media evaluation

1. 1. Who would be the audience for you particular media product?
I see my music magazine as attracting young, music lovers. The people who will mostly read my
magazine will be teenagers and young adults between the ages of 15 to 25.
Originally, I was not trying to advertise directly to women. However, it seems that during the
creation process, the individuals most likely to read my magazine would be female.
The income of my potential readers will not be particularly high as I have priced my magazine at a
mere £2.50 to make it easily accessible to the young people who are reading my magazine and
possibly a bit strapped for cashed due to their education.
The average NRS Social Grade of my potential readers is mixed.
The majority will probably be from band D and E which are the unemployed, students, casual
workers etc because I am mostly targeting young people, who, like I mentioned earlier may not
have the money to be able to spend a significant amount on a magazine. However, I do believe
due to the content of the magazine being about festivals and gigs, the second most popular band
of people to buy my magazine would be B: ‘The creative and media people’. This is because my
magazine looks slick and well-designed aesthetically, yet at the same time the content is
interesting.
The psychographics of my audience are also a mix of bands. Mainly, explorers, aspirers and
succeeders.
Firstly, the reason why I believe a percentage of my target market will be explorers is because in
my mention there are a lot of references to festivals and concerts. A few of the characteristics of
the ‘explorers’ is: Seeks discovery - energy, individualism, and experience. Value adventure,
mostly students. This psychographic seems to be the most fitting to my magazine as there my
ages I am mainly targeting are 15 - 25 who all fit in the age range of students and seek adventures
in order to feel fulfilled and instantly satisfied.
2. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
My knowledge of technology has increased drastically over the last few months of creating
coursework. Firstly, I had never used Adobe Photoshop before. It took a lot of getting used and a
long period of trial and error but now I can safely say that I feel comfortable working Photoshop
and believe I have made an aesthetically pleasing magazine with the skills I have been taught
about Adobe Photoshop.
Also, I had never used any online resources in order to upload content onto my blog so during the
process of constructing my magazine, I learnt how to use websites such as ‘slideboom’ and
‘slideshare’.
These have become vital tools for me in order to make my blog look organised.
3. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real
media products?
In some respects my music magazine does share some of the same conventions of a normal
magazine. For example, for my front cover I chose a photo of my friend Phoebe looking directly
into the sense of the camera. This means that the potential readers will automatically be drawn to
my magazine because they are connecting straight away with the image of Phoebe by sharing
eye-contact.
Also, on my front cover there is a barcode which makes it look more realistic. There is a date and
issue number under the title to make it seem like the magazine is long-running and comes out
weekly like that of most magazines.
Throughout my magazine there are also page numbers which help to make the magazine seem
realistic.
However, one way that I broke the convention of normal magazines is by not editing my pictures so
that they had an effect on them. For example, on my double page spread there is a picture of my
friend Phoebe sat on the grass. I wanted to stretch the photo across the page, however, I did not
want to make it look obvious and I was at risk of making it look like I had stretched Phoebe too
dramatically. So, instead of continuing to expand my picture I decided that it would be a better idea
to clone the bottom of the photo (which was grass) right down to the bottom of the page. This was

2. successful because it meant that the photo of Phoebe was the perfect size without looking like she
had been physically stretched.
4. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My music magazine is successful at representing particular social groups. For example, I wanted
my magazine to attract the typical ‘festival-goer’: This to me is someone who enjoys live music,
chilled out songs, homemade music and quite ‘a hippy vibe’ - for want of a better phrase.
I managed to achieve this by my choice of instrument in the magazine and the surroundings I
chose to take my photos in. For example, the main instrument used in my magazine is a guitar
which has a lot of connotations indie/alternative music and a relaxed aura. Secondly, my models
are dressed very casually too. On my double page spread, Phoebe is wearing a huge t-shirt, black
jeans and black trainers. There is nothing particularly fancy or extravagant about her outfit but it is
in sync with the relaxed aura I wanted to portray throughout my magazine.
The surroundings I chose to take my photos in were very much influenced by the outdoors and the
natural light of the sun. For example, again, on my double page spread it is a photo of Phoebe,
sitting on the grass and playing her guitar. This photo is going to attract relaxed, laid-back, guitar-
loving readers.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
I attracted my audience with the language I used. The language used is not slang, however, it is
casual and simple. My choice of article was in the form of an interview. I chose an interview
because it is probably one of the most informal writing techniques and it is relatable to a lot of my
young readers. For example, in the interview there is reference to heartbreak inspiring a song and
how Phoebe wrote the song because she felt as though “a lot of my [her] fans could relate to the
way she was feeling.”
Secondly, all the bands I featured on my magazine and contents page are all young, fairly-new,
well known bands within the indie, alternative, folk genre of music. For example, I created an article
titled: “Mumford & Sons: Music to your ears or just bad noise?”.
Prior knowledge is not required in order to read my magazine. It is completely inclusive because a
lot of the articles are on popular things like ‘Glastonbury 2015’ or new artists such as ‘James Bay’.
6. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
When researching media institutions that might distribute my media product I found many different
ones. Some media institution examples I researched are Bauer Media, TimeInc UK, and Factory
Media.
The media institution that I think is most likely to distribute my magazine is Bauer Media. The
reason I chose Bauer as a potential institution that would distribute my magazine is because they
are responsible for multiple music brands such as Absolute Radio, 4 Music, and KISS FM. This
means that the company is extremely knowledgable in how to advertise music orientated
magazines and radio stations successfully. This is evident because KISS FM is one of the most
well-known and popular radio stations within the United Kingdom.
There are a lot of media institutions that I researched but didn't choose. For example, Factory
Media. This is because some of the brands and magazines they advertise could not be more
different to my magazine. They advertise mainly sporting magazines too, such as: MXTRAX, Ride
UK, and Bike Magic.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from
it to the full product?
I feel as though my magazines have improved massively. Looking back now, my school magazine
was just awful; it looked nothing like a magazine but instead like an awful poster designed by a ten
year old, actually, saying that, I think a ten year old could have created something better.
When I look at my music magazine, I am extremely proud because I can see a real magazine in
front of my eyes.

3. Previously, my knowledge and skill set on Adobe Photoshop was minimal and I had never used it
before so my school magazine was awful.
Also, the camera I took my photos with was the one on my iPhone 5 so the pictures were dark and
not as focused as I would have liked them to be. The pictures from my music magazine are taken
on a professional Canon camera and we also had a lesson teaching us how to take the best, most-
focused photos. This helped massively as previously I would have paid no attention as to how to
take a specific photo focusing on an individual’s face with a less focused background on purpose.
This is made evident in my contents page from my school magazine in comparison to my double
page spread from my music magazine.