1. Magazine Evaluation
The Asylum Magazine - Daniel Miller

2. The Asylum
In what ways does your media product use , develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product
Who would be the audience for your media product?
How did you attract/address your audience?
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
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?

3. In what ways does your media product use,
develop or challenge forms and conventions of
real media products?
Real Media products use specific terminology, they outline key aspects that would attract an audience
to their product. My product uses Distraction, this is used in my product as the asylum logo and
layout is not similar to conventional magazines, this means that the consumer would feel at ease to
read and express an interest in this magazine. Cover Lines are used with the black box at the top of
the magazine, i have outlined key artists which would grab the audiences attention, also below the
“Molli Betts” title i have given a brief overview of what the article is about. My Market Penetration is
a uni-sex audience between 14-25, where as GQ has a Market penetration of solely males between
18-30, where as a larger percentage of the market is being covered by my magazine, having a smaller
would make it easier to keep loyal followers. The mast head of my magazine is different to most
magazine as their masthead tends to cover the whole width of the page, where as my logo is more like
Q’s. I have used a graphics tablet with the brush tool to create a distressed sun like circle, i have used
this as it matches the genre of the magazine to be distressed and it also makes the masthead of “the
Asylum: stand out alot more.The advantage of having a mast head in the corner means that i can
control which way the reader looks at the oage so i can place the most obvious aspects in line with the
mast head or firectly below this, of which i have dont with the models eyes and the main article
headline.I have used a Plug, this means giving information about the contents of the magazine on the
front cover, this is achieved by the use of the free posters and of the bands featured on the top strip of
the magazine. Where i have enlarged the font on the word “Action” this is known as a Puff, it makes
the audience become interested in this article, it emphasises the anger and enthusiasm expressed by
common rock stars so this would encourage key rock fans to buy this magazine, i have also emphasies
the “Free Posters” this is a common form os drawing a reader into buying a magazine, i felt that this
was needed in my magazine as readers would rather buy a competetors magazine as imparticulary
Kerrang and Rock Sound give away free magazines so a reader would feel they would get more for
their money with other magazine, this fact is emphasied during the current economic climate as the
majority of my market would not have a job, therefore they would seek a magazine to have other
benefits e.g comeptions, posters, free downloads e.t.c

4. From real media products my contents page offers a unique twist, conventional magazines use blocks and
images to construct a giant collage type image. I have used a photography image that i have taken to
incorporated a distressed look, I have placed the front cover screen shot onto my contents page which is
similar to other magazines, i have made this look like a poster placed on a random tree. I have included page
numbers which are used in every known magazine as they help the consumer find their way around the
product. The traditional editors note is incorporated into my magazine in the top left hand corner this is
traditional for magazines such as Kerrang! but for NME and Q this is located at the bottom of the page as
the top part is usually dominated by a Large relating picture. By including my logo into my contents page
this helps the reader remember the logo, by having the logo continuing throughout the magazine, when not
looking at the magazine they would associate my article with my magazine. I have used the pattern from my
logo to surround my page numbers, this is not done in most conventional magazines, Q does include a red
square around their page numbers but their logo is not as complex and detailed as my own. I have used the
details of the tree to separate my contents page. In my magazine my model is represent as a rebellious go-
getter, she is looking to re-vamp the current music industry. The colour scheme follows current conventions
such as NME
My double page spread is very different to most magazines. The conventional route
is to have a large square image with text either surrounding this or below it. I have
chosen to have two very open images without borders which i feel lets the magazine
flow a lot better. I have incorporated two pull quotes which is very common in
NME. By using a pull quote in the middle of the text this allows the interview to
flow easier and to be separated with ease. To add extra detail i created a floral
pattern to the sides of this pull quote this links to my genre and adds a darker edge
to this. The red line used to link my two images is quite an old fashioned technique
as i saw it was popular from 90’s magazines in my research and planning, to make
this different and not bland i included little squares to add a cubic and distressed
look. The text used in my main interview is a very common and bland, but this text
is easily readable, conventional magazines use a similar approach so that visually
aided readers can still clearly see the font. I have used contrasting fonts for the
introduction and the “Ben Daniels reveals all” I have used this so the audience
thinks there is a different side to the conventional story so they would be keen to
read on.

5. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Similarities Differences
Blonde, straight hair is a common feature Rock Chicks have more ex centric
costumes
Eye make-up is very obvious and noticeable
Other Female artists have lots of neck
accessories, the only accessories i have
Outfits tend to be mainly dark coloured featured are wristbands which are hardly
noticeable
The mid-shot i have used is similar to all
the other shots of artists Dresses more nautical than normal artists
Gives a very dominant image Quite a plain hairstyle in comparison to
most artists whose hair expresses their
personality
Rebellious image and attitude
Similarities Differences
Dark tee’s and jackets are worn There are different styles of rock stars of
the same genre e.g Weezer on the far
right is the more “geek look”
Similar “fringe cut” hairstyle
Hair is a lot shorter than most bands, but
Lots of grey band tees used. gives a cleaner appearance
Similar looking age Lacks colour in outfit
Dark looking around the eyes “sometime Lacks individuality of which the majority
eye liner” of rock stars express.
Very slim appearance. Wears un-branded clothing

6. Who would be the audience for your media product?
I created a free online Avatar to show what
my TMG looks like, i created this on
doppelMe.com
The emo stereotype originated in the mid
1980’s punk era. Allthough it is a very modern
group, this shows it is relatively strong and
has a large and committed following. The
“Emo” stereotype is a cult, it offers specific
TV Programmes, Films and most importantly
music which is designed towards them. This
Clothing Brands: Babycakes,
Drop Dead, Jack Wills, All Saints, TopMan
market would buy my magazine it offers them
a form of escapism, the only way they feel
Films: Twilight, Anchorman, Low
budget films.
they can express themselves is through their
music, so they would buy my magazine as
Tv Shows: The Mighty Boosh, The
Big Bang Theory
“The Asylum” offers in-depth interviews into
the bands lives, this gives the readers an idol
Bands: Lostprophets, Paramore, Blink
182
to look up to.
Other: Doesn't follow conventional
trends

7. What have you learnt about technologies from the
process of constructing this product?
From constructing this product i have learnt the important of third
party uploading software such as Scribd and Slideshare, without these
websites information could not expressed in the same way. From using
Photoshop for the whole project i have learnt how to use the brush
tools and editing colour techniques with images. From these findings i
feel i have created a more professional looking product for example my
logo and title could not have been made without my knowledge of
brush tools. Other websites such as Youtube helped me to understand
my target market more thoroughly and to look at physical images
behind music. Also i have looked alot at Kerrang.com as this is the
most similar magazine to mine, from this i have learnt similar things
which are in magazines such as competitions and key news such as
festivals.

8. 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?
From my preliminary task i have learnt the key to complex designs, on my
preliminary front cover i feel this was very basic. The background is very plain
and doesn't really match my target market. I particularly like the mid shot used
on my front cover, i feel this is perfectly shaped to fit a front cover but i feel it
would stand out a lot more if it was central. In contrast i have used a shot
between mid and long shot for my final design, but i feel this image works alot
better by not being central as there is more space for headings and my
masthead. The images i used on my front cover do not work well as they are not
in a corner, this leaves a lot of empty space which is critical in a magazine, also
the barcode being sideways and not in the very corner doesn’t work well but it
does allow me to have a line of bands at the bottom of the page instead, on the
other hand this isn’t the most noticeable place a consumer would look. On my
final piece i feel the use of band advertising at the top of the page works really
well, the use of posters are a conventional route to take but are positioned so Tessellating images on contents page
Different sized and positioned mast heads
they take up a minimum amount of room yet show enough of the image yet
follow a genre trend of being gothic with a card game, the only thing i do not
Use of distressed poster image, free hand
feel works well is the positioning of the free posters, i feel it could be in front of Eye line matches up with arrows look unique
a black board or a more contrasting colour. I really like how i’ve experimented mast head
more with colour on my final cover, i was initially going to have my model black
and white but i think the use of colour on a black and white background stands
out a lot more. For my contents page i really like my preliminary design, i feel
everything tessellated well and had an ordered structure. On the other hand for
my final one i really like the use of nature and other images such as the tree, this
shows key design skills and i have also used a sign for the actual contents title, i
did this by taking an image on a digital camera of a sign then pattern matching
this with the spot healing tool, i feel this gives a dark and eery effect. I feel the
use of a red background for the contents sub-titles works really well which is
why i have kept this the same, also i have kept the use of bold contrasting fonts
and colours the same as well. Overall i thing i have learnt a lot from my
preliminary task, it has showed me what works well which is why i have
continued with those aspects on the other hand it has led me to explore and be
a lot more creative with the tools on photoshop. I am very proud of my design
as i have not copied any other magazine and created a more unique genre and
fitted a style of magazine which would appeal to a wide group of people to be
condensed into a more intimate and personal magazine.