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Evaluation for my Law magazine

Final piece evaluation

When creating my magazine front cover i looked back at the previous magazines which included 'heat', 'fourfourtwo' and 'NME' i had specifically picked out these magazines to help me gain ideas and help me format my magazine.
When looking back at these magazines i have noticed that they all have the name either central of left alligned therefore 'GUILTY' has similarities whereabouts the title is presented.
Most magazines which you see in shops etc have the main headline spread out across the main picture this is because the picture normally reflects the main headline, i took this into account and applied it to my magazine.
I added a catchy slogan to my magazine, 'For all you law lovers' i added this underneath 'GUILTY' so that the reader immediately notices the slogan. I used alliteration this was to make it sound fun and punchy.
When choosing the colour for 'GUILTY' i looked at 'heat', 'fourfourtwo' and 'NME' these all use the colour red perhaps because red signifies importance i also took this into account and used the colour red for my magazine title guilty.When adapting my main picture which was of a student at wyke sixth form college, i made it the main focus of the magazine this was so that the reader is immediately drawn to the picture and also i needed a student to represent wyke college, which is who the magazine is aimed at.

Looking at my final product we can immediately realise that it is aimed at a specific age group (16-19) and social group which is students, this is because of the main picture which is of a wyke student currently at the college and also the key logo of wyke pictured in the bottom right hand corner.

The target audience which i definately aimed my magazine for was for law students, i picked law because i am currently studying the subject and i also came up with an appealing name which i thought sounded interesting. When looking at my final product we can see that it is aimed for students studying law because of the catchy name and slogan, also the main picture is a student reading a law textbook also the story featured to the left also reflects law. When taking my picture i used a digital camera to capture the main image, i wanted my student to look pleased and interested so i asked her to look happy and almost impressed, i then applied it to photoshop so i could edit and manipulate my image to make it look effective and possibly professional. I did this my blurring out the background images such as the wall, however i kept the student in focal so that it was clear. When the image had been focalised i then added the title, main headline and other articles etc. I was also very careful when picking my the colours which i used i didn't want anything to dramatic to take away the focus of the headline and main picture, so i used simple suttle colours such as red, white and black.

When looking back to my draft of my final piece i have improved my magazine greatly and altered it slightly. I also hadn't worked with photoshop before so therefore have gained a few skills when working with photoshop such as blurring out images, rubbing out the blur or image, adding text and moving images and text and also dragging images onto the main page.

my magazine

Masthead: When coming up with a suitable magazine name i came up with a couple of ideas so that i could compare and see which was best.
My first initial idea was 'guilty' this is because my magazine is going to be about law therefore the name guilty would reflect the law and what happens in the courts.
other ideas which i came up with were 'catch' i thought that this could perhaps reflect catching criminals which would definetely fit into law and 'escape' which could possibly be associated with prisons. However i chose to have 'guilty' as my final name for the magazine, this was because i thought it sounded more appealing i also found that it sounded professional for a magazine name.
the word 'guilty' means commiting an offence this could perhaps be reflected on the potential readers if they do not read 'guilty' magazine. I could see the name 'guilty' becoming very catchy also.

sub-masthead: For my sub-masthead i'm going to place it above the magazine name this is because when analysing 'heat' magazine i noticed 'heat' had its sub-masthead at the top of the magazine and i liked how it looked, i think it needs to be placed somewhere noticable not somewhere in the corner etc. I think having the sub-masthead at the top of the magazine it is noticable,presentable and will also be appealing. Often in the sub-masthead it advertises other exciting stories featured in the magazine and sometimes just general advertisements. It could also possibly be used just to advertise wyke college and events which are taking place.

Main image: For my image focus i have used the same conventions as the magazines i have previously annotated, this is because usually the image is the feature which draws the reader into looking at the magazine and often the story which is linked with the image also helps draw in readers. An image which i would possibly use would be a student (from wyke) posing perhaps with handcuffs to reflect that it is about law. Another idea which i came up with was a student posing behind some bars this would be seen to the reader as if the student was featuring in prison this would again reflect the subject of law. My magazine will also feature sub-images these are important because they can replicate other stories in the magazine.

The main headline: When coming up with my main headline i would use some featured conventions used in magazines today, examples of these would be alliteration this makes the words sound catchy. I would also perhaps try and use puns these are often very appealing to the reader because they play on specific sayings and words.

Sub-headlines: The sub-headlines will feature other stories and also events and maybe extra classes in law featured in the upcoming weeks. They could also help promote other subjects linked with law such as criminalogy which is due to start in a couple of months. I have decided that the sub-headlines could also promote charity events such as the sponsered silence event and also other charity events which are going on in wyke college, this is mainly because not everyone hears about the events which are happening. I will also have a plug i will probably use this to advertise competitions or adventure trips etc.

comparing the different types of magazines

Heat magazine is an extremely popular magazine especially for older teenagers including myself.
We can see straight away that the main article is going to be focussed on 'CHARLEY' who is a well known big brother evictee, we can see that Charley is going to be the main focus because of the large focul picture also her name is written in a very large font also in the colour red which often alerts readers because the colour red is often associated with urgency. It also shows that heat is a very exclusive magazine because of the use of the words 'first interview' this draws the reader in even more and perhaps even persuades them into buying the magazine.
The front cover also includes quotes from Charley's interview which is very clever of the heat publishers because it makes the potential buyer want to buy the magazine to find out the gossip.
At the top of the magazine there features a sub headline 'Brad still loves you' this features two very well known celebrity's Jennifer Anniston and Brad Pitt whose past relationship was very much in the public eye, this is perhaps why heat have used this story in their sub headline, also the sub headline used "Brad still loves you" could almost be said as very dramatic which will help attract many gossip lovers and especially the younger generation. Another feature which is used is used also on Charleys picture where it mentions 'the official bigbrother mag' heat have deliberately mentioned this and is also very clever of them doing so because bigbrother is an extremely popular television programme and this will attract many bigbrother fans into buying the magazine.



'FourFourtwo' is a football magazine mainly aimed at teenage boys and possibly older. We can see that this is a football magazine because of the title of the magazine 'fourfourtwo' which is a famous formation used in football matches. The main focus on the front cover is a large picture of Ronaldo which is the main attraction it also features in a fairly bold and large font the name 'RONALDO' like heat it is also coloured in red which appeals to many readers because of the boldness of the colour. Also Ronaldo will attract many football fans into reading the magazine because he is a extremely well known player and plays for one of the top teams in the UK.
Featured at the top of the magazine it mentions 'your number one football magazine' this shows that the puplishers of the magazine are very confident in saying that is a top magazine, therefore readers will trust the puplishers and buy the magazine.
This magazine must have been published during the process of the wembley stadium or just after it had been built, i can see this because of the heading 'NEW WEMBLEY behind the scenes...' this will have also attracted the public because it is also like a sneak preview therefore the readers will almost feel priviliged to be able to see what the new stadium is like.


When first looking at this magazine you can straight away realise that this is a music magazine mainly because of the name of the magazine 'NME', nme is a well known music magazine it also has it's own website and also music awards.
The main focus on the magazine is the artic monkeys who are a worldwide indie band, therefore will be brilliant to have on the magazine because it will attract many of the bands fans.
Also on the cover it features many sub headings and other advertisements advertising other various bands and artists which will also feature in the magazine.
Just like the following magazines which i have looked at the title 'nme' is also coloured in red this shows that many puplishers and designers choose this colour because of the message it gives out of importance etc. This magazine is aimed at a specific music genre mainly indie and alternative. When looking at the front cover it quotes 'what the world's been waiting for artic monkeys' the use of hyperbole makes the artic monkeys sound amazing and new talent!
Underneath the heading 'Artic Monkeys' there is a sub heading 'it's all kicking right off!' this makes it sound as if there has been tention between the magazine and the band this would definitely make the magazine more appealing.

Secondary magazine

When looking at the 'secondary magazine' i can clearly see that this magazine is aimed within a secondary school perhaps mainly for teachers. I can see this because of the 'sub headlines' at the top of the front cover 'super snapper lesson starters' this shows that is mainly aimed at secondary teachers, "super snappy lesson starters" the use of sibilance makes the advertisement sound snappy and appealing to teachers.

The main focus on the magazine is the picture which covers most of the front page, it shows a baking tray with two ginger bread man one a girl and one a boy this could perhaps represent pupils. It is also giving a clear message across to schools to improve and possibly have more lessons in cooking. The headline used "cook with me" is almost as if a pupil is saying this, the exclamation mark also makes the headline sound important. There is also a phrase above the picture saying 'how schools can make lessons tasty' the plays on the article about cooking by using the word 'tasty' which is very clever because it reflects the main article.

The colour used in the title of the 'secondary' magazine is a neutral colour this makes the magazine look very suttle. In the main picture there is a pupil carrying the baking tray we can see that the pupil is wearing a red shirt, the colour red is very assertive and makes the picture stand out.

AS media studies- Holly Robinson

foundation portfolio-preliminary task
As this is the beginning of the foundation portfolio preliminary task we looked at how the media key concepts could be applied to produce a college magazine. We used the acronym LIIAR-language,institutuin,ideology, audience and representation.

L-language:layout, eg text,font,colour,photo proportion,sizes etc

I-institution:good results etc

I-ideology:respect,equal treatment and opportunity

A-audience:college students,16-19,64% female. 55% from East reading

R-representation:it needs to be well presented and positive so that it reflects the college.