Media Critical Evaluation My media product uses conventions of real media products by using a set house style, and uses a simple layout as to remain likable and appealing. Throughout my magazine, I used simple, non genderspecific colours, to enable that it would be appealing to all genres and people. The main recognisable features I used to ensure that the house style would be noticeable were the lens flares throughout the backgrounds, and the style of font used in my headlines and masthead. I also used a Polaroid template to surround my images to give my magazine an arty, individual appearance. I also liked the way this gave the impression of a backstage nature, as if they had been caught spur of the moment as opposed to a plain studio shoot. As well as these features, I constantly used an outer glow on my lead and main sells especially to highlight and give them an extra dimension. This helped to give a ‘sparkling’ effect, making the text more interesting to read. In the top right corner of my magazine, I placed a flash informing the reader of a competition. I decided to position it in the corner, as it would be one of the first things to be seen on a magazine rack, along with the masthead, which I kept in the conventional top leftaligned position. In the top left corner, I placed a lure to tell the readers of a free CD, which again would be highly noticeable and would help to promote the magazine. In media, representation is the way in which a text is seen and interpreted by the audience, and who they feel the product is aimed at. Representation uses codes and symbols, which help to depict the idea or logic behind a certain factor in a media text. For example, the way in which my cover model is dressed represents what they are like as a person, what their values are and who would read my magazine. I chose to represent the main cover artist in my magazine as casual and friendly, to give the appearance that my magazine isn’t too ‘try hard’ or ‘rock orientated’, but fun and easy to read. I also got my model to pose in different ways so my photo shoot looked interesting and original. In editing, I used a spotlight effect on my images, to give the feeling that the focus is fully on my artist, drawing attention to them. In terms of the writing (copy) in my article, I used informal, relaxed language and some slang throughout to show that my artist isn’t flashy and is laidback, making it more enjoyable for the reader. I believe that the kind of media institution which would distribute my magazine would be either IPC media, the publisher for NME, or Bauer Consumer media, the publisher for MOJO, both magazines being classified with ‘rock’ as the main genre. MOJO is sold for £4.30, and NME for £2.20, therefore the pricing for my magazine was accurate for the style of music. The difference in price is relative to their net circulation per issue. MOJO has a net circulation of 106, 367 whereas NME is 56,284, showing MOJO is higher priced as it has a larger audience and demand. Due to the increasing interest in internet/on demand television, it could be beneficial for my magazine to be available online, through websites such as www.issuu.com. Magazines such as Q and Clash also have online versions of their magazine, which would not only appeal to a wider audience, but act as marketing for my magazine. In order to find out which people would want to read my magazine, I would have to compile a hypothetical reader profile to establish what my readers are interested in,
how they spend their time and money, and a general description of the person. I would expect my readers to be keen on going to music gigs and live events, and will integrate this fact in my magazine through specialised articles in the contents page. For certain magazines such as NME, the main reader spendature is on music equipment as opposed to fashion or recreation, showing their serious dedication to music. I would expect my readers to have an equal interest in music equipment, fashion, music events and the arts as they are of student age. My readers will also value new music acts, and get pleasure from expanding their musical tastes. My readers would therefore be primarily interested in indie and rock music, but not be opposed to experience new styles such as dance or alternative. My readers will be connected to the Internet, which would allow me to access a further online market as mentioned above. In terms of VALS, my main readers would fit into the ‘experiencers’ group, being on average 25, who are mainly interested in consumerism, spending money on clothing and products and services, and interested in social activities. In terms of actual statistics, I would place my readership at 60% female and 50% male, to ensure I have a slight edge over other magazines in terms of offering a magazine which women enjoy reading. Relating to VALS, my average age would be slightly lower at around 19, as my magazine is more aimed at a teenage audience, therefore a high percentage would still be studying. To find out if my magazine would be well accepted by my potential audience, I compiled a survey to find out what they liked about it and if they would buy it. I asked five questions, asking if my magazine looks professional, which features they found most attractive, which genre of person they thought it would appeal to, to find out if my target audience of indie lovers was met, if any changes could be made to improve it and if they would buy the magazine. According to my audience, my magazine looked professional and glossy, upmarket and aimed at an older audience. It was also said the design was simple and well laid out, having a striking title and a professional layout. As well as these factors, my audience liked the stylised font, the well edited photos and the neat and spacious layout, making it easy to interpret. In terms of the audience which my audience thought it would interest, it was said that it is suited to a younger generation of music lovers, indie in particular but also different stylistic genres such as pop lovers, alternatives, and people who enjoy live music all music lovers. My magazine therefore had the appearance of being aimed at my preferred genre, so I had met my aims. Upon asking if any changes could be made, the only response was that my cover needed more colour if I wanted to attract more people. The main answer I needed answering was if people would buy my magazine, and my audience said that they would. Although one person said they don’t usually buy magazines, they would read this one as it looks rather interesting. It was also said that the pictures are interesting and due to the amount of them, my magazine is easy to read. Most importantly, it was said that my magazine caters for my readers’ interests and is presented in a nice clean style, and they can also get the latest information on their favourite bands and other music news. From doing this project, I have learnt new skills and improved my knowledge of Photoshop CS3. For my magazine to look as I wanted it to, I had to use a combination of lens flares and lighting effects. To do this, I changed the size of the flare and added more until I achieved the desired effect. I also learnt how to effectively merge
different layers. For example, to create my Polaroid’s, I needed to have one layer for the template and one layer for the image. I therefore had to select the two layers and merge them before I could apply any shadow effects. After completion of the front cover in particular, I could arrange the layers so parts were overlapping and parts were concealed, to give the magazine an interesting and eyecatching look. In terms of using digital cameras, I realised the importance of good lighting in the studio, as my image was free of any wrongly positioned shadows or imperfections, which made it easier in the editing process. Through experimentation and progression from my preliminary task to the full product, I have learnt many things which have improved the quality of my final result. The most important factor in my opinion was the audience research, and by asking what attracts people to a magazine as I did in my questionnaire for the final magazine but not the preliminary, I was able to include features which were proven to be likable, such as which style was preferred. Another important factor was allocating time to gather the results from the questionnaire and post production survey, as without these I would have been unable to start my production or analysis. Therefore, time management was increasingly important in terms of the full product. I also found that asking peoples opinions after creation of my magazine was important, as I was able to see if I was successful in my project. I also found that a good house style and colour scheme makes a large difference to the overall result, as a magazine does not look attractive if all of the features don’t tie in well and look suitable together, such as different fonts and colours. This also concerns the left third, as I made sure all of my key information and main sells were in this section of the magazine so they would be noticed first. 1625 words