the model in the main image
of the magazine to stand out (breaking the fourth wall.
)The lighting I used was high key lighting positioned
directly on the models face, making the model look
brighter in comparison to the rest of the page. I used a
convention which most POP magazines use, which is the
pose of the model. The model is smiling, whilst looking
directly into the camera, which doesn’t make the model
look obscure and just makes her look like a normal
teenage girl. The posture also shows that she is confident.
Furthermore, in terms of the image on my double page
spread, I have linked it in with the headline on that page. I
also used some black and white images on the right side
of my double page spread, which you wouldn’t normally
see in a magazine, if it is colour, it would normally be all
colour, but I wanted to add something to my magazine
that would make it different from others as well as giving
it an effective house style. My double page spread is an
image of the model laughing, showing her enthusiasm and
desire towards music and is obviously something that she
enjoys doing. The majority of the images that I have used
follow the forms and conventions as other music
magazine by linking in with headline and the whole focus
being on the model.
My magazine
uses the codes
and conventions
by having a
white
background as
the image to
ensure the model
stands out

Costumes and Prop
The costumes and props that the model is wearing in my magazine (‘Miss POP’) are conventional and correlate
all other magazines of this music Genre. The model in my images is wearing a collared tartan dress, this is
because this is the latest fashion which is in this season, which shows that she keeps up to date and this will
attract the audience. I don’t believe that there is a certain dress code for models on POP magazines, the
clothes that artists where are normally to represent who they are as a person and are not too outgoing.
The model is wearing makeup and bright lipstick; this gave the image a more professional look when the image
was taken as well as to use the conventions of a typical pop magazine. The props used throughout my
magazine are sunglasses and a flower crown, which is worn on the models head in every image. The reason for
my model wearing sunglasses is mostly to her look cool and they are a fashion statement. Flower crowns are
worn by many artists, such as Taylor swift, little mix, Miley Cyrus and in order to conform the codes and
conventions of other POP magazines, I decided to get my model to wear a flower crown, especially because
she is a new artist, it could make her look more appealing as the audience will infer that she is just like any
other POP artist as she is wearing similar clothing.
Beth Hayes is
wearing similar
clothes to
models used on
other
magazines.

People
The people features in my magazine are very
conventional. Although, I only have one artist, I think that
it is more appropriate to have one artist and to make the
magazine look professional and consistent, rather than
having lots of artists and having to balance the magazine
out equally between each artist. My magazine is not the
only magazine that features just one artist, there are
magazines such as billboard and blender which are both
very successful POP magazines that only feature one
artist. The artist featured in my magazine is 16, and in
every image is smiling, and her costume shows that she
takes great pride in her appearance. Although, some POP
magazines tend to focus on lots of artists in one
magazine, I think that I would be more successful in just
focusing on one artist as this would be more appropriate
for an older teenage audience. The people in my
magazine have a big impact on my target audience,
because I have aimed my magazine at teenage girls
between the age of 15 and 19, the people in my magazine
is more likely to appeal to them as they will realise that
they are the same age as them.
The model
featured in
my magazine
is around the
same age as
teenagers
used in other
POP
magazines,
up to the age
of 20.

House Style
 House Style= a company's preferred manner of
presentation and layout of written material.
 When coming up with a house style for my magazines, I
researched other magazines to see what they do to stick
to a certain style throughout the whole media product.
The house style of my magazine, is very bold, capital
letter, which and the colours used were:
 Pink
 Black
 white.
 As you can see from the images below, every magazine
sticks to certain house style. For example, billboard use a
very bold and big masthead in a black font.
 As you can see, these magazines all have a similar house
style. The same masthead has been used in every
magazine, this makes the magazine recognisable to the
reader as soon as they see the magazine.

Layout
In addition to the house style of my magazine, the layout of my magazine has a big impact on how
my target audience see the magazine. Before deciding how to layout my magazine (front cover,
double page spread and contents page) I had to do some research to give me some ideas. I used a
conventional layout for all 3 elements of my magazine. For the front cover, I used codes and
conventions and set them out like any other magazine, such as top of the pops and billboard
would. My masthead “Miss POP” was situated at the top of the page. I then have my main image of
the centre of the page, which allows it to catch the readers attention.
Furthermore, the barcode is situated in the bottom right corner of my front cover, the reason I
used a barcode can be seen by clicking here.
The headline links to the main artist on the cover of my magazines by saying her name and using a
quote from the interview inside the magazine “I used to laugh when people told me I could sing”,
this is catchy because it means if they want to read more about the interview, they have to look
inside the magazine.
The cover lines are situated below the headline “The 2014 Miss POP awards” these are used to give
the reader more of an insight to what other content is included in the magazine before they read
the magazine and there are lots of magazines that do this.
The date line is placed underneath the masthead as it can be easily recognised by the reader so that
they know if they are up to date on the issues or not.

In terms of the layout for my contents page, I tried to differentiate it
and give it a unique layout, as well as allowing it to be profitable for
the distributor of the magazine (See slides 17&18). I did some
research and I liked the way that Billboard didn’t set out their
magazine just like any ordinary contents page. I liked how they had
one main image the middle and then the text going down the left
side of the Image.
For my contents page, I set out my magazine in similar way that
billboard set out theirs. The Main image of my contents page is in the
centre of the page with the text going around the right side of it.
However, I did not want to just call my contents page ‘Contents’ as
this doesn’t make the masthead stand out. Therefore I decided to use
‘inside this magazine’. The text going along the side of the page, also
produces a good eye flow and makes it clearer for them to read and
to find what they are looking for. I put the page numbers in a bolder
font and the text that I wanted to stand out in much bolder, larger
fonts so that the reader doesn’t have to read every word on the page
if they don’t need to.
In terms of the layout for my double page spread, I gave the double
page spread a unique layout, as well as allowing it to be successful
and profitable for the distributor of the magazine. I decided to just
have one main image and the headline on the left side of the page, as
if there is too much text on the page, it won’t make the reader want
to read it.
However, on the right side of the double page spread, I wanted to do
something different. I added three black and white images to the top
of the page, this allowed the colour image on the left side of the page
to still be the main focus on the page. I also conformed the codes and
conventions by using a column for my interview.
My magazine in comparison to the
layout of a ‘Blender’ magazine.

Font/Style
I tried to use very simple, well recognisable fonts the whole way
throughout my magazine. The 3 main fonts that I tended to stick to
throughout the creation of my magazine were:
 Trajan Pro
 Arno Pro
Front Cover: When researching I noticed that the pieced of text that
stand out the most on a magazine are the masthead and the pug words
as this is what grabs the readers attention. The font that I used for my
masthead was Myriad Pro and I made it italics. This ensured that it
would stand out to the fonts on the rest of my page. I also made the
style of the word “Exclusive!” on the banner bold to catch the readers
eye. The masthead has to be used throughout every magazine to make
it more recognisable to the reader, which is why it is a very important
element and lots of research has to go into it. For the headline, I decided
to use two colours, Pink and black, to make it unique.
Content Page: For the headline on my double page spread, I used the
same font that I used for the headline on my front cover which was
“Trajan Pro” this made sure that my magazine was kept looking
consistent throughout. However, I used a different font for the page
numbers and the content which is included on each page, this was so
that the page numbers were clear and easy to see.
Double Page Spread: For the headline on my double page spread, I used
the same font that I used for the headline on my front cover which was
“Trajan Pro” this made sure that my magazine was kept looking
consistent throughout.
Throughout my magazine, the colours used for the text are
consistent and unique to “Miss Pop”.
Font style
used on my
double
page
spread.
Font style
used on my
Contents
Page.
Font style
used on my
front cover.

Written Context
All of the topics in the magazine relate to the target audience of the magazine,
which are teenagers, therefore, if what they are reading is aimed at them; it will
be more appealing for them. Before, I could start to add the content to my
magazine had to see what people normally look for in a magazine to make it
easier for me to attract my target audience, I did this research through the use of
my mood board, to see what other magazines do and through the use of my
survey. The content included on the cover of my magazine is up to date
information that you would see in other POP magazines, such as “UK top 40” .
The written contest is mainly about “Beth Hayes” because she is the featured
artist throughout my media product “Miss POP”.
In terms of my double page spread, I have decided to use a column interview, to
conform the conventions of other POP magazines from this genre. I did an
interview featuring “Beth Hayes” and it is all about her moving up in the music
industry and being successful. Although I have used conventions of a real media
product, by using a column interview, other magazines normally feature popular
artists, whereas mine features a new artist.
My contents page, also features information about other artists, not just “Beth
Hayes” which is the artist featured in the main image of the magazine. It features
information about people such as “One Direction, Little Mix and 5 seconds of
summer” as it allows me to open up to context included in the magazine to a
wider range of people as I have also included popular, well known artists in my
magazine.
Overall, by using a column interview on my double page spread, it is easier for
the reader to read the magazine and also made it easier for me to direct the
context at them, by using direct address, so it sounds like “Beth Hayes” is talking
to her fans in the interview rather than the person interviewing her.
This text style that I used for the interview on my double page spread was Arno
Pro in the font size ‘13’.
{My double page spread
interview and the image
below shows an interview
from ‘Top of the pops’}

Price
This analysis will help me when coming to decide on a suitable price for my magazine that will also suit my
target audience. When deciding a price I needed to take into consideration my target audience to ensure that
the price is affordable for them. If my target audience is age 13-12, it wouldn't be reasonable to set a very high
price as they don't have much of an income so rely on adults. Whereas, if I choose my target audience to be
between the ages of 16-20, I could price my magazine a little bit higher as they have more of an income.
The price of my magazine
is £2.99. I chose this price
because my magazine
shows that over 80% of
people who took my
survey would pay up to
£2.99 for a music
magazine, which is also
an affordable and
reasonable price for a
magazine. It is also a lot
lower than competitors
with top of the pops
pricing their magazine at
£3.99, which is high for a
lower teenage audience.
The price of my magazine
is displayed on the
barcode.

2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?
I believe that my magazine represents similar social groups to
magazines such as top of the pops and billboard music
magazines. My magazine represents a teenage social group
between the ages of 15-19. This is due to the content in both
magazines being similar. I believe that my magazine represents
similar social groups to magazines such as top of the pops and
billboard music magazines. This is due to the content in both
magazines being similar. My media magazine goes against the
conventional views in the way that people see teenagers. The
social groups that are represented in my media product are
teenage girls between the ages of “15-19”. I have biased my
magazine against males and decided to go with a predominant
female target audience, which was not intentional. When
researching my target audience, I believe that this was the best
target audience to aim my magazine at. The type of people that
would buy my magazine would be people in the D section of the
demographics chart (this could be students with part time jobs
would be in section E (semi-unskilled manual workers or the
unemployed-younger children/teenagers) this means that they
may need people to buy the magazine for them, this is normally
for a younger target audience. Although my target audience is a
bit different to other POP magazines, the content and images
included in the magazine are fairly similar and focus on the same
subjects. I have represented my artists as being successful and
professional, while still being elegant and feminine throughout
my music magazine. The price of my magazine is £2.99, as I
wanted to make it affordable and a relative price for my target
audience.

2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Font/Colour: I tried to use as little colours and
font styles and colours throughout the creation
of my front cover, this ensured that I kept it as
professional looking as possible. However, I did
have to ensure that the key conventions of my
magazine stood out in much bigger/bolder
fonts.
My model is clearly between the age of 15-
19, which can be implied just by looking at
the image before reading the article inside
the magazine. Also, because the model is a
girl, it will attract more girls to read the
magazine which is very beneficial for me as
this is who I have aimed my magazine at.
The model in the image is 16, and this
means that more people are likely to buy
the magazine due to the fact that the
model in the magazine is the same age as
them and the can relate to the model as a
person. The model looks directly into the
camera.
From my survey, which I used survey
monkey to complete (Survey Analysis) I
found out that the majority of people
between the ages of 15-19 favourite music
genre to listen to is POP and that they like
to see new upcoming artists in my
magazine, this meant that I had to try and
incorporate some of this research into my
magazine.
I think my magazine is easily recognisable
and potentially appealing to someone
who have a strong interest and desire in
listening to pop music. I feel that my
music magazine would be very
recognisable, especially in this social
group as this genre is very recognisable
and is always kept up to date, which is
publicised in the media through
celebrities such as One Direction, Little
Mix and 5 seconds of summer.
I have opted to use a plain white background for
the background of my magazine, not only does
this allow my magazine to look more
professional and conform the codes and
conventions of a typical POP magazine, but it
also allows the text on my front cover to stand
out against the background on the page and
allowing the whole focus to be on the model of
the image.
Clothing/Props: When researching other POP
magazines, there is no particular magazine that
use certain clothing on their models. The
clothing that the models wear in POP
magazines are used to present who they are as
a person, and are usually clothes that are quite
popular. My model is wearing a collared dress,
which shows that she keeps up to date with the
latest fashion that the audience can relate to.
The lighting is featured more on the celebrities
face, which is like any other celebrity music
magazine, the focus will always be on the
models face.
The model is wearing a flower crown, and
Make up, which any other celebrity would use
when being photographed.

3) What kind of media institution might distribute your
media product and why?
I think that the best institution to distribute my media product is
‘Immediate Media Company.’ Immediate Media Company is a
combined publishing house, it is combined with Origin Publishing
and BBC Magazines. The publishing company started distributing
in 2011. It publishes over 50 magazine titles including 23 BBC
Worldwide titles which have a long term licence as well as
publishing over 30 websites. The company is located in
Hammersmith, London and Bristol. This is a very beneficial synergy
for ‘Immediate Media Company’ company because it means that
they can distribute the magazines across a range of media
platforms and sectors.
Immediate Media Company are one of the most popular
distribution company's and they are one of the biggest consumer
media businesses in the UK and the third largest magazine
publisher. Immediate media company sell compelling content on
platforms which enhances the way people engage with what they
love. “Immediate Media Company is an award-winning special
interest content and platform company”. Their aim is to make
everything good quality. People read their content across 36
websites, 58 magazines and they reach over 70 brands (including
Top of the Pops magazine, match of the day magazine, cbeebies
magazine) as you can see, all of these magazines are aimed at a
much younger audience.
Immediate Media Company sells over 70 million magazines every
year and 22 million people look at their magazines online each
month. They aim to build a strong position in the future and turn
“special interests into lifelong passions”.

The only music magazine that ‘Immediate Media Company’ currently
distributes is ‘Top Of the Pops’ which is aimed at a much younger
teenage audience, whereas mine is aimed at an older teenage
audience. The target audience of Top of the Pops is young girls,
between the age of 11 and 25, with a keen interest in pop music. 87% of
people who read the magazine are girls and the other 13% are boys.
This age range is reflected through the price of the magazine, which is
£2.40, as well as the content that is included in the magazine. My
reason for choosing Immediate Media Company to distribute my
magazine is that although they already distribute one POP genre music
magazine (meaning that there is a lot of competition already in the
market), this is aimed at a younger audience so have nothing like my
magazine.
It is also beneficial for the company in many different ways as it allows
the company to open up their media products to a wider range of
people, which means more people will buy their products, allowing
them to make more profit. It is not only beneficial for immediate
media company, but one benefit of me distributing my media product
with Immediate media company is that they already have a lot of
experience distributing in this sector, so I can be sure that my media
product will be successful when it had been distributed. (“Immediate
Media Company sell over 70 million magazines every year and 22
million people look at their magazines online each month”).
My media product would complement the other magazines in
Immediate Media Company’s portfolio in many different ways. This is
because my magazine is unique as this media institution don’t
currently distribute magazines that feature new and upcoming artists
that people want to keep up to date with, they only feature the most
popular artists that everybody is aware of.
3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? (continued)

4) Who would be the audience for your media product?
I have chosen to aim my magazine at a
predominant audience of females between the
age of 15 and 19. This is because from research,
I can see that this age range are people who
are most likely to go to concerts and keep up
to date with the latest music and who would
be most likely to listen to this music, whereas
an older person may be more interested in
listening to other genres of music, so young
people would be more interested in listening
to pop music. This is also reflected in my survey
because from my survey analysis, I can see that
the majority of people who are interested in
POP music range from age 16-19, this allows me
to see who my magazine would most appeal
to.
In addition to this, my survey showed
that most girls are interested in pop
rather than boys. Although, there is
already a lot of competition in the
market for POP magazines, from doing
research, I believe that a lot of these
magazines are aimed at a younger
target audience and there isn't as many
POP magazines open to older
teenagers.
I also believe that this is an appropriate age
range because if you look at other POP music
magazines such as ‘top of the pops’ which is
aimed at a younger audience, the content
inside these magazines aren’t just based on
music, they include things such as fashion,
which doesn’t really conform the codes and
conventions of a ‘music magazine’, my
magazine will be entirely based on music.
Also, my survey showed that most girls are
interested in pop rather than boys. If the majority
of people who took my survey were between the
age of 17 and 19, It made it easier for me to decide
my target audience as I know what age range are
interested in this genre of music. If 30% of people
who took my survey were boys between the ages
of 12-15, it wouldn’t be very beneficial for me as I
wouldn’t know what they look for in a magazine
or what encouraged them to buy a magazine. It
would also be hard for me to choose a genre for
my magazine.
Although, there is already a lot of
competition in the market for POP
magazines, from doing research, I
believe that a lot of these magazines
are aimed at a younger target
audience and there isn't as many POP
magazines open to older teenagers. I
also believe that this is an
appropriate age range because if you
look at other POP music magazines
such as ‘top of the pops’ which is
aimed at a younger audience, the
content inside these magazines
aren’t just based on music, they
include things such as fashion, which
doesn’t really conform the codes and
conventions of a ‘music magazine’,
my magazine will be entirely based
on music.
I think that my magazine will appeal to
those who have an interest in POP music
and people who like to keep up to date
with the latest music and latest artist and
band news. There is already a wide variety
of POP magazines that exist, this meant
that I had to be very careful when deciding
my target audience so that it didn’t clash
with the target audience of other POP
magazines; this allowed me to
differentiate my product from those of
competitors. My audience is backed up by
the price of my magazine being £2.99.
Target Audience:
Girls
Target Audience:
Age 15-19

5) How did you attract/address your audience?
There were many different techniques and magazine conventions that I had to use in my magazine to attract my target audience. As well as
using these techniques throughout the design process of my magazine, I also addressed my target audience by constantly asking what their
opinions were regarding my magazine throughout its production; this meant that I could get feedback on ways to improve my magazine to
make them want to read it anymore.
When constructing my magazine, I
had to keep in mind that the layout
of the magazine is one of the most
important factors for influencing
people to buy the magazine.
Looking at my contents page, you
can immediately see that I did
something different to it to make it
unique and catch the reader’s
attention. I felt that having the
ordinary “Table” layout would not
catch the reader’s eye as it is nothing
different to what they have seen
before. I needed to enhance my
readers and create a different
simplistic design to my magazine. In
order to do this, I researched similar
magazines to see what they do in
order to catch the reader’s attention
(See LIIAR Analysis).
I believe that another code/convention that I used
to attract my target audience is my use of BUZZ
words on my front cover, such as “Exclusive” and
“Win a one direction CD”. This would appeal to
them because my target audience is girls age 15-19
and if they know they are getting something from
the magazine that no other magazine is going to
offer, they are more likely to buy the magazine.
The model features in the main image on the
front cover of my magazine, has a major impact
on whether somebody buys the magazine or not.
I chose the model to be the same age as my
target audience so that the audience can relate
to the magazine in a better way and inspire to be
like the artist on the front of the magazine and it
gives the audience somebody to look up to. The
model is looking directly into the camera, which
instantly catches the audience’s eye and makes
them look at the magazine. There is nothing
extreme or obscure about the appearance of the
model.
I used very formal language, as well
as a direct mode of address.
throughout my magazine, to make it
more understandable for the reader,
otherwise it could be quite boring
for them to read the magazine. I
also based the content on articles
that would interest them and that
they would be able to relate to.
The final way I addressed/attracted my target
audience was by the colour scheme and because
my magazine is only aimed at teenage girls, it made
it a lot easier for me to choose colours for my
magazine. My colour scheme was Pink, white and
black. This allowed me to put the most important
things that I wanted to stand out and to attract the
target audience in darker colours, these colours
would also appeal to them as an audience.
I also linked my headline to the image, as
well as using other cover lines on the cover
of my magazine, which is very beneficial as
it means that if the reader isn’t attracted to
the main image on the magazine, there is
other stories on the cover of the magazine
that could attract them to the magazine.
For example “This weeks UK top 40”. This
attracts them if they like to keep up to date
with the latest music; this allows my
magazine to be opened up to a wider range
of people.

6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I feel that from creating my front cover, contents page and double page spread, I have learnt a lot about technologies and I have developed
my skills using different computer programmes. Whilst taking my photos, I used very little equipment; the only piece of equipment that I
used to take my photos was my camera (Nikon L810) which can be seen in the image below. I used a laptop/computer to construct the
media product.
In order to construct my front cover, double page spread and table of contents, I used
Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop was the most important and an extremely useful
computer programme that I used when undertaking this project. I used Photoshop to
create most of my magazine. To use the programme, I had to learn how to use the tools
on the programme. I used a tool on Photoshop to change the lighting of an image; I did
this by enhancing photographic exposure. To do this I had to add a curves adjustment
layer and lighten the darker side of the image. The first element of my magazine that I
created using Photoshop was my Front Cover, which consisted of a main image, title,
banner, cover lines, headline and a barcode.
Firstly, because the main image was the focus of the front cover of my magazine, I
opened it by going to >file>open>locating the image. I then decided to add a colour
overlay to my image. To add this I inserted a shape and drew it over the whole image
and chose the colour that I wanted. I then made the image black and white the erase
tool on the toolbar on the side of the screen and rubbed out the black and white layer
of the model making sure that I kept the background black and white. I changed some
of the colours that are part of this image. I added a new layer and then went to>colour
gradient, this allowed me to add 3 colours into my image (red, blue and green) which
added an effect to the image. I added mostly blue and red to my image and a little bit of
green to ensure the image wasn't too bright. To do this I chose the
colour>Channel>Red>Input (Made it bigger)>Output (Made it smaller). I had to do this
for all three colours. This was all of the effects added to the image. Now that I had
added all of the effects that I wanted to the image, I had to add the rest of the
conventions to the document to conform the codes and conventions of a magazine
cover. This was a fundamental part of the construction of my front cover. To add the
banner I had to insert a shape>choose the shape at the toolbar on the top of the screen
and draw it across the top of my page. To add any pieces of text the page, I used the ‘T’
tool on the toolbar on the side of my screen. To see more about how I created my front
cover using Photoshop, see ‘Creating my front cover’
(http://lucymorrisseymedia.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/front-cover-music-magazine-
final.html)

The second element of my magazine that I created using Photoshop was my contents page. In order to do this I had to open a
new ‘A4 document’. Again, I had to insert my main image that I wanted to use for my contents page, I did this by going to
file>open. I then used the ‘move tool’ to move the image onto the A4 document. I then added the same effects to this image
as I did for my front cover, this ensured that I kept a continuity house style throughout my magazine. The next step that I took
on my contents page, I believe taught me the most about technologies and Photoshop and what it can do. This was because, I
realised that I needed to add something into the background of it to make it stand out a little bit more and add more of an
effect to the page. I decided to add a 'Bokeh effect' to my image. This was very beneficial for me as it helped me develop my
skills on Photoshop as this effect is something that I have never done before using Photoshop. To add the bokeh effect I
clicked on the brush tool and went to layers>create new layer. I then chose a foreground colour (which was pink to keep a
consistent house style throughout my magazine). I then added different size circles all over the page. Once I had added all of
the circles that I wanted, I went to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, this blurred the circles so that they didn't stand out too much,
although they did still stand out, they still allowed the main image to be the main focus of the contents page. The next step I
took was to add a Photo Filter Adjustment Layer at the top of all of my layers. The final step that I took was to add brightness
and contrast effect. I know there was a piece of software that allowed you to do this before I used Photoshop, so this really
helped me in developing my Photoshop skills and taught me something new that I never knew about.
(Continued)
The final element of the construction of my magazine that I used
Photoshop for was my double page spread, again the construction of
this, taught me a lot about technologies and I took the same steps
above to edit the image in the same way in which I edited the image for
my contents page (for more on editing my image for my double page
spread, see ‘Creating my double page spread’). However, although I
edited the image in a similar way to the other components of my
magazine, the conventions needed for the double page spread were
very different. I added a quote to the main image using the ‘T’ tool, I did
this text in the same font as my Masthead on my front cover to create
continuity and a house style that I can incorporate across my magazine
well. I then added a page number and the interview to my double page
spread. Without Photoshop, I wouldn’t have been able to add the
effects to my images that I wanted to; this was a very important
software program throughout the development of my music magazine.

(Continued)Microsoft word: Before I
started to create my
magazine front cover and
contents page and double
page there was lots of
research that I had to do in
order for me to find out more
about other magazines that
had the same genre that I
chose for my magazine. It
helped me find out more
about font styles, colour
schemes and poses of the
models. I had to research
different colours that I
wanted to use on my
magazine, different text
styles (e.g.,- bold, big text
that stands out for the title of
my magazine). I also did
research on different
magazine conventions. Using
a word document for all of
my research made it easier
for me to access it whenever
I needed it, if I forgot what
colour I wanted to use for the
title, I could just look back at
my research and see what it
was. This way, I was able to
keep my magazine looking
consistent.
Blogger: During the process
of creating my media product,
I regularly updated my blog
about what stages of the
media product I was at. This
blog allowed me to publish all
my drafts and research of the
product online. I had to
update my blog about the
research I had done to help
me come to my final
decisions, I had to analyse
other music magazines and
also update my blog about
the actual media product
(development, drafts and the
final product). This was
important as it helped me
throughout different stages
of creating my product and
helped me keep up to date
with all of my work.
PowerPoint/Slide share: I used
PowerPoint to create presentations
throughout the creation of my
media product, such as my research
of front covers LIIAAR analysis.
Slide Share allowed me to upload
any presentations that I had made
whilst creating my media product,
when these presentations were
uploaded, it provided me with a link
and I was then able to embed the
links on to my blog, which allowed
the presentations to be viewed
from my blog.
Paint: I used paint to save
any jpeg images by copy
and pasting the image onto
paint and going to file>save
ad>file type (JPEG). This
helped me when I had to
upload images onto my
blog.
I also used a scanner whilst creating my magazine front
cover and contents page and double page as it allowed me
to scan in any first drafts that I had made and upload them
onto my blog. Once I had scanned in these drafts I was able
to upload them onto my blog to get feedback on them and
improve my magazine.
Scanner:

Looking back at my preliminary task, there is a lot that I have learnt from progression to the main foundation
portfolio task.
Firstly, the first thing I have learnt the most about is Photoshop. Looking back at my preliminary task, I didn’t edit
any images; the only tool that I used was the ‘quick selection tool’ to crop around some of the images used on the
front cover. Now, looking at my preliminary task, there are so many skills that I have learnt that helped me to
construct my music magazine. I now know how to use tools such as curves, levels, and brightness/ contrast which all
allow me to add certain effects to my image to ensure that my image stands out. In my preliminary task, I didn’t add
any effects to the image which did not really make the model of the image stand out.
In addition to this, I also believe that I know a lot more about the codes and conventions that need to be included in
a magazine and the importance of text styles and fonts. From looking at the image on the previous slide from my
preliminary task, it is evident that I knew very little about text styles and how you had to make more fonts stand out
from others to catch the reader’s eye. I also learnt a lot more about the layout of the front cover/contents page and
double page spread. The masthead on the front cover of my preliminary task, did not stand out and differentiate
itself from other magazine, however, I realised that on my music magazine, this is the one of the most important
elements of the magazine, as this is how a reader recognises a magazine, therefore, I made sure that I made this in a
different font to the rest of the page.
Not only, did I learn more about constructing the product, but I also learnt a lot more about the importance of
taking a variety of photos using different camera angles when you are doing your photo-shoot, this makes it easier
to find a suitable photo for the magazine cover.
The final thing that I learnt from the development of my preliminary task to constructing my music magazine is how
much research needs to be done into other magazine conventions and other magazines in general to get your
magazine right. For example, I used survey monkey to find out what people want to see in a magazine, and when
completing my preliminary task, I did not create a survey, which meant that I didn’t have an idea of the target
audience and what content to use inside my magazine.
Overall, I now have a stronger knowledge and understanding on programs such as adobe Photoshop, I also know
how to update and develop my blog (adding new pictures, embedded links from slide share) as well as the
important conventions that need to be included in a magazine.
7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt from it in
progression to the real task?

Preliminary Task vs. Real Task

Front Cover, contents page and double page spread, first, second and final
draft: Music Magazine

Lucy Morrissey Music Magazine Evaluation

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Lucy Morrissey Music Magazine Evaluation